My Laserjet 6P 1998-2011, R.I.P.

Well, it's almost dead I assume, it still prints, but it is obviously on it's last legs.  I typically tell people that the best printer to buy are laser printers.  They have better quality, are cheaper over the long haul and more importantly, good ones last seemingly forever.  My poster child for this claim is dying on me.  I love this printer so much it pains me to take it out.  Anyway, get yourself a good laser printer and you will be so happy.  Just beware of the government....

Are you aware that all color laser printers print a secret code in the background when you print anything that is not text?  The code is a series of yellow dots in the background.  This was never really a complete secret, but has made the mainstream press now.  The secret code is courtesy of the federal government and the secret service desire to track down those who counterfeit money.  New printers have stunning capabilities, a trait not lost on counterfeiters or the government.  As a result, printer manufacturers have put in the secret code that allows the government to track down the printer down to the owner.   For more information check out the article from PCWorld.

Good Parental Control for your Kids, help the Red Cross at the same time

One of the better parental control programs is available for $1 for a limited time only.  AVG's Family Safety is a full feature parental control suite for up to 3 PC's.  You can have individual settings for each of your children with the ability to monitor their online activities.  It will tell you all of the terms that they have searched, programs used, logs of chat and IM sessions and much more.  Normally there is a $20 annual subscription fee, but there is currently a charity promotion.  The program is .99 for a limited time only and that fee goes directly to the American Red Cross. 

Of note, another great parental control program is K9 Web Protection.  It's free, yes free

Do you want your Office 2003 menu bar back?

If you use Office 2007 or 2010, you may miss the old menu bar from Office 2003 and earlier.  Well, they haven't disappeared.  Microsoft would like to make them disappear, but they still exist thanks to several third party application authors.  The simplest is from Ubit Software.  Install the add-on and your Office programs will have a new ribbon tab.  This tab will consist of all the old menus from Office 2003.  Enjoy the new Office with the old interface, the best of both worlds.  Get it here.

$50 price cut for the iPhone....until June 30th and only at Wal-mart

Walmart has announced a price cut for the iPhone 4, black and white versions, from $197 to $147 until June 30th.  Of course, you will have to sign a new two year contract, but if you were thinking of making the jump or switch, now is the time.  The offer is not good online, you will have to go to a store to get it.

How many people have your exact name? Find out!

Cool website to talk about called Howmanyofme.com.  It's quite simple, enter your name into the search box and the site will tell you how many people in America have your exact name.  It will also tell you how many people have your first name and last name too.  My name is quite popular, but there are only 7 other people out there who have my wife's name, although she is one of a kind to me, lol...

Sony hacked again...and why the bad guys keep winning this battle

Let's see, Sony was hacked about two months ago, was down for almost a month.   They potentially face millions, if not billions in lawsuits as a result.  They just got their system "fixed" and up and running and now it's been hacked AGAIN.  Seems somebody really doesnt like Sony or that their security is really, really bad.  Regardless, there have been a slew of data breaches over the past couple of months and you probably ask yourself, "how does this keep happening?"  The answers are many.  I found this article from Michael Horowitz from Computerworld that details many of the problems that make all this possible for hackers.  I'll just let you read it because the list is extensive.  Oh, I hope you don't have a Sony account...