HARDWARE: What can you do with a $25 computer?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/european-technology/raspberry-pi-how-a-25-computer-
could-spark-a-computing-revolution/123?tag=nl.e019

European Technology
Raspberry Pi: How a $25 computer could spark a computing revolution
By Nick Heath
February 9, 2012, 6:08 AM PST
Takeaway: Ultra-cheap computers like the Raspberry Pi could usher in a new wave of pervasive computing

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One of the machines at the vanguard of the low-cost computing revolution is the Raspberry Pi, a $25 Linux box that will go on sale before the end of February. Despite its budget price the Raspberry Pi still packs a punch, with the multi-media capabilities of an original Xbox console, 1080p video playback, and general processing power of a Pentium II/III. Specs-wise the credit card-sized computer is powered by a 700MHz ARM chip inside a Broadcom BCM2835 has a single USB port and 128MB of memory, with an additional $10 buying a souped-up version with two USB ports, 10/100 ethernet and 256MB of memory.

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At the very least, it’ll be back to the days of Byte Magazine and hardware hacking galore. At the very least, those kids with all the time in the world will be computing savants.

Hard to imagine what it will be capable of?

Kids will probably break into two camps — 90% being the ipad Users and the other 10% will be the next hacking generation.

I’m going to buy some just to play.

This is stuff that was a dream when I was in injineering school.

p.s., I still have my slide rules. In case I have to design a bridge in TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It)!

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TECHNOLOGY: Strengthen All Your Passwords

Thursday, February 9, 2012

http://blog.lastpass.com/2012/02/resolutions-with-lastpass-10-strengthen.html

Feb 8, 2012
Resolutions with LastPass: #10 Strengthen Your Master Password

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For the last installment in our resolutions series, we wanted to touch upon an important aspect of using LastPass: the strength of your master password. At LastPass, we’ve always touted we’re “the last password you’ll ever need”. With only one strong password to remember and a host of customizable security options, you can let LastPass take care of the rest. So it goes without saying, then, that your LastPass master password should be strong and unique while still memorable.

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Personally,

I never use (i.e., reuse) the same password anywhere. I used to use my SecureId token to generate random numeric passwords. When it died, I moved to a book code to generate passwords. Then, I generated pages of random noise with http://clsc.net/tools/random-string-generator.php as the tool.

(1) for websites that I won’t have to authenticate to manually, I let LASTPASS give me a random string that’s as long as the site allows.

(2) for websites that I will have type or tap in, I use four random words with a special characters as separators. And, I log in once from a real keyboard and let LASTPASS capture it.

(3) for bank accounts and other sites related to finances, I do the old fashioned random sentence like “wrong#sign#bridge#fall#down#nooo#partial#credit”. With a LASTPASS safe not with a reminder: “What did Doctor Zia say about a sign error? With #’s”.

I don’t trust anyone with my money. :-) Even myself.

Hope this helps?

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SERVICE: Hopper — save links, text, images, and files in moments.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Hopper — save links, text, images, and files in moments.

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Interesting tool. It’s made it onto my bookmark bar.

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SERVICE: ESPN3 on Verizon FIOS

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Tried to watch my alma mater on ESPN3.

(Great idea!)

But on the computer, it’s unwatchable.

Poking around, I found it was available on the IPAD with its own free app.

Downloaded the APP and, same network, it looks perfect.

Watching both side by side!

The computer side is unwatchable; the IPAD is perfect.

It appears that there is a 10 second delay between what the computer is showing and what the IPAD is.

Also, the IPAD goes quiet during the commercials. (How kool is that!)

Argh!

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SERVICE: Easily Convert Documents To ePub Format

Sunday, January 29, 2012

http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/2epub-convert-document-files-popular-epub-format/

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2epub is an free to use website that will be useful for anybody who owns an eBook reading device. The site lets you convert popular document file formats to the ePub format. You can provide the site with the URL of your documents or upload them straight from your hard drive – up to 5 files can be provided to the site in a single conversion.

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Here you can make anything into an ebook for your reader.

You’d think that businesses would be adopting this BIG TIME.

They can’t even handle email.

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SOFTWARE: MARSEDIT3 is the blog content creation tool that I’m now using

Saturday, January 28, 2012

http://www.red-sweater.com/marsedit/

MarsEdit 3
Desktop blog editing for the Mac.The best way to write, preview, and publish your blog.

Browser-based interfaces are slow, clumsy, and require you to be connected to the internet just to use them. Browsers are perfect for reading web content, but not so great for creating it.

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Note: They gave a thirty day trial and it worked flawlessly. Unlike what I was using ECTO.

Soooo:

RECOMMENDED MARSEDIT3

NOTRECOMMENDED ECTO

… … if anyone cares.

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TECHNOLOGY: APPLE’s IBOOKS2 is a paradigm and meme shift in education. And elsewhere.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57362293-12/ibooks-2-brings-textbooks-to-life-hands-on

iBooks 2 brings textbooks to life (hands-on)
by Jason Parker
January 19, 2012 3:01 PM PST

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We decided to download a free preview version of E.O. Wilson’s “Life on Earth” textbook to get a feel for the features (the preview comes with only two chapters). Navigating through chapters and sections of a textbook works great on the iPad. You swipe to switch chapters, or touch sections or pages to get right into the content. We think this will be useful for students who need to jump around through chapters. Once you’re looking at a page, you also have touch options, such as a pinch, which shrinks a page, and slide, which returns it to the navigation area on the bottom of the chapter screen.

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Looks like Apple hit this one out of the park.

(I’ve got to upgrade my MACBOOKAIR to try the “AUTHOR” software.)

If it’s as easy and as free as they say, it might be another even bigger revolution. Figure education, from a technology pov, hasn’t changed since Plato taught Aristotle.

This is BOTH a paradigm and meme shift.

Wonder how to extract some of the value from such a shift?

And, how does it impact medicine, engineering, and Informaton Technology?

Free AUTHOR software and easy e-publishing throws the doors open even wider than LULU did.

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TECHNOLOGY: Push back against Apple, IBOOKS2, and IBOOKS2_AUTHOR

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/the-poor-get-poorer-and-the-rich-get-richer-with-apples-ipad-based-textbooks/10186

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Here’s the strike back against Apple’s IBOOKS2.

Apple had the opportunity to break the marketplace open and whiffed.

(1) It’s IOS only and doesn’t support EPUB. In fact Apple’s format is reportedly a broken form of EPUB. Like what Microsoft does, take an open format and break it by extension.

(2) It crony capitalism as Apple enlists the Big Textbooks in locking things up by DRM.

(3) The restrictions on IBOOKS2_AUTHOR are onerous and expensive for authors.

(4) I’m no fan of Gooferment diktats, but this sure looks like an illegal tie in and restraint of trade.

What it does do is to popularize the questioning of expensive text books!

With Open Courseware and Open Text Books?

Look at all the classics in the public domain. Despite bookstores, Apple, and Amazon trying to sell them. Project Guttenberg for me.

And, with the ability to “publish” ebooks and print books cheaply, it will encourage folks to “roll their own”. Lulu print volumes under 25$ a copy and the ebook versions are basically free with no restrictions. Amazon’s Create Space is cheap; although I just saw a hint they were “revising” their offering.

It’s going to collapse the market, imho.

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TECHNOLOGY: A source of spreadsheets and templates

Saturday, January 21, 2012

http://www.vertex42.com/

Spreadsheet, Templates, Calculators, and Calendars
by Vertex42: The Guide to Excel in Everything

Vertex42® is a leading provider of Spreadsheet Templates for Microsoft® Excel®, OpenOffice.org, and Google Docs. Our collection of Financial Calculators include some of the most powerful and user-friendly Debt Reduction and Money Management tools you can find. We also provide a large selection of Free Calendars, and even some Word Templates such as Resume Templates and Business Cards. We hope you enjoy what you find!

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A very useful find.

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TECHNOLOGY: Yeah, “you” stopped SOPA and the next day the Feds seized MEGAUPLOAD without a trial

Friday, January 20, 2012

Yeah, big deal.

Everyone put black on, and the politicians and bureaucrats executed a site the next day.

Bet they were just cowering in their boots at the protest.

Yeah, “afraid enough” to sput in everyone’s “eye”!

Argh!

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