The first video game I ever played was named, Pong. Your only control was a “dial.” You used it to control a little paddle and played an electronic version of ping pong. No color, just black and white. Video games quickly evolved into Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac Man. However, I’ll never forget my first game of Pong. Well, now you can play an updated version of this classic, Pwong, for free. Two new additions make it a brand new game: multiple balls and power-ups. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Archive for August, 2010
Online Diversion: Pwong
Sunday, August 29th, 2010Site of the Week: Plan Cruncher
Saturday, August 28th, 2010Want to start your own business? Well, first, you will need a business plan. Check out my site of the week, Plan Cruncher. It will guide you, step-by-step, in normal English, in how to create a great business plan. The site is dead-simple and you don’t need to be a great writer. When it is all done, it will even give you a PDF version so you can take it to the bank for that loan. Check it out at plancruncher.com.
Can You Copy DVDs Legally?
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Just about everyone has a DVD player. And chances are, you’ve invested a significant amount of money in DVDs. But if you’re like me, you have kids that don’t always put them back in the cases. And one little scratch can ruin any DVD.
Wouldn’t it be neat if you could back them up in case the original was damaged? Well, my friends, that is illegal. Or at least legally gray. However, the Library of Congress recently relaxed the rules on DVD duplication. While they don’t specifically say you may back up your DVDs by making a copy, they do say that students, teachers, and documentarians may circumvent DVD copy protections in order to rip content covered under fair use.
What this means is that now companies may legally sell software meant to copy DVDs as long as they put on the box the “appropriate uses” of the software. Do you see where I’m going with this? Watch your store shelves. Get ready for a bunch of new DVD copying software.
Copy Cat Sites
Friday, August 27th, 2010Is it the highest form of flattery when someone copies you? It depends. Last year, one of my competitors was copying my blog posts verbatim onto his site and taking credit for them. While I finally convinced him to stop, I started wondering about this very issue. What do you do when someone copies what you do?
The Web takes this issue to a much higher level. Take Facebook. A number of sites have copied the Facebook premise. Examples include Company.com, DeHood, and ThisNext.
Of course, Facebook is not alone in the copy department. YouTube also has its admirers. Take HowCast, Vimeo, and Break.com.
Netflix, the online video supersite is having to compete with Hulu and Blockbuster.
Larger companies have gotten around this issue by earning patents on the specific “magic” that makes their site special. Then, when a copy-cat appears, they send their attack-lawyers to take them down.
What do you think of copy cat sites? Hit reply and let me know!
Online Diversion: PacXon
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
Pac Man was a great game. You gobbled up the power pellets while avoiding the ghosts. PacXon takes our hero in another direction, though. In this game, you try to wall in the ghosts. But be careful. If a ghost hits your wall before it is complete, you lose. This game is very similar to the old arcade game, Qix. Strangely, this game created more adrenaline than any other shoot-em-up I’ve played!
Site of the Week: Accept Pay
Friday, August 20th, 2010Wouldn’t it be neat if you could invoice all of your customers electronically? And they could pay electronically? And the money would automatically be deposited into your account? Well, you can do all of that and more at my site of the week, AcceptPay.
You can even set up automatic recurring transactions, like a monthly fee. You don’t even need an accounting program like QuickBooks to make this happen, but it helps. So, get rid of your paper and stop paying for stamps by going to acceptpay.com.
Jail-breaking Your Phone
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Have you ever heard the term, Jail-breaking, as it relates to your cell phone? No, your cell phone is not a convict. It has to do with what your phone maker wants you to do and not do.
As an example, let’s take the iPhone. When you purchase an iPhone, there are two rules that must be followed:
First, the only apps you can load are those that have been approved and put in the iTunes store. Second, you must only use AT&T as your cell service provider.
If you jailbreak your phone, those two rules no longer apply. Legally, you may now use another provider or upload non-approved apps.
As of today, more than a million iPhone users have jail-broken their phones. Keep in mind, while jail-breaking your phone is legal, doing so will void your warranty.
I’m not going to jailbreak my phone yet, though. I want to see how this will play out first.
Social Engineering: Low-Tech and Dangerous
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
People often ask me how hackers actually get access to banks, government installations, and other sensitive archives. The answer often surprises them. While Hollywood would have you believe all hackers sit behind computers in dark rooms, typing in complex codes to crack NORAD’s security, the truth is very different. The most used weapon in a hacker’s arsenal is…the telephone.
You would be amazed how much information you can get out of a company simply by tricking the receptionist or unwitting employee. If you are reading this article, you have been social engineered at some point.
As an example, business owners have often been called by “the copier people” wanting to verify the model number on their copier. Soon after, the receptionist or office manager of that company gets a call saying “We just want to verify your toner order for your <model> copier.”
Most employees will assume a valid order was placed and “ok” the order. The company is then charged three times the normal price for that toner. That, my friends is social engineering.
Of course, social engineering can also be used for more nefarious purposes, like attaining social security numbers, credit cards, and other sensitive information. Be careful.
Always identify anyone asking for this type of information. As an added layer of security, you might also ask for a call-back number, hang up, and then call them back. Most hackers will hang-up the second you ask for that number.
Microsoft Excel Tip: Cool Undocumented Function
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010One of the coolest functions is also undocumented anywhere in Excel: the DateDif function. It is the MOST accurate way to compute the amount of time between two dates. Don’t search your Excel help files. You wont’ find it. Click here for an explanation.
Microsoft Word Tip: Autofit Tables
Monday, August 16th, 2010Creating tables can be difficult and confusing. However, Microsoft tries to help with the “autofit” option. First, build a table. Then, in Word 2003, pull down the Table menu and choose AutoFit. In Word 2007, it is more complicated. Click the Insert ribbon, choose Table. Then click the “layout” tab of the new “table tools” menu and choose Autofit. This little option makes fixing tables SO easy.
