I tried to wind my way through “H&R Block at Home Free Edition” but gave up when it kept asking inappropriate (and unanswerable) questions about my business and hobby. And it kept pissing me off how it would ask questions in a wonky order (IE for the sale of stock, it first asks about the sale on one page, then when I bought the stock, then another detail about about the sale on a third page) I tried Free Tax USA at random off the IRS website and I liked it a lot . I’ll definitely try it again next year.
Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010 Passes House – VoIP Covered Too
The House passed the ” Truth in Caller ID Act of 2010 “, which under the bill, it makes it illegal “to cause any caller ID service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, with the intent to defraud and deceive.” According to the bill, “To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit manipulation of caller identification information, and for other purposes”. That’s funny, I didn’t think they had Caller ID way back in 1934? The bill states, “It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States, in connection with any real time voice communications service, regardless of the technology or network utilized , to cause any caller ID service to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, with the intent to defraud or deceive.” So as shown in bold, VoIP is covered as well.
George Hotz, aka Geohot has done it again – an iPad jailbreak! Geohot released an image (above) showing his jailbreak tool blackra1n on the home screen of his iPad. I’m a huge fan of Geohot since I used his blackra1n tool to jailbreak my iPhone to get glorious Categories, background apps/multi-tasking, theming, and all the other joys that come with jailbreaking.
There’s gonna be a Neumann Prep Reunion June 26th. I might attend… haven’t made up my mind yet. For more details, get on the Neumann Prep Reunion Facebook Group ————————————————– Wendy ParkerApril 5, 2010 at 5:52pm Subject: Invite Your Host: The Neumann Prepsters Host’s Message: Seriously, this event is gonna be AWESOME.
Went to the Switchboard Music Festival last weekend. Super fun! My favorites include: Strike Gently, Kate Campbell and Regina Schaffer playing solo piano pieces Teslim – not entirely my style of music but they can really play! Sabbaticus Rex – with their animus connections to their musical instruments. Zoe Keating – She’s becoming one of my musical heros.
A few days ago I needed to grab some lunch before teaching at the Crucible. I thought “Hmm, I could pay $5 for a sandwich at Subway or… hey what about those McDonalds Dollar Menu McDouble Cheeseburgers? Certainly 5 double cheeseburgers is more food than just 1 Subway Sandwich.” Dearest reader, I’m sure you know how this ended
I Just Wanted To Say Good Luck… We’re All Counting On You: Woot Weads The Wire
Every week in this space, we’ll take a look at the news and offer our own incisive blend of commentary, analysis, and poop jokes. The news you need, from a voice you can trust, in the 90 seconds you have to spare: that’s Woot Weads the Wire. PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif.
The Colonoscopy Song – March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Peter Yarrow of the musical group Peter, Paul and Mary appeared on the CBS Early Show to sing a song he composed about his own colonoscopy: In the video below , Dr. Paul Limburg, a Mayo Clinic Gastroenterologist, provides background on colorectal cancer and the screening methods: Posted at Clinical Cases and Images .
Opinion: Apple’s Mac Mini server ideal for small office
Although not big on size or raw computing power, the Mac Mini has always had at least enough power to meet the needs of less-than-demanding environments. That’s why Computerworld’s Ryan Faas was immediately taken with Apple’s decision last fall to launch the Mac Mini server configuration
Debit Card Fraud – No Wonder They Get Away With It – Banks are Clueless!
I’m a busy guy, so sometimes I don’t check my bank statement and debit purchases for a couple of months. Well, today I see a strange debit charge for $146.25 made on 1/12/2010 – over 2 months ago.
Cool New Microsoft 720p LifeCams with TrueColor Technology
Microsoft today announced TrueColor Technology which they claim enhances the color and brightness of webcam video in the worst of lighting conditions. True Color Technology is a new image processing technology that automatically adjusts the picture quality to provide more colorful video. It does this through a proprietary combination of software and firmware technology
Geo-medicine: Your health may depends on where you live
Where you live: It impacts your health as much as diet and genes do, but it’s not part of your medical records. At TEDMED, Bill Davenhall shows how overlooked government geo-data (from local heart-attack rates to toxic dumpsite info) can mesh with mobile GPS apps to keep doctors in the loop
AudioCodes SPS Brings Microsoft OCS Features to Legacy SIP Phones
Some very interesting news from AudioCodes with the launch of AudioCodes’ SIP Phone Support (SPS) for Microsoft Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS). AudioCodes is well known for their VoIP gateway products – well think of SPS as a gateway between SIP IP phones and Microsoft OCS
Believe It Or Whatever When researchers tracked down these two Omron HJ-002 Step Pedometers years after they’d been adopted by separate families, they were amazed at what they found. After being raised thousands of miles apart in completely different socio-economic circumstances, the adult twin pedometers were… not really all that much alike.
I tested and reviewed IceWarp Server 10 for TMC’s Unified Communications Magazine , which will be published very soon. I was very impressed with the product and thought I’d share my test results here. Check it out…
David Beckham suffered ‘total rupture’ of Achilles tendon
From CNN : The Finnish orthopedic surgeon who operated on Beckham for 50 minutes on March 15 said the injury was a total rupture of Beckham’s left Achilles tendon.
Monoclonal antibodies against C. difficile toxins reduce recurrence of the infection
New therapies are needed to manage the increasing incidence, severity, and high rate of recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 2 neutralizing, fully human monoclonal antibodies against C
Covad Nationwide Ethernet Service Launches on Tax Day
Covad Communications , which has been testing their Ethernet service, announced today the launch date for nationwide Ethernet services – namely April 15th (aka Tax Day, “Pay the Man Day”, etc). I almost went with Covad’s solution when TMC moved to our new headquarters , but decided to go with Optimum Lightpath instead ($2500/month for bundled 45Mbps data + voice). In any event, according to Patrick Bennett, President and CEO of Covad, “What will differentiate this product in the market are the integrated QoS and CoS options that give our partners immense flexibility in optimizing network performance based on their application requirements.” Covad designed these services to run business-class, real-time applications like Voice over IP, video, gaming, VPNs and video conferencing through multiple traffic-handling options via Quality of Service (QoS) and Class of Service (CoS), and are backed by Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Emphysema and Airflow Obstruction Associated with Impaired Left Ventricular Filling
Very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes cor pulmonale – elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and secondary reductions in left ventricular filling, stroke volume, and cardiac output. The authors of this NEJM study hypothesized that emphysema, as detected on computed tomography (CT), and airflow obstruction are inversely related to left ventricular end-diastolic volume, stroke volume, and cardiac output among persons without very severe lung disease . Of the study participants, 13% were current smokers, 38% were former smokers, and 49% had never smoked
HP 2.2GHz Slimline Computer with Windows 7 Home Premium
Computers today face too much pressure from society. All the sleek, slim towers in magazines give them complexes. Honey, not everyone can be a HP 2 .2GHz Slimline Computer with Windows 7 Premium! It’s not realistic to have that as your ideal tower image! You’re a beautiful PC already! You don’t need a 6-in-1 memory card reader or 6 USB 2 .0 ports! Oh I am not just saying that because I’m your father! Now look, I get it; sure lots of boys might think they want a SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe, but wait until you’re a little older, honey.