Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

Windows 7 decided to rebuild the font cache, leading to a brief moment of confusion when all the icons looked the same:

This should be considered huge progress–many years ago when installing iTunes and quicktime you would be required to reboot your computer. Welcome to 2010; iTunes is up and running again without a reboot. I remember fondly multi-disk software installations (say, a series of 10 floppies) and multi-reboot installations on older versions of windows.

Maybe someday soon Apple will make a version of iTunes for windows that feels snappy and native, and then all will be well with the world.

So I got this unwanted piece of MSN spam (from a friend who has now changed their MSN password):

(10:40:23 AM) ZZZ: You are not going to believe this!! FreakyLoving.com , you HAVE to go there and tell me what your results are!
(10:40:36 AM) ZZZ has signed off.

I went to the site, and indeed it’s a typical MSN virus scam:

* TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I agree and acknowledge that I am subscribing to Impression Media’s Text Alert subscription service, either by entering my cell phone number and the PIN Code that was sent to the cell phone supplied by you on this website and clicking the “Submit” button, or by replying to the text message sent by Impression Media to such cell phone with the word “YES”, pursuant to which I will receive a text alert three times per week. I am also confirming that I have read and understood the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and I agree to be legally bound by the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. I represent that (1) I am at least eighteen (18) years of age AND (2) I am of legal age to agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, or I have my parent’s permission to use and register on this website. Please note that you must be 18 or older in the State of Florida to participate in this offer. I understand that I will be charged a fee for the service of $9.99 per month if my carrier is AT&T, VERIZON WIRELESS, T-MOBILE, SPRINT PCS, CELLULAR ONE, NEXTEL AND CINCINNATI BELL. $6.99 per month if my carrier is BOOST, VIRGIN MOBILE USA AND U.S. CELLULAR. This fee will be billed to, or deducted from, the mobile account or the prepaid balance I identified until I send “STOP” to 51345 to cancel subscription, and I confirm that I hold the account corresponding to the mobile phone number that I have entered, or that I have the account holder’s permission to use this service and incur this fee. Unused credits will not be rolled over to next month. Message and data rates may apply. To cancel your subscription, text message the word “STOP” to 51345 at anytime. For customer support, please send e-mail to care@quiz4now.com or call 1866 285 4637. Send HELP to 51345 for more info.

If you sign up, they will charge you $10 / month until you figure it out and cancel. Lame! There are a couple other posts at WC Replays and Casual Discourse showing interactive chat attempts to direct users to similar URLs. The baddies who are doing this seem to be Las Vegas based Impression Media.

I was browsing Amazon shopping for a random item when I came across the following advertisements promotion Internet Explorer 8 as the “optimized for Amazon” way to “click, shop, and browse.” Check out the following ads, which showed up for me when I was using the Chrome browser:

While Amazon no doubt has the right to promote whatever browser it prefers, allying itself with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is the worst choice. Google Chrome is on the up-and-up, innovating a new faster web browsing experience, and capturing market share from Microsoft and Firefox. While Microsoft might be able to pay cash for coveted ads on Amazon’s massive web properties, Amazon, a company founded on Open Source software should be supporting and nurturing other open source technologies. Webkit might be the next renderer in it’s third-generation colour Kindle tablets–a technology that Google has heavily contributed to through its Chrome project. In the long run, Amazon would be better served promoting the open source software that powers its commercial success.