Two O'Reillys, two Dori Anns

We had some miscommunication at home yesterday and found that the teenager was confused about just who we were slagging. And so, just to make things clear:

• Tim O'Reilly != Bill O'Reilly
• While Dori Ann Smith and Dori Ann Horwitz are both me, Dori Ann Hanswirth (lawyer for such reputable media outlets such as The Star, The National Enquirer, and Fox News) is not.

Software for the Paranoid

Saft and me

A few days ago, I blogged about Saft, which is supposed to enable full-screen mode in Safari. I spoke too soon about how cool it was, I guess. I was referring to the concept, as I hadn't actually tried it out yet. So far, the verdict is that I can't figure out how to install it, and the docs don't give enough info. If you can help me with this, I'd sure appreciate it.

There's more details in the comments.

New Snapz Pro X

Snapz Pro X 1.0.8 released

This new version adds support for MacOS X "Panther", increased movie capture and all-around performance, fixes issues with iTunes 4 and newer Macromedia products, and fixes a few minor bugs.

Great, a new version, just after Tom finished writing the new edition of his Contribute book. Let's just say that the cursing that went on here because Tom wasn't able to use Snapz Pro with Contribute 2/Mac may have been loud enough to count as a breach of his Macromedia NDA. Oh well, better late than never.

Nobody loved me that much

The Brad has the same experience I did, wherein an item on our Amazon wish list shows as purchased, but it's never been delivered. And he's got the same theory that I do:

Someone may have been cruising my wishlist, spotted the DVD set and decided they wanted it for their own. If they clicked through and ordered it for themselves, Amazon's software would still credit it as an order fulfilled from my list.

So, it's my copy of the third season of Babylon 5, but it's living at Gary's house. Hmmm... he'll just have to bring it over to visit once in a while.

Resurrection

How to drive Dori insane

1. Put the auto-responding email support address from one of our books into your Outlook address book
2. Put the subscribe addresses from a number of popular mailing lists into your Outlook address book
3. Infect yourself with the Sobig.F worm.

For those who haven't played this game, what happens is:

1. Your infected copy of Outlook sends subscription requests to all those mailing lists which claim to be from our support email box
2. Those lists then reply (to the address they thought sent the message) with subscribe verification messages
3. Our auto-responder responds with info about book support
4. Those lists happily subscribe my auto-responder, as it has passed the verification step
5. Every email to the lists gets responded to by my auto-responder, including messages sent by itself
6. Hilarity ensues

Now, the auto-responder is doing just what it's supposed to be doing. And the list server is doing more or less what it's supposed to be doing (personally, I think that it ought to require something that shows an actual human wants to subscribe, but that's another issue). I lay the blame on the twit that's infected with the virus.

The next time I run across someone who is running MS Windows and MS Outlook and doesn't consider themselves responsible to be thoroughly trained in network security, well, I'm just going to slap them upside the head.

Legal software for Macs

Self-parking car

Rendezvous-capable printers

Lessig and Trippi

Saft - Full-Screen for Safari

New books by Alton

• I'm Just Here for the Food Kitchen User's Manual
• I'm Just Here for the Food Cook's Notes
• Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen

2003 MDJ Power 25

Google your math

A liberal reminder

If Americans have a common fault, however, it's our tendency to suffer from historical amnesia. Too many of us have forgotten, or never learned, what kind of country America was under the conservative rule that preceded the century of liberal reform. And too many of us have no idea whose ideas and energy brought about the reforms we now take for granted.

If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.