Posts Tagged ‘Computers’

The Future of Malware is Here

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Until now, malware has generally been more of a nuissance than a serious issue. Avoidance was generally possible, and those that did slip through security software and cautious surfing practices could easily be removed or dealt with. Now a new breed of malware (I really hate the terminology people use for all the different types of malicious software out there, so malware is what I will use) has been spotted in the wild. Instead of just trying to get you to purchase some kind of scam antivirus software as has been the trend lately, this new malware encrypts your files (files ending in .psd, .doc, etc) and then requires you to pay them for the software to decrypt your own data. (more…)

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Posted in Computers, Security | No Comments »

Dell Mini 12: First Impressions

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

So I finally cracked and purchased a netbook. I decided to go with a dell mini 12, which as many other reviews have said ‘blurs the line’ between netbook and notebook. I chose this model because I wanted something to top my three hour battery life of my current laptop, but retain a full (1280×800) resolution screen. So it finally showed up at my doorstep a week ago, and of course I immediately started playing with it.

Dell Mini 12 Netbook. Sharpie in the image for scale. Would have used a pencil but...apparently I don't have one.

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Adobe Flash: Alternative to W3 Standards Compliance

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008


Adobe Flash is a great web design tool. One of the big benefits of Flash is the ability to produce content that works on any browser, as long as the user has the free Adobe Flash Player. It also allows for a great video streaming platform as well as much more functionality than HTML on its own can provide. As Google and other search engines begin to implement the ability to parse and read these Flash websites, what really are the disadvantages and advantages to them? Many designers pass up Flash for newer Javascript(usually in the form of AJAX) or PHP technologies, typically for the reason that Flash is largely not searchable by search engines. So let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of Flash and see if it really is still a technology to avoid. (more…)

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Posted in Computers, Web Design | No Comments »

Bluetooth Flash Drive: Why not?

Friday, November 7th, 2008

I really wish someone would make one of these. I can think of many uses for a flash drive which is small, fits on your keychain with no USB connectivity and simply works through Bluetooth(or even Wi-Fi). I think that this would make for an excellent automatic backup device for documents. Imagine always having the ability to automatically backup recently saved documents to a secondary storage device like a Flash Drive. The reason I think this is a great option instead of requiring the device to be plugged in is that I often forget to plug in and backup my files to my flash drive. With a device that connects via Bluetooth or wi-fi I wouldn’t have to worry about plugging in to backup anymore. I do use Windows Live Foldershare, which is a great way to copy files or data to multiple computers, but there are times when I want to backup data and I don’t have internet access. Plus the price of both flash memory and Bluetooth devices have fallen dramatically and it’s not like either takes up much space. The only major downside I see is that it needs to be powered somehow, and having to add space for a battery would at least double the size of the device. Not to mention the transfer speeds over Bluetooth are relatively slow. But for small documents such as word documents (I’m thinking of blog posts I’ve written up or lecture notes or something else of the sort) it would work great. I would really like to see a product like this and would easily invest around $50 for even a relatively small (capacity wise) device. It would just be nice to know that I don’t have to actively backup my data, just in case something goes wrong.

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No More Cable: Move Your TV Viewing to the Internet

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

Cable and Satellite TV are dying technologies. With the advent of TV shows being distributed through the ‘net, it’s becoming more and more possible to drop your TV provider and rely only on your internet connection for entertainment. And it’s only going to get better as more and more companies follow this trend. Here are a couple ways to cut your cable or satellite service and just use the internet.

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Posted in Computers, Entertainment | 1 Comment »