7 things you can do to make Internet Explorer more secure

7 things you can do to make Internet Explorer more secure

Here's a few tips on how to secure Microsoft's browser. I tell my students that when you have a window that pops up telling you that you have a security issue... if you click on the link to scan your computer, abandon hope all ye who enter. Performing that action will infect your computer. Only click on the X in the upper right-hand corner to close the window.

"How well Internet Explorer—or any Web browser, for that matter—protects against attacks and malware greatly depends on whether you keep it up to date and have the right security settings. Here's how to take the proper security measures with Internet Explorer 9 and 10."

"The fundamental step to keeping any browser secure is to update it regularly. Once you've made that a habit, you'll also find that Internet Explorer has a solid set of built-in security features, as well as some privacy protections. The settings recommended here will do the trick for most situations, but they aren't set in stone. The better you learn the security functions, the better you can adjust them to your own browsing habits."

I strongly recommend that you take a few minutes and follow the directions given at this website:
7 things you can do to make Internet Explorer more secure

Tablets Killing Desktops Faster Than Ever

Tablets Killing Desktops Faster Than Ever

Accelerating sales of computer tablets are quickly putting desktop pcs out to pasture. Remember: these devices only came on the market in 2010. How rapidly they have changed the game.

"The contraction of the PC market continues faster than ever, eaten by the rapid growth of the tablet market, which is expected to outsell laptop and notebook devices for the first time this year and all PCs by 2015. But portable PCs may still be the saving grace for PC sales in the years ahead.

If there is anything new about the news coming out from IDC's Quarterly PC Tracker, it's the increase of the rate of the PC's decline. IDC had initially predicted a decline of "1.3% in 2013 followed by a gradual increase in volume." Now the analyst firm is predicting a sharper decline of 7.8% in 2013 and 1.2% down in 2014."

Complete article found here:
Tablets Killing Desktops Faster Than Ever

Internet Archive by Deepspeed media

Internet Archive by Deepspeed media

Are you aware that the Internet Archive has been saving major chunks of the Internet since 1996. You can plug in a website, and see how it progressed over a period of years. The archive is also known as the Wayback Machine (thanks to Rocky and Bullwinkle). Imagine that everything ever written or televised was stored for access by the general public. What a wonderful resource!

This 13 minute video explains what's happening with the archive today. Truly a fascinating subject. 

"Archive is a documentary focused on the future of long-term digital storage, the history of the Internet and attempts to preserve its contents on a massive scale.

Part one features Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and his colleagues Robert Miller, director of books, and Alexis Rossi, director of web collections. On a mission to create universal access to all knowledge, the Internet Archive's staff have built the world's largest online library, offering 10 petabytes of archived websites, books, movies, music, and television broadcasts.

The video includes a tour of the Internet Archive's headquarters in San Francisco, the book scanning center, and the book storage facilities in Richmond, California.

See the video:
Internet Archive by Deepspeed media

10 Incredible 3-D Printed Products

10 Incredible 3-D Printed Products

It's now possible to purchase 3-D printers for under $3,000 dollars. Techs are now in the business of printing an ever increasing diversity of objects: body organs, blood vessels, artificial limbs, furniture, clothing, cars, and FOOD - just to name a few.

"3-D Printing began as a way for architects and car designers to model their products, but has recently become an emerging new technology poised to change everything from manufacturing to retail to medical science.

In just the last year, 3-D printers have produced artificial organs, research tools for scientists and the head of Stephen Colbert. As these devices drop in price, rise in capabilities and work their way towards the ubiquity enjoyed by conventional inkjet printers, we decided to take a look back at the 10 most incredible objects ever made with a 3-D printer."

For pictures and more info:
10 Incredible 3-D Printed Products

Time To Make Plans For June’s National Day of Civic Hacking

Time To Make Plans For June’s National Day of Civic Hacking

Next weekend (June 1st & 2nd) software developers across the U.S. will invent new apps that use public data for the common good. In my hometown of Akron, Ohio, hackers will build an app to map the parks in Summit County (along with 2 other projects).  In Washington, D.C., a hackathon at the White House will build apps for a “We the People” website, an online tool meant to make it easier for people to petition the government.

"On Saturday, 1 June, and spilling into Sunday, 2 June in some towns, hackers will join together at community centers, vacant parking lots, and closed-off streets, carrying laptops and trailing power cords. They’ll be connecting with educators, students, artists, and city workers in a coordinated effort to build open-source software that will solve local—or even national—problems.

Organized by HackForChange, with help from companies like Intel and Facebook, government agencies including the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, and nonprofits like Code for America, the National Day of Civic Hacking has events scheduled in 35 states. My community, Palo Alto, Ca., will be coming together at an event called CityCamp, which has an ambitious agenda: addressing problems of connectedness (traffic, parking, and the Internet, for example); sustainability (climate change, energy, and the environment); resilience (disaster recovery and cyber-security); and health (chronic disease, nutrition, and exercise).  Other cities' aims are a little more focused, and perhaps more realistic—though I appreciate my community’s tendency to dream big."

For more info on the national event:
Time To Make Plans For June’s National Day of Civic Hacking


Note: The Tampa Bay version is called Hack for Change, Tampa and will take place at the ITT Tech campus next Saturday & Sunday.

U.S. Budget Deficit Shrinks Far Faster Than Expected

U.S. Budget Deficit Shrinks Far Faster Than Expected

What a pleasant surprise: the federal budget deficit is shrinking much faster than had been projected.

Because the federal budget deficit is shrinking so fast, many economists are cautioning that it's coming down too fast, too soon.  It appears to give us a bit of breathing space -- even though our problems are far from over.


"WASHINGTON — Since the recession ended four years ago, the federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion every year. But now the government’s annual deficit is shrinking far faster than anyone in Washington expected, and perhaps even faster than many economists think is advisable for the health of the economy."

“It’s good news for the federal budget deficit and bad news for the jobs deficit,” said Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-of-center research group in Washington. “I’m more worried about the latter.”


Let's hope that we heed the call to pay more attention in the future.

Here's the full story:
U.S. Budget Deficit Shrinks Far Faster Than Expected