L7 World » internet

WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 3

mARK pUTNAM — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:38:48 +0000

Windows XP runs like a well-oiled machine, specifically a pinball machine. And just like pinball, it’s a real ball buster!

Despite having automatic updates on, I didn’t receive the Service Pack 3 update until yesterday (nearly three months after it was first released). And even with all that time for Microsoft to fine-tune it, it’s still fubar.

After waiting about an hour for it install and seeing my hard drive space mysteriously vanish (approx. 1.5 Gb gone for a 316Mb download), I restarted my computer expecting some major improvements. What I got was an endless reboot loop. When I finally managed to remove it, a quick Google search revealed the source of the problem… sorta.

Apparently it’s occurring in HP desktop computers with AMD processors (like mine) as for who’s to blame, HP and Microsoft are each accusing the other. The error stems from intelppm.sys, a driver that does not exist (aka the Michael Knight of computer files). There is however a registry command to load it and therein lies the problem.

Solution: disable intelppm.sys by entering either of the following in the Run Command Prompt:

reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Intelppm /v Start /d 4 /t REG_DWORD

sc config intelppm start= disabled

And just to play it safe you may want to disable automatic restarts by hitting F8 during startup.

50 CENT DEMANDS TACO BELL CHANGE THEIR TUNE

mARK pUTNAM — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:37:12 +0000

Alleged musician 50 Cent wants Taco Bell hanged, drawn, and quartered for “diluting the value of his good name” with their new Why Pay Mo’ campaign. The ads suggest that 50 Cent change his name to 79, 89, or 99 Cent to promote the value menu.

Taco Bell even offered to donate 10Gs to the rapper’s favorite charity as an incentive. But instead 50 Cent is gonna nickel-and-dime them in court, asking for $4 million in damages. Let us hope this hard-shelled gangstar can lighten up so we can wrap up this cheesiness.

AUSTRALIANS ARE PIGS

mARK pUTNAM — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:34:40 +0000

There’s plenty of websites that calculate when you’re gonna die, but now there’s finally a kid-friendly site that’ll tell you when you should die!

The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) website features an animated greenhouse calculator (link) that determines how long you deserve to live based on your carbon footprint. The more resources you consume, the more immense your portly avatar becomes until it explodes. And unless you ride a bike made outta hemp you can kiss your ass goodbye! According to the calculator the average Australian should die by age 9. Naturally after young impressionable visitors have been throughly scared straight, they’ll want to spend hours being indoctrinated… I mean playing Planet Slayer (link), the eco-friendly version of Space Invaders, in which kids must shoot down scary things like logging, nuclear energy, and consumerism - oh my!

ABC managing director Mark Scott defends the site saying it’s “been developed to appeal to children and it’s been done in an irreverent way … to make it engaging.” And while Alec Baldwin may agree with him, I happen think telling little kids they’re pigs that should die is a bad thing.

MEDICAL MARVELS OR SADISTIC SIDESHOW

mARK pUTNAM — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:41:50 +0000

Whenever you see a news story on deformed people, they always call them “medical” marvels or “medical” mysteries but rarely does the actual medical science behind these stories get as much coverage as the shocking photos/video or the sad backstory. They’re reduced to little more than an oddity to gawk at and thank God it ain’t you.

If you have any doubts to the voyeuristic nature of these so-called medical marvels, you need only browse the ABC News website where they have assembled these sad stories into a modern day sideshow (link). The photos are clearly picked for their shock value. And you won’t find any mundane medical marvels like Lance Armstrong with his super-sized heart (link) only, dare I say it, freaks.

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD (WIDE WEB) AS WE KNOW IT

mARK pUTNAM — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:39:54 +0000

Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, have reinvented the internet. It’s called “the grid” and it’s 10,000 times fast than conventional broadband.

But don’t disconnect your modem just yet. The grid won’t go online until the summer and when it does it’ll be busy recording the 56 million CDs worth of data generated from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe.

If and when it does disseminate down to the public, Ian Bird (project leader for CERN’s high-speed computing project) believes “It will lead to what’s known as cloud computing, where people keep all their information online and access it from anywhere.” Just imagine, one day you’ll explain to your grandchildren how you watched a little hourglass while pages loaded! Until then take a cue from the Slowskys and smell the roses (video right).

REAL-LIFE POPEYE

mARK pUTNAM — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:59:07 +0000

Remember those old cartoons where Popeye would down a can of spinach and his muscles would grow muscles. Well it looks like Olive Oyl’s gotten into Popeye’s stash. And let me tell ya it ain’t pretty!

Witness the horror for yourself as a female bodybuilder with what may be the worst boob job ever flexes her pecs (video below). shudders…

FU TUBE

mARK pUTNAM — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:09:56 +0000

If you happen to be browsing the site and notice some missing videos, thank Youtube. Those little POS deleted my account for uploading the Ped Egg infomercial. WTF!? Who the hell would be dumb enough to complain about their commercial, which normally they have to pay people to show, getting free publicity!? Telebrands, the scammers that make all those ‘As Seen on TV’ commercials, that’s who.

Well fuck Youtube. And fuck Telebrands. The video is back up now - LINK (other videos will be back if I still got ‘em and when I get around to it).

PED EGG: THE CHEESE GRATER FOR YOUR FEET

mARK pUTNAM — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:53:38 +0000

Ladies do you have dry, rough, callus man-feet? Well just in time for Valentine’s Day Telebrands Corp, the same people who brought you innovations like the Fish Pen and Doggy Steps, has unveiled their greatest invention yet - Ped Egg! The Ped Egg takes the latest in cheese grater technology and applies it to your feet.

And talk about a great deal, it’s just $10 and when buy one, you get one free* (just pay the exorbitant shipping and handling of $6.95 in addition to the $6.95 you’re already paying for the 1st one.) Don’t want a 2nd Ped Egg? Too bad. That’s right this “free” bonus is mandatory. The website offers no other option. The final tally of $23.90 may seem a bit steep, but when you consider all the cash you’ll save on foot job malpractice, you can afford to foot the bill! (pun intended) But don’t take my word for it (you doubting Thomas piece of @#!?) see for yourself! (video below)

CRAIG’S HIT LIST

mARK pUTNAM — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:53:26 +0000

Job hunters got the shock of their lives this week when they responded to a Craigslist posting for freelance work and learned the poster wanted them to “eradicate a female living in Oroville, California.”

Police report that Ann Marie Linscott was looking for someone to murder the wife of the man she’d been having an affair with since 2005. No word yet if the position has been filled. However, Ms. Linscott has posted another position for a lawyer with baking skills and who owns his own nail file.

IS IT YOUR RIGHT TO COPY? STEAL THIS FILM 2 - REVIEW

mARK pUTNAM — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:27:26 +0000

Steal This Film 2 is a 45 minute feel good fest about illegal file sharing disguised as a documentary. It poses no solutions rather it defends file sharing, comparing it to the invention of cable TV and the even the printing press.

It goes on to declare that the battle against file sharing is already lost and that media is no longer a commodity. The film offers few opposing views and interviewees such as Piratebay founder Peter Sunde are anything but object. But if you feel like you need a pat on the pack for stealing you can freely and legally download it here: http://www.stealthisfilm.com/Part2/index.php.