By CrunchGear, on 2009.12.14, 01:30.40 pm

The beauty of essentially quitting social networking, as I have, is that I don’t have to worry about all of the associated nonsense. “Facebook’s new privacy settings cause uproar.” Really? Not if you quit the site it doesn’t. “Malicious programs causing social network malaise.” Again, not an issue if you’re not all-consumed with tweeting every 10 seconds about what you’re eating for breakfast.
To roll back the cynicism a tiny bit, there are a few ways to keep yourself safe on Facebook and Twitter and whatnot.
• Please don’t make your password “abc123.” You do know that a “bad guy” can run your account through a wordlist and have access lickety split, right?
• Don’t click on random links even if they’re from your friends. “Twenty percent off scented candles! I have to click on that link!” Just assume everything and everyone is out to get you.
I think that’s it, actually. Come up with a proper password and don’t go around clicking random nonsense.
And here’s a personal tip: if any of my friends see a message from me on Facebook and Twitter, assume it’s fake. I logged into Facebook for the first time in a long time on Tuesday, and found a message from someone from September. Oops!
Now watch as my accounts get hacked. Whatever.


By CrunchGear, on 2009.10.22, 10:00.41 am
Today’s the first day of the rest of Microsoft’s life. Windows 7 is officially available. Nearly everyone loves the OS expect for one notable person: Fake Steve Jobs. Here’s part of what he has to say about the new OS.
Do you feel it in the air? That heaviness and oppression? The smell of sulfur? Yes, dear readers, the Beast of Redmond is unleashing yet another tangled mess of hell-spawned code into the world. We know it is evil. You know it. I know it. But millions do not. Millions, in fact, will race out to obtain this evil, and will pay for the privilege of making their horrible lives just a tiny bit more horrible. I weep for those people. I pray for their souls. I just woke up from a terrible dream, one in which I’m hanging from a cross and Bill Gates is on the cross next to me. I tell him I know why he’s here, but why am I? He says, Because you copied all my good ideas. That’s when I woke up — screaming.


By CrunchGear, on 2009.10.14, 04:00.12 am

Victor JVC has announced [JP] a new home theater sound system for the Japanese market today, consisting of a set of two speakers (SP-FT1/FT2) and the corresponding amplifier (AX-FT1/FT2). And the system is very pretty, mainly because the speakers are just 30.8mm thin and weigh 0.85kg each.
At 31mm, the amplifier is a tiny bit thicker and weighs 0.73kg.It features 20W×4ch(4Ω) average power output and Dolby Digital DTS and AAC support. You can either hang the speakers up on a wall or use a stand that Victor JVC throws in.
The sound system will go on sale in Japan at the end of this month. No announcements for markets outside Japan were made, but Japanese buyers will have to pay $260 for the amplifier and $220 for the speaker set. The system will be available in black and white.

