Technology
Let’s Do The Time Warp Again!
6
Technology is an amazing thing – social networks are mind-boggling. I have been 'geeking' forever, my first programming course was in 1976, and I find myself jaded at about 98% of the new 'bells and whistles' I see on the Net. But I am not so jaded that I can't see the fear and wonderment in 'newbie' users when they first encounter LinkedIn, Twitter and especially Facebook. We hear all the horror stories, how companies are scanning Facebook for incriminating info on employees or prospective new hires, how thieves are watching to see if you have posted when and for how long you will be away, even how Facebook doesn't automatically limit access to deceased members accounts. But sometimes something almost magical occurs on Facebook that not only reminds you that there is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
No Wine’ing About Windows Apps
13
One of the biggest reasons I hear from people – when asked why they don’t switch from Windows to Linux – is that they will lose all their favourite applications. Nothing could be further from the truth – for a couple of reasons. Firstly, in the Linux world there are probably half a dozen applications that will easily (and more efficiently) replace each of your Windows applications. In fact many of these Linux applications will have you wondering why you ever put up with Windows for as long as you did! A good example of this is OpenOffice, the open source ‘clone’ of Microsoft Office. OpenOffice, originally StarOffice, is about 99.9% compatible with Microsoft Office, making it easy to transition your existing MSOffice documents or convert OpenOffice documents for those people still stuck … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
Are Telephone Books Passe?
18
You know the feeling – you need to call to change a hair appointment or arrange an oil-change on the family car and suddenly you can't find a telephone book anywhere in the house! After what seems an eternity rooting under couches and behind the china cabinet you do what many of us do – call a friend or look the phone number up online (Teeswater.Ca Phone Page perhaps?). Or how about the many times do you look up a new business in the Yellow Pages™ only to find that they weren't in existence at the time of printing? Or are in a section that doesn't seem logical at all? With websites like Anywho and Canada411 able to provide those all important phone numbers do we really need the large clunky yellow tomes … Read entire article »
Filed under: In The News, Lifestyle, Our Earth, Technology
The Hidden Cost of Notebooks
28
My wife has had a notebook for a couple years now, rock solid wee beastie in general, even if it runs Windows®, but this week the corporate 'gotcha' reared its ugly head. Notebooks are great, they give you portability, they are much easier to lug around than a PC and these days the cost-benefit of them is almost what you can expect from a desktop. But there are hidden costs that might slip our minds when we plunk down our bank card at Staples for the latest and greatest. Batteries – without the rechargeable battery portability flies out the window. Batteries do have a lifecycle, just like the rest of the components in a notebook. Unfortunately they appear (from what I am reading in forums) to have a MUCH shorter lifecycle than … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
The Cyber-Life
22
Forget Hiding In The Cyber-World!… I've been saying it for years, the Internet is NOTHING more than a mass of wires and computers connecting people NOT a special world where the rules of decency need not apply! Now a judge in the Unique States has put some teeth into that theory by ordering Google to reveal an anonymous stalker using Youtube to post indiscreet information and set up a shrine to his 'intended'! While we harp on protecting yourself on the Net, it is good to know that the judicial system is FINALLY starting to protect our rights in cyberspace just as in 'the real world'! Enter The Cat – Meerkat that is… There are three kinds of computer users in the world – Windows users grumbling along hoping that one … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
FOSS Meets FUD
18
"Huh??", you ask. Has Prop lost his marbles or is this some weird Geekspeak? Today is Software Freedom Day, the day of the year when we celebrate Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as opposed to proprietary, locked in forever, usually expensive software such as Microsoft Windows and Apple's MacOS offerings. FOSS works on an entirely different principle from proprietary software, employing many helping hands to make a software application better rather than a 'behind closed doors take what we give you' approach. Each system has its own merits – FOSS creates widely available and greatly adaptable software while non-FOSS creates large bank accounts for a small number of companies. Perhaps I am biased but it seems to me after more than 30 years writing software that FOSS is a much better way to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
Creatively Free Applications
14
As I sit here at my desk with a heated beanbag wrapped around my neck (I am constantly pulling / twisting / 'cricking' something) I think of the little Open Source computer applications that make a world of difference when stuck staring into the monitor for hours at a time. NetRadio – did you know that shoutcast.com has a superb listing of radio stations that stream across the web? There are probably a dozen stations listed for every genre of music possible. Lately, for me, it has been a combination of Killer Rabbit Radio (what a name!) – classic jazz with Stan Getz, Charlie Parker et al, Folk Alley for a dash of lighter folky music, Radio Pluto – all over the map but generally country, and for the shop where … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
Technology – Tool, Teacher or Disturbing Trend?
30
My wife, who is QUITE computer savvy, calls it 'The Nintendo Generation', something like 'Generation X' or 'Bubble Babies' (my generation). You know how it is, pre-teens walking down the street texting like mad to their friends, children refusing to leave their computer game console on a beautiful summer's day, or worse sitting at the beach with their eyes glued to a GameBoy. We react with frustration, mixed with a bit of awe, but short of hiding the game controllers or changing the password on the wireless router we feel just a bit helpless. We know that technology is the way of the future (or at least we are told that) and yet in the back of our minds is that nagging worry that perhaps technology is going too fast and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Technology
Today’s Events
February 7, 2012 – Quilt Tying Group - 9:30 am
February 7, 2012 – Reach Out & Learn - 7:00 pm
Coming Events
- February 7, 2012 – Quilt Tying Group - 9:30 am
- February 7, 2012 – Reach Out & Learn - 7:00 pm
February 8, 2012 – Recycling - Mildmay - All Day- February 9, 2012 – Teeswater Pipe Band - 7:30 pm
February 10, 2012 – Youth Curling - 6:00 pm- February 13, 2012 – South Bruce Business Information Meeting - 7:30 pm
February 14, 2012 – Valentine's Day - All Day- February 14, 2012 – Recycling - Teeswater/Formosa - 8:00 am
- February 14, 2012 – Quilt Tying Group - 9:30 am
- February 16, 2012 – Teeswater Pipe Band - 7:30 pm
- February 17, 2012 – Youth Curling - 6:00 pm
- February 21, 2012 – Quilt Tying Group - 9:30 am
This work by Mark W. Law & The Teeswater.Ca Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada.
© 2012 Mark W. Law & The Teeswater News – Online! Team