Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey) | ZDNet

"To buy a Kindle Fire or an iPad? That is the question on the minds of many consumers this holiday season, according to new research from consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo.com."

Geist: U.S. could claim millions of Canadian domain names in piracy battle

"SOPA’s potential impact on the Internet and development of online services is enormous as it cuts across the lifeblood of the Internet and e-commerce in the effort to target websites that are characterized as being “dedicated to the theft of U.S. property.” This represents a new standard that many experts believe could capture hundreds of legitimate websites and services."

Adobe Had it Coming: The Long, Slow Goodbye of Mobile Flash

Flash is not dead yet, but it certainly is not gaining with this announcement.

Microsoft issues temporary fix for critical Windows hole - Win7 and XP

Trojans attacking Windows 7? Yep. And XP too......

A flaw in the Win32k TrueType font-parsing engine affected every version of Windows from XP throughWindows 7. The vulnerability is related to the spread of the Duqu malware, a Stuxnet-like Trojan infecting computers via a Word document. "An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode," the advisory warned. "The attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights."

Earl

A few thoughts on the passing of Steve Jobs

First, we knew it was coming.  This man's life was Apple, he's been ill for years, and his stepping down meant he probably wasn't doing too well.  Not knowing him personally, I can only speak to his professional legacy.  He was a true innovator.  He was a visionary and created products that made my life happier.    Many kids started out with an Apple II at home and or at school.  He brought the GUI to home users. Whether you have an iPhone or not, the currently available smart phones are a direct result of the innovation of the iPhone.  The same thing goes for the touch tablet revolution started with the iPad.  His friends and family will miss him on a personal level.  We will miss his innovation and enthusiastic keynotes.  Yes, watching a Steve Jobs keynote was like watching someone sell ice to Alaskans, but with a sincerity and an enthusiasm that allowed you to forgive him for exaggerating just a little.  So RIP Steve Jobs.  I for one will miss you.  Ironically I'm wearing the right thing for the occasion.  It is a cool fall day and I'm wearing blue jeans and a black turtleneck.  It seems fitting.

Web Browser Grand Prix 7: Firefox 7, Chrome 14, Opera 11.51

I remember that there was a time, after the death of Netscape, that there was no great or even superior rival on the Windows side to IE. MS, though they denied it had been successful in quashing their most prominent rival. They won by integrating their browser so tightly into Windows that to this day it is pretty impossible not to use IE in some capacity at some time if you are a Windows user. This in spite of the MS malaise that allowed IE six to live on and on well past its prime.

So, today we have some real and viable browser choices. Tom's Hardware has tested those choices and announced a winner. Chrome is coming on so fast; but I don't want to give away the winner, even though it was by a nose, so I can't say more. Go read the article.

MagicJack app brings totally free calling to iOS | iPhone Atlas

If we were doing the show, I would definitely be checking this out for the app corner. The concept seems better than the execution right now, but the concept certainly is intriguing.