Consumed Consumer . org

There was a time when having a “media center” involved building an HTPC, which was a difficult project to undertake, wrought with frustrations and hardware/software incompatibilities. OTA HDTV came along and many felt left behind just when they had gotten things working. Some experimented with Popcorn while others played with NZBs/NNTP/Usenet downloads. After all these years, one media interface has emerged dominant: XBMC / Boxi / Kodi.

I have recently responded to a rental ad on Craigslist and got a reply from a scammer. He hides behind the identity of a TV personality.

Continuing my SSD saga with windows installation. For what is worth, I have original Windows licenses with COA for all the new computers and laptops I purchased plus I even purchased and additional Windows license from DigitalRiver, as a student, for about $39. Unfortunately, that license was supposed to be for Windows Professional, as I ordered and was instead for Windows Home, which although at the same price point, lacked important functionality. I tried to contact the reseller to get the problem rectified but that was not possible (no response). Needless to say, I’m not as happy as one could be.

Over the years, I tried many hardware solutions to bring “convergence” to the PC desktop, but I found most implementations to be flawed one way or another. The new contender from Silicon Dust seems to be the perfect solution.

Some call it a big iPhone that doesn't make phonecalls, while others point out that it may not be a hot sell for women, for intimate hygiene reasons. The very last video in the playlist below explains this best.

The much anticipated show (re)starts today. Prepare to be once again mesmerized, as the show moves chronologically from JFK’s election and Marilyn's death to the era of those big shocks to the system.

This is Winter Wonderland season and while some can’t wait for it to end, others would like to keep it going for the rest of the year. For them and all those who just can’t get enough of its magical power, here is a list of Christmasy things you might enjoy.

If you pay attention to the Web 2.0 phenomenon, you might have noticed the creative use of misspelling and icons in logos. You might know them even better if you voted in the Open Web Awards . Brace yourself for a quiz that aims to test that very knowledge!

Mashable has just announced the winners to the 2nd edition of Open Web Awards. Today we learned the names of the People’s Choice Awards, while a week ago we were told the names the Blogger’s Choice Awards winners.

BcS is the target of numerous demands and criticism. As no major overhaul is in the books, numerous hacks have mushroomed to respond to its users’ desires. We’ll be looking at: A. Embedding the comment form, B. Numbering comments, C. Show Author Photo in Comments, D. Highlight owner’s comments, E. Recent comments, F. Top commentators, G. Add Reactions

A larger than life, but little known and little understood Internet security flaw gets coverage (again!). We keep wondering about OpenDNS and mention the Nisemono contest, since DefCON and DotCON sound soooo similar :) It is hard to believe that certain vulnerabilities so pervasive and so fundamental have persisted for such a long time unpatched. Yet this is the reality Dan Kaminsky ( A ), a security researcher, has been trying to change.

Not long ago, during World Cup, many tried watching it online live, but few succeeded. This time around, Wired helps you with a wiki ( 1 ) which you can modify yourself, but hopefully won't unless you have something worthwhile to add.

Many people love the Economist, the "serious" British publication. Reading it is a "guilty" intellectual pleasure that comes with a high price tag. At almost $8 at newsstands and bookstores, the yearly subscription is more than what most people can afford to spend.

Just like pop will eat itself, Facebook will one day self-destruct (2). Until then, it's getting an ever increasing mind-share and implicitly expanding media coverage. In the last salvo in this war for our brainspace, we learn that Facebook is taking a Canadian porn site to court over alleged attempts to steal private details of users(1).

We just learned about a very serious security flaw in the Passport Canada website accepting online applications .

Why would ConsumedConsumer.org care about the US elections? Frankly, because we cannot afford not to.

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.

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.

Although it missed Paul Jay 's Independent World News television (perhaps because it's not fully operational yet), SplashCast has an interesting listing of web-based investigative journalism outfits and how they make their money.