Technology Funny of the Week

Quote of the Week:

"There are two ways to construct a software design. Make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies; or make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."



 Comic of the Week:

Technology Discussion of the Week - Part 1

My discussion about technology this week is all about new cutting edge changes that I and others believe will alter the technology paradigm in the future. We have all seen the development of social media through the use of Facebook, Tiwtter and overall increase in exposure to the internet and mobile devices. There are more technological and demographical changes are on the horizon and I intend to discuss that with you today.


In part 1, I am going to be going over two (2) of the four (4) hot topics that I foresee changing the way YOU will interact and relate with technology:

1. New kind of connection called NFC - Near Field Communication (Link)
2. Kinect – A new way to play video games (Link)

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(http://www.instablogsimages.com/)

NFC is a relatively unknown initiative that has extensive potential to change the way we communicate with electronic devices in our everyday lives. Let me give you an example: imagine no more credit cards, debit cards, car keys, alarm codes, ID, passports and the list goes on. So how does it work?
It is simply a very short range (10 cm), hi frequency data transmitter that transmits at very fast speeds. It will be used almost exclusively on mobile phones and there are rumors that Android, Nokia, RIM phones and the next iPhone 5 will all support NFC. There are some security aspects that need to be addressed such as eavesdropping, data modification and the mere fact that your mobile device could be stolen. Massaging of this new technology is certainly needed, however the implications of NFC are endless and could quite honestly change the way we interact with other devices in the near future. Simply pondering the ability of pulling out your phone to text, surf, tweet, update, read, play and now pay for your lunch makes me smile at our ability to take technology to the extreme!

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Kinect is a buzz word amongst those within the gaming sector, the blogosphere and people who watch the news or read the business section. If you are one of those people that live under a rock (or don’t know much about new gaming gadgets), the Kinect is a new Xbox 360 add on to allow users to experience motion gaming. Through the use of many different cameras, a microphone, and infrared scanner a user can literally become the controller. This is the first controller-less technology that has become available to the general public ever and opens a whole new market for potential uses. We may see entire GUI’s in many different applications not ever needing input from devices such as keyboards and mice. The eventual grand finale that I like to dream about would be a completely interactive virtual 360 degree GUI completely controlled with the users hands and movements. One can dream of the day!

Technology Funnies - November 21st

Funny of the week:

Quote of the week:

(Terminal log-on for the novice user)

Login: yes

Password: i dont have one

...

password is incorrect

Login: yes

Password: incorrect

.

.

.

What Happened This Week?

Monday
Facebook Expected To Announced New Email Service Today - http://bit.ly/9gxCp6

- Facebook is at the forefront of the social media revolution and adding email could be the next step, breaking new levels of communication. It is not just email, it integrates IM, Texting and email all in one interface.

Tuesday
How the Network Will Make Our Cities Smart and Transform the World - http://on.mash.to/bVMzjS

- If you haven’t heard, the Web 2.0 summit 2010 is happening in San Francisco. Many popular and forward thinking people are discussing future technology including Cisco Chief Globalization Officer Wim Elfrink. He discusses about future cities will be powered by ‘the Internet of things’ and how this will ‘save energy, decrease wasted water and traffic and lower crime rates.’

Wednesday
Internet Explorer inches closer to full launch, the possibility of a dominant comeback increases - http://bit.ly/cmCQb5

- Internet Explorer 9 is approaching and will need to bring a high-performance and user friendly environment in order to continue to compete with the other popular browsers such as Firefox, safari and Google chrome browser.

Thursday
RIM compares PlayBook to iPad side-by-side [video] - http://bit.ly/9hEdyo

- The first true competitor to the iPad. Smaller, Java enabled and faster in some aspects. See the side by side video comparison.

Friday
Why Social Gaming Is More Than Just a Fad - http://on.mash.to/a7mRSt

- To end the week, we have a very interesting analysis about how social gaming has evolved far beyond just a game. It is natively woven into and distributed via social networks — the Internet’s [and our] new gateway.

How To of the Week - Hiren's

This is more of a rave about an awesome tool than a how-to but you will have to get by with it. If you are a super user or just a natural go getter with a computer, you know how important it is to keep your PC up and running. There is an awesome multi use tool that can help with almost any possible problem that you may have. Made by open source coders, Hirens boot CD will be your most used and trusted tool in your computing existence. I will prove it to you for I have listed all the types of tools it has in it (underlined ones are most popular categories):

Antivirus Tools

Archivers (Zip tools)

Backup Tools

BIOS / CMOS Tools

Browsers / File Managers

Cleaners

Editors / Viewers

FileSystems Tools

Hard Disk Tools

MBR (Master Boot Record) Tools

Network Tools

Optimizers

Partition Tools

Password Tools

Process Tools

Recovery Tools

Registry Tools

Remote Control Tools

Security / Encryption Tools

Startup Tools

System Information Tools

Testing Tools

Tweakers

Other Tools

See a full list of all categories and tools here

Each category has multiple tools so you can choose your favourite program or take advantage of different functionality between the tools. If you are constantly looking to Google to get your freeware, just download this awesome boot CD and have it all in one convenient place.

Some of the most popular tools that I use and recommend are:

Avira AntiVir Personal –personal antivirus that protects your computer and uses little resources

7-Zip – Will literally open every compressed folder...and its free

G4L Ghost 4 Linux – clones one PC to another (for advanced users)

CCleaner – Spring cleaning for your computer. Literally.

All HDD Diagnostics – Can help test your hard drive health and power (by brand)

TrueCrypt – very powerful encryption software for your personal data

GPU/CPU-Z – Informative monitoring of your temperatures and information

Acronis – Very good tool for backing up and cloning your computer

To get this all working here comes the how-to part:

1. Download the zip file(bottom of the page)
2. Extract and burn the iso file using an imaging tool (download one here) and burn to a CD
3. Restart the computer with your CD in the CD drive and it will load into the Hirens CD menu.
4. If it does not boot into the CD, you will have to select which device you are booting into (tutorial here)

I hope this saves you some time and energy in the future! Leave a comment!

Technology Funnies - November 14th

Funny of the week:

Credit peopleattack.com

Quote of the week:

"Computers are like air conditioners: they stop working when you open windows."

Current Blogging Schedule

Below is my current and established plan for blog updates for the rest of the year. I hope that you will come back and visit often.

Monday/Tuesday - Discussion of a current event in the Technology Industry
Wednesday/Thursday - How to. Interesting stuff you could undertake in your spare time
Friday/Saturday - Top 5 Tech blog posts of the week
Sunday - Technology funnies

For your viewing pleasure:
"To err is human... to really foul up requires the root password."