Perfect Clocks

Michael Cooney reports that DARPA is seeking highly accurate timepieces to reduce travelers' reliance on Global Posibitioning satellites .

-DD

Google Pays One Billion to Be Default Search for Apple

Jon Gold observes that Google paid Apple a billion dollars to be the default search engine for Apple devices. The report also discusses Google's $22 billion in profits from Android.

-DD

Employment Outlook Grim for Some Information Collectors

Sharon Gaudin notes that automation resulting from the Internet of Things will result in widespread unemployment for those who simply collect, and do not analyze, data.

-DD

Duplicating the Brain's Intelligence

Michael Cooney reports on efforts to develop brain-like computers .

-DD

Who Is Responsible for Data Security?

Evan Schuman suggests that individuals have the responsibility to protect their data .

-DD

Cities With Bedbug Problems

Orkin offers a list of the top cities for bedbugs as well as tips for avoiding infestation.

-DD

The Internet of Things and Data Privacy

Ms. Smith suggests that privacy is in jeopardy due to the wide-reaching permissions the apps invoke. She links to a number of sources on the topic, and reminds readers that January 28 is "Data Privacy Day."

-DD

 

Personal Computer Prices Rising

Agam Shah reports that bargain computers are harder to find, as suppliers abandon the low-margin market to sell high-end laptops.

-DD

The Promise of Smart Light Bulbs

Mike Elgin predicts that the smart light bulb will become a common user interface during the next decade. As Elgin notes:

Because light bulbs are located in places where they will shine light on human activity, they tend to be easily accessible, in spots where people live their lives. While the electrical outlet might be behind the couch, the lamp that's plugged into the outlet sits right next to the couch, where you could easily talk to and through it. The same goes for other lamps, built-in ceiling lights, garage lights, bathroom lights -- they're distributed in every room and within speaking and hearing distance.

Smart bulbs, which will also have Wi-Fi, need only speakers and microphones to make them extensions of our virtual assistants. By plugging these appliances into light sockets, rather than wall outlets, they become invisible, "wireless" and centrally and conveniently located.

-DD

Repel Ransomware

Robert Covington suggests seven tips for avoiding or mitigating ransomware . These include:

1. Plan
2. Back up (and test your restore ability)
3. Use antivirus and firewall software
4. Perform software updates
5. Restrict mapped drives
6. Assign who uses each PC
7. Respond if the worst happens

-DD

Passwords

Jimmy Kimmel Live interviews pedestrians to determine the ease of obtaining passwords from strangers.

-DD

 

Computer Programming

Peter Wayner predicts the future of programming methods and language usage.

-DD

Using Email

Melanie Pinola suggested ways to use email .

-DD

Communicating Written Communication Preference

George Williams offers a tip on communicating written communication preferences to college students. Williams actually prefers the immediacy of Skype chat to decyphering the message of an e-mail, and tells that to his students upfront.

-DD

Educational Web Sites

Terry Freedman shares web sites for teachers .

-DD

PhotoFeeler

I tried using Photofeeler.com and was surprised at how harshly my current profile image was judged by twenty evaluators. According to the evaluators, my image was in the bottom quartile in conveying "competence, likability and influence."

Apparently I need to update my current profile pic.

-DD

Meeting Agendas With Attached Documents

Lisa Nelson suggests that an email with a meeting agenda should include attachments with any presentation handouts.

Providing the deliverables upfront seems to be an excellent tip for corporate meetings. To do so at a trade show concurrent session may cause people to feel their information needs are met, potentially reducing attendance to your very expensive presentation.

-DD

Document Preservation

Mark Gibbs promotes Fidsafe, a Fidelity service for storing documents permanenttly. The basic service is free.

-DD

Consumer Electronics Show 2016

Ken Mingis and an IDG team report on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Under discussion was the Internet of Things (and resulting data security issues), drones and personal assistant robots, the HALO WiFi standard, car technology, and virtual reality.

-DD

Student Feedback

Rob Jenkins takes to heart student feedback , even that appearing on www.ratemyprofessor.com.

-DD

Travel Essentials

Jessica Festa suggests travel essentials .

-DD

Overcoming the Holiday Productivity Slump

Brady Wilson suggests ways employees can conquor the holiday slump in productivity.

-DD

Academic Portfolios

Jason B. Jones discusses how academic portfolios serve Campbell's educational goals of narrating, curating, and sharing. They do not fulfill their full potential if they are only an activity log.

-DD

Recognizing Sponsored Content

Bartosz Wojdynski and Nathaniel Evans discussed the recognition of "sponsored" or "native " advertising by readers. Wojdyski and Evans (2015) describe it in this manner: "Also called sponsored content, native advertising is a term used to describe any paid advertising that takes the specific form and appearance of editorial content from the publisher itself (Abstract, para. 2). They also note that recognition by readers is low.

-DD

Google Improving "OK, Google" Bot

Martyn Williams reports that Google is investing heavily into improving its chat bot accessed by speaking "OK, Google " into a device microphone. The new chat bot would access much larger data sets, making it a much more useful source of information.

-DD

Competency Based Education

Public Agenda is an agency which researches social issues. The agency has just released a report on competency based education programs in the United States.

-DD

Napping

Melanie Pinola provides the best length of time for napping .

-DD

Password Protection

Maria Korolov reports simple methods for protecting passwords.

-DD

Gaining Student's Focus

James Lang offers tips for gaining the attention of an audience, of keeping their focus at the start of instruction.

-DD

Internships

Sarah K. White explains why tech internships pay off .

-DD

A Quality Education

Deb Adair argues that U.S. society is demanding quality and personal application from instructional programs.

-DD

When The Internet Goes Dark

English teacher Adam Schoenbart offers four teaching strategies that can be used when the Internet connectivity at a school is down. These include:

1. having students create a presentation;
2. have a discussion or debate;
3. have students free write to a broad prompt; and,
4. have students synthesize their learning.

-DD

Millennials

Sarah K. White gives tips for making a workplace millennial friendly . What they want is:

1. collaboration;
2. access to technology;
3. don't want to rely on IT;
4. autonomy;
5. purpose.

-DD

Priming Someone's Thoughts

Adam Dachls suggests how to manipulate the thoughts of others.

-DD

Whaling or Wailing?

Katherine Noyes explains to accountants the dangers of "whaling " cyber attacks.

-DD

Open Education Resources in 2016

Brian Jacobs predicts Open Education Resources will increase in popularity in 2016.

-DD

Wi-Fi Technology

David Callisch talks about Wi-Fi technology limitations that impair network bandwidth and transmission speed.

-DD

Declining Importance of Social Networking

Patrick Nelson predicts that in 2016 corporations are going to reduce their attention on social networking , returning to traditional advertising campaigns.

-DD

David Kapuler's Top 50 Sites

David Kapular shares his current list of educational websites .

-DD

Windows Feedback Requests

Ian Paul notes that Windows 10 frequently requests feedback. He supplies graphics that show how to silence the requests .

-DD

Needed Skills

Melanie Pinola suggests the soft skills needed by all employees.

-DD

Android 6 "Marshmallow"

J. R. Raphael delineates the improvements in the Android 6 operating system developed by Google.

Android users might also benefit from a video of Chris of Androidpit reviewing tips from the mobile Chrome browser, or David Cox's "Introduction to Chrome" on a PC

. -DD

Adobe Flash

Michael Horowitz reveals how many flaws were discovered in Flash Player in 2015.

-DD

Old Data In the Cloud

Tom Henderson warns that Internet cloud providers do not have a metadata standard for tracking the age of software or data posted to the cloud. Differing, vendor-specific methods exist, which can cause confusion.

-DD

Monitor Usage

Melanie Pinola provides guidance on using a computer monitor.

-DD

Forced Upgrades for Windows 10

Blair Frank reports that users of Windows 10 will experience forced updates .

-DD

Wearable Technology

James Martin suggests wearable technologies that will become mainstream in 2016 .

-DD

Health Records

Ken Mingis notes that many health record repositories are insecure , and makes predictions for news in 2016.

-DD

A Curated Skill Set May Replace Traditional Degrees

Matt Pittinsky and Mike Buttry suggest that universities may begin offering short academic programs that meet the needs of adult students who need certifications in a special area. The vision of Pattinsky and Buttry is that the cost of a traditional bachelor's degree is excessive when a working degree only needs a specialized skillset to update their vocational knowledge. They feel that students will work with universities to curate their own programs of study which target their vocation.

My own opinion is that the bachelor's degree will continue to offer a cachet to any student, and that the type of rapidly acheived vocationally-targeted recognition which Pittinsky and Buttry are proposing is already offered by vocational schools and community colleges.

-DD

Google in 2015

Jared Newman recounts the broading of Google's mission

in 2015, including the search firm's creation of the holding company "Alphabet." -DD

Surface Pro 4

Tom Henderson offers guidance on using a Surface Pro 4.

-DD

The DVD and Blu-Ray Discs Have a Role in a 4K World

Andy Patrizio warns that we have lost the video store infrastructure needed to support 4K video in the US.

This is what I mean when I say we were too quick to abandon the old ways. Streaming appeals to the laziness in people who find it too much trouble to drive a few miles to a video store. The result is wiping out an entire segment of our economy that pretty much can't be revived even though we could still use it.

-DD

Leadership Tips

Alison Beard offers leadership tips from successful people .

-DD

Video Cover Letters

Sharon Florentine reviews building effective video cover letters .

-DD

Work Productivity

Fast Company Staff suggest these activities for productivity in the workplace.

-DD

Abandoned Technologies, Vanished Technology Firms

Christopher Null and Melissa Riofrio name technology companies or technology initiatives which were abandoned in 2015.

-DD

Bloatware

Preston Gralla explains how to deal with bloatware , the unwanted demo software pre-installed on most new computers.

PC World in the Spring of 2015 did a random survey of devices at Best Buy, and listed the bloatware it found.

-DD

Social Media

Brendan Egan recommends that academic institutions should embrace social media to meet the needs of students.

-DD

Privacy of Student Records

Helen Garrett shares a checklist of information sharing restricted by the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) legistation in United States educational environments.

-DD

Quotes

Rhett Power provides inspirational quotes .

-DD

Smart Television Security

Jeremy Kirk warns that the next wave of cyber crime may involve smart televisions being compromised throught their internet connection.

-DD

Strategic Planning

Pat Sanaghan offers ten suggestions for strategic planning , tips which apply to any group, but specifically for academic planning.

-DD

Chinese Government Data Decryption

Jeremy Kirk observes that the Chinese government now requires access to decryption tools .

-DD

Algorithms Impacting Life

Tim Greene shares news about newly-discovered algorithms that are changing peoples' lives.

-DD