Don't Get Kromked

If you use Facebook, then you've probably gotten a direct message from a friend asking you to visit kromked.net. It should go without saying, but DON'T!

You should ALWAYS be suspicious of cryptic messages like this one. In fact, that's a good reason to not be cryptic in messages you send. Spell out what you mean when messaging your friends. In a day where we are being conditioned to communicate in 140 characters or less, this IS a message that bears repeating.

There's not much out there yet about this kromked spam but I did find a description of what happens if you click the link at www.islandcrisis.net.  The author says that basically nothing happened, nothing obvious that is.

Even as a mac user, I am not going to let my curiosity get the best of me. It killed the cat, you know. Just say no to kromked.net.

UPDATE: Kurt from has www.islandcrisis.net has been posting updates about this and has proposed an interesting theory about what the scheme might be. Click on over for the update.

I WANT a DROBO!

If you've never heard of DROBO, you should definitely read this. You can also win one at the Managing Your Digital Life blog. Here's why I want one:

My day to day workflow involves layout of a local paper I publish and ad design for the paper, web design for clients of the other half of my business, and web design and digital communications design work that I do for the church of which I am a member. Everything I do on a daily basis involves storing, retrieving, and incorporating digital media (primarily photos and graphics). It’s kind of like I have three jobs but it’s not as bad as it sounds since there is so much over lap.

I have two machines that I use every day. The older of the two is a 5 year old PowerBook G4 with an 80 GB hard drive (only 2.8 GB free). The newer machine is a 4 year old iMac G5 with a 160 GB drive (only 7.4 GB free). Both were large drives when I bought them. I’ve added a 500 GB external drive for backup and I also store vital files on my iDisk (when it’s working) as a backup of my backup.

How would I use a DROBO? After wiping the tears of joy from my face, I would immediately set it up as the central media storage device for my home office network so that I could free up the limited memory on each of my machines and have the peace of mind that knowing my livelihood is stored on a DROBO would bring!

Be sure to head over to the Managing Your Digital Life blog to find out more about DROBO and how you can win one!

"Inception"

Since the inception of Geekbert, this has been the longest I've gone without making a post (I like how saying "inception" makes my blog sound far more important than it is). I'd like to tell you that it's because I've been working on some awesome review of the iPhone that just couldn't be rushed.

The truth is I've been playing catch up from being out of town for two of the last three weeks. Add to that the fact that my business (the one at which I make money) has been experiencing a small surge of new clients (there it goes, I've jinxed my trend). So because of some very welcome problems I've been too busy to write anything worth reading.

I have a few things percolating that I'll try to flesh out over the next week or so. Until then, I offer my apologies to all my readers (both of you) and I recommend this very thorough iPhone review by Julie Strietelmeier over at the gadgeteer. Enjoy!

Geekberto

Hola...I'm back! I've been in Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico for 8 days. While there I helped conduct a Vacation Bible School in an out-lying village, clean up a camp facility, and install duct work and a drop ceiling (preparation for AC installation) in a small church in the city.

It was an incredibly eye-opening experience. The way of life in the places I visited was so modest that it was like travelling back in time. In spite of their apparent material poverty, the people I met showed hospitality to me that was humbling. As a result of my trip, I have a renewed sense of thankfulness and purpose.

I'll try to get back up to speed soon and continue writing. Thanks for checking back regularly. Buenas noches!

This Just In...

Wow, there has been a lot of news in the last few days. I may write about some of these things in detail later, but I want to just give you the list in case you haven't yet seen some of these items.

The Mothership and the Evil Empire: there is a video podcast of an interview of Bill and Ted...er...I mean Steve by Wall Street Journal technology columnists Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. You can check it our here (clicking this link will launch iTunes).

Safari 3 Public Beta has been released. I think they just reclaimed me from Firefox. Note, you have to be running 10.4.9 to use this new version of Safari.

Apple's website has a new look. I noticed while watching the new iPhone ads that the navbar at the top was not the same as with the rest of the site. I clicked another tab to compare with the old aqua looking navbar and lo and behold, the whole site was now using the new grey navbar. You may be thinking, "So what?" Okay, but still, it's new(s).

New MacBooks released. There were several updates made, most notable is that the 15 inch MacBook Pro has three extra letters in the display specs: LED. I hear this will be the new trend in Mac displays and that lower power demands is one of the main benefits.

Steve revealed an almost complete Leopard at WWDC. Check it out and I think you'll agree that this is definitely going to be worth upgrading. I'll be writing more about this.

I'm sure there's more, but I don't have all day to look this stuff up for you! Let me know if you've come across other big news that I've missed here.

The Silence Is Deafening

I had to write to apologize to the few and the faithful for my long silence. My other hobby (the one that pays the bills) has kept me very busy. I'll be back in a few days when the dust settles.

You Like Me; You Really, Really Like Me!

Thanks to Suzanne for nominating Geekbert for Best Geek Blog in the Blogger's Choice Awards. There's a badge in the sidebar you can click to submit your vote. Let your voice be heard! Go vote for geekbert.

Geekbert Cares

If you've spent any amount of time blog-slogging you know how easy it is to get lost in the blogosphere only to emerge hours later wondering how you wasted so much time. Well, be thankful you have a friend like me to suggest subscriptions to you.

If you have several blogs that you enjoy on a regular basis, you can use subscriptions to help you keep up with the latest posts all in one place. Then you only have to check one place to see if there is anything new on your favorite site(s) without getting sucked into the vortex that is the blogoshphere. Many browsers now have the ability to manage subscriptions for you. You can also use one of many online services to manage your subscriptions.

Which brings me to the reason for my post. I've recently added, out of generous consideration for your time, links in the sidebar for you to subscribe to www.geekbert.net. You can subscribe to posts (via reader or email) and comments. A few days ago, Brian asked about subscriptions to comments. I believe I have it all set up correctly. If you have any trouble with subscriptions, please let me know. And remember, Geekbert understands the value your time.

A Long Way to Go

I was checking my blog traffic last night and noticed I got a hit from Technorati.com. Someone had searched for Doomlaser (maker of the KP Screensaver) and found it at geekbert. So I decided to look up geekbert in their listings. When I did, I noticed the ranking of my blog. Wow! Click the picture to see what my blog ranks in cyberspace.

I've been trying to increase my readership and it looks like I'm in need of serious help from my readers. All three or four of you are going to have to tell your friends about geekbert. :-)

And We're Back (Pack)

Sorry for the silence. I've been held hostage by the tax man but I'm done now. I know, I know. Get off my back, I don't need the pressure.

There will be more goodies soon. For now, take a look at this interesting backpack:

You can read about it over at instructables. I'm not sure if I admire or pity the person who made it.

Seeing Spots

Apple announced today that the release of their newest version of OS X will be delayed until October. Uuugggh! I've been waiting to upgrade our organization's Macs since last October! You can read more about it at AppleInsider but the iPhone is the culprit. I'm sure the sacrifice will be worth it.

Now the dilemma is do I upgrade now and then again in October or stick it out and wait. My boss desperately needs spotlight and several little problems would be solved by upgrading now. It might be worth it. Decisions, decisions! Apple...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Hmmm, do you think Apple is hoping I'll think this way? I wonder. Pass the Kool-Aid, please.