What is Usenet?

Depending on when you first found the wonderland that is the Internet, you may or may not have heard of Usenet before. Most people are surprised to learn that Usenet began in 1979 as a computer network system where you could post messages, sort of a virtual bulletin board. The Facebook of its day, Usenet was the online place to network before social networks were cool.

Usenet was once the undisputed King of the Net, but eventually the World Wide Web would steal the spotlight away from Usenet by the late 90s. Usenet was forced to evolve or die. No longer operated by ISPs and Universities, the modern Usenet is run by private firms with the means and incentive to continue growing and strengthening the Usenet infrastructure. With more than 9 Terabytes per day uploaded to Usenet, it is no surprise that it is drawing the attention of hardcore downloader’s.

Here are 3 reasons Usenet remains a popular download destination.

Why Download From Usenet?

1. Huge Selection

The huge increase in server capacity has allowed Usenet providers to increase “retention”. Retention is the amount of time that a post is stored on the server. As recently as 4 or 5 years ago, retention times of 100-200 days were common.  If you were looking for a post that was uploaded 300 days ago, you were out of luck. However, the privatization of the Usenet industry has led to a dramatic increase in retention times as companies compete for business. Today, all of the best providers are offering more than 1,000 days of binary (file) retention.  And this number continues to grow as they add server space rather than delete posts and files.

2. Super Fast Download Speeds

Unlike peer-to-peer technologies, Usenet access is done through a direct connection to a network of commercial servers. So instead of joining a group of others to download and upload at the same time, you are making a one-on-one connection to the server. And this connection is often uncapped.  Meaning that you can literally download at the maximum speed you internet connection will allow you to. For most, this is the one key feature of Usenet that makes it superior to any other download technology.

3. Secure Downloads

Security online is necessary. Risks are at an all time high. You need to use every precaution you can especially when downloading. Many Usenet providers encrypt your connection to the servers with a 256 bit SSL rate. This is the same encryption offered by your financial institution online. This type of encryption creates a secure tunnel between your computer and the Usenet server.  This tunnel acts as a barrier keeping prying eyes out. For those that value their privacy online, this is a major reason to use Usenet for downloading.

Then and Now

The foundation for Usenet was laid more than three decades ago.  And while the world has continued to grow and evolve, Usenet has been forced to do the same. The Usenet of today is technically very similar to the Usenet of 30 years ago.  However, it is much stronger and much more powerful. The privatization of the industry has brought increased competition which has led to increased value for users.  Increasing levels of speed, selection and security are 3 of the main reasons users choose to download with Usenet.

This post is contributed by Jared Scott.  Jared Scott is the Manager of Public Outreach for Binverse. He is a Usenet fanatic and you can follow his updates on Facebook and @Binverse.

The internet has its own intervention for those who are addicted to the internet – that makes up a lot of people. This addiction is larger than any, including substance abuse, but will anyone every go to such a place? I think it’s a crazy idea and money we don’t need to spend.

Fall city, WA near Redmond, which is home to many major computer companies is the new home of the first ever Internet Addiction Center.

If you feel that you are neglecting more important things because of the internet, you might need their 45-day detox program. The program is very expensive ($17,000), including a $200 application fee. Your insurance company probably won’t pay for this treatment, in fact they would have a chuckle or two.

I am addicted, but I am not spending that kind of cash for someone to isolate me in a room with no computer for X amount of days. I just find this whole idea amusing and I am sure many of you will as well.

What’s next, their own reality show?

If you really need this Internet Addiction Recovery Program than click here.

I came across this really cool video that shows you how to have a little fun with Google. The video has been around since April 2007, but thought it would be fun to try on Easter Day.

Have fun!

Published by olitheboss at YouTube.com

There are many social networks such as; Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, and Twitter. These social hangouts could be detrimental for teenagers on how they act, think and speak.

If you have an addiction to a social network like MySpace this could be a problem. I know someone who could care less if bombs were dropping as long as they had access to MySpace. It really is a shame to see a person fry their brain at such a young age, but maybe I am only observing them when they happen to be on MySpace. In hoping they would change for the better, I blocked MySpace only to learn that they had no interest in anything else, but TV and video games. I am not talking about a young teenager, but one that’s 19 years in age.

They live in this fantasy world of digital friendships. When you ask a question they either can’t answer you or they give you an answer that has nothing to do with the question. What’s more amazing is when they ask you a question, “what does E pluribus unum mean?” They rather the information be served up by you, than to research the information online.

I utilize social networks for two reasons;

1. To educate others interested in my content
2. To promote and build a fan base.

Social networks should be used to socialize, but not all day and night. Being caught up in the digital space of social networks could lead to;

• Laziness
• Distraction
• Lack of real life knowledge
• Lack of ambition
• Lack of responsibility

Whatever happened to the good ole days when we would play outside all day until it was dinner time? Even when it was time to go home our parents had to scream to get us to come inside.

This may also explain the obesity problems with teens today.

We would like to hear your feedback.

The popular free bulletin board software site phpbb.com had its user database hacked into and the passwords for 20,000 members stolen. The hacker who broke in then posted the account info and passwords online for the world to see.

InformationWeek analyzed the hacked password list and found a number of interesting trends in the data, primarily revolving around the fact that most people do exactly what they’ve been told not to do since passwords were first invented.

Homepage at phpbb.com

Author/analyst Robert Graham has tons of analysis on offer. I’m ordering my favorite/most enlightening data points from the piece here, starting with the most interesting. On thing to remember: These passwords are from a group of people interested in computer programming, so if anyone should know better, it’s these guys.

• The most popular password (3.03% of the 20,000) was “123456.” It’s also generally considered the most common password used today.
• 4 percent used some variant of the word “password.” Seriously, people, there’s no excuse for this one. “password” was the 2nd most popular password used, also in keeping with historical trends.
• 16 percent of passwords were a person’s first name. No word on if it was their first name, but someone’s. Joshua is the most commonly used first-name password, a likely reference to the movie WarGames.
• Patterns abound. In addition to “123456,” other pattens like “12345, “qwerty,” and “abc123″ were common, comprising 14 percent of the passwords used.
• 35 percent of passwords were six characters long. 0.34 percent were only one character long.
• For reasons no one can explain, “dragon,” “master,” and “killer” all crack the top 20 passwords. (On the top 500 password list linked above, “dragon” is #7.)

One thing Graham doesn’t discuss is that phpbb.com is really just a message board, and many users may simply have not cared about the security of their passwords here (unlike, say, with a bank account).

MySpace provided two state attorneys general the names of 90,000 registered sex offenders it had banned from its site in response to a subpoena.

The figure is 40,000 more than the amount previously acknowledged by MySpace, according to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who along with Attorney General Roy Cooper of North Carolina are among officials pressing social networking sites to adopt more stringent safety measures.

“Almost 100,000 convicted sex offenders mixing with children on MySpace — shown by our subpoena — is absolutely appalling and totally unacceptable,” Mr. Blumenthal said in a statement. “For every one of them, there may be hundreds of others using false names and ages.”

Last year, MySpace, owned by News Corporation, and Facebook.com agreed to set security standards after the Web sites were criticized for not doing enough to protect minors from sexual predators lurking on social networking sites.

How many more of these offenders will pop up on the popular teen site? I am sure MySpace is moderating their site to ensure that if anyone violates their terms of use will be banned and reported. This is not going to be an easy task, and some offenders may slip under the radar.

The internet giant Google had major technical issues today with users unable to access search results.

For a period on Saturday, all search results were flagged as potentially harmful, with users warned that the site “may harm your computer”.

Users who clicked on their preferred search result were advised to pick another one.

Google says it is unclear what caused the problem, which is now resolved, but that it will make a statement later.

“There was a fault. We don’t know the nature of it yet. Everything has been solved. We are still making initial enquiries.”

As of 10:00 AM CST, Google search was back to normal and serving up search results.

Even the big guys have issues from time to time, but the giant recovered well and have yet to explain what caused this odd issue.

This is exactly what the doctor ordered. Carol Bartz is a strong person that has the know how to take Yahoo to the next level. Bartz is straight shooter leaving no guess work on what she wants. Her reputation as a tech veteran is a cut above many leaders in the tech sector.

Carol Bartz was appointed to the top job at Yahoo on Tuesday after a two-month search, and brings with her a strong track record of revenue growth at software company Autodesk Inc (ADSK.O), where she was chief executive from 1992 to 2006 and still remains executive chairman.

She is credited with increasing Autodesk’s revenue from $285 million (£195.5 million) to $1.5 billion during her 14-year tenure, as well as diversifying its business. Bartz, 60, built the company by buying small and medium-sized businesses, including a $444 million buyout of Discreet Logic in 1999.

Analysts also wondered whether Bartz’s lack of media industry experience would be a stumbling block when it comes to transforming Yahoo. Bartz will overcome and adapt based on her management style and the help from within. She has a great track record that proves this lady can play with the men no matter what the situation. You can analyze all you want, just look at her resume and accomplishments, need we say anymore?

“I didn’t know CAD (computer-aided design) when I joined Autodesk, I didn’t know hardware when I joined Sun,” she said. “I am a technology person, I am a market-driven person, I love customers. So I suspect I have a little brainpower to learn what it takes to understand media.”

Carol show them what you are made of!

We started out in May 2008, but have blogged since mid 2007. Since May 2008 we have posted over 500 blogs with over 4100 comments. What will 2009 bring? We will work even harder to bring our fans and visitors the best in Technology news and more. Listed below are the top 10 blog posts that had the greatest feeding frenzy.

How to Crack Windows XP and Vista Login Passwords – 11,563 Pageviews
Joe Satriani Files Suit Against Coldplay
Vista Vulnerability Found
Watch New Movies Online Free!
Linux to Xbox Media Share
Led Zeppelin Says No to Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Dell’s New Studio Hybrid Good or Bad?
Network Protection without Network Hardware
Firefox 2.0 Users Beware of Phishing
Google Chrome to add WOT extension

Google ushered in the New Year with a Pagerank (PR) update. Some of us will wake up with either good news or bad news, but which ever direction your pagerank went, never let it get you down. Bloggers work hard in achieving recognition, fans and if you are lucky revenue. TechJaws has doubled its backlinks since the last update and we went from a PR4 to a PR3. Be happy and stay positive.

We hope you have enjoyed our blogs as much as we did writing them. We would like to wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

At around 11:28 AM CST Yahoo was offline. As I write this blog Yahoo is still offline. How can such a company like Yahoo go offline ever?

We were able to access Google, ESPN, and other sites during the Yahoo outage. It’s now 11:33 AM CST and Yahoo is still offline.

Yahoo is currently back online, but the site is loading very slow. The outage duration was 7 minutes.