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DANGERS AND DELIGHTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY

February 23, 2011 by

Everybody loves the new social networking sites. Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In and others have become a part of the day-to-day lives of millions. Simply sign up, create a nice profile, and enjoy the open communication. It gives a whole new meaning to the song, “It’s a small world after all.”

It all has to do with the profile. These sites disply a user’s birthday. A person can upload an actual picture of his or herself. The profile builder also asks about education, employment, favorite books and movies, and much more. This process condenses friend finding into a science of matching one’s profile with other similar profiles. It all sounds so simple.

Family can make awesome use of these sites to stay in touch and share events and photos. Friends often locate each other after several years of separation. Oh how sweet it is to find someone after several years. Old school mates track down pals from the past because of the education features. Even prospective employers can have a look in order to see what kind of person they might be hiring. All of this is awesome, this uniting of family and friends, and this extra boost for the employment issue.

But there is more. What if the one doing the looking is not the good guy? Within these systems there is nothing to prevent a sex offender from joining and finding new friends. An abusive spouse can locate and continue to torment with the help of cyberspace. A foreign spy could learn lots just by being friends with an American soldier. One needs to use caution in choosing who to friends request out there.

Social networking site technology has brought with it both open communication and danger. Consumers need to be aware as they create profiles all over the net. Never allow teenagers or kids to post private and contact information online.

Filed Under: Software, Technology · Tagged With: , ,

There are Tutorials to Help You Code Your Site

February 22, 2011 by

If you don’t want to pay someone else to code your site for you, you may be able to do it for yourself. However, a lot of that depends on how much coding you’ll have to do and how complex it will get. If it’s something simple, you can probably find a tutorial for it. If you want to build a complicated site from scratch, it’s better for you to have someone create it, so you can be sure that it gets done right. For simple things, though, you can find information that you need in order to handle it and make little changes.

Some people are really determined to code their own site. If you’re in that category, there are tutorials that can help you. Search around, talk to people who do some coding, and network with other site owners to find out if they’ve done it for themselves or had others do it for them. There are plenty of online groups and forums where people express their wishes and wants and goals and dreams. You can find coders, and those who just want to be coders, on those kinds of places. Ask them to point you in the right direction, so that they will give you good advice and suggestions about what to do next.

You can also search for a specific type of code or how to do a specific thing in a certain type of code. If you can find that type of information, you can go a long way toward getting things done where building your site is concerned. Don’t be afraid to get in there and try. Just make sure you back your site up after each thing you do, so that a mistake further down the line doesn’t send you all the way back to the starting gate.

Filed Under: Programming, Technology · Tagged With: , ,

CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR HOME ON THE WEB

February 10, 2011 by

Many major web sites offer a free spot on the web that the consumer can call home. Google calls theirs IGoogle. Yahoo calls theirs My Yahoo. Such places allow you to custom design how your home experience will be. This is all fine and well so long as the person is good at making up his mind and planning out his place. Here’s a little help.

One strategy is to view this page as your own personal newspaper. It has no subscription fee, no paperboy, and no real limits. What would it contain if it were a newspaper? One obvious starting point would be the weather. It can be the weather where you live or where friends live. Remember there are no limits here. Simply search the site for related feeds and add them to your page. It is as simple as that. And now the weather stands out on your page.

Most people would then want some type of news. These sites offer local, national, and world news. Also they offer applications that will search out news by keyword so that you can keep up with your favorite topics. Remember, this is your newspaper and you can have it anyway you like. Perhaps you might want more than one news item. That is fine as well. Lets not forget about the sports, perhaps some funnies, and perhaps a few daily quotes to get the day off right. This can really be so much fun.

This custom designed location can also be interactive. Bet your local paper can’t do that. Chat applications, Twitter updates, or even text messaging applications can also be added to this special online experience. All of this is fast to create and easy to use. Go ahead. Try it for yourself. Web designing, once you learn the basics, is simply easy to pick up and make useful. There are only a handful of major software you have to learn – Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash, and maybe a bit of php, but once you learn these, you can go on to become a great web designer.

Filed Under: Software, Technology · Tagged With: , , ,

-EFILE, EVEN TAX TIME IS MADE EASIER WITH TECHNOLOGY

February 8, 2011 by

This time of year many folks are thinking about their income taxes. Will they owe? Will they get a refund? Where will they get their taxes filed from and who will help them get the job done? This at one time was the big moneymaker time for the tax accountant, but not so much anymore. The Internal Revenue Service efile service has become the way to get things done for the average American. What about you? Will this technology help?

Step one in the process is to select a site where you can prepare your forms. The irs.gov site contains a list of approved providers to aid in your selection. Some even offer free preparation. Most do allow the taxpayer to deduct any fee from their refund if one is due. Some go so far as to offer the well-loved rapid refund, where a loan is issued equal to the expected refund in order to allow the recipient to have their money in a day or two. All of this without even leaving the comfort of the office chair.

After a site is selected comes the process of getting started with that site. Most offer two or three plan options. Just pick the one that best suits your particular needs and move on. Then the client will gather information about you in order to set up your forms. Personal information will be needed here, so be sure to have access to important information. You wouldn’t want an error to cause any delays.

These programs simply ask simple questions to guide you through the process. Most of the time even a child could answer or fill out the form this way. It makes it easy to get the job done. Then the site obtains and confirms bank account information for direct transfer of the refund check. That’s it. You’re done, well at least as long as there were no errors. Once your return is okayed by the IRS all is done. You do not have to go anywhere, or pay a lot of money to H&R Block.

Filed Under: Advancements, Technology · Tagged With: , , ,

How Does Ares P2P Work?

February 8, 2011 by

Peer to peer networking has gained a lot of fame recently because of the ease with which people can share files and programs online. A peer to peer network or a p2p network as it is more commonly known is a connection that is established with a community on the internet, which allows you to download files that have been uploaded and shared by other members of the community. The speeds that you get in downloading from a shared community are much higher as compared to an open download, but you need to use software, such as Ares p2p before you would be able to upload or download anything.

Ares p2p is great software for peer to peer networking. For one, it has a very large number of members, which means that you would be able to find a lot of programs and files available for downloading. Secondly, everything you download on Ares P2P is totally free, and the improved downloading speeds mean that you would be able to enjoy smooth quality downloading at all times.

The process is very simple. All you have to do is download the software and install it on your computer, after which it would automatically detect your computer settings and hook you up with the Ares network. Once you are connected, you can upload or download a file from the vast library that is available, and the good thing about having so many people online on Ares P2P is that the downloading speeds become very high.

Filed Under: Programming, Software · Tagged With: , , ,

WHAT TECHNOLOGY HASN’T DONE YET

February 3, 2011 by

Technology has made it possible for those who can’t read or even make change to work in the fast food industry. Alarm clocks go off at the same time daily, thus a person does not need to set the alarm each night when going to bed. The home library has been replaced by computer files stored on a drive somewhere or even kept safe in the owner’s purse. Technology has also allowed the blind to have independent access to information more than ever before. This is done via the use of screen readers, of which some cost and some are free. These only hit on a few of the many ways in which technology has made life much more manageable for all of mankind. Still there are a few things technology has not done. Lets take a look, and perhaps these will inspire new technology to be created.

What if there were a way to tell a drunk that enough was enough? It could be an implant under the skin with a signal device that would transmit to a required speaker and identification number. A judge could even order someone to use such a thing. At the bar, after the person had so man, the alarm would go off and this loud audible voice would call out, “You have gone over your limit!” At this point the bartender could then leagally retrieve the person’s keys so that he or she could not drive, call a cab, and send them on their way. Now wouldn’t that be simple.

Yes this was only one big idea, and yet it could spark so many others. Smokers could be reminded that each puff brings further lung damage. Vitamin takers could receive encouragement, reminding them that they are doing something valuable and should be well pleased with themselves. Yes technology has done many good things. Perhaps though there are a few more to be done. However, involving technology in tackling such problems can be a very useful and welcome use of technology, a technology that has been infamously used for much destruction to the world.

Filed Under: Programming, Technology · Tagged With: , ,

SKYPE, SOFTWARE BRINGS COMMUNICATIONS FREEDOM TO THE WORLD

February 1, 2011 by
Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

In Kansas City a young mother of twins manages her military home the best that she knows how. Way across the ocean in Germany her husband works with the United States Army. The telephone bill would be out of this world if they were to depend on that mode of communication. How can this family stay in touch, make decisions, and share daily events? He introduced her to a software known as Skype, available at www.skype.com.

In order to use Skype you will need a microphone, speakers, high-speed internet access, and enough RAM to permit the generated activity. After downloading and installing the program the user is prompted to create a totally free account. Once an account has been created, the client can start getting in touch.

Skype will let you import contacts from email accounts, Facebook, Myspace and other online locations. Also users can search the directory by name, email address, or even location. After creating a basic contact list it is time to chat and enjoy.

What are some of the many ways to communicate with Skype? Skype permits voice conversation, so you do not need to type if you do not want to. Instant messaging is available, along with file sharing, video conferencing, application sharing, and a few games. For a slight fee customers can add telephone service that can even go world wide. This software offers lots of options.

This family mentioned earlier can keep in touch every day with this software. She can share memorable moments of kids activities with him. He can let her see his smiling face and hear his charming voice. While Skype won’t bring him home to her, it will bring him as close as pictures as the internet will allow. This is marvelous technology, and it is also one of the most “emotive” uses that it can be used for.

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