Consumed Consumer . org: 11/01/2007

Rise of salaries in 2008: a cause to celebrate or just another sign of inflation?

The study claims that the increases are calculated after inflation, but we do not find that plausible; not only that this is an inflationary event, but it is, in our view, driven by inflation.

Although Global salaries are expected to rise by an average of 6% in 2008, 1.9% above projected average inflation, according to a study of 62 countries worldwide by Mercer.

According to study results, India can anticipate one of the highest average pay increases in the world at 14.1%, nearly 10% above projected local inflation. North America and most Western European countries are expected to experience the lowest salary increases worldwide, though, in all fairness, this is perhaps because the remmuneration in these regions is already relatively high.

In speaking about the implications of survey results, Steven Gross, Mercer worldwide partner and global head of broad based performance and rewards consulting, warned of the perils of short-term thinking as companies contemplate sourcing labor from emerging countries where workforce costs may be low but also volatile:

We are starting to see that short-term cost savings from sourcing labour in emerging markets can evaporate over time. It is therefore essential for multinational companies to consider both current pay levels and future salary increases when deciding where to source their labour.
Some companies that might otherwise be looking at emerging economies to establish their customer services are now reconsidering their options. Immediate cost savings are no longer the only consideration, as short-term affordability might be offset by long-term volatility in labour costs and inconsistent service quality in many emerging markets.

The table below features, for select countries, survey data on forecasted 2008 pay increases and projected inflation rates, ranked by projected pay increase after inflation.

Country	Projected average (‘actual’) pay increases	Projected inflation rates	Projected pay above inflation
Europe
Western Europe
Ireland	4.7	2.1	2.6
Switzerland	2.5	1.0	1.5
Spain	3.8	2.4	1.4
France	3.0	1.8	1.2
Italy	3.1	1.9	1.2
Germany	2.7	1.6	1.1
United Kingdom	3.1	2.0	1.1
Netherlands	3.0	2.1	0.9
*Eastern Europe*
Bulgaria	9.3	4.4	4.9
Turkey	8.5	4.0	4.5
Romania	8.3	5.0	3.3
Slovakia	4.7	2.0	2.7
Czech	4.0	3.1	0.9
North America
United States	3.7	1.8	1.9
Canada	3.8	2.0	1.8
Asia Pacific
India	14.1	4.3	9.8
Vietnam	11.9	6.3	5.6
China	7.5	3.2	4.3
South Korea	6.4	2.5	3.9
Japan	2.5	0.8	1.7
Australia	4.0	2.5	1.5
New Zealand	3.9	2.6	1.3

Source: Mercer’s 2008 Global Compensation Planning Report

Perhaps the most important revelation of this study is that high salary increases are not relevant when erased by high inflation, as seems to be Romania or Czech's case. Both Turkey and Bulgary will see higher increases in real wages primarily because of doing a better job at curbing inflation.

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OLPC - charity or 3rd world profiteering?

What if we told you that you can buy a cheap laptop and, for the price you would normally pay for a Windows based one, you can get a laptop running a much more stable operating system AND send a similar laptop to a child in Africa?

What if that laptop would be useless to a thief?

Finally, what if this laptop, called XO, was not only rugged & child-proof, but was actually designed to be used even by a child?

This offer was initially available only until the end of November, and we covered the XO in the past, but it has now been extended until the end of December. Some people have purchased a laptop for a child they know instead for their own child, effectively donating 2 laptops. Although I do not need yet another laptop, I am very tempted to get this one...

You might think there isn't really a need for a laptop where people have nothing to eat, and you are not alone. Although Lybia's rulers have committed to give each child a laptop, India has resisted (even at $100/laptop) and decided to build their own, without releasing details. From the FAQ:

You're expecting this to be a magic bullet for poverty.
False: Not at all. It is simply a tool for education and communication and only helps, in part, in contributing to the entirety of aid programs where these laptops are distributed. Nevertheless it provides access to education, health, technology, economic opportunity, and more, and a few children will be able pull themselves out of poverty with no other assistance.
You're forcing this on poverty stricken areas that need food, water and housing rather than a laptop.
False: Not at all. Like it was said earlier, this is only a tool and should not be seen as more than that. We agree that other more urgent matters must be attended to before you insert high tech into the situation of poverty.
Not everybody agrees with that idea. Some think that access to the Net is the fastest way for poor people to get the political clout to require their governments to provide services to them. Or to get the education for real jobs that take them out of poverty completely. Or access to innovative technologies for providing food, water, clothing, shelter, energy, etc.
But we believe education and communication with the modern world to be important as well. Food, water, clothing and other necessities come first. Nevertheless, a world view and good education can do wonders for a child's mind and continued health. Computers, especially those that are networked, have shown to be development 'multipliers', that is they help to improve the delivery of medical, educational and communication services.

If you are doubting that the XO laptop is needed in the first world, I can assure that a laptop is far better for a child than the TV (the most used and abused babysitter), simply because a laptop is interactive.
If you buy the XO for Canada, shipping is $35 and the $200 used to send the 2nd laptop to an African child might be tax deductible against your US income:

A Canadian donor may claim charitable tax credits for a gift to a recognized US charity, provided that the charity would have qualified in Canada if it had been a Canadian charitable organization. The charitable credit is limited to the donor's US-source income, and subject to the normal donation ceiling. Any excess credits can be carried forward and used in subsequent taxation years. (Article XXI(6) Canada-US Income Tax Convention)

This disruptive product has been in design since 2005 and it was a cause championed by Negroponte, who stated:

"From my point of view, if the world were to have 30 million" laptops made by competitors "in the hands of children at the end of next year, that to me would be a great success," he said in a recent interview. "My goal is not selling laptops. OLPC is not in the laptop business. It's in the education business."

Strangely enough, a Nigerian company is suing OLPC for infringement of some copyright on its keyboard. As the old saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. Writes alsee in the ensuing /. debate:

Lawsuit states that keyboards were purchased and illegally reverse engineered.
The only way that could be true is if Nigeria has a seriously defective legal system (quite possible), but even then the "truth value" of that statement would only exist within Nigeria.
Like someone who illegally wears a t-shirt that says "Vote".
The phrase "illegally reverse engineered" only weighs in favor of a case of this company being a "patent troll", it is not an argument to refute that label.
A further note is that all uses of the word "invention" appear to false. According to the article this is a design patent. At least in US law, design patents are not for new useful inventions, design patents are not for functional aspects, design patents are for aesthetic and ornamental aspects. Design patents are about "our product looks cool and distinctive". Design patents are trivial to work around, you just change the shape or arrangement of your product to any of a zillion other equally reasonable equally functional looks.
...ok a little Googling and yes Nigerian RD#### patent are "Registered Design" patents. This is not an invention patent, this is an ornamental design patent. It also turns out that there is no official website to look up Nigerian patents, not only is there no website for it but the Nigerian Patent Office official contact point is a Yahoo email address.
This company is suing a charitable high-tech project to aid 3rd world children, and doing it based on an ornamental patent registered with a government operating from a Yahoo email address. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Most commentators seem to believe that this is either a lawsuit backed by the Wintel Hydra who is upset that the project uses Linux and AMD chips, whereas others think that this is simply an attempt by a dishonest corporation to scam some money out of anything they can. In response, Intel has designed a laptop called "Classmate" which sells for more than double the price of XO, which its marketing team claims it is far superiour. For its part, Microsoft has claimed that the cost of software is not an important issue in the developing world. The Wall Street Journal writes that the XO was seriously derailed by the marketing push of the two big tech giants, while BBC places the blame on "politics". Anyway, if you are enraged by Microsoft and Intel's products, your best course of action would be to vote with your wallet and boycott their products. Luckily, their competition is good to excellent.

Perhaps the funniest outcome of this silly lawsuit would be a new class of Nigerian/419 scams, as shown in Mateo LeFou's comment:

Dear Honest Individual
I am Stella McBride, aged 21years old the daughter of Late Darl Makoba a politician
,gold and software merchant from Angola. I and my mother now residing in Senegal dakar west africa.
As a result of the on-going problem in our country, we must relocate US$500 million of intellectual property to an overseas account...

A secondary outcome is that the price of all laptops will come down and in fact it has already.

Echoes
Ecoble

/.
wsj

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Private domain registration

Put simply, private domain registration refers to the ability to protect your private info when registering a website or domain name (a domain name is, for instance, ConsumedConsumer.org). Normally, when you register this name, it is available for anyone to search and display using a whois query, unless you take special precautions and register it privately. Spammers have spam bots (computers or programs designed to automate spamming) that harvest this data and dump it in a database that is then used to spam you. If you register it privately, your own name, address, email and phone number are protected. Instead, your webhost will publish their corporate contact info and will handle all legal communication on your behalf. This is one more way you can reduce spam, or unneeded commercial "communication".

Ever since GoDaddy started offering private domain registrations, a "host" of webhosts followed suit. The terms of the webhost I used to purchase my domain name are not that amazing: too many disclaimers, but unfortunately, this is pretty much standard in the industry. In particular, I am concerned that costs may escalate out of control and I may not hear in time of a potential lawsuit or DMCA takedown notice or similar legal document. Hopefully, it will all work out. :)

Here is the full text of the license:

License
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR
PRIVATE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION
By ordering Private Domain Name Registration Services from 1&1 Internet, Inc. ("1&1"), you ("you" or "Customer") agree to the terms and conditions set forth herein. The provisions contained in these Terms and Conditions for Private Domain Name Registration (the "Agreement") incorporate and are supplemental to 1&1's General Terms and Conditions (the "1&1 GT&C"), by which you are also bound, to the extent they are not modified by this Agreement.

1. SUBJECT OF THE AGREEMENT
The Agreement governs the provision of Private Domain Name Registration Services (the “Services”) to the Customer by 1&1. The Services comprise the registration and renewal of domain names using contact information provided by 1&1, as described below, which information will appear in the public WHOIS database on your behalf.

2. SERVICES PROVIDED
2.1
1&1 will acquire a Second-Level Domain Name ("Private Domain Name"), on your behalf, assuming that the Domain Name you request is available for registration. 1&1 will not own any Private Domain Name registered on your behalf under this Section. Any costs incurred by 1&1 to obtain and/or maintain the Private Domain Name on your behalf shall be charged to you by 1&1. Private Domain Names may not be transferred. The toplevel domain .us may not be registered as a Private Domain Name.
2.2
You authorize and direct 1&1 to display alternate contact information in the public WHOIS database, including names, postal address, phone number, and email address, as more particularly outlined below.
2.3
You authorize and direct 1&1 to process communications directed to you at the contact information displayed in the public WHOIS database as follows:
2.3.1
An e-mail alias pointing to your 1&1 account will be created once you have purchased the Services, and that e-mail address will be displayed in the public WHOIS database. Messages received at the e-mail address posted in the public WHOIS database for your Private Domain Name will be forwarded to the e-mail address associated with your account name or to another e-mail address, in accordance with the preferences you set in the 1&1 Control Panel. Disabling the Services will delete this e-mail address and remove it from the WHOIS database. Once an e-mail address is removed from the public WHOIS database it will no longer be a valid e-mail address for the receipt of messages. You acknowledge that you may not receive messages sent such e-mail address once the Services are disabled.
2.3.2
1&1’s corporate address will be the postal address displayed in the public WHOIS database for the Private Domain Name. You hereby authorize 1&1 to receive, sort, open, forward, and destroy any and all mail sent to 1&1 on your behalf in its sole discretion. Third class and "junk" mail will be discarded upon receipt or returned to the sender unopened. First-class mail and mail received via certified mail or courier, including but not limited to Federal Express, United Parcel Services, and similar services, will be opened and all such mail that can be scanned will be scanned and sent to you via the e-mail address associated with the 1&1 account for the Private Domain Name. You acknowledge that you will have five (5) calendar days from the date such mail is sent to you via e-mail to request in writing that a copy of such scanned mail be forwarded to you via postal mail. You acknowledge that unless you direct us otherwise in writing within such five (5) calendar day period, all such mail will be destroyed five (5) calendar days after a scanned copy is sent to you via e-mail. All mail that is unable to be scanned will be forwarded to you at your expense at the postal address associated with the account for the applicable domain name.
2.3.3
1&1 reserves the right to charge you for, and you are responsible for paying, all fees and costs associated with 1&1 forwarding postal mail. 1&1 further reserves the right to charge an administrative charge of $5.00 per item forwarded. You authorize 1&1 to apply any such charges to your credit card pursuant to the 1&1 GT&C.
2.3.4
A telephone number will be displayed in the public WHOIS database for the Private Domain Name which will be answered by a voice mail system. Callers will be informed of how to contact you using the information displayed in the public WHOIS database, however, they will not be able to leave messages.
2.4
You hereby waive any and all claims arising from your failure to receive communications directed to your domain name contact information displayed in the public WHOIS database but not forwarded to you by 1&1. You acknowledge and agree that you will not receive all communications sent to you at the contact information listed in the public WHOIS database. You further acknowledge and agree that 1&1 disclaims any and all loss or liability that may result from your use of the Services and/or your failure to receive important correspondence sent to you at the contact information displayed in the public WHOIS database, including, but not limited to, legal notices or UDRP complaints.
3. Warranties and Indemnification
3.1.
You warrant that the contact information you have provided to 1&1 is and will remain accurate. You agree that you will inform 1&1 within fifteen (15) calendar days of the change of your name, mailing address, email address, telephone or telefax number.
3.2.
You warrant to 1&1 that any Domain Name you may seek to register through 1&1 does not violate the rights of any third party, in particular trademark rights, and that you have taken reasonable steps, including but not limited to searches of the applicable state and federal trademark registries, to assure that this is the case.
3.3.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless 1&1, its officers, directors, employees and agents, with respect to any and all damages, losses, claims or expenses incurred with respect to or arising out of claims of third parties concerning your use of the Services or the Private Domain Name.
3.4.
You acknowledge and agree that 1&1 has the absolute right and power, as it deems necessary in its sole discretion, without providing notice and without any liability to you whatsoever, to (1) reveal to third parties the contact information provided by you to 1&1 in connection with the account for the applicable domain name, (2) populate the public WHOIS database with your name, primary postal address, e-mail address and/or telephone number as provided by you to 1&1, or (3) terminate your subscription to the Services:
3.4.1
if, in 1&1’s sole discretion, you violate the terms of the 1&1 GT&C;
3.4.2
if any third party claims that the domain name violates or infringes a third party's trademark, trade name or other legal rights, whether or not such claim is valid;
3.4.3
to comply with ICANN policies or requirements, including but not limited to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
3.4.3
to comply with any applicable laws, government rules or requirements, subpoenas, court orders, requests of law enforcement or government agencies; or
3.4.4
if any third party threatens legal action against 1&1 that is related in any way, directly or indirectly, to the domain name, or claims that you are using the domain name registration in a manner that violates any law, rule or regulation, or is otherwise illegal or violative of a third party's legal rights.
3.5.
ALL 1&1 SERVICES ARE PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
4. Dispute Resolution
4.1.
This Agreement shall be interpreted under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. Any claim, dispute or controversy with respect to, in connection with or arising out of this Agreement shall be subject to and decided by arbitration in the City of Philadelphia, County of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by a panel of three arbitrators chosen in accordance with terms of the 1&1 GT&C.
4.2.
1&1 may without advance notice amend this Agreement or the from time to time, and will do so by posting the new Agreement on the 1&1 website in place of the old. Each and every such amendment shall be become effective immediately for all pre-existing and future accounts. It is your responsibility to periodically check the 1&1 website for updates of this Agreement.

Here is their domain price list:

1&1 gives you the opportunity to secure your preferred name as your own address. Don't miss your chance!
1&1 currently offers 11 different top level domains (TLDs) to register, and we will be extending the registration service to offer you further domain addresses.
The TLDs we offer are .com, .us, .net, .org, .info, .name, .mobi, .biz, .tv, .cc and .ws , which are international and help you to reach the largest possible viewing audience.
Domain Price List
Domain Price (US$)* Type Example
.com $6.99/year
(flat rate) Generic domain www.domain-of-your-choice.com
.us $6.99/year
(flat rate) United States of America www.domain-of-your-choice.us
.net $6.99/year
(flat rate) Generic domain www.domain-of-your-choice.net
.org $6.99/year
(flat rate) Organizations and clubs www.domain-of-your-choice.org
.info $6.99/year
(flat rate) Information www.domain-of-your-choice.info
.name $6.99/year
(flat rate) Generic personal domain www.domain-of-your-choice.name
.biz $2.99**
(flat rate) Generic business domain www.domain-of-your-choice.biz
.tv $29.99/year
(flat rate) Tuvalu (television) www.domain-of-your-choice.tv
.cc $19.99/year
(flat rate) Cocos (Keeling) Islands www.domain-of-your-choice.cc
.ws $8.99/year
(flat rate) Samoa (website) www.domain-of-your-choice.ws
.mobi $19.99/year
(flat rate) Mobile content www.domain-of-your-choice.mobi
* Each domain additionally added to your contract has a minimum term of 1 year and will be charged for this period in advance.
** $2.99 for the first year, after that the regular price of $8.99 applies. Offer is limited to new orders and a number of 25 domains per customer and package.

Echoes:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/09/17/go_daddy_offers_anonymous_domain/
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum25/3548.htm

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US elections - the dream contenders

Why would ConsumedConsumer.org care about the US elections? Frankly, because we cannot afford not to. Most governments take their cues from US. If US talks freedoms, they talk freedom, and torture in secrecy. If US tortures, they kill even more and torture openly. If US encourages stealing and does not punish its high-level crooks, corruption spreads like wildfire in the world. If US endures a housing bubble, the rest of the world has no other choice. And the beat goes on...

Here are the most interesting pairings I would like to see in the upcoming presidential campaign.

1. The Most Likely Candidates: Giuliani vs Hillary. They are also the most annoying, but that seems to be a prerequisite lately. In this pairing, my personal favourite would be Hillary, as I dislike her, complete with that creepy laugh track, less than I dislike the President of 9/11. There is another Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart clip that is a great study of Giuliani's facade, but you have to be an American to be able to watch it (you can only access thedailyshow.com archives through a proxy with an American IP, otherwise they'll redirect you).

2. Possible, but unlikely candidates: Obama vs McCain. They are both down to earth and average, a bit naive, and as such, unlike the first two, they are likeable. Unless they get their act together, neither of them will get to run. I don't have my mind made up about who I'd like to win in such a race, it would be very tough. So far, Obama has been slightly better, since McCain gave a speech to the Christian right about how important it is to have a Christian president (rather silly, since all American presidents have been and probably always will be Christians).

3. The ideal pair: Kucinich vs Ron Paul. They are the most principled, the most honest, the least likely to compromise their ideals, the only ones to have voted consistently against the war in Iraq, the only ones to end it immediately upon nomination, and as such, the least likely to get to run for president. My all time favourite is clearly Ron Paul. Not only he's a Libertarian, like myself, but he's an all-around awesome, honest, amazing man. Read more about Ron Paul and you'll see why. If you haven't heard about them and don't know who they are, the following clips will likely give you an idea.

Kucinich & wife

Ron Paul Tea Party 07 (5:33)

Ron Paul Stop Dreaming (8:46)

Ron Paul Speaks the Truth (13:41)

Ron Paul @ Google (65min, but well worth it)

Finally, after so much pro Ron Paul stuff, here something apparently against him: Republicans and Democrats, Please Protect Us from Ron Paul! :)

OK, these clips were nice, but what if you really haven't followed the US race for president, don't know anything else and would like to get up to speed? Watch one of Jon Stewart's segments on "Clusterf@#k To The White House" (Clusterf@#k is a term used mostly in the military, meaning huge, messy, chaotic movement of a large group). I would normally link to YouTube, but the war that Viacom is waging upon everybody else means that you can no longer find clips from their properties on YouTube. The clip is available for download in two formats: Windows Media and QuickTime. The clips are provided courtesy of the Crooks and Liars blog, which seems to be the only place where you can still access TDS clips, irrespective where you are in the world. You see, Comedy Central's excellent collection of TDS clips is only accessible to Americans. If your IP belongs to another country, you'll be redirected elsewhere. Once again, thank the beloved Viacom and its decrepit CEO for this.

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Monkeys for Nothing You Get Chimps for Free I

Money for nothin' was perhaps the first British MTV success. The channel had just launched and they needed some cool videos to go with their song, so they persuaded Knopfler to go with this idea. In the first days of the British MTV, this video was playing non-stop and although today the animation appears a bit crude, back then it was hailed as revolutionary. And so was the very concept of a video clip in the symbolic 1984. It was the start of a new era, the start of a new consumption channel, a channel that was going to fundamentally change the music business.

Blogging for money is also a relatively new business. Although it's been around for a few years, today it seems that everybody wants in. You can find articles about professional blogging (or "blogging for money" as everybody knows it) on Microsoft (How to make money from your blog: 5 tips), Washington Post (Make Money off Your Blog), CNN (Business 2.0: Blogging for Dollars), O'Reilly (Blogging for Dollars: Giving Rise to the Professional Blogger) and others. Tellingly, the New York Times compares this fad to an addiction (For Some, The Blogging Never Stops) :) Even the Economist has started blogs, which is a radical change for a publication that's not a daily. Apart from the attention of established new media outfits, there are clear signs that the blogging revolution is far from over. Although Technorati has been around forever, search engines, including Google, have recently launched "blogging search". The Internet market research clearinghouses (Alexa, Netcraft, Compete, ComScore, Hitwise, Nielsen//NetRatings, Netcraft, Ranking.com, and Quantcast) seem to also indicate blogs' increasing mind share.

Another very clear sign that blogging is a profession in its own right is the appearance of blogs dedicated to this very phenomenon. There are two major blogs dominating the landscape, and gathering the lion share of the traffic: Steve Pavlina's blog (SP) and ProBlogger (PB). While Steve Pavlina is dedicated to self-improving and as such is more general, PB has a bevy of articles about blogging for money. I've read a few from SP, and to me they seem mostly "inspirational" but short on substance or things that I did not already know. By contrast, PB is far more task and detail oriented. I suppose SP makes his readers feel good but without really offering anything visionary or mind-blowing, in much the same way a motivational speaker uplifts her audience. You could combine reading SP for inspiration and read PB for the technical perspective.

The one thing you learn well reading SP's blog is the fine art of keeping your readers' eyeballs glued to the screen without exploding them or burning them out. Unfortunatley, this is an art I am unlikely to ever master. I am too opinionated. Even though it may not seem that way, writing this kind of articles takes a lot of self-control and focus, and I'm not sure I have that in the required quantity. I spent a few hours reading some of their very many articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21), only to realise at the end that I haven't really learned anything new; this could very well be because I've been working in IT since the 90's, but a total newbie would probably find something new to learn in there. I don't think I could emulate SP's style, and even if I could, I would get no satisfaction, no matter how much money I'd be making (and that's unlikely anyway). So as a result, I've decided to remove columnar banner ads from my blogs.

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Typing, dictation or handwriting?

Speedtest - how fast are you?: I clocked 2 short of 60 WPM, which is not bad on a laptop keyboard :)

Although typing is becoming obsolete slowly (definitely not as fast as predicted a few years ago by Gates), we think it's appropriate to discuss a few alternatives. Gates as well as other computer enthusiasts predicted decades ago that by now computers would not only interface via voice or handwriting, but they would even be self-healing. Obviously, none of those predictions materialised. Voice recognition has made amazing progress. Out of the box, accuracy is usually well above 95%, and with training it can be brought up to 98-99%, which is adequate for most applications. Handwriting recognition however has left much to be desired. I am typing this article on a Toshiba Tablet, which has both speech & handwriting recognition, but I prefer typing because I don't like headsets, and furthermore, I am already a pretty good typist. I had a friend a computer-adverse friend use it for a while, and he could not figure out voice recognition, preferring to type rather than write or speak. This leads me to believe that most people will prefer typing even when they are not fast typists to other methods, even when these capabilities exist (and the usually are not pre-installed). It makes sense therefore to look at typing tutors.

1. Typing Tutors
I learned typing by taking a course. I never had the self-discipline to learn from the computer. Furthermore, I always found competition to be a highly motivating factor especially for activities that don't involve the brain too deeply. But not everybody has the time to take such a course. So what is somebody who feels limited by their slow typing speed to do?

Whether you take a course, such as BBC's Typing Course or learn from a computer program, you still need to apply your will power. You have to begin by forcing yourself to use all your fingers and start from the home position (by feeling the bumps on "F" and "G" with the tip of your index fingers). You may cheat in the beginning by looking at your fingers, but eventually, you have to force yourself to look at the screen (and paper) only. No program (or teacher) can do this for you, you have to make each of these leaps yourself. There will obviously be a decrease in speed at first, but eventually you will get it.

If this is something you want to do, there is one program I would recommend. Sure, your friends might recommend "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing". This must be one of the most pirated programs in the world. When I got my first computer, it was at version 5. About 10 years ago was at version 11 (without any major improvement), which leads me to believe that by now it should be at version 56. But why pir8 and expose yourself and your computer to viruses, trojans or spyware when you can get most of it legally for free?

A quick search on Sourceforge (a collaborative site for open source software developers) turns out two major programs: TypeFaster Typing Tutor and Klavaro Typing Tutor. Klavaro is the underdog, obviously. If I was learning to type, I'd start with TypeFaster and move to Klavaro only if not satisfied.

There is of course more available if you run Linux or BSD. There is even a program called Makin' Bakon Typing Tutor, but if you're looking for a 3rd way, N-Type (also available for Windows) is probably a better bet - it will teach you typing with BBC's latest articles, which it downloads before the lesson.

If you want more eyecandy, Stamina has a more polished interface, though it's not open source. A more exhaustive discussion of the existing typing tutors can be found on the All Touch Typing Tutors list, hosted by the makers of Stamina (so it obviously lists Stamina as the best).

2. Voice dictation
You might be glad to know that you don't have so many choices in terms of voice dictations as with typing tutors. You will be less happy to learn that they are quite expensive and generally require a good microphone and as an absolute minimum a headset, to reduce annoying feedback or echo effects and increase accuracy.

A few years ago, your only choices were Dragon and IBM Via Voice. Dragon was better but more demanding in terms of hardware. In the meantime, Microsoft has managed to buy (and bankrupt?) a lesser known package from another contender. As a result, they came up with their own voice dictation software, which was first included in Windows XP for Tablets and now is part of Vista. Via Voice continues to be the least demanding in terms of hardware, while Dragon is still the best. Microsft voice recognition is not as good as Dragon, but it's included in Vista, which means that both Dragon and Via Voice will die a slow, painful death. For the Mac, iListen is your only choice, period.

Even with Dragon, the quality leader, dictating a letter is not a walk in the park. The program does not like pauses - it works best if you think ahead of talking, and that's not easy. Here is a good review of what to expect when dictating with Dragon.

If you are a business, your best bet is to deal with a reputable vendor and let them figure out what's best for you. A list of such vendors is available.

3. Handwriting recognition
If you tried this on a PDA or other underpowered device you are bound to have been disappointed. PC-based handwriting recognition is far better, as this Microsoft article indicates.. This software usually comes included with your OS, or if you purchase a writing tablet separately it might come with it, especially f it's a Wacom (the market leader) or similar. Otherwise, you might have to purchase a program like StartWrite. Again, a Tablet PC is your best bet, but if you prefer to just add such a writing tablet to an existing PC, a Wacom costs at least $80, with the better ones going for about $300. A Chinese made tablet about the size of a small mousepad can be had for less than $20, but don't expect quality - they are made to draw one Asian character at a time.

Conclusion
Stick with typing! The alternatives are expensive and will frustrate/waste your time far more than a keyboard.

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Google (Mail) Hacks

Googling Google posts about a hidden Gmail operator that lets you restrict your messages to a certain language. It is hidden for a good reason - the automatic detection is not perfect, so not all messages are labeled correctly.

How does it work? If I search for lang:ru or lang:Russian or language:Russian, I'll find some of the messages that contain Russian text, which in my case, are all spam. This lang operator can of course be combined with other operators.

How would you use it? My main desire would be the ability to block Russian and Chinese spam, which seems to get through only too often. Gmail could provide an option to automatically translate messages written in a language you don't know and add many other useful features from web search (spelling suggestions, query expansion, search refinements).

Love Google! Give them your eyeballs! :)

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NSA Backdoor - oxymoron?!?

I was recently reading on /. about a new NSA faux pas (Slashdot New NSA-Approved Encryption Standard May Contain Backdoor). I can only wonder why is anyone surprised?! This is the kind of stuff that fulfills their mission.

Not too long ago, another big scandal took a life of its own when a security researcher revealed the existence of an NSA backdoor in Windows NT security stack. The proof was not conclusive, but it was as conclusive one can find without seeing the actual source code.

I think it's safe to assume NSA is everywhere and act as if you have no privacy. What alternative is there?

UPDATE:
We learn from /. that, according to Schneier, Microsoft has added this new random number generator to Vista SP1.

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Transform your PC into a Mac

As the Mac buzz increases, more and more people are considering switching to the Mac, but they usually don't have the guts, the knowledge, or both. We try to alleviate that problem here.

PCs sometimes get bloated. They start suffering from software rot. The tons of DLLs or crap in the registry or even spyware eventually bring your PC to its knees. It is enough for one application to misbehave through either a memory leak or data corruption and the party is over. Soon enough, your uber-expensive computer is acting like a tired 386 with 16 Megs of Family Guy. Reinstalling XP is probably what most of us end up doing, only to find we have to do that regularly if we are to keep our PC in top shape. But isn't there a better way? What if you could somehow get your PC feel more like a Mac and enjoy that legendary simplicity and efficiency? Wouldn't that be better?

Sure there is a better way. You can try, of course, Linux. But that's like saying drink alcohol, you'll feel better. Alcohol comes in many flavours - you can have Jamaican Rum or a Kahlua Mudslide, they are all based on alcohol and just thinking about all your options makes your head spin (ah, well, mission acomplished :). And most of us know very well what kind of alcohol we prefer, but when it comes to linux, we're like G.W. Bush at a press conference. Well, let me be the Karl Rove to whisper in your ear and make it all manageable.

There are essentially 3 ways to enjoy a MAC look & feel on your Intel based run-of-the-mill PC without actually paying all that money. The first (native install) may be illegal even if you purchased the operating system, but the other 2 are most likely legal.

Update

20080204 - Found an interesting YouTube discussion which led us to make a collection of clips (navigate between clips by pressing the right or left arrows).

Wildwobby has a quick tutorial on building a Mac for less than $350, but it is based on downloading the OS, which is most likely illegal.

Sources

Until I find the time to write a full article, here are the links that should help you:

Corrections

none so far!

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Echoes of the WGA strike

Now in its second week, the Writers' Guild of America strike is what has kept many TV viewers from their favourite shows. The bone of contention is now compensation for web content, with WGA making some rather audacious demands, such as a percentage of non-skippable ad revenue. Here's the YouTube clip Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer:

There's no way we can hide it: we love the writers and the work that they do. We fully support their struggle.

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Annoy telemarketers automagically!

This is a freeware program that will answer the phone and check a text file full of phone numbers deemed "annoying" by the user and checks caller ID when the phone rings. If the caller is on the list the Telecrapper jumps into action, playing WAV files and waiting for the person on the other end to pause before playing the next WAV. After a while Telecrapper resorts to a subset of WAV files and plays them randomly until the caller hangs up. Watch it in action.

Not all telemarketers have a great time:

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Daft Punk & the OCD anthem

I recently stumbled upon yet another remake of that awesome Daft Punk tune that just won't get old. As you can see below, this one is done with college girls bodies. Judging by the way they move, they're not PhysEd majors, but that doesn't matter, the idea is interesting.

And how could I watch this without remembering the clip that started it all, at least for me? That was, of course, the Groovy Dancing Girl as posted some 183 days ago on the boreme website. She is apparently Sophie Merry, a 26 year old animator from Dublin, but I did not have a chance to verify all this info :)

The boreme website hosts a long debate on whether the clip was real or tricked - I defended the "real" side. I just loved that clip! I frantically searched for more, but could not find it, so I turned instead to other similar clips. Here's what I was able to find:

Here's a second clip from her, this one produced by Bandy Toaster and posted in August 2007, not long before my b-day (thanx!):

I liked the first one more, but still, I love this one as well!

Perhaps to quell the controversy of what is real and what is not, someone took the time to slow down the original clip, and here's what they came up with:

The result is clear to me: she wasn't faking, look at her hair moving slowly as well.

Give it a Hand, or maybe 2
The following 3 clips are all variations on the same theme - hands. Interesting idea, did she come up with it as well? Again, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. The first one's the best:

After watching the clip above, you must've wondered if it's real and not sped up (I think it's real). As if to settle that debate once and for all, this guy claims to have done it at 6x speed:

In case you didn't catch on, the pillow in the background is a bit controversial, unless it was made in India, in which case it represents peace and harmony :)

Here's a hands clip for "Around the World", but there isn't as much material to work with as in the first clip, and as such, it's not that cool:

BACKGROUNDS
Since we're talking about backgrounds, sometimes the "backround is da massage(sic)" as it is in this clip - just watch the dog, it's more interesting:

MUSICAL REMAKES
The Daft Punk OCD anthem has inspired even some more classical remakes, which is very interesting, since it's usually the other way around. The first, a piano version. To quote a cool comment, "dude, i f*** to daft punk's version, i make love to yours":

And what electronic anthem is complete without an A Capella version?

Where's da guitar? Where is it?

Here Kanye West crashing the party

Can we somehow tie in politics, specifically the Right and the Left into this? Well, they look like dorks and they remind me of that Kamen invention, but here they are

THE REAL MCCOY
This collection of clips would not do Daft Punk justice without a few clips closer to their original creations. First, let's have a look at the official clip for "Around the World", featuring more of those silly, hypnotic dance moves:

If you're starting to get a taste for Daft Punk's originality, here's the original clip for Harder, etc from their movie

This one's not happy, but again, the visuals are as interesting as the music (if not more so)

A bit creepy, isn't it? Hold that answer until you watch this clip:

Alright, to get happy and feel good again, here's One Mo' Time 4 u (just don't watch it 'til the end):

Just in case that wasn't enough, here's more. It's about luv (what else?!?), and the melody & words are so happy and naive, that even the dark accents of the video are not strong enough to take away the solar feeling.

Now, don't question their maleness just cuz they feel love

So where's their inspiration, where's all that originality coming from? Glad you asked.

REPLY
This dude dances on what sounds like Beck, but if there is a male answer to the Groovy Dancing Girl above, that is, if one can exist, this must be it: