30 Gig Zunes Dropping Like Flies!

They are all dying!

30GB Zunes Failing Everywhere, All At Once

“Apparently, around 2:00 AM today, the Zune models either reset, or were already off. Upon when turning on, the thing loads up and… freezes with a full loading bar (as pictured above.) I thought my brother was the only one with it, but then it happened to my Zune. Then I checked out the forums and it seems everyone with a 30GB HDD model has had this happen to them.”

eCard Christmas Warning…

I just sent this notice to a friend that sent me a Christmas eCard:

“eCards are used to get you to give spammers the email addresses of your contacts and friends so that they can get valid email addresses for them to spam. Please keep this in mind… while I appreciate the thought, I never read them, and always delete them, because when one goes to read them, one typically gets a virus. Keep in mind that, generally, the Internet is a place of evil, and generally, everything someone does or offers there has an ‘agenda’ to make money. Just FYI.”

Sad Day: Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Has Passed Away

Number One from the original pilot, Nurse Chapel from TOS, Lwaxana Troi from TNG, DS9, etc. and the voice of the Star Trek computer… as well as being Gene Roddenberry’s widow… has passed away at 76!

Voice of ‘Star Trek,’ Majel Barrett- Roddenberry, dead at 76

“The voice of “Star Trek” has died. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who for more than 30 years was a staple of ‘Star Trek’ as the voice for the U.S.S. Enterprise, died Thursday at her home in Bel-Air, California. She was 76 years old. Since the death of Gene Roddenberry, who created ‘Star Trek,’ Majel Berrett was recognized as the franchise’s ‘first lady.’ In the years after he died in 1991, she developed several of his unfinished ideas into new projects, which included two syndicated shows. According to reports, Barrett had been battling leukemia, and died early Thursday morning with her son, Eugene, by her side. Barrett first appeared in ‘Star Trek”s first pilot which aired in 1964. Her role as the Enterprise’s first officer (referred to simply as ‘Number One’) did not go well with NBC execs, and was later changed. When the series was retooled, Barrett eventually returned in a new role as the blonde Nurse Chapel. The recurring role was notable for her unrequited love for Spock, the Enterprise’s unemotional Vulcan science officer. That theme would carry over into Barrett’s other onscreen role in the ‘Trek’ franchise, Lwaxana Troi. In addition to Lwaxana, Barrett famously provided the voice for the U.S.S. Enterprise’s computer in ‘The Next Generation,’ as well as following sequel series. J.J. Abrams even had her contribute to the new “Star Trek” film, due in theaters in 2009. Before ‘Trek,’ Barrett had roles on several television shows, including ‘The Lucy Show,’ ‘Leave it to Beaver’ and ‘The Untouchables.’ She also appeared in 1958’s ‘The Black Orchid,’ 1963’s ‘The Quick and the Dead,’ and 1966’s ‘A Guide for the Married Man.'”

Another Reason NOT to Use Internet Explorer!

Other than the sucking sound, that is! It isn’t safe… no, more so than usual!

Serious security flaw found in IE

“Users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are being urged by experts to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed. The flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could allow criminals to take control of people’s computers and steal their passwords, internet experts say. Microsoft urged people to be vigilant while it investigated and prepared an emergency patch to resolve it. Internet Explorer is used by the vast majority of the world’s computer users.”

Need I say… Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome? Here are the links:

Firefox Browser

Google Chrome

Mac Sales Were Flat in November

Seems the economic downturn is hurting Mac sales!

Mac Sales Flat in November 2008

“Apple, Inc. witnessed flat year-over-year overall sales in the United States for its Macs in November, while sales of rival Microsoft Corp’s Windows PCs were up 7 percent, according to research firm NPD Group Inc, which tracks retail sales. Sales of desktops were down 20 percent overall, with Windows desktops sales falling 15 percent and Macs down 38 percent. Apple’s notebook sales, however, were up 22 percent in November, while Windows sales rose 15 percent. ‘For notebooks, there is a little extra value to consumers (to buy Apple). For desktops I’m not so sure,’ NPD analyst Stephen Barker told Reuters. ‘To me the real story is the iMacs need a refresh.’ IDC, which tracks sales of technology products, said earlier this month that it expects global PC sales to fall 5.3 percent next year to $267 billion. Apple and Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment.”

Predictions for 2009

Jeffrey Powers from www.geekazine.com asked us Techpodcast Network folks to give our predictions for 2009. Well, here’s my two cents for 2009:

Linux will continue to make in-roads on the desktop as “netbooks” become more popular.

Video via the Internet, or “IPTV,” will continue to increase, and set-top boxes for Internet viewing will increase in general acceptance instead of just being a “geek toy.”

Smart-phones will become many people’s platform of choice for Internet surfing as phones like the iPhone and Blackberry Storm become more “the norm.”

We’ll see how I do next year!