I really enjoy graphic design work, it’s a office furniture in Bulgarialot of fun. The big barrier for me, and most people, is the cost. Who can justify spending the big bucks for a piece of software that is not likely to pay for itself is this lifetime? As hyped and ‘Industry Standard’ as a certain software is, it is way overpriced.

Here is a nifty little tool from a company called Xara that makes some fantastic graphics design software that doesn’t break the bank or have a learning curve that looks more like a wall.

With this you to make and save 3D text banners in several different styles and colors. Have fun!

There are several sites out there trying to get bad stuff onto your computer, but that’s not really news to you is it oh faithful reader? The part that makes it blogworthy is that these sites are masquerading as official Microsoft update sites.

Take a look a list of the pretenders at CyberInsecure.com. They received their information via Sunbelt Software’s blog site.

It seems that there is a problem with some of the banner ads at Yahoo!, they have been serving up spyware and malware.

Over the past few days, Yahoo has been exposing visitors to fraudware banner ads and also ads that try to trick them into installing malware. The ads are displayed across numerous web portal sections, including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Groups and Yahoo Astrology.

This is a problem that has happened before to sites as prestigious as CNN.com and Expedia. Apparently the people that place these faux ads are exploiting a weakness in the ‘highly decentralized way that online ads are sold’.

These ads usually infect the viewers system with a clever bit of social engineering, popping up a window that looks like a Microsoft dialog box informing you that you have an infection and offering to fix it if you click Okay.

The really serious infection occurs when a user clicks the button.

Here are a few commonsense rules to follow:

1. If you receive a notice from a anti-virus program other than the one that you actually have installed, don’t click it.
2. If you’re not sure what anti-virus you have installed but it doesn’t look familiar, don’t click it.
3. If you don’t have an anti-virus, get one. AVG has a very effective one that is free for personal use.
4. Make sure your anti-virus signatures (how the program recognizes a virus as a virus) are up to date.
5. Install an anti-spyware program that monitors changes, or attempted changes to your computer’s registry file. I recommend Spybot Search & Destroy.

For more information on this incident take a look at the article at CyberInsecure.com.

If you are about ready to retire your current computer and it’s under about 5 years old here’s an alternative to the scrap heap.

Chances are the beastie is running a processor that is 1Ghz or faster and has a minimum of 256 MB of RAM. If the hard drive is reasonably good (not making any high pitched sounds of impending doom) you might consider installing the latest version of Edubuntu.

Edubuntu is a member of the Ubuntu Linux family tailored specifically for kids. It has nifty edutainment programs pre-installed and all you’ll need to do is get it on your old computer, which by the way, will be more responsive than it was due to a lighter load on the processor and memory.

Oh, and did I mention it’s FREE?

For a more in depth look at the features and benefits, and the link to download the disk image or order the CD you can check out this article at linux.com

The fine folk at Liliputing (love the name, it says it all) have compiled an exhaustive list of currently available ultra-portable computers. While they’re definitely not for the hardcore gamer or peripheral obsessed types, they get the job done and they don’t qualify as ‘lugtops’ or ‘notebricks’ while doing it.

The clear use for these diminutive information machines is connectivity to the Internet and basic computing tasks such as word processing and spreadsheets. I would hope they also have enough power to allow a user to take their marketing presentation opus out to an intended client.

The OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program aimed at arming children in third world nations with smart sturdy laptops specifically engineered for education is alive and working in Peru.

The philanthropic effort dubbed the $100 Laptop has not met its grand initial goals. But its first deployment, in Peru, may turn skeptics into believers.

Technology Review, MIT’s publication spotlighting new and innovative technology development, has a terrific article that gives more information.

There’s a new generation of portable computing out there. Combined with the advancements in nanotechnology like the one mentioned on Tuesday and new processors that do a lot with little power required, this should be interesting to watch.

Intel and Microsoft finally get it. The two companies are pushing for a new class of machines that combine the power of a personal computer and the portability of a personal digital assistant.

It shouldn’t be long before all of the capabilities that you have in your desktop computer, and more, can be carried around in your pocket or purse. The article Ditch Your Laptop For These Gadgets at Forbes gives a nice little rundown of what’s available now.

If you are using Windows Vista you may have a serious spyware issue, courtesy of Microsoft. It seems that knowing whether you have the ‘Genuine Advantage‘ or not just wasn’t good enough for them.

Are you using Windows Vista? Then you might as well know that the licensed operating system installed on your machine is harvesting a healthy volume of information for Microsoft.

You can read more, and some specifics about what data is harvested, at Softpedia.

Filled up your MP3 player yet?

You probably won’t have to worry about that anymore when a new technology developed in Scotland comes to market.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow have created a nanotechnology breakthrough that could increase storage capacity by 150,000 times. It could mean 500,000 GB on a single chip and inch square.

As some of you may already know, your MP3 player also makes a nifty portable data storage device too. This new technology would allow you to carry all of the data on your (and a couple of thousand close friend’s) computer(s) in your pocket or purse.

This is nanotechnology at it’s best. You can read more at Digital Trends or Nature’s Nanotechnology section.

Ever want to make sure all of those expensive DVDs you bought to entertain the kids remain playable? Even when little Bobby decides to take the ‘Cars‘ DVD for a spin on the living room floor? Here is a solution…

Whether you want to watch a movie on your iPod or back up your too-easily-scratched DVDs, DVD ripping is a mysterious realm for many. Even those in-the-know find it difficult to keep up with the best tools for the job, especially in the face of increased copy protection.

Here’s a listing of free or inexpensive software that you can use at LifeHacker.