What’s the most desperate thing you’ve read because it was the only available reading material?
Month old newspapers and popular magazines.
If it was longer than a cereal box or an advertisement, did it turn out to be worth your while?
Not really. Old news is still old news. Popular magazines probably make the reader dumber. So I guess the lesson here is to always have your own reading material handy. It's either that or some blank paper on which I could write on (and make up my own reading material).
Onesome: Optimize-- Okay, it's geek time: what do you use to optimize your computer experience? Is there a program or tool or piece of hardware that has made a difference for you?
Not really. Maybe the better question is what I don't use. Like plugins for my browser. I could care less about the majority of embedded java applets and flash demos. Videos on YouTube? I don't care if I'm missing something "cool". I'm not installing anything that will waste my time on downloading and waste my time watching. (And if this makes people think that I'm a cultural dunce for not knowing the latest person to make a fool of themselves over the internet, so what? Some people probably already think I'm a cultural dunce for not watching regular TV.)
Twosome: your-- firewall, is it a hardware or a software firewall? ...or is that something you leave to someone else to worry about?
I just know it's there.
Threesome: Firewall-- appliances and programs stop some stuff, but have you ever had to use a malware removal tool because something slipped in through email or from a web site?
Yes, but it was because I had been connected to a network.
Old news is old news, but it seems as though if you wait enough, the gossip in popular magazines seems to recycle (when will it end!!). :) I always try to keep a book handy.
