If You Like Giveaways Then Read On

So I was looking around for a watermarking software for my photos and I came across this cool site that offers free, fully licensed software - Giveaway of the Day. The only catch is that you have a specified time frame to download the software. If anything, it's a good place to get some reviews on the software you're interested in testing out.

I did see a watermarking software they were offering for free, but I found a little software program, referred by one of the commentators, that does the job fine - and best of all, it's free!

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The Aftermath Of A Password Hack

A former colleague of mine emailed me the other day to catch up on life and just chew the fat. He mentioned that someone hacked into his Hotmail account and deleted some important information... but I'm sure he stole the vital information before the big deletion. And I'm talking social security number, a couple of credit card numbers and passwords, and most importantly, his freakin' address. He's paranoid now and looking to get a cctv surveillance system for his property. The house alarm's already installed... at least he's got that covered.

I had to say he had it coming. One thing you definitely do not do is keep sensitive information like that in an email account. Hotmail is not a safe. Yahoo mail is not Fort Knox. If you're in business, especially for yourself, you need to clean out your email account of any private or business data that can hurt you and your clients later on. I mean it's only common sense. He told me he was going to get around to it but had no time. Well, I guess he's going to make time now.

He's going to make time to research what is good password practice. His password was common, connected him to it and was most likely brute forced because the words in his password were commonly found in a dictionary. Do your own research and be safe.

I found some good information here that gives you the do's and dont's. You can learn about what programs people use to bypass passwords as well. It pays to educate yourself. If you need high security passwords, especially for wireless networks, go here.

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An Awesome Car - The Shelby GR-1

Like every other man, I always dream of driving those supercars, whether Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, etc. I remember taking a ride in a Porsche that was custom made for the track. That thing was a pain to get into as the seats really hug your body - and with good reason. That thing almost made me pee my pants. The acceleration was like nothing I've ever experienced before, and I've been in and driven a few fast cars. The tight seats are needed to allow you to take the G-force around a corner. The engine sounded like it belonged in a Mac Truck. And it really was made for the track. All the luxuries taken out to lighten the car.

I was watching the Discovery Channel HD Theater yesterday and it showcased the Shelby sports car. The father and racing legend, Carroll Shelby, talked about how his car was known as the "Ferrari Slayer" back in the 60s and 70s. Then they unveiled the new Shelby GR-1...all I can say is sweeeeet! The funny part of the show was when the design team took the Shelby to a Ferrari convention - a little silver car in a sea of red. But it got a lot of oooohs and awes.

The Shelby GR-1 American Supercar has the classic sports car look mixed with diamond cut machined styling. With powerful rear haunches, polished aluminum skin and tear drop side windows it looks fast when standing still.

The GR-1 shares some components with the Ford GT, among them suspension and the 6 speed transmission. The 600 horsepower comes from the 6.4L V-10 giving the GR-1 a theoretical top speed in excess of 200 mph.

The exterior designer, George Saradakis, only needed one try on paper to get the design for the Shelby GR-1 approved. If he's that talented, I'm looking forward to all his future designs. Bravo!

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Prevent Overheating And Monitor Your Computer's Temperature

If you work on applications that make your computer really work, like graphics applications, you might want to get a little program that monitors the cpu and hard drive temperatures and performance of your hard drive.

I found this great program called Speedfan that monitors your system's temperatures and can even control the fan speeds for you. I actually don't want to mess with another application controlling my fan speeds but Speedfan is great just as a monitoring device. Normally, the computer fan will kick in at certain temperatures but if you want to save the wear and tear on your fan you can get an external fan to help out - a chill mat.
I did some research and found a great chill pad that doesn't require any power - the THERMALTAKE I-XOFT. It uses what's called Gauber salt to dissipate the heat. At cooler temperatures it solidifies, but when the computer gets hot, the material inside the pad liquifies and dissipates the heat, bringing down the temperature of the laptop. It's portable and from all accounts and reviews, it really works.I did some more research and decided that the Targus Chillhub would work better for me. I'm using more and more usb devices hooked up to my laptop and the added 4 port hub that comes with the Targus Chillhub was just what I needed. The Chillhub has it's own AC adaptor and the two fans run at about 2500 rpm.
So now whenever I run graphics applications, I make sure to turn on Speedfan and when it shows that the CPU/Hard Drive is going over the limit, I just turn on the Chillhub and it brings the temps down to the normal range within a few minutes. I even leave it on for most of the time and the computer fan hardly goes on, thus saving on wear and tear and extending the life of the computer.

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