Sometimes you can't play HD TV shows and movies. Why not?

Many people use video streaming to watch TV shows and movies.  Video streaming is where the show or movie contents is sent over the internet and displayed on your TV or computer monitor.  One key requirement for streaming is that your internet connection is fast enough that the information needed to display the screen images arrives at your TV faster than your TV displays the images.  Otherwise, your show will lurch- start and stop- as the TV waits for the streaming information to be delivered.  I imagine most of you have experienced this.

Popular sources of streamed video include YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon.

I wanted to make you aware of one particular problem with streaming.  It has to do with viewing HD shows.  Sometimes, even though you have a fast internet connection and a monitor or TV that can display HD, you still can't see HD.  The following is a not I got from Amazon regarding this issue:

"At this time, playback for HD movies is not supported on the devices like Wii / Wii U GamePad / PC / Mac / Google TV / iPad / iPhone / iPod touch. 

However I've forwarded your feedback to our development team. They will work on it in next improvements. Customer feedback like yours is very important in helping us continue to improve the experience of using our digital video service. 

You can watch HD Movies and TV shows on the following devices: 

-- Wii U TV monitor. (The Wii U GamePad supports standard definitions video.) 
-- TiVo Series 3, HD, Premiere & XL 
-- Roku 2HD, 2XD, 2XS, LT, XD, HD-Streaming, HD Player 
-- Xbox 360 
-- PlayStation 3 
-- Kindle Fire HD models 
-- Certain HDTVs and Blu-Ray players from LG, Samsung, Vizio, Panasonic, and Sony 

If you attempt playback on a device that does not support HD, we'll automatically provide a standard definition version of the video to watch on that device. While HD movies cannot currently be accessed on a Mac or PC, you do have the option to stream HD TV shows. You can also stream HD TV shows on Google TV. 

To learn more about Amazon Instant Video compatible devices, visit: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/devices "

Surge Protectors

Lightning generates a lot of my business.  We are into that season again.  To avoid costly repairs, please make sure all your sensitive electronics and appliances are protected by functional, working surge protectors.    Common missed equipment include your telephone and your refrigerator.  In my experience, for our area the telephone wire is the "weak link."

Don't use those cheap bar plug units; use a real surge protector. ( Link to explanation of surge protectors.).  The refrigerator may be the hardest to protect due to size constraints.  (You may have to put the surge protector under the refrigerator and you will need a long enough cord to reach the outlet.)

You might look at whole house surge protectors.  The link above gives you info on this type.  I just got an add from Carolina Heating for a whole house surge protector: cost $339.  It reads like this is "installed."  At least this will give you a benchmark.

Microsoft going to a subscription business model for personal users?

A subscription business model is where you pay a periodic fee for software.  I imagine most of you have at least one software application where you do that; eg antivirus software.

At least for personal/private/not enterprise customers, Microsoft has a licensing model, where you pay for Office or Windows and you get it... until 3 or more years later, when a new version comes out and, if you want to upgrade, you buy that new version.

Microsoft does have an "Enterprise" business model that includes the subscription approach.  According to an article by Brad Chacos in the June 2013 edition of PC World, Microsoft is going to evolve to eliminating the license model for the subscription model.  Coupled with this, Redmond will eliminate the big version change process for a continual update process.  Office 365 and Windows 8 may be the last big version release.

I don't know if I like this.  For "casual users," many are still on Office 2003.  I bet the majority of residents in our community are still on Windows XP.  Many don't have any desire to learn the new releases.  Can you imagine having to pay an annual fee for those programs?

Brad Chacos is gushingly enthusiastic about this change:  "Microsoft's incremental future truly is the future- not the past.  And its about time it arrived."  What do you think?

References:
Microsoft Licensing Models
Microsoft Office 2013 is not transferable to another computer... NOT
A New World of Licensing

Fishing emails again!

There has been a rash of fishing emails, where it appears that emails are being "sent" by residents to their email lists.  The latest is from Manila or the Phillipines and asks for money to "rescure' the resident.

Has their email account been compromised?  Not likely.  Actual "profit-motive" companies exist around the world that use various techniques, from trolling the internet to installing worms on a individual computers, to wholesale invasion of government or corporate web sites, to create large databases of email addresses and relationships between email addresses.  These lists are sold at so much per thousand entries, to "perps" that are sending out the fishing emails.

For an example, see http://www.downloademail.net/9/email-list-part-6420/6627.html.  Browse there incognito (Google "browsing incognito" to find out how to do it.  The specifics vary from browser to browser.)  In general, google your email to see where it is visible to public search engines.  (These companies use their own methods.)

So there is nothing you can do to prevent this.  It is has already happened.

In the future, change your user name (att has this function, so the email goes to your real account but you send the email under another user name).  You can also change your email provider entirely.  After doing that, change the "from" in the email to show that you are sending the email from the old account.  Move all your contacts out of your old account.  That way, only your "front" account is compromised.

There are other techniques you can use, depending on your expertise and patience.  I'll summarize these techniques and provide links to detailed instructions in a future post.