Ask The Tech Guys 134

I’m back live, broadcasting from Philadelphia today (thanks Q102!). Call in with your questions, comments, and suggestions: 1–800–520–1KFI.

Today’s news items

Let the cheering begin. A Virginia judge handed down America’s first felony conviction for spamming on Friday. Jeremy Jaynes was sentenced to nine years in prison for sending out 10 million junk emails a day.

Starting Tuesday Microsoft is going to start pushing out Service Pack 2 via its automated update process. That means millions of neglected Windows machines will automatically be updated. So far only 24% of Windows users have upgraded due to fears about compatiblity issues. Those fears are real, but the update is very important for security reasons. You can disable automatic updates, but I don’t recommend it.

Perhaps part of the problem is that computer experts obfuscate issues by using jargon. According to a survey by AOL UK, 84% of users didn’t know what “phishing” means. 25% say they know what spyware is, but one in 10 of those said it had to do with spouses spying on cheating mates. I’ll try to be more clear from now on!

Sony says that the PlayStation Portable (PSP) sold more than 500,000 units during its first two days.

Indicted Enron exec Ken Lay is buying Google ads to tell his side of the story. Search for Enron - see an ad.

Google has added satellite imagery to its map service, making it even better. Check it out: maps.google.com. See below for some interesting links.

Jeff in Santa Ana adds: Google is my 2nd-favorite map site (usually accessed via Google Local).

My favorite map site is UK-based MultiMap.

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Links

• Weird Ebay Auctions
• Google Siteseeing uses Google Maps to get satellite images of some amazing places. Try Area 51
• Hacker High School