Well at least fake Steve Jobs does, oh, and Apple. Two women from San Fran sicko have filed a lawsuit against the JesusPhone creator for not abiding by the accessibility laws at one of their retail stores, thus making it near impossible for them to even get into the store, and once they got in it was even worse. They have filed a 17 page suit claiming that the counters were too high for them to reach the equipment on display, and the elevator buttons were out of reach. To top it off the two women say they were treated like outcasts by the retail staff. We all know that the Apple employees are an extension of the Aryan race, but this is just rude. Tsk Tsk Apple.

They also complain that the “Genius Bar” was too high for the techs to even see them for their appointment, or even acknowledge their presence.

I think I might suit them for having something so pompous called the “Genius Bar”. The women also explain how the genius’ at the “Genius Bar” did not properly fix their issue. Not so genius if you ask me.

I hate frivolous lawsuits, but I actually think these women should win just on the fact that they have something called the “Genius Bar”.

The women actually make some good points with this suit, check out the images below of the same store. Granted most bars have seating like that as well, but it isn’t a bar, it’s a tech kiosk. But Apple being Apple always need to be different and chic.

So there you go handicapped people, come back over to the PC side, we will take care of you nicely!

In an update to yesterdays information about the upcoming Service Pack for Vista, and the Service Pack for XP Jon Devann Senior VP of Windows Core Operating System divulges his thoughts and process’s for this update and any future updates.

I have taken some of the more interesting questions out from the PressPass Q&A with Mr.Devann and have posted them below. You would think that this Q&A segment would be pretty boring coming from a VP of COSD, but actually he makes some great points about their new update process, which I am very excited about.

“PressPass: How do you know and decide what gets fixed for a service pack?

DeVaan: We are constantly monitoring the quality of users’ experience through Windows Vista’s built-in, automated feedback systems, such as the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) and Windows Error Reporting (WER). These are systems that customers anonymously and privately participate in via an explicit opt-in choice. Through the data we get back, we can identify, diagnose and then repair the most detrimental and prevalent problems users encounter.

Our primary focus after launch became addressing ecosystem compatibility issues that the data showed had adversely impacted some users’ Windows Vista experience. For example, when consumers see a “Device Not Found” message or the systems report back that a device failed to install, we can prioritize getting the needed drivers available on Windows Update or up on the hardware vendor’s Web site. As a result, our driver coverage went from 1.4 million in January to more than 2.2 million today. We also work directly with our partners to improve overall driver quality. We are able to see which drivers are causing system crashes or contributing to hangs and other performance problems, and then work across the ecosystem to bring solutions to market via Windows Update.”

PressPass: What about security improvements in Windows Vista SP1?

DeVaan: Windows Vista continues to be the most secure version of Windows ever. For instance, we can know from a recent vulnerability reports comparison that Windows Vista had 50 percent fewer critical vulnerabilities than XP SP2 and far fewer critical vulnerabilities than other competing operating systems in their first respective 180 days after release. We have addressed any known vulnerabilities in the appropriate manner and those changes will be in Windows Vista SP1 as well. At the same time, we are always looking at the proactive work we can do to improve the product before we receive reports of potential vulnerabilities. We have invested significantly in tools, training and techniques to improve the security of our software. We are constantly looking for and learning about new means of improving security, as well as new ways software is being pushed by those wishing to do harm. Using these learnings, we improve our tools, which we then use to analyze and proactively continue to harden Windows Vista.

Windows Vista SP1 will contain a significant number of code changes focused on the ongoing work to continue making Windows Vista the most secure operating system available. We are being proactive — these code changes do not represent vulnerabilities, rather they are coding practices that we continue to hone and improve in the ongoing race against escalating and evolving security threats.

PressPass: It sounds like a lot is changing. Is this a sizeable update for Windows Vista?

DeVaan: It’s true that at first glance it will look like a lot is changing, and it’s true that there are thousands of files being changed to varying degrees in Windows Vista SP1. However, the first measure of “size” most people will encounter will likely be the download of Windows Vista SP1 through Windows Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), which we predict will be about 50 MB. The second measure of size will be the free disk space requirement for installing Windows Vista SP1, which is currently around 7 GB for the beta, although we will be working to bring this down for the final version as we optimize the servicing algorithms used.

IT Professionals not using distribution tools like WSUS will work with the “stand-alone” image of Windows Vista SP1. This image will be considerably larger than the download, at about a gigabyte in the beta, but it’s large with good reasons. This package includes all of the localized language resources for 36 languages, so that companies with worldwide install images have all the files they need in one place. Also, this image utilizes servicing algorithms that update all files of an operating system component, even if only one of the files has changed, which increases the size of the image but allows IT Pros to service their images in any order they chose without worrying about creating inconsistent system states across their organization. Finally, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 share the same code base, and we are choosing to unify the servicing between the two in order to simplify the long-term maintenance process and lower support costs for customers. To do this, we’re changing the files necessary to align the servicing components, which contributes to the larger size of the stand-alone image.”

Click here to read the full transcript of this Q&A session.

For me reading this really made me feel a lot better about this new process, and the reasons why they have waited so long. A lot of it makes sense. Microsoft has taken a lot of flack for releasing updates to late or to early, this Service Pack is no different, but they are improving the process so they can create updates that take care of a whole issue not just a patch that is temporary.

Major Nelson has posted letting us known Bungie has declared Halo 3 Gold! Halo 3 will be in stores on September 25th. I can’t wait to get my hands on this.

Well they finally did it. No, no no they didn’t release it yet. Today is kind of a teaser for all of us out of the pre-beta loop. We have all heard the industry chatter about Microsoft sending SP1 out to a group of beta testers, and now they are saying all of us can soon enjoy testing the beta ourselves. Nick White over at the Windows Vista Team Blog writes about the new addition to Vista and what changes and fix’s we are expecting to see. I am very impressed by the whitepaper write-up posted by Brandon Leblanc that follows Mr.White’s introduction. A lot of updates and fix’s. This really looks like it might actually be the key to unlocking Windows Vista.

I assume everyone wants a list of all the major fixes, and yes they fixed the file transfer issues as well. But like I said it’s in beta form, hurry up and just give it to me in omega form!

“The updates in Windows Vista SP1 fall into three categories”

• Quality improvements, including all previously released updates, which address reliability, security, and performance.
• Improvements to the administration experience, including BitLocker^TM Drive Encryption (BDE).
• Support for emerging hardware and standards, such as an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and an Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT).

Security Improvements

• Provides security software vendors a more secure way to communicate with Windows Security Center.
• Includes application programming interfaces (APIs) by which third-party security and malicious software detection applications can work with kernel patch protection on x64 versions of Windows Vista. These APIs help ISVs develop software that extends the functionality of the Windows kernel on x64 computers without disabling or weakening the protection offered by kernel patch protection.
• Improves the security of running RemoteApp programs and desktops by allowing Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) files to be signed. Customers can differentiate user experiences based on publisher identity.
• Adds an Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) to the list of available PRNGs in Windows Vista.
• Enhances BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE) to offer an additional multifactor authentication method that combines a key protected by the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) with a Startup key stored on a USB storage device and a user-generated personal identification number (PIN).

Reliability Improvements

• Improved reliability and compatibility of Windows Vista when used with newer graphics cards in several specific scenarios and configurations.
• Improved reliability when working with external displays on a laptop.
• Improved Windows Vista reliability in networking configuration scenarios.
• Improved reliability of systems that were upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista.
• Increased compatibility with many printer drivers.
• Increased reliability and performance of Windows Vista when entering sleep and resuming from sleep.

Performance Improvements

• Improves the speed of copying and extracting files.
• Improves the time to become active from Hibernate and Resume modes.
• Improves the performance of domain-joined PCs when operating off the domain; in the current release version of Windows Vista, users would experience long delays when opening the File dialog box.
• Improves performance of Windows® Internet Explorer® 7 in Windows Vista, reducing CPU utilization and speeding JavaScript parsing.
• Improves battery life by reducing CPU utilization by not redrawing the screen as frequently, on certain computers.
• Improves the logon experience by removing the occasional 10-second delay between pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL and the password prompt displaying.
• Addresses an issue in the current version of Windows Vista that makes browsing network file shares consume significant bandwidth and not perform as fast as expected.

They say the full release of SP1 is slated for the first quarter of 2008!
If you want the detailed information from the Introduction to the Whitepaper head on over to the Windows Vista Team Blog.

All I can say is that I am ready for the WOW!

Taiwan-based PC manufacturer Acer has announced that it will purchase rival firm Gateway for $710 million in an all-cash deal. Combined, the two companies should ship more than 20 million PCs annually with revenues of over $15 billion.

Acer’s acquisition of Gateway was made with an eye towards its market share battle with Lenovo. Perhaps best known as the new home of the ThinkPad after purchasing IBM’s PC division in late 2004, Lenovo has 8.3 percent of the worldwide market, although its growth has lagged behind Acer’s in the past year. Acer’s shipments were up 55.4 percent year over year, to 7.2 percent, while Lenovo grew just 22.3 percent.

For many years, Gateway’s trademarks were its failed retail chain and cow-motif boxes. Despite the closing of the Gateway Country stores, Gateway has remained a relatively popular brand in the US in part due to its 2004 acquisition of eMachines. Outside of North America, Gateway has failed to attract much attention. Gateway’s second quarter US market share figure of 5.6 percent put it just ahead of Apple for the number three position in the US, but its 7.1 percent year over year market share slide was indicative of the challenges faced by the company. It also marked the second consecutive quarter that Gateway’s market share had dipped.

Acer plans to keep the Gateway brand around and will use it primarily to strengthen its US presence. The Taiwanese company has made US expansion a priority and managed to ship 888,000 PCs in the US during the second quarter, an amazing 163.8 percent increase from the same quarter in 2006. With Gateway on board, Acer should easily slip into the number three slot in the US—and possibly worldwide.

“The acquisition of Gateway and its strong brand immediately completes Acer’s global footprint, by strengthening our US presence,” said Acer chairman J.T. Wang in a statement. “This will be an excellent addition to Acer’s already strong positions in Europe and Asia. Upon acquiring Gateway, we will further solidify our position as number three PC vendor globally.”

The deal is a double dose of bad news for Lenovo. Not only does it strengthen its chief Asian competitor, but Acer’s move may also thwart Lenovo’s plans for Packard Bell. Earlier this month, Lenovo confirmed that it was interested in snapping up Packard Bell in an attempt to establish a larger beachhead in the European market. Gateway says that it plans to exercise its right of first refusal to buy Packard Bell, which is owned by John Hui, who sold eMachines to Gateway. That would prevent Lenovo from getting its hands on Packard Bell.

Via Ars Technica 

Today a new world record distance for a 5 GHz Wi-Fi link has been achieved by the Italian Center for Radio Activities (C.I.S.A.R), and Ubiquiti Networks, a leading innovator in outdoor wireless broadband solutions. The distance of 304km (188.89 miles) was established from Sardinia Island to Central Italy achieving data-rates of about 5Mbps, using Ubiquiti’s XtremeRange5 (XR5) High-Power Carrier Class mini-PCI radio module and 35dBi 5 GHz parabolic dish antennas.

Wi-Fi transmissions of greater distances have been reported by Gizmag previously, however, this latest endeavor by C.I.S.A.R. has achieved a connection on a 5GHz radio band at transfer rates of 5MBps. “The alignment of two 35dBi antennas at 304km (188.89 miles) spanning sea and land is a very difficult and complicated technical endeavor, but with the Ubiquiti Networks XR5 this was made simple without the need for additional devices. This saved us a lot of time, expense, and resources”, said Mr. Mirco Paesante of the C.I.S.A.R.

The alignment was made by providing a beacon through a semi-directional antenna (short-backfire 17dBi) on the Sardinia Island and one of the two 35dBi antennas on Monte Amiata, which is about 5,220 feet (1,740m) above sea level. It allows operators on Sardinia Island to stay in touch with their community on the Italian Peninsula, and is sure to have a range of applications in the future of Wi-Fi technologies, by incorporating super-high frequencies at far greater distances than ever before.

The C.I.S.A.R. is a non-profit association founded by a group of Italian radio amateur operators in 1981. Its main activities are in VHF and upper band experimentation, interconnecting FM and digital repeaters, providing support for the radio communication community. They have teamed up with “Ubiquiti Networks”, who designs, develops and markets wireless broadband equipment to achieve the new world record distance. After successfully inter-connecting the whole Italian country with analog FM repeaters, C.I.S.A.R. has envisaged a new wide-band digital network, connecting all Italian radio users to each other. “This link was particularly important, because in the event of an emergency, it will provide communications with authorities for help.”

The barring of U.S. residents by TorrentSpy comes as a U.S. district judge is expected to rule any day on whether TorrentSpy must turn over its user information to the Motion Picture Association of America. That group filed a civil complaint against the company last year accusing TorrentSpy of violating copyright law.

“TorrentSpy’s decision to stop accepting U.S. visitors was not compelled by any court,” according to a statement from the company. “Rather, it arises out of an uncertain legal climate in the United States regarding user privacy and the apparent tension between U.S. and European Union Internet privacy laws.”

The company also said that because its servers are located in the Netherlands, the site will remain accessible to users outside of the United States.

Although TorrentSpy doesn’t host any pirated movies on its site, the search engine helps users find unauthorized copies, the MPAA alleged in its suit. TorrentSpy has argued that the company has many legitimate uses and is protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA provides safe harbor for Internet service providers and does not hold them responsible for unlawful acts committed by their users.

The MPAA declined to comment on TorrentSpy’s decision.

Ira Rothken, attorney for TorrentSpy, said Monday that the decision to shut off U.S. residents will not affect the company’s appeal of a recent magistrate judge’s order that it hand over user information from the RAM on the company’s computers.

Via CNet

Today you’ll notice we’ve added Polls to the site. On the sidebar we have our first poll on “How are we doing?” - feel free to let us know what you think!

I’m sure we’ll be doing some more interesting polls as time goes by.

As you may have already noticed, The Geekery has gotten a minor face lift this evening. We’ve tweaked the site theme fixing some issues regarding text alignment through-out the site. We’ve also enabled a few new things. We’ve enabled the WordPress plug-in Slashdiggilicious so you can quickly “digg” or bookmark this site in numerous web services.

Also: we’ve added a menubar at the top of the site for important links such as our About us page and our brand new Change log page designed to keep track of changes and implementations we do here on the site. You’ll see with tonight’s changes we’re at version 2.0.1 of the site. Yeah we’re using version numbers for the site - we’re geeks remember?

Based on feedback, we’ll be tweaking some graphics including the top header image and adding some new UI enhancements as we move forward. Here on out, I probably won’t post much in the way of site updates unless we make some big changes. We’ll of course update our Change log accordingly though.

Special thanks goes out to Long Zheng for helping with CSS issues this evening.

A new free web based solution for tracking down sex offenders just released. Just type in your address and it searches your states sexual offender database and maps them via Live Maps. The service is called Vision 20/20.
Users simply add their address, city and/ or zip code to the Vision 20/20 site, and then the locations of sex offenders in the immediate vicinity are displayed over a map. Clicking on each sex offender leads to a profile which includes the name, address, and crimes of the sex offender, as well as a mug shot.

It does seem like a rather logical use for a maps mashup, and it functions well. According to Vision 20/20’s publicity there is 650,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, now everyone can find out where they live.

I really think this a must have bookmark for everyone and anyone. Sex offenders are the scum of the world, and all parents should know if you have a sex offender living near you.

Check this service out. I give it two thumbs up!

Here is an example of who is by me….

Found two, pretty far away though…few

Via TechCrunch