George Dyson, a science historian, asks how we went from having no computers to having so many in such a short time period in his book, Turing’s Cathedral.

Dyson has a unique vantage point that makes him an ideal author for this book. He’s the son of a top scientist, Freeman Dyson and, as a result, has spent a lot of his years at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies. The Institute was home to the globe’s most talented scientific minds – including Albert Einstein’s – as they were in the middle of building and operating the very first digital computers under the guidance of scientist Josh von Neumann.

Turing’s Cathedral explores the invention of the computer, emphasizing the contrasting personalities which were thrown together to work on the project. It also explores what was involved in the invention of the computer, much of which was chance.

When great minds work on a project there are certain to be rivalries and heated disagreements, the development of the computer was no different. This book demonstrates that the individuals that worked on this project were geniuses, not necessarily saints. Additionally there were some moral issues that the creators of the computer faced while working on this project, since the work they were doing had a close relationship with U.S. nuclear weapons development projects.

You might have the idea that a history book about computers will not only be dry but probably full of technical jargon. This is not the case with Turing’s Cathedral; most people who use computers will find this book interesting. And that is a lot of people these days.

Challenges of the Connected Car

People lose focus when they text or chat on their phones while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 80 percent of traffic accidents involve driver inattention within 3 seconds of the crash. So, if basic cell phone use is a disruption imagine what it would be like if an individual is video Skyping with their closest friend while driving or watching that funny Super Bowl advertisement.

Does Tech Distract Drivers?

Clearly drivers ought to concentrate on driving, and many things like eating, talking on their phone, even talking to a companion inside the car can be a distraction. These distractions can result in serious accidents. This reason is in part why the very idea of having more connected cars doesn’t necessarily make people jump for joy.

Browsing the Web Inside Your Car

Soon motorists will have the ability to receive Facebook updates and browse the web on in-car navigation screens. We might even see the advent of short-range communication allowing drivers who are sharing the road to connect to each other.

As we said before, we usually think of advancements in technology as a great thing, nevertheless, the possible negative effects that connected cars could have make us stop and think. While having all of these tech features in our cars increases enjoyment on the road it’s important that they don’t become a distraction to the driver.

The practical side of nanotechnology

As an example, Science Daily ran a feature story about scientists developing a method to use nanotechnology to minimize the amount of friction in car engines and machines. If this technology becomes commonplace, it will help extend the lives of machines and engines and help them operate more efficiently (read article). According to the Science Daily story, a team of scientists developed tiny polymer particles that were distributed in automobile engine base oils. When tested under conditions that simulated those found in car engines, these tiny particles were found to have an extraordinary capacity to reduce friction.

More efficient motors

Even when distributed at low concentrations they decreased friction significantly, much more so then the friction additives currently being utilized in many industries today. How much more do they decrease friction? By about 55 percent more! Nanotechnology is a developing industry so expect more findings like this. In fact it is growing so fast that the United States recently launched a national strategy to make sure that environmental, health, and safety research needs are addressed in the field.

The emerging world of nanotechnology

So, whenever you think about nanotechnology consider the engine in your car. In the not too distant future we might have nanotechnology to thank for more fuel-efficient cars, which obviously means saving you money.

The site’s name gives a clue as to what it’s all about: Pinterest is a combination of “pin,” as in pinboards, and “interest,” as in what you’re all about. After you sign up for Pinterest, you make your own “pinboards” or categories. You then attach photos and images that fit within those categories, as if you were pinning these images to a bulletin board.

Creating Pinterest Categories

For example, you can make the category “Convertibles”. Then you can paste any images you find online of the new Volkswagen Beetle convertible, along with a link to the page where you found them. You can also attach any photos of convertibles that you took yourself as well as add notes to these images. You can then share these pinboards with other Pinterest users.

The Social Part of Pinterest

Just like Facebook and Twitter, you can choose to follow coworkers and friends. You do not have to follow all of a friend’s collections; for instance, you can decide to follow only their collection of art, while choosing not to follow the restaurants they like in their area.

Joining Pinterest

The one challenge with Pinterest is that you have to get invited to get an account. You can visit pinterest.com and ask for an invitation but it might be a while before you receive one. The more surefire method to get an invitation is to have a friend invite you that already possesses an account.

Microsoft has long fought an industry reputation as a sort of stodgy dullard. There is a decent list of unsuccessful Microsoft products. Remember the Zune music player? Maybe not. How about the Kin phone? That flop has long faded from the minds of most consumers.

That being said, Microsoft’s Windows Phone software has captured some attention. It has been well received by both critics and consumers and received praise for its easy to use interface and its clean look. Users have easier access to social networks the in the past, the tiles on the home screen come to life when friends update their Twitter of Facebook keeping users up-to-date.

Problem is, in spite of the clever design features of Windows Phone, the operating system has not become a big seller. A portion of the blame may go to the companies making the actual phones loaded with Windows Phone. These phones are often relatively bland and have blunted Windows Phone sales. As well, wireless service providers continue promoting the iPhone and handsets running Google’s Android operating system.

While sales may be lower then desired for Windows Phone the change it is making to Microsoft’s reputation could have a very favorable impact. Where the consumer is concerned, a little cool never hurt a company.

By mastering a few simple tricks, you can get the most out of Windows 7.

• Move images to outside disks quickly with Windows 7. The operating system lets you burn ISO images onto CDs or DVDs. To accomplish this, you merely have to double-click on the ISO image, tell Windows 7 the drive that holds your blank disc, and click on the “burn” option. Windows 7 will do the rest.

• Finding and repairing problems is quite simple with Windows 7. If you feel like your OS is behaving oddly select the “troubleshooting” option from the “Control Panel”. This gives you access to a series of wizards that can help you reduce clutter and tidy up your system.

• Allow only pre-approved programs to be installed and run on your computer. Do younger people in your household install cumbersome software that slows down your computer? This is easily prevented using the Windows 7 AppLocker feature. This feature only allows your computer to run and install programs that have your pre-approval. You can tell AppLocker to only run programs from reputable companies, so if someone is trying to run a program from an unknown publisher AppLocker will block it.

• Windows 7 includes its own power efficiency service. This enables you to access tons of information regarding how much power your laptop is consuming. This can be important if you’re working from a remote location and are not in the vicinity of a charging source.

Famous tech failures

• Apple
  TV: This product gives users the power to purchase entertainment from iTunes then stream it to the device of their choice. Good idea? Possibly, if it wasn’t so limited to iTunes.

• Sony Mylo: You will possibly not recall the Mylo. That’s because it came and went without eliciting much reaction from consumers. This Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device permitted consumers to connect to the Internet, send e-mail, and hold online chats. In addition, it came with Skype for free Internet calls. Sadly for Sony, the iPhone and its huge app store simply overwhelmed the Mylo.

The Segway peters out

• Segway PT: It was believed that the Segway PT would replace cars in cities. It made it easy for people to just zip to the market or make the short commute downtown. But it never quite caught on. Unfortunately for the manufacturers, people thought balancing on two wheels made them look a little silly.

The CueCat doesn’t purr

• CueCat: The CueCat was a handheld barcode reader shaped like a cat. Consumers could use it to scan any barcode and it would navigate them to the company’s website. This did not catch on but did it pave the way for QR codes?

Eliminate the Clutter

Using Outlook’s “Conversation View” can help keep your email conversations neatly in one thread rather of being spread out over days of email backlog.  The disadvantage to Conversation View is that commonly these emails are cluttered with duplicate material from old emails.  To swiftly eradicate this annoyance, just right-click the conversation and pick the “Clean Up Conversation” option.  Now all of the repeated quoted material will be removed from the conversation.

Say it in a Picture

Using screenshots in your emails is always a great way to successfully help express your message, particularly for IT support issues. Inserting a screenshot into your email is very easy with Outlook.  All you have to do is click the “Insert” tab and then select the “Screenshot” option. From here, Outlook will produce images of all the windows open on your desktop.  Choose the correct one and it will be inserted into your email.

Take Out the Trash

It’s not abnormal to leave our email trash folders filled with old and undesired messages. The fact is that, this trash takes up space. To address this, Outlook allows you to easily empty this trash without thinking about it every time you leave the program. Telling Outlook to do this is easy. Click Outlook’s “File” menu. Click the “Options” tab and then click “Advanced.” Once here, locate the Outlook “Start” and “Exit” options. Add a check next to the “Empty Deleted Items” folder when exiting Outlook option. In this way, your trashed email messages will go away every time you leave Outlook.

Small firms: low-hanging fruit

Sadly, small businesses make easy targets, so hackers are starting to focus on them. Small firms are quick hacks and the criminals can make more hacks at a quicker rate. With increased chances, their likelihood of stealing beneficial information goes up substantially. As a small business, you may not think you have any valuable data, but in today’s world even the most basic information can be used to do harm to someone else. Credit card purchases are the most common targets of cyber criminals. Each time your system runs a transaction, it must validate the cardholder’s information. This information can contain card numbers, addresses, names, and more. Your clients don’t want this information stolen!

How hackers gain access to your data

How can they get this delicate data? Though you may very well be protected by software meant to firewall your systems, hackers still have numerous points of entry. Email attachments are a major offender, and opening just one piece of malware can leave you exposed. The fact is, in the first quarter of this year alone, industry experts have found over six million unique malware programs. Attackers don’t need to be sophisticated to be harmful: when trying to breach your data security, some hackers have a low-tech procedure instead. They could contact your employees directly, and pretending to be a network administrator, ask for their password to boost security. This is known as “phishing.” While you may believe your workers know better than to fall for such an obvious tact, it takes merely one lapse in judgment to leave your systems open to attack.

The buck stops with you

You may believe that preserving your data security isn’t that important, as the credit card companies are liable for any fraudulent charges that occur. While this is true for the consumer, as a business owner you might experience a very different consequence.
Often if your systems have been jeopardized, they’ll hold you accountable for finding the breach. This can cost thousands of dollars and can ruin your profit margin for the entire year. In truth, some small businesses have been bankrupted by cyber attacks, closing their doors as a result of just one incident.

An ounce of prevention…

Taking extra precautions when it comes to your business’ data security is a very wise move. Continue to update your programs and passwords on a regular basis. Teach your employees good security practices like setting up strong passwords and instructing them to never give out login information or open suspicious emails. Hiring an outside consultant is another great way to ensure your clients’ information. These measures not only give you peace of mind, they tell your clients that you care about keeping them safe.

Password issues

Password protection is an important issue when dealing with the cloud as well as personal computers.  Passwords can often be easily guessed or they are shared too freely.

Carefully select passwords to your projects stored in the cloud.  The more complex your passwords are the more challenging they are to guess.  A good way to achieve this is to use a combination of numbers and letters in your passwords.  Also, you shouldn’t share these passwords anyone.

Hacker alert

Hackers, malware, and spyware are issues for everyone who owns a computer.  Similarly, they are serious issues for cloud environments.  As a user of a third party cloud storage service, you do not have control over the security of the cloud which could be very distressing for business owners.  Data centers utilize high-end enterprise-class equipment that provides your business with a far superior level of security than you can affordably achieve with computer equipment stored at your premises. 

Common sense protection

Business owners must remain cautious about who they allow access to their cloud-stored data, documents, and reports.  Owners are mindful about whom they allow to access the files on their desktops and laptops and they should be equally careful when it comes to granting others access to their cloud-hosted information.