Yeah, there’s a cheery headline.  But it’s true.  According to an organization called StopBadware.org–an online safety advocate group–people who design and distribute malware (spyware, adware, etc.) are finding newer and more unique ways to get their software on our computer systems, often by compromising some of our most trusted websites.

StopBadware.org, which lists Google as one of its “sponsors,” has a running list of over 200,000 websites that have some malicious downloads or code, and over half of them don’t even know they’ve been hacked or that they have this malware on their site.

As an example, the websites for Dolphin Stadium (host of the 2007 Super Bowl) and the Miami Dolphins were both discovered to have been hacked and hosting malicious software just days before the Super Bowl.  Even trusted sites like eBay and YouTube are having to actively combat the malware issue. 

As with SPAM, it seems the malware problem is not only not going to go away, but is getting steadily worse.  Surf with caution.

Is there anything that Google doesn’t do?  They have maps, Google Earth satellite views of the world, Street View, Googlized word processing, presentation software, ads…and let’s not forget they sort of dominate the search engine marketplace. 

Now, in the midst of rumors of an impending Google Phone, they have unleashed a new free information directory service called Goog411.  Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 on your cell or landline phone.  You can use it anytime, from anyplace.  It’s voice activated, and it’s getting some rave reviews. 

Most cell carriers charges users $1 or more for each 411 call.  Google charges nothing–they even connect you to the business you’re trying to reach for free.  GOOG411 can even send you a text message with more information about your query or a map to the location; all you have to do is say “text message” or “map” and the voice recognition does the rest. 

Check it out, and stop paying for 411 calls today! 

Craigslist is a fascinating place.  You can buy and sell pretty much anything there.  Even a car with nearly a million miles on it.

Yeah, you read that right.  One million miles (actually, it’s $930,000 miles).  It’s a 1995 black Honda Civic.  Seems the owner racked up those miles by driving back and forth from Atlanta to the West Coast for business. 

I don’t know what kind of effort, time, and preventative maintenance it takes to make your car able to travel a million miles, but I know that I don’t want to do it.  Do you realize how many oil changes this guy must have paid for?  And how many new cars he could have bought with the money he spent on oil changes?

This is a solid gold marketing opportunity for Honda.  They should buy the car immediately (who cares what it costs?) and make this man and this car the centerpiece of their advertising.  “Our cars can go a million miles or more.”  That’s assuming, of course, that they aren’t behind this thing from the get go–in which case they’re geniuses.  Honda’s already have a reputation of lasting longer than American-made vehicles, but I don’t think anyone thought they could last this long. 

You can see the actual Craigslist Ad here. 

Sony has unveiled a new “super thin” television that is 0.12 inches thick. 

That’s very thin. 

The television uses a technology called OLED, or “organic light emitting diode.”

According to the article:

“Such screens, which sandwich a very thin layer of organic material between two plates, use less power and offer brighter images and wider viewing angles than liquid crystal display panels.”

How much thinner do we really need our televisions to be?  Is there some growing national crisis of the space between the wall and the TV of which I am unaware? 

Anyway, the TV’s will be priced around $1700, and I’ve no doubt Americans will be out in force to be among the first to own a paper-thin TV. 

The Atari 2600 was a revolutionary little piece of hardware.  Essentially the first “console” gaming system for the home, the Atari enjoyed video game dominance for many years before Nintendo came along to steal its thunder.  The Atari is 30 years old today, which makes me feel very…not young. 

I personally learned a great deal from my countless hours of playing River Raid, Pitfall, and Combat. 

Sure, when the NES came around, I got one of those.  I also got a Sega Genesis when it debuted. 

But the Atari 2600 will always have a special place in my heart.

Which games were your favorite?