RSSOwl is a wise old bird

RSS has made everybody's life easier. Rather than having to run around the Web to see what's going on out there in the world, you can let the world come to you.

Source: FreeDownloadaDay.com

Whether it's news and politics, social networking, or the musings in the blogosphere, the world literally beats a path to your door through RSS syndication of content.

RSSOwl is a free newsreader that lets you read news the way you want to. Along with the expected subscribe and read functionality, there are extras that deserve a good look. Enhanced search capability allows you to find just the posts you are interested in.

You can also search for newsfeeds you haven't discovered yet, helping you to cover your interests even better. Once you find a site you like, RSSOwl will scour the site, looking for every feed that they feature.

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Stealth updates, deletions

Microsoft's Nate Clinton has used a bogus excuse to explain why Windows Update installs stealth updates without the user's consent.

Source: BadVista

He writes in the Microsoft Update Product Team Blog:

"One question we have been asked is why do we update the client code for Windows Update automatically if the customer did not opt into automatically installing updates without further notice? The answer is simple: any user who chooses to use Windows Update either expected updates to be installed or to at least be notified that updates were available."


Well, if Microsoft understands that a person wants to decide to install their own updates, then they should be respectful of that user's choice and be consistent with their policy. Being consistent means that they should tell the user that an update to Windows Update is available and that if they want it to continue to work properly, that this update should be installed. Maybe the user will decide to stop using Windows Update altogether, or maybe they will install the update. Either way, it should be the user that decides, not Microsoft.

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Comcast Cuts Off Heavy Internet Users

Customers complain bandwidth limits are secret.

Source: Joseph S. Enoch / ConsumerAffairs.Com

Comcast has warned broadband Internet customers across the country to curb their downloading or wind up on the curb.

The company has a bandwidth limitation that, if broken, can result in a 12-month suspension of service. The problem, according to customer complaints, is that the telecom giant refuses to reveal how much downloading is too much.

The company, which a few years ago advertised the service as “unlimited” has an “acceptable use policy” which enforces the invisible download limit.

The 23-part policy, states that it is a breach of contract to generate “levels of traffic sufficient to impede others' ability to send or retrieve information.” But nowhere does it detail what levels of traffic will impede others.

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More about this issue

1. Does Comcast Broadband Have an Invisible Bandwidth Limit?
2. Bandwidth Abuse Suspension Information
3. Comcast (CMCSA) Vs. Downloaders Will Only Get Uglier

The solution: Monitor your Internet bandwidth usage in Windows.

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