Anyone that has read this blog before would know that I’m supportive of the general concept of both hybrid online / in class room learning and think that having schools connect online on days when canceled due to weather like a snow day is a good thing.
Category: computer tips
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New photo site
Steffenson photo has a new photo site under active development
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beware of phishing scams
Several phishing scams are prevalent right now through phone calls, emails, and other media.
- Fake phone calls claiming to be from IRS. The real IRS usually will try to contact by postal mail first. https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-scams-consumer-alerts
- Fake emails pretending to be Apple or Google or another company. A fake security alert. Although Apple and Google do send emails like this, some scammers have made spoofs that appear to be from those companies however they are not real and they will try to get your log in credentials and may try to get other private (such as contacts list) or financial information.
early computer programmers had to do a lot of the computing (number crunching and other tasks) themselves.
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365794661/
There was a movie that came out called “Hidden Figures”. That taught the time era where there was segregation of people. A woman even had to go across to another building to use a rest room in high heals, until the supervisor finally made sure she was able to use the rest room closer to her. About getting into space the human elemant that you do not normally see.
People worked on many different projects showing they came from diverse backgrounds .
https://www.nasa.gov/modernfigures NASA web page
Often overlooked are the multiple benefits of being green.
By being green I mean environmentally friendly not talking about the lumberjack term of being new.
- Reusable bags make it easier for me to transport items while walking, biking or taking the bus. They also help even just going to and from a car too, which I don’t do very often.
- There are many ways of both being environmentally friendly and saving money. Saving energy does both. Reducing number of trips by car or other vehicles that use fossil fuels does both as well.
- Recycling can save money and energy as well. It also makes taking out the trash easier since it is lighter.
- Using energy saving settings on your computer, smart phone, tablet not only helps the environment but has additional benefits as well. Less distractions from screen and noise. less heat and chance of overheating equipment. Having on sleep / do not disturb mode / or off at night can also sometimes help with your own sleep. Using these settings can also help your equipment last longer.
- Getting rid of my car not only help me be more efficient environmentally and with cost, it improved my health in many ways and gave me more time to do other things I enjoy. One way I got rid of my car is through Datacommuting (ebook now available on iBooks, Amazon (Kindle) and Nook) using web based services. I also bike, run, and walk.
- Properly insulating your home, using programmable thermostat, shutting blinds at night when its cold, besides saving energy, can make you more comfortable.
- My robot vacuum not only cleans the floor for me so I don’t forget , It is also much more efficient than a standard upright vacuum.
- LED lighting can help keep your place cooler than older types of artificial lighting.
- Fast dry shirts I wear since they are more comfortable, and take less energy in washing and drying.
- Solid State Drives are not only super fast and reliable, they make less noise, make less heat and use less energy than a hard drive.
- Going paperless saves me money, saves energy, saves room, is better for my health.
- Read this on a stamp: Recycling 1 can saves enough power equivalent of running a computer for 4 hours.
- Remember to make Earth Day everyday. Because we are here more than just one day a year.
- Closed captioning’s most important use is to give those that are deaf, hard of hearing, or other disability such as a cognitive impairment the ability to understand what is being said (or the sounds) by displaying the written word on television or an online video.
- A second reason for closed caption is for those learning the language. Whether it is someone simply learning to read and speak or someone learning a new language closed captioning can help with that. In some cases such as on online videos it can be used to translate easier into another language.
- To avoid noise from Television sometimes closed captioning is used. This may be in an apartment building at night, a work place, a college, a school, or a busy restaurant or airport. A similar reason may be if there are no speakers on a computer or the speakers can’t get loud enough to hear.
- A fourth reason for online videos is the ability to have words searchable for video content and it can be used for a written transcript as well.
from this video:
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older neat scanner
November 2015 I was disappointed to hear Neat won’t be supporting the older model scanner for the Newer version of Mac OS X El Capitan. The software library is still intact, but the scanner will probably have to go to someone using a Windows computer unless Neat changes their mind.
Update: in order to get the old Neat Scanner to work, I made one of my Macintosh computer duel OS boot (using more than one partition and pressing option key when starting to switch OS) and used OS X Mountain Lion for one of the operating systems and downloaded legacy software (cd should still work if you have it, mine got recycled due to downsizing)
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Backups
2015-11-14 Updated from 2010-10-02
In the past Many Times I have had to go out to a site and do an emergency backup.
I recommend performing regular backups, preferably automatic.
This can be done with a local device such as a flash drive, or external drive, sd card, or optical media as well as network, remote or online backup. We sell WorkSpace Online Storage through our hosting partner company.
Also sometimes with more things being in the cloud certain things such as purchases from iTunes, Amazon, or Google store don’t necessarily need to be backed up or permanently downloaded at all. Years ago, iTunes made you back things up on your own, but now you don’t have to take care of that.
One problem with cloud services with your personal information (not your purchases) it isn’t necessarily a backup it may be in one spot somewhere else or might be a syncing service that won’t protect against accidental deletion. The upside for cloud software infrastructure most the time uses less storage and maintenance for the consumer. Cloud software for the most part, especially web browser based, is updated automatically with everyone else.
Also with Solid State Drives can make your device more reliable.
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limiting computer use
recently I went through a quick online training with concussion in youth sports on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Hopefully we want to prevent a concussion (a type of traumatic brain injury) in the first place but there are some things after a concussion happens to limit further problems including:
- sitting out from the sport
- seeking medical help from a health care professional, such as a doctor, that has experience with concussions.
- limiting or stopping exercise, lifting, and staying out of contact sports until approved by the health care professional gradually returning step by step.
- Also limiting or stopping computer use, video games, reading, writing or similar activities
I think limiting computer use, video games, reading, and writing is a good idea even for someone that is healthy but this is especially important when recovering from a concussion. In my personal situation I limit myself being in automobiles and limit tv as well. Taking breaks when healthy enough to do these activities is also important.
Other things with computers: is have furniture properly mounted and adjusted and computer on stable furniture. Notebook/portable (laptop) computers are best not to be in the lap but on a stable surface, limited in transporting, to avoid physical injuries. Also some digital cameras have straps, don’t put them on the neck.
This isn’t meant to be medical advice so as mentioned before seek medical attention from a professional if a concussion is suspected in you, a family member, someone you coach, or someone you take care of. Here is a link: http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training
Update: there is also eye tracking software that has been developed to help evaluate concussions and other eye disorders. http://www.righteye.com/ seen it on Nightly business report
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The advanced options
Years ago, I was taught in one of my server software classes to always use the advanced options when installing software if you are a computer technician.
Now not only are there advanced options in software installation and software installed on your computer, there is also sometimes advanced preferences with web sites / cloud software as well.
For example Facebook has simple privacy setting to make it less complicated for most users. However, they also offer advanced privacy preferences that you can go into detail what is shared. You can even look at what preferences are for advertising shown up, you might be surprised on how accurate or inaccurate some of these are.
There are also advanced settings in web based email programs such as Gmail or WorkSpace.