More Thoughts About Passwords
I really should have knocked on wood when I wrote about passwords last week. I was practicing what I preached and knew that I was safe. But sure enough, my old Yahoo email account was just hijacked. I stopped using this account after I signed up for Gmail, and it had some really old contacts in it. At one point a while back, and after not logging in for over a year, Yahoo sent me an email saying … Read More...
Wi-Fi Direct Takes on Bluetooth
The Wi-Fi Alliance formally announced a new Wi-Fi protocol called "Wi-Fi Direct." This new protocol will allow devices to communicate directly with each other without the need for a dedicated Access Point. Typically, Wi-Fi works in what is known as Infrastructure mode, where each device communicates through an access point to other devices. Bluetooth technology eliminates the need for this intermediary … Read More...
The Year of the E-Reader
The first commercially successful E-book reader (E-Reader) was launched in 2007. The Amazon Kindle sold out in just over 5 hours and had only limited availability for the next 5 months. The market continues to be strong, and this holiday season looks to be very successful for these devices. Other than for testing, I have yet to use a dedicated reader, but my iPod Touch works amazingly well. I read … Read More...
Has Microsoft Changed it’s Update Policies?
In a break from tradition, a recent Microsoft updated removed, or deprecated, code in older Windows platforms that had to do with the Indeo Video Codec. Microsoft chose to disable the utilization of this codec instead of patching it to fix some recently discovered security vulnerabilities. Last year, Microsoft took a similar measure regarding a flaw that was discovered in its Windows 2000 Server's … Read More...
The Year of the E-Reader
The first commercially successful E-book reader (E-Reader) was launched in 2007. The Amazon Kindle sold out in just over 5 hours and had only limited availability for the next 5 months. The market continues to be strong, and this holiday season looks to be very successful for these devices. Other than for testing, I have yet to use a dedicated reader, but my iPod Touch works amazingly well. I read a couple of books a month and I do most of my reading in bed after the lights are out, but you won't … [Read More...]
More Digital Lifestyle
CAT5 Explained
CAT5 (Category 5) is an ethernet network cable standard that describes the physical characteristics of the wiring used to carry data along digital networks. CAT5 cable is made up of 4 twisted pairs of unshielded wires encased in a polyethylene sheath. A completed cable will have a RJ-45 plug at each end. The outer sheath of CAT5 cable is generally blue, but can be any color, "CAT5" will be printed … [Read More...]
More Home Networking
A Freeware PC?
For the last several months, I've been using a PC that does not have any commercial off-the-shelf applications. Other than the Windows XP operating system, everything else loaded on the PC is freeware. I didn't originally intend to do this, but after I loaded the OpenOffice suite, I thought what … [Read More...]
Best Free Antivirus Programs
Having quality, current antivirus software is essential for online safety, and you don't need to spend a lot for a good antivirus product. In fact, these 3 choices are free and have performance and features to match some of the better commercial products. AVG (free.avg.com) AVAST … [Read More...]
