Paul McNamara

Author Archives: Paul McNamara

It’s now easier to check if that used smartphone you might buy is stolen

First of all, that used phone you’re thinking about buying – the one on Craigslist going for a ridiculously low price – is almost certainly stolen. You know that. We all know it.Yet if you’re intent on buying a used phone – and don’t want to buy a hot one – the wireless industry has just given you a new tool that will allow you to be reasonably confident that the phone hasn’t been reported stolen lost.From a CTIA press release: CTIA, the U.S. wireless industry association, today announced the launch of a new tool www.stolenphonechecker.org to provide consumers with free one stop access to determine if a used or refurbished smartphone has been reported as stolen or lost.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

It’s now easier to check if that used smartphone you might buy is stolen

First of all, that used phone you’re thinking about buying – the one on Craigslist going for a ridiculously low price – is almost certainly stolen. You know that. We all know it.Yet if you’re intent on buying a used phone – and don’t want to buy a hot one – the wireless industry has just given you a new tool that will allow you to be reasonably confident that the phone hasn’t been reported stolen lost.From a CTIA press release: CTIA, the U.S. wireless industry association, today announced the launch of a new tool www.stolenphonechecker.org to provide consumers with free one stop access to determine if a used or refurbished smartphone has been reported as stolen or lost.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT work gets The Onion treatment

Is it possible that a writer at The Onion has previously toiled as a network engineer … or systems administrator? He or she at least did their homework to produce a “story” headlined: “Network Engineer Would Be Systems Manager If He Could Do It All Over Again.”From the “story.” Reflecting wistfully on what he might have made of himself had he chosen a different profession, Dynatrend Solutions network engineer Alan Miller said Wednesday that he would be a systems manager if he had the chance to go back and do it all over again.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT work gets The Onion treatment

Is it possible that a writer at The Onion has previously toiled as a network engineer … or systems administrator? He or she at least did their homework to produce a “story” headlined: “Network Engineer Would Be Systems Manager If He Could Do It All Over Again.”From the “story.” Reflecting wistfully on what he might have made of himself had he chosen a different profession, Dynatrend Solutions network engineer Alan Miller said Wednesday that he would be a systems manager if he had the chance to go back and do it all over again.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT work gets The Onion treatment

Is it possible that a writer at The Onion has previously toiled as a network engineer … or systems administrator? He or she at least did their homework to produce a “story” headlined: “Network Engineer Would Be Systems Manager If He Could Do It All Over Again.”From the “story.” Reflecting wistfully on what he might have made of himself had he chosen a different profession, Dynatrend Solutions network engineer Alan Miller said Wednesday that he would be a systems manager if he had the chance to go back and do it all over again.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘Found a leaky ethernet port’

As a regular reader of Reddit’s section devoted to system administration, I have come to understand that subject lines such as “Found a leaky ethernet port” do no always mean what one might assume they mean. Today’s example: “This is going to be a fun couple of days,” bemoans the Redditor who discovered this leak. “It's been raining for two days straight and it's expected to continue for another two.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘Found a leaky ethernet port’

As a regular reader of Reddit’s section devoted to system administration, I have come to understand that subject lines such as “Found a leaky ethernet port” do no always mean what one might assume they mean. Today’s example: “This is going to be a fun couple of days,” bemoans the Redditor who discovered this leak. “It's been raining for two days straight and it's expected to continue for another two.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘Found a leaky ethernet port’

As a regular reader of Reddit’s section devoted to system administration, I have come to understand that subject lines such as “Found a leaky ethernet port” do no always mean what one might assume they mean. Today’s example: “This is going to be a fun couple of days,” bemoans the Redditor who discovered this leak. “It's been raining for two days straight and it's expected to continue for another two.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Majority of U.S. households now cellphone-only, government says

For the first time in history, U.S. households with landlines – such as mine -- are now in the minority, according to survey numbers from a federal government report released this morning.From that report issued by the National Center for Health Statistics:The second 6 months of 2016 was the first time that a majority of American homes had only wireless telephones. Preliminary results from the July–December 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicate that 50.8% of American homes did not have a landline telephone but did have at least one wireless telephone (also known as cellular telephones, cell phones, or mobile phones) —an increase of 2.5 percentage points since the second 6 months of 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Majority of U.S. households now cellphone-only, government says

For the first time in history, U.S. households with landlines – such as mine -- are now in the minority, according to survey numbers from a federal government report released this morning.From that report issued by the National Center for Health Statistics:The second 6 months of 2016 was the first time that a majority of American homes had only wireless telephones. Preliminary results from the July–December 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicate that 50.8% of American homes did not have a landline telephone but did have at least one wireless telephone (also known as cellular telephones, cell phones, or mobile phones) —an increase of 2.5 percentage points since the second 6 months of 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Amazon bestows free Prime memberships on townspeople who need them not at all

Free is free and it’s probable that even the well-to-do of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., would rather have a free year’s worth of Amazon Prime – retail: $99 per year – than not have a free year’s worth of Amazon Prime.But it would be difficult to find a less needy population for such a gift.Nevertheless, Amazon announced today that it is bestowing the free year – plus some free popcorn – upon the town to mark the streaming release on Prime of the Oscar-winning movie, yes, you guessed it, “Manchester-by-the-Sea.”From a press release:“Oscar winning ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is coming to Prime Video on May 5, and we wanted customers in the town to enjoy popcorn and a movie on us,” said Greg Hart, Vice President of Amazon Video, worldwide. “Manchester by the Sea is a masterpiece representing the best of cinematic storytelling. In other words, it is wicked awesome.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple fanboys cited as Merriam-Webster herds ‘sheeple’ into dictionary

“Wake up!” the good folks a Merriam-Webster just tweeted. “Sheeple is in the dictionary now.” Merriam-Webster via Twitter And while the induction of such casual slang is sure to offend some, none will likely take great umbrage than Apple zealots, whose zealotry is cited by the dictionary as an example of the proper use of the word.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple fanboys cited as Merriam-Webster herds ‘sheeple’ into dictionary

“Wake up!” the good folks a Merriam-Webster just tweeted. “Sheeple is in the dictionary now.” Merriam-Webster via Twitter And while the induction of such casual slang is sure to offend some, none will likely take great umbrage than Apple zealots, whose zealotry is cited by the dictionary as an example of the proper use of the word.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Would Verizon really publish my unlisted landline number?

The question occurs: What will happen if I cancel Verizon’s “Non-Published Service,” which for a ridiculously unjustifiable fee of $5.25 a month keeps my landline unlisted and my time at home almost entirely uninterrupted by scammers and robocalls.If I cancel this alleged “service,” will Verizon really punish me by publishing my number – unlisted now for 10 years – against my will and even if I first ask politely that they not do so?I know what you’re thinking: Of course, they will, they’re not only a cold-hearted corporation, they’re a carrier, for crying out loud. I, too, figure they will treat me like a shop owner who refuses to pay protection money: “Nice quiet dinnertimes you have going there; would be a shame if something happened to them.” But you never know for sure until you ask, right?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Would Verizon really publish my unlisted landline number?

The question occurs: What will happen if I cancel Verizon’s “Non-Published Service,” which for a ridiculously unjustifiable fee of $5.25 a month keeps my landline unlisted and my time at home almost entirely uninterrupted by scammers and robocalls.If I cancel this alleged “service,” will Verizon really punish me by publishing my number – unlisted now for 10 years – against my will and even if I first ask politely that they not do so?I know what you’re thinking: Of course, they will, they’re not only a cold-hearted corporation, they’re a carrier, for crying out loud. I, too, figure they will treat me like a shop owner who refuses to pay protection money: “Nice quiet dinnertimes you have going there; would be a shame if something happened to them.” But you never know for sure until you ask, right?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

MIT selling 8 million coveted IPv4 addresses; Amazon a buyer

MIT is selling half of its 16 million valuable IPv4 addresses – an increasingly scarce stash it has held since the birth of the Internet. While details of the sale have not been made public, at least some of those addresses have already been transferred to Amazon.MIT says it will use the proceeds of the sale to finance its own IPv6 network upgrades and “support activities focused on the future of the Internet and the global cyber-infrastructure.”From an announcement by Next Generation MITnet. Fourteen million of these IPv4 addresses have not been used, and we have concluded that at least eight million are excess and can be sold without impacting our current or future needs, up to the point when IPv6 becomes universal and address scarcity is no longer an issue. The Institute holds a block of 20 times 10^30 (20 nonillion) IPv6 addresses.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

MIT selling 8 million coveted IPv4 addresses; Amazon a buyer

MIT is selling half of its 16 million valuable IPv4 addresses – an increasingly scarce stash it has held since the birth of the Internet. While details of the sale have not been made public, at least some of those addresses have already been transferred to Amazon.MIT says it will use the proceeds of the sale to finance its own IPv6 network upgrades and “support activities focused on the future of the Internet and the global cyber-infrastructure.”From an announcement by Next Generation MITnet. Fourteen million of these IPv4 addresses have not been used, and we have concluded that at least eight million are excess and can be sold without impacting our current or future needs, up to the point when IPv6 becomes universal and address scarcity is no longer an issue. The Institute holds a block of 20 times 10^30 (20 nonillion) IPv6 addresses.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

MIT selling 8 million coveted IPv4 addresses; Amazon a buyer

MIT is selling half of its 16 million valuable IPv4 addresses – an increasingly scarce stash it has held since the birth of the Internet. While details of the sale have not been made public, at least some of those addresses have already been transferred to Amazon.MIT says it will use the proceeds of the sale to finance its own IPv6 network upgrades and “support activities focused on the future of the Internet and the global cyber-infrastructure.”From an announcement by Next Generation MITnet. Fourteen million of these IPv4 addresses have not been used, and we have concluded that at least eight million are excess and can be sold without impacting our current or future needs, up to the point when IPv6 becomes universal and address scarcity is no longer an issue. The Institute holds a block of 20 times 10^30 (20 nonillion) IPv6 addresses.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Twitter’s porn problem is ‘trending’

News this morning that former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez reportedly had committed suicide sent the murderer’s name to the top of Twitter’s “trending” list. Clicking on it brought back a string of tweets that was positively littered with graphic pornography. Twitter How much porn? I reported and blocked at least a half-dozen tweets and my rough estimate would be that about 1 in 50 were obscene (the flow has since receded to a trickle). I have been a daily, heavy user of Twitter since 2008 and this is by no means the first time I have encountered porn there. And, yes, it has previously been noticeable in instances where fast-breaking news makes the trending list. However, today’s deluge was by far the most concentrated and, well, offensive.   To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Twitter’s porn problem is ‘trending’

News this morning that former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez reportedly had committed suicide sent the murderer’s name to the top of Twitter’s “trending” list. Clicking on it brought back a string of tweets that was positively littered with graphic pornography. Twitter How much porn? I reported and blocked at least a half-dozen tweets and my rough estimate would be that about 1 in 50 were obscene (the flow has since receded to a trickle). I have been a daily, heavy user of Twitter since 2008 and this is by no means the first time I have encountered porn there. And, yes, it has previously been noticeable in instances where fast-breaking news makes the trending list. However, today’s deluge was by far the most concentrated and, well, offensive.   To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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