Virus disguised as MSN Messenger beta

Post ImageIf you’re like me and you don’t mind installing a beta or two to check out new software, you might want to be careful about trying to install a beta for MSN Messenger 8:

A virus masquerading as a new beta version of Microsoft’s MSN Messenger has begun circulating, antivirus company F-Secure said on its blog Tuesday.

The virus, which F-Secure calls Virkel.F, comes as a file called BETA8WEBINSTALL.EXE that can be downloaded from a Web site. Running the program installs not a new MSN Messenger beta, but rather a virus that sends download links to a computer user’s MSN Messenger buddies. The virus falsely labels the link as “MSN Messenger 8 Working BETA.”

Of course, the filename may be something different so don’t watch only for that one. Nothing like a good virus for the holidays, eh?

Read: CNET News.com

2005 – Year in Review

Post ImageThe year 2005 is almost over, so I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the past year through the eyes of my blog. Here is a selection of some interesting posts on my blog from each of the last twelve months:

There you have it! There’s lots more “2005 in review” lists and posts out there. Here are some of the ones I found interesting:

Definitely check out that last link…it’ll keep you busy for a while!

New Feed Icon

Post ImageYou might have read lately that Microsoft and Mozilla have decided to standardize their icons for feeds on the one used in Firefox. The Microsoft RSS Team reported they would adopt the Firefox icon a couple weeks ago:

We’ll be using the icon in the IE7 command bar whenever a page has a feed associated with it, and we’ll also use it in other places in the browser whenever we need a visual to represent RSS and feeds.

The Outlook 12 team has announced they’ll be using the same icon. Great news!

I think it is great news indeed! A standard icon will go a long way towards making web feeds even more mainstream, especially since I would expect many other companies to now adopt the icon as well. I have added the icon to my website, which you’ll see on the black bar above, next to the web feed icon. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll get rid of the web feed icon or keep it. I guess the new icon is really the “web feed icon” now!

The new icon is a departure from the RSS or XML icons, which is very good. Here’s what I wrote in August:

There’s some really simple reasons that we should be calling them web feeds. When you ask your friend or co-worker about something on the Internet, do you talk about visiting an “HTML page” or a “web page”? Does your web browser (not “HTML page browser”) load up “HTML pages” or “web pages”? Clearly, you talk about web pages, and that’s what your browser loads. There are three very good reasons we use the term web pages…For the very same reasons, we should be using web feeds, not RSS feeds.

Now that the graphic no longer says “rss” or “xml” or any word or acronym at all, I think it will become much easier to adopt the name “web feed”. And yes, we still need a name you can say in words, just like Prince was still called Prince after he adopted an icon to represent himself!

Xbox 360 on HDTV

Post ImageMy brother gave me King Kong the game for Xbox 360 for Christmas, so we hooked it all up to my Dad’s high definition TV and tried it out. And then we played Halo 2 as well, just to see what it was like on the HDTV. Everything you might have heard about the Xbox 360 needing an HDTV, is pretty much true.

Xbox 360 on HDTV is HARDCORE!

The minute you turn the system on, you see the difference. Even the dashboard is much, much better looking on the HDTV. King Kong, while being a relatively dark game, was pretty intense. Even Halo 2 looks much better on the 360 with HDTV than a normal TV on either the 360 or original Xbox.

I really want an HDTV now!

Twelve Hours to Inuvik

Tom and I left Edmonton at 10 AM yesterday morning, as scheduled. We got to the airport relatively early, watched the sports news while we waited, and everything was going good. When we gave the people at the gate our boarding passes, we were told that our flight was “green stickered” for Inuvik, which meant that we were landing subject to weather. The last time my Mom flew, she had the same thing happen. In fifteen years of flying to and from Inuvik, I don’t ever recall a plane not being able to land.

We arrived in Yellowknife on time, the only stop between Edmonton and Inuvik, and we had to get off the plane. Tom seemed to think that was weird, saying usually we’re allowed to stay on the plane while they add some cargo and take some off, and get any new passengers. So we got off the plane, and it wasn’t very long before we were informed that our flight had been canceled due to poor weather in Inuvik. They told us the runway was in poor condition, and it was extremely foggy. Then we found out we’d be able to fly out of Yellowknife at 9:45 PM, almost 8 hours after we should have landed in Inuvik.

So Tom and I spent from noon yesterday until around 10:15 PM when the flight finally left in the Yellowknife airport, some pictures of which are here. You might think that’s not so bad, but with no Internet, only a few power outlets, no coffee shops or restaurants except for one that is mostly a bar, and absolutely no TV’s, people, or anything really, it was kind of dumb. Tom played FIFA 06 on his laptop while I tracked down open network ports and tried to get online. Throughout our time in the airport, we started to find out more and more about our canceled flight, from other people who came and went, and from my parents on the phone.

We were on First Air, and the other airline that flys to Inuvik is Canadian North. We found out that Canadian North landed in Inuvik at 2:30 PM, and hour later than scheduled, but only 15 minutes after our flight was supposed to land. So clearly, weather in Inuvik was not an issue. After we got to Inuvik at midnight, it became clear that First Air knew all along we wouldn’t be landing in the afternoon, and the weather excuse was exactly that, an excuse. Needless to say, I was not amused.

Anyway, I am in Inuvik now, finally. I don’t remember it being so dry here, but I keep shocking myself everywhere! There is so much snow it’s insane. Not as cold as it could be, but still cold. I haven’t really been anywhere in town yet, but already I have seen so much different. Lots of new hotels for the pipeline project. In fact, there are about 350 hotels room in a town of only 3000 people – insanity. More later!

Off to Inuvik

Tom and I are sitting in the Edmonton Airport, getting ready for our flight to Inuvik which leaves just after 10 AM. There are two wireless networks here, one costs money and one is free. Makes you wonder why they have the paid one!

I will be in Inuvik until January 2nd, so the best way to get a hold of me will be with email, but you can also look for me on MSN using my “other” account – mack@mastermaq.ca. I’ll be posting normally too, so feel free to leave a comment 😉

Happy Holidays!

DivorceKevin.com

Post ImageIt doesn’t matter whether you like Britney Spears or not, this website is very amusing! And I suppose not that surprising, given how popular Ms. Spears is, even when she doesn’t do anything. From the DivorceKevin.com introduction (via orangebuffalo):

Britney you got us good!! You really had us going!! Where is Ashton, because we have obviously all been PUNKED!

Welcome to the home of the Anti-Kevin movement. Are you sick of seeing the train wreck that is Britney and Kevin? Sign the K-Fed Up Petition, grab your Divorce Kevin gear™ and help Britney remove the boil that is Kevin from herself and her payroll!

Yes, some good fun to be had on that site indeed. Their gear is pretty funny too – I like the shirt that says “Oops, I did it with him?”

Read: DivorceKevin.com

Starbucks vs. Second Cup at Christmas

Post ImageAs a self-described caffeine addict, I end up spending a lot of money on drinks at Christmas from Starbucks and Second Cup. When I need a good fix, I usually just have my Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks, but when it’s Christmas I tend to have a lot of lattes (and I guess, less caffeine). I realize that Starbucks vs. Second Cup is nothing like Coke vs. Pepsi, but it’s interesting nonetheless. My Grandma, for example, prefers Second Cup while I prefer Starbucks – but what about at Christmas? Here’s a quick comparison:

  • In terms of the cups, I think Second Cup wins. I really like the red cup at Starbucks, but the Second Cup one looks so much more festive (and more colorful!). I also like that they make the cardboard sleeve pink too. That being said, Starbucks has the much better marketing campaign! Check out http://www.theredcup.com.
  • My favorite drink of all is definitely the Eggnog Latte at Starbucks. Unfortunately there is nothing similar at Second Cup.
  • Both shops have a Gingerbread Latte, but I think the Second Cup version tastes much better.
  • The Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks and the Candycane Latte at Second Cup are somewhat similar, but I much prefer the Peppermint Mocha.
  • I don’t buy hot chocolate, so I am not sure how their respective holiday versions stack up!

What’s your favorite? Any other coffee houses with good Christmas offerings?

2005 Google Zeitgeist

Post ImageTis the season for year end lists and reflection on the year 2005. Darren has a pretty good collection of lists, but I particularly like Google’s Zeitgeist. Here’s what it’s all about:

It turns out that looking at the aggregation of billions of search queries people type into Google reveals something about our curiosity, our thirst for news, and perhaps even our desires. Considering all that has occurred in 2005, we thought it would be interesting to study just a few of the significant events, and names that make this a memorable year. (We’ll leave it to the historians to determine which ones are lasting and which ephemeral.) We hope you enjoy this selective view of our collective year.

This year’s zeitgeist appears to be much better organized than in previous years. Britney Spears was popular once again, while “weapons of mass destruction” fell quite drastically. Podcasting still lags behind both ipod and mp3, and judging by the graph Google provides, it doesn’t appear to be growing very fast either. Looks like 2006 has lots of room for improvement!

Read: Google Zeitgeist