FTI: Freeware, Shareware and now Guiltyware

Was just having my daily dose of Google Reader… Took longer than usual to clear my feed items today… The picture shows why…

Overload

Anyway, that’s not the main point. I came across this article about “Guiltyware” on Digital Inspiration Blog. It seems to be a rather interesting concept. Instead of locking up the software, the software will accept the pirated key and tries to appeal to the user’s guilty conscience as shown in the screen shot taken off DI:

You should be ashamed

This approach is definitely more subtle in nature and may even be more effective… it can be likened to talking to a child/person as to why they have done wrong rather than scolding them. However, the true effectiveness of such an approach is too dependent on the person sitting in front of the computer screen… In my opinion, if the software developer, by doing that, is able to convert a “hand-countable” number of people from pirates to full-payers, then this approach of appealing to the pirate’s “guilt” can be considered as successful, especially if you consider that these were already “lost sales”. Kudos to the developer.

Humour: A Thanksgiving parody

Saw this comic in one of my Google Reader feeds. It was posted on All Things Digital and first published by Geek Culture’s Joy of Tech. Its a Thanksgiving parody by Nitrozac and Snaggy. I actually found it quite interesting even though it was drawn up 2 years ago… Hope its not too distasteful to some….

Thanksgiving Parody published by Geek Culture

Source: http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1180b.html Cheers!

Humour: 365 Days not enough for Students To Study

Received this via email.. Thought it was quite funny…

Quoted verbatim from the email:

It’s not the fault of student if he/she fails. Because, the year ONLY has 365 days…

Typical academic year for a student:

• Sundays – 52 Sundays in a year, you know Sundays are for rest.
  Days left 313.
• Summer holidays – 50 where weather is very hot and difficult to study.
  Days left 263.
• 8 hours daily sleep – 130 days GONE.
  Days left 141.
• 1 hour for daily playing- (good for health) means 15 days.
  Days left 126.
• 2 hours daily for food & other delicacies (chewing properly & swallowing) – means 30 days.
  Days left 96.
• 1 hour for talking (man is a social animal) – means 15 days.
  Days left 81.
• Exam days – per year at least 35 days.
  Days left 46.
• Quarterly, half yearly and festival (holidays) – 40 days.
  Days left 6.
• For sickness – at least 3 days.
  Days left 3.
• Movies and functions- at least 2 days.
  1 day left.
• That 1 day is your birthday.
  How can you study on that day ?!?!?!?!?!

Balance = 0
So? How can a student pass ?????

Haha.. Hope that loosens some tense shoulders.. now time to get back to studying!!…

FTI: Anti-Theft Lunch Bag?

A tasteful idea? Its quite disgusting to look at actually…

But then again, I guess that is the main idea behind the “anti-theft” bag.. Haha

Mouldy Bag Or Bread?

“Anti-Theft Lunch Bags are regular sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides. With your sandwich inside, the bag simulates mold and makes the contents look disgusting”

Saw this on Lifehacker. Originally posted at: http://www.skforlee.com/independent_work/lunch_bag.html

Showcase: Desktop

Mentally quite tired these few days, especially due to night duty. Internal clock still haven’t reset.
However, I don’t think its as bad as the girls who are in Uni now.

Was meddling around with my desktop again during my personal downtime…. Was trying to clean it up. It was getting too cluttered. Anyway, here is the result of my meddling… (Its a mesh from some of the Lifehacker desktop showcases…)

My First Samurize enabled desktop

Cheers to all! :p

FTI: The four worst words?

Was reading a feed from lifehacker… They featured an article on HackCollege. One interesting point was how to ask your parents for extra money….

They’re quite funny… I did a search online and found quite a few articles on the topic.

Here are some clippings:

It’s your son, back with four of the worst words a parent can hear:

1. I
2. need
3. some
4. money

Individually they are nothing, but when combined, they pose a serious threat to the sanity and patience of any parent. To combat this, we have developed a warning system based on the US Govt. terror threat level. Green is good, red is bad, everything else falls somewhere in the middle.

Source: http://www.ubersite.com

… you spent too much money here and there. All of a sudden it’s the end of the semester and even a Ramen diet seem luxurious. You have to do the unthinkable. You have to ask your parents for money…

…. But if asking your parents for money is a big deal, you’ll need to create a strategy. If your parents are still paying off the house, they will disown you for asking them for extra cash. If there is a slight chance of milking some money out of them, you can’t make a wrong move…

…If you attend one of these schools, you can give your parents the guarantee that their money supplement won’t go toward booze, drugs or movie tickets. Such a promise pulls at the heart strings of parents; they just can’t say no…

…College is all about becoming an individual, right? Correct on most accounts. But if you’re in a financial pinch and need some money for food, having your parents know your account number can be a Godsend. Bonus points if your account is with the same bank as your parents; transfers will take place much more quickly….

…If your parents are completely soulless, you’re in trouble. Switch in to Ramen mode, ask your closest friend for $100 and wait out the storm…

Source: http://www.hackcollege.com

Of course those articles are written with the U.S colleges in mind. Most probably some of the methods described above would be a cause for laughter rather than a genuine successful method with the Asian society…

Two more words before I end off: HAHA!. :p

Strangers

Warning: Rantings ahead… (Not for overly-imaginative minds)

Sometimes you will wonder, what it takes to become just another stranger to someone…

You’ve gone out together, went out for lunch or sometimes even dinner and all it takes is just a few months to forget who you are?… On top of those, you’ve sought advice and other issues, and you’ve simply forgotten who this person is? ?

Its understandable to forget after a few long years, but months?? Does your dictionary have the word friend?

Really, I have only these few words: “What kind of friend are you??”