Although things haven't really gotten fired up -- what with the fall-out from the primaries determined long ago and the Republican and Democratic conventions yet to happen -- but pretty much everyone is aware that a presidential election is happening.
One place where it's pretty difficult to escape the convention, even now these months before the election, is on the tube. Both the Kerry and Bush campaigns have been spending big bucks on political commercials trying to demonize the other guy and/or reinforce their own proximity to perfection.
An online site that enables us to not only look at the current crop of commercials, but to take a look back at presidential politic polemics, at least through the view of the tv screen and political advertising.
The site is called The Living Room Candidate and is part of the American Museum of the Moving Image.
I'm still back looking at the commercials used during the Eisenhower/Stevenson and Kennedy/Nixon eras, but they have them, as I said, right up to the present campaign.
By the way, you can view them by campaign year but also by categories (biolgraphical, fear, documentary, commander-in-chief, etc.) or by issue (civil rights, taxes, war, welfare, etc.).
One amazing source that gives us a look at the political process and cultural change, not to mention the change in television as a medium and advertising as an "art."
Friday, July 02, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Spyware? Should You Care?
The installation of "spyware" and similar programs that can record activity (keystrokes, web site visits, etc.) on your computer has, no doubt, already happen unbeknownst to you.
More and more of this category of invasive computer "malware" is getting added to people's machines as they click around the Internet. Again, unless you have a program installed on your computer to counter (and delete/destroy) spyware, you have no idea that this stuff is getting placed on your computer.
Like most things, the best place to start in becoming able to combat spyware and keep it from reporting things about your computer activity, not to mention slowing down your computer's performance, is knowing what you're up against.
Mike Emery, of New Philadelphia City Schools, has written a very good summary that describes what we are all up against. He also includes some excellent and practical advice on how you can minimize or completely avoid these invaders. This description is well-written and well-worth the time to read.
Mike's document is called: Spyware, Malware, and Adware (this is a .pdf file)
If you would like to really dive into the whole question of adware, spyware, and maintaining your computer's security and integrity, you might want to read Removing Spyware by Michael Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz goes into a great deal of detail and is also quite fascinating.
More and more of this category of invasive computer "malware" is getting added to people's machines as they click around the Internet. Again, unless you have a program installed on your computer to counter (and delete/destroy) spyware, you have no idea that this stuff is getting placed on your computer.
Like most things, the best place to start in becoming able to combat spyware and keep it from reporting things about your computer activity, not to mention slowing down your computer's performance, is knowing what you're up against.
Mike Emery, of New Philadelphia City Schools, has written a very good summary that describes what we are all up against. He also includes some excellent and practical advice on how you can minimize or completely avoid these invaders. This description is well-written and well-worth the time to read.
Mike's document is called: Spyware, Malware, and Adware (this is a .pdf file)
If you would like to really dive into the whole question of adware, spyware, and maintaining your computer's security and integrity, you might want to read Removing Spyware by Michael Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz goes into a great deal of detail and is also quite fascinating.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Clippy's Demise
Not everything in the world of computers is simple and uncomplicated. Heck, not everything is trouble-free, let alone "user friendly." Some would say (would I?) that anyone using a computer must prepare her/himself to be downright annoyed now and then!
While there's not always a solution or the thing will freeze or it will blithely delete the new revisions or it will shutdown of its own accord (and lose everything you didn't save AGAIN!), a web site provides some help and, maybe, comfort.
It's called -- logically enough -- Annoyances.org. What will you find there?
Annoyances.org lays out some of the truly annoying things about using computers and some explanations as to what is going on. It also gives you some how-to advice to improve the reliability and performance of your computer (we're talking the Windows OS, here).
Other subject areas covered include networking, customizing Windows, and trouble-shooting. If that's not enough, there are discussion forums covering the various versions of Windows. Last, but not least, is a whole section on "humor" (speaking of....their home page features an animation in which a foot squishes dear-old Clippy [that animated "helper" in Office]) to take away the sting on those not-so-good computing days.
Next time your computer gets annoying, stop by Annoyances.org for the antidote!
While there's not always a solution or the thing will freeze or it will blithely delete the new revisions or it will shutdown of its own accord (and lose everything you didn't save AGAIN!), a web site provides some help and, maybe, comfort.
It's called -- logically enough -- Annoyances.org. What will you find there?
Annoyances.org lays out some of the truly annoying things about using computers and some explanations as to what is going on. It also gives you some how-to advice to improve the reliability and performance of your computer (we're talking the Windows OS, here).
Other subject areas covered include networking, customizing Windows, and trouble-shooting. If that's not enough, there are discussion forums covering the various versions of Windows. Last, but not least, is a whole section on "humor" (speaking of....their home page features an animation in which a foot squishes dear-old Clippy [that animated "helper" in Office]) to take away the sting on those not-so-good computing days.
Next time your computer gets annoying, stop by Annoyances.org for the antidote!
Got questions about MS Office?
There are many, many online resources that offer a wide range of help with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
One that I'd invite you to consider looking at is The Office Letter. Current and previous issues of the Standard Edition are available free. You can also subscribe to an online newsletter (at the "standard" level) for free.
For $12/year, the Premium edition offers all the content of the Standard edition plus more (and no advertising).
This seems like a very helpful resource for questions about using Office apps.
One that I'd invite you to consider looking at is The Office Letter. Current and previous issues of the Standard Edition are available free. You can also subscribe to an online newsletter (at the "standard" level) for free.
For $12/year, the Premium edition offers all the content of the Standard edition plus more (and no advertising).
This seems like a very helpful resource for questions about using Office apps.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
So you want to do an Internet Search?
Doing an Internet search for information is something most of us do many times each day. The search engine of choice for a lot of people is (no surprise, here): Google
My guess is that a lot of you out there do what I often do: I find that I need to find out something about something and so I type something into the search field and click Search. One of the reasons so many gazillion people use Google is that it's darn good and coming up with results to queries that often hit the proverbial nail on the head or it's the third or fourth result shown on the first page.
That's not to say that the quality of the results you get could not be improved by entering better crafted search inquiries to begin with. And we haven't seen the many other things Google can do.
So, today I want to point you to a tool provided by Google itself about itself. There's a GoogleGuide that provides information, tutorials, hints, and tips galore.
You have built-in options to skip the most basic introductory information and move to tips for more experienced users.
Searching is covered, of course, but so are some of the features you may not realize that Google offers. Like what? Like being an online dictionary. Like being your calculator. A way to find someone's phone numbers. And there are more..........
With the GoogleGuide, start with the link to Contents. Nose around as much or as little as you have time for. I have no doubt that we will be confronted with an ever-increasing (ballooning?) amount of information on the Internet in coming weeks, months, years (duh). To me this (obviously) means that smart searches will save ever-increasing (ballooning?) amounts of time while giving us more of the information you actually need!
I figure time spent getting to know Google better will be time well spent. Check out the GoogleGuide!
My guess is that a lot of you out there do what I often do: I find that I need to find out something about something and so I type something into the search field and click Search. One of the reasons so many gazillion people use Google is that it's darn good and coming up with results to queries that often hit the proverbial nail on the head or it's the third or fourth result shown on the first page.
That's not to say that the quality of the results you get could not be improved by entering better crafted search inquiries to begin with. And we haven't seen the many other things Google can do.
So, today I want to point you to a tool provided by Google itself about itself. There's a GoogleGuide that provides information, tutorials, hints, and tips galore.
You have built-in options to skip the most basic introductory information and move to tips for more experienced users.
Searching is covered, of course, but so are some of the features you may not realize that Google offers. Like what? Like being an online dictionary. Like being your calculator. A way to find someone's phone numbers. And there are more..........
With the GoogleGuide, start with the link to Contents. Nose around as much or as little as you have time for. I have no doubt that we will be confronted with an ever-increasing (ballooning?) amount of information on the Internet in coming weeks, months, years (duh). To me this (obviously) means that smart searches will save ever-increasing (ballooning?) amounts of time while giving us more of the information you actually need!
I figure time spent getting to know Google better will be time well spent. Check out the GoogleGuide!
Monday, June 28, 2004
Welcome Everyone!
Today I join the ranks of the bloggers. I've approached this step with some trepidation not knowing exactly what I'm getting myself into. The potential of using this kind of tool, though, has my appetite whetted (that, and it's about time for lunch), so I'm taking the plunge.
As I say in my intro above, what follows over the coming days, weeks, and months will be a variety of who-knows-what. My greatest goal, though, is to use this tool as a way to record and document a host of discoveries and helpful information I come across regularly. In the past, much of this ends up as a bookmark or saved e-mail message. What doesn't happen is that this information, these tutorials, and those great hints don't make it to the Tech Department website or distributed in a way that might help you users out there. As I say, I hope this blog will give me the medium to get these tips out there so they can be shared and used.
That's not to say that every single item here will be strictly focused on technology and teaching....this is a blog after all! But the exciting thing, here at the beginning, is the hope that you'll find useful information and help (not to mention some fun stuff too!).
Harold
As I say in my intro above, what follows over the coming days, weeks, and months will be a variety of who-knows-what. My greatest goal, though, is to use this tool as a way to record and document a host of discoveries and helpful information I come across regularly. In the past, much of this ends up as a bookmark or saved e-mail message. What doesn't happen is that this information, these tutorials, and those great hints don't make it to the Tech Department website or distributed in a way that might help you users out there. As I say, I hope this blog will give me the medium to get these tips out there so they can be shared and used.
That's not to say that every single item here will be strictly focused on technology and teaching....this is a blog after all! But the exciting thing, here at the beginning, is the hope that you'll find useful information and help (not to mention some fun stuff too!).
Harold
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