Everything Google

Folks, I’ve only time for a quick reading reco today. I found this (rather lengthy) article an informative and interesting read – and I think it gives us a reasonable foretaste of things to come in the next few years.

* The 2014 Google tracker—Everything we know Google is working on this year

Google’s plans for Android, gaming, smart homes, healthcare, robots, and much, much more.” Read more..

*      *     *

Ashley’s one determined gal..

FUBAR = *Fouled* Up Beyond All Recognition

Today’s quote: “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.

New! A Practical Use For Your Xbox

Great News For Couch Potatos!

The feature article in this week’s Windows Secrets caught my eye, and I’m very glad it did, as what seemed frivolous at first pointed to a glimpse of our (soon to be) future. And it seems everything in our future assumes we’re sitting in front of a big screen on our couch..

The article is: Pizza and tech: An app creates the perfect combo

See? Frivolous, right? But what it means is you can now order a pizza from your Xbox (no need to interrupt that game).

But wait! There’s more (scarier) stuff thanks to the coming Xbox One (and the second generation of Kinect). The (article’s) ‘blurb’ reads…

“There’s an app for that! We’re now well into an era of mini-apps — created for smartphones, adopted by Windows 8, and now rapidly making their way onto entertainment systems and other digital devices. In a preview of things to come, a Pizza Hut app lets you order your favorite pie right from your Xbox 360 gaming/entertainment system.“

.. and frankly, I almost didn’t read the article (I mean, I have a life). But I read all the way through, and that’s where it got interesting.

“Xbox One will include a dramatically improved Kinect built in. It can track heartbeats, muscular movement, and even your facial expressions — which is already generating discussions about personal privacy, as reported in a June 13 Rolling Stone article. It’ll even know when you’re bored, frustrated, or scared while playing a game.“

What? A box will be watching my face? And monitoring my emotions???

“The new Xbox includes a built-in, 1080p camera that can “see” you more accurately — whether good or bad, your Xbox persona might actually look like you. The system’s facial recognition automatically signs you in to a specific controller. It’s said that the Xbox One/Kinect combination can even track your movements in a completely dark room (for what purpose remains to be seen).“

Holy jumpin’ Jehoshaphat. Does that sound good to you? If not, this should sell you on the new Xbox One..

“Xbox One’s enhanced Kinect has new voice commands, enabling such real-world tasks as calling others on Skype and ordering movie tickets. You can also open multiple screens, letting you play a game or watch a movie and chat with friends or family at the same time.“

Wow. Yes. That’s what we want. No need to interrupt the Amusements.. for any one or any thing. Insane. Scratch that. Let me just leave you with this idea: 

To read the entire article yourself, click here.; and for the “privacy concerns” article, click here. (Both are Reco’d)

Today’s quote: “Open the pod bay doors, Hal.”

source: sodahead.com

(I am reminded of the “Chucky” movies. I mean, all you do is bring a toy (a doll, in this case) into your house… and the nightmare begins.)

* Facial recognition (and analysis).
* Listens for patterns.
* Voice recognition.
* Sees in the dark.
* Always on.
* Reporting back to the mothership (Microsoft).

No potential for problems there.
No sir.
None.

So here’s yet another Microsoft product I wouldn’t touch with a 10′ pole. (Did I mention? I’ve been a Microsoft user since Windows 3.11?) Things are indeed changing..
Read the articles. Find out about the Xbox One.

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Welcome, May

A few dozen people may be relieved to see a new posting here.

No. I did not die. Nor did I quit and walk away from Tech – for Everyone. I’m still here. And I apologize if I caused any concern by not posting anything for almost an entire week. I’ve never gone that long without posting anything before. In fact, for over 5 years now, I posted some item every single day of the week (with rare exceptions, and occasional re-postings). 2,012 articles, to be exact. (And to quote a certain Hippie band, “what a long, strange trip it’s been..“)

To explain the abscence.. in recent weeks, there have been many things that have given me food for thought, and that seem to underscore my sense that 2013 is going to be a big year for change for me. For example..

1) This past “Black Friday“, I bought a Kindle Fire (basically, an Android tablet). And in all this while I haven’t cared to write a single word about it. Here’s why:

• Like an iPad, it’s basically a toy you buy when you already have every other toy (there’s, like, 20 ‘apps’ for productivity, and the other 200,000 apps are children’s time-waster games).
• I use it essentially as a mini flat-panel TV for watching Netflix, and checking my email and Calendar. If I need to respond to any of those emails with more than two sentences, I go to a device with a keyboard to do so, because composing (typing) on a tablet is a royal PITA.
• If it had a front-facing camera, I might use it for Skyping.. maybe. But I totally agree with this opinion: BlackBerry chief: ‘Tablets dead in 5 years
  

  ‘Thorsten Heins, CEO of BlackBerry, says tablets won’t have much of a purpose in five years. Heins’ comments were widely panned, but maybe he’s not that far off base.” Read more..

  But on the bright side, I’m letting Amazon learn my every online behavior, and personal preference, so they can better compete with Google…

2) I built an iMac and tried using it as my “main computer” for a while. And I did write a little bit about that… But never came back to it because, sheese!, those machines are B-O-R-I-N-G! And I wound up using it much like I do the tablet… although, typing a lengthy email reply is much easier on the iMac.

Simple. Basic. Just works. Pricey.

3) I’ve learned to like Windows 8. But I haven’t written about that either.

Let me explain: Microsoft’s latest operating system has given me lots of work (I’m a tech) as I receive calls asking me to “Get this [expletive deleted] off of here!” almost every day. Though many are taking their new computers back to the store. (Hey, I’m just telling you what I see and hear on the streets. I am not looking at any sales charts.)

4) We’re entering a new era of personal computing — and I don’t like a single thing about it. For example, the computer in your eyeglasses is now here, and I heard Matt Lauer tried on a pair on Good Morning America yesterday. ZD Net’s Great Debate series, at least, had the brains to ask the question: Will Google Glass face adoption challenges due to privacy concerns?

Privacy.

Right. Can you say “Facebook”?

And I’ve been mentioning other areas of concern, such as things like the new phones stealing your credit card info in less than a second, just by getting in close proximity …

… yesterday, someone suggested I should go see the movie Disconnect.. but I feel like I already have.

5) It has been 85-90 degrees in the shade here this past week, and today is supposed to be even warmer. In a word, it feels like summer and it’s gorgeous!!! I just haven’t had the will to come indoors and type up a daily blog article. And so, Folks, I don’t think I will be posting on a daily basis any more. I may, or may not, post when/if I feel like it, or see some particularly interesting or important news item.
The end of an era. (I’m calling it “Semi-Retirement”.)

A reward for reading this far: An alert reader in Italy sent me this very short video clip of a very exciting auction event, where a rare Ming vase sold for a million Euros. (I didn’t think I’d be interested, either.)

I have also been very active upgrading machines, and I’ve found great deals on RAM, SSD’s (and hybrids) etc. on NewEgg’s Daily Deal pages and on Buy.com’s (now “Rakuten”) Featured Deals (for example, I found and bought a D-link N300 wireless router and dongle for $19 [300 Mbps wireless.. yes, there’s faster now, but ] and free shipping. $20!!! For both!
Are you still on Wireless G? You shouldn’t be… not at those kinda prices.

I’ve also been doing a fair amount of data recovery. A tedious and time-consuming activity (and thus, costly) which I wouldn’t have to do if the client had only had a backup of their files. If you click the links above I’m sure you can find a huge external hard drive for less than $100 (remember that flood in Asia that was supposedly going to make HHD’s an extremely rare animal, and drive up the price? Well, guess again) and some come with “One touch backup” software included. There’s no reason not to have one these days….

But, for now, I’m going outside and enjoy this lovely day. LLAP.

Today’s quote: “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” ~ Bertrand Russell

OMG..

I got 74 more like this in the past day… Yippee yahoo.

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Troubleshooting Steam

When something goes wrong, and you have trouble getting your Steam games to launch, and play properly, there are many potential causes. Sometimes these “causes” can be “cured” by simply “rebooting” (turn off, then on again (aka “restart”)) your computer.

Other times it will take a bit more effort and research.

And, sometimes, it may take a total re-Install of the Steam Client.. (and, I’ve heard, sometimes that just makes things worse.) Or it might take something in between.

As a good ‘first step’ in resolving your issue you can (should) look in the Steam FAQ’s for Troubleshoot and How-To’s for previously posted answers for your particular trouble (you should be seeing an error message..)

Next, rest assured you are not the first person to have your problem, so use the ‘search feature’ in the Steam User forums. Try to use your error message as your “search term”. You should find others who have experienced your glitch, and others will have posted ‘fixes’ and steps for how they solved the trouble. If you should be unable to find your particular error (highly unlikely) you can post your question (seeking help) there. Other users will/may reply with a cure.
(Here is a good example of a helpful ‘thread’ for “cannot connect” errors: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976072.)

Of course, you can “google it”, and get results such as: on Ask.com, someone answered: “To fix steam, you need to restart it every now and then or delete its configurations. This includes the favorite servers and games that you have downloaded in the past.” Which may (or may not) help you cure your glitch.

In those ‘worse case’ situations, you can contact Steam directly for tech support, (here: Steam Support) but be aware you will be waiting for their email reply (of dubious helpfulness..)

Further, you may need to disable, or remove, some “incompatible” programs (or settings in certain programs) which may be causing ‘conflicts’ with the Steam Client software. An alert reader sent me a copy of a list that Steam Support sent them. I am pasting it here.

Important:

The list below does not address every firewall application that could cause an issue, nor does it address viruses/spyware. Please see the Using a Firewall with Steam article and the Spyware, Adware, and Viruses Interfering with Steam article for further instructions if the issue persists after checking for the programs listed below.

Any applications running in the background may negatively affect your games or Steam itself. Certain applications can lead to more serious issues such as limited connectivity and game crashes. It is highly recommended that you close all background applications before launching Steam to ensure the best performance and stability. After you are done playing, feel free to re-enable these applications.

The applications listed below have been known to interfere with Steam and Steam games:

Hidden Processes

Certain applications may load when Windows starts and are not obviously indicated. For example, they may not appear in the Windows task bar but they may be among some of your active processes, using your system’s resources. These programs may cause crashes and other difficulties using Steam and playing games.

Please see the How to Disable Background Applications  article to see instructions for disabling non-essential background programs and preventing background applications from silently loading when Windows starts.

 Software to Look For

The following applications have been known to cause issues with Steam and playing games:

Anti-Virus Applications – Any Anti-Virus program could potentially block Steam and Steam game access, especially when not properly configured for use with Steam. Please make sure that Steam and all Steam games are listed as exceptions in these programs. If the issue persists, please try disabling or temporarily uninstalling the program to test the issue.

• Avast!
• AVG Anti-virus *
• BitDefender
• F-Secure
• Iobit Advanced System Care *
• Kaspersky Anti-virus
• McAfee Anti-virus
• Nod32 Anti-virus *
• Norton/Symantec Anti-virus
• Panda Anti-virus
• Threatfire
• Trend Micro
• VIGuard Anti-virus

Anti-Spyware Applications

• Ad Aware
• CA Pest Patrol
• PC Tools Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus (may need to disable Full-Screen detection in the Advanced settings)
• Spybot Search & Destroy
• Spycatcher Express
• Spyware Doctor
• Spyware Terminator
• Webroot Spy Sweeper *

Firewall/Security Applications

• CA Internet Security Suite
• Comodo (With Portal 2 running the firewall in Defense+ in training mode allows the game to run)
• CYBERsitter
• ESET Smart Security
• Netlimiter
• McAfee Personal Firewall
• Nvidia Network Access Manager/Firewall *
• Nvidia ForceWare Intelligent Application Manager
• Outpost Firewall (Disabling System Guard under Proactive Protection allows Portal 2 to run)
• Panda Internet Security
• Peer Guardian
• PeerBlock
• Tiny Personal Firewall
• Verizon Internet Security Suite
• Zone Alarm
• Constant Guard by Comcast
• Online Armor

Other Applications

• IOBit Advance System Care
• Airfoil
• Alcohol 120%
• AMD External Event Utility
• AOLacsd.exe (AOL connection driver)
• ATI Hotkey Poller
• ATI Tray Tools
• BitTorrent/uTorrent (all clients)
• Creative Software (Alchemy, MediaSource 5 on Asus G60VX models specifcally)
• Catalyst AI
• Daemon Tools
• Download Accelerators (all clients)
• EVGA Precision
• Garfield Daily Desktop Comic
• GhostSurf 2007
• Google Toolbar, Google Updater
• GSC
• Hamachi
• HotSpot Shield
• HydraVision
• iZ3D DirectX injection
• K-Lite Codec Pack
• LimeWire, BearShare or other Peer 2 Peer applications
• LogMeIn
• Microsoft Screen Magnifier in Windows 7 (magnify.exe – may cause in-game cursor issues)
• MSI Afterburner
• nProtect GameGuard *
• PC Time Limit
• Skype
• Slysoft AnyDVD
• StarDock KeepSafe
• SteamWatch
• iolo System Mechanic
• TeamSpeak (can lead to mic issues)
• Total Recorder
• Tuneup WinStyler Theme Service
• UPEK Protector Suite
• Ventrilo (can lead to mic issues)
• VirtuaGirl 2
• Western Digital Backup Anywhere
• Whitesmoke Translator (may cause the Source engine to crash)
• WindowBlinds
• Xfire

* We recommend that applications listed in bold with a ( * ) symbol are fully uninstalled from your system if disabling them does not resolve the issue

 Details

Issues related to any of the programs listed below may be resolved by exiting and/or disabling the program and then exiting and restarting Steam. For certain applications, a system reboot may be required after you have shut down or disabled them.

• Antivirus Software

  Incorrectly configured antivirus software may prevent proper operation of Steam and Steam games.

  • VIGuard anti-virus software has been found to conflict with Steam games – an error message stating “Failed to duplicate pipe handle” will be generated when attempting to load the game. Add the contents of your Steam installation folder to VIGuard’s authorized folder exceptions list to correct this issue. 
  • AVG 7.5, Norton/Symantec and Nod 32 software has been known to cause game crashes. AVG 7.5 must be fully removed from your system in order to prevent these crashes.
  • F-Secure’s “DeepGuard” feature is known to cause Error Code 51 when launching Steam games.

• Anti-Spyware Software

  Aggressive spyware detection software may block the normal operation of Steam. We have received reports that Spycatcher Express, Webroot Spy Sweeper and CA Pest Patrol (bundled with AOL’s Security Center) may prevent Steam client application updates and connecting to game servers.

  PC Tools ThreatFire software (which is also contained in PC Tools Spyware Doctor) can prevent the normal operation of loading of Steam games, including common errors such as Unable to load filesystem_steam.dll and Engine Error: Could not load library client. If you are encountering Steam errors and have ThreatFire or Spyware Doctor installed, please do the following:

  • Disable Behavior Guard via PC Tools My Account service. Disabling the service through Intelli-Guard will not resolve the issue.
  • If this fails to resolve the issue, fully disabling or uninstalling ThreatFire or Spyware Doctor may be necessary.

• Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Clients

  P2P programs such as Kazaa, LimeWire, BitTorrent, E-mule, and Exeem can consume a large portion of your bandwidth, which may prevent Steam from connecting. Do not run file sharing applications while you are using Steam.

• Firewalls

  Newer versions of COMODO Internet Security includes a sandbox feature that may disable services that Steam needs to run on. Make sure important services are not being run in the sandbox mode.

• FTP and Web Server Applications

  As with P2P programs, these programs are generally very bandwidth-intensive and may generate errors in Steam. Examples include IIS services for Windows, Apache web server and MySQL servers.

• IP Filtering Programs

  Peer Guardian, CYBERsitter, and Netlimiter have been found to cause Steam connection issues. These programs are not compatible with Steam and must be disabled or permanently removed from the computer in order to avoid conflicts.

• IP Masking Programs

  Programs designed to mask your IP (GhostSurf 2007, Anonymizer, etc) will impact Steam’s ability to send and receive data.

• Download “Accelerator” and Download Manager Programs

  These programs may interfere with installing and/or downloading updates through Steam. Download accelerator programs should be disabled while using Steam.

  Additionally, Internet Download Manager has been found to cause crashes when the Steam Storefront is loaded.

• Windows Theme Editors

  Tuneup WinStyler Theme Service has been found to cause a crash with the Steam client application and WindowBlinds may cause crashes with Source games.

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) Software

  VPN software will prevent the Steam client application from accessing the Steam network.

• Other Applications

  • Look’n’Stop has been reported to cause issues with Steam when its “Unknown UDP Packet” filter is enabled.
  • PowerStrip custom display modes software may cause issues with load time and crashing in games – it is recommended that you select the “Restore to default” setting in PowerStrip before playing (you may resume using PowerStrip normally once you are done).
  • The nVidia Network Access Manager has been found to cause problems as described in the Nothing appears on the Storefront screen in Steam topic.
  • Airfoil will cause the error “Game name failed to start (error code 51).” if “Instant Hijack” is enabled. You will either need to disable “Instant Hijack” (you do not need to restart your computer when prompted) or add Steam and all Steam games to the excluded programs.

In-Game Overlay Application Incompatibility List

• X-Fire

  The in-game overlay may not function if X-Fire is running and also trying to draw its in-game chat interface on the game you have launched.

  Workaround:

  Close X-Fire, or set it to not attempt to run its in-game portion on games not launched via X-Fire.

• Windows Blinds

  Reported as possibly preventing the in-game overlay from functioning in some games.

  Workaround:

  We are currently investigating a solution to this issue. In the mean time, please do not use Window Blinds with Steam.

• Ventrilo

  Reported that the in-game hot-key bindings for Ventrilo may stop working with the overlay.

  Workaround: This has been reported to be a Vista issue and making the involved apps Run as Administrator solved the problem.

I do hope you get your issue resolved without having too much gnashing of teeth, hair-pulling, etc., as gaming is vital. But please note: I am not a Steam tech support guy, and if you write in with questions seeking help, I will simply refer you to the links and advice in this article. (I have stopped using Steam altogether.)

And thank you, Dear Reader, for sending me that list.

If you made it down this far, here’s a reward: a reading reco: Save our Internet before we go off the digital cliff

“The Internet is a public good — indeed, a public necessity — that is being abused by profiteers. Through their greed, they’re driving us off the Internet cliff.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous – everyone hasn’t met me yet.” ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Computer Gaming Concerns

Recent events have caused me to have “video games” front and center in my attention – and by that, of course, I mean computer games (and gaming). I play games on my computer: chess and spider solitaire (and occasionally mah jong) daily (I like to think it keeps my mind sharp); but I also – being a big kid at heart, I guess – also sometimes play those “violent video games” you hear about.

Because computer gaming has been on my mind, I decided to go back and look at what I have written on the subject. Below is the very first article I wrote on this topic. Written 4 years ago, I think it is just as appropriate for today (maybe.. more so?) and I suspect you may have missed it, so …

Gaming: a confession, a warning

When I first started writing Tech–for Everyone way back on the 8th of June (56 1,461 articles ago), I wondered how long I could go before I talked about computer gaming. I think I did fairly well at delaying the inevitable. Two things triggered this post: a user with a pre-teen boy, and my mood. I’ll look at the latter first.

This week I got into a foul mood. I became short-tempered, irritated, antsy. I was definitely ‘out of sorts’. I was not a Happy Camper. Part of this was due to the fact that I had several back-to-back days of too-much-to-do/too-little-time (can anyone relate?). I felt a bit less than “in control”.
I managed to keep up with demands, and my time-spent was successful. I not only kept afloat, but I succeeded. However, this didn’t lighten my mood.
Finally, by staying up a little longer than I should, I was able to take a break and play a conquest map of Age of Empires III, The Warchiefs (naturally, I won). Amazingly, I was calm, refreshed, and happy. I was a Happy Camper again.
Why? I realized that it had been several days since I had played a game, and I had subconsciously “missed it”, like a smoker during a long flight, or a dieter walking past the bakery. And that once I got my “fix”, I was returned to a normal psychological state. This realization has caused me to wonder if I (me! myself!) wasn’t developing a gaming “addiction”. Wow.

There have been several news stories about computer gaming; ranging from the couple who suffered financial ruin by devoting their lives completely to the online game World of Warcraft (a couple of nut-jobs, if you ask me), to the medical ramifications (carpal-tunnel) of too much controller/mouse/keyboard use … especially in children.

There is a real belief in “gaming addiction”, and there’s a doctor who’s gone so far as publicly stating that as much as 40% of all WoW players are clinically addicted to it. (Read the article) Consider that there’s at least six and-a half 11.4 million people subscribing, and you realize that that’s a LOT of people … and that’s just one game. It is my belief that these news stories will only increase in number; that as our society becomes more and more of a shut-in society, and more of our interactions take place online, topics along this line will only grow. Google “World of Warcraft+divorce” and you’ll see 747,000 6,450,000 results. WoW!
If your friends are telling you you’re an addict, please … don’t take it as a compliment. Take a serious look at yourself, before you lose everything.
[Update: I understand the ‘hot new thing’ is a yet-to-be-released Guild Wars 2..]

That said, I do play computer games; and if you’re curious, I like the WW II FPS titles (Call of Duty, Medal of Honor), air combat simulators (Lock On, Il-2, Microsoft), and civilization games  [update: for some reason, I haven’t played any of those last in years] And good-old Solitaire. I play a couple of games a day, to “unwind”. I think I’m alright… I haven’t, as yet, spent real money on ‘magic armor’.

The second topic I mentioned was the lady with the pre-teen son. She keeps having “weird pop ups”, and her machine is “always so slow.” I had installed a security suite, and the full gamut of protections onto her machine, and yet she keeps having these issues. She asked me, “why does this keep happening?”
I asked her several questions and looked over her logs and histories. She told me she has a 12 year-old son, and that as soon as he gets home from school he goes straight to the computer to “do homework” … that he spends quit a bit of time on the PC. Well! I was once a 12 year-old boy, and I remember well how much time in the afternoon — freshly released from scholarly confinement — I spent on homework. None. Zero. Nada. (At least, not willingly.)
Sure enough, a look at IE’s browsing history (read how to do this here) did not reveal any instances of National Geographic, The History Explorer, Encyclopedia Brittanica, or “math help” (or anything else even vaguely homework-related), but revealed endless explorations of Flash games, online games, and “cheat codes”.
I looked at his download history and found plenty of “demo games”, magic swords and shields, and other “bonuses” he’d earned playing his online games. Could one of those ‘magic swords’ (or demo-games) have contained spyware??? Does spyware slow down your machine? Cause pop ups? Well … (duh) YES!

Tip of the day: Here’s the thing most folks fail to fully grasp — when you let your child run under your User Account, he’s running with full administrator privileges and can install programs unrestricted and when you click on “download this file”, you’re bypassing your protection. (It has to be this way, or you’d never get anything done) You are telling your anti-malware apps, “it’s OK. I know what I’m doing.” A 12 year-old boy, caught up in the excitement at having just “triumphed” and earning himself a +2 Sword of Sharpness, probably doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he will click “download your prize now!”
98% of the time, it’s harmless fun. How can you tell which demo game or ‘magic shield’ is safe, and which one’s contain spyware? You can’t. Sorry. Like I said, 98% of them are safe.

If you missed my series on protecting your kids on the Internet, you can learn how to remedy this — creating a Limited User Account, and cranking up IE’s security, etc. — by clicking here.

Internet News: Massive Phishing Attack Hits Tumblr

Users of the Tumblr microblogging service have been hit hard over the last few days with a phishing attack that steals user credentials.

Other gaming news: If you have a Steam account, you can now get Team Fortress for free.

And, oh, yeah. There is a $1,000,000 Call of Duty tournament …

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Parent of a Pre-teen Son…*

Today I am re-posting an article that I enjoyed writing – a long time ago now, and I hope you will enjoy reading today.

When I first started writing Tech–for Everyone way back on the 8th of June, 2007, I wondered how long I could go before I talked about computer gaming. I think I did fairly well at delaying the inevitable. Two things triggered this post: a client with a pre-teen boy, and my mood. I’ll look at the latter first.

This week I got into a foul mood. I became short-tempered, irritated, antsy. I was definitely ‘out of sorts’. I was not a Happy Camper. Part of this was due to the fact that I had several back-to-back days of too-much-to-do/too-little-time (can anyone relate?). I felt a bit less than “in control”.

I managed to keep up with demands, and my time-spent was successful. I not only kept afloat, but I succeeded. However, this didn’t lighten my mood. Finally, by staying up a little longer than I should, I was able to take a break and play a conquest map of Age of Empires III, The Warchiefs. Amazingly, I was calm, refreshed, and happy. I was a Happy Camper again.

Why? I realized that it had been several days since I had played a game, and I had subconsciously “missed it”, like a smoker during a long flight, or a dieter walking past the bakery. And that once I got my “fix”, I was returned to a normal psychological state. This realization has caused me to wonder if I (me! myself!) wasn’t developing a gaming “addiction”. Wow.

There have been several news stories about computer gaming; ranging from the couple who suffered financial ruin by devoting their lives completely to the online game World of Warcraft (a couple of nut-jobs, if you ask me), to the medical ramifications (carpal-tunnel) of too much controller/mouse/keyboard use … especially in children.

There is a real belief in “gaming addiction”, and there’s a doctor who’s gone so far as publicly stating that as much as 40% of all WoW players are clinically addicted to it. (Read the article) Consider that there’s at least six and-a half ten million people subscribing to WoW, and you realize that that’s a LOT of people … and that’s just one game. It is my belief that these news stories will only increase in number; that as our society becomes more and more of a shut-in society, and more of our interactions take place online, topics along this line will only grow. Google “World of Warcraft+divorce” and you’ll see 747,000 765,000 results. WoW!
If your friends are telling you you’re an addict, please … don’t take it as a compliment. Take a serious look at yourself, before you lose everything.

That said, I do play computer games; and if you’re curious, I like the WW II FPS titles (Call of Duty, Medal of Honor), air combat simulators (Lock On, Il-2, Microsoft), and ‘civilization’ games. And good-old Solitaire. I play a couple of games a day, to “unwind”. I think I’m alright… I haven’t, as yet, spent real money on ‘magic armor’.

The second topic I mentioned was the lady with the pre-teen son. She keeps having “weird pop ups”, and her machine is “always so slow.” I had installed a security suite, and the full gamut of protections onto her machine, and yet she keeps having these issues. She asked me, “why does this keep happening?”

I asked her several questions and looked over her logs and histories. She told me she has a 12 year-old son, and that as soon as he gets home from school he goes straight to the computer to “do homework” … that he spends quit a bit of time on the PC. Well! I was once a 12 year-old boy, and I remember well how much time in the afternoon — freshly released from a day of scholarly confinement — I spent on homework. None. Zero. Nada. (At least, not willingly.)

Sure enough, a look at IE’s browsing history (read how to do this here) did not reveal any instances of National Geographic, The History Explorer, Encyclopedia Britannica, or “math help” (or anything else even vaguely homework-related), but revealed endless explorations of online Flash games, YouTube, and “cheat codes”.

I looked at his download history and found plenty of “demo games”, screensavers, magic swords and shields, and other “bonuses” he’d earned playing his online games. Could one of those ‘magic swords’ (or demo-games) have contained spyware??? Does spyware slow down your machine? Cause pop ups? Well … (duh) YES!

Tip of the day: Here’s the thing most folks fail to fully grasp — when you let your child run under your User Account, he’s running with full administrator privileges and can install programs unrestricted and, when you click on “download this file”, you’re bypassing your protection. (PC’s have to work this way, or you’d never get anything done) You are telling your security programs, “it’s OK. I know what I’m doing.” A 12 year-old boy, caught up in the excitement at having just “triumphed” and earning himself a +2 Sword of Sharpness, probably doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he will click “download your prize now!”
98% of the time, it’s harmless fun. How can you tell which demo game or ‘magic shield’ is safe, and which one’s contain spyware? You can’t. Sorry. Like I said, 98% of them are safe.

If you missed my series on protecting your kids from the Internet, you can learn how to remedy this — creating a Limited User Account, and cranking up IE’s security, etc. — by clicking here.

Related:
* Protecting Our Kids On The Internet: Using Parental Controls
“I recently set up parental controls for a seven and a nine year old who are very near and dear to me…“

* There’s an online addiction assessment test you can take if you have suspicions/concerns about Internet/gaming addiction.

Today’s free download: K9 Web Protection is free Internet filtering and control solution for the home. K9 puts YOU in control of the Internet so you can protect your kids.

As if being a parent isn’t hard enough…

The Internet has made your job a whole lot tougher. As soon as your child is old enough to get online, you have to safely guide him through a whole new world: the virtual one. How can you encourage your child to explore wonderful new places that stimulate creativity and learning while ensuring he or she doesn’t wander into dangerous territory?

Get FREE continuous protection against malware and inappropriate Web sites. Download K9 Web Protection now.

Orig post: 8/9/07

Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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Part 3 | The Best CPU?

This week I started an article series due to my most recent PC hardware upgrade, as I have a new recommendation for those who are interested in maximum computer performance — I rebuilt a machine into an i7, X58, DDR 3, SLI ‘rig’ and its performance is impressive. I am quite taken with the i7/X58 combo.
[note: each of those acronyms is “clickable” for those interested in learning more details. I will try to avoid Geek jargon here..]
Earlier, I wrote a 4-part series on the ‘How To’s’ of upgrading your CPU, and suggest it as a preface (please refer to part 1, Replacing or Upgrading Your CPU).

In the previous Part 2 | The Best CPU? I started discussing this hardware upgrade by focusing on i7-920 CPU. Hyper-threading, new chip architecture, and easy (stable) over-clocking give this CPU performance numbers that make it arguably the best CPU available to us “consumers” today. And it has been around long enough now that the price has dropped to “reasonable”.

• Turbo Boost technology – To maximize speed for heavy applications
• Hyper Threading – Intel has brought back its hyper threading technology first seen in its Pentium Processors to allow a new level of parallel performance with 8 threads available for multi-tasking.
• QuickPath Interconnect – is designed for increased bandwidth and low latency. It can achieve data transfer speeds as high as 25.6 GB/sec.
• Smart Cache – For better and more optimized handling of cache memory
• Integrated Memory Controllers – Supporting three channels of DDR3 Memory (1066 Mhz) to produce a whopping 25.6 Gb/Sec memory bandwidth.
• HD Boost – For improved performance in a wide spectrum of Multimedia and compute-intensive applications.

[a brief aside: to be fair, this thread on Tom’s Harware.com, (GAMERS ONLY) i7 vs 955/ is 300$ worth it?, posits that a particular (over-clocked) AMD CPU is the smarter way to go for gamers.. and I think the writer’s point may be correct.]

But going with an i7 as your upgrade path does mean that you will also need a new motherboard.

The i-Series CPU’s new design and on-chip features require a new socket, chipset, and also the newer DDR3 RAM memory –> the i7 needs to be matched to a “50-series” chipset.

I went with the newer X58 chipset because I was building a “performance gaming rig” with dual graphics cards, in what is known as an “SLI/Crossfire” configuration (the motherboard must have two or more PCIe graphics “slots”) and the X58 motherboards have the ICH10R chip which allows – for the first time really – both cards to transfer data at 16x. The 55’s don’t have the ICH10R.
(Prior to this, the 16x graphics datapath was ‘split’ between cards in an SLI config to 8x, 8x. With the X58/ICH10R it is 16x, 16x.)

“The Intel X58 Express Chipset supports the latest 45nm Intel Core i7 processor family at 6.4 GT/s and 4.8 GT/s speeds via the Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel® QPI). Additionally, this chipset delivers dual x16 or quad x8 PCI Express* 2.0 graphics card support, and support for Intel® High Performance Solid State Drives.“

Now, I would like to tell you that this effectively doubled my graphics cards’ ability to pump out the frames-per-second.. but if you have been around computers for a while you will know that doubling some performance number or other does not make your computer appear to do things twice as fast. Machines simply don’t work that way.

What it does mean is, the machine is capable of handling a heavier ‘load’ before you notice slow downs. And in computer graphics, ‘load’ means things like driving a larger monitor at a higher resolution. And specific to computer gaming, ‘load’ means ‘features’ — like shading, anti-aliasing, and Vsync, etc. — often referred to as “the bells and whistles”.

I can tell you it is true, if you can run your game on a large screen, with the “bells and whistles” on (or “dialed up”) and you do not experience slow downs, such as lag or a slideshow style framerate, you will have a better gaming experience. Typically that means you become more “immersed” in the game’s environment… mostly because it is more “real looking”.

I will continue this .. hopefully Monday. I hope you all have a great weekend.

News Item: Microsoft uses the courts to shutdown cybercriminals. See, Cracking Down on Botnets.
“Botnets – networks of compromised computers controlled by hackers known as “bot-herders” – have become a serious problem in cyberspace.  Their proliferation has led some to worry that the botnet problem is unsolvable.¹ Under the control of a hacker or group of hackers, botnets are often used to conduct various attacks ranging from denial of service attacks on websites, to spamming, click fraud, and distribution of new forms of malicious software.”

¹ emphasis, mine.

Skip to Part 4 The Best CPU? Hardware Upgrade, cont.

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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