Alt-This.com - your technology podcast

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• Jeff gets sunburned at the A's game
• Darren and Jeff highly recommend Bull Frog sunscreen
• Darren drinking the 12 year old Tullamore Dew and Jeff drinking the Bookers
• Belkin might owe you money
• How much security is too much?
• Apple "shrinks" iPhone with bigger hand model
• Cathay Pacific strands passengers on a plane for 7 hours
• United's two-and-a-half computer glitch causes havok
• AirTran's sale not so much of a sale
• Holiday Inn's great rates non-refundable
• $6500 repair bill to remove stone from a moon roof
• Judge says students must be allowed to respond to RIAA lawsuits
• EMI has DRM free sales boom
• Pirates agree not to pirate developers app anymore
• AT&T cold calls you then disconnects your phone
• American Express saves the day with extended warranty
• Dell says they're sorry to the Consumerist
• Blockbuster sides with Blu-Ray
• Why I can't use Linux
• The Pirate Bay launches uncensored photo sharing site
• Http traffic takes over P2P thanks to YouTube
• Is MySpace worth $12 Billion?
• Feds can't seize your e-mail without a warrant
• Countdown to the iPhone
• Wifi record - signal goes 237 miles
• Darren talks about the Sopranos ending
• Important tip kids: Posting personal information is a felony
• Long Island couple forces fines and jailtime over loud kids
• Jeff recalls a fun day at the ballpark
• Free files of the week: Fix dead pixels with JScreenFix or UDPixel
• What's with the 510 guy at the Oakland games?
• The shot show is coming!!
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

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• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• We're here, we're recording and we're drinking
• Darren having the Kilbeggan's Irish Whiskey and Jeff is boozing it up with some Wild Turkey Rare Breed bourbon
• Applebees gives toddler a margarita instead of apple juice
• Jeff's Drinking Tip of the Week - Ask for a low, wide glass
• Jessica Alba would love some no-strings sex
• Pornado teacher gets a new trial
• The Consumerist pisses Dell off
• 27 Confessions of a former Circuit City worker
• The guys talk extended service plans
• Darren says JBL is the speaker of choice
• Are sellers really covered by Paypal's seller protection plan?
• Google pisses eBay off
• Apple's Safari available for Windows with 0 day exploit
• Russian ATM runs on unactivated copy of Windows
• Roller coaster, Arkansas, power outage
• Jeff says rain and roller coasters don't mix well
• 5 year old hands out heroin in daycare
• The earwig hunt continues
• FBI goes after the zombie hordes
• TorrentSpy ordered to track visitors
• AT&T's new copyright plan - read everyone's data
• Jeff notices Amazon ads much more targeted for him now
• Woman captures her own identity theif
• NBC lawyer thinks copyright infringement is a bigger problem then theft, fraud and bank robbery
• Bottled water costs 1000 times more than tap water
• Hottest female podcasters of 2007
• Free file of the week: last.fm
• Darren's last.fm page - Jeff's last.fm page
• Tell us what you like!
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

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Every time a new version of Ubuntu or any other flavor of Linux comes out I think this could be the one that's usable. And every release comes and goes and it just isn't ready for prime time for one reason or another.

My main gripe? The way web pages render in Firefox under Ubuntu. I'm a baseball fanatic, anyone that knows me knows I spend more time on mlb.com than I do on just about any other site. When I try to view mlb.com using Firefox in Ubuntu it just doesn't work right. The drop down menus end up going behind the Flash box, making the site navigation pretty much useless.

I thought this has to be something I'm doing wrong so I did the usual, I made sure I was running the latest and greatest version of the OS, in this case Ubuntu 7.04. I made sure I have the latest Firefox and the latest Flash. No luck, same problem. I swore up and down this had to be something I was doing wrong because the last version of Firefox / Ubuntu / Flash did the exact same thing 6 months or so ago when I tried it.

Then I started doing more and more research and I found that I wasn't alone. This was a widespread issue, yet nobody seems to want to own up to just why the hell this kind of simple thing doesn't work right. I finally came across this thread on a message board:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=437525

Check out the screen shots. Then check out the answer given by someone claiming to be a Senior Support Engineer with Adobe.

Engineering is investigating this. The root of the problem is that no linux browsers support WMODE transparency. So other possibilities are being looked at but no firm solutions or timeframes yet.

So maybe I'm just picky, or maybe I just can't overlook such a pain in the ass glaringly annoying problem like this and soldier on pretending to love the whole Ubuntu / Linux experience. To me, if Firefox can't render pages correctly under Ubuntu / Linux then I'm sticking with Windows. Hell, at this point I'd rather try Apple's OS X than attempt to go through the hassle of spending the time to set up Ubuntu only to have simple things just not work.

If someone at Firefox or Adobe or even a member of the Ubuntu crew can come up with a fix to this problem then maybe I'll be able to rid myself of the daily Microsoft fix. Until then, I don't care about all the things Ubuntu does right. When it comes to using it on a daily basis to do simple things like web browsing it's no contest, Ubuntu is a useless pile of crap to me.

UPDATE: I've tried other browsers under Ubuntu as well. Someone over on Digg.com suggested that Opera worked fine with mlb.com. I installed Opera and it's the same problem, the drop down menus are coming down behind the Flash box. Also, the text of the menu bars are cramped and overlapping. The site just overall looks wrong and jumbled.

Tried Konqueror and the menus came down over the Flash box on the left but came down behind the video Flash box on the right. And, as with Opera the text on the menu bars was distorted and the site overall just looked wrong.

I stand behind my initial assessment that Ubuntu Linux isn't ready for prime time if you want to surf the web and hit any sites that mix Flash with drop down menus in the vicinity.

My only real question at this point really is why this isn't a bigger issue as there are PLENTY of sites that use this combination. Are all the Linux users just SO anti-Microsoft and SO in love with Tux that they can just ignore things like this? If you're a Linux user that thinks this is no big deal then I'd like to hear from you. I've heard for years why Microsoft was bad because they didn't follow web standards within IE to make pages look right. Well, to me this is Linux being unable to render a page correctly in multiple browsers. Where's the uproar?

Sorry for the delay in the posting, here is episode #18 in all of it's glory!!

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• Darren hits the 12 year old Red Breast as Jeff enjoys some Basil Hadens
• Darren is hunting earwigs
• Buy.com obviously doesn't actually read customer service e-mails
• Jeff goes off on Bank of America
• Can you really hear the difference in a higher bitrate mp3?
• iTunes embeds your persoanl info in the DRM free files
• World's largest mp3 store launching - payplay.fm
• Politicians that take money from the RIAA
• SPAM King arrested
• Jeff recommends "Inside the SPAM Cartel"
• NYC Theaters try to make things better with tech
• Jeff suggests shooting cell phone users in theaters - Yes, with guns
• Getting access to a Gmail accounts of the dead
• Idiot Illinois Governor wastes $1,000,000 on video game violence campaign
• The Slurpr - a device for better wifi theivery
• Jeff spills his bourbon
• I didn't download it, my router got hacked
• Windows Longhorn lives
• Microsoft's new Surface
• Amazon ads that know you - Does Jeff play with dolls?
• Darren explains why he hates Amazon's return policies
• Phishers pretend to be the IRS
• Fake e-mail causes Apple Stock to tank temporarily
• How you order at Starbucks effects how much you pay
• Postmaster mad as hell at Wachovia ads
• Google Gears takes on Microsoft
• On-Line backup services
• Wal-Mart fires employee for posting joke on MySpace
• Free file of the week: TrueCrypt
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

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If you'd rather just download this episode you can do so by right-clicking here

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• Darren drinking Kilbeggan Irish whiskey and Jeff drinking St. George bourbon
• Google and Dell join up to take over your DNS
• Dell selling machines at Wal-Mart
• Average download speed in the US are 1.9Mb
• Time Warner in Ohio jumping to 10-15Mb download speeds
• Jeff worries about his MLB addiction might do to his bandwidth usage
• Report says wireless set to overtake wired for businesses
• 7 Ways to send HUGE files
• Gmail allows 20MB attachments now
• BudTV already set for the scrap heap?
• Darren says Joost is pretty cool
• Pandora radio looking to go Wi-fi
• Charter charging $9.99 a month for what?
• Comcast charging customer for $1230 in porn she never ordered
• Comcast being the same company that accidentally showed porn on the Disney Channel
• Jeff says the Consumerist may be best website ever
• Best Buy getting sued for their secret internal website
• Jeff's Tacoma guitar vs. Southwest Airlines
• Midwest Airlines rated #1 in customer satisfaction
• Costco replaces dirty underwear punching bags - Wow
• New diet drug makes you crap your pants - double wow
• Consumers more likely to be loyal to a company that fixed a problem
• Is the new forever stamp really a good deal?
• New software uses your browsing habits to ID you
• Trent Reznor says he steals music, calls record label "thieves"
• Surviving PC disasters - file recovery
• Free file of the week: GnuCash - replace Quicken or Money!
• Hackers use part of Windows Update to send malicious code
• Darren adds another 500GB drive to his Buffalo NAS
• Darren Tivos 24 and watches it in on weekend
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

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If you'd rather just download this episode you can do so by right-clicking here

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• We're live from Chicago
• Jeff does a Whiskey tasting
• This is episode 16 take two
• Wireless access points in public places not always safe
• Another cool OpenDNS feature: Keywords
• Sheryl Crow calls for limit on loo paper article link
• Young girl texting Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in 15 seconds wins $25,000 article link
• YouTube's knee jerk video takedown response results in valid content being removed article link
• YouTube plans to implement pre-roll and post-roll ads this summer article link
• Amazon Music to offer DRM free content? article link
• Ohio University restricts usage of all peer-to-peer file sharing article link
• Avril Lavigne's label selling single CD version of her new album edited without labeling it article link
• RIAA chief offers pro-DRM message and Jeff snaps article link
• Free music downloads with no lawsuit? If you want popup ads sure article link
• Darren gives lawmakers a kudos on new bill to protect internet radio stations
• NIN releases bonus tracks on Pirate Bay
• Apple makes money on iTunes article link
• Judge denies RIAA request to reconsider attorneys' fees award article link
• Follow-up: Apple gets a computer to the girl with many gift cards article link
• Cingular issues a $26,000 fradulent bill and tells customer to file for bankruptcy article link
• A Bank of America ATM machine hands out fake $20 bills article link
• BitDefender warns users of a new threat on P2P networks article link
• The Customer Service Hall of Shame from MSN Money
• 80 percent of blogs contain "offensive" content article link
• A couple of baseball blogs
• Free File of the Week: RipIt4Me
• Top 20 DNS servers mostly in the United States article link
• HDHomeRun - A networked digital TV tuner

Hey everyone,

We recorded Episode #16 on Thursday night as usual, but it turns out that my updating Pamela, the program we use with Skype to record the show, was a mistake. The file that I went to edit this morning has drift between Jeff and myself that makes it impossible to edit and release.

I'm not sure when to tell you to expect the next release. Jeff is headed to Chicago today, so hopefully sometime this week we'll have something to post.

Thanks for your patience!
Darren

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• Jeff breaks out the Bookers
• Mark Buehrle pitches a no-hitter!
• Virginia Tech shootings bring out the crazies
• Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil blame video games
• Blaming entertainment has to stop
• Darren says let law abiding people carry guns
• Air-Tran gives worthless vouchers?
• Sex "theme park" opens in London
• Making real money in a virtual world
• Sony releases crippled DVDs for your enjoyment
• Owner of the world's largest iTunes collection
• California Senate trying to ban RFIDing students
• Jeff remembers the joy of High School French class
• Google gets its groove back
• Political correctness going crazy
• Jeff talks about Thunderbird 2.0
• Blackberry owes guy a new girlfriend
• AOL keeps losing subscribers, Comcast is closing in
• Solar powered barbeque
• Windows Vista has sold 244 copies in China!
• XP to be phased out by year end.. or is it?
• Ubuntu releases version 7.04
• Reducing memory usage in Firefox article link
• Where are the most dangerous sites on the 'Net?
• Nine Inch Nails cd goes high tech
• MySpace launches Digg clone news service
• Intelligence drugs could be as common as coffee
• Pubcrawlers CD review
• Free file of the week Unstoppable Copier
• Darren recommends Rockbox for your mp3 player firmware goodness
• Jeff is enjoying the MLB.tv package
• What's your favorite geek TV show?
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

Please use this link to subscribe to our feed: RSS
If you'd rather just download this episode you can do so by right-clicking here

• Intro from the Pubcrawlers
• ESPN screws up their fantasy baseball game
• Guitar tab on-line going legit?
• EMI and Apple take Darren's advice
• Do people really notice higher bitrates?
• EU probing Apple on price fixing
• US Airforce set to blue spam
• Bluetooth security risks
• Geek Squad employee records woman in shower
• Google increases market share
• Google offers free nationwide 411 service
• Google buys into Maxthon
• Google throws money down for Drupal projects
• Kids post fake profiles of their principle on MySpace
• Microsoft redefines what makes a PC Vista compatible
• The RIAA and MPAA want to break the law and infringe on your privacy to catch pirates
• Defendant prevails against RIAA
• What do users do on the Internet?
• Tom's Hardware sold
• Idiot Michigan Democrats want to give all kids a free iPod
• We love Binny's / Irish Vodka
• GAIM is now PIDGIN
• How to speed up Windows XP in minutes
• Black Viper's awesome site
• Save the Black Donnellys
• Unhappy cell phone user drives into store
• Free file of the week Spyware Blaster
• If you like baseball check out this book
• Thanks for listening and tell a friend!!

Please use this link to subscribe to our feed: RSS
If you'd rather just download this episode you can do so by right-clicking here

Sorry on the delay in getting the show edited and posted, it's been a busy weekend on this end. I'll have it up sometime tomorrow afternoon!

Thanks!