From Modems to Wireless Internet Connection

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An Internet connection is a very important part of our lives these days. A day hardly passes when we do not connect to the Internet in one way or another. It is a truly significant part of our modern lives.

The services provided by the Internet keep on improving. In the past, there were Telnet, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Gopher, FTP and email. When the World Wide Web came, things started to really move forward. Suddenly, even people who have not heard of Unix or RFC’s or protocols can use the Internet. Aunt Tillie can finally use that “thing” to “write” to her favorite niece or nephew who is off to college.

The speed at which we connect to the Internet is also improving a lot. Back then, we were all contented to be plug into a modem, and 56kbps was fast. Nowadays, a broadband connection is not uncommon. We have cable Internet and a variety of DSL connection. We can even connect to the Internet even if we are unplugged if we are within a Wi-Fi hot spot or a Wi-Fi zone. For true mobility, there is also wireless Internet that runs on 3G and HSPA (HSDPA) cellular networks.

These wireless broadband Internet are very desirable to people who are frequently travelling or out of the office. Imagine having an Internet connection everywhere as long as there is a cellular signal. However, in some countries, wireless broadband Internet is not there yet. Upon researching the Web for Internet Service Providers offering this product, I found a lot of discontented users. There are wireless broadband Internet review blogs out there that say how bad these services are. The comments in these posts show that a significant number of consumers are affected.

In the future, we will be seeing more services provided by the Internet. Maybe there will be a Web app that will allow us to see the stars in outer space. Stargazing would be interactive, then. The connection speed is also guaranteed to increase in the years to come. We are very lucky to have the Internet to rely on. I cannot imagine what life would be without the Internet and the World Wide Web. Happy surfing.

Planning to Get a Darth Vader Costume For Halloween?

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Halloween time is fun time. But part of the fun depends on the type of clothes that you choose to wear. It is therefore important to plan ahead and spend some quality time to really make sure that the costume you are planning will add to the fun of Halloween.

For geeks, nothing is cooler than the costumes of characters from Star Wars, Star Trek and other Fantasy and Science Fiction. If you are not sure what kind of Halloween costume to buy for yourself or your kids, you can find some tips and ideas in this link about Simple HalloweenCostumes. Check out the link to make sure that you do not embarrass your child.

In a nutshell, make sure that the costume you choose is not inappropriate and offensive. Often times, there is only a fine line dividing what is funny and what might offend someone. Check out some cute and colorful costumes, too. Look for one that makes you or your child attractive. There will be lots of picture taking happening here; so, make sure that you do not choose costumes with high contrast. Finally, Do not leave out creativity and hide your artistic side. Show off some of your artistic ideas. This will be truly fun if you play your cards right. You might even win some prices and surprises.

Stepped Up Dual Processors in Portable Devices

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Computer processing power just keeps getting more powerful with each passing day. First, computers were slow, single processor systems; then, dual processors were introduced; next, we have dual and quad cores in a single processor. We now even have multiprocessors with multicores each.

But the most interesting thing is that this trend kind of trickled down to portable devices. According to Engadget, the Nintendo 3DS spec is rumored to include two separate 266MHz ARM11 processors. Interesting, isn’t it. There is a huge jump in clock speed from the earlier models.

Nintendo 3DS is not the only device based on the ARM11 architecture. Other devices utilizing the same architecture are:

• iPhone (original and 3G)
• iPod touch (first two generations)
• Amazon Kindles
• Palm Pixi
• a plethora of Nokia handsets
• Kin One
• Zune HD

Own a Piece of Web Real Estate

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For those planning to grab a piece of cyber estate, the best time to do that is now. It used to be expensive to get a domain name in the past. Now, you can usually get it as a part of a web hosting plan. Also, if you want to put up a website in the past, you normally buy your own equipment and setup your own server. Not anymore.

Nowadays, domain hosting is cheap. In some plans, the domain name even comes free of charge for the first year or maybe two. Plus, they are so easy to use. Most domain hosting services have user-friendly web-based interface that would enable even newbies to easily configure their system. Some services also have a quick install method of installing popular server systems and content management systems like Wordpress. So, if you are planning to blog, no sweat.

Setting up your own blog or website is good for your business or profession. It can help establish your name, brand and credibility. In a low cost and with a little bit of effort, you can market yourself to the farthest reaches of the planet. And, it is just plain cool to have your own stake in the Internet where people, wherever they are, can find you.

Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox: Rivals and Friends

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Competitions for market share usually get ugly. When you hear that Microsoft and Mozilla are competing for the browser market share, you might think that the competition will be very fierce. You would be surprised.

You see, the Internet Explorer team has a tradition of sending a cake to the Mozilla development team every time a new major version of the Firefox browser is released. Pretty nice of them, don’t you think. Go Firefox, go IE. In the browser wars, there is no Firefox versus Internet Explorer versus Chrome versus Opera. There is only Firefox and Internet Explorer and Chrome and Opera. The Web will be better-off if none of them is left behind.

Christmas Season is Just Around the Corner

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Christmas is my favorite time of the year. There are a lot of reasons for this. This is the time when a lot of new gadgets come out of the store. For gadget lovers like me, this is very great. Want a new camera phone? Now is the time to start shopping. While you are at it, do not forget to check the new Nokia N8. It is said to have a nice camera with Carl Zeiss lenses.

Another thing about Christmas is that people are very nice. People smile, say hello and greet each other. During Christmas, the world is a nicer place to live in. People are just more kind and friendly.

Then there is the spirit of giving and sharing. This is the time of the year when it is possible to receive a gadget as a gift. Maybe a new PlayStation Portable or a Nintendo Wii game console.

You also get to enjoy choosing nice and colorful Christmas cards to send to your friends, family and loved ones. I used to spend a lot of time browsing the shelves of bookstores for the Christmas card that has just the right message for the person that I am going to send it to. Then for another person… and another…

Now, you can send just the right Christmas card with custom Christmas cards. You can check some out if you click here. No need to look for a Christmas card that closely say what you want to say. You can say exactly what you want to say. Is that great, or what?

Internet Explorer is Finally Getting There

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Internet Explorer lagged behind a lot of Web browsers in the past. That is about to change in the next iteration of this ubiquitous browser from Microsoft. The new Internet Explorer will include a lot of new features and will be more standards compliant.

Internet Explorer used to be a pain for many Web developers and designers. It has a lot of quirks that a programmer needs to account for. Normally, you create your webpages using standards-compliant code and then tweak it so that surfers using the old Internet Explorer can view your page the way you intended it to be displayed—or at least close to it.

Advances in design are used to be hindered by Internet Explorer. There are some Web technologies and coding techniques that cannot be used or applied simply because Internet Explorer does not support them or supports them improperly. Since a significant number of Web surfers use Internet Explorer, many users could not view your page properly if you add these technologies.

The next version of Internet Explorer is said to be better in terms of standards compliance. This could only be good for users and the Web in general. Welcome, IE.

Use Custom Printed Business Cards to Market Your Business with Style

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Contrary to what many people think, being a freelancer is definitely not easy. While it is true that having flexible working hours is a bonus, there are a lot of things that you must do to stay in business. Freelancing is not much different than owning a small business in terms of the effort that you need to put into it.

One of the things that you really need to do is to constantly market yourself. In fact, marketing sometimes takes up more of your time than your actual work. Just like in most small businesses, having a great product to sell is not enough. Take, for example, photographers. Most freelance photographers spend more time marketing their skills than actually taking photographs. People in your locality must know that you are the camera guy, the writer guy or the go-to person when it comes to computer networking.

Marketing your products, skills or services can be done in many different ways. One of the cheapest and most effective is by using custom printed business cards. You will have a chance to do your marketing every time you go to a party or any gathering if you have your business card with you. You can hand it to a friend or an acquaintance you meet in the grocery store or the coffee shop. You can even hand it to the next person while both of you are chatting and waiting in line to be served. A business card is a direct and effective way to market your business.

Note however that not all business cards are created equal. If yours is boring, it might just end up in the recycle bin. To prevent that, your business card must be classy and stylish. Having a classy and stylish business card will not only prevent it from ending in the thrash, it will also ensure that the person who receives it will have a favorable impression of your business. Custom printed business cards can help you with that. It is a marketing must-have for any type of business.

Netbooks Are Getting Better All The Time

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Several moons ago, I wrote that Netbooks are great tools for writers and bloggers. Now, these devices just keep on getting better. Some brands of netbooks like Asus, Dell and HP now offer free online storage. This is very important considering that most netbooks do not come with a spacious hard disk space. You also do not have the luxury of archiving your files to a DVD because these units do not come with a DVD drive.

Using an external hard drive is not the best solution either, because it would defeat the main reason for using a netbook—mobility. It’s hard to be mobile when you have to lug a couple of external hard drives around. There is also the danger of dropping or bumping it, which could result in your data being unrecoverable.

Online storage is the best solution. You can safely store your data in the cloud and access it anywhere you have an internet connection. There is no more need to carry heavy external hard drives that could easily be destroyed. Kudos to the netbook manufacturers who came up with the brilliant idea of offering free online storage with every purchase of their netbooks.

Go Visit an Online Car Hire Before You Travel

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The Internet has touched our lives in a lot of significant ways. We now do stuff through the Internet in addition to or in lieu of doing the same things offline. Take shopping, for example. In the past, we were limited to going to brick and mortar stores. Not only that, we were further limited to brick and mortar stores that are geographically near to us.

Now, it is also possible to get a car hire through the Internet before you even travel. Imagine planning to spend a vacation in the UK. It won’t be as fun to travel around the magnificent cities in a public transportation. Besides, you may not be familiar with the public transport system and the layout there. You need a car hire to experience and explore the beauty that UK has to offer. Getting a car hire would enable you to explore UK the way you want, when you want. You won’t be hindered by rigid schedules.

However, getting a car hire only once you get there is a bit of a hassle. You have to know where to get it. It would be easier if your car is already ready the moment you arrive at the UK. That is the beauty of visiting an online car hire before you travel. You don’t have to worry about getting a car once you get to your destination. Just hop in the car and fire the GPS in your iPhone or Android mobile. Neat.

Apple is Cool and Celebrities Confirm

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We know from instinct that the computers from Apple, whether desktop or portable, are ultra-cool. Techs and other techie types know this. Power users admire the Mac’s underlying Unix operating system. Ordinary office workers are enthusiastic about its ease of use and eye candy. In short, everybody loves a Macintosh.

But the ultimate judge of what cool is are celebrities. Regardless of how ugly things are, they suddenly become beautiful once celebrities use them. If gadgets like Apple’s Macintosh are cool to start with, they will be way more cooler if adopted by celebrities. So, are they? Yes they are! Here are a list of celebrities who professed admiration for Apple products or who have been seen using them:

• The Jonas Brothers
• Taylor Swift
• Chris Rock
• Marisa Miller
• Angelina Jolie

If you use a product from Apple, you are one of them.

Camping with a Smartphone in Hand

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In the previous post, I mentioned that the Android recently overtook the iPhone and the BlackBerry in terms of market share. The Android is definitely a neat little gadget to bring with you. However, the other two are no slouch either. Having an Android, an iPhone or a BlackBerry in your pack is a very nice thing. Let me explain.

I am a certified and self-proclaimed geek. Geeks, you know, love gadgets and computers. Also, they cannot live without their beloved Internet connection. However, geeks usually work in tight spaces. That is why they want to go to open areas when they have the chance.

Camping is one such activity where geeks of all shapes and sizes can enjoy the open space and the fresh air. But when camping, what happens to the geek when they can’t touch their computer’s keyboard or see their computer’s wide LCD screen? What about their internet connection? Withdrawal problems.

But camping does not always have to be gadget or internet free. Pack any of the smartphones mentioned above and stow it in the compartment of any of the luxurious motor homes that you might be using, and you are sure to enjoy your time camping. Just make sure there is a reliable 3G signal nearby.

Android is Top Dog in American Smartphone Market

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In terms of sales, Android is ahead of the iPhone and BlackBerry. The collective sales of major Android producers amounts to about 34 percent of all American smartphones. Included in this figure are the sales of HTC, Motorola and other smaller companies. Research In Motion has 32.1 percent while Apple has 21.7 percent. The top sellers in the Android camp are HTC's Droid Incredible and Evo 4G.

Android achieved an astonishing growth in just a year. Compared to last year, Android as a whole is now nine times larger. That is just amazing. I myself would like to have one of these nice gadgets. But holding on to its number one spot will not be easy. Apple is sure to make something happen and RIM will not be sitting back either. Overall, it is a win situation for smartphone consumers. Better products will be coming out. And you will not regret owning any of the three smart phones.

Credit Cards and eCommerce

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Credit cards are a necessity these days. Your options will be limited if you do not have one. Buying stuff from eBay, Amazon, Newegg and other major online stores will be less convenient without credit cards. Sure, you can use Paypal and other payment systems but credit cards are still the most commonly accepted method of payment. The other payment systems are just a nice addition. There are still plenty of sites that only accept credit cards.

However, there is also the issue of security to think about. Payments made using credit cards must be made through a secure connection only. There are people out there who are after other’s credit card information. People must also never send their credit card information through email. If they do, their credit card information might be extracted because emails are sent as plain text. (Unless they have been encrypted)

Luckily, aside from better security protocols, banks are also issuing special credit cards which are designed particularly for online purchases. Compared with regular credit cards, these special online credit cards are better in many ways. You can adjust your credit limit easily so that you can fund it only when needed. If in case a cracker gets a hold of your credit card information, she won’t be able to use it as the balance will be empty.

Technology made our lives more convenient. But it’s a double-edged blade. We also need to be vigilant while enjoying our newfound privilege.

The Apple Magic Trackpad is Real

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Apple is really a champion in the field of design. They came up with a new trackpad that is so beautiful to look at. It is simple, elegant and sleek. It has the same gestures as the MacBook or MacBook Pro pad, plus an additional three-finger move. The additional gesture lets you drag your windows across the screen. Engadget will still be doing some serious testing with the new Apple Magic Trackpad. I guess we just have to wait a little bit. For certain, a lot of new and wonderful stuff are coming out of Apple’s door.

Computers for Cars

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The computer is ubiquitous these days. In the past, you can only find these monsters inside universities, laboratories and in the military. Now, everybody seems to have one. Even cars. Yep, your car has a microchip that controls fuel injection, braking and stability control, among other things. It is now even possible to interface your laptop computer with your car.

This is a nice thing because you could then use a lot of useful applications in your laptop to perform adjustments and troubleshooting routines. You could also perform a variety of measurements. For instance, you can measure your engine’s horsepower and your car’s brake horse power ala The Fast and The Furious. Of course, it won’t be the same as using a real dynamometer but at least you will have a pretty good estimate. A dynamometer measures force, torque or power. These metrics are very important to mechanics and car enthusiast. With these metrics, you can fine tune a car to work optimally and efficiently.

Since computers are improving all the time, courtesy of Moore’s Law, do not be surprised if the computer in your car becomes more powerful than it is now. In the future, it may even be able to interface with your GPS or radar scanner such that when it detects a car in front of you, it slows its speed down or at least prompts you to. Just hope that the computer won’t hang, though.

Skype for iPhone Now has Multitasking Capability

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Skype is a wonderful application for the iPhone. It allows you to make and receive calls without having to use up all your allotted talk time. However it needs to be open all the time to make sure that you do not miss any calls. Any incoming calls will not be received when the Skype application for your iPhone is not running. Wouldn’t it be nice if you do not have to miss those calls without having the Skype application open all the time?

The answer is now a resounding yes. Skype just updated their application to take advantage of the iOS 4’s multitasking capability. Isn’t this great? You can now have Skype always on but in the background and out of the way. You can use your iPhone for other things. Once there is an incoming call, you will be notified by a prompt. You can also switch to other applications while on a Skype call.

Self Hosted Blogs

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It is nice to host your own blog. However, I do not want the hassle of installing my own blogging platform and updating it regularly. Failing to update it with regular patches could make you vulnerable to network intrusion. Crackers are always on the lookout for exploitable blogs. That is something you would never like to happen. You could find your blog defaced one morning. If your blog has high traffic, you could find out one day that your traffic had been redirected to another site. Internet security is a serious matter that you must consider if you are planning to self-host your blog.

But if you are bent on self-hosting your blog, the first thing that you need to do is to find a Web hosting company that offers the best deal for your needs. There are also reseller web hosting accounts that you might want to look into if you know a lot of people planning to start their own self-hosted blogs. With a reseller Web hosting account, you purchase the Web host's services wholesale and then sell them to people you know for a profit. By the way, this is a relatively simple and inexpensive way to start your own online company and to make money online.

The next question you need to ask yourself is the blogging platform you are going to use. There are a lot of options out there but Wordpress seems to be the platform of choice for the most part. After you have all the necessary ingredients, just mix them all together and hope that everything works out just fine. If not, the support team of your Web hosting company is usually very helpful. There are also a lot of resources on the Internet covering Wordpress installation on your servers. Happy blogging!

Apple Is Stronger Than Ever

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Apple, Inc. is definitely in the zone. The Q3 sales of their Mac, iPad and iPhones this year blew up sky high—past Wall Street’s estimates. In the not too distant past, Apple is among the lesser known computer manufacturers not unlike Sun Microsystems. The only people using a Mac those days were die-hard Apple fans. Lately, it is not surprising anymore to see a Macbook on a table if you happen to pass by a coffee shop.

I am not sure if this is because of the Apple Macintosh’s new OS X operating system or the introduction of their latest portable gadgets like the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad, or a combination of both. Whatever the reason is, I am happy for this development. For Mac users, they will be getting more software for their Macs because Apple’s growing market share is becoming more attractive to software developers. For PC users, Microsoft and computer manufacturers like IBM, HP, Sony and Dell will be striving very hard to improve their products because of the very real competition that Apple is now offering. For me, it is a great time for all computer users. Having more choices is always better.

Vacation and Work or Work and Vacation

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Work and vacation are words that hardly go together in one sentence or said in one breath. But with the aid of technology like mobile internet and ultra portable netbook computers, you are now allowed to confuse one from the other.

Personally, I do not like portable computers like notebooks—much less, netbooks. I would much prefer the power that a desktop workstation provides. Portable notebooks and netbooks just have lower memories, cramped capacities, smaller screens, tinny audio, smaller keyboards, and inferior video cards. Plus, they’re much more expensive than a comparable desktop. They also cannot play your latest games when the time comes to take a break. The only thing that they have going for them is mobility. But is it worth it? I thought that nothing is worth being able to play my latest 3D first person shooter. However, thinking about the beautiful beaches of Hawaii made me think again.

It is not that I have some luau invitations or something—though I would have to say that I love those artistic and colorful invitation card designs. But imagine being able watch the sea, hear the waves and smell the breeze while working on your keyboard. You will not only be doing work and vacation together—you will be enhancing your work and increasing your productivity in no time due to the relaxing and creativity enhancing nature of the environment. Talk about working with nature with the aid of modern technology. So send me some luau invitations. I won’t pass on the offer and not even break a single stride in my work.

Digital Versus Analog

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Digital technology has been around for quite some time already—Digital cell phone networks, digital cameras, digital videos and more. However, a lot of non-techies still confuse digital technology with analog technology. For most of them, it is simply the modern version of a particular technology. A digital cell phone is the modern version of the older analog cell phone while a digital camera is the newer reincarnation of the older film camera. But that is simply not the case.

Digital technology simply means that its input, output or storage is conveyed in discrete digits and not a continuous curve of values. In mathematics, think of digital as integers and analog as real numbers. In digital there is no in-betweens. A digital clock, for instance, moves from 1:30 directly to 1:31—no in-between—while an analog one moves its hand from 1:30 clockwise a quarter of the way, then half the way and later to 1:31. In the same amount of time, of course. The same is true in digital and analog communications. In an analog communication, the voice disturbs a device which then transmits a range of voltage much like a sine curve; but in digital communication, the voice is sampled and each sample is assigned distinct values which are then transmitted. Those values are then transmitted.

Since analog data has infinite possible in-between quantities and only a small portion of which can be practically sampled in digital data, it can be said that analog data is more faithful to reality and has more quality. But since our senses cannot take advantage of all the additional data that analog provides, whether audio or visual, then moving to digital which is a lot more flexible is the more pragmatic approach.

Technology to Remove Scars?

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Scars are the skin’s natural way of repairing injuries to itself. They happen when a layer of a person’s skin is damaged. After a layer of skin is damaged, it will heal with a scar. The problem is that the tissue composing the scar is usually of lesser quality than the tissue that it replaced. In addition, no hair can grow in the scar tissue and that portion of the skin becomes more sensitive to ultra-violet rays.

It is therefore desirable to remove scar tissues. With all the modern technology that we have, you would think that this is going to be easy. But currently, there is no such technology that can completely remove scar tissues. What can be done today is mainly to improve how the scar looks by:

• Disguising,
• Relocating, or
• Minimizing the prominence of the scar.

These are done by a competent and skilled surgeon. But not all scar removal surgery would end up the same. There are several factors that can help decide the outcome of a scar surgery, such as:

• The type of skin and it’s color, and
• The age and size of the scar.

Obviously, the smaller the size of the scar, the easier it is to disguise it, relocate it, or minimize its prominence. Different types of skin requires different surgical techniques and some skin color makes it easier to hide scars. Timing is also very important. The younger the scar, the better the outcome of the scar operation will be. So if you are planning to have a scar removed, do not wait too long.

Searching Updates in Facebook

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In Twitter, I have been using the search tool to search for tweets of a particular topic in the Twitter timeline. This is a very handy feature to get a review of something. Upon using Facebook, I missed this capability. It would have been nice to know what people are saying about a particular product or a particular movie.

But as I began to explore Facebook more, I later realized that you can also do a similar search in Facebook. Unlike in Twitter though, there is no separate site with a different interface to conduct your search e.g. search.twitter.com. Instead, all you have to do is use the regular Facebook search box and filter the results by posts. I normally used the Facebook search only to find friends and groups, and did not realize that it can also be used to find posts containing particular keywords. Now, I’m much happier.

Lightsaber Technology

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The technology behind the epic Star Wars is indeed very awesome. But of all the gadgetries in Star Wars, the lightsaber comes foremost to most people’s mind. This sword made of light energy can cut through most materials. The energy is amplified by some type of crystal and discharges only an insignificant amount of energy as it is a closed circuit system. It only uses up some energy if it cuts through things.

I wonder when technology would be capable of designing and constructing a real lightsaber—or whether it could even be done. Imagine if you have one and an assortment of Star Wars Costumes. Then, you would be ready to take on a hoard of Sith Lords. (or Jedi Knights, depending on your political inclinations)

But seriously, if technology can be capable of constructing a real life lightsaber, it is not just the Star Wars fans who will be happy for it. Being capable of constructing a lightsaber would mean the capability of creating an improved and efficient energy generator which could clearly help us all with our energy needs. Our current sources of energy are not as efficient as a lightsaber. We will then be able to save our environment. For me, I can also finally wear my jedi robes with real conviction.

Computer Gaming and Kid’s Education

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Most of us think that games are bad for kids because it takes time away from their studies. Partly, this is true. But a recent trend in computer gaming is to fuse fun and education. There are lots of things that are good for kids to learn but are unfortunately boring. An example is typing. Computers are very common nowadays that learning how to type properly and efficiently is a very valuable skill. It is a skill your kid can rely on for the rest of her life. It is almost like learning to drive.

But typing rows and rows of letters will get boring really quick. To remedy this, there are game type typing tutors which can hold the attention of your child a bit longer. They will be asked to type the letters that fall from the sky or the letter on alien’s shirts to send them back to outer space. This is a game—but it is one which enables your child to learn a very important skill.