Mozilla Recommends Bing Search Engine for Best Privacy »

When I saw the CNBC special ‘Inside the Mind of Google‘ I, like a lot of other people, was pretty surprised at Google’s statement about the privacy of users of its Search Engine:

If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines — including Google — do retain this information for some time…

O…..K. That is one way to answer the question, I… guess. Although that kind of elicits a surprised response similar to the dad that gets hit in the crotch when tossing a baseball for his kid’s batting practice.   (Google Bing it – its a hoot ).

Personally, I think it is slightly odd that Google would feel that way, especially when they don’t seem to respond the same way when the privacy tables are turned.

In a response, Mozilla is telling Firefox users to switch to Bing which is also surprising, since Mozilla has an agreement in place with Google through 2011.  I think that says a lot about how important Mozilla feels about privacy.

What Kind of Moron Would Shoot a Swan? »

This post is certainly not technology related, but I cannot help but wonder about the thought process of some people.

According to a report from Wilmington NC television station WECT, some residents are saying that hunters are shooting Swans in Hewlett’s Creek.  These Swans are the kind that children feed with bread crumbs, in some cases they will eat right out of your hand.  Shooting an animal like that is wrong on so many levels:

1. The animal does not fear humans and so cannot distinguish the threat.  So they are not really “hunting”, are they?
2. It is illegal to shoot animals in Wilmington City Limits.
3. It’s a Swan – it is not like they are killing a wild boar or a bear.  I suppose these guys need something that presents a little less of a challenge.

The residents that say they have witnessed Swans being shot also say that the hunters are covering up their boat numbers so that they cannot be identified.  Evidently, they know that what they are doing is wrong and would probably be embarrassed to get caught.

Hopefully, the residents will get some evidence on camera.

If you are one of the “hunters” who shoot animals as they innocently swim close to you, please leave a comment because there are lots of people who would love to see if you can create a complete sentence with your words .

North Carolina Man Steals Child’s Identity »

According to Alamance County Deputies, 44 year old Mebane, NC resident Michael John Maris stole the social security number and identity of a 3-year-old child.  He then used it to get natural gas service and a telephone.

Maris was charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one count of identity theft.  His bond has been set at $5,000.

The child’s grandmother, Linda Raker, was alerted to the problem when a collection agency contacted her requesting payment for the natural gas bill – which was in her granddaughter’s name.  That, of course, raised red flags (what child needs natural gas service, afterall ) and the grandmother notified the authorities.

It also seems that Mr. Maris is related to the grandmother, but the Sheriff did not disclose the exact nature of the relationship.

Identity theft is quickly becoming a serious epidemic.  In fact, the United States FBI website says that you cannot prevent the theft of your identity – yikes!  If you think you are a victim of identity theft, contact the authorities first and then follow these other steps

Unexpected Spammer »

We, like most blog owners, get TONS of spammy comments from bottom-feeders just looking to get an easy backlink. Every few days, I wade through all kinds of comments about pictures of some famous person or pills to enhance certain parts of my anatomy. Sometimes I chuckle at the spelling and sentence structure of these comments. Obviously, the comments are either 1) not originating from an English speaking country OR 2) the person leaving the comment IS from an English speaking country, but dropped out of school after 3rd grade.

However, today I received a spam comment from a web design company located in California. It seems that this particular web design company has either hired a spammer to flood blogs with spammy comments in hopes of getting some cheap backlinks to their site OR they lack the mental power to put an intelligent comment into words. Not sure which.

The sad part of this situation is not the fact that these guys/girls are resorting to spammy tactics to get the word out about their business; the sad part is that these guys/girls are in the business of getting other businesses on the Internet and would probably use these same techniques on their client’s sites (and their client’s would end up paying for it in the long run). Web design companies are entrusted with developing their client’s online image which can be seen by the entire world. So, if a web design company has to resort to these kinds of spammy tactics to get the word out about their own business, how much confidence can their clients have that they will be able to successfully market their business online?

This illustrates the importance of knowing with whom you are dealing because almost anyone can put up a web site these days, but that is only part of the Internet equation. How that site is presented and cared for after it is up and running is more important because it affects things long term. If your web design company does not take that into consideration, you might be paying for it later.

Windows Vista SP1 – Microsoft Still Going Backwards »

When is the last time you “upgraded” to the new and improved version of something and ended up with less functionality than you had with the old version? Probably when you purchased that new computer with Vista installed, right?

Well, just when life in Vista land was starting to get back to normal, Microsoft decided to stir the pot again.

According to a Microsoft Bulletin, upgrading your Vista Operating System to Vista SP1 could render some of the software you currently run either completely inoperable or allow it to run but with limited functionality.

If businesses were slow to upgrade to Vista before this latest news, they surely will drag their feet now.

It is no wonder that many of Microsoft’s partners are still offering Windows XP until June 30, 2008.