Blogging

Google Blog Converters

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I read with delight that Google has come out with an open source project called Google Blog Converters which supposedly helps bloggers to move their blog from one platform to another.

Basically, what it does is that it will help to convert our blog from one format to another that could be recognised by our new blog platform. However, the script is written in Python so you’d have to know this to be able to run Google Blog Converters.

This is good news to me even though I have no plans to move any blog for the time being. However, I am happy that there is an easy way for me to host my blog easily in another blog platform if I so wish. I have three Blogger blogs that I KNOW I should move away but I am so lazy. Besides, I would need someone who could help me run Google Blog Converters because I don’t know Python.

Blogging

Model Liskula Cohen Takes Google To Court

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I think this is a matter that all of us bloggers would be interested in.

Apparently, Canadian model Liskula Cohen has taken Google to court to compel Google to disclose a blogger’s identity. This blogger uses the blog services of Blogger.com and has posted statements on Liskula Cohen which the model claims are defamatory. The blogger has also published photos of Liskula Cohen in the blog.

Google has not disclosed the blogger’s identity to date but said that they will do so if ordered by the court. Google will also remove the blogger’s content if the court deems it to be defamatory.

If Google loses this lawsuit and forced to reveal the as yet anonymous blogger, I guess Liskula Cohen will be taking the blogger to court then. This would be interesting to watch since it will affect all bloggers and how we blog.

General

Evaluating A Collection of Rare Coins

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My mother dug out some old coins that she used to collect when she was still in school, as she was cleaning up the house in anticipation of Chinese New Year. To me, I do not think that these coins are too old but my mother, who used to spend a lot of time reading up on rare coins for her hobby knows that she has some treasures on her hands.

My mother plans to dispose off her old coins as she no longer wants to keep her collection so I decided that it’s best for her to consult a rare coin dealer to find out how much her collection of rare coins is really worth.

Although I may not know much about rare coins, I certainly do not want my mother to lose her collection buy letting it go at a low price, right?

Computing & Internet

China Cracks Down on Porn Sites

While Vietnamese authorities have been busy cracking down on anti-establishment bloggers, China has closed down more than 90 websites that are either pornographic or link to pornographic websites. They have also issued warnings to major search engines, including Google, about linking to porn sites and really, if these companies would like to continue their business operations in China, there is nothing they could do but to do whatever China wants them to do; right now, it’s removing links to porn sites.

Google is said to have already cleaned up their search results for porn. I don’t know how effective their clean up has been but they are willing to protect their search engine from being invaded by pornographic links again.

Well, China has the largest web population and it is growing by leaps and bounds as more and more people are able to afford a computer. Companies which are found to have defied China’s No Porn policy will be threatened with closure. So now you know why Google and other major search engines HAVE to oblige China.

Computing & Internet

AOL Hometown Shuts Down Without Prior Notification

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I was searching for something online when I came across a blog post on an AOL/AIM blog which announced the abrupt closing of AOL Hometown. As far as I know, AOL Hometown is a free webspace for AOL subscribers. I don’t subscribe to AOL though I use its instant messenger (AIM) but I do know of a couple of American friends who have AOL Hometown websites. I guess it’s easy to build.

Although this happened sometime in November, 2008, I feel compelled to blog about this because, frankly, I am very dismayed that AOL did not feel that they should at least inform users of this termination of service at least a week prior to closure so that users would have sufficient time to move their webpages to another host.

Well, I think that it’s bad form to do this, let alone expect AOL to assist Hometown users to host their photos and files elsewhere, many of these are MEMORIES of users who spent long hours building the website.

Until today since the closure of Hometown, I do not see if AOL did extend a helping hand in retrieving files for these affected users. I feel sad for them.

Using public facilities and features, we must always be prepared to wake up one day to find that our files are gone. Even though we may host our own webpages, and you would expect you webhost to back up their data regularly, it really boils down to us to back up our own webpages.

Hopefully, somehow, AOL Hometown users would be able to get ahold of their web files and rebuild their homepages on more reliable services.

General

Building A Dream House

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My friend recently built a million dollar home. I have a stack of photos actually, which my mother asked me to publish on my blog to share but I would rather not because of security concerns. LOL

I visited his new house a few days ago, although his housewarming party is still a couple of weeks away. The house is so large, he has a huge entertainment room, a bar, a mini gym, a Balinese garden, rooftop garden, Jacuzzi and many other special features. Really, he spared no expense when it came to building his dream house.

At first, I thought that my friend used parquet wood flooring for the gym but he said that it’s professional high quality Gym Flooring that one could find in real gyms.

Rhino Sports® gym flooring uses advanced technology in gymnasium flooring that is not only suitable for professional sports play but also for home gyms like my friend’s. I understand from reading testimonials on the website of Rhino Gym Flooring that even top sportsmen and coaches have high praises for this patent-pending synthetic wood flooring. The company already has twenty years experience building gym floors, can you imagine?

If you are wondering if it is a good idea to have a home gym, you bet. And just because it would not be used by professional sports people doesn’t mean that you can’t give it the best flooring.

Computing & Internet

Vishing – Phishing Via VoIP

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I read that there is a new form of phishing. It’s not enough that we have to be on 24/7 alert when checking email, Facebook private messages and Twitter direct messages. It’s not enough that we are sometimes tricked into clicking links that came from “friends” via instant messages.

Now, there is phishing by VoIP and it is termed Vishing. A press release on Meadow Free Press has a very detailed article on how phishers could possibly harvest credit card numbers and we are told what goes on when a phishing VoIP call is in progress.

I guess we can not avoid getting phishing attempts aimed at us but we can safeguard ourselves when we do get these attempts by not disclosing our log in IDs, passwords, and very importantly, our credit card numbers.

Quite a few people fell victim to the on-going phone scam that promises to give us a VIP or backup card from “Menara KL” or “KL Tower”. If you believe that you have compromised your credit card number, call your issuing back and tell them to block the card and send you a replacement.

Source: Here

Random Thoughts Off My Mind