PC Pro’s Top 10 Hard Disk Destruction Methods

Whether you need to permanently destroy your pron collection before your spouse finds out, or if you just want to see what happens when an electromagnet meets digital date, this article is for you.  PC Pro reviews the top 10 ways to destroy a hard disk drive.

“ Another solution inspired by electricity was far simpler: use a drill. While it may not have the physics kudos of an electromagnet, there’s no denying that drilling through a hard disk would be deeply satisfying – and a very efficient method for erasing your data.”

[via PC Pro]

BBC News Celebrates 40 Years of UNIX

[via BBC News]

“The computer world is notorious for its obsession with what is new – largely thanks to the relentless engine of Moore’s Law that endlessly presents programmers with more powerful machines. Given such permanent change, anything that survives for more than one generation of processors deserves a nod. Think then what the Unix operating system deserves because in August 2009, it celebrates its 40th anniversary. And it has been in use every year of those four decades and today is getting more attention than ever before.”

Internet Explorer 8 Issues (Already) [IE8]

With the recent release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer version 8 comes a number of new features that have been touted as rivaling Mozilla’s Firefox package, including a privacy feature for anonymous surfing and selection-based searching.

Also included, however, are features that we certainly don’t want to see, including an “Automatic Crash Recovery”, which promises to “prevent the loss of work in the unlikely event of browser failure.”  (Like that *never* happens, right ?)

It also appears that although the world is ready for a new version of the not-so-popular-anymore web browser, it appears that many sites, especially those that use Java or Flash technology are not yet ready for the transition.

Take a look at the warning from Yahoo games, which uses both Flash and Java to power the front-end game engines:

MacBook Pro on “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” [Apple]

In the movie “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay“, on the plane at the start of the movie, we see Harold and Kumar watching a movie on a brand-new black MacBook Pro. First announced in January 2006, the MacBook Pro was the successor to the G4 Powerbook models. Although the G4 Powerbook did not live up to its expectations, the MacBook Pro was an instant hit with both Apple aficionados and newcomers alike. It was also the first Apple notebook to feature the use of Intel processors instead of the proprietary Apple PowerPC. Slick, thin, light, and sophisticated, the MacBook Pro is slowly becoming a notebook to reckon with.

Anti-Piracy Stickers in The IT Crowd [Hobbies]

Fun anti-piracy stickers can be found pasted on the door to the IT department: “MP3 is not a crime“, “Fair use has a posse”, as well as two Electronic Frontier Foundation stickers. An ominous “Danger of Death” sign warns visitors to the IT department of impeding doom.

YouTube on Reba [YouTube]

In the episode of Reba where Barbra Jean is hired to be a weather spokesperson for a local TV station, she is ecstatic to hear that her disastrous video has it to YouTube. The viewers have clearly labeled the popular video “Bimbo Bloopers”. Of course, doing such a search will bring up a number of NSFW videos, but you can see the Reba segment here.

Clearly, Barbra Jean is enjoying the popularity, as shown in a phone conversation at the end of the show:

Barbra Jean: “Yeah, I know. How many hits ?”
(pause)
Barbra Jean: “I don’t care if they’re all inmates!”

Dell XPS on Big Bang Theory [Hot Gadgets]

Both Sheldon and Leonard use a black and orange Dell XPS to work on when inside their apartment.

iPod on Reba [Apple]

In the episode of “Reba” where Reba must relax because of high blood pressure, she uses an iPod to listen to relaxing meditation music.

Vintage Hardware in The IT Crowd [Computers]

A vintage Atari 2600 game console is sitting on the top shelf of the bookcase located behind Jen’s desk, to her right.

The joystick to play said console is conveniently located on top of the same cabinet.

An apparently defunct Commodore PET sits on the bottom shelf behind Moss’ desk, to his right.

A grocery cart full of useless PC’s sit right next to the entrance of the IT department (fitting, isn’t it) ?

Blue Screen of Death in The IT Crowd [Windows]

At the end of the opening credits, the screen flashes to a Windows Blue Screen of Death, followed shortly by a Windows 1.0-looking warning window.