Do the Bluetooth Thing Right with a Jawbone Icon
Recently, they passed a law up here in the great, white world of Canada that makes it illegal to use a hand-held device, such as a phone, while driving a car. Getting caught doing so is now quite the expensive affair. But it’s ok – I’m still safe, until they outlaw driving with your feet. What a sad day that’ll be.
In any case, to avoid paying hundreds of dollars in fines for something that I absolutely do not do regularly (*wink wink*), I decided that it was time to invest in a bluetooth headset. Being a geek, making such a decision is somewhat exciting, because it means I get to do what geeks love to do: Research new toys!
This model is called "The Thinker."
So, long story short (I know, what fun is that), I arrived at the latest product from Aliph: The Jawbone Icon. Here is my review of the device.
The headset itself is small and light, and sits at the side of your head rather inconspicuously. However, I suppose it could draw as much or as little attention to your ear as you desire, depending on which model you pick up.
The Jawbone Icon web site shows you six varieties, each with their own name, some more subtle than others. Some look like flamboyant pieces of jewelry hanging off your ear. All of them are technically identical, though; The differences are purely aesthetic. I also found that if you look around, you can find varieties that aren’t displayed on the Jawbone site.
Don’t confuse this headset with its predecessor, the Jawbone Prime. Besides the Icon being significantly smaller than the Prime, there are so many other reasons why you want the Icon. Better noise cancellation, better battery life, a standard micro-USB charging connector and software updates, to name just a few. The product page has a full feature comparison available for you to look at.
So Just How Good Is the Noise Cancellation, Anyway?
The Icon is designed to be worn so that it touches the side of your face. When you speak, it senses the vibrations generated by your voice, and uses that to determine what’s background noise, and what’s actually your voice.
So, what? Aliph calls the technology “Noise Assassin.” In my experience, they aren’t exaggerating with the name. I tested the headset in a call while I was driving with the window down, wind blowing into the car, and my stereo playing music loudly, and the person I was talking to said they were just barely able to hear the music and the wind. My voice was clear, and they had no problem understanding me. Impressive? Very.
Too good to be true? Maybe. Although most people I’ve spoken to who have one are very pleased with them, not everyone is. Joshua Nozzi uses one with his iPhone 4, and he’s received complaints that people couldn’t hear his voice over background noise in calls. Oddly enough, he said that turning off the Noise Assassin feature actually improved call quality.
Conclusion: While the majority of users are very pleased with the Icon’s noise cancellation technology, there are a few who would suggest that it may not always work as well as it should. Whether that has more to do with the phones, and not the headsets themselves, is anyone’s guess.
Fit and Comfort
Fit and comfort level is probably the one other factor as important as noise cancellation in a headset. The Icon comes with seven sizes/styles of earbud (pictured to the right; one comes already on the device) and an optional ear loop. The two at the top of the picture are designed to hold the headset in your ear securely without the ear loop, and they do a pretty good job of it.
It’s worth noting that to secure the top earbuds in your ear, you have to insert the headset facing down, and then twist it upwards so that the earbud’s loop slides into the back of your ear. Sometimes I could swear I can feel the cartilage in my ear crunching when I do this. Or maybe it’s just my superhuman hearing picking up somebody else’s cartilage crunching. Who knows.
Besides that, once I figured out a combination that I liked, I found it to be comfortable, fit securely, and cause minimal strain on my ear even after a couple hours.
Charging and Software Updates
Since when did bluetooth headsets have upgradeable firmware? Since now.
The Icon charges with a micro-USB connector. You can charge it either by plugging it into a wall outlet with its included charger, or by plugging it into a USB port on your computer. When connected to a computer, you can install things like software upgrades (to enable new features) or different voices (because it does cool things like read incoming caller ids and battery level to you).
This is done from the MyTALK web site. Install a small app on your computer, and start syncing with your headset. The site’s still in beta, but works extremely well and is easy to use. As soon as I connected mine, there was an update available that allowed me to listen to music from my phone on the headset, in addition to using it strictly for calling. Also, if you use an iPhone, you can install an app on your phone that shows you the battery level of the headset in line with your iPhone’s battery meter. Too bad that feature isn’t available for Windows Mobile or Google Android.
To Buy, Or Not To Buy?
If you’re looking for a good bluetooth headset, buy the Jawbone Icon. Just don’t buy it from your service provider (*ahem* AT&T stores *ahem*), unless you feel like paying more than you should. I bought mine from a reputable eBay merchant (sealed retail package), and even after shipping, I got it for $25 less than I would have anywhere else. But my point is, shop around, and you’ll find they’re relatively inexpensive.
Or you could just buy 51 burritos. That’d probably be good, too. Just saying.
1 person has commented. What do you think?Net Neutrality, Coconut Metaphors, and You
Finally, another tech post. Yeah, for a blog called “Talk Tech. And Other Stuff,” I haven’t exactly been talking a whole lot of tech lately. But stay with me here.
In the last few weeks, I’ve had a few people approach me and ask, “Tristan, what is best in life? Also, what’s this ‘net neutrality’ thing I’ve been hearing about?” Allow me to get the first question out of the way, quickly and plainly:
Net Neutrality – What the Deuce?
The concept is simple. Internet service providers (the companies that deliver the magic of the interwebs to you, the user, their customer) want to be able to prioritize certain traffic over others, and charge more to customers who use more. These may be customers who host certain web sites (anything from a simple blog to a large online store), or even search engines such as Google.
And why not, right? These ISPs are running businesses. They’re in it to make money. So why wouldn’t they want to be able to make more?
The argument for net neutrality states that this shouldn’t be allowed. ISPs should treat all data as equal. No traffic should receive any special priority, making the magic of the interwebs available and accessible to all. Equal opportunity, and all that.
So Why Should I Give a Crap?
Image courtesy of Anthony Hook. Click for an article on internet capping.
Think about it for a second. You really love coconuts. You decide you want to create a blog about coconuts, and eventually expand into selling coconuts and coconut-related merchandise online. Right now, all things being neutral, you can do that, and you’ll have just as much chance at success as even the biggest online web site. Best of all, you can do so at relatively little up-front cost. Bonus.
Suddenly, the net stops being neutral. Your ISP starts charging you extra for running your coconut blog. Your startup costs have just gone up. Worse yet, there are thousands of other sites that will likely get traffic to and from them prioritized over yours. And what if your ISP decides it doesn’t like coconuts anymore? Do the math. The online playing field is no longer level.
What makes this scenario particularly frightening is that if this happens, all those little independent web sites you love, your favourite blogs, the small independent merchants you frequent… They all become much harder for their operators to keep up.
Eventually, the internet becomes nothing more than a gigantic field of billboards controlled by the corporations and businesses who have the most money. The little guy steps onto the field to play, but gets crushed by a bunch of 746lb behemoths. And then he gets kicked in the testicles.
Who’s On Our Team?
Thankfully, there are some pretty big players that are all for net neutrality. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, just to name a few. And it makes sense. After all, they stand to lose a lot of profit, should the net lose its neutrality. They have huge online presences, generating a lot of traffic, and would feel the underboot of the ISP the hardest.
Selfish corporations? Of course. But in this case, it serves the little guy well. So there it is. Comments are more than welcome, especially if you have anything to add, or corrections to point out. Because I don’t claim to be perfect. I just think coconuts are cool.
3 people have commented. What do you think?Seeking Crazy Female, Normals Need Not Apply
These days, there seems to be no better place to look for anything you need than Craigslist. Second-hand gadgets. Cars. Bikes. Stolen puppies. Furniture. Robot components from the future. Romance. Even things people just want to get rid of for free. You name it, Craig’s got it.
The Personals section can be a lot of fun to read through when you have a few minutes to kill. Some of the listings people put up in the dating and “missed connections” sections are unbelievably weird, and great for a cheap laugh. So, when Tara was talking about some of the listings she was reading the other night, I thought it might be funny to create a ridiculous personal ad myself (obviously directed at her) and post it.
I took to Craigslist and started writing a personal ad in the “men seeking women” section. It took me about five minutes to write. My intention, the whole time, was to write something that would immediately sound so ridiculous that nobody would take it seriously. Especially if I mentioned someone by name.
Click me! CLICK MEEEE!
There’s no way anyone would actually respond, right?
I got four responses within half an hour of posting it. I was surprised. Seriously. Read this crap (click the image to the right). Tell me if you don’t immediately know that it isn’t for real. By the way, the “PAWTY PLATTAH” and “WITH MY PANTS” parts are Clone High references. You know, just so you don’t think I’m weird or anything. 
In any case, for the record (I say that too much), I’m not interested in Craigslist dating. Especially after being told by @4Whorin, “I met my first love AND my first STD on the Craigslist personals.” Dude makes me laugh.
But I’ll admit that one of the people who responded to the ad piqued my curiosity. She described herself as nerdy (bonus points), and in her email signature, quoted, “God is real unless declared an integer.” Both of which I appreciated, as a geek myself. Sounds like a cool person, at the very least.
So there you have it. What started as a joke with Tara ended as an interesting social experiment with surprising results.
Maybe people are more attracted to “ridiculous” than I thought. I know I am.
1 person has commented. What do you think?Walk Like Hooker. Draw On Arm. Eat Tomato.
Dares are fun. It’s fun daring other people to do things. It’s even more fun when they actually do them (which doesn’t happen often, in my experience). I’m not talking about utterly stupid things that endanger people or break the law. Of course, I can’t condone that. But if you’re comfortable enough with yourself that you can do something fun, albeit potentially humiliating, without backing down, then you have my respect.
Yeah. Anyway. This is just going to be a fun little summary of a beautiful Toronto afternoon this past weekend with Dudehead and Lisa.
The lovely Liz recently asked me if I would go wear some hooker shoes (she called them “stripper heels” – same thing, right?) and take pictures. I said yes. She didn’t think I would actually do it. It’s funny, I get that a lot.
I'm sitting on a giant shoe. How fun is that?
We found a store on Yonge Street that had what I was looking for. We went upstairs and found a wall full of shoes and boots of every shape and size. Some of those boots were longer than my legs, I’m sure. But the gigantic red heels screamed to me. They were the ones.
The girl who found my size was most helpful. I’m sure she thinks I’m a transvestite now. It’s just a shame that she wouldn’t let us take pictures. Props to Dudehead for the ninja picture taking, but I would’ve loved to have had video footage of what came next: The walking. How hard could it be?
I have a newfound respect for women who can wear shoes like this, and actually walk properly. I also think they’re crazy. But skilled, nonetheless. Lisa described my attempt at walking in this ridiculous footwear as akin to a baby deer taking its first steps. I would’ve hit the floor at least five times if she hadn’t been holding me up.
The poor, shocked employee had a mini heart attack every time I went down. I’m really quite impressed with the build quality of those babies. I was sure they were going to break at some point, leaving me to pay for them.
The rest of the afternoon was almost as much fun as scraping my feet to pieces trying to walk in shoes that made me as tall as Dudehead. It was a surprisingly beautiful, sunny day after what was a fairly dismal and rainy Saturday.
We walked past a gym, in front of which were people trying to get passersby to accept free trial memberships. They were super friendly. One of the reps was drawing on another rep’s arm with his pen. The girl let me draw on her other arm in exchange for my information. How could I refuse an offer like that?
@ladyowar likened me to Picasso. That's right. PICASSO.
Hours later, after some dinner, drinks and laughs, we found ourselves in a grocery store, where I ate a tomato. Apparently, I was still hungry. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to eat that tomato, either. Good tomato, though. We also met a really cool dude named Shane, who happens to be a fellow tech guy out of university, working as a web developer. Seriously, how cool are the random people you meet on the street in this city?
You should consider taking the next dare someone throws you. It could be a very liberating experience. And hey, you might just have some fun in the process. So how about telling me about some of the dares you’ve made good on? I know I’m not the only one. Live a little!
2 people have commented. What do you think?You Devious Bastard
Most people appreciate a good prank. Even more people appreciate watching them happen to others. If you’re going to be the one dishing them out, then it’s important that you’re also able to take them as well. We call people who can’t, “sore losers.”
There are few things I enjoy in life more than pulling a prank on a friend. Note: I emphasize friend. I don’t usually subject strangers to my devious ploys. That’s what high fives are for. The great thing about a good prank is that you can sometimes derive the most enjoyment out of the smallest ones. They don’t have to be complicated – just unexpected.
Bonus points if you guess which one is Turkish.
For those of you who don’t know, or follow me on Twitter, Turkish and I work together. He’s a close Italian friend of mine who is 12 feet tall and weighs 945 lbs. And yes, those numbers get bigger and bigger every time I describe him.
So he had this unfortunate habit of always leaving his email logged in at his desk. Naturally, when he left, I couldn’t resist leaving little “surprises” for him to find when he got back. Occasionally, I would open his email inbox, and send utterly ridiculous, nonsensical emails to various contacts in his address book (CC’ing myself, of course, in case anyone replied-to-all, which they often did).
The responses he got back never disappointed. The first couple of times, people thought he was going mad. And he didn’t quite understand what they were going on about when they replied, as he knew nothing of “his” original messages. However, after a while, my reputation started to precede my work, and people recognized the masterpieces for where they truly came from. I started getting emails directly from Turkish’s recipients, thanking me for making them laugh that day. Nice.
For my final piece, I decided to switch things up a bit, and provide some entertainment for his address book in the form of poetry. Keep in mind that poetry is, by no means, my forte. That said, let me know what you think of this novice poet’s work!
Yo. Yo.
I’m the Italian fiend
Suckin cannoli and gettin’ creamed
Nine feet tall, 800 pounds
My love affair with coffee knows no bounds
Hit me up with a laxative
You know my ass is capactive
Rollin down your street in mah Protege fiiiiiive
With my gino beats, nodding mah head as I driiiiive
Rockin my hairy chest like a mediterranean forest
Let it run wild, don’t need to hire no florist
You mess with the family, you gonna get whacked
Don’t even think about it effe, it’s a matter of fact.
For the record, I’m going to point out right now what a great sport Turkish is for taking the hundreds of pranks I’ve thrown at him over the years (like at my grandmother’s funeral) with grace, patience, and a hearty sense of humour. If you’ve been around on Twitter, then you’ve likely read about some of them in the past. Also for the record, he’s gotten me back more than a few times, so our friendship is in no way one-sided.
Talking about former pranks can be almost as fun as actually performing them at the time. I’m looking forward to hearing about some of the fun you’ve had at the expense of some of your friends, or vice versa!
P.S. Turkish, when you read this… Sorry about that picture. It was the best one I could find, I swear.
Laugh Inappropriately (You Jackass)
Sometimes you just can’t help it. You know it’d be wrong to laugh. This a serious situation, damnit! But the more you think about trying not to laugh, the harder it becomes to resist.
It happens to all of us, and I love it. Most of the time. And since everyone enjoys a good list, I present to you the top five most inappropriate situations to laugh in. In no particular order.
1. During a movie. Better yet, a serious movie.
You’re in a movie theatre, and half the audience is getting teary-eyed. But for some reason, you just can’t help but laugh. @diredhanan laughed during Schindler’s List. And it happens to me all the time. Maybe I just like the weird looks I get from people sitting around me when it happens.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a sad movie. Have you ever been to a movie that had funny parts, which made everyone else laugh, but you seemed to laugh at all the other parts? You’re the only idiot sitting in the theatre, laughing when the dude gets fired from his job, or when his dog dies.
2. During an important phone call with a client.
You’re in an important phone call. You know you shouldn’t be browsing Fail Blog while you’re talking to that client, but you’re doing it anyway. Or something funny just pops into your head. A good memory of the time you threw your friend over a fence into an unsuspecting gardener’s yard in grade school.
Yesterday at work, Turkish was talking to a client. I was cleaning up some garbage from breakfast, and he threw his garbage to me to put into a bag. Apparently, I temporarily forgot how to catch things, because the garbage hit me in the face, and we started laughing. I’m not sure what the client thought, but Turkish was laughing so hard, he had to hang up the phone.
3. During a public speaking event/conference.
A couple of years ago, I attended a VMWare conference in Toronto with a colleague. During one of the talks, I looked over to see him scratching some paint off his jeans. He turned to me and, in his best Russell Peters impression, said, “Just got some paaaaaaint.” I started to crack up. I’m not good at holding in my laughter.
I could feel my face turning three shades of red. Maybe seven. I started to shake with laughter-induced convulsions. My colleague, who had started to laugh at me at this point, was now wheezing like a chain smoker from trying to hold it in. The more he laughed, the more I laughed. People around us started to get visibly annoyed. By the time we had finally calmed down, more than half of the people sitting around us had left and our section looked empty!
4. The big one – during funerals!
The scene: My grandmother’s memorial service. The audience is asked to read a quoted scripture from their Bibles. Turkish opens his, turns to the page requested, and finds a little piece of paper hidden in the book. On it, a short message: “Hola senor Turkish! *smiley face*” He starts to crack up. He shows it to Dom, who’s sitting beside him. Dom starts to crack up.
Laughter is highly infectious. Especially Dom’s laugh. Kudos to them both for the effort they put into hiding it, but I could hear them both from the front. I sat there and smiled, vaguely recalling hiding that little note in his book months prior. Turkish still feels embarrassed to this day, but I continue to assure him that we (the family) were all happy about the incident – my grandmother was a jovial woman, and probably would have pulled the prank herself, if she was able to. She would have been glad that it happened at her funeral.
That said, not everyone has as good a sense of humour as my family, so I don’t officially condone this behaviour.
5. At the expense of others’ pain/injury.
We all laugh at those fail videos. Don’t even try to tell me this isn’t funny:
A guy gets wholloped in the jacobs by a child (been there). Boyo walks into a metal pole (seen it). Girl gets poked in the eye by her boyfriend (@TheChicoProd gets credit for that one). In those precious few moments before it hits us that they may actually need help, we laugh. Who knows why, but if it isn’t serious, then why not?
It’s truly a sad existence that someone lives if they can’t laugh at themselves. I do it all the time. It keeps me sane. It keeps me grounded. It keeps me humble. So next time you feel the urge to run away embarrassed, try just laughing at yourself, instead. Out loud. It helps. And it shows people that you don’t take yourself too seriously.
I’m really enjoying hearing some of your inappropriate laughter stories. Stick yours in a comment and join us all while we laugh at you, too!
7 people have commented. What do you think?A Little Vatican Humour
Got this in an email the other day. It made me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh, too.
Nananananananana Popemobile!
After getting all of Pope Benedict’s luggage loaded into the limo (and he doesn’t travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.
“Excuse me, Your Holiness,” says the driver. “Would you please take your seat so we can leave?”
“Well, to tell you the truth,” says the Pope, “They never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a cardinal, and I’d really like to drive today.”
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I’d lose my job! What if something should happen?” protests the driver, wishing he had never gone to work that morning. ”Who’s going to tell?” says the Pope, with a smile.
Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 km/h (remember, the Pope is German).
“Please slow down, Your Holiness!” pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens. ”Oh, dear God, I’m going to lose my license – and my job!” he moans.
The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio. ”I need to talk to the Chief,” he says to the dispatcher.
The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he’s stopped a limo going 205 km/h. “So bust him,” says the Chief. “I don’t think we want to do that. He’s really important,” says the cop. The Chief exclaims, “All the more reason!”
“No, I mean really important,” says the cop with a bit of persistence. The Chief asks, “Who do you have there, the mayor?”
Cop: “Bigger.”
Chief: “A senator?”
Cop: “Bigger.”
Chief: “The Prime Minister?”
Cop: “Bigger.”
“Well,” says the Chief, ‘Who is it?”
Cop: “I think it’s God!”
The Chief is even more puzzled and curious: “What makes you think it’s God?”
Cop: “His chauffeur is the Pope!”
What do you think? Leave a comment!$16,000?! All I Wanted Was a Damn Coconut…
You just had the most amazing idea. All the details are coming together in your mind. You need to create a web site, and you have the perfect name in mind. But much to your chagrin, ilovecoconuts.com is already taken. And what’s worse is that nobody’s even bothered to make it into a real site. It’s nothing more than a lame, generic page that’s stopping you from living your dream of imparting coconut-related facts and info-graphics to your hungry visitors.
What do delicious coconuts even have to do with sexy Latin and Japanese women, anyway?
We want a new domain name, but half the time, the ones that we want are already reserved by douchebag companies that don’t plan on doing anything with them except reselling them for profit, or generating advertising revenue from people who stumble upon them, expecting actual content. The people that do this are called “domain squatters,” and they really piss me off.
I was recently involved in a short email exchange with Jacob, who works for one such company:
Jacob to Tristan:
Hello Tristan, you contacted us in the past regarding ilovecoconuts.com. The domain is still available, and I wanted to reach back out to you to see if you were interested in submitting another offer on the name, or finding out the asking price. I look forward to your reply.Tristan to Jacob:
Hi Jacob, just curious – what’s the “asking price” we’re talking about here? Thanks.Jacob to Tristan:
Hello, the seller is asking $16,000USD for ilovecoconuts.com. Let me know how you’d like to move forward.Tristan to Jacob:
Hi Jacob, that is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t appreciate being lied to. Have a great day.Jacob to Tristan:
Who lied to you?Tristan to Jacob:
$16,000? The domain isn’t worth that much, especially considering I already saw it for auction, starting at $60, with no bids.Jacbo to Tristan (At this point, I’m so annoyed, I can’t even be bothered to correct my mis-spelling of Jacbo’s name):
Where did you see it for auction?Tristan to Jacbo:
I really don’t feel like playing this game with you. I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me, but I’m no longer interested. I’m sure ilovecoconuts.com is just one of many domains your organization is squatting on, and you and I both know that you are never going to get such a price for it. Feel free to contact me if you decide on a reasonable number.
Not the first time I’ve dealt with a domain squatter. I remember talking to one who wanted $500 for a domain. Not even 24 hours later, he was offering it to me for $25. The reason? They have to pick their battles. Squatting on hundreds of domains can be expensive, as you still have to pay to hold each one. At some point, a domain loses its potential for profit, and it becomes more prudent to cut your losses and let it go. That’s one of my theories, anyway.
So here’s where I’m going with this. If you see that rad domain name you want being squatted on, don’t give up. Even if you don’t enter into negotiations with the squatter to acquire ilovecoconuts.com, keep an eye on it! Squatters pick up and drop domains all the time. You could very well get lucky and find that your squatter hasn’t renewed when it comes up for renewal.
Don’t let evil Jacbo come between you and your dream of dropping a coconutty knowledge bomb on the web!
7 people have commented. What do you think?Discount Pharmaceuticals – Get ‘em While They’re Hot!
Hello. I am the former Nigerian prince, Haskdjwoijg Nyorksdfi. I have selected you to be my heir, and have $500 million to be wired to your bank account immediately. Please contact me immediately so that we may set up the transfer of funds. And if you act now, I will provide you with a large stock of viagra and cialis I recently came into possession of. When our business is concluded, I will send you an e-card to thank you for your timely response. I look forward to doing business with you.
I’m an “IT professional.” I often tweet about this. You knew it was coming. Just a few small things to take note of to better protect yourself on the internet. You’re welcome.
You wouldn’t believe how often I get this all-too-familiar panicked phone call: “OMG! I’m getting all these pop-ups on my screen, there’s an anti-virus program that says I’m infected with 4,672 viruses, and my computer keeps trying to eat my hand! HELP!” Congratulations. You’ve got the digital clap. So what do you do now?
You’ve already called me. Good job. But I’m going to give you a few guidelines that will help protect you from having to make that embarrassing phone call in the first place, provided you follow them. So please pay attention.
1. Antivirus software recommendation. Invest in proper anti-virus software. Here’s a good one: Sunbelt Vipre. Ditch the Norton Antivirus. Not only is it a less effective scanner, but it’s notorious for hogging resources and bloating/slowing down computers. It’s also far more expensive, comparatively. Vipre is effective, fast, light, and costs $30/year. Buy it now. And no, I did not get paid to plug this product. I’ve only been using it everywhere for over two years now, and can personally attest to it being a good product.
2. Online protection is 25% antivirus software, and 75% common sense. No one antivirus system can effectively block 100% of all malicious software. Good a/v is an important baseline, but real protection comes from using common sense and safe browsing habits. Don’t visit questionable web sites (lay off the porn), and be extremely careful when using your email (more on this in a moment).
3. Keep an eye on your address bar. If you think you’re on Facebook.com, but the site in your address bar says something like, “http://ihatepandas.com” or “http://142.48.72.108 …” you aren’t actually on Facebook. This is called a “phishing attack,” and it means you’ve just been tricked into visiting a malicious site designed to masquerade as a legitimate online service, and steal personal data or install bad software on your computer. Fish are tasty and healthy. Phish are evil and taste like betrayal.
4. Email is dangerous. It’s a sad fact, but we can’t get around using it. So be careful. DO NOT click a link in an email without confirming the address it’s actually pointing to. DO NOT open an attachment from someone you don’t know, or even if you weren’t expecting it. DO NOT even think about opening an attachment that ends with “.zip” or “.exe” unless… No, just don’t. And e-cards? Forget it. When was the last time someone actually sent you one of those, anyway? E-cards are so 2001 – so don’t bother with them, just delete. Trust me.
5. Just a few more on email. Sorry. Prince Haskdjwoijg is never going to send you money. Those viagra pills are fake. E-cards are the devil. FedEx will never send you tracking data in an attachment. An online service will never “update their systems” requiring you to give them your password via email. And when in doubt, pick up the phone and call tech support (or a friend in IT) for verification. The only stupid question is the one left unasked.
If these points help anyone, even remotely, then I consider this post a success. Just remember, common sense is key. Keep your eyes open, and if you find that you’ve fallen victim to number three, consider changing your password(s). Here a great post on Securityphile (written by Jason) on keeping your passwords strong: 10 Password Commandments. You don’t have to follow all of them, but the more you do, the better.
I’m always happy to answer questions! Comment here, send me an email, or grab me on Twitter.
2 people have commented. What do you think?What’s in a Nickname?
Nicknames are fun. We give people nicknames for different reasons.
A person’s name may be really long or hard to pronounce, and it’s easier to shorten it. Bartholomew turns into “Bart.” Maximillian turns into “Max.” Hrvoje turns into… “Hey… you! *friendly shoulder punch*”
You may not like someone very much. Dude with a popped collar wearing sunglasses inside turns into “Douchebag.” Silly looking white boy wearing pants down to his knees and trying to be a thug turns into “Stupid White Boy.” Whiney guy who panics and makes emergencies out of everything turns into “Placental Gazelle” (don’t ask).
But most often, giving someone a nickname is an expression of familiarity or affection. Everyone else calls your best friend by his first name, but you call him something weird that nobody else understands. A bunch of jocks refer to each other as “Bro.” A woman greets her fiance, her love, with “Pooky” (*CRINGE*).
The only thing I like more than a good nickname is hearing the story behind it. And cheese. But let me tell you about a few of mine. Some of them are really dumb, but I enjoy trading stories.
I call one of my closest friends “Turkish.” Contrary to popular belief, this actually has nothing to do with my former war against the Turkish hackers. It’s a term of endearment. Turkish is the main character in one of my favourite movies, Snatch, played by actor Jason Statham. In the movie, Turkish’s parents meet on a Turkish Airlines plane, which crashed. They survived, had a child, and named him after the plane. So you can see why the nickname would be a term of endearment, as it comes from one of my favourite movies. Turkish often says to me, “Hurry up, I’m hungry, let’s grab lunch.” I reply, “Two minutes, Turkish,” and take five. I sometimes wonder if he realizes this is also a direct quote from the movie.
Turkish has a nickname for me, too: “O’Flaherty.” He says it’s a quote (“You’re a good man, O’Flaherty”) from… somewhere. Where, I don’t know. But I like to think it means he thinks I’m a good man. The feeling’s mutual, mon frere.
I call my best friend “Dudehead.” Nobody else is really allowed to call him that. And I’m not telling you how I came up with it. But I will tell you it was random and stupid. That’s what’s so awesome about it.
You call someone by an awesome yet ridiculous-sounding nickname in front of others, and you always get strange looks. Looks that scream, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” But that’s one of the best parts of having an exclusive nickname for someone, isn’t it? That inside joke between you, that little thing that makes the two of you laugh, and everyone else look at you as though you’ve just sat down to dinner wearing nothing but a thong and a chicken mask.
So I’m dying to hear some stories about some of your nicknames. Care to share?
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