Welcome to the August 2011 Edition of Cyber News, an ad free, spam free online magazine emanating from Stanley's Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. In Cyber News we'll try to pass along some useful tips and information about your computer, the Internet, computer products, digital photography, other related topics, and some stuff that's not related at all. Arizona is known for being hot during the summer months. Temperatures can reach 115, and on occasion even higher. Lots of people live here only during the winter months because of that. This year the heat has been a real monster across the nation and actually we Arizonians have been lucky because of our low humidity. Mix high heat with high humidity, that much of the Country has endured, and you are in for a very unpleasant experience! The heat this summer has been excessive, but that seems to be the least of our problems. Our real problem is Congress! All the problems America faces today are because of you. When you campaigned you promised to fight against higher taxes, for education reform, health care reform, and balancing the budget. You haven't done any of these things. We are fighting wars because of you, not because of us. You constantly fight among yourselves and we are sick and tired of you acting like little children. You were elected to represent us, but it's all about you and not about us. You are embarrassing our Nation to the world. Come down from your ivory tower and join the ranks of us and let's put America back together! I yearn for the time when we don't talk about you everyday. As another heat wave belches its way across the States, cafes are becoming exceptionally attractive as a place to boot up your laptop, hook into the Wi-Fi and get some work done. Here are some top courtesy tips for not offending the staff or fellow worker bees in a packed coffeehouse. Tips provided by CNN Tech.
Here's an important tip regarding Windows Updates: The update default is 3 am. If your computer is on all night the updates will automatically be applied. Two things to point out here. First, updates usually require a reboot. If you leave your computer on 24/7 you should close all applications before bedtime. Not doing so, especially on "Patch Tuesday" could cause you to loose data. If your computer is usually turned off at night then instead of updates being installed automatically, you will see the yellow crest on your task bar reminding you to do this manually. Just click it and then click Install. I featured this in a previous Cyber News, but can't help doing it again. This type of technology is just amazing and gives us a clue of what will soon be common place. Let's go shopping. Here's something fun you can do in a couple of minutes to test your brain age. Give it a try! Did you run CCleaner today? Did you run Malwarebytes this week? Did you defragement in the last 30 days? Don't wait for something to go wrong with your computer before performing these simple computer tasks. CCleaner, once a day, Malwarebytes once a week, and defrag once a month. Why pay someone to fix your computer when you can do these simple things to keep your machine running as smoothly as the day you bought it! Details here.
Tidbit: 27 year old Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is reportedly worth over 13 billion dollars! Wouldn't it be cool to have a coffee table that doubled as a touch screen computer? Well there is such a thing and I'd love to have this 55 inch high definition piece of furniture on our TV room. The only problem is the price tag of $18,000! Check it out. I have had the privilege of flying gliders, hot air balloons, helicopters, single engine, multi-engine airplanes, prop jets and pure jets. Parasailing would be a dream, but at my age probably not a reality. Jump into the sky now as we fly over Nepal with a hawk that will show us the thermals in exchange for food. This flight will take your breath away! Be sure to watch this in full screen. Speaking of flight, check out a 360 degree view of the Space Shuttle's cockpit. Hold down your left mouse button and move left, right, up or down, to view all those knobs, buttons, and dials. Ok, where is the eject button? Is having unsecured Wi-Fi really that dangerous? The answer is yes, and for many reasons. Details from Kim Komando on USA Today.
This will surely bring you a smile or even laughter. Watch babies eating lemons and limes. I have attended several photo seminars in many cities with world class photographers as hosts. Most of the time spent in these seminars is of an instructional venue, but occasionally he or she will talk about and show photos that they have taken. I really enjoy this for the beauty and inspiration of their photos. An example is National Geographic photographer Michael Melford presenting some funny and amazing stories about his work! National Geographic magazine has been around forever, and most everyone have browsed through a copy at one time or another, or maybe you even have a subscription. Now they have a website where you can spend hours surfing, enjoying, and learning. This is a world of wonderful information! Who got paid an overwhelming amount of money for a photo that he snapped in Napa Valley? He said he received one of the largest amounts ever paid to a living, working photographer. The photo will surprise you and one you have seen many times. The story from the Napa Valley Register.
If you love photography, you may be interested in a great photo tip delivered to your inbox every Monday. Digital Photo Magazine does just that and you can sign up here. Check out my personal Photo Site. You'll see over 1,400 pictures in 38 galleries that I've taken from around the world. We have had over 420,000 views on our Photo Site, with over 10,000 views last month, thanks in part to Cyber News readers! Check out this month's photo. Check out my Blog.
There you will find my thoughts about anything and everything! Remember you can read previous editions of Cyber News by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. You can also search previous editions of Cyber News by typing key words into the search box. If you would like to be added to our mailing list (absolutely not shared with anyone) just click here. You will be notified when each new edition is posted. Since spam filters seem to be getting stricter our notification may end up in your spam folder, so be sure to check that occasionally for any important email that may have ended up there. Cyber News is a permanent web site, so you can put it in your "Favorites" and refer to it anytime. "Live Life with Passion, in a Constant State of Joy, and with an Attitude of Gratitude!" Secrets to Safe Computing : Read each point below and be sure to follow the advice as outlined. Just a few minutes of work will go a long way in keeping your computer running smoothly!
Disclaimer: The information presented in Cyber News is researched and is believed to be accurate. We cannot guarantee that all the information will work on your particular combination of hardware, software and user skills. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Stanley Computing nor its contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented on this web site. Stanley Computing has not been compensated in any way for any product endorsement. |
Visiting
homes to fix problem computer problems, I often see that
little yellow crest with the explanation point down in the system
tray. (See the April Edition of Cyber News.) This is being
ignored by lots of people and hence they are not receiving the latest
security updates for their operating system. These updates and
patches from Microsoft come down the pike the second Tuesday of each month. Not
keeping up to date is one way malware and spyware enter you
computer. The program Malwarebytes will get rid of those pesky
little critters, but why let them into your machine in the first
place. 
You
may have never heard of "Planking" but it's been the big
fad for the past few months. Planking is
laying perfectly flat on an object, having your photo taken, then
posting it to the web. That's old hat now, so farewell planking,
hello "Owling." Now, it's all about squatting, arms
pressed toward the ground and eyes locked in a wise, faraway gaze. You
know ... 
Lots
of people's AOL, Yahoo, and Hotmail email accounts have been recently hi-jacked.
The biggest reason is weak passwords. A good
suggestion is to change your password to something stronger.
Never use words that reflect any obvious thing in your life, like
birthday, home address, telephone number, etc. Use a combination
of letters and numbers that mean nothing. Be sure to write it down
and keep it in a safe place. If you see an email from a friend
that just doesn't seem right, let them know because they don't know it
was sent from their account! 
Photo
Tip of the Month: Digital cameras have advanced significantly
in the last few years. You can take a nice picture in the auto
mode, but take a great picture using custom settings. The more you
know about your camera the more fun you will have and the better photos
you will produce. Here are some tips on this subject from 
If
you think a friend or family member would enjoy Cyber News, don't
hesitate to let them know about it. An easy way to do this is to
right click on the web address in the address window of your browser and
choose copy. Open your email program and a new email.
Address it, and in the body of the message right click and choose paste.
That creates a link and when your friend receives the email he or she
simply clicks on the link and it will take them directly to Cyber News. Of
course you can do that with any web page.
Feel free to forward Cyber News to your friends.
