Taking the Radio out of RadioShack

You’ve probably heard that RadioShack is rebranding itself to be The Shack. This has triggered another round of criticism of RadioShack stores, with the usual tired references to “Rat Shack”, “Radio Schlock”, or worse. Apparently, RadioShack has failed to live up to the expectations of the technorati. Well, it is true: RadioShack is the worst … Read more

This Spewed Out of the Internet #7

This is the usual “catch up” posting, when I don’t have a specific topic but try to share some interesting things flying by on the internet. I came across this article about poor passwords being the biggest computer security problem (as opposed to viruses and worms). OK, maybe so. Using passwords like “password” and “xyzzy” … Read more

This Spewed Out of the Internet #6

Lots of interesting things spewing forth from the internet these days: Jeff KE9V articulated a compelling vision of web-based (“cloud computing”) ham radio logging. This caused a lively discussion among some readers (read through the comments on Jeff’s blog). I found the idea interesting but I am inherently suspicious of the notion of “cloud computing”.  … Read more

Standard USB: Missed It By That Much

I’ve blogged in the past about the need for standardization, especially when it comes to computer cables and power adapters. I have been feeling quite good about the progress I have been making with my personal collection of electronic gizmos. I’ve noticed that most of them have lined up behind the idea of using a … Read more