Minimum Age on Internet

Many sites make the user provide their age. A site that does this is facebook which you technically need to be 13 to use but it is almost impossible to enforce. The lack of being able to enforce this rule is evident because of the many young children that have facebook. It makes sense for sites to have this but it isn't the same as showing your ID at a bar. The only way to really enforce the age requirement would to electronically supply ID such as supplying a passport number or other official document, but this would be pretty high security for a site like facebook. You Tube also makes users provide an age but this is put in place young users can't watch flagged content. Many teens under the age of 18 lie about their age so they can the flagged content. Putting ages on the internet and putting other internet restrictions in place is like trying to control the wild west. The internet is almost impossible to control and that is not going to change anytime soon.

Internet Access Around the World

Depending on where in the world you are how you get internet access can vary. For example in more remote locations many people get internet access through satellite. Satellite internet is okay for simple tasks but it is not ideal because it can be very temperamental because it can be affected by the weather. Satellite is used in portable applications like on ships and some airlines do use satellite internet for oversea flights. You should be cautious paying for satellite internet while on a cruise or when flying because of it's not the most reliable because unlike other forms of communications satellite internet can be affected by the weather. Many remote places are now investing in wireless communications.

Wireless communications are a cheaper alternative to running cable which is a lot of times not possible depending on how remote the community is and a lot of times wireless communications are a fraction of the cost of wired communications. It is odd that in many 3rd world countries depending on where you are it can be easier to get internet access because there are internet cafes and public internet access but in more developed countries there isn't as much of this because people have private internet access. The internet can also open up business opportunities for people in 3rd world countries because now they have the opportunity to start online businesses.

The internet is very important for people nowadays because it is the way many people communicate in this age and it is also very beneficial to buisnesses and now people in remote places can have online businesses. Because of the interent big role in business and for people to communicate it is important that people have access to it.

Windows 7 Major Step From XP

Windows 7 definitely is a major step from the drab XP environment. It incorporates many great features that make computing a more enjoyable experience. Some of the great visual features are the taskbar and being able to see a small screen shot of open programs.



You can also quickly view open programs by putting your mouse over the program which will quickly
display the window and then closes it again when you move your mouse away.

On my desktop you can also see that I have the weather forecast displayed on the right. There are many tools that you can add to your desktop, which are called gadgets.

Overall I’ve noticed that windows 7 is faster than Windows XP such as it connects to wireless networks faster than Windows XP and transitions from program to program are faster and more streamline. The speed would also most likely be more noticeable in the 64-bit version of  Windows 7 because of how the RAM is used. Windows 7 also incorporates a new feature called libraries so you can better organize your files into specific groups while the folders in libraries are not actually stored in the library, they are still stored in the my documents folder, they are just displayed in a specific library. This way you can more easily find files.

Overall windows 7 is a big improvement and has many new and innovative features that improve the speed of daily tasks such as changing programs and organizing data.

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Apple - Introducing iPhone 4S

There is not a lot new about the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S only has two new hardware changes the A5 chip which is supposedly twice as fast as the previous iPhone chip and a 8 megapixel camera which has a redesigned lens with all new optics that will allow you to take great pictures no matter how much light you have or don't have. The IOS 5 does promise some interesting changes in the software like the cloud so all data including apps, music, pictures, documents and other data is pushed to each i device you have.

The most promising new feature in my opinion is the Siri voice command application included in the IOS 5 software. When I first heard about this software I didn't realize how powerful it really is until I saw the video.  You can actually ask it questions like about the weather and it will verbally answer you and you can also ask about the traffic and it will show you. I would be interested to see someone use this and see how good it actually is because who knows how much or if you have to train the application or how accurate it is in real life, and not in a video where they can do all the retakes they want.

The iPhone 4S seems promising and I am curious what the iPhone 5 will be able to do and what the hardware changes are going to be.

What is Google Chrome OS?

Google Chrome OS post coming soon! Sounds like an interesting operating system, I wonder if it will take off. Follow me on Twitter to find out when I'll be posting.

Facebook Osama Bin Laden Post Coming Soon

There is a outbreak of a facebook virus that says click her to see Osama Bin Laden death photos but this is a scam, there haven't been any photos released and if you follow the link it will just post on your wall or you may get a virus depending on which one it is. I will have a full post with all the details soon.

BlackBerry Playbook

The iPad has yet another competitor with the release of the BlackBerry PlayBook. The BlackBerry PlayBook like the Samsung Galaxy Tab is more portable because it is not as bulky as the iPad. The PlayBook does have a big thing that the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone don't have which is flash support. It is surprising that the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone still don't have this and there was always talk that it was coming with the next update but it still hasn't came. The PlayBook also really advertises that with Blackberry Bridge you can really interact with your BlackBerry but iPad doesn't have these kinds of features. The iPad like any Wi-Fi device can join your phone's Wi-Fi network but you can't interact with your phone. BlackBerry advertises that by using BlackBerry Bridge you can get full email inbox functionality and you can also see all your contacts. I suppose the BlackBerry Playbook's demographics are different than the iPad; the BlackBerry Playbook demographic is more geared towards business people while the iPad isn't aimed at this demographic as much. The BlackBerry PlayBook is yet another competitor in the tablet computer market and there will surely be more competitors in the future.

Google Chrome

A few weeks ago I made the change to Google Chrome and I'm glad I did. Google Chrome as Google promised is faster than Internet Explorer. I was a bit disappointed at first when I first downloaded Google Chrome because there was no Google toolbar but fortunately I realized I didn't need the Google toolbar because in Google Chrome many of the features of the Google toolbar are already included like the feature that keeps you signed in to your Google account so you don't have to sign in again when you switch Google services such as going to YouTube and then Gmail. It is also nice not having the Google toolbar because you don't have a cluttered web browser and have more space to actually see the web page because in Google there are only your tabs, bookmark bar and address bar at the top of the page.

One of the other things I really like about Chrome is the add-ons that you can download. Overall in Chrome you can customize your browser. There are many add-ons in Chrome and in my browser I have an add-on for Google Calendar. In this add I can view and my calendar and add events without opening up a new tab. This is helpful if I just received an email about an event and I can just go to my calendar without opening up a new tab and copy and paste the event details. This add-on also has pop up reminders so you won't forget about an important event.

The security in Chrome is also a great feature While browsing I noticed a similar message to the one above warning me that the site has been known to have malware on it. This a great feature in Chrome because then you don't visit sites that have malware and it is better having being warned about malware then getting malware and then having to deal with it.


Another feature in Chrome that I really like is the download bar and the download folder. In Chrome whenever you download something the download bar comes up and shows the files you are downloading. Everything you download in Chrome also goes into a download folder this makes it easy for you to find files you downloaded because they are all in one place (you can also select other places to save files, the download folder is just the default).

Google Chrome is a much better web browser than Internet Explorer and you should consider upgrading if you want add-ons for your browser, more security and less clutter so you can have a better view of web pages

Trolls and Shit Talking Through Digital Communications

Almost everyone if not experienced it firsthand or has heard about people having negative communications with people through some sort of digital communications. These people are often, shall I say more open about their thoughts and feelings through texting or communicating over the internet. It is surprising what people will say when not talking face to face. For most people it is easier to say something nasty to someone else by saying it on facebook, instant messaging them or texting them than going up to them. There are quite a few reasons for this and here are two.

1. You avoid physical harm by shit talking through digital communications. You avoid being physically harmed by the person who you are talking to or their friends. Although it is not guaranteed that you won't be physically harmed in the future you won't right away.
   
2. When talking online there are often not other people around which can also make it easier if the person is often with his or her friends. This way you won't have more than one person mad at you (at least not right away).
   

It is surprising how different people communicate with you if they aren't talking to your face. Most but not all the people that comment on things like You Tube videos would never say that to the person's face. I remember in particular hearing that people have commented on Rebecca Black's video telling her to become anorexic and cut herself. Don't get me wrong Friday is a horrible song and music video and one of the few music videos that have more than 2,000,000 dislikes but telling someone that they should become anorexic and to cut themselves is a little harsh, actually a lot harsh. Through communications many people seem to not be polite and in the future people need learn about how to be courteous and polite on the internet.

Laptop Sales Decreasing

 

For the first time tablet computers and other devices have overtaken laptops in sales. This is most likely due to people just wanting a device to surf the internet and not needing all the features a laptop provides. There have also been more and more people buying netbooks instead of laptops. Netbooks are ideal for people who mainly use a computer for internet activities. Netbooks, especially some of the smaller ones, wouldn't necessarily be ideal if you are writing a big report due to the smaller keyboard especially with a netbook with only a 10' screen or less. Tablet computers have also gained popularity with the release of the iPad less than year ago and the Samsung Galaxy Tab released in the fall. The iPad can be compared to a touch screen netbook because it is an ideal internet device. One downside of the iPad is its size because of this it's not something that you would have in your pocket walking down the street unless you have  iPad pants which I wrote about in a previous post. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a more portable tablet computer because it is smaller; it is however a bit bigger than something you would put in your pocket. I don't think even with more tablet computer sales laptop sales will be hurting because some people aren't going to buy a netbook or a tablet computer if they need a portable computer with all the functions of a desktop computer. Some of the tablet computers the iPad in particular are not much cheaper than a laptop so many people would choose to buy a laptop that they can do use to do all tasks that they would be able to do on a desktop computer.

Taking Technolgy For Granted

It is easy to take all technology for granted and not realize how amazing technology is and getting very angry when it does't work. Everyday millions of people all over turn on their computers for work and just for fun. It is mind boggling to think that mere decades ago a far less advanced computer would fill up a whole room. These computers didn't even have screen and an average person wouldn't be able to operate them. People now have laptops and now there are even smaller computing devices that fit in the palm of your hand. These mobile devices may not appeal to all people because of the tiny buttons but if you are successful in using these devices that can help you do tasks that you would normally need a laptop or desktop computer to do. Computers are one thing but now arguably the internet is even more amazing. You are able to access millions of web pages from all over the world. You can now communicate with someone who is half way around the world. Now with numerous programs people can use web cams and microphones for free and see and hear someone that is halfway around the world. This is a much better solution than having to pay for international calls which can be very expensive. It can be annoying when technology doesn't work the way we want it to and it is very difficult to be productive if technology is constantly not working but if there is just a brief problem you have to take it into prospective and remember how amazing computers and other technology is.

Wi-Fi on Planes, Trains and Ships

It seems that you can never go far without there being a Wi-Fi hotspot nearby. Many restaurants are now using this as a selling future especially for business people, social networking addicts and any other person who want internet access. It is very convenient to have internet access while travelling so you keep in touch with family and friends when you are on the go especially since a lot of times many people don't want to use their cell phones because of roaming fees.

Now even airlines are offering Wi-Fi access but unfortunately this internet access is not free and not all planes are equipped with the technology yet. The price for using Wi-Fi on planes does vary from airline to airline but it is around $4.95 for flights 1.5 hours long 12.95 for flights longer than 3 hours. There are also Wi-Fi hot spots on cruise ships but you have to pay a lot more to use these hot spots and it is not worth the price for a lot of people. The use internet on a cruise ship you have to pay $0.65-0.75 a minute or a lot of times there are internet usage packages so you can get a bit better rate. The internet on cruise ships works using satellites and because it is satellite internet it is not the most reliable, which is a big downside if you are paying so much to use the internet.

I did find it surprising that there was Wi-Fi on planes but then again it is a good marketing ploy to attract business travellers and just people looking for something to do on a flight. This Wi-Fi on planes works like mobile internet; it works with cellular towers on the ground. The in flight internet Wi-Fi works in the continental U.S. and 100 miles beyond the border into Mexico and Canada. Wi-Fi technology on planes is fairly new and not on all flights, even if an airline advertises that it has Wi-Fi on board doesn't often mean that Wi-Fi is on all flights.

On trains you can also have internet access the VIA rail offers Wi-Fi in both economy and business class. It also says there is Wi-Fi available at many of the train stations. Like in flight Wi-Fi it VIA also uses cell phone towers (mobile internet technology) to provide internet access.

Internet access can be useful when travelling but depending on the price to use it may not be worth the money. It is a lot of times better to just wait until you get to where you are going and finding internet access there. It is great to stay in touch and it is helpful to have internet while on route but we don't have to be connected all the time.

The iPad 2 and the Evolution of Apple Devices

The iPad 2 has been released recently and with there have of course been new features. The iPad 2 boasts about a having a faster processor called the dual-core A5 chip. On the apple website it tells of that with this A5 chip you can do twice as much work as once. With the new iPad the graphics are 9 times faster graphics which is a great feature for gamers. The new iPad is also 15% lighter and 33% thinner. The new iPad like the most recent iPod touch model also has front and rear facing cameras.

It seems with all these new models that apple is always adding only a few features to each new model. The iPad 2 does have features that the iPad one didn't have and probably the biggest new feature of the iPad is the cameras. All in all the iPad doesn't have any outstanding features, unless you really wanted a camera on your iPad. The thing with the camera on the iPad is that it's great if you're sitting somewhere with your iPad and you happen to want to take a picture. The iPad is not like an iPod touch though because it is a lot bigger so it is not like you are going to take the iPad with you and take pictures with it because of its bulkiness. It will be interesting what apple comes up with next and if there are any big features that are going to be added to the iPod touch and or iPad.

Censorship and Using Social Networking to Rebel Against Government

With the internet information is able to spread farther and faster but unfortunately not all the world's governments respect the right of free press and free speech. This has become evident with the rebel in Egypt. Today people are able to connect using social networking like facebook and twitter so now people are able to gather support from all over the world so protests against government are more effective. The Internet is a powerful thing and because of this many governments don't want their people to be able to view all content on the internet. One country who is well known for its strict censorship is China. This is because the communist Chinese government doesn't want the Chinese people to be able to read about "revolutionary ideas" that may make people want to rebel against the government. Now the Egyptian government has blocked access to the Internet so its people can no longer voice their opinions online. There has also been unrest in Tunisia and people are also using social networking to gather support which is accelerated the revolution. Now with this rebellion China has blocked all searches with the word Egypt in them so people don't know about people in other less than democratic societies rebelling and demanding a change of government in their countries. It will be interesting in the weeks to come how long it will take for Egypt will unblock the Internet and hopefully Egypt will change its government. With all this attention with social networking and pressure from other countries it will be hard for Egypt to have good relations with other countries if they don't change their government so it is fair and democratic.

Advantage Card

A few months ago CIBC introduced a new Visa Debit Card called the Advantage Card. This card unlike many debit cards can work outside of Canada and can work online because the card can use the Visa network to process purchases. There are debit cards that you are available through other banks that you can use online but only at select Canadian merchants but with this card you can make purchases anywhere Visa cards are accepted. The advantage card is different from a traditional Debit card because the transaction is processed using the Visa network when the Debit network is unavailable or you are using the card online. This card also has an added security feature because it is verified by Visa so it is part of Visa's zero liability program .This means that if your card information or your card is stolen and you discover that there are purchases on your bill you didn't make you don't have to pay for them. This card is also great because if you are under 16 but have a joint account with a parent or guardian you can still get the card so you can make purchases online and in other countries. This is a great Debit card for people that want to make purchases online but don't want to get a credit card.

Another Post Tomorrow

Tomorrow my post will be about the Visa Debit Card the called the Advantage Card that CIBC released this past October. The post will be published at noon eastern time. You can also see todays post here or yesterdays post here.

How to Transfer Music and Other Data from Your iPod to Computer

A few weeks ago I wrote about how you can't transfer app data doesn't sync and when you get a new computer and you sync your iPod with it you lose game scores and other app data. Today I'm going to tell you how you can transfer music, videos and other data from your iPod to computer.

1. First you have to determine if you have an older iPod. If you do you will see your iPod in my computer in the devices with removable storage section and it will function as a disk drive so you won't have to download a program to transfer music and videos. All iPod touches and iPhones do not function as disk drives so you will have to download a program to transfer data to your computer.
   
   

Make sure you have ITunes downloaded and installed. After you have ITunes installed hook up your iPod to your computer. ITunes will try to sync and quickly stop it. Then go to the iPod information and unselect the sync iPod when iPod is connected option.

1. Next you have to download a program to transfer data from your iPod or iPhone. Some programs that worked good for me are music rescue and DiskAid and Music Rescue. If you just want to transfer music, music rescue works fine but it doesn't let you transfer videos. Disk Aid you can transfer videos and music
2. Then you have to transfer the data in Disk Aid you have to go click on the media folder file and then click on ITunes control and then click copy to PC at the top.
   
3. Then it will ask you where you want to save the ITunes control folder and you can save it in my document or wherever you want.
4. Then you can go into ITunes and go to file add folder and select the ITunes control folder that you just saved.
5. In music rescue it you can choose to either quick recover so all your music is transferred from your iPod or select songs that you want to transfer.
6. To transfer apps you just have to go into ITunes and right click on your iPod in the left bar and select transfer purchases. But be warned this does not transfer app data so if you don't want to sync apps just uncheck the box in the app section of your iPod information and you can get here by clicking on your iPod in the left bar.

I know the pictures are a bit blurry and aren't very clear because they degraded when I uploaded them.
Please comment, follow and tell me what you want you want me to write about next.

 



2011 Personal Internet Security Virus

There has been a new malware being spread around lately. The virus does seem like a legitimate program and the warnings do look like they come from windows security. This fools many people into downloading it not realizing that it is malware. Once the malware is downloaded there are warning messages that come up saying that your computer is infected with many viruses and it to click to remove all viruses. Once you click on remove all viruses a website opens up and it where you can buy software to get rid of the viruses. DO NOT BUY this software it is a scam and it will not solve the problem. If you do buy person internet security you will lose your money and open yourself up to credit card fraud. There are tutorials and instructions online to get remove the virus; in the online instructions on many websites tell you to delete the virus by going into your program files. This process is difficult and you can possibly delete important files that your computer needs to operate. If your antivirus does not detect the virus when you do a full computer scan you will have to download a malware removal tool to at least try to rid your computer of the malware. You may have trouble going to antivirus websites depending on how much the virus has infected your computer so you may have to download the program on another computer and then save the program to an USB flash drive. To get rid of the virus you might have to put your computer in safe mode so the virus will stop executing so you can delete all the infected files. If you cannot remove the virus you will have to get windows reinstalled. To avoid this virus don't run any programs unless you trust the website.

Credit Card Reader for iPhone and iPod Touch

Recently there has been a new device released that you can use on with your iPod touch or iPhone to read credit cards. This new technology allows small business to except credit cards anywhere as long as they are connected to the Internet. Reading credit cards is not functions that only iPod touches and iPhones can perform there are also credit card readers for other smart phones. Gone are the days when credit cards were carbon copied now credit card transactions are becoming more and more instantaneous. One popular application for iPod, iPhone and iPad is square. For Square you need to download the free app and then they will send you the card reader. You have to register a bank account first before you are able to use the app. When you use to app the customer has to sign after their credit card has been swiped and then they have to choose if they want a receipt sent to via email and enter their email address if they do want a receipt. I don't think that this is the fastest app and it wouldn't work well if there are lots of customers. In my research I also discovered that you don't receive the payment for several days and there is also a fee for using this app like you would for accepting a credit through any method. This app would also be better if the card reader had a chip reader function since a lot of credit cards are now using the chip and PIN technology. If the card reader had a chip reading function it would also make the transaction more secure and a customer entering their pin would also most likely be faster than singing the iPod touch or iPhone screen.

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Transferring Data from iPod to Computer

People now change computers regularly and whenever you get a new computer you have to transfer all your music, videos, apps and other data over to your new computer. You would think that there would be an easy iPod to computer data transfer tool built into ITunes but there isn't. In ITunes you can transfer purchases and I suppose if you buy all your music from ITunes this will work for songs too but a lot of people don't buy 100% of their music from ITunes. There are however many programs that will let you transfer music from your iPod to your computer. Transferring music from your iPod is easy if you have an older iPod because older iPod models can function as a disk drive so when you connect your iPod to your computer your iPod shows up as a flash drive in the connected devices section in my computer. If you have a home network you can also enable home sharing so that each ITunes library can share with each other. There is no way unfortunately to transfer app data to your new computer's ITunes library so all your game scores and other data will be erased. If you don't want all your game scores to be erased you can choose to manually manage music and choose not to sync apps. Apple should really include an easy transfer tool in the next version of ITunes because many people change computers regularly and in the next version of ITunes app data should also be synced

Tomorrows Post

Come back tomorrow for my post tomorrow on transferring music, videos and apps from your iPod to a new computer.

Fraud

It's no secret that with the digital age there is more and more fraud; credit card information is being stolen and identity theft is becoming more and more common. A while ago I wrote about viruses that steal information. To avoid this you need to be careful about downloads and only download programs that you know are safe. Often you can tell if a download is safe by the website. If you are an active internet user you'll probably notice the similarities of website design and the specific traits that legitimate websites share. Credit card fraud is probably the most common type of fraud, there are many horror stories about credit card fraud but often if you do experience someone using your credit card you will get a call from your credit card company informing you of the suspicious activity. An example of suspicious activity could be a purchase is made on your credit card thousands of miles away when you just made a purchase an hour before at a nearby retailer. If you are going on a big road trip such as a cross country road trip you may also want to call your credit card company to inform them of this because if you don't you may receive a call about suspicious credit card activity. These days it is almost impossible to not use your credit card online and you don't you are at a big disadvantage purchasing some things such as booking a vacation. When using your credit card online you should be cautious and make sure the website that you are using is legitimate. If you don't know if a webiste is safe don't give out personal information and expecially no billing information.

2010 Tech Review

2010 has come and gone and with it lots of new technology was released. Through the year of 2010 there was everything from the new iPod released to the Xbox Kinect. There was also interesting tech news this year like the Google self driving cars and the news that there may be super Wi-Fi in the future that will be able to have a much larger range than the current Wi-Fi technology. This year the music industry also cracked down on music sharing laws which resulted limewire shutting down. There have also been many iPod software upgrades that included game centre so friends could finally play against each other on the iPod touch and iPhone. There have been lots of technology that has been either released or in the news in 2010. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2011 and if any major technology is created or if there are some major improvements to existing technology.

Xbox 360 Kinect

The Wii now has competition with the release of Xbox Kinect a while ago now. The X box Kinect is different from the Wii because with the X box Kinect there is no controllers you just use your body. I found this hard to believe that the technology is available to create a game system that you just need to move your body to control and no game controllers. The Kinect system uses cameras and watches your movements and it also has a microphone so you can use voice prompts to control the device. The Xbox Kinect system is different and may attract more of an audience because you can still play non interactive games on the Xbox but on the Wii most games are interactive based. I thought it was especially odd how people just select things by putting their hand out in front of them it almost seemed like something that you would see in a Sci-Fi movie. I can see that you would have to get used to playing on the new system and after all when you are using the Kinect system there are no controllers you are just using your body. It will be interesting to see in the future if Nintendo comes out with more games that involve the use of a camera so far there are one game that I know of that have camera ability but there is supposed to be more on the way.