**This article is funny, sarcastic and educational. Those of you with Sidekicks who wonder where your contacts went should read definitely read it. Anyone else who doesn't quite realise the value of the term 'backup' also needs to partake of this.

Nik Cubrilovic
TechCrunch.com
Washington Post
Saturday, October 10, 2009

The big story today is about Microsoft subsidiary Danger losing all T-Mobile Sidekick customer data from their servers. Danger is the company noted for the T-Mobile Sidekick, the revolution in cloud mobile, and most memorably, almost everybody living in 90210 having to get new phone numbers because of Paris Hilton. Valued T-Mobile Sidekick customers received a notice today from the company updating them on the "data disruption" problem. The good news is that data is no longer being disrupted. The bad news is that there is no data left to be disrupted.

This latest large-scale publicized data loss will surely lead to managers everywhere forwarding a link to the story to their IT departments asking "what are we doing so that this doesn't happen to us." It will lead to the issue of data loss and backups being written about ad naseum by technology pundits. Research companies will rub their hands together as they prepare new 80 page whitepapers with titles such as "How Companies Who Pay Us Money Can Prevent Your Data Being Lost" (complete with FDA "may cause drowsiness" warning label on the cover). Consultants will flock to their customers, pat them on the head, and reassure them that everything is ok because their project specification powerpoint shows that they included two of everything (and charged for it).

Backups are a hard sell. Most of us don't want to think about things going wrong (or put more colloquially, shit hitting the fan). Spending your Saturday afternoon staring at a progress meter that seems to be moving backwards is the polar opposite of fun. If there was a brainwave study of people in the process of backing up data, it would probably show no activity at all (but they could use the results to help calibrate the machines). Furthering the point of no interest, Google trends shows that while the volume of news stories about backups and data loss is increasing over time, volume from people searching about it is proportionately decreasing. We are only shaken out of this slumber briefly when there is an incident such as the one at Danger this week.

Like the death of a celebrity from a drug overdose, publicized data loss incidents remind us that we should probably do something about taking better care of our data. But we usually don't, because we quickly remind ourselves that backups are boring as hell, and that it's shark week on Discovery. Our previously well thought out backup and recovery plans are expunged as we scan the perimeter of the clinic for the shortest fence to jump over and bolt back to freedom.

Those who are organized and backup their data usually discover the later, larger, part of the problem -- restoring from a backup: Where did I put the backup? It's an old copy. That file I was just working on isn't there. It was never actually backing up. No software I use can read this stupid fucking format, etc. For most of us, by backing up, we are only setting ourselves up for a bigger failure down the road. ( >>Continued )

I just got the weirdest email written by someone who SEEMS to speak English, but I dun understand it. He is talking about death and blood and a bunch of other berserk stuff, but he mentions God several times. I have NO clue what he is going on about and there is NO way I am following the link he left at the end where he says:

This video recordings and instant death, and many wonder what you see and what I feel I have created this space their own information page I have written. Please see there, you will not believe.

Also you will help me, this article explain to my friend and amazing miracles. Send to other sites... everyone but everyone should know this... please let's unite.

Gumeç.

Uh, NO! I make it a point never to go to places where they are talking about instant death!

And of course, he has put it on msn's spaces.live.com --->The PERFECT place for bullshit.

Tonight I was reviewing my Facebook applications, and I realised that I had many on that I was not so fond of or didna see the value of keeping, and it reminded me of why I used to not like Facebook, so I have deleted some things. I came over here primarily to keep in touch with former friends and because Hashi invited me to play Farmville.

I love playing FarmVille because something about planting and plowing and watching the seeds grow and harvesting the crops is very satisfying even though it's just a flash game. I like my wee animals and pretty trees and being able to help my neighbours. My one problem is that I need more land and dun have it.

This evening I got a note that said my kitty Bebbe had to pee on the floor because I had no litter pan. Well ffs! Anyone who knows me, knows that is ridiculous, so Bebbe has been LIBERATED from the 'My Kitty' programme and now resides undercover on my farm!

But come and join me if you have one. :)

Oonagh O'Cinnsealach | Create your badge

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner
Friday, August 28, 2009

http://translate.google.com

IRISH speakers can finally use the internet to find and view search results on foreign language websites in their native tongue.

Yesterday, internet search engine giant Google announced the launch of a full suite of translation tools "as Gaeilge".

The service can be used to translate specific web pages or text, as well as search English web pages using Irish keywords, and have the results translated from any of 51 other languages into Irish.

The company cited an example whereby an Irish-speaking internet user is planning an African safari tour.

The Google translation tool allows users to have web results about safari tour companies in English, French or another language translated back into Irish in just a fraction of a second.

Users can also paste text or an URL for a particular web page in any of the 51 supported languages and receive a translation in Irish almost immediately via Google Translate.

Director of product management at Google, Tom Stocky, said the tool was about allowing access to information in all languages.

"At Google we believe that the internet is about enabling access to the world’s information, in all of its languages."

"Today’s launch of Google Translate in nine new languages makes it easier to access web content from all over the web, even when it is written in a language that is not your own," he said.

The company said that, while machine translation "isn’t perfect", it was a great tool for anyone looking to access and get an overview of information in languages he or she doesn’t know well. In addition, Google also provides users the ability to suggest a better translation if they encounter a translation that’s awkward or not quite right.

The company will use this feedback to help improve translation quality in updates to the system.

Seriously, I dun know of any other internet entity that is as helpful and wide-ranging as Google. In this day of never getting something for nothing, Google turns it around and gives you everything for free.

Today I was making individualised search engines for each of my sites. Then I designed my own theme for my iGoogle page and added all my search engines to it. I played with my Google calendar and found out I could do a lot of things with it too. I use their translator to read and communicate in other languages. I use Picasa to see all my photos in a big slideshow.

I have a Google-designed website that Google hosts, photo albums that are online that Google takes care of, a space to store documents and notes, and a blogging service.

I depend on my Gmail for my everyday heavy correspondence, and I never have to worry about deleting things or going over my storage quota.

Of course, Google search is invaluable. I understand that Google also has a lot of other things I havena even tried out yet, like managing your health records online.

I suppose some might say that this all means that we depend too much on one entity for all our needs. This may be, but at least Google knows how to deliver--unlike the government, for example. Or my employer. Or the medical establishment.

Perhaps we should let Google run the country. :D


Image

'Microsoft is investigating a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Video ActiveX Control. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. When using Internet Explorer, code execution is remote and may not require any user intervention.'

Please read this security advisory: Microsoft Security Advisory (972890)

Then go to this page for the fix: Microsoft Support

I chose the 'FIX IT FOR ME' link, which will then say 'ENABLE WORKAROUND.'

You download a small programme and install it, and then you are fixxored. :)

Many thousands of images I have posted on this and various other sites are hosted at Imageshack. I started with Imageshack. For quite some time, I have used Tinypic. But Imageshack has been hacked and the images are being redirected to a barely coherent 'manifesto' of the idiot hackers.

I do not know if the images will return. If you are researching the archive and see the hacker's mess rather than the image you expect, please know I am very unhappy about this.

It is my opinion that if you must hack something, you should choose an entity that deserves it, not one which has spent years offering valuable free services to its users.

As seen on Alterslash.org

'Note to developers: It appears that if you make your application as silly and insanely annoying as humanly possible, people will use it and continuously send me messages with it. While you might make money doing this, I have spoken to God and you will in fact be going to hell.'

FBML Essentials - Excerpt from chapter one

Chapter One: Naming Your Application.

In order to gain rapid popularity your application’s title must be as insipid and uninspiring as possible. Prefably choose something with a ridiculously inaccurate adjective such as “amazing”, “super”, or “w1cked”, and follow that with a descriptive synonym that maps your application to a real world equivalent; this will inevitably be “wall”.