Commentary

Roger and Me

Less than meets the eye in Clemens’ comeback spectacle

 

In his famous soliloquy, Macbeth described life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” While I’m not a particular friend of Bill S., it seems there is often something from Shakespeare to describe events in this human comedy.

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Amazon ‘Glacier’ offers ultra low cost backup storage

Amazon has developed a well-earned reputation as a seller of goods. Originally an online book seller, Amazon diversified into consumer and institutional goods, digital books and music, and a variety of other services. Recently, Amazon announced what might be the lowest cost, commercially available “cloud” data storage for long-term archival or backup services. Amazon has enormous data capacity, with countless servers and related data storage located in many places around the globe.

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You may be towed, but only if there is proper signage

Q. Does a store have the right to limit who may park in its lot? Isn’t this public property? Can I be towed for parking in the lot of one store and shopping somewhere else?

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Free virus and malware removal tools from Kaspersky

Many Americans might not be aware of the feisty Russian-based computer security company Kaspersky, but it is the fourth largest security vendor in the world, the third largest vendor of consumer security software, and the fifth largest vendor of enterprise endpoint protection, according to Wikipedia. Headquartered in Moscow since its inception in 1987, Kaspersky currently has 29 regional offices around the globe, including U.S. offices in Boston and Miami.

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Tears of a woman … or of a man

How long has it been since you’ve had a good cry? Can you remember when you last shed tears?

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Apartment usually not responsible for vandalism

Q. This morning, there were five cars in my apartment parking lot that had broken windows. Our apartment has no security gates. Is the apartment responsible for the costs of repairing the cars?

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FBI warns about ‘Ransomware’ e-mail scam

It never ceases to amaze me how creative international cyber crooks can be. There are countless online scams and schemes intended to enrich criminals at the cost of innocent Internet users. We have all heard of viruses, worms, Trojans and other variations of malware, as published warnings have been disseminated since the early days of personal computing.

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New owner is liable for return of security deposit

Q. I leased a home from a company and gave the proper 30-days notice. My last day was July 10, and I have not received my security deposit. I contacted the management company and was told that the house was sold the month before my lease ended. I was told to contact the new owner because my deposit was transferred to him. I have not received my deposit after forwarding my new address to the new owner. Who is responsible for returning my deposit?

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Microsoft offers a dozen free instructional e-books

We all like getting something for free. In the past, I have written about the thousands of free e-books from Amazon, Google, and other sources. A quick review of Amazon indicates that almost all currently published commercial books, including many college textbooks, are now available in digital format in addition to the bound paper versions. For all of the courses in my program at my college, the students have the option of using free online textbooks. Microsoft has now joined the free e-book club.

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