All About Computer

Blender Absolute Beginner Tutorial: Episode 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:19:00 +0000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLV7h-WLIx0

Blender - amatuer 3D animation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 16:41:00 +0000

GIMP - colour manipulation.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 09:47:00 +0000

After Edit

Before Edit

GIMP - input image inside TEXT

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 02:22:00 +0000

Example 1.

The History of Laptop Computers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 20:04:00 +0000

It is a little hard to determine which was the first portable or laptop computer since the earliest portable computers to arrive did not look anything like the book-sized folding laptops that we are familiar with today. However, they were both portable and can sit on a person's lap and did eventually lead to the development of notebook style laptops.
With that in mind, I have outlined several potential firsts below and how each might qualify for the honor. Many of the off-site links provided below include excellent photos of the computers so that you should be able to see the progression in design.

The First Laptop? Maybe
The Grid Compass was designed in 1979 by a Briton named William Moggridge for Grid Systems Corporation. It was one-fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was used by NASA as part of the the space shuttle program in the early 1980's. As far as technical specs, it featured a 340K byte bubble memory lap-top computer system with a die-cast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen.

Microsoft is working on a new design language for Windows 10 codenamed Project NEON

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 16:54:00 +0000

Microsoft has made several adjustments to its design language over the last few years, starting with Windows 8 and evolving into what we now know as "Microsoft Design Language 2" or MDL2 in Windows 10. With MDL2 being the current design language used throughout Windows 10, Microsoft has plans to begin using a much more streamlined design language with Redstone 3, codenamed Project NEON.

A Metro 2.0?

Cassim Ketfi at Numerama.com confirms our information and has heard Project NEON called "basically Metro 2". That designation refers to the first Metro design language (née Modern) that harkens to Windows Media Center up through Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8.

Microsoft's Metro was a strict codified theory about modern design language

Metro was the defining look of the Windows Phone OS with strict principles and guidelines. It also kicked off the design movement of flat, chrome-less design focused on simplicity that even iOS and Android now mimic.
Per our sources, Project NEON has been in the works for over a year internally at Microsoft. It builds upon the design language introduced with Windows 10, with its simple and clean interfaces, but adds some much-needed flair to the UI that the current design language just lacks.
Details are still scarce, but we hear some of the new designs in the plans include adding more animations and transitions, with the overall goal of making the UI very fluid and "beautiful" compared to the current, almost static UI that is MDL2. One source familiar with Microsoft's plans described NEON as "Very fluid, lots of motion and nice transitions."
Other things we've heard include app-elements being able to "escape" the borders of a window making for a much more unique experience.

Update: Some more information about NEON reveals that it serves as a bridge between holographic and augmented reality (AR) and the desktop environment. It's a "UI that transports across devices" with a UX that maps to the physical world. It uses textures, 3D models, lighting and more.

We're still digging for more info regarding what other new improvements are in the works, but from what we've gathered so far, Microsoft is interested in making the UI in Windows 10 far richer, which is excellent news.
For those who like MDL2, don't worry, Project NEON intends to build upon the current design language rather than replace it entirely. This new design language will be a natural evolution to the UI rather than a complete redesign like the transition from Windows 8 to Windows 10. Developers building apps with MDL2 in mind won't have their apps look out of place when Project NEON arrives, but will, of course, have the option to add new design language elements if they wish.

Microsoft also wants to clean up the so-called inconsistencies that MDL2 possesses. As it currently stands, developers can build apps that feature their own context menus, app bars, hamburger menu designs and more, causing for some odd inconsistencies throughout the operating system. Project NEON aims to clean all this up by providing developers with clear and consistent guidelines when designing their apps.

Timeline

Internal plans appear to suggest that the bulk of this new design language will start showing up with Redstone 3 in the early Fall of 2017, but Insiders will likely start seeing these new changes a lot sooner, as Insiders are supposed to start receiving RS3 builds in April-May. There is also a reasonable chance we may see some NEON bits begin to appear in Redstone 2 in early 2017.
Microsoft will continue working on Project NEON throughout Redstone 3's development cycle and leading into Redstone 4 in 2018, where 3rd-party developers will also be able to take advantage of the new design language.
Microsoft has a lot in the pipeline for Windows 10 over the next 18 months, with Redstone 3 seemingly turning out to be a pretty big update for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and Xbox One.
Stay tuned at Windows Central for more scoops regarding upcoming releases of Windows 10!

This post i just copy and pase from the original source
please visit HERE

zuckerberg & T-shirtnya

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 16:11:00 +0000

Siapa tahu?
t-shirt yang CEO pakai bukan T-shirt bodoh-bodoh kosong jer..
ada makna di sebalik baju yang dia pakai.tambah pulak selesa, siapa tak suka kan? paka t-shirt round neck aje masuk bilik meeting.
tapi ceo facebook itu printing logo yang sesuai dengannya, pada baju tersebut tertampal logo:
1.people
people yang melambangkan perhubungan setiap manusia,sesama kita biarpun dialam maya, dan perhubungan itu tentulah sesuatu yang menyeronok kan, kan?
disamping itu,ada juga yang bertemu jodoh dialam maya, betul bukan? tak masa zaman dahulu, hendak cari sorang calon terpaksa meredah ke satu negeri ke satu negeri, tu pun belum tentu jumpa lagi, sekarang, semuanya di hujung jari sahaja, dari hujung rambut sampai lah ke hujung kaki.
2.Mention-it
yang ini tentulah di sebalik foto dan video, perlulah beserta dengan caption masing-masing supaya setiap dari kita tahu apa yang ingin disampaikan, bukannya foto atau media sahaja, kalau tak, manusia ni suka buat cerita sendiri dan di tambah tokok, tambahan pulak facebook sekarang sedang fight it misinformation campaign sejak menangnya trump sebagai president amerika selepas obama.
3.world
yang ini pula facebook sedang bertungkus lumus menerajui bisnes ini dengan menghubungkan seluruh manusia didunia ni dalam satu laman sahaja.
dan seterusnya menjadikan people-mention it-world kepada satu yang nyata iaitu facebook “everyone connected.

walaupun kurang cerdik,janji ada facebook, dan korang pandai-pandai la tapis maklumat dalam laman itu.

Cyber hackers target ATMs, Europe and Malaysia hit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:35:00 +0000

CYBER criminals have remotely attacked cash machines in more than a dozen countries across Europe this year, using malicious software that forces machines to spit out cash, according to Russian cyber security firm Group IB.

Diebold Nixdorf and NCR Corp, the world's two largest ATM makers, said they were aware of the attacks and have been working with customers to mitigate the threat. The newly disclosed heists across Europe follow the hacking of ATMs in Taiwan and Thailand that were widely reported over the summer.

Although cyber criminals have been attacking cash machines for at least five years, the early campaigns mostly involved small numbers of ATMs because hackers needed to have physical access to cash out machines.

The recent heists in Europe and Asia were run from central, remote command centres, enabling criminals to target large numbers of machines in "smash and grab" operations that seek to drain large amounts of cash before banks uncover the hacks.

“They are taking this to the next level in being able to attack a large number of machines at once,” said Nicholas Billett, Diebold Nixdorf’s senior director of core software and ATM Security. “They know they will be caught fairly quickly, so they stage it in such a way that they can get cash from as many ATMs as they can before they get shut down.”

Group IB declined to name banks that were “jackpotted,” a term used to describe forcing ATMs to spit out cash, but said the victims were located in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Britain and Malaysia.Indeed, Dmitry Volkov, head of threat intelligence with Group IB, told Reuters he expects more heists on ATMs.

MORE HEISTS EXPECTED

Hackers have moved from stealing payment card numbers and online banking credentials to more lucrative hacks on bank networks, giving them access not only to ATM machines, but also to electronic payment networks.

A February attack on servers at Bangladesh's central bank that controlled access to the SWIFT messaging system yielded more than $81 million (64.98 million pounds) in one of the biggest digital heists on record. Russian banks lost over $28 million in a series of wire-fraud cases that were identified earlier this year.

"What we are seeing demonstrated is the new model of organised crime," said Shane Shook, an independent security consultant who helps banks and governments investigate cyber attacks and reviewed Group IB's findings.

Diebold Nixdorf and NCR both said they had provided banks with information on how to thwart the new types of attacks.

"We have been working actively with customers, including those who have been impacted, as well as developing proactive security solutions and strategies to help prevent and minimize the impact of these attacks," said Owen Wild, NCR's global marketing director for enterprise fraud and security.

Disclosure of the campaign follows two ATM hacks in July: $2.5 million was stolen from Taiwan's First Bank and $350,000 from Thailand's state-run Government Savings Bank.

Hackers remotely infected ATMs at both banks, forcing them to spit out cash that was collected by teams of "money mules," who authorities say travelled to Asia from Eastern Europe.

ONE CRIMINAL GROUP?

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this month sent a private alert to American banks, warning them to be on the lookout for attacks on ATMs following the heists in Taiwan and Thailand, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment on the attacks in Europe.

Group IB released a report describing its findings late on Monday, saying it believed the attacks across Europe were conducted by a single criminal group which it dubbed Cobalt.

It named them after a security-testing tool known as Cobalt Strike, which the perpetrators used in the heists to help them move from computers in the bank network that were infected with tainted emails to specialised servers that control ATMs.

Group IB believes that Cobalt is linked to a well-known cyber crime gang dubbed Buhtrap, which stole 1.8 billion roubles (22.46 million pounds) from Russian banks from August 2015 to January 2016, because the two groups use similar tools and techniques.

Buhtrap stole money through fraudulent wire transfers, not ATM jackpotting.

The ATM Security Association declined to comment on Group IB's findings.

Members of the group, which works to improve ATM security, include ATM maker Diebold Nixdorf as well as banks ABN Amro, Bank of America Corp, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Wells Fargo & Co.

Representatives of Europol, which coordinates investigations of cyber crimes across Europe, had no immediate comment. - Reuters

Next Windows 10 Update To Cut Down On Bloatware

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 15:58:00 +0000

Latest Preview build allows users to uninstall some of the default Windows 10 apps.

For many Windows 10 users, some of the system apps that come preinstalled with Windows 10 by default, qualify as little more than Microsoft’s own unique brand of irremovable bloatware.

Trying to remove some of these apps, originally involved power users having to run Powershell commands to remove the apps they didn’t want. Fortunately, after a while, thanks to programs like Geek Uninstaller, everyone else could uninstall the sometime cumbersome apps as well.
But now the latest Windows 10 preview (14936) that is currently out for testing, has given an uninstall option for some of these apps. Before, the uninstall button was an annoyingly untouchable greyed out icon. Users have thankfully been given some more control of what they do and don’t want to have installed on their computers when it comes to Windows 10.
According to the Ghacks website, who seem to have noticed this development first, Microsoft are giving users the ability to uninstall five default apps, namely Mail, Calendar, Calculator, Groove Music, Maps, and Weather.
Some apps, such as Cortana, for instance can still be disabled, but it would appear that Microsoft won’t be giving its customers the uninstall option for that anytime soon, if ever.
Ordinary users of Windows 10 on the current stable live version will have to wait until Preview 14936 is pushed out to everyone before they are given the choice whether they wish to get rid of one or all of the five Microsoft apps that can be uninstalled.
Curiously, Microsoft never provided a reason as to why certain apps couldn’t be removed from Windows 10 before build 14936, but some websites have postulated the theory that some Windows Apps are essential parts of the Operating System’s core functionality, and as such essential for Windows 10 to run.

original post here

games

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 16:07:00 +0000

http://shopap.lenovo.com/my/en/gaming/?ipromoID=my_pub_espot3_gaming&

BREIN Does a Deal With Kickass and Pirate Bay Uploader

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 18:13:00 +0000

Anti-piracy group BREIN says that after identifying an uploader of around 5,000 torrents on sites including KickassTorrents and The Pirate Bay, it has reached settlement with the individual. In response the man has published a warning to others, noting that while uploading may seem harmless, it's actually a damaging and expensive hobby.

In August 2015, BREIN announced that it had reached a private agreement with members of ‘Dutch Release Team’ (DRT), a group that had uploaded movies to torrent sites including The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents.
The deal entailed them deleting their files from Kickass, paying a cash settlement, and informing on remaining members of the group.
Now BREIN has announced a new development which should herald the final nail in the coffin for another release group. According to the anti-piracy outfit it first identified and then settled with the last active member of DMT (Dutch Movie Theater).
According to BREIN the man uploaded mostly movies and eBooks on an almost daily basis to sites including KickassTorrents and The Pirate Bay. Revealing his alias as ‘ipod020′, BREIN says that overall around 5,000 torrents were uploaded.
On Kickass, where the man used to have an active account, all torrents have been deleted. In their place sits a warning message (Dutch, translated by TF) to other would-be releasers.
“Illegal uploading and downloading costs a lot of money to the film industry, but also to me. Do not do it. I had to settle with BREIN for thousands of euros,” the message reads.

SOURCE HERE

The Pirate Bay Suffers Downtime

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 May 2015 23:14:00 +0000

The Pirate Bay is down at the moment, causing a mild panic among many BitTorrent users. While some fear the worst, the site probably won't be offline for very long.

The Pirate Bay has become unreachable since a few hours.
It’s currently not clear what’s causing the problems. There might be a hardware issue, hosting problem or a software glitch, issues that have occurred many times in the site’s history.
What we do know is that the site’s domain names are not the culprit.
The Pirate Bay currently displays a CloudFlare error message across all domain names, suggesting that TPB’s servers are unresponsive.

source : torrent freak

London air traffic control computer failure resolved, flights resume

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:53:00 +0000

London's airspace was briefly closed Friday afternoon due to what authorities said was a computer failure at one of Britain's two air traffic control centers. The shutdown came at the start of the weekend in a sprawling city with five commercial airports, including London Heathrow — Europe's busiest.

Computer Programming and Animation Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 19:49:00 +0000

Details:

Joint Computer Programming and Animation Competition

Featuring students from the Intro to Programming and Logic Course and the REaCH Robotics/Animation Club.
Three awards will be given out: one for overall best animation, one for best high school animation, and one for best college level animation.
Spectators are welcome. Please come out to see the great work of theses students and to lend your support to them.

When:: December 18, 2014
Time:: 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Category:: Campus Events
Location:: Intro to Computers Lab, Business Sciences
Contact:: Dana Anderson
828-395-1523
danderson@isothermal.edu

Linux operation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000


once click for large image

more info @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

Google Files for Trademark On SpeedBook Active Computer Hardware

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:19:00 +0000

Is Google working on a Netbook for Chrome OS?

Google is targeting netbooks and notebooks with its new, lightweight operating system, Chrome OS. However, it seems the company could soon venture into the hardware side of things, as a recent trademark filed by the search giant indicates the company's interest in the term 'speedbook'.

BNet reports that Google last week filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Application Office for a trademark on the name 'Speedbook' for computer hardware. Editor Erik Sherman points out that through you can patent a product without having to actually produce it, a trademark application must be linked to a product or service that is launching in the reasonably near future.

The trademark application describes 'Speedbook' as "active computer hardware" so it would certainly seem like Google has plans for a netbook, notebook or possibly even a tablet. Though Google has stated on previous occasions that it will not be releasing hardware to go along with Chrome OS, preferring instead to work with partners, the company said something similar about Android before the release of the Nexus One.

Do you think its likely Google will come out with a Google-brand notebook to go along with Chrome OS? Let us know in the comments below!

History of the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Via: MBA Online

Could The Way Your Computer Look Be What Is Slowing It Down?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +0000

Could it really be true that your computers look might be the real reason why it runs slow? Yes, and no. Its part of the reason you have a slow computer, well actually it’s a small part of the reason your computer runs slow. Your computer runs slow because of all of the junk that builds up on it, but Windows has tuned its operating system to look good so that it will have user appeal.
This holds especially true if you are using Windows Vista since Vista has a lot of unnecessary things that are running in the back ground that are designed to just make the computer look good. Here is how to tune down your computers looks to make it run faster:
If you are using Windows XP, click Start, right click on My Computer and select Properties. Select the Advanced tab and where it says “Performance”, click on the Settings button. In the Visual Effects tab select Adjust For Best Performance. What you are doing here is making Windows XP look more like Windows 98. If you would like your computer to look somewhat good and still be tuned for performance, select the Custom box, make sure that all of the other boxes are checked off, scroll down to the bottom and select “Use Visual Styles On Windows And Buttons”. Now select Apply and then OK.
If you are running Windows Vista, click Start, right click on Computer and select Properties. On the left hand side, select Advanced System Settings. In the advanced tab where it says Performance, click on the Settings button. Now in the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust For Best Performance. This will make Vista look more like Windows 98. If you would like to keep the way that Vista looks, and still have your computers look tuned for performance, just select the Custom box, make sure that everything is checked off and then select the box that says “Use Visual Styles On Windows And Buttons”. Click Apply and then OK.
The amount of a performance boost on your slow computer will vary greatly depending on your computers limitations, but I have used this tune up for many different computers and most of them saw a noticeable difference. Surprisingly most computer users never really take the time to tune their computers looks for performance and this can be one of the main causes of a slow computer. For the most part there really isn’t any loss at all to the person using the computer and most people will do just about anything to make their slow computer a bit faster, so feel free to give it a try.
Want to find out more about Registry Cleaners, then visit Gary Foster’s site on how to choose the best Registry Cleaners Reviewed for your needs.

How to Clear Searches From a Computer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:25:00 +0000

After you conduct a desktop search for files, the computer still saves it. It is possible to erase the searches, depending on the operating system.

PCs (Personal Computers) and laptop computers save and store all the searches you conduct on the desktop and the Internet for your convenience so you can go back to them later for reference. However, if you share a computer, this does not ensure privacy and may be more of a hassle. It is possible to delete the desktop and Internet search history when you are done with it if you do not wish to go back to it. This method varies depending on the type of operating system and Internet search engine you are using.

Windows XP and Vista Operating Systems

Select the "Start" tab in the lower-left corner of the screen and click on "Run." Type in "Regedit" and push the "Enter" key.
Move the arrow so it is to the side of each folder on the left pane of the "Registry Editor." Click on the numbers "5603," which will be located on the left side of the "Registry Editor."

Erase every line that is on the right pane. To delete the information, press the "backspace" button on the keyboard or highlight the text and press "Delete."

Windows 7

Select the "Start" menu and type in "Run" in the "Search programs and files" space and press "Enter." Type "Regedit" in the Run space and push the "Enter" key.
Move the side of each folder so it is in the left pane of the "Registry Editor."
Select "Word Wheel Query" on the left pane. Select and erase all the words in the right pane with the mouse.
Clearing Search History on Internet Explorer
Select the "Safety" menu and click on "Delete Browsing History." Check the box that says, "Form Data." Select the "Delete" menu.

Firefox

Choose the "Tools" menu and click on the "Clear Recent History" tab. Select the "Details" tab and click on "Form and Search History." Click on the time period you want to clear the history from in the drop down menu. Click on "Clear Now." Right-click on the search bar in the top right corner of Firefox and then click on the "Clear Search History."

Google Chrome

Select the wrench icon in the top right corner of the window. Click on the "Clear Browsing Data" tab. Check the "Clear saved form Data" box and choose the time period you wish to clear the history from by using the drop down menu. Select the "Clear Browsing Data" tab.

Limp Bizkit _why try lyric

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:55:00 +0000

oh no guess who's back, trapped with the flow like a (?)

walk with the limp, it's the pirate pimp

on the nightman track with the smack down gold

stuck with the psycho (?) hybrid, getting plucked from your island, get that?

ya'll better come quick, better come fast

imma drop a match in your gas, boom

every hit don't lie

pitch you a fit when your shit don't fly

eat you alive, got that punk

spit this fire to the bizkit funk

uno, dos, tres in your face

catch me a case when you run from the dose

with a cut in the clip, one little slip

the alligator grip gonna turn you to toast

so why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

ground through stack it to your feet

homies in your corner thought you're done with the sleep

this one ought to do it, so step it on back

you're only seeing stars when you're knocked down flat

imma tell you somethin you prolly never knew

tangle with the lion you gonna end up in the zoo

check out all your crew, lookin in my cage

it's feedin time playa imma eat you like the plague

time are gettin tough

but i ain't had enough

this heavy metal beatin on your brain is gonna crush home what a rush

like a million women, (?)

maybe i'm explicit

but man it's just the bizkit

havin me some fun with your dumb little chicklets

you know who you are

you insecure gorillas

the underdog (?) navigate your (?)

so why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

imma rock it like some TNT

blow it up like a G with a dollar bill 3

all the G's (?) don't lie

fuck with me and you'll fry

oh yeah

imma rock it like some TNT

blow it up like a G with a dollar bill 3

all the G's (?) don't lie

fuck with me and you'll fry

so why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

why try, you gonna die

you're going straight to the gate in the sky

with all the hate i relate to the cry

one more sucker MC gonna fry

microsoft….

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:10:00 +0000

megaproject..

my page..

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:02:00 +0000

i never know why my page suspected as SPAM..

Computers May Cause Eye Syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:30:00 +0000

prevent, protect with these tips.......

You probably spend time on the computer at work or school everyday. Staring at the screen too long can cause a vision condition, if you're not careful. Working at the computer can put you at risk for Computer Vision Syndrome.

It has been called the number one occupational hazard of the 21st century. Dr. Melissa Billings with Vision Park Family Eye Care in Urbandale says, "When people are using computers these days, they're using them anywhere from four to eight hours at a time without taking breaks. And, it is causing a lot of fatigue and different symptoms that are popping up."

Dr. Billings says more patients are complaining about headaches, eye strain, red and watery eyes and trouble seeing things far away. She says, "They get done looking at the computer, and they look across the room and they can't see things as clearly as they could earlier in the day. Those are pretty typical symptoms."

Dr. Billings says Computer Vision Syndrome is caused when people stare at pixilated images, like the computer screen for too long. Your eye muscles have to work extra hard to focus. She says It's like when you overexert yourself in a sport and experience muscle fatigue. She says, "The eyes, just like any other muscle in the body, there are very very fine muscles in the eye that allow you to focus on the computer."

Your eye doctor can prescribe special anti-glare glasses to help you focus on the computer. But, you can also do simple things on you own to prevent Computer Vision Syndrome. Dr. Billings says to follow the 30-30-30 rule. Take a break from the computer every 30 minutes, look at something for 30 seconds that's 30 feet away. Also, minimize glare on your screen by covering windows and reducing the amount of fluorescent light in your work place. And, consider putting an anti-glare screen on your monitor.

She says, "Allow those fine muscles in the eye to have that opportunity to relax a little bit." The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health recommends computer users get a full eye exam at least once every year.

source:The baltimore sun

How I grew to hate every computer language

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:57:00 +0000

In the beginning, I knew Basic. Those were good times. The Apple II was a pretty decent machine to learn to program on. It actually didn’t take me long to run into the fundamental limits of basic programming, even as a kid. In particular, it was insanely slow. I wanted to write games like the games that were already on my computer. I had learned graphics programming and everything but basic (QBasic in particular) just couldn’t keep up. There were probably dirty hacks that would make it work, but at the time I realized I needed to switch to a “real” language, and so I bought a C book.

The syntax phase

In this phase, I knew many languages, and I liked them all.

I learned C and some of C++ on my own. They made me learn Pascal in high school. And then Java as a freshman in college. I liked all of these languages. They were basically all the same. It was just a matter of trading one syntax for another.

All of the features of each language that made them different were of no interest to me. I didn’t use, need, or want any of those features. I saw no need for them. C++ had templates. Who needs that nonsense? Java came with a ton of libraries. That was alright but it seemed like you were just trading one problem (a lack of features) for another (the need to be married to huge piles of documentation). I was always the kind of guy who preferred working from first principles.

The blub stage

I knew many languages, but my favorite was the one I used the most.

As I got farther into college and began to learn programming languages in depth, I began discovering the holes that these advanced features filled. I learned, like I usually do, from the “problem end”. I knew of the solution but never bothered to really learn it until one day a problem arose and finally the feature became justified. I began diving into various magical features of my favorite language. At the time, this was C++. I was operator overloading. I was using multiple inheritance. I was a big fan of templates. I became quite accustomed to the advanced features of C++ and every other language seemed quite lacking. They all had features I didn’t need, and were missing features I did.

The grass is always greener stage

Here, I knew many languages, but my least favorite was the one I used the most.

It takes a long time of using your “favorite language” and all of its features to be able to see the “beauty” in another language and exactly what you are missing. When you are locked into that single language, you don’t see how it could be improved. Eventually, though, I came to realize that other languages had some truly fantastic things to offer. This is when I learned Lisp, Python, and Ruby.

C++ had so many abusive warts. It wasn’t until I saw these problems fixed in other languages that I even knew they could be fixed. I was so sick of ugly templates and insanely verbose code. I was so sick of static typing and bizarre template hacks to get around it. I was so sick of operator overloading creating so much magic it was hard to understand. I was so sick of symbol names being mangled to pieces. I was really sick of error messages that lasted pages and pages.

And now, I hate all of them

Slowly, over time, I played around with all of those other “grass is greener” languages. As I began trying more and more languages, I kept finding things I hated in them. Over time, I became better at this. I’ve done this enough to realize things I hate about a language before I’ve really even dove into it. It still stands though that the less I know about it, the less I hate it. C++ is pure frustration. C is so slow (to develop in, not to run in). Ruby and Python have some serious greatness but also some serious annoyances.

I’ve heard really nice things about D. Maybe I’ll play with that.

Ins. Dept plans computer game: Pick your health insurance plan...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Aug 16 2009 5:10PM
Associated Press

Ins. Dept plans computer game: Pick your health insurance plan

Bismarck, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's Insurance Department will be hosting a computer game aimed at helping people suggest a basic health insurance plan.

It's called CHAT. It stands for Choosing Healthplans All Together.

People get together in groups of six to 15 and try to agree on what should be included in basic health insurance coverage. They decide which benefits are most important and which may not be needed.

The department is hosting ten sessions this month starting tonight in Dickinson.

Deputy insurance commissioner Rebecca Ternes (TUR'-nuss) says the exercise helps people learn more about health insurance costs and trade-offs.

Data from the 10 sessions will be given to a legislative interim committee that's studying health insurance costs. The Industry, Business and Labor Committee plans to go through the exercise itself at a meeting in Fargo next month.

(SOUND: Sound files have been e-mailed to accompany this story) (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 08-16-09 1700CDT