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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best?

I’ve heard a lot about online high-yield savings accounts, but I’ve never bothered to look into them. It occurred to me today that it’s ridiculous to keep my “web money” in a no-yield checking account at Wells Fargo. As my blog revenue grows, I’m throwing away money by not having my savings someplace that pays.

I did some research. I googled for “high yield savings account” and “ING direct” and “HSBC Direct“. I followed promising links (and ads) from the search results. As of March 19th, here are the offers that I was able to find with minimal digging. All of these accounts are FDIC insured.

People banned from SNL

Adrien Brody became the latest person bannedn from SNL on May 10, 2003. He came out to introduce reggae musician Sean Paul, while wearing Rastafarian attire including faux dreadlocks. Without any prior notice, Brody began rambling in a Jamaican accent for close to 45 seconds before finally introducing the act incorrectly, misannouncing "Sean Paul" as "Sean John."

Monday, March 26, 2007

What Does a One Million Dollar Laptop Look Like?

We've seen plenty of expensive gizmos in our days, most of which are not due to advanced electronics, but this is one of the very few times we've had to get into seven figures. I'm not exactly sure what it is about this laptop from Luvaglio London that makes it so special, but the current asking price on the computing creation is a cool $1 million.

They've got a black one for the gents and a pink edition for the gals in the audience. To add to the exclusivity, you won't be able to just waltz into your local Best Buy or surf on up onto Amazon to get your hands on one of these expensive gems. Instead, the $1 million laptop can only be ordered "by appointment" from Luvaglio London.

Maybe it's the self-opening case in the video below that makes it worth the asking price. Then again...

Friday, March 23, 2007

Solar Storm Warning

This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.

That was a solar maximum. The Space Age was just beginning: Sputnik was launched in Oct. 1957 and Explorer 1 (the first US satellite) in Jan. 1958. In 1958 you couldn't tell that a solar storm was underway by looking at the bars on your cell phone; cell phones didn't exist. Even so, people knew something big was happening when Northern Lights were sighted three times in Mexico. A similar maximum now would be noticed by its effect on cell phones, GPS, weather satellites and many other modern technologies.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Torvalds Transcript: Why I 'Absolutely Love' GPL Version 2

On March 6, Linus Torvalds responded to e-mail questions on GPL version 3 sent by InformationWeek editor at large Charles Babcock.

InformationWeek: Can you comment on why you oppose moving the Linux kernel from GPL 2.0 to GPL 3.0?

Torvalds: First off, I don't even know what the GPLv3 will look like. I would be totally crazy to accept a license for my code sight unseen. I think people who just say "version 2 or any later version" on their code probably don't care about the license of their code enough. Before I say that "yes, you can use my code under license X," I'd better know *what* that license is.

So that's an issue totally independent of any particular GPLv3 details. The reason Linux has that "GPLv2 only" language is exactly that I simply don't want to be at the mercy of somebody else when it comes to something as important as the license I choose for my code.

So I can't even imagine why anybody would ever expect me to do anything but "v2 only." It's just stupid to do anything else.

Now, totally independently of that, I'm doubly happy that I long, long since made that decision because at least the drafts of the GPLv3 have been much worse than the GPLv2 is. They've had glaring technical problems (license proliferation with not just one single GPLv3, but "GPLv3 with various additional rights and various additional restrictions"), and while I certainly hope that the final GPLv3 won't have those obvious problems, I've been singularly unimpressed with the drafts.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Adobe says NO WAY!!!

Adobe says you'll have to upgrade to new versions of popular (and really expensive) software like Photoshop, InDesign and DreamWeaver if you want them to run well under Windows Vista.

Current versions of many Adobe products won't run flawlessly under Windows Vista, this announcement only confirms that they never will. So, if you're a creative professional (who hasn't already jumped ship to OS X) start getting out the check book. Adobe's CS3 creative suite will be out next week, and it ain't gonna be cheap.

We probably should have realized something was up when Adobe's own document on Vista compatibility (which we wrote about almost a month ago) dodged the question by stating that Adobe would release free patches for "some of Adobe's currently available products." To our credit, it would have been much easier to spot if they'd said, "some of Adobe's currently available products, but not the ones anyone actually uses or cares about."

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Castle Point Understands

You work hard to put together solutions for your customers. You spend your hard-earned time and money developing qualified leads. You have
a good customer facing a difficult situation. They want your help, but you can’t find a lender for their loan.

Castle Point understands. Sure, we provide products to which you’re already accustomed. But we’re different. We offer products that others
don’t. Does your current lender offer financing for credit scores below 500? Do they offer Stated Income and NINAs to 70 LTV with 400 scores?
We have a home for your loan, because Castle Point understands.

Our company’s unprecedented success is a result of understanding our customers and the sales people that serve them. Established in 2002,
Castle Point’s management team is led by principals that have over 40 years of combined industry experience. We’re young, but we’re hardly
rookies. During our first four years of operation, we’ve boasted over 1800% sales growth. Castle Point understands.

Castle Point Mortgage was created by sales people for sales people. We understand the hard work that goes into developing a qualified lead.
You can’t afford to approach the finish line only to inform your customer, “Sorry, we can’t help you.” Begin your relationship with Castle Point now
and you won’t have to say you’re sorry, because Castle Point understands.

Asterisk Telephone System

Asterisk® is the most popular and extensible open source telephone system in the world, offering flexibility, functionality and features not available in advanced, high-end (high-cost) proprietary business systems. Asterisk is a complete IP PBX (private branch exchange) for businesses, and can be downloaded for free. Asterisk® is released as open source under the GNU General Public License (GPL), meaning that it is available for download free of charge. Asterisk® is the most popular open source software available, with the Asterisk Community being the top influencer in VoIP.

Dreams Become Reality

When you work with Castle Point Mortgage, your dreams become a reality. We'll be there to guide you, to answer your questions, to make sure you understand each step. You'll see the difference at Castle Point Mortgage . Castle Point Mortgage is committed to making the process of buying or refinancing your home as simple and as affordable as possible. Castle Point Mortgage representative's understand the complex needs of today's borrowers, and are equipped to suit them with over 85 different loan programs. The personalized service of our experienced origination staff also allows our customers a pleasant experience throughout the entire lending process