I received a
telephone call last evening from an
individual identifying himself as an
AT&T Service
Technician (could
also be Telus) who was conducting a test on
the telephone
lines. He stated that
to complete the test I
should touch
nine(9),
zero(0), the pound sign
(#), and
then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and
refused.
Upon
contacting the telephone company, I
was informed that by pushing 90#, you give
the requesting
individual full
access to your telephone line, which enables them
to place
long distance calls billed
to your home phone
number.I was
further
informed that
this scam has
been originating from
many local
jails/prisons DO NOT
press 90# for
ANYONE.
By BRAD STONE
Those who want to bring the wide world of Web video to their television screens usually need a separate device — a video-game console, DVD player or set-top box with Internet access.
Now they will be able to take a more direct route. LG Electronics, the third-largest television manufacturer in terms of United States sales, will announce on Monday a line of televisions that can directly receive Internet video in addition to satellite and cable signals.
LG’s line of LCD and plasma televisions will be called Broadband HDTVs and are expected to cost around $300 more than comparable models without Internet access, said Tim Alessi, director of product development at LG Electronics.
Owners of the televisions will not be able to browse the Web freely — the TVs’ processors and memory chips are not up to that task. But the Broadband HDTVs will have access to a variety of specific video sites, and on Monday, LG will announce one in particular: Netflix.
The televisions will be able to stream any of the 12,000 films and television shows in Netflix’s Watch Instantly library, many of which are provided by Starz, the premium cable television service.
“It’s hugely symbolic,” said Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings. “The holy grail has always been to give the TV an Internet jack in addition to the cable jack. It’s an early glimpse of the long-term future.”
Mr. Hastings, who runs the lucrative Netflix DVD-by-mail business, does not think the revolution will happen soon. People keep their televisions for a decade or longer on average, he said, so it will take years for broadband-capable TVs to filter into most American homes. Buying a video-game console or Blu-ray disc player with Internet capabilities may still be a better short-term solution for many people.
Regardless, more television makers like Samsung and Panasonic are sure to introduce similar devices, perhaps even at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Sony’s Bravia televisions can use the Internet with the addition of a separate module, but analysts expect the company to build this capability into its sets.
For its part, Netflix, based in Los Gatos, Calif., is continuing to expand its Watch Instantly offerings. Also on Monday, the company will announce that it will add several Showtime programs to its library of streaming video, including the season premieres of “United States of Tara,” “The L Word” and “Secret Diary of a Call Girl.”
Q: I just recently switched over to WindowsVista and I'm having a hard time reading the text size on most of the Web sites I visit, in my e-mail and so on. Is there anything I can do to make it bigger? Please help!
A: That's
an excellent question and I'm so glad you asked! Believe
it or not, but the font
size is one
of the major
complaints people have about Windows Vista.
It's just
too
small! I mean, even if
you don't have bad eyesight, it's still hard to see
what
you're doing. Whether it's on one of your favorite
Web
sites or you're
trying to read through your e-mail,
the text size just needs to go up a few
notches. And
that's exactly what
we're going to go over today!
Today's
tip is all about changing the font size in Windows
Vista
for a better viewing
experience. Let's check it
out!
If you want
to increase the size of your font in
You should
see an instant change, but you can check it out even
further by opening up your
Web
browser and going to your
favorite Web site. Or, try
opening a document
you've been
working on. Either way, the font size will be much larger
and you'll
no longer have to strain your eyes to see
what's written.
Increasing the font
size will reduce the number of
headaches you get while working on your computer
and
you'll just be happier all the
way around. It doesn't get any better than
that!
Are you one
of the many who have a toolbar installed on your computer
along with your Web
browser? For
example, along with my
Internet Explorer browser, I always
use the
Google
toolbar. Maybe you do
the same or perhaps you use another toolbar, such
as the
versions from Yahoo! or AOL. Either way, if you're
like
me, you probably
use those toolbars on a very regular
basis, right? So, what if you were to lose
it? What would
you do? Well, let's
check out some of your options!
First, I
hope you would work on getting it back! I know my Google
toolbar has disappeared
before, but
luckily, I knew just
how to get it back up and running. Do
you want
in on my
little secret too?
If you ever lose one of your toolbars, all you have
to do
(in Internet Explorer) is go to
View,
Toolbars and make sure the
one you want to use is checkmarked. You can do the exact
same thing in Firefox,
if that
happens to be the browser
you use. Once your toolbar of
choice is
selected, it will
pop
right back up for you.