If you already have a wireless network for your computers, you may be very interested in what’s coming next. Would you like it if your PDA, your mobile phone, your mp3 player and almost everything else you connect to your computer could be wireless too? It’s already a reality…
Personal Area Network.
Using wireless networking with your personal gadgets is often called PAN, which stands for Personal Area Network. The idea is that, in the future, we’ll all have laptop computers with their batteries charged and no more need to connect any wires to them at all — you just place your Bluetooth device near the computer, and the computer sees it and can use it straightaway.
Bluetooth has been around and in-use since 1999, and it’s only getting more popular. It was designed to be secure, low cost, and easy to use from day one.
There are two classes of Bluetooth that are in popular use: class 1 and class 2. Class 2 is the most common and cheaper standard, allowing you to use a device that is up to 10 metres (32 feet) away. Class 1 is rarer, but you can still find devices that use it easily enough, and it has ten times the range: 100 metres or 320 feet.
How Does It Work?
Bluetooth is more flexible than 802.11 wireless networking, in exchange for the shorter range. Essentially, a Bluetooth-enabled computer has one Bluetooth receiver installed in it, and this receiver can then be used with up to 7 nearby Bluetooth devices. On the other end, wireless devices do not need to have Bluetooth installed if they support it — it is already integrated.
Like 802.11, Bluetooth works by using radio signals to create bandwidth. It is not, though, the same thing as an old-style wireless mouse or keyboard, which required a receiver [...]
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Many people wonder whether or not their computer is secure. They fear that someone might be looking through their files, copying, altering, or erasing them. They are uneasy about the thought that someone might be monitoring their every move in cyberspace. These concerns come to mind when reminded of the problem of hackers, viruses, and other security risks that abound in the Internet. Fortunately it’s easy to prevent these problems by following a few simple tips.
Update
Perhaps the most important step for computer security is to keep it updated. Install the latest critical updates and service packs from Microsoft’s download center. This is made easy by configuring the system to utilize Automatic Updates, if available. If not, updates can be downloaded directly from Microsoft’s download center. Currently, Service Pack 2 (SP2) is the most current Service Pack for Windows XP.
Firewall
The easiest way to increase the security level of a computer is by using a firewall. Firewalls monitor all activity that occurs on a connection between one or more computers. They act as a “wall” with one or more computers on one side, and one or more computers (usually the Internet) on the other. Information transfer by suspicious programs are immediately cut off, preventing them from entering the protected side of the firewall. This way denying access to anything coming from unauthorized and unknown sources prevents possible infection by viruses, worms, and other malicious codes.
Anti-Virus and Anti Spy-ware
Even if a computer is protected by a firewall it is still necessary to use anti-virus and anti spy-ware. This is because a firewall only prevents unauthorized outside access, and cannot distinguish between malicious and benign access. It is still possible to inadvertently make a request for information that is harmful, which the firewall views as an authorized transfer. Anti-virus and anti spy-ware provides another [...]
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The blind need to have a quality life just like the ease of the individuals out there. They need gadgets for the kitchen, the television and the workplace too. The visually impaired have not been left rear in this age of movable technology. There is a nifty little gadget that can operate on voice commands, take marks as well as read them out. One such neat widget is the ‘Bridge’. This neat little gizmo scans printed text and translates it into Braille. This useful tool for the visually impaired saves the text for further use as well. The gimmick is little and portable and can be used fairly easily anywhere. The Braille screen can be customized to showing the text in any way the operator feel sufficient reading.
There are widgets like the Tactile Talking Tablet that helps the Blind navigate the cities they plan to visit. Another quaint gadget is the SBC – Screen Braille Communicator – the visually and hearing impaired can use when they are shopping, order meals in restaurants or communicate with cabin staff at airports and other public places. Apart from these high-tech gadgets for the visually impaired there are the day-to-day cooking gadgets such as the talking thermometer that can set off an alarm when the temperature of the food is just right or the measuring cups that do the same when the right level has been reached and our visually impaired friends have found companions in the elderly who like to share the gadgets that have been designed especially for themselves.
You name it, there are gadgets from talking watches, clocks, calculators and currency identifiers that the impaired individual can make the most of in this day and age of technological advancements.
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