hi :waving: hi Shannon is this news o.k cause i found more today news
here is website:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/BUGK144RVC.DTL
iPod Shuffle shuffles past Jackson songs
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Q: I'm the happy owner of an iPod Shuffle and enjoy running four-hour marathons while listening to my favorite music. I've loaded fairly equal amounts of the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Eagles, Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson, but for some reason I rarely hear a Jackson tune. I think my Shuffle is racist. Is this possible?
A: The question of whether the iPod Shuffle selects music randomly has come up from time to time. Strictly speaking, the sequence of songs produced by the Shuffle is not completely random. That's because the device uses a computer algorithm called a pseudo random number generator, which only approximates random selection. Still, it should be random enough to prevent any discernable pattern.
So how do you explain your perception that Michael Jackson is getting the shaft? First, in any random sequence, songs will be repeated - or ignored - more often than you would suppose. Second, the human mind tends to find patterns where they don't exist. So you may just be fooling yourself.
Anyway, consider yourself lucky. Some people would pay extra for an iPod shuffle that refuses to play Michael Jackson.
Q: I have an old IBM ThinkPad laptop PC that I haven't used for several years. When I turn it on, it asks for a log-on password that I can't recall. The manual recommends that I reinstall Windows 2000. How do I do that?
A: You'll need the recovery disc that came with the computer - which I bet you don't have. Tell you what: Your computer would be a great candidate for the Ubuntu Linux operating system. It's faster and more stable than any version of Windows, and it comes with a Firefox Web browser, media player, image editing program and a full suite of office applications. And best of all, it's free. You can download the system at ubuntu.com and burn it to a CD, which you can use to install it on your old laptop.
Q: I have several hundred photo slides that I want to copy to an external hard drive. I saw an ad by Hammacher Schlemmer for a digital slide and negative converter that costs $100, a price I can live with. Would you recommend it?
A: The converter sold by Hammacher Schlemmer (which most people know from ads in airline magazines) is made by VuPoint Solutions. It connects to your computer via a USB cable and comes with a tray that can hold three slides. Although it reportedly does a fair job of rendering slides into digital images, you're going to need some serious face time with your computer in order to scan hundreds of images - and the same would hold if you entrust the job to a desktop scanner.
Why don't you just mail your slides (and negatives) to a company such as DigMyPics.com? It will scan them for as little as 35 cents apiece and send them back to you with a CD or DVD containing the digital images. DigMyPics uses a Nikon Super Coolscan 9000s (a $2,000 device) for scanning, so you should see higher-quality results than you could get with the VuPoint converter. Plus, if you don't like a particular scan, you don't have to pay for it.
Let's say you have 500 slides you want to convert. With DigMyPics, it'll cost you less than $200. Granted, that's twice as expensive as the converter, but you'll get higher quality; you won't have to buy a device that will sit around gathering dust after you scan your slides; you won't have to install any software; and you won't spend dozens of hours slaving over the computer.
Q: At your suggestion, I downloaded Glary Utilities to optimize my computer. When I started to install it, I got a window warning that "The publisher could not be verified. Are you sure you want to run this software?" Should I be worried about loading the software?
A: No. The warning means that the maker of the program hasn't obtained a certificate that will let Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser identify it as a trusted software publisher. The fact is that many small software-makers take the approach of the banditos in Treasure of the Sierra Madre: "Certificates? We don't need no stinking certificates."
Bottom line: Unless there's a reason to believe a software program may be bogus, don't worry about it.
here is website:
http://www.teletext.co.uk/news/national/3ca13a8c01565d244c07f3c9f372286c/Sheikh+sues+Jackson.aspx
Sheikh sues Jackson
Troubled pop music legend Michael Jackson is facing a £4.7m breach of contract action at the High Court in London.
The case has been brought by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, son of the King of Bahrain.
There is a strong possibility the claim will be settled, but Royal Courts of Justice security staff are still geared up for Jackson's possible appearance.
