Free Tutorials

Hi All,

You might have heard the phrase 'If its free, its for me'.  Well that is a great philosophy to live by as long as you have a site like GCF LearnFree.org.

Let me explain.

GCFLearnFree.org helps learn all about computers.  Click this link to learn a bit more about them. Basically they have dozens of computer related tutorials - for free - available to users 24x7x365.  This is all about online education!!!

Click this link to learn how to use GCF. 

Got more questions? Click on this link for Help and Support.  

Here is a brief list of SOME of the free tutorials they offer!
Computer Basics, Mouse Tutorial, Typing Tutorial

Beyond Email, Email 101, Gmail,

Chrome, Firefox, Internet 101, Internet Explorer

OS X Basics, OS X Yosemite, OS X Mountain Lion, OS X Lion

Internet Safety, Internet Safety for Kids

Windows Basics, Windows 10, Windows, 8, Windows 7, Windows XP

Access 2003, Excel 2003, PowerPoint 2003, Excel 2007, Word 2007, Access 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Publisher 2010, Word 2010, Access 2013, Excel 2013, Excel Formulas, Excel Tips, Word Tips and much, much more....

If you are interested in learning about any or all (ambitious!) of the applications or software listed above you would be very well served to click on this link and visit GCF LearnFree.org!

Enjoy the journey and the learning!

Regards,
Stu

More Computer Security - Why? Because It's Important!

Hi All,

I just came across an interesting New York Times article on the web titled, 'How Many Times Has Your Personal Information Been Exposed To Hackers?'

Indeed...using the interactive features on the site, readers can find out how many times your information has been exposed to hackers in categories like:

address information,
birthday,
credit/debit card,
email,
employment history,
financial history,
fingerprints,
health history,
password,
phone number,
social security number

Users are asked to answer basic questions and check off which of the various services they used - then the numbers in the various categories change based on which the user checks off.

The United States Government, AOL, Ebay, Twitter, Anthem, Kmart, Home Depot, Target and UPS are among the larger companies listed in the article as to whether or no users had any affiliation to the organization.

The article goes on to explain what readers should do now, why this keeps happening to websites and how you can protect yourself in the future....

Click on these links to learn more about how you can protect yourself online so you are less likely to become hacked, spoofed or have your identity compromised.

Online Safety - USA.gov
Tips For Online Safety
Secure Your Computer
FCC - How to Protect Yourself Online
FBI - How to Protect Your Computer
US Department of Justice - Protecting Yourself While Using the Internet

Hope the links help protect you while you are online!

Regards,
Stu

Keeping the Kids Safe When They are Online

Hi All,

The world has changed - that's for sure.  Now kids can access the internet from not just a desktop computer, but from a smartphone, tablet or even a laptop.  And, of course, they can get to the web via the 'traditional' desktop computer.  The web is everywhere - its ubiquitous!

So how do you keep kids safe when they are online?  Great question - here are some steps and some sites to help you keep the kids safe when they use the computer and the internet.

This interactive site (called Kidsmart) offers videos, tips, activities, and ideas that teach kids to be smart and be safe online. Categories such as file sharing, social networking, games, chat, safe searching, digital footprints, and competitions allow kids to learn more about the areas they use most often.  Notice the tabs at the top of the homepage for 'I work with kids', 'I have kids' and 'contact'...

PCMag had an article titled 'Keep Your Child Safe Online' back from 2011.  The article still has decent content and is helpful for parents and educators.

PCWorld (a competitor to PCMag) had an article called 'How to Child-Proof the Internet'. Its a bit more current, but again, is a decent starting point for parents.

Even the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has gotten into the act of child safety on the internet with this link. 

This comprehensive site has links to Cyberbullying, Talking to Your Kids about Being Online, Kids and Computer Security, Kids/Mobile Phones and Kids/Socializing Online, Kids and Virtual Worlds and, finally, Kids and Texting/Sexting. It is a central repository for lots of valuable (and useful) information for parents whose kids use the internet!

Enjoy the links and the sites.

Regards,
Stu

Sort of Like Spring Cleaning...But Different

Hi All,

Whether I'm listening to the radio (driving to/from the library), watching television, reading a magazine or surfing the web, I'm always on the lookout for interesting blog topics or interesting websites to present to readers of this blog.

As a result, I have lots and lots of specific websites that I'd like to talk about...but don't really fit into any neat category for a whole blog post.  In other words, I have a whole host of 'orphan websites and/or blog topics' that just don't warrant a whole blog post...

This post should take care of some of these orphan sites! Forthwith a bakers dozen (13) sites for your perusal... The name of the site and a one sentence description of the site is included (if needed). 
 
The Future of the Web is 100 Years Old - 19th Century Ideas Are Making a Comeback...

This Map Shows the Most Affordable Small Town In Every State

Slideshow: Know These 9 Commonly Confused Pairs?

Planet of the Apes (Filming Location Video)

Homework Helper - RefDesk.com

TED Playlist - Classic TED Talks

Brief History of the Internet

Computer Program Predicts Best Sellers

A Word A Day - a new word is emailed to you each day

Top 100 Newspapers Listed by Circulation

100 Things Every Kid Should Do On Long Island

Tablets and Smartphones May Affect Social and Emotional Development, Scientists Speculate

Why Multitasking Doesn't Work - Forbes

Why a Good Book is a Secret Door - a TED talk


Enjoy the links!

Regards,
Stu

What the Sony Corp Hack Means to You?

Hi All,

You might have heard the the Sony Corporation's computers were hacked before November 24th...click here for a brief overview of the event.

Eventually, U.S. officials figured out that North Korea was behind the Sony hack....click here for more information about that part of this event. 

The New York Times also wrote an article about North Korea and how they were behind the Sony computer hack...

Now, besides for reading all the gory, scandalous, behind-the-scenes stories of the hack and the various executives' emails that were strewn across the internet  (for example, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Amy Pascal), there are a bunch of lessons for computer users - both as employees and as regular folk who use computers on a daily basis...

For example,  an article titled, '4 Things Every Single Person Can Learn From the Sony Hack'. Simply put, don't email your passwords, don't open suspicious links in your email, don't email your passwords,, and encrypt your most sensitive data....

Here are some other excellent links to help you protect your privacy, data, email and search history while you use the internet.

Privacy Rights.org - Online Privacy: Using the Internet Safely
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Children's Online Privacy - A Resource Guide For Parents
PC Magazine - Computer Security Reviews and Prices
Stay Safe Online.org -  Tips and Advice - Stop-Think-Connect on the Web
Palo Alto Medical Foundation - Safety on the Internet
WikiHow - How to Be Safe on the Internet
Hubbard Township - Stay Safe Online

Enjoy your time on the web!

Regards,
Stu

Brief History of the Internet

Hi All,

So you like to use the internet to: send email, exchange pictures, post to Facebook, send birthday cards, download games, do online banking, check in with your favorite quilting site, buy books on Amazon.com, send Tweets on Twitter, search for movies on the Internet Movie Database, use Google to find out about gardening, stream movies via Netflix, check sports scores or write a blog entry?  I guess that means that you are a bona fide internet user!  Congratulations.

And now...that you use the internet, wouldn't it be at least a bit interesting to learn about how it came into being? Indeed it would be - its an interesting story filled with lots of technology, history, big names in computing, government sponsorship and much more!

Click on this link from the Internet Society for a very comprehensive (they call it 'brief') History of the Internet.  The article includes a timeline, has sections on internet concepts, proving the ideas, documentation and a very extensive list of footnotes.

Regular readers will not be surprised to see this next link from Wikipedia.  This Wikipedia entry goes to an article titled, 'History of the Internet'.  Similar but different than the prior article. One interesting link from the Wikipedia article goes to 'External Links'....

Another interesting article come from the Computer History Museum - and includes a very interesting (and extensive) timeline of the internet.  Cool stuff - and easy to digest and read.

Finally, click on this link from History.com for an article titled, 'Invention of the Internet' - while fairly brief, it introduces readers to some of the major players and the basics of the invention of the internet.

Enjoy the links - and of course - enjoy the web and the internet.

Regards,
Stu

What is in Store For Technology in the Next Five Years?

Hi All,

I just came across this very, very interesting article from a website called VentureBeat.com.  (VentureBeat - as they explain in their 'About' section on the website - provides news about innovation for forward-thinking executives. It covers a range of technology trends, from social media to mobile, clean technology, games and chips. We try to explain what these trends mean for business leaders, executives and other thought leaders in the industry.)

That all said, you can understand why VentureBeat would post an article entitled,'IBM reveals its top five innovation predictions for the next five years'.  Click on the prior link to find the full text of the article. 

So, just exactly what are the five innovations predicted in the next five years?
1. The classroom will learn you.
2. Buying local will beat online.
3. Doctors will use your DNA to keep you well.
4. A digital guardian will protect you online.
5. The city will help you live in it.

Simply put it means that the computers are going to get smarter, faster and their will be more appropriate safeguards for privacy and security...  "As computers get smarter and more compact, they will be built into more devices that help us do things when we need them done. IBM believes that these breakthroughs in computing will amplify our human abilities."

For computer enthusiasts (read: geeks and technologically savvy folks) there are many, many websites that can help you learn about these trends in real-time websites.  Some of the better technology websites available include:

www.PCWorld.com

www.PCMag.com

www.Cnet.com

www.Extremetech.com

www.Techcrunch.com

www.thenextweb.com

www.wired.com (future web trends and at one time a print magazine)

www.digitaltrends.com

www.techradar.com

All of these sites have are current, reliable, and focus on technological news related to computer, tablet computers, privacy, networking, the internet, software, hardware, and basically anything related to computers or technology.   Go forth and enjoy the many, many links and articles from the sites.  

Regards, 

Stu