Dial up today is not the dial up of yesteryear. I remember when I went to college I use to have to go to the computer center to submit my Fortran programs on punch cards. I am a slow typist so it took me forever to write a 1500 line Fortran program.

Are you looking for inexpensive but effective dsl or dial-up internet service. Remember that dial up is still an option worth looking at. Especially when service begins at $9.95.

I also remember the first time I dropped a box of the cards. The problem was I did not have the cards numbers so they were all out of order and I had to restart the entire process. I

Luckily Best Buy had just come out with a myriad of computers. I purchased one and then bought a 2400 baud modem. Wow, in those days 2400 baud seemed extremely fast. I also remember the simple spreadsheet that it came with. I used this to write my Basic programs going forward. I no longer had to worry about punch cards or cassettes.I no longer had to worry about dropping my box of cards and having to rebuild them.

Now after leaving college I remember then getting a 9600 baud modem. Wow was that fast. At that point we thought things could not get any better or any faster. Of course I then got a 38400 baud modem. We surely could not get any faster. Of course I then got the 56K modem. I stopped making predictions other than dial up will remain viable.

Microsoft to launch Windows 8 Consumer Preview at MWC

By Mary Jo Foley | February 8, 2012, 10:06am PST

Summary: The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is launching in Barcelona during the Mobile World Congress on February 29.

Microsoft is holding an event at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 29 to launch the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

The event will be a two-hour affair (from 3 pm to 5 pm) on Wednesday.

February 29 also happens to be the last day of February. Microsoft officials have said the Consumer Preview, aka the public beta, is slated to arrive at the end of February.

Microsoft officials said last fall that Microsoft planned to deliver a developer preview (which went out in September), a single beta (the Consumer Preview), a Release Candidate and then release Windows 8 to manufacturing.

Microsoft officials continue to decline to provide a ship target for Windows 8, though it is widely believed at this point that it will be available on new PCs and tablets starting this fall.

Microsoft’s top brass also has continued to decline to say whether the x86 and ARM versions of Windows 8 will ship simultaneously. However, a member of the company’s communications team said this was the plan a couple of months ago.

For those asking whether the Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch will be Webcast, there’s no definitive answer at this time.  A spokesperson said when I asked: “There will be lots of online content on Microsoft News Center the week of February 29th. ”

I have to say, other than the fact that the MWC show happens to fall at the end of February, this strikes me as an odd place to launch the Windows 8 public beta. MWC is a gadget show. And sure, Microsoft wants to position Windows 8 tablets as mobile consumer gadgets — but supposedly Windows 8 is an operating system for business users, too, right?

Microsoft to launch Windows 8 Consumer Preview at MWC | ZDNet

Friday Poll: Would you boycott Apple?

Apple workers at a supplier facility in Shanghai, China.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple bye?

Will you boycott Apple?

• Yes. These alleged working conditions are intolerable. No more iPhones or iPads for me.
• No. I’m not changing my buying behavior without more ethical electronics alternatives.
• Only if the company fails to take steps to address any labor issues.
• Other. (Elaborate in the comments.) Vote NowView results

It’s the tale of two Apples. One is a shining fruit that recently reported $13 billion in profits.

The other has potential worms inside in the form of a New York Times report on injuries and poor working conditions at Chinese manufacturing plants that make the company’s products.

The Times story delves into a history of explosions, accidents, cramped living conditions, and brutally long work weeks at plants that make products for Apple.

In response, a petition has been launched demanding an "ethicaliPhone 5." Donald Trump has even weighed in, saying that Apple should manufacture its devices in the United States, rather than overseas.

There have been calls for boycotts of Apple products, but that also raises the issue that this isn’t just an Apple problem. Other large companies such as Dell and Sony also use Foxconn Technology, the manufacturer that was the focus of the New York Times piece.

Some consumers say they are reconsidering their Apple brand loyalty. Others feel that switching to another smartphone won’t make a difference in the lives of Chinese workers until there are widespread changes in the way the tech industry deals with its suppliers.

Where do you fall on that spectrum? Will you boycott Apple? Vote in our poll and expand on your answer in the comments.

Friday Poll: Would you boycott Apple? | Crave – CNET

There are many companies out there promising the world in web hosting. The competition is always on price. Would it not be nice to have this contest on both price and value? Would it not be great to have this comparison on similar products and services.

Well that is where Ultra Web Hosing LiteSpeed Technology hosting on 8-core Xeon comes in. They provide value for your hard earned dollar. They provide servers with the most competitive pricing available on the reliable market today.

It is not enough to just have a good product. One must also have good and accessible service when the customer needs it or is in dire straights.

This company provides unlimited hosting, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, unlimited websites, unlimited MySQL databases, free Site Builders, and much more. All this is offered at on great affordable price.

The question then becomes, after doing research of all the other companies out there,how could this one not make the cut. The answer is simple. Ultra Web Hosting always makes the cut. It makes the cut because it price/performance/value quotient is second to none. Try it now.

It is all about advertising. If it is all about advertising you want to be sure that you are working with an Advertising Agency that is competent. You want an advertising agency that you are sure is award winning. That! is an award winning advertising agency. They’ received the ADDY award. They have received an Inc 500 award. They have received the Florida Governor 2010 entrepreneurial Major Market Company of The Year Award.

What else can you ask for. This advertising agency is not your typical agency. They are an agency that will bring their client to the 21st century.They are a mixed media company which is the only manner to ensure that every niche of your potential audience is covered.With a very segmented market like direct mail, social media, internet web, email, YouTube, and all other media in between, it is imperative that all avenues are explored and integrated appropriately.

Not all advertising agencies are created equally. This agency has a team that will work directly with you to reach your goals appropriately. A campaign depends on a symbiotic relationship with the advertiser and agency to ensure that the message being conveyed reflect not on the letter of the campaign but the spirit of the campaign.

So if you are in the market for an advertising agency then you must consider this agency. If you are looking for an advertising agency that puts your needs ahead of their protocol, then this is the agency for you. You will not go wrong.

Prediction  now. I made a prediction today. Why don’t you check it out here. You can Predict the outcome of something now.

It is fun. You can spend a whole bunch of time just looking over what folks have predicted and what others think about all that was predicated. It is a perfect addition to the social media domain. As it gives a new option that can be as serious as you want it to be or as light or outright goofy that you want it to be. I tried it and fell in love.

Why not use this interesting new social networking site. Why not make an attempt and predict the Super bowl.  Why not predict the presidential election. Funnier, why not predict the current GOP race and determine which one is likely to win. Predict which one is likely to irreparably damage their political carrier.Predict if we will have a colony on the moon. Predict if we will ever get out of the budget crisis that we are in. Now if you get that one then you will be king predictions.

I will never go back to carrying around a bunch of books again. After all I have a device that can store thousands of books in the size of one small book. My daughter is a University student that walks several miles every day to school and around campus. She carries a heavy back pack filled with heavy books for her 6 daily classes. She calls me often and complains about back pain that was caused by carrying all those heavy bags.

One can only wonder when universities will give up on sanctioning the purpose of carrying hardcopy books as opposed to eBooks. Using eBooks solves so many of today’s problems. After, all if the millions of books printed every year is instead placed in an eBook only market, then think about all the trees that would be saved. Think about all the medical cost that would be saved from those who have hurt their backs or damaged a joint. Think about all the money that would be saved from not having to purchase all those muscle relaxers or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.

Frugal Dad has the ability to provide direction for kindle fire deals and coupons. It is a good place to start on your journey to a kindle. You can consider it your path to liberation from the bulk, weight, and yesterday-ness of hardcopy books.

I am sure most people know what the kindle fire is. The kindle fire was quote as:

"The Kindle Fire is a 7-inch tablet that links seamlessly with Amazon’s impressive collection of digital music, video, magazine, and book services in one easy-to-use package. It boasts a great Web browser, and its curated Android app store includes most of the big must-have apps (such as Netflix, Pandora, and Hulu). The Fire has an ultra-affordable price tag, and the screen quality is exceptional for the price."

as well as:

"Amazon’s Kindle Fire is likely to be the first successful tablet not sold by Apple, and there
are several good reasons for it: the low price of $199, the convenient, portable size of 7 inches, and a rich catalog of books, movies and music offered through Amazon’s Web-based services."

Given the above rave views for this product can you really not try it? Can you really not attempt to move towards the twenty first century? I contend that you cannot. It is imperative you give it a real try.

I have been shopping for original ink cartridges for years. I then decided that going forward I would only use genuine toner cartridges and genuine ink cartridges.

You may ask why. You may ask if that decision does not mean that I will be paying much more for my toner cartridges and my ink cartridges. The reality is while you may pay a bit higher nominal price, your time is valuable and many a time the refurbished cartridges themselves are not fully functional or give the range of the original toner cartridge or ink cartridge.

When I visited RetailBlue.com I could not be more impressed with the quality of the site. The site is easy to use and present all the options necessary to navigate efficiently directly from the main home page.

Searching the site for the particular product you need is easy. And while one may think that original toner cartridges and ink cartridges are going to be much more expensive, this site dispels that notion. So give it a try. You will likely save a lot of heartburn, a lot of headaches, and a lot of down time.

Thanks to Lemuel Craft

My mom kept talking about how she needed to figure out ways to save money. I started looking at all her utilities bills with her and it seemed like she was paying more than she should be. She asked me what utilities providers I use and she got excited when she realized she could get Lomax TX can get Amigo Energy today. She decided she should probably switch immediately once I told her what I paid. It was a good bit cheaper than what she was paying. It is funny that I am giving my mom advice on utilities now. She used to never want help from my siblings and myself for money, bills or anything really. For the longest time, she kept treating all of us like we were her little kids still. None of us liked being treated that way, but we also did not think it was worth it to bring up to her. My brother eventually brought it up to her and pointed out that we had all been out of the house for a while and most of us were married. It was time for her to realize we were capable of making “grown-up decisions.” I think now that she finally recognized that we have grown up, she is not so resistant to our help.

DEBUG & SOLVE YOUR SERIAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEM NOW! NO HARDWARE REQUIRED!

Innovative Serial Spy is a software only based serial port monitor / serial port sniffer for Windows that allows you to monitor and record the serial port’s activity between any Windows application and an attached RS232 device. Innovative Serial Spy supports Windows 7 (x86[32bits], x64[64bits]), Windows Vista (x86[32bits], x64[64bits]), Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2000/2003 Server.

Innovative Serial Spy inserts itself silently between any serial communication application and the serial port. No special hardware or setup is required. It will work with any serial port detected by Windows.

This serial port monitor is extremely easy to use. Experienced and novices to serial communication will have the serial port monitor installed and monitoring your application in minutes.

Screen Shot of Main Window

Applications using Innovative Serial Spy

• Monitoring serial (RS232/RS422/RS485) data flows between Windows applications and external devices.

• Implementing serial protocols.

• Debugging serial protocols.

• Reverse engineering serial protocols.

• Testing serial protocols.

• Identifying back and forth communication between any application and serial device or remote application.

• CONTINUED