Randy’s random musings

I downloaded the new Firefox beta a few days ago, and I’ve been using it as my primary browser since then. I have to say, I’m impressed! I’m using it on Mac OS X, and it seems to “fit” a lot better than before. Speed seems to be the primary improvement here–not only do pages seem to display faster, but my machine feels more responsive overall!

The biggest downside to using this release currently is the lack of add-on support. Eventually, add-ons like DownThemAll and ForecastFox will be tested with the new version, and released. But for now, I’m missing them…

I’ve already been using OpenDNS for quite a while, after realizing that most of my Internet losses of connectivity were, in fact, failures of my ISP’s DNS servers. Recently, however, I was searching for a simple, free, effective porn blocker/web filter for a friend of mine with young children, and I was surprised to learn that OpenDNS had begun offering such a service!

Implementation is relatively simple, assuming you have a static IP: (Dynamic is a bit messier, but still possible) All you have to do is create an account, and associate your IP address with the account. Then go to the dashboard, click “Block Adult Sites”, then choose which types of site to block. Done!

I can think of about 10 different ways to get around such a block, but I suppose a block/filter like this is sort of like locks on doors: to keep honest people honest. It won’t be a substitute for parents actually watching their kids, but another tool for the belt.

Over the past month, I’ve had the decidedly unpleasant task of returning three out of four 500 gig Samsung hard disk drives (HD501LJ models) for RMA replacement. One had just been purchased from Newegg, and the others were a few months older, meaning I’d have to return them to Samsung for replacement.

Two of the failed drives had a “smoked” component on the circuit board, near the power connector. I’m not certain if the drives were defective, or if my computer’s power supply may have been to blame. However, the third drive had a read error that caused me to lose data, and didn’t show up until I’d been using it for a few months. A surface scan with one of the hard drive diagnostics included on the Ultimate Boot CD indicated hundreds of bad sectors that were unrepairable. (more…)

I’ve had occasion to contact Newegg’s customer service twice recently, and was impressed both times.

The first time, I had purchased a Samsung hard drive that was dead on arrival. I didn’t even have to call Newegg. A few clicks on their website, and voila! A few minutes later I had my RMA number in my email inbox. I sent the package back, and a few days later, received an email from them stating that they’d received it, and the next day they emailed me a tracking number for the replacement item! Smooth like butter…

Today I had to call them about an order placed yesterday. I requested FedEx overnight shipping (due to my loathing of UPS), and was notified at 1pm that FedEx overnight service wasn’t available to my address! I had also requested (and paid for) rush processing on this order, by the way. They didn’t even bother to call!

Well, I called them up to give them a piece of my mind, and not only did they apologize for not calling, they even offered to pay for the UPS overnight shipping charges! I still ended up with my item a day late, but somehow, I’m not too upset anymore.

Even though they aren’t perfect, they really seem to care about keeping their customers happy, and as long as they keep it up, I’ll be a loyal customer.

My wife just told me about a “sneaky” phishing email she just received. I took a look at it, and it’s a phishing website that is collecting banking login names, passwords, as well as ATM card information. I took a minute to report it to the bank being spoofed, Heritage Bank. They already knew about it, but said their computer people were “out to lunch”. I took the liberty of checking DNS records to see who was hosting the website, and lo-and-behold, it was Yahoo! (more…)

A few days ago, I wooted a GPS Navigation system. Living in Texas means, unfortunately, that I have to pay taxes on my woots, since they’re based in Texas, too. But it has its advantages! It looks like I was among the first to receive my unit, and I started playing around with it this morning.

First impression is that it feels a bit cheap. I’ve had the opportunity to use a TomTom One, which is a very similar unit, and the TomTom unit just feels better built, more solid. After taking the Evesham unit for a test drive, I’ve discovered that it has other shortcomings… Read more for my short review, and instructions for TomTom installation. (more…)

For almost two years now, I’ve been using VOIP telephone technology for my home phone. At first, it was through the local cable company, Grande. We got a small discount, since it was part of a package for cable TV, internet, and telephone service.

But then, I heard of Vonage, and loved the idea that if we moved, taking our home phone service with us was as simple as carrying a small adapter and plugging it in at the new location! And being in the military, we figured we’d be moving at least a few more times. If you’re not familiar with VOIP telephony, basically it gives you standard telephone service, using the normal telephones you’re used to, but the signal goes over the internet instead of the phone company’s wires. (which is the only downfall: if you lose internet connectivity or electricty, your telephone no workie, either! Better have a cell phone as a backup!!)

Sure enough, it worked out great! We were temporarily accommodated at a hotel, and later a furnished, weekly rate studio apartment, and were able to keep our home phone service with us as each location. The price wasn’t bad, either: $24.99 per month for unlimited nation-wide long distance service (with Caller ID), and they even have free calls to certain foreign countries! (more…)

I’ve been using Mozilla Firefox since the early beta days. I remember how exciting it was to have a trimmed-down, lightweight browser that worked well on the old, slow laptop I had at the time. Once I got used to tabs and plug-ins like AdBlock, there was no going back!

Firefox has had its share of security concerns, but nothing like Internet Explorer! It’s hard to imagine all the pain and frustration felt around the world, due to the mass of computers “owned” (taken over) by spyware. The vast majority of those “owned” computers have been taken over because the user did something as simple as navigate to the wrong web site using Internet Explorer. The newest Internet Explorer has improved in every aspect, but you can take Firefox away from me when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.