The experts over at G Squared Computing just put an excellent article about malware up on their blog

THERE ARE TWO VERY COMMON APPLICATIONS THAT ARE EXPLOITED TO INSTALL MALWARE; ADOBE ACROBAT AND ADOBE FLASH

I recently purchased a Kindle Fire, which is awesome by the way.  But one thing I realized was that for some bizarre reason you can have two Amazon accounts associated with the same email address if they have different passwords. 

This is a rather quirky and slightly disturbing fact about Amazon.  This has caused me confusion for quite some time.  I have had my Android phone for some time connected to one amazon account and to my amazement my Kindle Fire to another completely separate account with the same exact email address but a different password.  The apps, magazines and videos I have purchased on my phone should be syncing to my new Kindle Fire but they were not due to the fact that I was using two completely separate accounts with the same email address.  Why on earth Amazon would allow such a confusing thing to happen is beyond me.  And when I asked support to combine the accounts into one this was their response:

“I’m unable to combine account information into a single account or merge your accounts due to technical limitations in our systems. “

Technical Limitations?  Why have this be a possibility in the first place?

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

San Diego Computer IT Support:Beanstalk Computing Receives 2011 San Diego Award

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

NEW YORK, NY, October 18, 2011 — San Diego Computer IT Support:Beanstalk Computing has been selected for the 2011 San Diego Award in the Computer Servers category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2011 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association
CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@uscaaward.com
URL: http://www.uscaaward.com

Microsoft has recently released Windows Phone 7.5 and will soon be releasing Windows 8.  Both use the same type of interface so your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop computers will all run a new interface and all run new apps called Metro apps.

Now that Microsoft has bought Nokia, researched are predicting Microsoft will be number two in phones behind Google and beating what will become the number three player, Apple.  I think that Blackberry is going down and WebOS is dead, leaving just those three left.

Paul Thurrotte is a well respecting blogger in the Windows community with his SuperSite for Windows and has this to say about Windows Phone:

“Windows Phone is the most useful, usable, and innovative smart phone platform available. It’s nicer than the old-fashioned "whack a mole" iPhone user interface, which forces you to jump in and out of individual apps over and over again, like we used to do in MS-DOS. And don’t get me started on Android: Google hasn’t found an interface that’s not worth stealing, and Android is a patchwork of inconsistent yet vaguely familiar user interfaces. It makes me feel dirty just using it.”

And finally, Microsoft has release a first of many videos showcasing Windows 8 as below:

Today Beanstalk Computing announces a partnership with Datto and now offers our clients a premium disaster recover solution.

Beanstalk Computing can now provide true business continuity, eliminating downtime on your business’s network.  When your server goes down, we can have you up and running in seconds with instant virtualization.  When disaster strikes, every second counts.  Taking days to recover information and get computer systems up and running translates into money lost – and likely, the end of your business.  With Beanstalk Computing’s backup solution, your company can be back up and running in just seconds.

This is the only backup and disaster recover solution that offers instant on and off site virtualization, backup verification and true business continuity.

Call Beanstalk Computing today for a free 30 day trial of our newest and most powerful backup and disaster recover solution at 800-813-0926

Back in the day, it all started with the IBM Model M Keyboard.  These keyboards were built so well many of them are still used today, while the computers and monitors of the day are obsolete.

Most computers these days come with a freebee dome-switch keyboard and I have been typing on these most of my life.  They are inexpensive to make and pretty much everyone on earth types on one of these things.

I am typing on my new mechanical switch keyboard.  Based on technology from 1984, these keyboards use real switches underneath each and every key.  Most modern mechanical switches are made by a company called Cherry Corporation out of Germany.

A mechanical switch keyboard reminds me of the keyboard I grew up with in the 80’s on my dad’s IBM computer.  It is very comfortable to type on and has a satisfying click when the key is depressed but be warned, these keyboards tend to be loud and should not be used in an office environment as demonstrated in this video.

I chose the Razer BlackWidow keyboard because of its excellent review on Newegg TV as shown below.  For a review of 8 other high end keyboards check out MaximumPC.com article here

Finally, after launching in Europe almost three years ago, Spotify launches in the US.  What is Spotify?  It is a free (or paid premium) music service that combines the best of Pandora, Google music, rhapsody and amazon into one service.  As or right now, you have to sign up to be on the waiting list for a free account or you can pay $4.99 and up to get started immediately.  Click here for more info.

From NYDailyNews.com: http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_guide/2011/07/15/2011-07-15_netflix_nintendo_bringing_movies__and_eventually_3d_flicks__to_3ds.html

Maybe that standalone streaming Netflix subscription won’t be completely overpriced after all. At least if you own a Nintendo 3DS.

On Thursday morning, Nintendo and Netflix announced a new partnership to bring streaming movies to Nintendo’s fledgling 3DS console, a move that seems like a boon to both companies, and means that you will eventually be able to watch 3D movies on the go.

"Nintendo is a terrific partner with Netflix," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a statement. "We’re excited to extend the partnership to include streaming on Nintendo 3DS."

The announcement comes just days after Netflix unveiled a new subscription plan that will charge separate $7.99-a-month prices for DVD-by-mail and streaming services, essentially a 60% price hike from the company’s old all-encompassing $9.99 plan.

Yes, that meant plenty of badwill (who wanted to pay more money, really?), but the extension to 3DS consoles could bring a little bit of good. Netflix draws 1.5 million users a day on the Nintendo Wii, so both companies have already experienced success.

A free downloadable Netlix app is now available in Nintendo’s eShop to make this all happen. The program will launch with a basic library of Netflix offerings, but Nintendo said in a statement that customers would "soon have access to an additional library of select movies that can be viewed in 3D without the need for special glasses."

That effectively brings a whole new level of content to Netflix’s streaming services while simultaneously revitalizing the 3DS market. Sales for Nintendo’s newest portable have been less-than-stellar, but on-the-go 3D movie content could easily inject life into the market, possibly drawing movie fans who are not even into gaming.

The 3DS has already shown itself capable of presenting quality 3D movies; a "Green Lantern" trailer was available for download about a month ago, and a "Yogi Bear 3D" trailer shined at a few pre-release events.

"The new Netflix application looks great, plays great and is a fantastic consumer experience," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. ". . . Nintendo 3DS truly offers something for everyone."

Nifty, right? Just keep a few things in mind that you’ll need WiFi access to enjoy all that streaming content (forget your underground subway commute), and you’ll need to fork over that $7.99 a month.

Back in the days, with Windows Vista, you would get one disk that would install all four versions of Vista such as Home Edition, Business Edition, Etc.  With Windows 7, you now need to carry 9 different DVD’s as there are five 32 bit editions and four 64 bit editions as well.  Now with a special utility that removes one file from the disk image you can hark back to the days when you could install any version of Windows from one 32-bit and one 64-bit disk so you only need to carry two disks instead of 10.  The utility that removes the ei.cfg file, the single file on the disk that needs to be removed to unlock its potential, can be found here.  Note that you have to have a .ISO file image of the disk and can not edit on the disk directly.  To create a .ISO file from your existing disk I recommend Magic ISO Maker.

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