The Matrix Data Bank - Messages from a far away land in the constellation of Kasterborous \’Net scammers go after gullible with fake stimulus offers

Scammers are always on the lookout for sociopolitical events they can craft into a phishing hook; we\’ve seen the thieves try lures flavored with everything from holiday celebrations to information on international assassinations. The various security firms and organizations in the United States have been warning of an uptick in recession-themed spam for the past few months. Families feeling the pinch—particularly those where one or more providers is in their second to third month of unemployment—are more likely to take a chance on an ad that seems too good to be true, even if they logically know the chance of finding a golden ticket is slim indeed.

For More details, head over to Ars Technica.

Lynda Carter – Out Of Touch Or Knows Something We Don\’t?

03/04/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

I think IO9 is being a little pessimistic here regarding Eliza Dushku… But I
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would certainly beÂ interested in seeing what Josh Whedon & Eliza Dushku could do on a Wonder Woman movie…
Of course, here I am broadcasting my age here…. But Lynda Carter would be tough to beat… Of course, I could bring up the Cathy Lee Crosby Movie….
Lynda Carter – Out Of Touch Or Knows Something We Don\’t? [Wonder Woman]:

$\"\"$ Former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter has given her blessing to Dollhouse\’s Eliza Dushku to take on the satin tights and red boots of Wonder Woman if the movie ever happens. But what\’s this about Whedon?
Carter recently told the World Entertainment News Network that she knows exactly what should be done with any potential Wonder Woman movie:

I\’ve always liked Joss, and Eliza would make a great Wonder Woman.

This came, apparently, in response to \’rumors\’ about a Whedon/Dushku team working on the Wonder movie, which is news to us. After all, wasn\’t Whedon politely shown the door by Warners over creative differences, and aren\’t he and Dushku busy enough with Dollhouse? We\’re cautiously optimistic about the idea of Eliza taking on the role of Diana, but somehow think that poor Lynda\’s gotten her wires crossed somewhere along the way.
Carter Approves Of Dushku As Wonder Woman [IMDB]
(Via io9.)

Apple axes the numeric keypad on iMac\’s standard wired keyboard

03/03/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

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Apple almost snuck this one past us, but friendly tipster Graham spotted the change-up: Apple has swapped out the standard wired Apple Keyboard for a new model lacking a numeric keypad. It\’s the same design as the wireless model, which also lacks a numeric keypad, except that this one has USB plugs on each end, and a cord of its own snaking towards your otherwise immaculate desktop. The good news is that the regular keyboard hasn\’t gone anywhere, you just have to make sure to configure your new purchase with it when you order — it\’s a free \’upgrade.\’ Inversely, the Mac Pros still ship with the regular keyboard, but you can get \’em numpad-free if you\’d like, for a similar zero cost. We\’re not sure what game you\’re at, Apple, but if you\’re trying to make us forget all those maths we struggled so hard to comprehend back in the day… well, OK, you win. Another straight-on shot of the keyboard is after the break.

[Thanks, Graham]

Continue reading Apple axes the numeric keypad on iMac\’s standard wired keyboard

Filed under: Peripherals

Apple axes the numeric keypad on iMac\’s standard wired keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:50:00 EST.

(Via Engadget.)

The best known scream in history (That you don\’t know about)

03/03/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

What\’s the most well known scream, that no one is aware of?
The Wilhelm Scream… Â It\’s been used in all the Indian Jones movies, The Star Wars Movies, and more than 150 other movies….
Here\’s a quick link for more information…

Apple Store is down worldwide, new iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro inbound?

03/03/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

Update:

New Mac Mini\’s
New Mac Pro\’s
New iMac\’s

Here\’s hoping that Engadget and the rest of the rumor mill are correct, and that there are new Mac Mini\’s in the pipeline…
Apple Store is down worldwide, new iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro inbound?: \”

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Yes, it\’s that most exciting time of the week for all the Mac fanboys and fangirls, when the Apple Store goes down and nobody knows why. Okay, so we\’re pretty sure we know why, but that doesn\’t mean there couldn\’t be some other surprises afoot, and everybody loves a surprise — except those with weak bladders or congenital heat defects, generally. Lovers of stylish desktops should be in for a treat today, but you just never know for sure until the site re-appears. We\’ll be watching closely for that to happen.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
(Via Engadget.)

macosxhints.com: Speed up iPhoto \’09 by vacuuming its databases

03/02/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

macosxhints.com: Speed up iPhoto \’09 by vacuuming its databases: \”Speed up iPhoto \’09 by vacuuming its databases
Mon, Mar 2 2009 at 7:30AM PST
Submitted by wjv
My iPhoto \’08 used to start in seconds despite the 30,000+ photos I kept in it. But after I installed iLife \’09 and upgraded my iPhoto library, iPhoto \’09 would hang for several minutes with the dreaded beach ball on startup. Even worse, though was that opening any event would trigger another hang of a minute or more, as would viewing a photo full-screen. (Once these initial hangs were over and done with, the app would work normally.)
Inside the iPhoto Library Package, there are four SQLite databases (face_blob.db, face.db, iPhotoAux.db and iPhotoMain.db). I found that by vacuuming all four of these databases, I restored iPhoto \’09\’s performance back to something on par with its predecessor.
Open Terminal and cd into your iPhoto Library (by default, cd \’~/Pictures/iPhoto Library\’). Once there, execute the following command:

for dbase in *.db; do sqlite3 $dbase \"vacuum;\"; done

Lala’s Spectacular New Music ServiceÂ |Â Technologizer

03/02/2009 Benjamin SchollnickNo Comments

The Technologizer is running a piece on Lala, and it sounds quite interesting. Low Cost ($0.10 unlimited streaming, etc). Take a look, and see if this might be a good fit for you…
For a couple of months now, Iâ€™ve been using a music service thatâ€™s been in a quiet (but open) beta period. Itâ€™s been kind of amazing. That service is the all-new version of Lala, and itâ€™s officially throwing its doors open to the public today.
Among other things, Lala is:
â€“a service that sells MP3s (DRM-free, natch) for 89 cen\”

LaLa