Ant Hill Or Hornet's Nest? The Deal With Software Bugs

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Bugs.

The word causes some peoples' skin to crawl, even though by and large, most bugs are harmless. But the creepy-crawlies betray the fear we have of bugs that can destroy: hornets that sting, termites that eat through walls and floors, those crazy bullet-ants whose bite feels like a blast from a .357. In fact, the same goes for software bugs. Most are harmless, but the ones that aren't...

Software Bugs (Photo credit: FastJack)

Infographic: Smartphone User Around the World

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Coupon Audit  has created a very informative and educational infographic with regards to smartphone user around the world. Feel free to share this infographic with your friends.

Ready For Anything - Arming Against Computer Maladies

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They always say that the best medicine of all is prevention and they could not have been more on the money when it comes to computers. Ask any static or mobile computer repair technician how many of their daily callouts would have been 100% unnecessary if the respective users of the computers had simply exercised a minor level of caution and chances are the answer would be about the 85% mark.

Four Ways In Which IT Training Can Benefit Your Business

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It goes without saying that information technology is an integral cog in the world of business. For many decades, we have come to rely on technological systems in some way or another. As time goes on, this reliance continues to grow, to the point that many businesses are utterly dependent upon an internet connection and whenever their connection goes down, they are temporarily out of service.

Where to Start A TECH Startup

Startup companies can come in all forms. A critical task in setting up a business is to conduct research in order to validate, assess and develop the ideas or business concepts in addition to opportunities to establish further and deeper understanding on the ideas or business concepts as well as their commercial potential. A company may cease to be a startup as it passes various milestones, such as becoming publicly traded in an IPO, or ceasing to exist as an independent entity via a merger or acquisition. Companies may also fail and cease to operate altogether. 

How Pinterest Can Help You To Design A Beautiful Home!

When you decide to buy a new home and you start with a blank canvas, it can be a very exciting time that requires a lot of imagination. One social media platform that offers an extremely helpful set of ideas and concepts is a fairly recent addition known as Pinterest. Millions of individuals have started using this site as a ‘go-to’ platform to look for inspiration on many levels. It is a very visual sitethat seems to have almost every design target well and truly covered. This article takes a closer look and in particular concentrates on the way Pinterest can assist you with regards new home designs.

Useful tips for writing a blog based on technology

Writing a blog can be an interesting pass time. It is not only an excellent medium to kill your time but writing a blog post on a regular basis also helps you refine your writing skills and enriches you with useful information. It helps you to become more dedicated towards your work, not to mention the popularity that you gain in the online world. One of the best SEO Companies in India suggests that a blogger, no matter what his niche, should always write on topics that the people would love to read about. A blog, after all, is for the people and therefore, it must cater to their needs at all times. As a rule of thumb, there are three things that you must always direct your energy towards. Firstly, you must decide the main objective for your blog followed by the type of content that you wish to write about. Once you have these two things sorted, the last thing that you need to take care of is the source of information. Given below are some tips that will help you write a user-friendly technology blog. 

The Latest Social Media Marketing News

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have evolved into some of the most powerful tools that marketers have at their disposal. For one, they are free, which makes them a great alternative for start-ups and other businesses that don’t have the capital to buy traditional advertising on television or radio. Secondly, they allow you to reach a huge group of people instantaneously, which can benefit any business. To get the most out of your campaign you need to stay on top of the latest social media marketing news. Here are some of the latest, most exciting developments in the industry.

Ways To Use Technology In The Classroom

Classroom is one of the best places for knowledge. Here we learn the history of the world, mathematics, sciences, foreign languages and more. Typically we learn all these through textbook and lecture but with the advancement of technology, students are now more capable of learning better through the use of different forms of technology, educational software and internet. So if you are a teacher, forget about the traditional classroom atmosphere. Here’s how you can grab and hold attention of your students.

Top Drupal Modules That You Must Have!

The cyber world has changed tremendously and will keep on changing as the needs and demands of the people keep changing. The rise in social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc. is phenomenal. Nowadays these websites are not just for fun; they have been converted into one of the biggest virtual market places in the web arena. Thus, you may come across a number of new players that are trying to shape community building websites for marketable purposes. These websites are looking for the best web technologies and Drupal happens to be amongst the top players in this field.

Create Great Infographics Using 10 Free Tools

Many people out there blog and write net articles as a hobby or as a profession. There are many topics which are covered on the internet. These include health and fitness, food and beverages, travel and lifestyle and soon. Whatever the category or topic is, you always need something like a picture or a video to enhance your write up’s readability. However, if you are writing on subjects like finance, economics or social media, you will need something more than pictures and videos. These topics involve a lot of statistics and nothing expresses statistics like an infographic. Apart from this, an infographic also add a fun touch to your write up, drawing more readers to your site. Furthermore, you can create your very own infographic to get your idea across in its truest form. However, to do this, you need tools and here, we will talk about 10 of the best free tools which can help you create your very own infographics. Let’s start one by one.

Businesses' Social Media Power: Who's On Top?

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Social media is a still-budding approach to marketing. Before, businesses simply sold goods and advertised them. Now, with the advent of social media, people can share their favorite products and companies by word of mouth. This increased level of connectivity can either ruin a business or catapult them to the heights of popularity amongst their key demographics. Being socially relevant is not an easy feat, and many businesses have seen social media either flop or backfire horribly. On the other end, a few big businesses have managed to find the right balance of promotion and connectivity that has propelled them to the top. Which companies have toed the line just right? The list includes expected giants like Google and Facebook-based mammoth Zynga, but also some less-expected, even surprising contenders including WWE. Take a look at the businesses who have managed to excel at establishing a connection with their customers and and providing a unique, buzz-generating experience for people to share.

How Branding is impacted by Social Media

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Social media has become an integral tool in marketing these days. All kinds of businesses are now turning to the Internet to promote their products and services. Even social networks welcome the idea, offering services that allow companies to promote their brands. This article will talk about the kind of effects social media has on branding.

Evaluating 'SnagIt 11' Features-Rich Screen Capture Software

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There are no two ways about it. SnagIt 11 is the most complete screen capture program there has ever been made. It is crammed with features, it is flexible and combines the traditional image capture that we’re used to with screen capture with video capture functions as well. The new version has all the easy use tools of the previous functions and it adds a nifty feature where even as you record a screen video you can also catch audio output. 

SnagIt opens with a dialog that has a hard-to-miss red button that takes the screen shot and smaller buttons that are settings options. We’ve already established that it comes with tons of features and here’s some of what you can do- you can choose to have or not include a mouse pointer in the captured image, you can create a timed countdown before you capture an image and you can decide if you want to open the captured image immediately in the SnagIt editor. 

SnagIt lets you do a traditional image capture, record a screen cam video or scrape text from documents and web pages. Do remember that you need actual documents for the scrape method and scanned images from printed pages will not work. Apart from the red button, you can also use the PrtSc key or a key that you might like to use to capture a screen image. 

One you’ve captured an image, SnagIt’s editor lets you make changes. You can add text call outs, borders and arrows. Save the image in Adobe.SWF format and you can add hotspots that work as hyperlinks too. We especially like the Blur tool. While making screenshots of Internet applications, this tool lets me cover the email ids and other information you’d like to keep private in a screenshot. While you can preview video in the editor, you can’t make modifications per se so special effects and so on are out of the question. 

If you don’t want to take a screen shot of the entire screen, you’ll be happy to know that SnagIt comes with a few ‘profile’ capture options. A pair of cross-hairs will let you maneuver your mouse to select those portions of the screen you need captured. The cross hairs include a menu, toolbar, window and any screen element you need as you pass over it. Double-click or enter for your selection to get captured. 

Other profiles include those where you can record video that can then be sent to ScreenCast or insert screen capture into Word neatly tied in with a border. If you need more border options, you can download them from the app. This will let you send a screen capture to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter or post a video capture on YouTube. Video format has been updates from AVI to MPEG-4. You can even save a video or image to an FTP site. But this doesn’t apply to Secure FTP so we don’t recommend that you try this one out. 

You can use keystrokes for some of the functions on SnagIt. For instance Shift F9 starts video capture and Shift F10 stops the same. Please remember to go to the Tools menu and disable or change the keystrokes in the Program Preferences tab of the application to avoid any confusion with MS Word that shares similar commands. 

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We just have one issue with SnagIt 11. That it continues to have a feature that lets us reverse the changes make to a saved image in one shot. Right now we need to press Control Z over and over again to do this and it’s a pain. If the creators could work on it, that would be great. 

But this is a minor issue. SnagIt is a beautifully created, dependable and well executed and executable app that delivers every time. 

This is a guest post by Nathan Brown of buyatt.com, a site that offers savings and current information on what is uverse as well as att.com services. 

Connect Everything Online Through Twine

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Lifehacker: Use Twine to Make Any Household Appliance, Internet Connected

Objective: Will Twine Save You Time?

Curious: Twine: What is it? How can you use it?

It's a universal problem. You are always connected to the Internet, but not all of your devices are. Twine seeks to solve that. Two geeks from MIT started a company called Supermechanical and have built a product that will enable any traditional appliance or location to become "smart" or Internet capable. Appliances like washing machines, toasters and thermostats will instantly have the capacity to tweet, text or email you. Event locations like the back porch, front door, basement and home office stand to benefit from a Twine device. 

What is it?

 

Twine is a little 2x2 rubber box with a WI-FI connection and an array of sensors that allow it to monitor changes to its environment. A Twine device could be attached to the front of your washing machine and told to tweet when your laundry is done. Another could be placed on your front door with instructions to text you when someone knocks. While it includes a temperature sensor, accelerometer, magnetic switch and moisture sensor in its base configuration, Twine also has a breakout board which allows for expansion. You can add sensors of other kinds like buttons or pressure sensors or current sensors.

Twine can text, email, tweet, or accept a custom http for output. The programming does not require any coding knowledge, but works instead on a rules-based system through a web interface. Meaning, you can build layered rules like, when someone knocks on the door and it is after 7pm, text me, "someone is at the door. [Time]" The in-plain-English approach to setup makes Twine more universally accessible than any of its predecessor's that tended to favor programming experience. 

How it's made

 

Supermechanical built a prototype and took the Twine project online through the crowd sourcing investment website, Kickstarter. They quickly blew past their goal of $35,000 and today have risen over $556,000 to launch their product, so it seems that Twine will soon become a reality. The base units are listed for a $99 preorder on the Supermechanical website with additional sensors available for a little extra and a promise of the first batch of products shipping in September. 

Will it fly?

 

It's doubtful that Twine will experience mainstream popularity, but the DIY crowd is large enough to sustain a product like this without that happening. Even before its release, Twine has enjoyed press attention on Lifehacker, Wired, Fast Company and Cool Hunting, and this is just the beginning for Supermechanical. The young company is also developing a wallet that is harder to open when you're running low on money and a table that can print photos directly from a connected twitter feed. These other projects are interesting, but Twine is the flagship offering of Supermechanical, and likely the product that will make its business float for years to come. 

Byline:

 

Alyse is a marketing, photography, and tech addict who spends her time investigating the next generation of technology. When she is not brushing up on her art of the scientific know how in the world, you can find her contributing to www.attsavings.com or on Twitter @Alyse_1.

Can cloud computers be easily hacked?

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Getting a new storage device to store our data – these days are gradually fading out. Thanks to Cloud services, people have discovered a new way to store their data and information at a much cheaper price. No additional expense, no extra physical space and best of all, no tension! That is the convenience of Cloud services. This technology has come out as a blessing in disguise for most of us and has indeed eliminated storage space concerns. But, have we ever thought of how safe actually cloud services are? Well, not most of us! We think, by just a simple drag-drop process our data are safe. But, are they really safe? 

No is the answer:

 

Well, we now have understood that cloud computers can be easily hacked. The recent security breaches of popular websites like Gmail and Sony PlayStation network clearly indicate that the clouds are truly vulnerable to attacks and threats. We are now at a point where cloud computing has become more of a fashionable statement used for product promotion than convenience. We have witnessed many tech giants and corporate integrating their products with cloud services. A new cloud service means a new platform to show off their hacking skills. It is believed that it is the hackers who get rejoiced first when a firm or a company announces a new cloud service followed by the users. 

What do hackers look for in a cloud?

 

1. Password:

 

It is claimed that most of the individual hacks occur due to poor password structuring. Hackers mostly use their password dictionary or use brute force attack techniques to decode the password and start their work. Thus, if your cloud service requires you to have a password, make sure that you generate a proper one with lots of symbols and codes. 

2. Mother cloud:

 

It is the general tendency of hackers to put in very little effort and retrieve the data. So, they usually avoid hacking individual spaces and preferably go for the heart of the cloud service. This gives them a better chance to invade on the ample number of individual spaces with minimal efforts. 

3. HTTPS or HTTP:

 

The ‘S’ stands for a Secured connection in HTTPS. This ensures that whenever a data is being sent to the website or the service, it is properly encrypted and is invulnerable to attacks. Though many services provide HTTPS connection, there are some that intentionally or unintentionally remove the secured connection, making your data less secured and creating a larger space for hacks. 

Can this be stopped?

 

Cloud services are a new concept in the IT industry. They have not yet been fully understood by many. Moreover there are no standard procedural rules or conventions for the operation. So, stopping it will indeed take some time. Few things that companies can do to minimize the attacks can be, appointing or consulting White Hat hackers to find the possible loopholes in hacking and come up with patches to resolve them. Moreover, biggies who offer cloud services should ensure their domain is safe and secure. Even the smallest bit of storage space is OK, but it should be a secured one, because there is no point in offering several GBs of storage space without any data security. And, it is also up to the users who use the cloud service to be safe from their perception. Frequent change of passwords, proper data encryption and use of security suites will be helpful. So, let’s hope the day comes when hackers tiresomely ask “God! Can the Cloud computers be hacked? 

This is a guest post by Travis Ramsy of Buycharter.com, a site that offers savings and current information on charter communications, as well as charter.com services

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Online Security - Who Do You Trust?

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Internet security is a branch of computer security specifically related to the Internet, often involving browser security but also network security on a more general level as it applies to other applications or operating systems on a whole. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud, such as phishing. Different methods have been used to protect the transfer of data, including encryption.

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Understanding Web 2.0

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Web 2.0 – is it a meaningless buzzword or a new form of “web wisdom”?  The actual term describes a way of interacting with the web, transforming a user from a “reader” into a “doer”. 

In the past, most users simply read the content of websites, none of which required any involvement from the user on more than a passive level.  However, users weren’t satisfied with just the ability to read the information they encountered; they wanted to possess it.  So the web began to offer its users ways to store what they found online and more importantly, to participate actively in the online environment.  The key word became: interactive.

Andrew McAfee, research scientist at M.I.T., coined the acronym SLATES to refer to qualities of Web 2.0 websites:

 

Search:  Searching by use of keywords

Links: A meaningful network of useful websites and information

Authoring: Creating content online together, being able to edit each other’s work to make sure that the most accurate and helpful information is available.

Tags: Short descriptions to help users quickly find what they are searching for

Extensions:  Software that enables web interactivity as software, as well as document storage: Flash, Quicktime, etc.

Signals: RSS Feeds and similar ways of pushing out updates to users 

Web 2.0 offers a world of interaction: social media and social networking websites, video, music, blogs, cloud computing, document and file sharing, and instant communication with anyone, anytime, anywhere.   Static webpages have given way to sites like Google, Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Spotify, and Pinterest.  You can interact with these and virtually any other website with your laptop, smart phone, tablet, mp3 player, e-reader, and more.  With so many possible ways to interact online, the web can be very confusing to the uneducated user.  So how do you make sense of Web 2.0?

3 Web 2.0 Tips for Developers and Designers

As a developer or designer, the goal is to make your website as interactive and user friendly as possible.  This basically takes place in three ways:

1. Reach the user.  Your website should be tested thoroughly for cross browser compatibility, as well as for use with mobile devices, tablets, etc.  It should include versions of Flash, Quicktime, or similar software only when necessary to display content to the user (e.g. video).  It should also be hosted on a cloud server like Rackspace if possible, to ensure that the data is safely stored and readily accessible.
2. Allow the user to reach you.  Provide contact forms, allow your users to subscribe to RSS feeds of your latest news updates, provide social media links (like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter).
3. Give the user motivation to tell their friends.  Be active on Facebook, Twitter, Digg or Delicious, Pinterest, or whatever makes sense in your industry.  Give your user both the reason and the ability to share your content with others virally.  Find a way to take part in the conversations that are taking place around you and about you through social networking. 

3 Web 2.0 Tips for Users

As a user, probably the three most important aspects of Web 2.0 are blogging, social networking, and social bookmarking.

1. Blogging.  This means sharing your life, your interests, your points of view.  Blogger, Live Journal, Wordpress, Tumblr – know these names and use them.  Whether you’re a business owner, a celebrity, a politician, or an average web user, you have a voice and a blog is a perfect way to share that with the world.
2. Social Networking.  If you’re below the age of 60, you probably have a Facebook, Myspace or Twitter account.  If you’re above the age of 60, your peers are using these websites anyway, so you probably should too.  Connect with friends and family, business associates, or people you may find interesting.  Stay on top of what’s current.
3. Social Bookmarking.  Share, share, share.  Websites you like, photos, memes, news, movies, blogs, music, and videos.  Use Digg, Delicious, Flickr, Reddit, Stumbleupon, etc..  Many of your friends rely on each other to find out what’s hot, current, and of interest.  You can contribute to that too.

The key to Web 2.0 is a worldwide user interaction; in essence we are creating platforms that allow us to work together to provide the best user experience possible.  Part of the responsibility that we each take on as active participants on the web is a promise of quality: because we each want to find the best of the web, we must make sure that what we put out meets that same expectation.  Using Web 2.0 functionality together, there is virtually no limit to what is possible on the web.

Jonathan Martin is a Magento developer and SEO professional who believes that informed clients are key to effective site monetization. When everyone is speaking the same language, good decisions are made.

The Biggest Web Outages of 2011

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Though we witnessed a number of minor website outages and performance declines in 2011, we're encourage to report that there were fewer significant website outages this year than in 2010. Here are some of the outages that likely had the biggest impact.

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Infographics: Do You Know Who's Watching You

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How private is your life or is your privacy really secret to the outside worlds? Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or unidentified in the public realm.

When something is private to a person, it usually means there is something within them that is considered inherently special or personally sensitive. The degree to which private information is exposed therefore depends on how the public will receive this information, which differs between places and over time. Privacy partially intersects security, including for instance the concepts of appropriate use, as well as protection, of information.

when you use the internet do you feel that some-one from somewhere is watching every bit of action you do on the web?