Author Archive
Videos about Google services
Google has made some videos to explain a little bit about how its services work. The videos are pretty elementary but they are short so you might take a look.
How search works:
How search ads work:
How Google Apps work:
Reviews of security suites
Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary to fork out for the costs of a commercial security suite. There are some very good free alternatives, However, if you are more comfortable with the pay versions of software, Neil Rubenking has reviews of the latest at PCMag. His top choice is still Norton Internet Security 2010 ($69.99 [...]
Easy way to disable the keyboard
Do you have a cat that likes to jump on your computer keyboard? Or maybe there’s a three-year old in your house that loves to pound the keys when you’re not looking. Here is a little free application to turn the keyboard on and off. It’s called Keyboard Locker and it’s from the How-to Geek. [...]
Does Google’s search algorithm rule the Web?
That’s the thesis of a Wired Magazine article by Steven Levy. Before Google, there were many search engines. But the search algorithms of Google made a difference. Somehow Google searches were faster and more accurate. And Google grew and grew. The search algorithms also change constantly. As Google amassed greater and greater databases, it kept [...]
FCC plan to increase broadband coverage in US
The US Federal Communications Commission wants to increase high-speed Internet in America. The New York Times reports:
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.
The plan, which will be submitted to Congress on Tuesday, is [...]
Predicting human movement
Although the actions of individual humans are not very predictable, those of large numbers of people often follow discernible patterns. For example, consider a report about human movement in Ars Technica that shows what analysis of cell phone data shows:
We’d like to think of ourselves as dynamic, unpredictable individuals, but according to new research, that’s [...]
Privacy died and no one cared?
It is a commonplace observation that privacy in the modern world is dead. But what is also being said more often is that most people don’t care. Declan McCullagh of CBSNews.com has an article at CNET, Why no one cares about privacy anymore. He writes:
Norms are changing, with confidentiality giving way to openness. Participating in [...]
The Internet of things
The Bits Blog at the New York Times discusses the possibilities of more than just computers being connected to the Internet. With microprocessors and sensors, all sorts of things might be “online”. The blog reports on an article from McKinsey & Company that begins:
More objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to [...]
Adobe PDF Reader is a target
It has often been noted here that Adobe PDF Reader/Acrobat has security problems. There has been one security hole after the other reported. Unfortunately, Adobe has often been slow to patch these holes after they have been publicly disclosed. Since Adobe Reader is on a large majority of PCs, this has presented malware writers with [...]
More about USB 3.0
New PCs should soon have the faster interface called USB 3.0. I have made several posts on the subject but there is some more information at Computerworld.
How to keep your battery going
Batteries and more batteries. We all have an assortment of gadgets that need batteries. At the New York Times, Eric A. Taub explains some ways to help keep your batteries going.
