Self-Reliance
April 29, 2010 by Scott Kerr · Leave a Comment
It’s a gross understatement to say the internet has revolutionized the way we live. In the last 15 years or so, most of us have completely changed the way we communicate and access information. It takes little effort to identify numerous ways our daily activities have been streamlined as a result. We bank online, keep in touch with friends and colleagues, catch up on our favorite TV shows, and do our Christmas shopping, to name a few. But there is one often overlooked use, and in these precarious economic times its utility is all the greater. What I’m referring to is our ability to become an expert on just about anything. I’m amazed at the number of times every day I’m confronted with questions and problems to which I do not have the answer or solution, but, rest assured, someone else does, and its likely they’ve posted it somewhere on the internet. Be it a computer issue, changing the starter in my car, or tying a double Windsor, there is rarely an instance that I can’t find the information in a few clicks. Most times I’m pleased to discover the solution isn’t as daunting as it seems and well within my ability to solve, which often saves me a significant amount of time and money.
So where to begin? The best and obvious starting place is Google. Make it your best friend. If you end up searching for a similar subject often enough on Google you may end up finding another site or forum that becomes another invaluable resource. For instance, many computer issue-related searches will yield results at experts-exchange.com. So much so, that if I don’t find the answer quickly, I will search the site directly. Youtube is also a great resource. If you’re looking for instructions on how to play “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on guitar, you can bet someone has uploaded a video of just that. You can also find forums on every subject imaginable, full of knowledgeable and helpful members willing to help you accomplish your next pet project.
So next time you want to save a few bucks, search for how to change the oil in your car yourself. You’ll find it’s easier than it sounds.
Before you buy a Netbook
April 27, 2010 by Scott Kerr · Leave a Comment
I am hearing a lot of interest these days in Netbooks. Understandable, as they are small, light, and usually pretty cheap. This ultra-portability does come at a price, however, even if it’s not always calculable in real dollars and cents. Before you plop down your hard-earned cash for one there are a few things to consider.
Screen Size
Sure, it may fit in a purse (or murse…I don’t want to leave anybody out), but if it gives you a migraine when you sit down to use it, what’s the point? Go to your local PC emporium of choice and spend some time working on one. Check out the screen size and make sure you can look at it for an extended period without straining your eyes. While you can adjust the resolution to make things bigger, you will not be able to fit nearly as much on the screen and it will likely be cumbersome to navigate in and out of applications.
Productivity
Take time to consider what you will really use it for. Whether it’s an email or an essay, typing on a Netbook is a different experience than on a standard keyboard. Many of the smaller models cram often used keys into half the space, if not relocating them all together. I find I’m much more apt to make typos then I’d like, often inadvertently striking two keys simultaneously. I have to type more slowly and spend more time proofreading than I normally do.
Computing Power
Netbooks are built for portability. They have less memory and smaller hard drives (unless you opt for a larger solid state drive, which can quickly increase the cost). If you’re planning on installing many applications and storing lots of photos and documents, it is likely not the best solution for you.
Don’t get me wrong, Netbooks have their place. I use mine frequently. It is, however, important to consider these factors before deciding to choose one over a standard laptop. Bottom line is – try before you buy or you could end up with a $400 paper weight.
iPhone applications for your computer?
April 23, 2010 by Dominik Toepfer · Leave a Comment
I think the real reason for the success of the iPhone isn’t just the fact that anyone can learn to program applications for it, but that the phone offers some really incredible features. The feature that makes the iPhone really stand out is a user’s ability to easily find new applications via phone or within iTunes. With a couple keyword searches, you’ve found what you want and it’s downloading right on the phone. The best part is, only Apple reviewed applications can be loaded on a factory default phone. I believe this is the real genius.
Other things in life are made to fit together and we accept it as common place. I like to think of the iPhone applications as legos that just load right on the phone. Users don’t have to worry about having the right phone, the right amount of memory, the right screen size, etc. For some reason, however, this is what we’ve grown to accept from a computer, whether it’s a usable application, a poorly designed application or even viruses. All these things can be installed whether it is beneficial for your system or not.
I think that using this same modular concept for computers would go a long way in advancing the technology industry. Most home computer users are employing similar functions – checking email, surfing the web, filing taxes, organizing personal finances, playing games, etc. What if I could go to the local computer store and purchase a machine that comes loaded with 99% of the software that I already need. Then, once I get it home, I can then purchase the additional things I need on demand or select them from an online store. Because non-certified applications can’t be loaded, viruses wouldn’t even be an issue.
Something to think about!
How Secure Are Your Passwords?
April 20, 2010 by Nate Traiser · Leave a Comment
Ok, so everyone hates typing in passwords over and over. There are just so many to remember. “How am I supposed to be responsible for remembering my passwords for financial institutes, social web sites, news media sites, insurance companies, etc?”
As an IT consultant I see way too many simple passwords being used for critical logins. It’s hard, I know. Trust me when I say that my own mind is filled to capacity. With this in mind, I want to assure you that you can create over 100 secure passwords by applying 1 rule – it is that easy.
Here’s what you need to do. Create a base password and then apply a rule that creates an acronym for this service. For example, if your base password is “8uff.” Then your password for Windows (work or home) could be 8uffWIN7, and your password for GMail would be 8uffGM@il, or for Quickbooks, use 8uffQB00ks. Notice that I maintain case sensitivity as well as swap out vowels with special characters? This can be done with vowels and numbers; 3 = E,e, 0 =O,o, etc. It is also good practice to use at least 8 characters for your passwords. The more characters, the stronger your security becomes.
Now that we have a method for creating secure, yet meaningful passwords, you still have to apply them constantly right? It’s so easy to become lax and start setting your browsers and other applications to store them for you. I understand how convenient this can be, but let me say that I have received numerous calls over the years where someone walked away from their desk for lunch without locking their machine and only to return to find they’ve become a victim of hacking. Or worse yet, someone let a coworker or “friend” use their computer.
Almost any application that requires you to login will also provide an option to save your password. Once you’ve done that, your password may as well be plain text for someone with malicious intent. Behind the scenes, even if the application encrypts the account information, it’s doing so with a static key that can be easily deciphered through some reverse engineering. This means that somebody not only can, but has also probably developed a utility to recover these passwords.
Let’s assume that your laptop has been stolen, the only way to truly secure your data would be to encrypt your entire drive. Unfortunately, even the toughest Windows password can broken with a number of open source linux based boot CDs. Encrypting the drive is the only secure way and this process is a beast of its own.
Getting back to the subject at hand, securing your secure passwords. If you are creature of leisure and the arduous task of constantly typing your passwords are too much, then I would recommend looking into Password Manager with a strong master password assigned to it.
There are many password managers to choose from. For instance; Keepass, RoboForm and LastPass are all cross-platform tools. If you are an avid Firefox user then you must already know that Firefox has a strong password manager built right into the application *wink wink*. Knowing this, you should make sure to enable a (strong) Master Password.
Firefox Master Password
To Do This: Select Tools –> Options –> Security and check the box for “Use a master password.”
Once you’ve done this, Firefox will store all of your passwords with rock solid AES encryption. Again, you must use a strong master password. NOTE: a decent 8+ random character password will take many years for a brute force attack to crack it.
Every time Firefox loads one of your secure sites, it will, by default, request the master password. Once authentication has been verified the authentication will be active for the entire session. This means you can open and close your Citibank account all day so long as Firefox is never completely closed. Do you see where I am going with this? This can be bad if you’re in the habit of walking away from your computer. However, there is an option to install a Firefox plug-in, Master Password Timeout. This plug-in allows you to set the authentication to expire, which is handy if you walk away from your desk without remembering to lock Windows (Short key Win+L.)
Remember: Don’t underestimate the importance of a strong password, not just a good password, but a strong password. Securing your data should not be any harder than you make it on yourself. A simple password is like guarding your house with a screen door. Would you do that?
Unplugged
April 15, 2010 by David Stokes · Leave a Comment
I have a great job and love what I do. Often I find myself thinking, “I get paid for doing what I love.” But I realized the other day just how hard it has become to stop working and to “unplug.” With this comes a possibly greater realization of unplugging from all types of demands on my attention. By this, I refer to today’s technological connectivity gadgets – cell phones, including calls and text messaging; e-mail; IM; Twitter; Facebook and countless others.
I used to observe others with their eyes and thumbs stuck to their Blackberry devices only reminding myself that that I wasn’t like that – thank goodness. However, now I check my Blackberry at every opportunity; riding the elevator, before and after eating a meal, waiting in line, before and after driving, etc. What has happened? Is it because with this mobile device, I have access to all of my work communication modes and the various Social Media outlets that seem to be demanding more attention? Further disturbing is since “thumbing” a message or Tweet or Facebook comment on a device is inherently time consuming, what has the depth of my communication become? Short messages that are sometimes conveyed in the 3rd person! I’m trying to respond to client issues as timely as possible and keeping up with my friends’ and families’ lives and let them in on mine. But, I’m realizing the depth of my communication and attention are getting seemingly shallower.
My wife and I took a last minute camping trip one weekend last fall. My boss took my “on-call” time and graciously let me go. As we got farther and farther into the wilderness and the attention demands listed above started melting away and the sights, smells and sounds of the forest started enveloping me, I realized I had gone nearly 3 hours without looking at my Blackberry. It felt so nice to finally be unplugged and to be thinking about how I was going to practice lighting our camp-fire in some primitive method even though we had matches, how we were going to cook our meals by that fire even though we had a camp stove, and how we would be testing a new wool blanket for sleeping in rather than using a sleeping bag.
Then it hit hard: I forgot to pass on important information to my boss about a client with an Internet outage and the ETA on its resolution that only I knew about and the client was patiently awaiting. I grabbed my Blackberry and discovered with a knot in my stomach there was no signal. Now it became instantly clear why it had been so easy to unplug: it was forced on me by the lack of cellular coverage. I had two realizations – the unresolved client issue and my own inability to voluntarily unplug. The second was ultimately more saddening than the first. But, in order to at least relieve the stress about my client, I raced around the camp trying to get to higher ground where my phone might pick-up a signal. “At last!” I thought. I found a spot by standing on the running board of my car and banged out a quick email to my boss with the pertinent details, waited until it went through, and made my way back to camp utterly relieved and instantly feeling OK about being unplugged again. This time I shut the phone off voluntarily, took some ribbing from my wife about the situation and got to work on starting that fire.
Note to self: Don’t look at your Blackberry, no matter the signal strength, until Tuesday morning when it will be time to upload our scary camping photos
Apple delivers electronic multi-tasking?
April 9, 2010 by Dominik Toepfer · Leave a Comment
Well, sort of. Apple has been listening to its fan base and is now developing new firmware to allow select applications to run simultaneously, a first for smart-phone type products. While it’s not a full multi-tasking experience, the firmware allows some programs to do things in the background, however this pauses the whole program while this happens. For example, lets take a music streaming application; when the program is paused, it would shut down the program yet still allow the music to stream in the background. From a technology perspective, I think this is great because with little overhead to run this function in the background you’ll still get great battery life.
It’s a shame to see that only the newer iPhone 3GS and the newest iPod Touch are getting this new firmware. However, it’s to be expected as this development will require some horsepower to run the new features. While it’s nice to see Apple’s innovation, they do have a long history of developing the new features off the backs of people that pay for the newest version of an apple product. In my opinion, you should always wait for the 2nd or 3rd version of an apple product before buying to make sure all of the kinks and bugs are worked out.
See details of the new firmware here. Also, this is a great resource for apple product cycles so you know when a new version of something might be released.
Net Neutrality at risk with today’s court ruling?
April 6, 2010 by Byron Williams · Leave a Comment
Comcast prevailed today as the US Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit) ruled against the FCC saying the agency does not have the authority to tell the company how it manages Internet traffic – - something Google and other companies disagree with, fearing that network operators (Comcast, Qwest, etc.) could engage in “discriminatory pricing against certain kinds of Internet traffic, like VOIP data or video packets, to insulate their voice and television businesses from competition,” writes Thomas Claburn today in a post on Information Week’s website.
What do you think?
Have you been fooled today?
April 1, 2010 by Jamie Stanislav · Leave a Comment
One of the strangest traditions we observe is that of April Fool’s Day. It seems as though April 1 allows individuals who, most days, seem to be professional, reserved and disengaged to the world of Tomfoolery seem to let loose and mercilessly prank their near and dear. Especially among the technology community, this day is a chance to engage the wild, fanciful and just plain absurd in an effort to fool the general public. Here are a few of our favorite online pranks so far this year:
1. As always, Google is a front-runner for April fools pranks. Among this year’s mischief…
Google Translate for Animals
Google Street View now available in 3D!
Google Docs takes cloud computing to a new level by offering to upload anything from house keys, tv remotes to your baby grand piano for only $0.10 kg including free pickup and delivery
Google Wave – with wave notifications, you’ll never miss another update in your inbox
2. Youtube offers TEXTp as a more cost effective bandwidth over 1080p or HD
3. Kodak – Introducing “aromatography”
4. Specially trained ferrets are being used in the UK to deliver broadband to rural areas
5. Info Tech research group gives advice on avoiding an imminent zombie apocalypse
6. Veranda & Georgia font’s lovechild, “Verdorgia,” discovered in old Window 98 archive
