The Red Monkey

By Chris Walters, 3:16 PM on Wed Sep 30 2009, 1,777 views

Anyone who reads the fine print when signing up for Internet access knows that the speeds advertised are “best case” scenarios, or more cynically that they’re total fabrications meant to lure in customers. Now the FCC, as part of its larger study of how to expand broadband access, has reported that “actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by as much as 50% to 80%.”

The real reason for the FCC study—due this coming February—is to figure out a way to make our broadband infrastructure more robust, but from the Consumerist standpoint, we just want to know why ISPs keep lying to us.

Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst at Consumers Union, says he’s heard many such complaints from users and has pushed for the Federal Trade Commission to take up a review under truth in advertising laws.

[...]

“This speaks to consumer empowerment. And if you are advertising one speed but delivering another, that takes power away,” Kelsey said. “Consumers can’t make accurate decisions based on quality of service from one provider off another.”

“Internet Speeds Are Often Slower Than What Consumers Pay For, FCC Finds” [Washington Post]
(Photo: psyberartist)

ZDNet.com

Malware hunters at Symantec have discovered a direct link between a malicious file embedded in pirated copies of Apple’s iWork 09 software and what appears to be the first Mac OS X botnet launching denial-of-service attacks.

Writing in the current issue of Virus Bulletin (subscription required), researchers Mario Ballano Barcena and Alfredo Pesoli found two malware variants — OSX.Iservice and OSX.Iservice.B — using different techniques to obtain the user’s password and take control of the infected Mac machine.

The variants have been found inside bogus copies of iWork ’09 and Adobe Photoshop CS4 which were shared on the popular p2p torrent network. The author of the malware downloaded the original/trial versions of each program and introduced a copy of the malicious binary into the packages. Users who then downloaded and installed the applications from the torrent download would have been infected. It is estimated that thousands of people have downloaded the infected torrent files.

They describe this as the “first real attempt to create a Mac botnet” and notes that the zombie Macs are already being used for nefarious purposes.

It was just a matter of time.

Its not a cardboard cut out, watch his thumb.

Couldn’t this be seen as assault and battery? I think I would laugh after the WTF wore off.

According to Symantec’s VP of Engineering Jens Meggers “Security Essentials is a poor product” and “the risk on the Web today is far too high for ‘basic.’ ” Trend Micro’s Carol Carpenter said, “It’s better to use something than to use nothing, but you get what you pay for.”

I beg to differ. In the age of free software, you can get so much more than you pay for, and with so much bloatware floating about, “basic” can be downright refreshing.

Backup and Disaster Recovery : Download this special report

Microsoft’s Security Essentials (MSE) is a stripped-down, easy to use, and effective Anti-Virus application written by the very people who know the most about how Windows works. It is now officially out of beta and freely downloadable.

According to Meggers, MSE has “very average detection rates.” Frankly, that’s just not enough to sway me from recommending MSE to budget-conscious home and small-business users. Detection rates are not the only measure of antivirus effectiveness, and sometimes high detection rates can mean a lot of false positives.

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I suppose if you are one of the antivirus big guns trying to sell personal AV protection for between $40-$70 per user, then it makes sense to pack your product to the gills with features so that your customers feel they are getting a good bang for their buck.

However, if you are looking for simple virus protection, MSE is a 4.5MB download with a clean interface and small memory footprint. If you’re already fairly smart about using your computer safely, Essentials will likely give you just the amount of protection you need. MSE stays up to date automatically, and can be scheduled to run at any time or interval. It has a handful of other configuration options, but is otherwise straight to the point.

Much of the functionality found in mainstream AV products is redundant, considering that Windows already has a firewall built-in and you’re probably behind either your business’s or broadband router’s firewall. Additionally, most browsers have phishing detection features to help protect Web surfers from being duped.

MSE is also an excellent compliment to Windows 7. Regardless of Microsoft’s tattered image regarding security, Windows 7 is a pretty secure OS, and a suite of security apps can do as much to hinder performance as to protect the PC.

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For more PC news, visit PC World. Story copyright PC World Communications, Inc.

Despite opposition from business and labor groups, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger embraced a blue-ribbon panel’s recommendation Tuesday to flatten the state income tax, eliminate part of the sales tax and install a new form of consumption tax on most firms.

The plan would cut the highest state income tax rate to 7.5 percent on millionaires and 6.5 percent for single filers earning between $28,000 and $1 million.

A new consumption tax, called a business net receipts tax, would capture revenues from firms that now escape taxation, such as service-based industries.

Schwarzenegger called a legislative special session Tuesday and wants lawmakers to approve the package this year. The GOP governor said he would sign the plan as is. But Democratic leaders made no promises on a timetable.

The complex tax package raises numerous questions:

Why is this necessary?

State leaders launched the panel because they believed the tax system was responsible for California’s notorious budget problems.

The state experiences heavy revenue swings due largely to its growing reliance on income and capital gains taxes. Many panelists believed that a move away from those taxes would solve this problem, but others disagree and say the state’s budget problems are better solved by a rainy-day fund.

How would this affect my state income taxes?

All filers who owe taxes would pay less, but those earning above $75,000 would benefit most. Because those earners pay the bulk of income taxes, they will see the most significant reductions.

According to the commission, millionaires would receive, on average, a $109,291 cut in their tax payments; those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 would see roughly a $905 drop.

What about deductions and credits?

The plan would allow deductions only for mortgage interest, property taxes and charitable contributions. It would eliminate tax credits, including one for child care, while removing deductions for medical expenses.

Would I pay sales tax?

The plan calls for the elimination of the 5 percent portion of the state sales tax that currently pays for California’s general fund budget (that rate is temporarily 6 percent through June 2011). Drivers would continue to pay the full tax at the gas pump. Consumers also would pay 2.25 percent in statewide sales taxes that would go toward local programs and repaying deficit bonds, as well as any additional local taxes.

What about property taxes?

The tax commission recommended no change.

>b>Won’t the state go broke?

The commission envisions that the new tax on businesses would capture more revenues from service industries that escape taxation, such as accountants, lawyers and auto mechanics. The panel also believes that out-of-state firms will pay more.

Critics dispute the extent to which the new tax will increase revenues.

Why do I care if more firms have to pay taxes?

The presumption is that firms would pass on the new tax burden to consumers through higher prices. Because companies could not deduct salaries or benefits, unions also fear employers would cut wages, benefits or jobs.

Conservatives assert that because companies face a lower tax rate – 4 percent compared to the current 8.84 percent corporation tax rate – they would be able to create more jobs. Critics suggest that the plan provides incentive to fire employees and hire independent contractors because contractors are deductible and in-house employees are not.

Commissioner Christopher Edley, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, said the Legislature might deal with this loophole by eliminating deductions for use of contractors who do not pay the new tax.

When would this begin?

The commission has recommended that it start in 2012 with a five-year phase-in period that allows for “tweaks” if economic models prove wrong.

The Legislature must approve the plan, however, and has made no promises. Business groups and labor unions, whose opinions weigh heavily, denounced the plan Tuesday.

Support on the commission tilted Republican. Nine out of 14 commissioners supported the final package, including six of seven Schwarzenegger appointees. Only three of seven Democratic appointees signed on.

Why are business groups opposed?

Their biggest concern seems to be that the new tax is untested and could become a regulatory hurdle that makes California less competitive than other states. Even if businesses dislike the current system, they prefer predictability and a known quantity.

Because businesses could not deduct benefits and pay for employees, some have called it a tax on employees. Service industries that rely heavily on labor rather than materials may face significant tax burdens.

Why are unions and many Democrats opposed?

As mentioned, labor groups fear that employers will cut wages and salaries to deal with the tax burden. Public employee unions dislike the commission’s call for a spending cap and rainy-day fund.

It also remains unpalatable for Democrats to approve a plan that dramatically cuts income taxes on the upper-middle class and wealthy. Under the proposal, the top 3 percent receives half of the $15 billion cut in income taxes.

Any other problems?

UCLA tax law professor Kirk Stark and eight other tax experts suggest the plan could prove unconstitutional as it applies to out-of-state firms, including Internet retailers. Commissioners said Tuesday they believe those firms would provide roughly $6 billion in new revenues.

At the very least, the new tax would be challenged in court for years. Chairman Gerald Parsky said he believes the state would prevail, in part because the new tax is not a sales tax. But Stark warned that it is a “total crapshoot” and that the state could owe significant refunds if it loses at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Buzz up!

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.

Well since everyone hates it, it must be a good plan.

As major Capitol business and labor groups denounced a tax overhaul package released Tuesday by a blue-ribbon commission, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger essentially embraced the plan, whose key components would flatten the state’s income tax and install a new form of consumption tax on businesses.

The Republican governor said he would sign the plan if it landed on his desk in its current form, although he acknowledged that lawmakers should have the chance to analyze and “tweak” the proposal. Schwarzenegger called a special legislative session on Tuesday to deal with the package, and he said he wanted lawmakers to act on the plan by the end of the year.

“I didn’t see the final report and all of the details, but from what I have heard, I would sign it immediately if this would come to my desk the way it is now,” Schwarzenegger said. “I think it is really an unbelievable compromise between Democrats and Republicans.”

Schwarzenegger stood at a Capitol press conference with two of his appointees, Chairman Gerald Parsky and Hoover Institution fellow John Cogan, as well as Democratic appointee and UC Berkeley Law School Dean Christopher Edley. Nine commissioners supported the plan, but only three of seven Democratic appointees did so. The one Republican appointee who did not sign on was Bill Hauck, president of the California Business Roundtable.

Democratic legislative leaders, who did not appear at the press conference, took a far more cautious approach than the governor to the package in separate statements. Lawmakers must pass any plan on a majority-vote before it can go to the governor.

“I know there have been concerns raised by the business community and concerns raised by advocates for middle class families and low income workers,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. “Those concerns will be reviewed in the committee process. Californians deserve a fair and full assessment of the ways these recommendations would affect them — whether positive, negative or neutral.”

The plan’s main elements suggest that the state:

– Flatten the state’s income tax by reducing the number of brackets from six to two and capping the top rate at 6.5 percent. Millionaires would still pay an additional 1 percent on income above $1 million for mental health programs.

– Install a new form of tax on all businesses that applies to their net revenues minus purchases from other firms, dubbed the Business Net Receipts Tax. Companies would not be able to exempt wages and benefits for in-house employees, although they could exempt any payments to contractors. The rate would top out at around 4 percent, less than half of the existing corporate tax.

– Eliminate the 5 percent state sales tax portion that goes toward the general fund.

– Eliminate the state corporate tax.

– Establish a new independent tax forum to resolve tax disputes.

– Ask voters to establish a new rainy-day fund and spending cap.

The proposals came under immediate fire from labor unions and business groups who hold considerable sway in the Legislature, as well as Democratic-appointed commissioners and a group of tax law professors and think-tank analysts. Business groups say the plan could have significant unintended consequences and would damage companies that rely heavily on labor rather than materials. Labor groups say that because businesses cannot deduct employee benefits and wages, workers will bear the brunt of the new Business Net Receipts Tax.

Meanwhile, those representing low-income earners criticized the fact that the wealthiest 3 percent of earners would receive half of a $15 billion reduction in the state’s personal income tax.

Parsky said that was necessary to reduce the tax system’s volatility, which has contributed to the state’s repeated budget problems.

The commission chairman said that low- and middle-income earners would not bear any greater burden because the money would be replaced by increased federal deductions and out-of-state firms who would now be required to pay taxes under the plan. Some, however, question the constitutionality of charging out-of-state retailers who do business in California, such as Amazon.

Parsky tried to assuage concerns Tuesday by saying the plan calls for the elements to be phased in over five years. He warned critics not to take a “knee-jerk” approach to the plan and said that when read in totality the package would vastly improve the state’s tax structure.

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Buzz up!

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.

I want to see the whole plan before I make a judgement call. The groups denouncing the plan are those that represent people who get a tax return when they pay no taxes. If you pay no taxes you should not benefit from tax breaks and get a return at the end of the year.

A consumption tax also code for VAT (Value Added Tax) could be an issue. Its in use in England now and brings the cost of everything way up. Not sure on their percentage but this will also effect services which we do not pay taxes on currently.

Hugh Jackman vs. The Ringing Cell Phone

by Elisabeth Rappe Sep 29th 2009 // 4:02PM

Filed under: Fandom, Daniel Craig, Fan Rant, Trailers and Clips

Is there anything more annoying than a cell phone ringing in the middle of a movie theater? Yes, there is! A cell phone ringing in the middle of a live play! As you undoubtedly know, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig are currently treading the boards in A Steady Rain, a gritty Chicago cop drama that just kicked off on Broadway. Now, when you decide to spend the money and see a once-in-a-lifetime performance, you can either give it your full intention and see how genius creates a legend, or you can leave your cell phone on so your friends can call you and find out if Craig’s wearing his Bond swimtrunks.

Some jackass decided to do the latter. Perhaps he or she had a death wish to be ripped apart by the bulging muscles that make up Craig and Jackman, or maybe they thought no one would notice if it kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing. Luckily for the idiot, Jackman was a class act. Luckily for the audience, he didn’t even break character and practically made it part of the performance. (I would have preferred seeing Craig and Jackman rip the person apart with their bare hands, but I like violence, and the possibility that one or both would have torn their shirt off in doing so.) Check out the video below the jump for a good laugh.

I’d kill to see this play (Gritty 1970s cop drama! Chicago! Hugh Jackman! It’s all of my favorite things!) and the fact that some moron has the time, access, and money to just ruin it with a cell phone really irks me. I’m thinking it might be time to require phones be coat-checked before entering a theater, be it at your multiplex or on the Great White Way, because it seems few can be trusted to actually turn them off.

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Tags: a steady rain, ASteadyRain, Daniel Craig, DanielCraig, featured, Hugh Jackman, HughJackman

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