Bugs

Microsoft Tells Hardware Manufacturers to Start Testing Windows 7 ASAP Or Face Sweat of Ballmer

Everyone knows how much of a bunglefart the "Certified for Windows Vista" sticker was in determining whether computers worked OK or completely lousily with Vista. Microsoft doesn't want to repeat this, which is why they're telling hardware manufacturers to start testing their products with Windows 7 as soon as the first beta is out, unless they don't want to qualify for Microsoft's new Windows 7 compatibility sticker. Microsoft's going to check up on them too, making sure companies' current Windows Vista submission "include a complete CPK with test logs from Windows 7." [Information Week]

3:33 PM on Mon Jun 2 2008
By Jason Chen
6,567 views, 119 comments

Latest by GrimaceXL: @nwaringa: lol F- see me after class more »

software

Twenty Five Year Old Unix Bug Finally Fixed

We're not sure why nobody's caught this bug until now, but OpenBSD developer Marc Balmer has just closed the book on a 25-year-old flaw affecting BSD file systems. He found it when an OpenBSD user emailed him about SAMBA crashing, which he then traced to a workaround SAMBA used to function correctly on BSD systems, which he THEN traced back to a flaw that existed since August of 1983. This bug is in every single BSD system since then, including Mac OS X. The code itself was a very trivial fix, which makes it all the crazier that it took 25 years to do so. [OS News - Photo credit]

4:10 PM on Mon May 12 2008
By Jason Chen
8,478 views, 47 comments

Latest by Rabid Penguin: @HeartBurnKid: I actually like Vista :c) I know it was a joke... But they'll stop paying me from the Microsoft Defense fund if I don't make an appearance every once in awhile. more »

bug bat

Bug Bat Swats Flies With Endless Love, Electricity

The scenario has happened countless times before. A pesky fly interrupts a dinner party. Brad, the club's resident tennis pro and notorious alcoholic, takes to his feet, Prince racket in hand, and smites the beast violently into a wall with a few tottering swings. OK, so it doesn't happen exactly like that, but you get the idea. Fly swatter, tennis racket or bare hands, the end result is the same. Boring. Enter the misnamed, but nevertheless brilliant, Bug Bat.
More »

10:00 PM on Sun May 11 2008
By Jack Loftus
5,757 views, 47 comments

Latest by Hanael: ah. poor man's taser. more »

warner bros.

Watch Full Episodes of Friends, Scooby Doo and The Batman Online for Free

Warner Bros. is jumping into the online video arena next month with a pair of sites, thewb.com and kidswb.com, which will show full episodes of its biggest series, like Friends and Smallville on the former, and stuff like Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo and Batman (hopefully Paul Dini's brilliant and amazing original animated series, not The Mediocre Batman) on the latter. It'd probably have made more sense for them to join Hulu, but Warner's probably not keen on splitting the ad dollars. If there's enough content, it could become a real destination, but we're guessing you'll still have to go to YouTube for "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves." [Yahoo]

3:17 PM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By matt buchanan
16,350 views, 14 comments

Latest by Worf: Is this some US only thing again? Quit tempting the rest of the world with your legal video options while we have ot use BitTorrent to grab our shows! more »

media center

Windows Media Center Universal Remote IR Quirks Fixed

Windows Media Center users who use universal remotes—not the default Microsoft IR remotes—have run into a quirk where only some button presses register. Here's the deal: media center receivers expect to see an alternating IR code for functions like channel changing or volume switches in order to eliminate IR "bounce," which is apparently caused by IR signals bouncing off stuff and hitting the receiver twice. In order to turn this off and fix the problem for universal remotes that don't support the alternating IR codes, just change a registry entry and you're done. Hit up CEPro for more details. [CEPro]

5:15 PM on Thu Mar 13 2008
By Jason Chen
3,899 views, 7 comments

Latest by Xenocide: @jdame95: Ditto, my 880 has 0 issues with my media center. more »

robots

Discovery Venus Fly Trap Robot Swallows Bugs Alive

Sure, it's an easy enough thing to find a Little Shop of Horrors plant robot that snaps shut to kill bugs, then burp comedically. But how about a bionic Venus Fly Trap that lures insects, detects them with its hidden motion detectors, then gulps them down whole and alive? The bugs fall into the clear containment chamber, which you can decorate with mementos to keep the bugs from getting too homesick, such as a stick, a leaf and maybe a piece of cheese or celery. Doing this, the Discovery Channel Store explains, allows you to "discover a world of fascinating discoveries." And yes, they do take the Discover card. [Discovery via Ubergizmo]

2:00 PM on Tue Feb 5 2008
By Wilson Rothman
6,217 views, 28 comments

Latest by n/a: @Kaiser-Machead: I find it hard to believe a cricket could ever hurt a large mantis. I have seen a praying mantis eating a full grown humming bird in my mom's friends garden. She took us out to see her "butter more »

bugs

iPhone 1.1.3 Mixing Up Your SMS Order? Here's How You Fix It

If your iPhone's displaying SMS messages out of order on firmware version 1.1.3, it's because your phone has a different time/date setting from your cellular provider. To fix it, just switch your phone to auto-sync from the network. [Apple]

6:29 PM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Jason Chen
8,259 views, 18 comments

iphone

iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak Has Issues With GPS, Official SDK?

It seems the first iPhone 1.1.3 jailbreak by Nate True we all rushed to install is throwing a handful of problems, some of which are fixable and some of which leave us wishing we had waited a little bit. Here's what we know so far from personal experience and what we've read on the internet. More »

1:06 PM on Mon Jan 28 2008
By Jason Chen
24,836 views, 55 comments

animal farm

Wii Attracts Roaches Like Week-Old Pizza, Your White Trash Cousins?

Japanese entertainment rag BARKS is floating the idea that the Wii puts out a sound frequency that "calls out" to and attracts the dirty little creepy-crawlers—gokiburi, one of my favorite Japanese words, even though I hate roaches. It's probably bunk and (BARK admits it might be), but have any of you noticed your pad's become a roach motel despite maintaining the same standard of (un)cleanliness? The 360's bomb shelter-flattening fan would probably negate the effects if you're looking for a quick fix. Also! More »

9:00 PM on Thu Dec 13 2007
By matt buchanan
8,539 views, 31 comments

Latest by palimadra: What people would get down to so that they can make some news. more »

firefox

Mozilla Will Leave 80% of Firefox 3.0 Bugs Untouched Before Release

Firefox 3.0 Status meeting notes have revealed that Mozilla will leave about 8 in 10 bugs untouched before the final version is released. Instead, they have decided to devote their attention to correcting the most serious bugs in order to strike a balance between stability and the impending release schedule. [Mozilla via NYT]

8:08 PM on Thu Nov 15 2007
By Sean Fallon
5,139 views, 39 comments

kills bugs dead

CulinaryPrep May Let Me Eat Raw Chicken 'Til The Cows Come Home

Although the press release doesn't mention my beloved chicken sashimi, it does say that the CulinaryPrep home unit, which went on sale today for $400, "removes e.coli, listeria, salmonella and other dangerous impurities from food." Still, something about it smells fishy. More »

7:00 PM on Wed Aug 22 2007
By Wilson Rothman
6,658 views, 16 comments

iphone bugs

Apple iPhone Battery Bug: Battery Icon Doesn't Show 100%

You know the reports of people saying their iPhones don't charge up all the way? Turns out that's actually a UI bug and not a bug with the iPhone's battery. The bug, demoed in the image above and confirmed by Apple, is the battery icon in the standby screen when your iPhone is plugged in. This icon shows 90% power—or at least something very close to full—even when the phone's charged and the other battery indicator (the small one on the top right in the main screen) shows 100%. More »

5:09 PM on Thu Jul 12 2007
By Jason Chen
15,206 views, 21 comments

Latest by mjsmitho: @neps: Restore worked like a charm neps, thanks . . . more »

beta, beta

Safari for Windows, Bugs-a-Plenty

Now it makes sense why Apple released Safari for Windows. Steve must love his Windows security jokes so much that he decided Apple should create a browser that exploits them even more. More »

1:45 PM on Tue Jun 12 2007
By blongo3
4,253 views, 54 comments

upgrade your phone

AT&T and HTC Update the 8525 (Sorry, Not WM6)

We were pretty bummed to see that AT&T and HTC America released an update for the Cingular 8525 that wasn't a Windows Mobile 6 ROM. But if you've been waiting for bug fixes (like Daylight Saving Time) along with Cingular Video, AT&T Music, Push-to-Talk and BlackBerry Connect support, this is the update for you. More »

5:00 PM on Wed May 2 2007
By Jason Chen
12,865 views, 12 comments

software

Apple Updates iTunes to 7.1, Gives Fixing Vista Issues the Old College Try

Apple just released a bug fix for iTunes, now at version 7.1, whose main mission was to resolve a few Vista "compatibility issues." But not all of those problems have been fixed, according to Apple:

"Apple has released a new version of iTunes that addresses a number of compatibility issues with Windows Vista. iTunes 7.1 is recommended for use with most editions of Windows Vista, however, Apple is actively working with Microsoft to resolve a few remaining known issues. This document will be updated as more information becomes available."

Programming for the crash-prone virus-ridden permission-nagging Windows Vista isn't as easy as it looks, is it Apple? Must be Microsoft's fault. Or Apple may be too busy with the awesome Leopard to fiddle with such silly things as iTunes for Windows. – Charlie White More »

2:00 PM on Tue Mar 6 2007
By Charlie White
6,561 views, 42 comments

Latest by Worf: The problem with Vista is well, the betas sucked. It's true Apple could've gotten iTunes working on the beta versions, but given the number of difference between releases, it's quite possible that it's a catchup game. You'd port to Vista. more »

gadgets

Auto Detective Pen Scopes Out Sound Bugs

There's a difference between paranoid for no reason and paranoid because someone's standing behind you right now as you're reading this. Good thing for both types this Auto Detective Pen only costs $17.71. The pen scans your surroundings for unknown wireless signals, and when found, lights up automatically. Now for some Engrish by someone other than me: More »

3:30 PM on Wed Nov 1 2006
By Jason Chen
863 views, 9 comments

announcements

Internet is Hard

I appreciate all the feedback we've been getting about the redesign, both positive and deleted. We've been knocking out bugs and making tweaks based on your suggestions all last week and will continue to do so. More »

4:15 PM on Mon Jul 10 2006
By Joel
41 views, 15 comments