Part of the world is already in this Superstitious day. The rest will follow shortly. 8-08-08 will also be an interesting day for many.

The Summer Bejing Olympics will start at 8:08:08 on 8-08-08. It’s not true 8:08 depending on how you look at the clocks. It will be officially 20:08:08, but then again, halfway around the country, it WILL be 8:08:08….

• Lottery Ticket sales are expected to be high. People like all the help they can get….
• 7-07-07 was the luckiest day to get married. I wonder if all those couples that got married are still wed?….
• Some say 8-08-08 is luckier because 8 is a number that won’t end. It’s just like the infinity symbol, only vertical.It’s known as the “Greater Balance” by numerologists.
• According to dailymail.co.uk, in Mandarin, ba is the number eight and in Cantonese it’s paat. It sounds similar to the words for prosperity, fa in Mandarin and faat in Cantonese.

No matter what, 8-08-08 is going to be a Friday. It will happen all around the world and will happen for only 24 hours in each time zone. Well, if you want to get geeky about it, it’s TECHNICALLY 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.096 seconds (the time the Earth takes for one full rotation).

Good Luck!

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• April 1, 2008 — episode 27 4-02-08

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Talk about Oceans 11: Earlier this week, 11 people from around the world were charged with stealing tens of millions in credit and debit card numbers. By March 2007, 45.7 million customer cards were compromised.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said in a press conference “They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques that gathered enormous quantities of personal financial data.” He also said he suspects that “a lot of people are unaware that their identifying information has been comprimised”.

The breech was first identified in January 2007, and suspected to have started as early as July 2005. TJX Cos., OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Boston Market and DSW were some retailers affected.  The list of suspects could be more than 11, but officials are not saying who they have in custody.

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On my podcast, I ran through a TechTweak to continue a download if the download is taking a longer time. Little did I know that issue was more Firefox than receiving packets.

When I was beta testing Firefox, I noticed that downloading files took a lot longer and caused the browser to actually run slower. I posted a bug report on Mozilla.org. I mentioned that I downloaded several items via Firefox and IE, and I saw IE not only did a better job in downloading, it did not affect my browsing habits. I also told them I had seen this happen on more than one machine and plugins do not make any difference. They said (in so many words) this was not a big issue and marked the case “Unconfirmed”.

Well, it really is an issue. I download items on a daily basis. I run off not only fast, but slower connections. Any types of pauses inhibit my productivity. When I downloaded Bwana’s podcast, I pretty much had to babysit the download because even with it not pushing forward, it was stopping me from getting other work done.

Today I was working on an article and downloading simultaneously. When I tried to post, I got stopped big time to the point where I lost the article during post. I had the article on another program so I didn’t lose any data, however if I was typing a comment or anything I don’t save first, I could have lost what I typed. All because of a slow loading podcast.

Before the question is posed, this is a completely different machine running only 3 plugins. Once again I stopped the download and switched over to IE to obtain. IE’s download manager runs separate from the browser, and it didn’t cause any issues.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

I’ve also tried some of the download plugins. They mostly change the appearance of the download manager. I may not have found the right plugin, nonetheless I haven’t found one that actually helps.

Back in 2006, Bill St. Clair noted a slow experience. He found a solution by removing files automatically when done. I have cleared out the data, and even cleaned the cache. There is no difference - Firefox does not do a good job in downloading data. It’s been a issue for a while and well before Firefox 3 came out.

What needs to change?

Firefox should give users the opportunity to chose how they can download files. Use their download manager, IE’s manager or another “Approved” manager.

Maybe it’s how the Manager works. If it works off the Firefox engine, then maybe Mozilla should work on a seperate program to download files.

However it works, it needs to be looked at. I will be posting another Bug report to Mozilla. In the meantime I’ll just have to switch between programs to download files.

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• June 18, 2008 — Poll - Did you/Will you be Downloading FireFox3?
• June 17, 2008 — Download FireFox 3

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This is a great little device to show you what a website looked like way back when. Of course Geekazine has gone through a small change already, but if you want to check out the way Geekazine looked in Jan 08, Select here.

Speaking of which, I have some other websites that have been in the Wayback machine. Feel free to check them out:

WIBands

MGeoffrey

Toonzed

Bands I was in:

Collapse of Evolution

Majestyk

The Vibe

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• July 28, 2008 — Website Changes
• July 20, 2008 — Web Sites I go to Daily

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I decided to take the Podcast outside since it was a nice day. If this works, we’ll do it again next week, too.

Computer Reload - Looking for investors - Listener Drive Continues

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Get IT Certified - Careersaver.com - 25% off with Code “Geekazine” 877-654-2265

Hotline - 608-205-4378 - geekazine (at) gmail.com

Download the show
Subscribe: Zune - iTunes - TechPodcasts - Blubrry

Please Review Geekazine

I - S.U.N. (Straight Up News)
Toxic Soil on Mars - CNet
iPhone 2.0.1 - Gizmodo
MobileME Launch was Mistake - Engadget
Video Games Read Your Mind - USAToday
Cablevision wins DVR Ruling - USAToday
Phishers Phish Phishers - ZDNet
Kimber to Friendster - TechCrunch
Clone Your Pet - BBC
BaseBall Geek - AP

AccessoryGeeks.com

II
The CHAD at it again - CNet
No More Windows - BBC
Air Force Goes Vista - GCN

TCT Podcast - 53″ Stainless Steel Roll A Way tool chest from Kobalt
TechTweak: Firefox - When download has stopped…

III
Month of No Startups - Scobleizer
Time Warner AOL Split - HardOCP
iPhone ATT Lock til 2010 - electronista

Edward Jones

IV
Nissan Lead Foot Pushes Back - AutoBlog
More Smaller Cores - Register
Circuit City: Sorry MAD - NetworkWorld

Get an iMac

Listeners’ Notes:
Create Ultimate Windows CD
Electronic Tongue
Your Own Jetpack
Periodic Rings
Wood Geek Art

YouTubin
Multi-Touch Hologram
Dancing Prisioners

Twitter - Pownce - Plurk - Myspace - Facebook Group - FriendFeed - Digg the Podcast

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• July 1, 2008 — Episode 40 7-02-08
• May 20, 2008 — Episode 34 5-21-08

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Well todays’ 5 minute show post marks 300 Blogs, Podcasts, News Articles, Live Shows and so much more. We are happy to give you all the content on this site and hope to get you another hundred, three hundred or even thousand or more posts. SPARTANS!!!

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This week we ask 5 questions that would be found on a Exchange Server Certification test.

Brought to you by CareerSaver.com - 25% off Training materials if you use code “Geekazine”. 1-877-654-2265

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• July 28, 2008 — Get Certified 7-29-08 - Active Directory
• July 21, 2008 — New Segment - Get Certified - 7-21-08

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The main computer went down this weekend and I am still in flux trying to fix. We still got out the 5 minute show although the quality of sound might not be what it usually is. I aplogogize for that.

We did find some great tech history: It was 11 years ago this week Microsoft bought stock in Apple to get them out of a small slump, Dmitry Sklyarov is released in 2001 and the World Wide Web project was leaked to the public.

Brought to you by Gotomeeting/techpodcasts - 30 day free trial, no CC required.

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• June 23, 2008 — This Week in Tech History 6-23-08
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I just got back from The Dark Knight and I have to say I now know why this movie has sold out IMAX and shattered records for 2 weeks now. I was completely floored to see this movie and I really liked a lot about it. They left no stone unturned and gave you a show that is worth paying another $13 a ticket to see on the big screen.

I did see some problems with the movie: The biggest was timing. Let the audience know that something is going to happen before it does type timing. Without giving anything away, we’ll just leave it at that. Still this was a minor issue compared to the whole movie itself.

Another thing to watch out for is the sound. In the IMAX it can get pretty loud. With some of the voices being low and growly, especially Batman’s, you might lose some conversation to the music. Once again: not a big issue, but might be noticable from time to time.

Like I said, it was worth the $20 for ticket, Buncha Crunch and Orange ICEE.

Another cool Batman thing that happened to me was I received 2 nicely rolled up posters from the original Batman movie (Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton). These were movie release posters and I was surprised to find they have no tape marks, no pin holes or no rips to them. They were even in the shipping tube sent to them in 1989. So it was a great week for Batman…

The rest of the week went good and bad. Monday’s LIVE SHOW was short because of other plans. We will however have an XXL show this MONDAY at 7 PM to make up for it. We’ll just keep going until everyone goes off to bed. 3 hours? 4 hours? Maybe I’ll go a full 24….. I better stock up on Mountain Dew and Aquafina Grape Flavor Splash.

Getting some good feedback on the new setup of the Podcast. I am working on some more, so stick tight. Also the 5 minute show has been picking up steam with the new segment “Get Certified”.

Speaking of which, a couple of you have tried the code and it didn’t work. I talked to CareerSaver and found out it’s because the code is suppose to be GEEK08. I have changed the graphic on the page to match. If you’ve tried to checkout with “GEEKAZINE”, please change that to GEEK08.

I’m on weekend 2 of not playing. It’s Saturday night and I don’t know what to do with myself. I did do an acoustic show Thursday night which helps, but I need to be behind the drumset bad…. Going through musician withdrawl….

Dorkazine continues to gain some speed. Been really posting new stuff over there, so check it out and also suggest some stuff. The more I have, the bigger Dorkazine can get.

The main puter became crabby this week. I knew it was coming. I’ve actually had this machine for a couple years now. I implemented a new policy: no new machines until the new machine can double what the current one does. Only exception would be if I was given a new PC.

I have a 3 gig system (Hyperthreaded). So that means the next machine has to be 6 gig processor (Dual 3gig core or Dual Quad 1.5 gig or better - which is fast approaching). The NTDLL.dll file caused problems, which I could run a repair on, but I felt it would be better to clean up the machine and fresh install. I have finished the main installation and am starting the vast amount of programs that go back into the machine.

Since I didn’t wipe the drive, I am pulling out the old data piece by piece. It’s not that difficult and I can easily copy settings back in if I just import the old back into the new after install. Least amount of difference, right?

Anywho, I better get back to that. Still have some work to do on that front. Talk to ya’ll later! Oh, and keep an eye out - I am going to implement a new segment on Geekazine this week. Should be fun!

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Hasbro has made Scrabulous take down the popular knock-off game. Since then, the makers of Scrabulous have changed the rules, colors and board a bit and changed the name to “Wordscraper”. In the meantime, Hasbro makes its own Facebook App of the popular game. But you know, it’s not the only games on the block. In this article we’ll take a look at a few of the games you can add to your profile.

Mob Wars - Build yours own Mob and run da city like it is truly meant to be. With your brotha Vinnie and cousin Vito. You recruit Mob members and gain money and other rewards.

The Brain Game - This was the famous image of the girl turning clockwise; or was it counter-clockwise? You decide. Then you will know if you are right-brained or left.

Arkanoid - You are a line on the bottom and your job is to break bricks on the top using a little ball. I have to admit I was addicted to this game when I was a kid. I had it on my Sega Game Gear and between that and Blox, it took up a lot of time in the late 90’s. Now it’s on Facebook. What a change in venue, eh?

Flash Hero - Like the Guitar Hero? Well Facebook has Flash Hero - the popular game for your Facebook profile. Use your keyboard as the guitar. No setting it on fire, though.

Mahjong - Another game I spent some time on in years past. It is derived from an old game where you stack tiles in a pyramid of sorts and then match pairs until you cannot pull them from the board. Sometimes this game got a little frustrating because I thought a tile was free to pull and it turned out it was not. BAH!

Mystic Hunter - You are in a castle and you have to find the hidden treasures. Pretty straightforward, eh: Well, not exactly. You have to solve puzzles to get to the treasures, so this can become a pretty frustrating thing at times.

Jawbraker - This is the game that is on my Smart phone (Pocket PC). You match 2 or more balls of the same color to clear lines and get more colorful balls. The idea is to rack up as many points until you have no pairs left - Great little distraction.

Tactics - Control your tanks and fire on the enemy. Get bigger and badder tanks. Blow things up - you know: have fun with it.

Aykuris Quest - The emperor has been poisoned and his daughter, Aykuri sets out to find a cure. She has to find 6 reagents to do so.

Galaga - There are a bevy of popular arcade games on Facebook, but my favorite always was Galaga. Your ship fires upon other ships that line up in a force to attack you. One of the ships can even capture your fighter - which is good because if you reclaim it, you have twice the firepower in one ship. I think I got to level 30 or 40 when I regularly played it. Today I got to level 5 before I died. I need to practice.

There are a lot more games out there. Don’t forget the Official Scrabble game and the now, newly created Wordscraper games. There are also a lot of “Community” games and applications that require you to recruit friends to join in your quests.

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• June 16, 2008 — LIVE SHOW - 6-16-08
• June 16, 2008 — Join Wisconsin Bloggers and Podcasters

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Bein a little lazy this week. It’s really a Geek thing, right? Anyway I started a new series on Bitstrips called “I Pity the Fool”. Here is one of the strips.

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• July 24, 2008 — Making Webpages - Bitstrips Friday
• July 7, 2008 — LIVE SHOW 7-07-08

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I was going through a few Social Network sites today, especially microblogging. Each one has their own positives and negatives. Of course we all have been exposed to Twitter and their problems. Something I’ve noticed they have been working out. The down times are not as frequent, although I do notice that sometimes I don’t get twitters of people I am following.

With Twitter not being the “End all Microblogger”, I check the other sites. Plurk, Pownce, Friendfeed, tumblr,identi.ca, etc. The reality is that I am in a Social Networking job. The average user might be on one social network or another. I need to connect with all, so I need to be on all.

While I bounce back and forth, I notice little things. One site does this well, while another site could improve on this. I decided to list the one thing that I like and one thing I do not like about each social Microblogging site. For argument sake, we will leave Facebook, Myspace out of it, because they are not as much of a Microblogging site as a Social Networking site.

Identi.ca

One thing I Like: Quick to load. Not much on the page. I can get the posts quick and easy if I am not checking via twhirl ( good job on getting on twhirl, btw)

One thing to Change: It looks like a blog. It’s simplistic look makes it feel like it’s on a Wordpress backend with a template that was downloaded from the web. While it’s not a bad idea to get a free template, you want to have some type of individualism to it. The 600 pixel width is understandable, but the posts inside look like their at 400 pixels. I would either expand the inner container to 550 pixels, or create a sidebar with statistics (how many people are online, tag cloud, latest posts or something of the like).

Tumblr

Like: The Customization. From the background, to the images, even to the option to put a Domain to your tumblr account.

Change: I have a hard time on many MB sites trying to find friends. This one is probably the hardest to do. The only way to see who’s on Tumblr is through the dashboard. Great if I want top picks for find the “Tumblrettes”. When I go to a profile, I only see the user. I don’t see who’s following them, therefore I don’t have a means to connect with another follower.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Jaiku

Like: This is probably the best designed site. Everything is in a easy to access area. I know how to get to my contacts, find and add friends, change settings and a lot more. The “Who you might know” area gives me an insight on who else is on Jaiku,

Change: If you are not going to pass along an invite code, then stop doing it. I had to get my invite from a friend. I asked Jaiku 4 times for an invitation and never got a “Yea” or “Ney”. Seriously, though - are you really gonna say no if someone asks for an invite?

Pownce

Like: While I don’t have one, I like the fact they are giving a Pro account offer. You pay for no ads, custom themes and the ability to send up to 250 megabytes of data. While I am not on the Pro account, I think this is great for those who really want to utilize one site for business. The best part is that I don’t really need the features of the Pro account and am not bombarded with getting the Pro account.

Change: When I Twitter, I can send that over to Pownce. When I Pownce, I Pownce. The Twhirl API lets me send stuff to Pownce, but I don’t get to see what’s happening on the site. While other API’s do the same thing, Pownce feels like the site I can post to, but really shouldn’t visit. If Pownce is hiding behind Twitter for a reason, that is fine. However I think Pownce needs to be more aggressive. It’s a great site and needs to step out of the shadow.

Xanga

Like: It creates a great site you set up. It’s got a lot of features and also has a “Pro” side. It can be more than a Microblogger.

Change: The pages are too cluttered and can be confusing to navigate around. There is a top bar on all pages that not only changes certain options from page to page, but also changes color.  Put all options on that top bar and keep it one color when moving around. It will clean up the site and give you more space to put in other content.

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• July 7, 2008 — Welcome to the Mess we call Social Networking
• June 16, 2008 — Why Do You Like Twitter?

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Purses - Code Cleanup - PC reload - Monthly Goal to get new listeners

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Get IT Certified - Careersaver.com - 25% off with Code “Geekazine” 877-654-2265

Hotline - 608-205-4378 - geekazine (at) gmail.com

Download the show
Subscribe: Zune - iTunes - TechPodcasts - Blubrry

Please Review Geekazine

I
S.U.N. (Straight Up News)
Alcatel-Lucent CEO out - BusinessWeek
DSpace and Fedora Collaborate - NSDL
Facebook Not Scrabulous - Silicon Alley Insider
Google Walks from Digg - TechCrunch
100 Channel FIOS
Zune Guy Upset - Wired
iPhone with Photos - Gizmodo
OpenXBox - ChicagoTribune
VMWare offers ESXi - GCN
Happy Birthday Wil Wheaton - Wired

Win a Gift Certificate from AccessoryGeeks.com

II
AT&T Doesn’t want WiMax? - CNet
Jerry Yang is Happy. Why? - USAToday
-Yahoo Stock Dump - CNet
Jobs Health - NYTimes

Cool Tech - Photo Finder from ATP Electronics

III
FCC/Comcast - Wall Street Journal
Glass Trackpads - Computerworld
How Microsoft can Beat Google - The Register
Worst Company in America - Consumerist

Edward Jones

IV
Moby Dick 140cpp - geeknewscentral
Cuil Cool
Dude? Wheres My Laptop - RD
Crop of Sunscreen - CNN
Michael Dell Interview - GigaOM
-Dell Hybrid - Gizmodo
First 100 Registered Sites - Daily Gyan

Buy an iMac - Apple.geekazine.com

Listeners’ Notes:
Headless Laptop - TJ
Solar System Guide
Cooler Keyboard
Speed Reader
Send a Business Card
Nano and Atom Benchmark
Charging Gizmo Art
Microsoft Sphere
Color Coded Cutting Board
Eyeball Lamp

YouTubin
DIY LCD Projector

Twitter - Pownce - Plurk - Myspace - Facebook Group - FriendFeed - Digg the Podcast

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• June 24, 2008 — Episode 39 - 6-25-08
• April 29, 2008 — Episode 31 - 4/30/08

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This week we ask 5 questions that would be found on a Active Directory Certification test.

Brought to you by CareerSaver.com - 25% off Training materials if you use code “Geekazine”. 1-877-654-2265

Related Articles

• August 4, 2008 — Get Certified 8-05-08 - Exchange Server
• July 21, 2008 — New Segment - Get Certified - 7-21-08

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This weeks show we talk about Browsers, Twitter, Ubuntu,A2DP and Comcast. The show was short but we’ll make up for it next week with 3 hours of LIVE SHOW bliss!

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• July 29, 2008 — Episode 44 - 7-30-08 - New Listener Drive
• June 10, 2008 — Episode 37 - 6-11-08

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Just so you know, over the weekend I made some changes to the website. I cleaned up the code so we are not so uncompliant with W3C standards, added some new content to the page and cleaned up tags, categories and posts.

If you see any problems with the site, please let me know. Email or call 608-205-4378

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• August 6, 2008 — Geekazine has been Archived on Wayback Machine
• July 20, 2008 — Web Sites I go to Daily

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