When a disc is a disk and vice versa...

In an interesting knowledge base article, Apple clears up one of the age old computing confusions.  Namely, what is the difference between a disc and a disk?  While there is no ground-breaking revelations in the article, I found it to be noteworthy.  Often computer terms are mixed up or misused.
Using the proper language when diagnosing issues can be the difference between hours of work.  How many times have you heard someone say they couldn't connect to "the Google"?

What is a disc?
Discs are optical media such as an audio CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM (or RAM), or a DVD-video disc.  Discs also include recordable media, such as CD-R and DVD-R.  All discs are removable, meaning they eject from your Mac.

What is a disk?
Disks are magnetic media, like your built-in hard disk.  Disks also refer to external hard drives and are always rewritable, unless otherwise protected with software.  Disks can be partitioned into smaller sections and be given different functions.

So, the next time you are having an issue with a DVD that is not playing, you will be able to tell the Genius at the Apple Store that your d-i-s-c is not playing properly.  Or, if your internal hard drive is acting up, you can tell AppleCare that you seem to be having a d-i-s-k problem.

Um?

3, 3G and Google

I recently had a problem accessing my GMail and looking at Google Maps via my LG Renoir mobile here in the UK.
Did the usual things like switching off the mobile, have a cup of tea, switch the mobile back on.... no luck.
So I phone the 3 main number and get put through to Tech Support.
I ran the gauntlet of the 'security check' but I never give out any password info as I'm not talking money, I'm talking techy.
Well, after a total of 25 minutes which included repeating most of my comments at least twice, we we getting nowhere.  The 2nd Line Tech Support guy said I needed to swap my SIM with another 3 Network SIM as it was a SIM problem.
I told him it had nothing to do with the SIM but was a Google Platform problem and that I was too busy to listen to straw-grabbing, I hung up.
I then broached the problem via the 'Contact Us' web-form on the 3 website; I got an email confirming it was a SIM problem.
A bit of research and a well placed contact in Google proved the situation was other-than the SIM.
So, problem solved. I'm not saying how as I'm not being paid by 3 the do Tech Support.
Moral: look to the www to solve these problems, the techies will invariably have you dancing a jig.

The EU and the Google Trade Mark row

A senior judge at the European Court of Justice has commented in an ongoing row between Google and brand names, such as Louis Vuitton.
The Advocate General has said that, in his legal opinion, Google has not infringed trademark rights by allowing advertisers to buy keywords.
Brand owners argue that the system is infringing trademarks by allowing firms to piggyback on their brands.
The legal opinion will be seen as at least a partial victory for Google.
The long-running legal dispute will not be ruled on officially until early next year, although this non-binding legal opinion is likely to carry a good deal of weight.
Three brand owners, including LVMH, the firm behind the Louis Vuitton brand, are challenging Google in the French courts and the European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on the issue.
The ruling concerns so-called sponsored links, the section which appears to the right of the main search page, is where advertisers who have bought keywords appear. It creates the majority of its income through sales of these links.
This will be an interesting case to follow in the next few months.