Don Contreras: 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Looking Good Billy Ray!

From Jack and Mike, best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year to all our readers and Mercenary community members. 2010 was awesome… it almost feels illegal to have this much fun. And 2011 is going to be even better.

The icing on the cake for a great year came with the beta rollout of the Mercenary Live Feed on December 15th. So far, our 250+ beta testers have delivered rave reviews — justifying our claim, we believe, that the Live Feed is truly “revolutionary” in the scope and power it offers.

In addition to rolling out the Mercenary Live Feed to new subscribers (spaces will be limited!) in Jan 2011, we’ll soon be hitting you with the MT Driver’s Manual.

The MT Driver’s Manual will take our 3-part IMA series to a whole new level of clarity, depth and precision in explaining the four key components of trading: Target. Track. Execute. Manage.

If you want to know just how we do what we do, you’ll find out. And if you’re ready for a powerful embrace of what trading’s all about, it just might blow your mind. Get ready for the nitro…

A toast to a great year, and many more to follow. 2011 here we come!

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/X3NjIfakrtg/looking-good-billy-ray-2010-12

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Begun The Talent Wars Have ? How Twitter?s London HQ Could Woo Google Staff

We've reported before about how the escalating war for talent in Silicon Valley is effectively creating a kind of arms race between tech companies. For example, Google is offering employees a 10% pay increase for 2011; companies like About.me are getting acquired days after launch; and job postings in the IT industry are shooting to astronomical levels. Even Google's Eric Schmidt has admitted to this battle. Facebook, Google, Zynga and Twitter are hiring like crazy - and this insatiable desire for staff is likely to spill over into other countries. And perhaps the obvious first target outside of the Valley is London: English speaking, and a magnet for existing tech people in Europe working for US multinationals. And the latest to consider extending its reach there is Twitter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/CXMqujFCf3s/

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UltraEdit makes the leap to Mac OS X

UltraEdit for Mac was officially released this month. A favorite of Windows developers, UltraEdit was first released in 1994 as one of the earliest "Notepad" replacement text editors for programmers on Windows.

When you use your computer for programming, you live in your text editor. Mac developers love TextMate's project management and plug-ins, BBEdit's built-in code validation, or its freeware sibling TextWrangler's fantastic find and replace. For web development, I use Coda with built in syntax highlighting, source code versioning and a CSS editing mode.

But for Windows users, switching from Windows to Mac has meant giving up a favorite Windows editor, which can feel disorienting. TUAW readers who switched from Windows have been wanting UltraEdit for years, some even running Windows in a VM (virtual machine) just for their text editor. Back in 2007, reader Jon Niola commented, "As a switcher, the app I miss most on Windows is UltraEdit... I wrote to IDM (makers of UltraEdit) to ask them if they were ever going to port to OS X and ... it sounds like it is something they are headed towards eventually."

After fifteen years, it's here.

Continue reading UltraEdit makes the leap to Mac OS X

UltraEdit makes the leap to Mac OS X originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/31/ultraedit-makes-the-leap-to-mac-os-x/

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Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling

In a move that's sure to make users stand up and say "Hallelujah," the latest update to the Skype app for iPhone finally adds video calling.

The newest version of the app will allow users to make video Skype to Skype calls from their iPhone via Wi-Fi and 3G, and also call Skype desktop users on both OS X and Windows (and we presume their sorely neglected Linux users), as well as those using Skype on their iPhones and iPads.

Naturally, if you're on an iPad, you won't get to send video back -- and you have to deal with the iPhone interface since there isn't a native Skype app for the iPad. But, iPad 2 could change that. If the new hardware is released with a camera, Skype will be ready for it, and hopefully with an iPad-optimized app as well.

So, have fun with video chatting via Skype and let us know what you think of it in the comments!

Thanks for the fast tip, Daniel!

Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/30/skype-for-iphone-updates-to-3-0-adds-video-calling/

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KinEmote controls Boxee or XBMC via your Kinect

The Microsoft Kinect hacks just keep on coming, and we'll probably be seeing even more cool apps released now that first-party drivers are available for download. Today, we've got a glimpse at a new open source project called KinEmote in action. It's designed to take advantage of your Kinect in its natural habitat: the living room.

KinEmote is a -- you guessed it -- remote control app which allows you to interact with both Boxee and XBMC from across the room. Check out the video demo after the break to get a look at what controlling your media center PC could be like with a Kinect plugged into it!

Continue reading KinEmote controls Boxee or XBMC via your Kinect

KinEmote controls Boxee or XBMC via your Kinect originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/27/kinemote-controls-boxee-or-xbmc-via-your-kinect/

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Blog Post: Guest Blog: Unlocking education with your imagination

Educators from across the United States gathered in downtown Denver earlier this November for the National Council for the Social Studies annual convention. I traveled to Denver from my rural southwest Colorado school district and engaged in four days of unsurpassed professional development and networking.

"Vistas, Visions and Voices" was the 2010 theme. Hundreds of large and small gatherings of truly visionary educators shared cutting-edge experiences in teaching. In coming days, I'll be thinking on the keyboard, processing the experiences that affected me most deeply.

Listening to Maya Soetoro-Ng, teacher, education consultant, author and half-sister of President Obama, was one such experience. Embracing the "Vistas, Visions and Voices" theme, Maya shared her strongly held beliefs about an essential component of education - imagination.

Imagination! Individual and collective. A crucial piece of the classroom puzzle. The invisible spark that fuels creativity! Indispensable, invaluable imagination!

Maya invited us to face imaginative "vistas" of empathy education. She said that Social Studies should ask students to employ empathy at the community level and link that experience to global understanding. Educators must "give kids opportunities to imagine something different." She described several classroom activities that ask learners to practice and internalize empathy, and referenced the inverse relationship between imagination and violence.

Maya inspired us with her "visions" of moral imagination. Again we were asked to acquaint students with institutions that promote peace, to construct peace gardens, to imagine then to create works of art illustrating peace taking hold in our world.

Our "voices" are our narrative imagination. Storytelling is a powerful tool among educators and students. Maya described our real, implicit and imagined stories as holding the potential for local, national and global imagination and subsequent positive actions.

Toward the end of her address, Maya shared a little about the end of her mother's life. Her mother had imbued a love for humanity in her children, and this message was well appreciated in this large convention center ballroom full of Social Studies teachers. Her mother asked that her ashes be placed in the ocean, because "how else would she get to all the places she loved."

I take away from Maya's address a reinforced intention to share her contagious empathy and tolerance in an imperfect world. I really love my job!

-Sally High

Source: http://www.bing.com/community/Site_Blogs/b/education/archive/2010/12/29/guest-blog-unlocking-education-with-your-imagination.aspx

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Pew Shows 65% Of People Pay For Digital Content; Mostly Music, Software, And Mobile Apps

The Pew Internet organization put out results of a survey on how many people pay for digital content online. The study found that 65 percent of people online have paid to download some form of digital content or for a subscription to a digital media service. The survey excluded physical goods bought online and was focussed only on digital content such as music, software, news, and other online or electronic publications. For those who do spend money online on digital media, most spend between $1 and $10 a month, with 68 percent spending less than $30 a month. (You can see the distribution of amount spend in the chart above). The two kinds of digital goods people are most willing to pay for by far are music and software. One third of respondents (33 percent) say they have paid for either digital music or software online. And 21 percent have paid for mobile apps. So if you combine mobile apps and other forms of software, that is the largest single category even accounting for overlap in the numbers. Paying for digital games comes in fourth at 19 percent. What about digital newspapers or magazines behind paywalls or for sale for tablets like the iPad?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4gpal5O_uDg/

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New Year's App Blowout lowers prices on some iOS apps

The sales are almost all done this holiday season (EA , you may have noticed, has raised its prices back up from that 99 cent price point that was so strong during Christmas), but here's one more to help you pick up a a few more iOS games to play over New Year's. The third annual New Year's app blowout features a deal put together by a bunch of indie developers, and it's offering sales on some really great iPhone and iPad apps. I can heartily recommend Battle for Wesnoth for just 99 cents, and DisplayPad for just $2.99 is a nice deal as well. Other than those, some of the games on the list look worth a try, and there are some that have dropped all the way to free, so jump on in and download those.

Hopefully, after all of the new games out this holiday season and all of the crazy sales on apps from earlier on this year, you've got more than enough to play on your iOS device. But just in case you don't, feel free to take advantage of this last big "blowout" before we head on into whatever magical apps we'll see in 2011.

New Year's App Blowout lowers prices on some iOS apps originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/30/new-years-app-blowout-lowers-prices-on-some-ios-apps/

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Apple patent filing outlines social networking for shopping

While a lot of shopping is making the move to online stores, for many people there's no substitute for the real thing -- going to a store, browsing merchandise, and picking up and trying on things. A recent patent filing by Apple, discovered by AppleInsider, demonstrates a Ping-like social networking service that lets shoppers chat with others, ask for suggestions, get a "thumbs-up / thumbs-down" on a potential purchase, and more.

The filing, titled "Social Networking in Shopping Environments," is intriguing. Apple envisions special kiosks in stores where shoppers can download information and photos of products, then use their iPhones to send queries to friends. The screenshot shows a simple Yes / No answer to a question to friends about buying something, several queries to followers to get suggestions or help, and a rating system for a store.

By allowing shoppers to coordinate complex discussions with friends without having to bring the friends along to the store, this social networking system would stimulate shopping. That's similar to how Ping is supposed to work, by showing your friends the music you like and getting them interested in purchasing it as well.

For those who like to hang with their friends and go out for an afternoon of power shopping, this won't be a substitute. As always, this patent filing doesn't necessarily mean that Apple will ever produce a social networking system for shoppers. Rather, the company is just protecting its intellectual property.

[via The Loop]

Apple patent filing outlines social networking for shopping originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/30/apple-patent-filing-outlines-social-networking-for-shopping/

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Voice Search for Chrome extension lets you search by speaking

Voice Search is an extension for Google Chrome that allows you to speak search queries instead of typing them, and it's not limited to Google searches.

It works very similar to the voice input system that Google has built into Android. A microphone icon will show up in your browser's extensions area, as well as near any HTML5-powered search box on websites that it can be used for. To search for "kittens", the developer says, just click on the microphone and say "kittens". To search Google Images for kittens, say "google images kittens". To search Wikipedia, say "wikipedia" followed by your query.

Voice Search can search using the following sites by default: ?Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Wolfram Alpha. However, you can also add other search engines that you like.

This is at a very experimental stage at the moment, and as such you may find that you need to start Chrome with the flag --enable-voice-input for the add-on to even work. Instructions on how to add the flag are available on the app's page in the Chrome Web Store, which is also where you can download Voice Search for Chrome for free.

[It seems to censor rude words, too... -Ed]

Voice Search for Chrome extension lets you search by speaking originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/29/voice-search-for-chrome-is-an-extension-that-lets-you-search-by-speaking/

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20+ essential programs for your new Windows computer

Our regular readers can probably rattle off a list of their 20 favorite apps without breaking a sweat -- as the comments on this post will no doubt prove. But for our less in-the-know friends, family, and co-workers, it can be challenging to figure out where to download high quality programs that actually do what they need them to do.

We've put together an assortment that will help you hit the ground running with your new Windows PC. If you've got your own suggestions to add, feel free to post them in the comments.

Now let's take the jump and check out the apps!

Continue reading 20+ essential programs for your new Windows computer

20+ essential programs for your new Windows computer originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/23/20-essential-programs-for-your-new-windows-computer/

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Honda, Acura customer data stolen in third-party breach

The last couple months of this year are starting to look like Breachfest 2010, and a new report in The Columbus Dispatch indicates that the latest victims are registered owners of Honda and Acura vehicles. As was the case with the McDonald's incident, it wasn't Honda or Acura specifically that was attacked -- but rather a third-party company who handled a customer email database.

In addition to the usual information like names and email addresses, the data also contained customer VINs (vehicle identification numbers). Armed with a VIN, it could be possible for a thief to obtain duplicate keys -- which is obviously very, very bad. It's more likely, however, that the data will be used to carry out phishing attacks. Armed with knowledge of the customers' vehicles, the phisher could pose as a Honda representative in an attempt to trick users into running a malicious attachment.

Honda has already reached out to all those affected -- some 2.2 million people. The company has also added a new section to its FAQ, which you can read here.

Honda, Acura customer data stolen in third-party breach originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/29/honda-acura-customer-data-stolen-in-third-party-breach/

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Kawasaki Releases More Information on the ZX-10R?s Technical Hold ? Sales to Resume Late January

The launch of the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R has been a rocky one for Team Green. First there was the new that the ZX-10R’s class leading power figures wouldn’t be making it to the American market, as the Japanese manufacturer was honoring new EPA noise standards, which necessitated the Kawasaki ZX-10R getting its wings clipped by 750RPM and approximately 20hp.�With this sort of impediment soon to become a common occurrence in the North American markets, ...

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Blog Post: Test

test

Source: http://www.bing.com/community/Site_Blogs/b/jp/archive/2010/12/20/test.aspx

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UFC 125 Edgar v. Maynard: Hype Is Low, But Demand Says Otherwise

Even though the MMA community in general does not seem all too excited about 125, prices for UFC tickets are telling a different story. The average price of a ticket for UFC 125 is $269.53, more expensive than both UFC 118, averaging $242.44 per ticket, and UFC 124, which averaged $264.41 per ticket. The high ticket prices for this event could possibly be attributed to a combination of two things: (1) there hasn’t been a major UFC event in Vegas since UFC 116 in July and UFC fans in Vegas are just eager to go see a major UFC event (2) UFC 125 is taking place on New Years Day and Vegas draws a large crowd for New Years weekend.

UFC 125

Commentary and fight card discussion courtesy of David St. Martin. David is an editor and MMA contributor for SB Nation. You can follow him on Twitter @SaintMMA.

Fans clamoring about a lack of star power and a weak main event for this Saturday’s UFC 125 should really cut the UFC some slack. While Frankie Edgar isn’t currently as sexy a champion as some of his colleagues, the UFC did have plans to bolster the event with the addition of Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. After suffering an injury, his eventual removal from the event’s main card makes it all the more hard to market. Aldo isn’t a big name yet, but he can always be counted on for his highlight reel performances. It was another title fight, after all.

Edgar is still struggling to overcome the stigma of being an undersized — therefore short term — UFC champion. He hasn’t been favored in a fight since December of 2009 and has been an underdog in every fight since — including his fight this weekend with No. 1 contender Gray Maynard. Maynard — a fighter who some fans take much delight in writing off as a ‘lay and pray’ bore — isn’t bringing much hype to this fight. While I personally think Maynard is undeserving of his reputation, I’m not the average MMA fan. This is also a rematch of a fairly one-sided fight. While the UFC has been able to sell rematches between guys like Lyoto Machida and Maurício Rua at UFC 113, a rematch of a decisive beating from two non-stars makes this a tough sell. Add all of these story lines together and you have a recipe for low PPV buys.

Both of these fighters have changed and markedly improved since facing each other almost three years ago. Edgar has twice beaten a legend in BJ Penn and Maynard has continued an undefeated dominance over much of the lightweight division’s best. Each man is a different fighter, but I see this fight going much like the first. I don’t think Maynard will allow Edgar to continue to utilize his speed and will eventually use his footwork to corner him in the octagon. If Maynard can avoid the likely frustration of chasing an opponent not looking to stand and trade with him, I think he puts together a good enough fight to take the title. This fight will be won or lost in the first three rounds. If Maynard can put it on Edgar and score some take downs I think he becomes the new UFC Lightweight Champion.

Join the conversation about this story »

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/Go93AU72KNE/ufc-125-edgar-v-maynard-hype-is-low-but-demand-says-otherwise-2010-12

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Freemake Video Converter adds Blu-Ray support, Web video downloading

Freemake's free Video Converter was already a very solid app, handling more than 200 import formats and able to output converted videos for playback on a wide array of devices. In the recently-released version 2.0, however, one major piece of missing functionality has been added.

Freemake 2 now supports Blu-Ray burning, allowing you to output dozens of hours of downloaded video to a single disc. If you don't have a Blu-Ray burner, no worries -- Freemake claims their media conversion kung-fu lets them cram 20 hours onto a single-layer DVD.

The upgrade doesn't stop there, however. Freemake 2 also adds the ability to download and convert videos directly from popular sharing sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Metacafe. Beyond sharing sites, Freemake can also grab video from Hulu, South Park Studios, The Daily Show, Megavideo, and several others -- including a good number of sites in the red light district. There's also a more full-featured preset editor, giving you advanced control over your default conversion settings.

The .Net 4.0 framework is required, but Freemake will install it for you if it's not already on your system.

Download Freemake Video Convertor 2.0

Freemake Video Converter adds Blu-Ray support, Web video downloading originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/22/freemake-video-converter-adds-blu-ray-support-web-video-download/

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TextualAds Raises $650K For Facebook-Fueled, Targeted SMS Campaigns

Facebook holds a trove of information about its hundreds of millions of users, and many of them are more than happy to hand over some of that data ?�like a list of their personal interests�? so that they can connect with their favorite companies or play a new game. �Thing is, despite the targeting opportunities afforded by this data, many businesses have still failed to take advantage of it. TextualAds is a firm that's changing that for text messaging campaigns, by allowing businesses and large brands to push highly targeted SMS messages to their customers. The service launched in September, and today it's announcing that it's closed a $650K seed round. The round's investors include Dave McClure (500 Startups), Peter Boboff & Chris Redlitz (Transmedia Capital), Marcus Segal (Zynga), Shawn Simpson (former Googler), and Erik Moore.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xxdVnoXIx4Y/

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Lawsuit over app privacy targets Apple and developers

App Store Logo Apple and several mobile developers are facing two separate lawsuits over the collection and unauthorized sharing of private user data with third-party advertising networks, according to iLounge. The first lawsuit, Freeman vs. Apple, was filed in a northern California federal court and targets applications such as Pandora, Dictionary.com, The Weather Channel, Toss It, Text4Plus, Talking Tom Cat and Pimple Popper Lite.

The second lawsuit, Lalo vs. Apple, was filed in federal court in San Jose, California and seeks class action stats for anyone who has downloaded an offending application between December 2008 and last week. Similar to the first lawsuit, the Lalo vs. Apple suit targets Pandora, Paper Toss, The Weather Channel and Dictionary.com. Apple is included in both suits as the App Store approval process makes the company an "aider and abetter" to the deceptive practices of these applications.

The lawsuits stem from a recent Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed several iOS and Android applications were transmitting age, gender, location and device identifier information to third-party advertising companies.

This information was mined by the recipients and used to serve up relevant in-app advertisements. Unfortunately, this exchange of information was done without the user's knowledge or consent. While most of the collected information is not personally identifying, the hidden nature of the exchange caused a stir among privacy advocates. It was only a matter of time before this moral outrage turned into a class-action lawsuit.

Lawsuit over app privacy targets Apple and developers originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/28/lawsuit-over-app-privacy-targets-apple-and-developers/

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Pew Shows 65% Of People Pay For Digital Content; Mostly Music, Software, And Mobile Apps

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4gpal5O_uDg/

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What The ?Great Delicious Exodus? Looked Like For Pin-Sized Competitor Pinboard

When word got out two weeks ago that Yahoo is not 100% committed to Delicious, people who still use the bookmarking service started to panic and look for alternatives. One competing bookmarking site that some people turned to is Pinboard, a barebones bookmarking site which looks a lot like Delicious did in its early years: lean, no-frills, and very useful. The company saw an influx of traffic and activity. The chart above shows requests per minute to its servers in the three days following the Delicious news compared to the week before. A couple hour ago, Pinboard Tweeted out a link to the chart:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/g_2bg1cwYWs/

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Tales From the Tech Trenches

GMGruman writes "Anyone in IT has a story or two involving stupid users, crazy co-workers, kludgy technology, and airhead managers. Lisa Blackwelder has collected top tales of the tech trenches, covering user antics, office politics, and unusual technical challenges that IT pros faced (usually) with aplomb, insight, and savvy."