PrimaTech Paper — am I the Only One Crazy Enough to Visit This Site?

This is barely in the tech field … because it involves a web site and text messages … but close enough for me to blog about it. I’m a big fan of Heroes, and during episode 12, “Godsend” my wife and I saw Nathan Petrelli pass Mohinder Suresh a business card … with Primatech Paper’s web site on it.

This launched the “Heroes 360 Experience“. By going to the web site and applying for a job you sign up for emails from characters, or by text messaging the word “APPLY” to cell number 46622 you sign up to receive text messages from Primatech.

I’ve been sent information on secret files accessible on the web site (though sometimes the messages were not clear enough — meaning they goofed — and I had to figure out how to really log in), text messages with codes and logins, etc. etc.

Today I received a text message about the Linderman Group’s Las Vegas casino web site, which includes some casual games and information. Likely I’ll get some more information about secrets hidden on the site later.

But my question still applies: my friends like the show, but I seem to be the only one nutty enough to have signed up for all this. Is anyone else as crazy as me?

U.S. Online Matchmakers Looking for Chinese Partners

It’s Valentine’s day and this is obviously an appropriate story … apparently eHarmony and Match.com, among other U.S. online matchmakers, is looking to find some partners in China to enter (what else) the emerging market there.

Private equity and technology sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Match.com, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, has already secured Love21CN.com, one of China’s biggest online dating service providers, as its main target for a potential stake purchase or business partnership.

Meanwhile, eHarmony, Match.com’s top rival in the U.S. market, is also looking at a number of potential partners in China, though eHarmony, which has over 12 million users globally, has yet to secure a specific target, the sources said. Source: Reuters

Based on China’s growing gender gap, fueled by the one-child policy and the desire (obsession?) for families to have a male child, Chinese men are definitely going to need some help, so this might be the ticket!

The Mac Calculator Just Doesn’t Add Up

Since we PC users have been taking a real beating in those Mac vs. PC ads, which Bill Gates and others have taken issue with, we are always looking for a way to make fun of Mac. Apparently under certain circumstance the Mac calculator does has a few issues …

Adding 19% to 8511.22 renders different results depending on whether you use the % button or multiply by 1.19. The difference is more than 0.04. Which is enough to make you look stupid when writing an invoice. Source: vowe.net

A smart readership at that site has concluded a) it’s isolated to Intel Macs, b) it’s isolated to Calculator (meaning it’s no relation to that old, old Intel F.P. bug from long ago), c) it’s related to Locale.

On the other hand, the same operation works just fine on a PC!

Text Message Speak Creeps into U.S. Classrooms

Last year I wrote about New Zealand’s decision to allow text message speak on NCEA exams. Reaction wasn’t favorable. Although the U.S. (thankfully) hasn’t followed suit on tests like the SAT, English teachers in particular have noticed students using abbreviations such as “b4″ and others on term papers.

But junior high and high school teachers nationwide say they see a troubling trend: The words have become so commonplace in children’s social lives that the techno spellings are finding their way into essays and other writing assignments.

“The IM-speak is so prevalent now,” said Austin, a language arts teacher at Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Orlando. “I’m always having to instruct my students against using it.”

I’m not surprised. I have been expecting this for a while. Maybe what’s really needed is a translator built into Microsoft Word … like the one in my PDA’s email program that automatically changes “mtg” into “meeting” and “b4″ into “before.”

What’s OEM Mean? …. and Why Should You Care?

In the past few days there have been stories circulating about Microsoft and OEM versions of its operating system. One was good, one not so good. But first, what does OEM mean?

OEM is an acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. An original equipment manufacturer is a company that builds products or components that are used in products sold by another company. This can apply to software or hardware. For example, many cellular phones are made by HTC, but resold by other companies. In fact, if you look at their product page, you’re bound to recognize phones. (Sometimes ODM or Original Device Manufacturer is used for smaller electronics, such as cell phones).

In the case of software, and particularly operating systems, the software is sold from the OEM (say, Microsoft) to the manufacturer of a PC (say, Dell) who then ships his PC with the OS installed.

In one of the stories this week, Microsoft said it was OK for consumers to buy the much cheaper OEM version of Windows Vista, as long as they adhered to the licensing rules of that version. Which means, in a nutshell, you cannot legally transfer the software to another PC (unlike the retail version), and you will not be getting support from Microsoft for the product. When you normally buy a Dell, who do you get support from? Dell. Since you are “the OEM” in this case, who do you get support from? Yourself.

For someone like me, this is fine. I don’t generally need support unless it’s a hardware issue. For John Q. Public, this is not such a good deal.

The other story involves Microsoft not honoring vouchers for upgrades to Windows Vista, from people who purchased OEM versions of Windows XP. In this case, Microsoft is asking for people to submit a receipt showing they purchased a PC. If they bought OEM software, like above, they don’t have that receipt … or even the PC. In this case, the people were somewhat misled by the retailers; in fact, if you look at Amazon.com’s site, the limitations of OEM Vista are clearly explained, and that’s not the case for OEM XP.

Bottom line: OEM software is something you really need to be careful about buying. If you’re a techie like me, or are sure you can get support from say … a family member, you might want to go for it. Just don’t expect Microsoft to help you, or to honor any vouchers, as in the case of XP.

Super Bowl Party? Big Screen TV? Watch out for the NFL

Honestly, the NFL needs a penalty for Illegal Procedure for this one … Planning on having a Super Bowl party? If your TV is over 55″, you’d better watch it. The NFL may come after you for copyright infringement. Apparently this all stemmed from a church that was going to have a Super Bowl party. First the NFL complained about them charging for the party, as well as using the license-protected words “Super Bowl” in their ads (give me a break on both points). After the church said they would eliminate both problems, the NFL STILL continued to press the issue, objecting to the church’s plans to use a projector to show the game, saying the law says the TV could not be more than 55″.

While we, at first, doubted the reality of this, Ben Austro sent in the fact that it is, indeed, spelled out in copyright law that once you get above 55″, you may be talking about a “public performance,” though, as Ben notes, the wording sounds like it was clearly written by a lobbyist. Source: TechDirt

I’ll just say one thing: IT’S A CHURCH! Obviously a non-profit, most likely trying to break even with admission. Give me a break. Based on this, I can’t even have a party at my house ‘cuz my TV is 65″. Argh!

Update: The NFL, obviously feeling the heat, now says it’s OK for the church to have the party, as long as no admission is charged. And, they say, viewing at home, on “home-style” TVs is fine.

This was after many churches, not just in Indiana, but in other states, dropped plans for get-togethers, and after the story was picked up by many news outlets.

Workaround for "Clean Install" for Vista Upgrades Discovered

Earlier I wrote about clean installs not being available any longer with Windows Vista Upgrade DVDs. There was conjecture that it might be related to Home versions, but even the mainstream press was confused. Now, it seems Paul Thurott, through some internal Microsoft documents, has discovered a workaround. However, he did not test it, but the enterprising folks at DailyTech did, and they confirm it works.

You could even say this is even more liberal than a “clean install” for XP was (and therefore, probably a bug). Why? Because done as instructed in the DailyTech article, you don’t even have to have an XP key. I’m not going to print the DailyTech instructions verbatim (please use the link above), but to summarize:

With a clean drive, install Vista by booting from the DVD but do not enter the key when asked. This installs Vista as a 30 day trial. Once complete, run the installation from inside Vista and do an in-place upgrade. Viola.