Month: June 2010

Virus, Trojan, Worm – the very words conjure up crossbones and skulls, the symbol of danger. These malicious programs are the scourge of the Internet, the proof that every innovative and useful technology has an equivalent downside – one that has the most adverse consequences at times. They steal your passwords, corrupt your files memory and OS, open backdoors to your systems, install quirky programs that replicate and spread, and generally cause your computer to behave abnormally.

But there was a time not so long ago when viruses were written just for the fun of it – not to create any real harm, but rather to see if they worked. The creators were usually extremely clever young programmers who spent most of their time in front of their computers. Though the files spread rapidly from one system to another, all they did was produce some funny faces or a cascade of raindrops on your screen. But then, these form just a drop in the ocean of malware that roams through the Internet.

While the consequences of these deadly programs are certainly no laughing matter, there are a few of them that bring an inadvertent smile to your face by virtue of their names, by the graphics they display on execution, or just by the sheer newsworthiness of their exploits. Here are the 10 viruses, Trojans, and worms that caused a little anxiety, some humorous moments, and a lot of confusion.

Read more here: http://www.focus.com/fyi/operations/top-10-hilarious-viruses-trojans-worms/

Virus, Trojan, Worm – the very words conjure up crossbones and skulls, the symbol of danger. These malicious programs are the scourge of the Internet, the proof that every innovative and useful technology has an equivalent downside – one that has the most adverse consequences at times. They steal your passwords, corrupt your files memory and OS, open backdoors to your systems, install quirky programs that replicate and spread, and generally cause your computer to behave abnormally.

But there was a time not so long ago when viruses were written just for the fun of it – not to create any real harm, but rather to see if they worked. The creators were usually extremely clever young programmers who spent most of their time in front of their computers. Though the files spread rapidly from one system to another, all they did was produce some funny faces or a cascade of raindrops on your screen. But then, these form just a drop in the ocean of malware that roams through the Internet.

While the consequences of these deadly programs are certainly no laughing matter, there are a few of them that bring an inadvertent smile to your face by virtue of their names, by the graphics they display on execution, or just by the sheer newsworthiness of their exploits. Here are the 10 viruses, Trojans, and worms that caused a little anxiety, some humorous moments, and a lot of confusion.

Read more here: http://www.focus.com/fyi/operations/top-10-hilarious-viruses-trojans-worms/

Mashable has 10 fun facts you didn’t know about Google. If only I had enough money to buy stock when they went public. I would have bought as much as I could. I was using Google before anyone had heard of Google. There was just something about the company and the search engine that inspired me. It looks like the Googleplex would be a fun place to visit some day just to see all the sites.

Read it here: http://mashable.com/2010/06/19/10-google-facts/

The Atlantic’s Mark Bowden dissects Conficker, an invader nestled inside millions of PCs worldwide. Most people have heard of the Conficker worm but very few know the purpose of the worm. This article gives a little more incite then what the major news networks will tell you. No scare tactics used here just simple facts. The facts may be scarier then the scare tactics in this case.

http://theweek.com/article/index/203969/the-last-word-the-ultimate-computer-worm

In 1968 when Douglas Enterbart invented the first keyboard, he wouldn’t have dreamed that his invention would revolutionize the computer world. Did we imagine that the simple block key board will turn into such magnificent art pieces? But today, each design is unique…leaving the past behind and beholding the future.

Technology is simply a part in the long run- together with it blends mans’ quest for better creations leading to innovations like the 14 Coolest Computer Keyboard Mods and Designs seen below, which are made up of some real modifications and also some conceptual design which hopefully will truly be made. If you are interested in some weird and cool keyboards that have actually seen the light of day, check out the awesome collection of Geeky Computer Keyboards we seen before.

Read more: The 14 Coolest Computer Keyboard Mods and Designs

Josh Levy, Online Campaign Manager, Free Press has written an interesting article on how the Iphone 4 has some new and pretty ridiculous pricing schemes. The cost is the whole reason I have avoided smart phones. The wireless providers have been screwing their users for years now and finally people are catching on about it. Mr. Levy just points out the obvious and shows that AT&T is the most blatant about its price gouging. The other wireless carries do the same but to a little less extent.

Enjoy reading the facts it hurts if you were looking forward to the Iphone 4: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-levy/iphone-4-now-with-price-g_b_604480.html

After months of speculation, WWDC 2010 has finally arrived and here’s a handy list of everything you need to know.

Here is a link to the list: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/06/07/everything-announced-at-wwdc-in-one-handy-list/

Looks like the Iphone 4 is going to have everything that the Iphone 3G and 3GS should have had at launch. I wish they would drop the prices on the Iphone 3G and 3GS because of the new ones but they are just slightly dropping the prices. I still disagree with the Iphone’s data plan pricing and the need for it in the first place. I know a lot of people would disagree, but I just do not see the need.

Like it or not, Twitter has become an unavoidable part of our online lives. Created by Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone in 2006, the social networking platform’s reach has grown remarkably over the past four years.

According to a recent study conducted by Edison Research, 87 percent of the U.S. population is now aware of its existence. Surprising? Not really. Forget about Twitter’s overwhelming online presence, the site is constantly being thrown in our face throughout every media outlet imaginable. From CNN to ESPN, we’re constantly exposed to the endless stream of thoughts that Twitter encompasses.

While Twitter’s presence is undeniable, its future lacks certainty. Will Twitter continue to grow and thrive? In short, no. Why? lets take a closer look… http://www.techi.com/2010/06/bye-bye-birdie-why-twitter-is-on-the-outs/

I just found a new and very helpful beekeeping forum Midwestbeekeeping.com. It is just starting out but has the best information on it compared to other beekeeping websites. I has regional information for the Midwest and not for some foreign country like most other sites. It is what I have been looking for in a beekeeping site.

Some of you may know that I just recently started keeping bees myself. I got my bees in May and they are doing great. I have spent so much of my free time researching and learning about bees. It is nice that there is a forum where I can read and learn in one place instead of jumping around the whole internet for the information I am looking for. I hope you take a look and enjoy the site.

This site is now defunct.

Supercomputers are the bodybuilders of the computer world. They boast tens of thousands of times the computing power of a desktop and cost tens of millions of dollars. They fill enormous rooms, which are chilled to prevent their thousands of microprocessor cores from overheating. And they perform trillions, or even thousands of trillions, of calculations per second.

All of that power means supercomputers are perfect for tackling big scientific problems, from uncovering the origins of the universe to delving into the patterns of protein folding that make life possible. Here are some of the most intriguing questions being tackled by supercomputers today.

http://www.livescience.com/technology/Super-Cool-Uses-for-Supercomputers-100430.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20livescience%2Ftechnology%20%28LiveScience.com%20Technology%29&utm_content=Bloglines

Six Revisions has dissected a html web page and compared it to the human anatomy. This is an interesting comparison and might make it a bit easier for a beginner to learn how a web page is laid out.

Many people find it hard to picture a website as more than a bundle of content. This often makes explaining the mixture of languages used and the way everything comes together a difficult task.

http://sixrevisions.com/web-technology/anatomy-of-a-website/