Google refines spin on local news

While Google's web crawlers always scan thousands of sources throughout the world, they are now parsing the stories, not just by city or zip code. "We're not simply looking at the byline or the source, but instead we analyze every word in every story to understand what location the news is about and where the source is located," says a Google news release this morning.

So, give it a try next time you're searching a local news story. Be an informed consumer and check your usual sources such as Yahoo news, CNN, WGN or the Chicago newspapers, but then do the same search at Google and see if you get different results. Visit Google News and scroll down to the put your zip code in the Local News box.

A Snow Day

We in Chicago are having a snow day today. With a foot of snow falling, events are canceled, libraries and even shopping malls are closed, to get people home safely.

So - what to do on a snow day? Backups !
That's right, use the time to make a good backup of your data files, and maybe even take a few minutes to clean out your email Inbox.


Start fresh tomorrow, after a night of hearing snowplows roar !!

Internet snaps between two continents

Between the hot air of the primary election season and the tricks Mother Nature has been playing on us, maybe you missed the small news story this week. There would have been a lot of NOISE, LAWSUITS and WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME! if it occurred here in America.

Undersea cables snapped in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Asia, part of a chain of cables carrying internet traffic through much of Europe and the Middle East.



If it takes a week to repair an above-ground water main break in Chicago, imagine trying to find and fix a link under the ocean, where 99 percent of internet traffic is connected. India? They lost 50 percent of their internet capacity. Egypt? They are limping along at 60 percent. Those are the areas widely affected, both for casual internet usage as well as financial markets and communication channels. In fact many U.S. east coast companies and many multi-national firms such as IBM and Intel feel the effects of the outage.

Yes, it could also happen here. And I think we would be hearing a whole lot more complaining if it did. No matter how sophisticated the internet gets, or how wireless we think our world is becoming, there is still a telephone-like system of cables carrying a signal and connecting computers.

With all the weather and politics in the news, I didn't want you to miss the reality that it could also happen here, and we have to know that we can go back to older systems in a crisis, obtain data we need, and have the resources to get by during difficult times.

* Photo taken from BBC News

A petition to save Windows XP

InfoWorld magazine has launched a petition to force Microsoft to keep Windows XP alive. Even in tests of XP vs. Vista, conducted after Vista's service pack fixes, XP with service pack 3 ranks three times as fast as Vista with service pack 1.


Please take a few seconds to sign the petition. InfoWorld will not send your contact information to Microsoft, but the campaign hopes to force Microsoft to continue supporting Windows XP past June 2008. If they don't, users will be forced to move to Vista on any new computer, and we will have to maintain XP computers as long as possible, to forestall a technology ice age.

Technie-Dunderhead

How's that for a catchy tech blog entry? I have a new client who is a self-appointed "technie-dunderhead" and I love her sense of humor about herself.

Take note, though -- at least she's trying! Today is the last day of 2007, and people are still learning about computers, still making the effort to get up to speed with email, web browsing and the new tech age.

• 1981 was the birth of the IBM-PC, precursor to all we know today. It's now a quarter-century old
• 1989 was the year the internet and web were made ordinary, by Tim Berners-Lee.
• 1994 brought us Windows 3.0, the first graphical interface for computers.
  
• 2001 was the first release of Windows XP, quickly adopted by 400 million people by 2006, and still the mainstay for computer users. Fully-functioning and almost quirk-free, Windows XP made the internet and computers a household word and multi-billion dollar industry.

We've reached major milestones in a relatively short time, and there is so much more we can do, as a society, as individuals, and as the first generation on earth to have all this technology available to us.

Radio interview available

If you're curious about internet radio programs, and have a few minutes, check out my recent appearance on Mountain Mama Radio here.

Scroll to the right and choose Program #2 and then continue to the second segment if you wish.

Hosted by the very lively Miki Davis, this show is heard Monday's at 10 p.m. Central time. Hope you enjoy it!
(Note:) there is a 5 minute commercial break mid-way through the interview. While listening to that, clean out your email...

Cheers,
Helen

Spam: It's worse than ever

Spam is always bad around the holidays, preying on desperate online shoppers, but this report from InfoPackets newsletter shows the problem is worse than ever, and growing.

Continue to use a good internet protection suite, and don't open anything you're not expecting, or from a trusted source.
The best measures:

1. View your mail without using the Preview feature that opens the message.
2. Delete all the spam based on subject line or sender name.
3. Use File / Print Preview if you're viewing email in an email program like Netscape or SeaMonkey.
4. Press Shift+Delete to bypass the Trash and delete spam without opening.

So what is Kindle?

Kindle is Amazon's attempt to compete with the Sony ebook reader, and is priced in the same category.

Kindle offers wireless access to more than 90,000 downloadable titles at a uniform price of $9.99. The Kindle weighs in at 10.3 ounces with a black & white electronic ink screen that can be read in bright sunlight. It's thin as a pencil and will hold about 200 books, which are also stored in online user accounts and can be redownloaded at any time. Unlike most digital reading devices, Kindle does not require a personal computer. Through an agreement with the Sprint, Amazon has built its own network on the back of Sprint's EVDO wireless cellphone network. There is no separate fee or monthly billing for use of Kindle's wireless access and all titles and services for Kindle can be purchased through the wireless access provided through the device. (Thanks to Maggie at Compulsive Reader).

The ebook market has yet to reach even a mini-peak, in part because there is no standard for ebook files or for the reading device to view them. Most are now available as text files or .PDF and can be viewed right on your computer. They're formatted for very comfortable reading on a laptop.

But a book needs to be portable, so we now have Amazon, world's largest book purveyor offering books readable on their Kindle device. Now, Sony announced they will issue a lower priced reader, and with that sparking the competition, can Microsoft be far behind? Will Google be next? Chances are, now that there's competition, there will be more consumer choices. Until then, Kindle lights my fire, with it's wi-fi access to download books without hassle.

Both of my books, Computer Ease and Release Your Writing are available for download as ebooks if you want to expand your library at half the cost of the softcover books. And, of course, there's no shipping charge.

Leopard's spotty upgrade

Okay, I'll admit it. Reading Eric Zorn's column in the Chicago Tribune is time well spent but it doesn't always make me giddy. Yesterday, 11/20/07, his column "Father knows high-tech hype when he sees it," pleased me. Not because Eric had computer trouble - I take no joy in that for anyone, but because for once, we read something honest, and negative, about the Mac "experience" and the new Leopard operating system.

I consult only on PC's and 2007 is the first year I've heard of so many PC users bailing out and moving to a Mac. Then, they often call and have the same problems with the Mac they had with the PC.... can't print, can't open an email attachment, can't find their files. My premise all along, is that you can have the same problems with a new computer as an old one. Switching doesn't always make it better.

You can read Eric Zorn's article for free on the Chicago Tribune web site. Sign up if you're not already a reader there. Basically, he purchased the new Leopard operating system, only to find the upgrade would wipe out his hard drive -- all data would have to be backed up. So he took it to the Apple store, and paid them to do the upgrade. They also found some faulty memory and restored some of his files but not all. Not a completely happy experience for someone enticed by the promise of an upgrade that costs much more than expected.

There is no panacea with computer, nor with anything else that requires effort. I see the same experience with people who upgrade to Vista on a PC, thinking it will be better. Sadly, it's better for Microsoft, but doesn't do much to enhance a user's productivity. And isn't that why we use technology?

Let me know what you think,
Helen Gallagher

Over 100 Million Blogs!

A recent Chicago Tribune article states there are now 109.2 million blogs. That's one for every 151 people, or one for every 23 people with internet access. Gosh - yes, you do need internet access to view blogs.

No one has time for that much reading, and apparently a lot of blog owners don't have time to write them either. Statistics show over 99 percent of blogs are static that means no updates and no visitors. "a state of total or near-total obscurity," the article states.

If you're a blogger, remember why you are writing: to give readers something of value. So your commitment and obligation are to keep your content fresh and informative. Otherwise, blogging may fade away - and that's trouble for the good ones as well as the bad.

And yes, internet is now spelled with a lower case i. After all, it's the internet, not God. This is the editorial point of view from Wired magazine when they stopped capitalizing internet a few years ago:

From Wired.com:

It's Just the 'internet' Now

Tony Long 08.16.04 | 8:14 AM

"Effective with this sentence, Wired News will no longer capitalize the "I" in internet.

At the same time, Web becomes web and Net becomes net.

Why? The simple answer is because there is no earthly reason to capitalize any of these words. Actually, there never was.

True believers are fond of capitalizing words, whether they be marketers or political junkies or, in this case, techies. If It's Capitalized, It Must Be Important. In German, where all nouns are capitalized, it makes sense. It makes no sense in English. So until we become Die Wired Nachrichten, we'll just follow customary English-language usage. (Web will continue to be capitalized when part of the more official entity, World Wide Web.)

Still, the decision wasn't made lightly. Style changes are rarely capricious, since change plays havoc with the editor's sacred cow, consistency.

But in the case of internet, web and net, a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.

This should not be interpreted as some kind of symbolic demotion. Think of it more as a stylistic reality check."

QuickBooks software - free

Intuit, Inc., maker of Quicken and QuickBooks is launching a new version of QuickBooks called Simple Start. The retail price is $99.95 but it is now available as a free download from their site at Just Start.

Their goal with the Just Start program is to create a vehicle for entrepreneurs and start-ups, with a site full of advice and services, as well as contests and grants.

If you are a small business or solo operator, and want the full power of QuickBooks, download the free software. It takes about an hour, even at high connection speeds, and can NOT import existing QuickBooks data. It's intended only for someone starting out for the first time.

If you need to issue invoices, track payments and monitor your spending, you have nothing to lose.

Netrosexual

I am not sure i can take credit for coining this word, but it popped into my head today: "netrosexual."

In preparing for a panel discussion, I realized how much of the internet is free of gender stereotypes. The web and software in general are very unisex, neither too male or too female. It's a wonderful common ground when intellectual pursuits and knowledge are so gender free. Maybe the web is indeed the great equalizer.

Email: Out with the old

We lived without email for generations, but now that it has been in common usage over ten years old, we see signs of wear and tear: that's "tear" as in crying, not ripping up.

We try to get rid of messages once read and file those we need to keep, but they keep pouring in and, as we all know, it's hard to find what you're looking for in a mailbox full of bits and bytes.

My manual solution is to:

Prioritize
File
Archive

Yesterday, a friend told me about a unique strategy you can start doing today. Ready for this?

For each email you receive and read, get rid of two.
So, as she said: "If I get 18 messages, I have to get rid of 36."
What a great way to start slowly conquering the overflowing mailboxes. Thanks JB!

Another wonderful thing about technology is that people are always working on new ideas, and there will be smarter email tools in a couple years. What's in the works? It's a concept called Categorization Technology. Think of it as "tags" or the tagging process that shows instantly how many web pages (or in this case, emails) contain certain words.

Tools like SenseClusters, Digitality, and my favorite name: Pigmail, are underway. We'll soon see which rises to the top and helps conquer email overload. One of the companies working on this has obtained the 3000 Enron emails released by the courts and are using them to create the classification models. If you want access to that file, email me!

Putting computers where they're needed most

We all know people with multiple computers: desktop(s), laptop(s), handheld(s), and none of them are fast enough, new enough, good enough for all their needs. New tech pops out in this industry so fast, we can't keep up.

Yet, I'm constantly aware that the Digital Divide is not closing the gap. A nation with so much tech power doesn't do a very good job of bringing it to the people who could become empowered with a computer and with some training. The past ten years have shown few advances, but now there is good news.

A Chicago Tribune article by Barbara Rose 10/04/07 speaks of a Chicago-area pilot program to "provide low-income working parents with laptops, printers, career assessments, online courses and 12 months of internet access."

Isn't that wonderful? There are only ten participants in the pilot program, but let's hope it thrives. The pilot was launched by National Able Network Inc. and receives funding from the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust and a private family foundation.

Recycling at the rate of 700 cars in 2 hours

Yesterday was the SWANCC electronics recycling event at Motorola in Schaumburg. We filled Jerry's car to the brim with computers, printers, TV's and those old heavy monitors.

Two hours after the event opened, as we waited in line to move forward to the handlers who unload the car, we were stopped for a photo op -- because we were the 700th car - in just two hours !! And, we won a prize: A Bluetooth wireless headset.

Thanks to everyone who helped this recycling event. Below you'll see the full scope of the process.

A 1945 technology prediction

An excerpt from "As We May Think" in the July 1945 Atlantic Monthly.
The author is Dr. Vannevar Bush, a man with imagination...

"Consider a future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, "memex" will do. A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.

It consists of a desk, and while it can presumably be operated from a distance, it is primarily the piece of furniture at which he works. On the top are slanting translucent screens, on which material can be projected for convenient reading. There is a keyboard, and sets of buttons and levers. Otherwise it looks like an ordinary desk."

I'd say his idea indeed came to pass, even better than predicted 67 years ago.
Curious? Read the full 1945 article online here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush/4

Are you an Utne reader?

I'm one a number of lucky people who get to vote on Utne magazine's covers. Last month, my first choice was the winner, for an article on censorship. It was titled: "History, What we're taught, and what's ignored."

If I get my vote, here's the cover you'll see on their next issue. I just couldn't resist!!

Lazy Library offers short books

We have so many days with no time to slow down and read, so was intriqued by this site's slogan: "read less, get more."

Turns out, Lazy Library specializes in offering books under 200 pages, for concise and effective books.
And, it was especially fun to find my own book featured there, at a nice, trim 120 pages.

Dell's Vostro so-so review

If you like reading Walt Mossberg's reviews in The Wall Street Journal, here's a video clip of his review of Dell's new Vostro computer line. Intended for small, small businesses, the system gets only a mediocre rating by Walt. Put your money into the home office line of Dell's if that's still your brand.

Dell Vostro audio-video review

Is your computer down for the count?

Even with better security suites, combining anti-virus, spyware and firewall, we still see the summer meltdown - about the fifth year in a row that Computer Clarity has been called to fix or diagnose a computer problem due to a slow computer that just won't do anything. My book, Computer Ease, has an entire chapter covering spyware. The Chicago Computer Soceity reviewer said that chapter alone is worth the $14.95 price of the book.

It happens most in families where children of all ages use the Internet, and inadvertently get themselves into trouble. Often it is not worth fixing the computer because of the high labor cost involved, and because if they did it once they will likely do it again, without a proper protection suite.

Consumer Reports recently cites the facts:

• Lack of protection on the Internet has cost consumers $7 billion over two years.
• Computer viruses have prompted 1.8 million households to junk their PCs over the past two years, while spyware has claimed another 850,000 machines in the past six months.
• And, one-third of U.S. households don't protect their computers from spyware.

Best anti-virus, spyware and firewall suites include:
Computer Associates Internet Security Suite
Panda Software
TrendMicro


Better to spend $50/year on protection than send your computer to the next electronics recycling event... which is Sept. 29th at Motorola in Schaumburg. Do not throw computers, printers, or monitors in the trash.