The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
There have been a few noteworthy stories circulating around the tech world of late, so I thought I would write a roundup column of a few of these stories to make sure we are all up-to-date. First is actually something to finish up from the column I wrote last week about back-to-school time and technology. Last week I emphasized only buying what you need and making certain that you don't purchase a strong laptop that just isn't needed. But I forgot to mention software. Software can be a money pit as much as the laptop itself. With the cost of a full version of Microsoft Office being up into the hundreds of dollars, it can be more costly than the computer itself. I am a strong advocate of using open source software such as Open Office, which is completely compatible with Microsoft Office applications, or another free application such as Google documents and spreadsheets, which allow you to share what you make with others. Those are both free and easily available. This is true for many applications. Need a photo editor? Try GIMP instead of Photoshop. There are hundreds of free applications out there, so make sure after you've shopped around and found a good deal on the hardware you want to buy, don't lose your savings on software. Changing hardware was behind one of the biggest tech stories of last week: the hacking of an Apple iPhone by a 17-year-old American student. Apple's new product, released in late June, has only been available in the U.S. and is exclusively tied to AT&T's mobile network. But George Hotz spent his summer hacking the phone, writing new software and using his soldering iron to open the phone up so that it can be used on other networks. Neither Apple nor AT&T is much amused, but George is happy, as he traded his one hacked iPhone for three more as well as a Nissan 300Z car. Phone carriers around the world are overjoyed, but don't get your order in yet as, of course, Apple is calling this hack illegal and estimates I've seen of using the hacked phone in Canada run from a minimum of $250 per month month up into the thousands of dollars. Dollars are where Google has their eye as they have finally introduced advertising into YouTube videos. Expected since Google acquired the video-sharing service last spring, the ads show up on a transparent overlay running at the bottom of selected videos. If left alone, the ads disappear after only a few seconds and are actually very unobtrusive. We all knew it was coming. Google did not spend several billion dollars on YouTube just so they could fight the hundreds of copyright infringement lawsuits that have been filed against the site; they needed to generate revenue as well. Compared to many of the possible options they had for placing ads before or after the video itself, or laying huge billboards on the web pages that host the videos, Google actually deserves points for modesty. Finally, modesty is probably not what a lot of people have in mind when they think of overblown, overstated video games. But did you know that beginning this fall, you will actually be able to make a living playing video games in Canada? That's right, we are getting out own professional video game league, allowing players to travel across the country on a circuit, competing against others in selected games and making up to $100,000 per year. Long a fact of life in places like Korea and Japan, professional gaming leagues moved into the U.S. a few years ago and are now headed north. The tech world is always moving and always has something new and this week has been no exception. ([email protected])
