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The Basics of Defragging – Housecleaning for Your Computer

by Dave on September 2, 2010

No one likes a slow computer. One of the reasons computers can slow down over time is that the files get ‘fragmented,’ or scattered all over the hard drive. When that happens the computer has to work harder than usual to find and put together all the fragments needed to open and run programs. Defragmentation, [...]

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New Research Says 12 Character Passwords are Needed

by Dave on August 31, 2010

Recent research by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) suggests that new hardware developments could dramatically improve a hacker’s ability to crack passwords. The hardware they’ve been testing is a Graphical Processing Unit., commonly used to process huge amounts of data very quickly for today’s computer games. This development puts super-computer type power on everyday desktop [...]

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Tech News Roundup

August 28, 2010

Lots of interesting tech news this week, including items about Google, Bing, Yahoo, Germany and… Neanderthals?!
Bing and Yahoo Cooperate, Compete Against Google
As of Aug 24th Yahoo’s (yahoo.com) U.S. and Canadian search engine results officially began coming from Bing (bing.com), Microsoft’s search engine. In July 2009, the 2 companies reached a historic 10-year agreement to cooperate [...]

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Fake Malware Scam – By Phone!

August 26, 2010

In June 2010 the Internet security company Symantec heard about a company, Online PC Doctors, using telemarketing tactics to convince users their computers are infected.
When a Symantec security researcher contacted this company and claimed to be having problems with their computer. The representative had them open the computers Event Viewer and then claimed that the [...]

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Remember Browser Passwords? Just Say No!

August 24, 2010

It seems more and more websites are requiring logins. It can be quite inconvenient. Most Web browsers – Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. allow the user to store user ID’s and passwords for websites. This feature is intended to offer convenience. So I understand when people use the “Remember me” and Remember Password” options [...]

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Strange Image or Important Trend? QR Code Basics

August 22, 2010

I’ve seen strange images like this now and then on the Web, but never paid much attention until I started reading about Google Places.
The image is actually a type of barcode. Just like the more familiar barcodes, only it contains more information. According to Wikipedia, These barcodes can be read and interpreted by QR scanners, [...]

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Can’t Remember Passwords? Try This System

August 20, 2010

If you absolutely, positively can’t remember passwords, here’s a system that could help.
The more you surf the ‘Net, the more passwords you have to remember. At least that’s how it should work. Many try to simplify their lives by using one password everywhere. My opinion is that’s a path toward serious problems. Should a bad [...]

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E-reader Price Wars

August 17, 2010

This past June the competition between various brands of e-readers suddenly turned serious. It started when Barnes & Noble dropped the price of its Nook e-reader from $259 to $199, and introduced a $149 Wi-Fi version. Within hours Amazon dropped the price of its Kindle e-reader from $259 to $189. Shortly afterward, Borders responded by [...]

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E-Ink – How it Works

August 14, 2010

E-ink is a display technology that consists of 2 layers bonded together into a flexible film. The top layer contains millions of microcapsules the diameter of a human hair. These microcapsules contain both black and white electrically charged particles suspended in a clear fluid. The bottom layer consists of circuitry to control the display. When [...]

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E-book News Roundup

August 12, 2010

In early July 2010, the bookseller Borders launched its own branded e-book store. They offer 1.5 million titles available in a variety of digital formats including ePub and PDF. According to their CEO Mike Edwards, their plan is to offer device-neutral formats and capture a significant portion of the e-book market within a year. The [...]

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