I didn't fall for it. But let's just say I almost clicked.

Seems like they'll never end. And they're getting more clever every day. I try and remind myself, not to fall for it. Just delete them, if it's really serious, I'll get a call from my credit card company. They just won't be contacting me online. I had renewed a domain name today, and the site I was using said that my charge did not go through. I don't carry a balance on my credit card, so I was a tad alarmed.

I promptly called my card company, and they said, "No... it went through." I thanked them and hung up. I submitted a trouble ticket with the domain registration company. Weird, but it must have gone through. I chalked it up as an error on their side.

Later, I went to check my email account, to see if they had responded. There was an email that appeared to be from Visa. I had just recently added more security to my visa account through a new type of authentication, and this email instantly grabbed my attention as being possibly legitimate.

After about three seconds, I knew it was bogus. But it goes to show how a series of events could lead you to believe that an email like this may be legitimate. Another blogger, I can't remember who, referred to it as a "perfect storm situation".

Here it is, read below for the numerous red flags that will make it impossible to be from Visa.

1. They've spelled verified wrong in their subject! You would think with the amount of time and effort they put into these scams, that spelling would be the first thing they would get right, but thankfully almost all of the email phishing attempts I've seen have horrible spelling and grammar.
   
   
2. They make reference to having this problem cleared up by February 31, 2006. Wow, looks like I'll never get this problem cleared up.  I'd typically wait till the 30th of Feb to handle something like this. There's no way Visa would send out email with an impossible date in the text.
   
   
3. I've removed the actual link target from the "click here" and the link below it from above, as it was actually pointing to www.comsec-data.dk/catalog/admin/backups/ (unlinked for your protection) an international web site, not even close to anything visa would be using. So remember, even if a link looks correct it's too simple to obscure where it really goes, mouse over the link and look at the bottom left status bar in your browser, it will tell you where it really goes.
   
   
4. I did not bother to look at the mail headers, but that's always something you can look at too.
   

Just remember to not fall for it. No matter how credible it seems, don't talk yourself into it. Call your bank. Call ebay. Call Paypal, call whoever it is claiming to be. Make them prove it's real. If you start down a path, and you feel strange, or you feel it's not legit, close your browser and quit.

Nothing is suprising from google, at least not any more. I was using the mapping service online, and noticed a link, "Google maps on your cell phone". I thought it was worth looking into.

http://www.google.com/glm/index.html?utm_source=us-et-localhpp&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=gl

It's really cool. They start by asking you about the make/model of your cellular phone, answering these questions generate a link for your phone to download their application. After it's installed, it's just like google maps online, just smaller.

It's something that I could totally use, especially when you're not in a vehicle w/ navigation. All of the 'data' is sent over the net to your phone, just like a typical server to internet web browser session. It was remarkably fast too. And you can do a lot of the cool things that you can online, view satellite imagery, get driving directions, and much more.

Check it out.

UPDATE: Found a great site that will allow you to download virtually all of the channel icons for your remote. They also have XM radio icons, and about 25 different backgrounds for the screen. http://squareworld.com/harmony/ I was able to find a really good deal on this remote that typically retails for $249. I turned on my tivo the other day and saw an offer for a $50 rebate on the remote. This started the search for a 'deal'. After checking out some threads on FatWallet.com, I found a deal on the remote for $180 shipped, so minus the $50 rebate, I'm getting the remote for about $130. That's probably about the max I'd spend on a remote. I've been looking at getting the Harmony for a little less than a year now, so I was fairly educated about how it worked, and it's features. The remote showed up last night, and after removing it from the box, charging it, and installing the software on my laptop, I started into the setup. I figured that it would take a while to get it working with my setup, but I was completely wrong. You start by creating an account on the Logitech website, and then identifying your AV gear. I was able to locate all my devices. I then answered about six questions about how I do certain activities, like watch television, watch tivo, dvds, radio, etc. The logitech site then transmits a file via the web browser that is downloaded to the remote via USB connection. Slick. And it simply works. One nice feature of the device is the remote assistant. Now that I've got my setup tweaked and everything works I've turned this feature off, but here's why you want to keep it on for a day or two. I was testing all of the newly programmed items in the remote like "watch television". You push the "watch television" button, and it turns on the TV (if it's not on already, this thing is aware of 'state') switches the TV to the correct input, then changes the stereo to the right input, and (in my case) turns on the set top box. So the first time I pushed the "watch television", and I got no picture... I was a tad worried... until the remote screen read "Is everything working right" (or something to that effect) I pushed the "No" softkey. The remote responsed "Is the Television on?" I pushed the "Yes" softkey. It then asked "Is the stereo on?" I pushed the "Yes" softkey. It then said, "Is the Set Top Box On?" I looked, it was not on. So I pushed the "No" softkey. Then the picture came on, the remote screen read "Did that fix the problem?" I pushed the "Yes" softkey. Brilliant. There was only one other thing I really had to tweak, not all of my tivo remote settings mapped over, so I went onto the site, and assigned the TIVO buttons from the tivo remote, to the logitech remote (all via their web site) and reflashed my remote. Perfection. So I've taken four remotes that used to be out constantly, down to one remote, that does it all. It's so nice. I have not played with the advanced features yet, like being able to put my own pictures onto the color screen of the remote, not sure why I'd want to do it. There is a favorites section, that lets you add your favorite channels, and even upload a logo of that channel. Nice touch. One other cool thing to note: the new remote is all setup to work with the XBox 360 that is enroute here, the unit is not even here yet, and my Logitech remote is all ready to control it. So in typical technology fashion, a day or two after ordering the Logitech Harmony 880 remote, they released a new version called the 890. It does everything that the 880 does, but eliminates the infared line of sight issue. You see, this remote (like most other remotes other than Bose) requires line of sight to the components it is trying to control. The new 890 does not. The first question you ask, is how is that even possible? The 890 will control devices from about anywhere in your house, inside or out. You can be in the kitchen, and change songs on a CD playing in the office. If you have a Bose stereo, you're well aware that Bose uses RF (radio frequencey) instead of IR (Infared). That's all fine and good, but the big disconnect should be when you realize all of your AV Gear only accepts infared input! So the brilliant folks at Logitech have built an RF -> IR converter. You just set this 'pod' out near your AV gear, and it converts the RF signal to IR. I can't speak for how well this works, but the idea is great. And their implentation has to be better than those crappy little IR extenders you can buy, it has to be better. So with cool comes cost, this remote tops in at $399 retail. I'm guessing you could find it a bit cheaper, but even at $130, I had a hard time buying the 880. But the coolest thing would be to have all your AV gear hidden in a cabinet, never having to look at it. Heck you could even build some sort of enclosure that kept dust to a minimum, now that would be cool.

Harmony 880 Product Page  

$50 Harmony Remote Rebate (89.75 KB)

At the time of writing there are Xbox 360 premiums available at sears.com.

It's a low priced bundle, and I think it's worth it for what you get:

• Xbox 360 Premium (w/ hard drive)
• 2 Wireless controllers
• Rechargeable battery pack
• Project Gotham Racing 3

It's $519.80. The xbox premium alone is $399.99, an extra controler retails for $49.99, Add the game for another $49.99, and the battery charger is another $20 or so. So it adds up to what they're charging. You're going to want an additional controller, and a game to start off with anyways.

Project Gotham racing is a great 'starter' game, and is a lot of fun to play.

Get the bundle from Sears here:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.doBV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=
TOYS&pid=05891098000&subcat=Video+Game+Hardware

I found this using xbox.clambert.org - Good luck.

I quickly called Kmart customer service, got a live agent in like 15 seconds! She informed me there was no way to remove it, and I'd need to cancel and re-order. So I decided to visit the product page again, order, and if that one worked cancel order one.

This time, I ordered a bit slower, ahhhh there it is, uncheck their product protection plan, use a different email (to differentiate the order, so I don't cancel the wrong one) and submit.

Worked like a charm. I cancelled the orginal order.

Description of Items Qty Gift Wrap Price Total Shipment Information XBox 360 Platinum System Item No.: 9990000042317511 1 N $399.99 $399.99 Status: In Process Gift Message: (no gift message) Sorry, we can't include gift messages on some items with shipping restrictions (marked with a "‡") Merchandise Total: $399.99 Gift Wrap Total: $0.00 Shipping Total: $7.67 Sales Tax Total: $0.00 Total for this Shipment: $407.66   So, even though it's not 'shipped' yet, I'm hopefull that it will be soon. More updates to follow.

UPDATE: We used this today and it ROCKS! One point to note, you'll lose control of your caps lock and num lock keys. It was a total trip to have the person that was 'controlling' the remote session hit their num and caps lock and watch the lights change on my machine! The other cool thing is even though I'm not the one to initiate the remote control request, both parties still have the ability to move the mouse and interact in the session, even though it's two sessions. So be careful.

Again, this tip comes from a co-worker here. Have you ever wanted to Remote Desktop into a machine to do some work, but also wanted to allow another remote party to see what you're doing? I thought it was impossible, but apparently not. Here's what to do to allow another Remote Desktop user to watch what you're doing, as you're remoted into the machine:

   1.> Both parties remote desktop to the server (make sure you're both in the same monitor resolution)

   2.> Now that you're both in, the person 'in control' should go to a command prompt

   3.> Type 'tsadmin' and hit return

   4.> Locate the other remote desktop session, right click on the session and choose remote control.

Viola! This is going to solve some major problems on an upcoming rollout. Sweet!

I can't say enough about the company I host with. They do an amazing job. I pay like less than $8 a month, and have some very nice features, for a really inexpensive hosting company. All of my .NET stuff is on the 1.1 Framework, but I have plans of redoing it all in the 2.0 Famework, they support both.

Their admin tools are awesome too. Web based administration of email, dns, and some IIS features specific to my application space on their server. Throw in backups, and a ton of transfer, and it's such a great deal. Only once or twice in the past year have I ever had problems, short email outages, but they're a growing company and they're honest when things do go wrong.

From a development stand-point, I have yet to find a hosting provider with so many 3rd party controls they offer to their customers. They even have some cool things like being able to schedule a URL to hit (for a webservice for instance). They have over 40 components available for use, and typically development ones you can copy locally for offline development.

Even though FreeTextBox is an awesome WYSIWYG editor, these guys have RichTextBox which is also a really good control. They even have the rest of the Rich components, including the slider, and datepicker. They also have some great charting components.

Their customer support team does a pretty good job too, they generally respond to emails within an hour or two.

If you're looking for hosting, I'd definetly check them out. They were the Visual Studio Magazine Reader's choice hosting provider of 2005.

www.DiscountASP.net

Ok, I admit it, I didn't plan ahead, nor did I really educate myself as to how cool the new Xbox 360 was going to be. So I've pretty much heard from almost every brick and motar store, don't expect to get one (especially the premium one) before March - April.

So I broke down, and ordered one from Game Crazy. I figure if I find one online before then, I can cancel my order. I'm watching sites like www.notifywire.com and xbox.clambert.org. These two sites monitor online retailer stock, and notifywire will even send you email to your email account or phone when an online retailer has the specific model you want, in a price range that you define. (This used to be the notify360.com site, but the developer has abstracted the site out to handle all kinds of products - maybe PSP3?)

So let's get to the extortion. I could have purchased an xbox 360 premium every day this month from retailers like, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble, or others. The problem is they are selling the units 'bundled' with anywhere from 6 - 10 games, extra controllers, and a ton of other things, that I'm guessing I'll eventually get. The catch? $1000. Yeah a grand.

I know to get into this thing I'll drop at least half of that, and that's already gonna be a purchase that is not going to make me a popular husband for probably a few days, but it's gonna happen.

I understand about supply and demand. I just think that it's crappy that Amazon, and even the horrible Wal-Mart are doing this, just to increase their sales.

Comment on your thoughts, if you have one, if you paid top dollar, etc. I'm curious.