March 12th, 2008
I’ve got 3 kids ranging from 10 to 15 years old. All of them are competent computer users therefore I need to protect them and control them when they’re online. All of the computers in the house have Zone Alarm Security Suite installed which provides spyware protection, virus scanning, firewall, and content filtering (along with a few other features). Recently I’ve become disenchanted with Zone Alarm Security Suite and have begun exploring other options with a focus on content filtering. One possible option I discovered is OpenDNS.
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March 10th, 2008
Forget sales figures. Forget installation statistics. Forget that other more powerful and more stable operating systems exist. Microsoft Windows remains the number one operating system for two simple reason: the competition fails on price and ease of use.
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February 25th, 2008
Even though I previously described how to copy DVD movies to an iPod in a 3 part series, I understand that some people don’t mind paying for a movie a second time if it means they only have to point and click to get what they want easily on their iPod. If you’re one of those individuals, where can you turn to get the movie you want with the press of a button? The iTunes store is the obvious answer, but is there another option?
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February 18th, 2008
The day I discovered Google Maps was the day I stopped using Map Quest. And the day I loaded Google Maps for Mobile on my Blackberry 8700c was the day I had found the “killer app” for my mobile device. I’ve become very reliant on both versions of Google Maps for a variety of uses [...]
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February 11th, 2008
Silicon Alley Insider reported on Friday (2/8/2008) that Amazon’s Kindle (eBook reader similar to Sony’s eReader) has not ignited the sales of ebooks. The headline is meant to be nothing more than eye-catching because there is no substance in the story itself. SAI admits that it’s too early to say whether the Kindle is a success but they did manage to get this empty statement from Arthur Klebanoff, CEO of e-book publisher RosettaBooks:
“…so far he’s seen “no evidence” that e-books formatted for the Kindle will generate more revenue for him than Sony Reader-compatible formats in 2008.”
Okay, so it’s too early to determine whether the Kindle is a success and RosettaBooks is making the classic empty-statement statement. So what does any of this mean?
The Kindle isn’t doing any better than Sony’s eReader but both devices have incredible potential, and I believe their greatest potential is one that remains untapped — education.
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January 23rd, 2008
I have a Blackberry 8700 for work. It’s a great device with some fantastic features, but as a basic cell phone it’s awkward and bulky. When I’m not working, I’d prefer to carry around a basic flip phone but don’t want to pay for an extra phone line. Fortunately my cell provider uses GSM cell technology which means the phones on the network all use a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card (a little device that contains everything necessary for the phone to access and use my providers cell network). Using this cell technology allowed me to go to my provider, purchase a flip phone, and, depending what I needed for the day, simply swap the SIM card between the new flip phone and the Blackberry device. Not the most elegant solution, and repeatedly swapping the SIM does run the risk of damaging it. Unfortunately I have no other option for my situation — or do I? Why can’t I just copy my SIM card and leave one card in each device and only use them one at a time?
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January 21st, 2008
The MacWorld dust has settled and the first round of MacBook Air reviews are in. Oddly enough, however, some of the negative comments nit pick to find short coming rather than site the one major flaw with the new MacBook Air - the price.
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January 14th, 2008
Ever see something on Craig’s List that sounded just too good to be true? Did that listing include a phone number to call? If not, then it’s probably a scam. But what exactly is a false Craig’s List ad trying to scam? Easy — valid email addresses for use in an email spamming operation.
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January 9th, 2008
Recent tech headlines have said that Warner Brothers Studios has committed exclusively to Blue-ray high definition DVD format. That simple statement have many in the industry claiming that Sony and Blue-ray have won. While they might have won a battle, they certainly haven’t won the war. Many of us are still sitting on the fence waiting for a clear winning, and Sony could be that winner if they would only take one drastic step: drop the price on the Playstation 3 below $200.
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January 2nd, 2008
The slow migration to Windows Vista is a fairly popular topic for most computer news web sites and publications. Seems that everyone that writes about computer news has taken their stab at explaining why everyone hasn’t upgraded to Vista. And on average they seem to draw the same conclusion: people aren’t upgrading to Vista because it sucks.
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