Hmmm. Very interesting indeed. It seems we are headed down this road at warp speed. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens.
"A group of publishers and tech companies gathered in Washington today to talk about getting digital textbooks into U.S. classrooms. The gathering, convened by the FCC and the Department of Education, included everyone from Apple to Intel to McGraw-Hill, and it was premised on the idea that digitizing classrooms is a good thing."
This was in the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital, and the article can be found at Why Tablets in the Classroom Could Save Schools $3 Billion a Year
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
7 Great All-in-One Desktop PCs
The modern desktop doesn't have a tower. What? Yes, that's right. Everything is located within the display case. Apple has been doing this for a while now with their iMacs, and now the PC makers are doing the same thing. The best thing to come along, I think, is that the displays are touch screens. The nicely-configured ones are still quite pricey, and I view buying one as something of a risk. Upgrading options are not too many since everything is contained within the display case. I think I'd miss all of the extra slots that one finds on a desktop tower, but then you can get most everything you'd want on one of these all-in-ones. However, until/unless my old IBM desktop dies, I won't be faced with having to make this decision: all-in-one or traditional tower.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Facebook strips 'privacy' from new 'data use' policy
It is a non-ending story and here is the latest saga!
"NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A Facebook privacy policy revision intended to make the site's methods more transparent is instead kicking up a fresh firestorm.
Facebook posted a draft version of its revised terms on March 15 and gave the site's users a one-week comment period to weigh in with questions and suggestions. The changes include many semantic tweaks, like stripping the word "privacy" out of Facebook's "privacy policy," which is now called a "data use policy."
That sounds scary, but Facebook says the changes to its policy documents don't reflect any actual changes in how the site operates. Instead, what it calls "clarifications" are aimed at more clearly describing to users what Facebook does.
That clarity is freaking some members out. Many responded on Facebook's comment page with a wholesale rejection of the new terms. On the German-language version of the proposal, more than 32,000 Facebook members issued the same one-sentence protest: "Ich lehne die Änderungen ab."
That roughly translates to: "I reject the changes.""
"NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A Facebook privacy policy revision intended to make the site's methods more transparent is instead kicking up a fresh firestorm.
Facebook posted a draft version of its revised terms on March 15 and gave the site's users a one-week comment period to weigh in with questions and suggestions. The changes include many semantic tweaks, like stripping the word "privacy" out of Facebook's "privacy policy," which is now called a "data use policy."
That sounds scary, but Facebook says the changes to its policy documents don't reflect any actual changes in how the site operates. Instead, what it calls "clarifications" are aimed at more clearly describing to users what Facebook does.
That clarity is freaking some members out. Many responded on Facebook's comment page with a wholesale rejection of the new terms. On the German-language version of the proposal, more than 32,000 Facebook members issued the same one-sentence protest: "Ich lehne die Änderungen ab."
That roughly translates to: "I reject the changes.""
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
2012 Password Management Software Product Comparisons
This is an excellent web site. It lists the top 10 password management programs and all of their features. I am seriously considering PAYING (yes me, that's right!) for one of these programs. Kaspersky is the only name I recognize and they are known to be a leader in security systems for PCs. The price for all of these seems right, but it is not clear to me yet, without doing a little more research, if these are one-time or recurring prices. In any case, do take a look at the chart on this site. It is amazingly comprehensive!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
"How I divorced Google"
This one really caught my eye. It's not about me, but one Tom Henderson
He writes for ITWorld.com.
With all of the bad press Google has been getting lately because of their privacy policy, I found this article very interesting. He has laid out a 7 day calendar for divorcing himself from Google's products. It is worth a look to see some of his reasoning and how he went about it. I don't think this is for me, at least not yet, but maybe some of you will want to consider it.
He writes for ITWorld.com.
With all of the bad press Google has been getting lately because of their privacy policy, I found this article very interesting. He has laid out a 7 day calendar for divorcing himself from Google's products. It is worth a look to see some of his reasoning and how he went about it. I don't think this is for me, at least not yet, but maybe some of you will want to consider it.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Time to change your passwords!
This is always good advice. Changing your passwords regularly can help you avoid some real problems - like your bank account or credit cards being compromised. This blog post came from the Call That Girl web site.
"With spring here and the changeover for daylight savings time, I thought right now would be a good time to remind everyone to change their passwords for most of their online accounts. Most people do not ever change their passwords unless forced by the online sites. Really? Yep. I see it all the time. Nobody likes changing their passwords and usually when they do it, it’s a very similar password that they just used. Is that ok? Yes, but I do recommend on occasion to change it completely.
What are good passwords? Uppercase/lowercase letter, numbers and special characters, 6-8 is the golden rule!
If you have a simple password, such as “password”, you definitely need to change your password!
Sites where you should change your password:
"With spring here and the changeover for daylight savings time, I thought right now would be a good time to remind everyone to change their passwords for most of their online accounts. Most people do not ever change their passwords unless forced by the online sites. Really? Yep. I see it all the time. Nobody likes changing their passwords and usually when they do it, it’s a very similar password that they just used. Is that ok? Yes, but I do recommend on occasion to change it completely.
What are good passwords? Uppercase/lowercase letter, numbers and special characters, 6-8 is the golden rule!
If you have a simple password, such as “password”, you definitely need to change your password!
Sites where you should change your password:
- Banking sites
- Paypal
- Email marketing"
Friday, March 16, 2012
New iPad: A Polishing of the Old - All I need to know about the new iPad
I have said many times - on this blog - how much I like, admire, and respect David Pogue's opinions on technical matters. Today he has a very succinct statement that is used as the intro to his article on the new iPad. It is this:
"The new iPad’s technical improvements keep it at the forefront of desirability — just ahead of the snapping jaws of its Android competition — but don’t take it in any new directions."
Hmm, That settles it for me. Save my money for maybe a new Android competitor - if for a tablet at all!
If you'd like to read David's article on the NY Times website, you will find it here,
"The new iPad’s technical improvements keep it at the forefront of desirability — just ahead of the snapping jaws of its Android competition — but don’t take it in any new directions."
Hmm, That settles it for me. Save my money for maybe a new Android competitor - if for a tablet at all!
If you'd like to read David's article on the NY Times website, you will find it here,
Thursday, March 15, 2012
gasbuddy.com
I suppose I could assume that you all know about gasbuddy.com, but then even if I enlighten only one or two of you I think it's worthwhile to post this info.
I am not really sure how large their database is, but I can tell you that for my area it is quite large (number of gas stations) and amazingly current - largely because of their technique of deleting items after something like only 24 or 48 hours.
So I encourage you to try it out and, if so inclined, sign up and do some reporting of gas prices in your local area. The more people who do this, the better the chance that, at least at a local level, we can make the providers more competitive. Go to gasbuddy.com and key in your zip code to see what kind of database they have for your local area.
I am not really sure how large their database is, but I can tell you that for my area it is quite large (number of gas stations) and amazingly current - largely because of their technique of deleting items after something like only 24 or 48 hours.
So I encourage you to try it out and, if so inclined, sign up and do some reporting of gas prices in your local area. The more people who do this, the better the chance that, at least at a local level, we can make the providers more competitive. Go to gasbuddy.com and key in your zip code to see what kind of database they have for your local area.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Windows XP Updates
Last night I downloaded and installed 4 Windows XP updates from Microsoft. Now that's a slow month! One of these was Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool. As I write this, I have that tool running a full scan in the background. It's just a little, no-cost insurance against invasion by the bad guys. It sure does take a long time to do the full scan!
As a reminder if you need it, make sure your machine has all updates applied, and then click on START/RUN key in MRT and click OK. That is it!
As a reminder if you need it, make sure your machine has all updates applied, and then click on START/RUN key in MRT and click OK. That is it!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Security Troubleshooting Techniques
From pcmag.com:
"The humor site GraphJam.com offers a chart showing the likelihood a computer issue will be solved by "Reconfiguring something, reimaging, antivirus-software…" or by "Turning it off and on again." Naturally the first bar is tiny, the second huge.
Joking aside, when your computer is acting weird and you can't find any reason for it, turning it off and on again really is the first thing you should try. Here are a few other techniques for tracking down problems that may or may not represent malware activity."
"The humor site GraphJam.com offers a chart showing the likelihood a computer issue will be solved by "Reconfiguring something, reimaging, antivirus-software…" or by "Turning it off and on again." Naturally the first bar is tiny, the second huge.
Joking aside, when your computer is acting weird and you can't find any reason for it, turning it off and on again really is the first thing you should try. Here are a few other techniques for tracking down problems that may or may not represent malware activity."
Friday, March 9, 2012
Take the Wheel, Somebody
Not my typical blog post, but one that does indeed have a lot to do with technology advances, and one that will affect many of you out there, although I doubt I'll be around to see it. However, this is about driverless cars, and this is something that is happening right now, so people get ready and enjoy this article from, of all places, The National Review. I enjoyed it top to bottom.
There is no window, the scientists explain. There’s no emergency hatch or even controls for the astronauts to use. It’s all automated. “We want a window,” the astronauts demand.
The white-frocked experts reluctantly agree to give the astronauts a window and piloting controls because they know the American people would hate to see the nation’s greatest pilots treated like lab monkeys with no say in their fate.
I can’t help but wonder whether in 20 years the American people will have the right stuff to demand a steering wheel in their cars."
There’s a great scene in the movie The Right Stuff where the original Mercury astronauts are checking out the capsule for their first trips to space. They’re horrified to discover that the German scientists in charge of the program see the astronauts as nothing more than living props.
The white-frocked experts reluctantly agree to give the astronauts a window and piloting controls because they know the American people would hate to see the nation’s greatest pilots treated like lab monkeys with no say in their fate.
I can’t help but wonder whether in 20 years the American people will have the right stuff to demand a steering wheel in their cars."
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Apple's new iPad: Hands-on
You can't go anywhere on the web without running into the new iPad announcement, but I found this review, including videos, among the best coverage on the web. It's from cnet.com. I still say I would love to have one to play with, but it is a pretty expensive toy. If I were to buy one, I'd buy only the WiFi model. I just don't see the need for the 4G model that also includes a rather large ongoing monthly fee in addition to its high purchase price.
"Apple announces the new iPad at an event in San Francisco, and CNET gets some hands-on time with the third-generation device.
"Apple announces the new iPad at an event in San Francisco, and CNET gets some hands-on time with the third-generation device.
The iPad's new screen is a stunner. That's really all you need to know about the new iPad (yes, that's the name). That, and a reminder that pricing still starts at $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, with 4G starting at $629."
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wipe your data without removing Windows
This is a really good tip I found on the Kim Komando web site. As noted many times before, I take a look at Kim's site every day, and mostly I am looking for what her Tip of the Day is. This is today's, and I found it very useful. It contains information on some programs I know but also some I hadn't heard of before. Even if the subject doesn't interest you, you may still find some useful information contained within the tip. This will be especially useful to those of you who may be transferring ownership of your computer to someone else, be it a charity or a friend or a family member. I actually get the question quite frequently about the best way to clean up your system before the transfer. This one tip of Kim's seems to cover all of the bases.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
World's Most Wanted Hacker
This is good news for us all! This comes from foxnews.com.
"His name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, aka 'Sabu,' described as a 'lazy,' jobless 28-year-old computer genius living on welfare with two young wards in a New York City housing project that served as the nerve center for the infamous hacking group LulzSec — and with his help, law enforcement on two continents this morning swooped in and took them down."
 | ||
| From foxnews.com |
Friday, March 2, 2012
Google’s New Privacy Policy: What to Do
By Sam Grobart, found on the NY Times Tech pages today:
"Google started its unified privacy policy on Thursday.
The company has been telling users of its services — search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Docs, among others — that information it collects about users will be compiled in a single dossier for its use.
What does that mean to users and what should they do about it?"
See whole article here: Google’s New Privacy Policy: What to Do
"Google started its unified privacy policy on Thursday.
The company has been telling users of its services — search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Docs, among others — that information it collects about users will be compiled in a single dossier for its use.
What does that mean to users and what should they do about it?"
See whole article here: Google’s New Privacy Policy: What to Do
Thursday, March 1, 2012
IE holds rival browsers at bay
I am still a Firefox user. I only use Internet Explorer when I have to. I find some sites still don't work correctly in Firefox, which, after all this time is quite hard to believe. I have stopped downloading Chrome. I only did that thinking surely Google would include a left sidebar to display my Bookmarks (Favorites in IE), but to this date Google still refuses to make that one simple change. It would be very easy for them to do, but they just haven't done it. So, it's Firefox for me. It's plenty fast and plenty safe.
This article comes from cnet.com.
This article comes from cnet.com.
The above chart is from this article. Click here to see the whole thing.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
MVPS February HOSTS file available now
Remember to run an up-to-date Spybot first, then install the new HOSTS file. The HOSTS file is, I believe, a very valuable component of one's overall system security.
MVPS HOSTS File Update Feburary-28-2012
The MVPS HOSTS file was recently updated [Feburary-28-2012]
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm
Download: hosts.zip (146 kb)
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.zip
How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS file
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts2.htm
HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hostsfaq.htm
Note: the "text" version makes a great resource for determining possible unwanted connections ...
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt (596 kb)
Get notified when the MVPS HOSTS file is updatedhttp://winhelp2002.mvps.org/updates.htm
MVPS HOSTS File Update Feburary-28-2012
The MVPS HOSTS file was recently updated [Feburary-28-2012]
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm
Download: hosts.zip (146 kb)
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.zip
How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS file
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts2.htm
HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hostsfaq.htm
Note: the "text" version makes a great resource for determining possible unwanted connections ...
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt (596 kb)
Get notified when the MVPS HOSTS file is updatedhttp://winhelp2002.mvps.org/updates.htm
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Future of Email?
I have my doubts about Fluent, maybe because I have been slow to adapt to Twitter. I know, however, there are many thousands (millions?) of you out there who just love Twitter, so maybe Fluent will fly.
I have been thinking a lot lately about e-mail and its current state, mostly because I have been getting lots of short e-mails from some relatives, and I have come to realize that these short e-mails are being composed and sent from mobile smart phones. After all, they are convenient, and who wants to write a longer note on those tiny "keyboards"?
So you can read here about a few ex-Google employees who have developed Fluent. See what you think.
I have been thinking a lot lately about e-mail and its current state, mostly because I have been getting lots of short e-mails from some relatives, and I have come to realize that these short e-mails are being composed and sent from mobile smart phones. After all, they are convenient, and who wants to write a longer note on those tiny "keyboards"?
So you can read here about a few ex-Google employees who have developed Fluent. See what you think.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
How to Use Public Computers Safely
A timely article from pcmag.com. Who doesn't use someone else's computer? As a gentle reminder, you can review my recommended baseline security software here: PCDoc's Baseline Security Recommendations.
February 21, 2012
"On your own personal computer, you're free to install whatever security software you feel necessary. You'll surely want a firewall to block hack attacks and an antivirus app to keep out malware. You may add a spam filter to protect your Inbox, or a security suite that wraps comprehensive protection in handy package. Your computer isn't accessible to random passers-by, so you may not be so worried about activity traces like browsing history.
Using a public computer at an Internet café, library, school, or even a friend's house is quite a different situation. First, you have no guaranteed that the computer is protected; it might be riddled with viruses or afflicted with a keylogger. Second, unless you're careful the next user might learn a lot more than you'd like about your online session."
How to Use Public Computers Safely
February 21, 2012
"On your own personal computer, you're free to install whatever security software you feel necessary. You'll surely want a firewall to block hack attacks and an antivirus app to keep out malware. You may add a spam filter to protect your Inbox, or a security suite that wraps comprehensive protection in handy package. Your computer isn't accessible to random passers-by, so you may not be so worried about activity traces like browsing history.
Using a public computer at an Internet café, library, school, or even a friend's house is quite a different situation. First, you have no guaranteed that the computer is protected; it might be riddled with viruses or afflicted with a keylogger. Second, unless you're careful the next user might learn a lot more than you'd like about your online session."
How to Use Public Computers Safely
Friday, February 17, 2012
Apple’s Mountain Lion Makes the Mac More Like the iPad
If only I owned an iPhone or iPad! But then, note how Apple nickels and dimes its users to death (IMHO)! Of course, in this case, I am treating $30 like a nickel or dime!
This is from David Pogue's excellent blog on the NY Times.
"There had been rumors swirling that Apple was back-burnering the Mac, but that’s hard to believe after Thursday’s announcement: from now on, Apple will update Mac OS X once a year.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads get most of the attention, but Apple is now directing the spotlight on the Mac.
It will start this summer with Mac OS X 10.8, code-named Mountain Lion, only a year after the Lion version was released.
Now you’ll have to decide once a year whether or not to succumb to paying annually the $30 (or whatever Apple winds up charging) for the privilege of remaining current."
This is from David Pogue's excellent blog on the NY Times.
"There had been rumors swirling that Apple was back-burnering the Mac, but that’s hard to believe after Thursday’s announcement: from now on, Apple will update Mac OS X once a year.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads get most of the attention, but Apple is now directing the spotlight on the Mac.
It will start this summer with Mac OS X 10.8, code-named Mountain Lion, only a year after the Lion version was released.
Now you’ll have to decide once a year whether or not to succumb to paying annually the $30 (or whatever Apple winds up charging) for the privilege of remaining current."
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