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MacBook Pro Black Screen
Earlier this week, I tried to summon my MacBook Pro from its slumber. While the MacBook Pro turned on, the screen remained black. No problem. I know that if the MacBook Pro case is closed and I accidently touch the external keyboard or mouse, the computer will sometimes awaken with a black screen. So, I…
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Google Docs: Trying to reach google.com…
When Google Docs, works, the experience is truly magic. When it doesn’t, it is absolutely maddening. I’m stuck in one of those moments right now where I can’t edit or save my document.
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Restaurant Chinese
Some colleges offer conversational Chinese. Others teach business Chinese. However, for Chinese Americans, the real deal is Restaurant Chinese. If you want to order off the Chinese menu, but can’t quite figure out a few of the characters, what do you do? At one point in time, I could only order dishes whose names I…
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PowerBook / MacBook: Half Keyboard Doesn’t Work
Strange things can happen when the kids play with the computer. So, the kids managed to restart the computer. However, they couldn’t get past the login prompt. And, neither could I. When I tried to login, half the keyboard didn’t work. Only the right-side of the keyboard would work when I tried to enter the…
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New York Times iPhone Application
Something appears to be missing. I can read the article. I see the reload button. I see an e-mail button. I see two buttons for changing the font size. And, I see the save button. But, where is the back button? Once I read an article, I get stuck in a dead end.
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Security by Stupidity
I hate security questions—those idiotic series of questions that pretend to make your web experience more secure. I’m not sure how these so-called security questions can be any more secure than the last four digits of your social security number or your mother’s maiden name. At least, most of us has commissioned those two pieces…
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The Internet is Broken
I love the American Experience series. However, when I was watching the episode on Test Tube Babies, I came across this annoying segment: Part of the documentary is blacked out on the Internet, presumably because WGBH only has the rights to broadcast the NBC historical news clips over certain forms of transmission. 21st century technology…
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Facebook Scrabble Fail
In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman asks whether our political systems have adjusted to the flattening of the world. If Facebook is a microcosm of our world, the answer is a resounding no. Take Scrabble, for instance. On Facebook, Electronic Arts and GameHouse offer two versions of Scrabble: Scrabble and Scrabble Worldwide. Like the…
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Apple iPhone Biometric Security
AppleInsider reports that Apple is developing biometric-based security features for the iPhone and Mac. While the concept sounds promising, I cannot help but think of how their current facial recognition efforts in iPhoto consistently triggers false positives.
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VMWare Fusion, Windows Vista and the Black Screen of Death
I’ve been using VMWare Fusion and Windows Vista for quite some time now. Usually, I’ll quit Fusion after I have completed my task to free up all the memory it has tied up. However, this past weekend, I had to use Vista for quite a few hours. When I opened my MacBook Pro this morning,…