Rat, of Pearls Before Swine fame, on the purpose of the internet: 

"... the internet was specifically invented so that living beings everywhere could be anonymously rude to one another."

Also, without the internet, we wouldn't have words like faceplant and photobomb. #technology

Windows Media Player has a "repeat" button, but there's a split-second pause between cycles.  To get rid of that, simply add a file to the playlist twice.  Voila. #technology

How to skip voicemail greetings: 

1. Press 1.  If it says, "One is not a valid option," go to step 3.
2. Press *.  Leave your message.
3. Press #.  Leave your message.

(via Consumerist) #technology

It makes sense to refer to dates in the past few years as oh-[single digit], as in, "I graduated in oh-four and bought a house in oh-five."  Since we're in oh-nine right now, what will happen next year?  Will we of the future start referring to dates using four digits (two thousand ten)?  Or will we finally start doing what our forefathers predicted and call it twenty-ten?  Or even better, will we come up with some stupid slang thing that eventually becomes accepted as common language, like oh-ten?  Oh the suspense! #technology

This is a funny little error from Amazon's Super Hits page: 
The backend software that displays the artists' names must've seen a comma and figured it was stored as Last Name, First Name, so it computed

Blood, Sweat & Tears → Sweat & Tears Blood
Earth, Wind & Fire → Wind & Fire Earth

This is why computers will never run the world:  They're only as smart as we tell them to be, and we're fairly dumb. #technology

Ok it's been a while since I bought my Palm Pre, and I've been meaning to write about a few interesting observations about its packaging.  For most people, this topic couldn't be less interesting, but for me it's at least worth a mention.  I heard that Palm hired a few people from Apple to design the Pre, and I wouldn't be surprised if these same people had something to do with the packaging, which, while it mostly performs the function of "containing" the device, it also adds some sort of aesthetic value that's hard to quantify.  Here's what I noticed: 



All in all the packaging was pretty cool and even though it was heavily copied from Apple, it conveyed the idea that if they spent this much time with the packaging, surely the product received at least equal attention.  Yeah, I think it did. #technology

One of my few complaints regarding Amazon.com is their categorization system (or maybe it's their search function).  I was searching for a dehumidifier and I got several results that were humidifiers.  They're similar machines but they perform the complete opposite function. 

A similar problem is when you can filter search results down to a very specific category, like camera lenses.  When I'm looking in the camera lenses category, I don't want to see cleaning kits and tripods, especially since there's a separate category for camera accessories, and there's even a category specifically for tripods. #technology

At work we have to log on to our computers with a smart card, which is like a credit card that sticks in the keyboard.  For security reasons, our computers are automatically locked after ten minutes of inactivity, at which point we need to log in again with our smart card, which is a small pain in the butt.  There's a guy who sits near me who doesn't like this feature, and he found that if his computer is playing music, it doesn't automatically lock.  But playing music is annoying for other people, so he hooked up some small speakers under his desk.  Apparently somebody must've complained, because there are also headphones connected to those speakers.  The volume is just loud enough for me to hear the occasional Carlos Santana guitar solo, which is mildly excruciating.  The headphones, of course, don't rest on my co-workers head.  They merely sit on his desk as the end result of a long chain of events meant to get around the simple problem of an overactive security system.  This is what's wrong with IT departments. #technology

Scott Adams on his experience trying to back up computer files: 

Likewise, I have never been able to back up the data on my computer. Ever. In concept, it's pretty simple. You buy the backup media, fire up the backup software, set some options, and off it goes. Over the years I have tried perhaps 20 different backup media, and half a dozen backup software solutions. So far, none have worked.

Isn't it ridiculous that such a simple process is so riddled with problems?  I've had some success in this area, but trying to explain it over the phone to family members who either don't own the right technology or can't get past Microsoft's disorganization and stupidity makes me ask the question, "Will computers ever just be easy?"  Will we ever be at a point where any person can simply do what they need to do and move on?  For example, most people have both a computer and a digital camera.  But not many people have any sort of contingency plan for when their hard drive inevitably, unexpectedly fails.  Maybe we should all switch to Macs.  I've heard they Just Work™. #technology

The Onion reports: 

90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles

At work, special information rectangles help men and women silently complete any number of business-related tasks, while entertainment rectangles--larger and louder and often placed inside the home--allow Americans to enter a relaxing trance-like state after a long day of rectangle-gazing.

According to researchers, these rectangles help to notify citizens about which brand of domestic detergent to buy, what direction to drive their vehicles in, and how many more seconds a food item must remain inside its revolving radiation chamber before it can be hurriedly consumed.

I'm staring at a glowing rectangle this very second. #technology