Staples giving you Spyware ? I received a $20 off coupon in the mail from Staples. Valid only today, only at a new Staples. So I went online to double check the address as the map on the back of the coupon was poor. I entered my zip code, and up came an error message telling me to enable cookies. However I HAVE COOKIES ENABLED. What is disabled is 3rd party cookies, and Adobe Super Cookies, usually used only to leave behind spyware or tracking cookies.

So I conclude STAPLES needs to track me it thinks. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

FOLLOWUP: After several emails back and forth to Staples, Staples confessed to using Spyware: Read it and decide:

To further improve your shopping experience, Staples partners with third party vendors to evaluate how the Website is used and to provide continuous improvement for our services. Like most websites, we use "cookies" for a variety of purposes to improve your visits to the Website.

MS Office 2010 : Most PCs now come with Windows 7, 64-bit preinstalled. You'd think you ought then install the 64-bit version of MS Office 2010 for best compatibility. You'd be wrong. If you manually find the x64 folder on the DVD, and then run the Setup from within that folder, a Setup Warning appears:

You cannot install the 64-bit version of Office 2010 because you have 32-bit Office products installed. These 32-bit products are not supported with 64-bit Installations:

Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
Microsoft Office Single Image 2010
Microsoft Enterprise 2007'

If you want to install 64-bit Office 2010, you must uninstall all 32-bit Office products first, and then run setup.exe in the x64 folder. If you want to install 32-bit Office 2010, close this Setup Program, and then either go to the x86 folder at the root of your CD or DVD and run setup.exe, or get 32-bit Office 2010 from the same place you purchased 64-bit Office 2010.

Strange, I could have sworn the same company wrote amd published all versions of Windows and Office, and no such conflicts should exist !

I followed a suggestion on the Retail packaging and downloaded the Installer from http://ofiice.com/downloadoffice operating under the incorrect assumption that Microsoft would slipstream a newer Install version of Office 2010 with all currently available updates and patches installed. WRONG. Further that website only transferred the 32-bit version, and hid the option to obtain the 64-bit version.

Elsewhere on the Microsoft website they state the following:

Office 2010 products are available in 64-bit versions; however, for the best productivity and user experience, Microsoft recommends 32-bit Office 2010 for both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Office 64-bit is optimized for advanced data analysis scenarios that most users don’t require, and existing 32-bit add-ins are not supported on Office 64-bit.

Seems like they're admitting how incompatible the 64-bit version is.

Your Computer / browser is likely spying on you. In addition to "3rd Party Cookies", which have zero relation to the web site you are at, there are also "Super Cookies", used because most browsers now easily let you Block 3rd party cookies. To Block 3rd party cookies in Internet Explorer, Instructions are here. For Firefox, instructions are here.

For Firefox, there is an excellent add-in to stop Super Cookies, called SuperPrivacy. It can be downloaded for free here, once installed it can be configured using their instructions. For Internet Explorer its a tad more difficult, you should go into Adobe Flash, and not allow it to store Super Cookies. Instructions here.

For a Macintosh: Use NoScript (for Firefox and you can block google analytics with it, as well as anything else)

Whither Apple: I may no longer buy anything sold by Apple. I was helping a colleague set up their iPhone 4 and they got so frustrated with iTunes, they returned the iPhone for refund after 5 days. To get refund for AppleCare the only thing the Apple web site says is to call 1-800-SOS-APPL, if you tell the automated menu system you have an Apple Care question, you get connected to a typical 3rd world support CSR in the Phillipines that doesn't under stand spoken English satisfactorily, and refused to connect one to the United States.
When did Apple reduce their support so?

This is the Electric Car I want: Already in production in Japan. See it here:

Newsday App for iPad - Better than a Newspaper. See it here.
Apparently Apple had them pull the advert.

MS Internet Explorer as Unsafe as ever: Read here and then go get Firefox

MS Money: For unknown reasons Microsoft abandoned MS Money. However one can download for free a "Sunset" version of MS Money 2008 here.

2nd DVR drive in my MacPro: Bought a 2nd Drive at Frys today. I use Pioneer Drives, as they always work well with Macintosh, and firmware updates are easy to find. Makes duplicating a CD or DVD much easier and faster to work with 2 drives. I had to return the PATA drive I bought and get a SATA drive, as Apple has changed its internal configuration in the new Mac Pro.

Minor slip-up by Apple: No drivers available for Broadcom 802.11n on my new Mac Pro to use under Vista 32 bit. Not on the BootCamp drivers section of the supplied 10.6.4 Install DVD. Luckily I found the drivers I needed on a 10.5.6 Install DVD from a MacBook.

Symantec Norton Internet Security : The 2011 Version is released. If you're running the 2010 Version its' Activation Key will work on the 2011 Version which you can obtain by clicking through here:
2011 NIS

New Mac Pro: Easy to set up for Macintosh, just put the Macintosh HD from my 4 year old Mac Pro on a new Drive sled, and mount it. In 2 minutes after it reboots all I need to do is enter the 26 digit WiFi security code, as the new Mac has 802.11n built in, old Mac didnt. Works great.

Not so simple for Windows 7. Same insertion of old drive but.....After booting, it takes 5 minutes "Loading Device Driver", and is too stupid to ask for the SSID in the WiFi connection script, so I have to dig into it to get that before 26 digit PSA code will connect me. Then Windows 7 wants to be re-authenticated as its married to the hardware, and I have new Hardware. Automated authentication fails. Luckily it provides an automated 888 number to dial in and enter 9 sets of 6 digits from screen, which it rejects at last three digits, and connects me to India where its almost impossible to understand them, and their computer keeps freezing. So I read them 9 groups of 6 digits, and they eventually read me back 9 other sets of 6 digits, and I'm authenticated. Took 20 unnecessary minutes.

PC Updates: How did a beta of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 sneak past me? I must have been vacationing too much this summer. You can find it here. Use at your own risk.

Norton Internet Security 2011 is about to be released this week they say. A beta good till Sept 27 is still available from http://www.symantec.com

Free iPhone 4 Case: Finally received my Free iPhone Case (A Belkin Shield Micra). It's one piece Clear Plastic so it covers back and edges. SO the Shiny Stainless steel external antenna is shown.

Mac Pro: Today I placed an order for the new Hurd-Papermaster model of the Mac Pro.

iPhone Jailbreaking: The Library of Congress has just ruled Jailbreaking the iPhone legal. I remember my first smart phone, a Treo 300. Having software from anywhere and anyone with no restrictions can be a disaster. Manufacturers publish SDKs so software publishers will know how to properly write software that doesn't conflict with the Operating System or each other. With no restrictions, publishers may (and often do) give in to the temptation to take shortcuts (ie use protected memory they shouldn't, or directly address the hardware rather than going through the operating system). Apple strictly enforces its' SDK rules, and won't allow improperly written software to be sold in its App store; and as a result you NEVER hear of the iPhone crashing. The Treo however didn't have that discipline and after loading a few 3rd party applications, would often lockup, or need to be rebooted so it could refind the Sprint network, after losing it. No such grief with the iPhone. So even though I could gain some additional functionality (ie Tethering) by Jailbreaking, I have zero intention of doing it.
Here's a news story with more downsides of Jailbreaking.

Free iPhone 4 Case: I just ordered mine from Apple. They designed a very nice iphone application that uses your iTunes Account to know who you are. Details here.

Case for iPhone 4. I just ordered a case for my iPhone after earlier buying and then returning cases to ATT and to BestBuy. The one I ordered is a Griffin Reveal, recommended to me by a former NASA colleague. Based upon temporarily using 3G Griffin hard shell polycarbonate cases shoe horned onto an iPhone 4, I believe this will at least 80% reduce the antenna problem. Read about it here:

iPhone 4 issues: If you hold the iPhone 4 in a normal way a
right handed person would, in the palm of your left hand, thats "Wrong".
But even Steve Jobs holds it that way. Steve's answer
"Don't hold it that way". Such total arrogance.
Not the Apple I knew and loved.
Lots more pictures of Steve and others in Apple's ads here:

iPhone 4: Just got my iPhone 4 yesterday, older iPhone 3Gs will be sold on eBay. Used the
Free App Speedtest.net, and got the following results from the ATT 3G Network.

Download Speed >3000 kbps

Upload Speed >1200 kbps

Not too shabby. None of the problems reported online here: