Truth or Myth

Security threats are hyped by Software companies to sell Anti Virus MYTH – Research by the BBC showed that one in 10 web sites now harbour malicious code designed to attack your PC. One in 44 emails was found to have malicious intent, and half of those contained links to Trojan horses, which can do untold damage to your PC. Being smart about what you access on the internet can reduce the risk to your PC but an Anti-Virus is still an essential piece of software for everyone. Flat screens are bad for your health! MYTH – This is a complete con conceived by specialist internet companies trying to sell us equipment like screen protectors and glasses to save our eye sight. In fact, flat screens are less damaging than many older monitors, which worked by redrawing the screen many times a second. Just please remember folks to not stare at your monitors too long as this can strain your peepers! Apple Macs can catch a virus! TRUTH – the only reason Macs don’t contract viruses is because it is not financially beneficial for hackers to write them, due to there not being enough Mac users in the world (sorry Steve Jobs). With PC protection continuing to get better and better it may just be a matter of time before someone decides to pick on Apple. Loyal Mac followers have become complacent at their peril. Wi-Fi gives you cancer! MYTH – With the increase in Wi-Fi networks all over the country there are concerns being raised about Wi-Fi emitting dangerous radiation, this is not the case - Frequency emissions from Wi-Fi devices are 600 times lower than the maximum recommended dose for humans. Once I delete something from my PC is it gone forever! MYTH – There are programs all over the internet to retrieve deleted files from hard disks. There are 2 ways to avoid someone being able to retrieve them – do a completely wipe on your hard drive, to ensure this is done correctly you are best to get a professional to do this or take a hammer to your hard drive – just remember to watch your thumbs! Using a third party ink will void your warranty MYTH – Although they may not produce the best result, according to Canon, Epson and Lexmark, using another company's ink cartridge or refills does not automatically invalidate your warranty. Laptops on your knee can make you infertile TRUTH – In 2004 scientists in America claimed that men who rest hot laptops on their laps risked making themselves infertile, head researcher Yefim Sheynkin said: “This is not a short-term occasional exposure, but a repetitive use of a computer, a couple of times a day for many years.”. More research is currently being done to determine if this is a temporary or permanent effect. Male laptop users (or their wives) may be wise to invest in a laptop rest. Mobile phones can crash a plane, cause a petrol station to implode and literally stop a heart beating! MYTH – Despite being told we are not allowed to user our mobile phones in certain area, hospitals, petrol stations and planes specialists state that the claims against mobiles are based on absolutely no evidence. Just to be on the safe side don’t call your Mum from 30,000 feet – it may be a myth but it is not one I am prepared to question too much!

By the Music Industry for the Music Industry!

With all the media hype around at the moment for the controversial Digital Economy Bill - I can’t help but think that the record industry who are currently playing the ‘poor us’ cards from their multimillion pound offices in central London and Manhattan have brought this all on themselves. Before downloading became mainstream record company’s would happily charge the ‘fans’ £12 - £15 an album. With the average pocket money at that time being between £5 - £10 a week an album was a serious investment, so it is no surprise that it was the teenagers and college student’s that really took this technology to their hearts and embraced illegal downloads. I can’t help but think that if the record companies and music shops were fair from the start with their pricing then downloading illegally would not have become so popular.

Despite that fact that I’m delighted to pay 79p a song on iTunes, at just 10p more than a mars bar I actually think it is a fair and reasonable price, I can’t help but oppose a bill which is essentially written by the music industry for the music industry! It's becoming clear that it won't get the proper scrutiny that is required for a bill of this importance due to the rush towards election – it is effectively legislation on the hoof!

Should the bill become law one of the biggest worry for me is that it could spell the end for Wi-Fi hot spots, with cafes, pubs, airports and hotels being told that if anyone downloads illegally on their connection they will be held accountable, meaning that Wi-Fi hot spots will probably disappear and innocent business could be prosecuted. This also could cause a similar problems for homes with wireless routers who are not password protecting their connection, when I am at home there are at least 10 other Wi-Fi connection that I can piggy-back on to and illegally download files if I want to with no ramification for myself.

Putting all this to one side what troubles me most is that the music industry is supposed to the filled with the most creative minds of our generation (Jedward aside) and the best solutions they can come up with to encourage people not to illegally download it threaten them! Very worrying!

The Oscar goes to...

The awards season came to a crashing crescendo this past Sunday with the Oscars being given out to the best movies of the last 12 months. Whether you were rooting for the mighty Avatar or the gritty Hurt Locker we all know that 2009 was a vintage year for movies. As the last champagne bottle was drunk and the last canapé was stamped into the carpet it got me thinking what were the technological highlights of 2009.

Let’s look at the nominees....

Social Network explosion

2009 will for most be remembered for 2 things the banking crisis and the year that Social Networking exploded! Sites like Twitter & Facebook of course existed prior to 2009 but I think last year was when everyone sat up and noticed. Micro blogging has been passed off by Tech snobs as nothing more than a passing fade for the masses – I completely disagree Social Networking is the future.

An App a day!

I have only had my iPhone for a month or so and I have to tell you I am living for Apps at the moment. Since the launch of the Apps Store by Apple in 2008 2 BILLION apps have been downloaded by iPhone and iPod touch users. You can buy apps for SatNav, Games, Travel Planners, News, Music, Radio, Sports, Medical, Finance – in fact there are so many different types that I can’t even list them all. Apps one day will rule the world, and one day I will score more than 20,000 points on Doodlejump!

Microsoft is coming to get you.

Last year Microsoft started the fight back with the launch of Windows 7, released in October 2009 replacing the disastrous Vista. Vista was plagued with problems from the very start and was not a great time in Microsoft history. However with the launch of the simplified Windows 7 all is forgiven with people all over the globe adopting Win7 much faster than Vista, this could be out of desperation but I also like to think it is because it is just a really great OS.

Dad can I get a Netbook? Dad can I get a Netbook? Dad can I get....

Netbooks really grabbed the attention of the Tweenie generation in 2009. Although Netbooks have been around now for quite a while it seems that everyone one I know under the ages of 17 no longer wanted a laptop they all want Netbooks this past year. When asked what she wanted for her birthday last year my niece asked for ‘one of those cute little laptops that are for kids’ – she was turning 8!

The world welcomes the computermabob!

Now technically this is not a technological advancement but I have been trying to find a way to work comparethemeerkat.com into my blog for weeks. Compare the meerkat is without exception one of the greatest advertising campaigns of all time – so good in fact that I spent 59p on an Alexander App (I paid to be advertised to – I am every marketing persons dream, I know!) With his own twitter and Facebook accounts Alexander & Sergi with his computermabob may not be the technical highlight of 2009 but he is without question my highlight of 2009! Simples!

Windows 7 was my idea!

I love windows 7!

There I said it, along with chrome I feel that I have reached desktop nirvana - there is nothing more I could possibly need to do on my desktop that I don't have the ability to do right now. I have made a list of my 5 favourite Windows 7 features, they maybe aren't the best features or the most useful but I feel they are the features which have changed my life!

Snap!

One of my favourite features is the snap – simply drag your window to either the left or right of the screen and it will automatically resize to half the size of the screen (can also be done by clicking the Win + either the left or right arrow) - GENIUS!

Night!Night!

I almost always sleep my laptop rather than shut it down and it is a personal hate of mine that I have to click to change the setting from the Shutdown button every time I want to sleep my laptop – the lovely designers of windows 7 have changed this for me. We can now change the default Shutdown power button to the power button we prefer. Right-click on Start, select Properties, and choose the Power button action that you use the most - BRILLIANT!

Shaken not stirred!

If like me you keep what seems like hundred of windows open on your desktop all day this is a great little feature designed especially for you – if you want to minimise all your windows except one, grab the top of the window you want to keep open and give it a shake about this will minimise all other windows. COOL!

Ctrl + Alt + thank you

In Windows 7 you can create a shortcut for any program you want. Right click on the program icon and select properties, select shortcut tab, click Shortcut Key to set the keyboard shortcut for the program – SIMPLE!

Preview it!

When you hover over a minimised window on the taskbar you will get a preview. This feature was also available in Vista but in Windows 7 is you can close a window within the preview screen. Also, if you are listening to iTunes on your desktop you can play, pause and skip tracks while in preview. CLEVER!

My name is the Alchemist Blogger and Windows 7 was MY idea!