Maybe it’s AOL. Maybe it’s Vista. Maybe it’s the bad mojo of combining two things I know I should be avoiding at all costs.

Whatever it is, it’s irritating as hell: I’ll be on AOL, usually in the middle of instant messaging someone, and the software freezes. I close AOL, it restarts and I’m met with the above message.

“Success!”

Uh huh. Of course, if the software were successful, I wouldn’t have been bumped in the first place.

Does great DRM-free music from dozens of independent record labels in 320 kbps MP3, top-quality AIFF and FLAC formats sound good? Then you need to check out HDtracks.

I know, I know, it’s old news. But this site is one of the real reasons why Al Gore invented the Internet. It’s hilarious and it’s still going strong.

Besides, it’s just fun to say “noodly appendage.” Oh, and don’t miss this link to the eight “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts.” Brilliant.

This story about identity theft is dated April 1, but it’s no joke.

The Identity Theft Resource Center looks at security breaches that could potentially lead to identity theft and, for 2007, documented “446 paper and electronic breaches, potentially affecting more than 127 million records. This is a significant increase from 2006 which listed in excess of 315 publicized breaches affecting nearly 20 million individuals. In 2005 there were 158 incidents affecting more than 64.8 million people.”

Owtch.

The Internet is dead. Long live the Internet that’s 10,000 times faster than your broadband connection.

Unless, of course, Earth is reduced to a shrunken dense dead lump of strange matter on Red Button Day, when it’s first tested.