NetWorthy Systems Blog

For those die-hards that still think the Internet is a passing fad, consider this new report. For the first time, the Internet has passed all other media except TV as a main source for national and international news. All the other media have steadily dropped, while the Internet has, for the most part, continued to climb. This confirms the reports of newspapers continuing to struggle across the country.

Microsoft has extended the cutoff date for PC makers to install XP on new systems yet again. The new date: May 30, 2009. Now, it may seem to you that this is hardly worth blogging about, especially since it's Jan. 9th, 2009 and the new cutoff date is little more than 4 months away. But, before you pass judgement on this particular post, consider this: THE ORIGINAL DATE FOR XP'S DEMISE WAS JANUARY 30TH......OF 2008! 

According to Isuppli, world sales of notebooks surpassed those of desktops for the first time in history. In the 3rd quarter of 2008, 38.6 million notebooks were sold. During the same period, desktop sales declined to 386 million. That's an increase in notebook sales of over 40 percent for the same period last year. That's a lot of notebooks! 

Just in case you thought the government was taking care of your tax dollars in a fiscally responsible manner, along comes this story. 

A scientist looking around on Google Earth discovered 7000 Hectares of forest that was previously undiscovered, in Mozambique. An expedition was quickly put together. In the first two weeks, they discovered new species of butterflies, and a snake that can kill a man with one bite. I've always known Google Earth was exceptional, but who knew it was capable of this?

Just a quick blog to say Happy New Year to everybody who follows my ramblings. I hope 2009 finds you healthy, happy, and profitable in your business. Forget the doom and gloom that the media seems to thrive upon. If your business is down, find a way to bring it up. Adapt, adjust, do what you have to. Find a way to distance yourself from your competition during these times. Invest in your business. Find marketing that works, and use it! 

Do you know what Twitter is? If you don't, you may want to google it to find out. Dell announed that Twitter has made it over 1 million dollars in the last year and a half. Sure, that's nothing for Dell, but, every little bit helps, right? 

Here's some stats on Internet searches from comScore, a company that "measures" the digital world. 

Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas to all the readers. I hope your Christmas finds everyone safe. Please remember the reason for Christmas. We all know it's certainly not presents! 

Rumor has it that Best Buy is having problems, and they are offering 4000 employees a buyout. The plan is voluntary. Benefits of this buyout include ony year of health care benefits, and 7 1/2 months of severance pay. Employees have to signup by Jan. 5th, 2009. 

Okay Folks, 

I am proud to announce that I will be hosting a daily Monday through Friday computer radio show starting sometime in late January. We have tentatively named the show the "Geek Free Radio Show". 

Today, Microsoft released a patch out of band (OOB) or separate from its normal patch schedule. This is the second time Microsoft has released a patch in this fashion in as many months. This patch resolves a publicly known vulnerability called the "Zero Day Exploit" that affects Internet Explorer in various versions. 

With Christmas shopping in full swing, do not be swayed by salespeople trying to sell you Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition for your business. You CANNOT legally use this version of Office in your business operations. If you want proof, the licensing terms are here.

Recently I blogged about the dramatic reduction in spam across the Internet, literally overnight. It seems that nothing lasts forever. The huge crime cartel responsible for the majority of spam sent across the Internet managed to resurrect itself after being shut down back in November. The post is copied below for your review. All the more reason to have a GOOD Antispam solution in place for your company. The money you spend for employees to sift through this junk would amaze you, and the cost of a decent antispam solution will immediately pay for itself, many times over in a very short period of time. 

In the spirit of saving your company money, I ran across a blog indicating Hearst Publications is selling some of their magazine subscriptions at greatly reduced rates. Popular Mechanics is available for a one year subscription for 5 dollars. There are others there as well, including O magazine, Smart Money, and many more. To take advantage for yourself, or to give as a gift, follow this link: https://subscribe.hearstmags.com/subscribe/veranda/20180 

I ran across an article on telephonation.com a forum for us techy types that dabble in computer phone systems. It had some interesting points to make about saving money during business travel, or any travel for that matter. 

I ran across this article recently on some of the forums I subscribe to. It might be food for thought if you travel internationally. 

So you want out of your Sprint contract and you don't want to pay the early termination fee? Well, I ran across a post on how to get out of your contract now without paying the fee. It seems Sprint has added a 99 cent administrative fee increase per line will give you the ammo you need to say goodbye.