naming

First Names 2009 creates interesting cards and scrolls based on the meanings and origins of a person's name. While it doesn't look fantastic, the information given is interesting.

The program's interface was a little disappointing, especially the black and white graphics, but overall it functioned well. We quickly maneuvered through the various tabs to create a card. The highlight of the program came from simply entering a first name, our sex and birthday. The resulting information gave us the origin of our name, its meaning, the personality qualities of the name, and even a profile of that … Read more

For all I know, the folks who run PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are fine, upstanding individuals.

I imagine that at times, they get a little over-excited about their cause. But at least they care about something.

For example, Monday, PETA's blog celebrated the organization's success in persuading a hospital in Missouri to stop shoving plastic pipes down cats' windpipes.

I can't be sure if the hospital was searching for a cure for hay fever or merely allowing its internists to have some rather unpleasant fun. Because I was struck momentarily insensate by … Read more

Bulk Rename Utility takes the pain out of renaming and managing files and folders, assuming you can get past the frightening user interface. This free application can handle everything from simple search-and-replace to Perl 5 regular expressions, but it suffers from a cluttered user interface that fails to offer tool tips and, somewhat incredibly, abbreviates labels and button names.

The application window offers 13 primary functions, including inserting and appending text, auto-numbering, cropping characters, and moving/copying files. Additional menu bar drop-downs let you set global options, such as time stamp formats, color-coding, and activity logging. Bulk Rename Utility tries … Read more

ICANN has won a major battle over the abusive tactic of domain tasting, said the organization in a report released Wednesday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is responsible for managing and doling out Internet domain names.

It's not an easy job. And making it harder was a scheme used by some registrars known as domain tasting. Someone would buy up lots of domain names, try them out, and then get rid of the unprofitable ones, all without losing any money. As long as the registrar dumped the domains within the five-day grace period, known as the … Read more

According to various rumors and reports, Apple's got a new slate-style Netbook in the works that may be announced as soon as next month. While we have no confirmation from Apple--or anybody else--that such a product really exists, that doesn't mean we can't do a little market survey and ask you what the thing should be called.

If the rumors are at all on target, the final product will look something like a jumbo iPod Touch. However, what's interesting is that such a PC would most likely be a crossover product for Apple and straddle several … Read more

Since Dong is still away in Vietnam, we discuss just how hot he must be right now, and I mean literally temperature hot. We all know figuratively hawt, right ladies? All four of you?

Anyway, I tell a story involving GameStop, a Wii, and bad customer service. Also, why Palm Pre testing is dumb and time consuming.

Dong shows us that he's still the best at putting our audience to sleep as he talks about the Verizon Mifi 2200 Mobile hot spot.

This is our final prerecorded week! Next week, we return live! If by "live" I … Read more

When Advanced Micro Devices came up with the name of "Congo" for its new dual-core chip targeting ultra-thin devices executives were thinking of the river in Africa, following the company's practice of naming mobile projects after rivers.

But some bloggers who monitor humanitarian crises and conflicts in Africa blasted the chipmaker for using the name of a country where civilians are dying and brutalized in a conflict over natural resources like tin, tungsten, and coltan that end up in electronics equipment like computers and mobile phones.

The Congo is "the place where trade in minerals vital … Read more

Family Runner offers all the amenities of a traditional calendar, but it's tailored specifically to help parents and kids stay on track.

This program will look familiar to anyone with experience in calendaring systems like Microsoft's Outlook, although the overall look here is less professional in design. A large month-view calendar dominates the left side of the screen, and a list of that day's events are shown chronologically on the right side. Below are important phone numbers and contacts, and the top of the screen showcases all the command icons for entering new data. While Family Runner'… Read more

Facebook's 200-plus million members will be able to customize the URLs to their profiles starting at midnight Eastern on Saturday, according to a post on the Facebook blog. Currently, users' profile URLs have been structured as a string of numbers. At least for now, it doesn't look like the switch is mandatory.

This is a move that will help Facebook profiles get better traction in search engines, potentially upping traffic--and give people-search sites a run for their money in the process. For brands whose "fan pages" are a crucial part of Facebook's marketing and advertising … Read more