Z-Techie: Technology Info

Facebook & Marketing

2012-01-21T05:14:00.000-08:00

Here is some great insight on how to best use Facebook.

1. Track ”People Talking About This”

People Talking About This is one of the new metrics for Facebook Pages. Unlike other metrics on your Insights dashboard, it’s also the only one visible to the public.

This number represents the total number of people who, over the past seven days, have engaged with your Page in any way — by Liking it, commenting on or sharing a post, answering a question, tagging your Page, or responding to an event. In your Insights dashboard, you’ll also see a percentage increase or decrease next to the current number, so you can compare this week’s engagement against last week’s stats.

If you want to build a thriving community on Facebook — or if you want to turn existing fans into raving superfans — engagement is the most critical metric you can track. And People Talking About This is a good measure of overall engagement.

Luckily, the best way to increase engagement is easy: Just ask.

Ask your fans questions, request their opinions, and ask people to click. Don’t post, “I’m excited about the Superbowl this year!” Instead, write, “Click Like if you’re excited about the Superbowl this year!” You can also ask people to share your content. I might write, “If you found this tip useful, make sure to share it with your friends.” Inserting mini calls-to-action reminds your audiences to act, not just read.

Tip: Never let a post go unattended — meaning, when someone does comment, Like or share your post, reach out to him personally and acknowledge his action with a thank you, or use it as an opportunity to expand the conversation. But whatever you do, don’t leave fans hanging.

2. Track “Engaged Users”

...

3. Track “External Referrers”

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Learning Programming? Scratch & Java

2012-01-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

Are you interested in learning to program? Here are some quick notes on programming languages for new programmers.

Scratch is a fun, interactive, programming language that can be used to create and share your own interactive art, games, and music. This is very cute and may encourage new and young programmers -- to get into programming. Scratch is developed by MIT.

http://scratch.mit.edu/

If you are interested in some mainstream languages, Java is a great first language to learn. Here are some links and tutorials.

LOL: Don't Yell at your Hard Drives

2011-12-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Startups are figuring out ways to cut down on the "micro-vibrations" that make hard drives less efficient

Hard disks are a lot more sensitive than their name implies: They don’t like to be shouted at. Just ask Sun Microsystems engineer Brendan Gregg, who posted a YouTube video in which he yells at a rack of hard drives and then shows the corresponding increase in latency, the time it takes a drive to read and write information. The devices consist of a small arm hovering nanometers above a fast-spinning disk, and just as a record player will skip when bumped, the drives goof up when subjected to so-called micro-vibrations caused by sound waves or nearby movements.

Laptop Specs - Holidays 2011

2011-12-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

We keep track of laptops that we like for everyday / business use. Some people may like the most powerful laptops -- or more stylish looks -- but the specs shown in the chart below represent the "sweetspot" in terms of performance, price, and value. Here's a record of what you can get for the given price point over recent years.

It's exciting to have the new Intel "breakthrough" Core i3/i5/i7 series of chips -- and now, the Second Generation (Sandy Bridge) of this Intel series in this price category. Note that the "-2xxx" in the Intel core chips (for instance, "i5-2430") signifies the Second Generation. We hope and expect the Second Generation i7 chips to come into our "sweet spot" soon! Other features that we have our eye on include:

The Second Generation of i7 chips and 6GB (or 8GB) of RAM memory are a little pricier than the laptops in the chart below. You can step up to this level for about $750 to $800 (about $200 more than our sweet spot below).
We sometimes see specials of about $699 for the Second Generation i7 chip, 8GB ram & 750 GB hard-drive.
Most laptops have around 4 hours of battery life - but a few have up to 8 hours. Over time, the batteries degrade -- so you will see less than the listed battery life specs...
Some laptops have increased battery life. You will have to look for this feature, however, as most do not have the extended battery life. Extended battery life will cost a bit more.
LED screens are now the standard. They use much less power than LCD screen -- meaning improved battery life.
Those concerned with battery life might want to consider a slightly smaller screen (13 or 14 inches instead of 15 inches means a smaller surface area to light up). (This is a trade-off for smartphones as well: a larger screen means more battery drain.)
HDMI output is generally available nowadays as well, but check if you really want this feature.

Date	Processor Speed	Memory	Harddrive	Battery	Price
Dec 11	2.4 Ghz (i5 – 2xxx)	4 or 6GB (exp to 8)	600-720GB	4.5 / 6 hrs	$500-$600
Apr 11	2.5 Ghz (i3) Win 7	4GB (exp to 8)	500 GB	4.5 hrs	$550
Jan 11	2.4 Ghz (i3) Win 7	4 GB (exp to 8)	500 GB	4.5 hrs / 8 hrs	$500-$600
Nov 10	2.4 Ghz (i3) Win 7	4 GB (exp to 8)	320 GB	4 hrs	$500
Dec 09	2.2 Ghz (x2) Win 7	4 GB	300 GB	4 hrs	$550
Aug 09	2.1 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	320 GB	3 hrs	$500
Dec 08	2.0 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	300 GB	2.5 hrs	$550
Aug 08	1.9 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	250 GB	2 hrs	$550
Dec 07	1.6 Ghz (x2) Vista	1.5 GB	120 GB	1.5 hrs	$550

Intel Chips: Second Generation Core Processors

2011-11-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Intel's Second (2nd) Generation Core Processors, also known as Sandy Bridge, have been out since the beginning of 2011, but these chips are now entering our (zroundtable.com's) "sweet-spot" in terms of price-to-performance for laptops. The chips are an improvement on Intel's i3 / i5 / i7 series of powerful and low-power chips -- with noticeable improvements in CPU -- and especially s step-up for graphics. We'll update our chart of laptop specs sometime soon.

It was just a year ago that Intel released its first generation Core processors, so what exactly makes this platform different? Well, a few things. For those that haven't followed the Sandy Bridge saga, the new family of processors are all based on Intel's 32nm microarchitecture and are the first to put both the processor, memory controller, and graphics on the same die. What's that mean for you? In short, it means the package is smaller and all the parts get to take advantage of each other better -- for instance, by dynamically clocking both the CPU cores and graphics to match whatever workload you throw at it, and giving them up to 1MB of shared cache. Speaking of those graphics, while they may still not be on par with a discrete video card, they're more powerful than ever before. According to Intel, the new HD 2000 and 3000 processor graphics provide 2x the performance of Capella-based systems, and that actually holds up with what we've seen in early benchmarks (so long, GMA 4500). What's more, Intel's improved its Turbo Boost and Hyper-threading technologies such that the new chips enable higher levels of CPU performance as well -- up to a 60 percent improvement with quad-core mobile CPUs.

... see Core i3, i5, and i7 branded chips on the market. The number immediately following the "i" modifier-a "2"-will indicate that said CPU is a part of the Sandy Bridge family, as it's a second-generation CPU. Three more numbers will indicate the specific processor SKU, and a letter possibly appended to the end-"K," "S," or "T"-will detail whether the CPU is unlocked for overclocking, optimized for "lifestyle" computing, or optimized for power-savings.

Our Favorite Digital Cameras: Canon ELPH

2011-11-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

Technology is always improving -- and the good news for consumers, is that we keep getting better products, at better and better prices! Here is a look at our favorite series of digital cameras:

The ELPH 500 has a nice, new, touch screen -- but we note that it is slightly larger than the other ELPHs. See below for the ELPH 300 and 100 -- along with some additional notes.

Dimensions
Elph 500 3.96" x 2.2" x 0.98"
Elph 300 3.62" x 2.2" x 0.76"
Elph 100 3.66" x 2.2" x 0.79"

There are now some 14 MP cameras, but this series of cameras is in the "sweet spot" of price/performance -- and we have always loved the Canon series of digital cameras. All cameras record HD movies.

Video: Quantum Levitation

2011-10-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Very cool video. Science at work!!

Tel-Aviv University demos quantum superconductors locked in a magnetic field (www.quantumlevitation.com). For an explanation of the physics behind this demonstration, visit www.quantumlevitation.com/levitation/The_physics.html.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA

Computer Virus infects Drone Plane Command Center in US

2011-10-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

A Predator drone spyplane-bomber. A computer virus has infected computers used by pilots who fly US drones remotely from Creech air force base in Nevada. Illustration: Rex Features

A computer virus that captures the strokes on a keyboard has infected networks used by pilots who control US air force drones flown on the front line, according to a report.
Wired magazine reported that the spyware has resisted efforts to remove it from computers in the cockpits at Creech air force base in Nevada, where pilots remotely fly Predator and Reaper drones in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The story said there were no confirmed reports that classified data had been stolen and that the virus did not stop pilots from flying missions. Network security specialists were uncertain whether the virus was part of a directed attack or accidentally infected the networks, the story said.

The air force said in a statement that it did not discuss threats to its computer networks because it could help hackers refine their tactics.

"We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back," Wired quoted a source as saying. "We think it's benign. But we just don't know."

Apple's SIRI: Serious AI & the Soldier's Servant

2011-10-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Artificial intelligence and associated devices are being built. Below is a link to a detailed article; here is an excerpt. Some amazing -- and almost scary -- stuff!

Apple, artificial intelligence, Stanford Research, SIRI, DARPA, and technology that literally translates to, “Soldier’s Servant;” It’s in your pocket, pinging your location, and learning more about you minute by minute. It is designed to learn from your actions and begin making its own decisions.

http://www.truthistreason.net/introducing-siri-darpa%E2%80%99s-ghost-in-apple%E2%80%99s-machine-artificial-intelligence-and-the-soldiers-servant

Steve Jobs passes away...

2011-10-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Steven Paul Jobs, co-founder, chairman and former chief executive of Apple Inc., has passed away.

A visionary inventor and entrepreneur, it would be impossible to overstate Steve Jobs’ impact on technology and how we use it. Apple’s mercurial, mysterious leader did more than reshape his entire industry: he completely changed how we interact with technology. He made gadgets easy to use, gorgeous to behold and essential to own. He made things we absolutely wanted, long before we even knew we wanted them. Jobs’ utter dedication to how people think, touch, feel and interact with machines dictated even the smallest detail of the computers Apple built and the software it wrote.

Amazon Tablet: Kindle Fire

2011-10-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

Some quick notes on the new COLOR Kindle Fire.

Not 3G yet...
But a good-looking tablet!
At a great price!

Some other details:

14.6 ounces
7-inch screen
dual core
No 3G -- but Wi-Fi
New browser "Silk"
Some tech folks feel that the platform is a bit outdated (older version of Android)
No Memory Card / SD slot
USB slot -- yes.

Amazon New Tablet this week?

2011-09-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt from an article at Marketwatch.com.

Amazon.com Inc. has slated a news conference for Wednesday, and media speculation focuses on the prospect that the Internet retailing major will unveil a tablet computer to compete with Apple Inc.’s market-dominating iPad.

A new Kindle tablet would combine the retailer’s prominent electronic-book reader with connection to Amazon’sAMZN +0.17% offerings of MP3 music and digital videos.
And the media talk says the tablet will run on Google Inc.’s GOOG +0.93% Android operating system, which means access to the Android applications at Amazon’s app store.
The Wall Street Journal’s sources say the new tablet will have a roughly 9-inch screen; other reports say a 7-inch or 10-inch display is likely.

Early this month, TechCrunch.com reported that the Kindle tablet will have a 7-inch full-color screen and start at $250, half the cost of the cheapest iPad. Other analysts talk about $300 or less, reports say.

Free or $99 Tablets?

2011-09-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from an interesting article in ComputerWorld. Companies may try and experiment with pricing and subsidies (based on consumers purchasing content or services) -- to try and grab business from the Apple iPad -- which cannot be beaten at the $499 price point:

How low can they go?

When price competition hits a market, it usually happens gradually. But in the touch tablet market, the bottom seems to have suddenly dropped out.

HP shocked everyone when it announced last month that it would get out of the tablet business and stop making all webOS hardware. To move excess inventory, it announced a stunning $400 reduction in TouchPad prices.

Apparently $99 is a popular price point. The tablets were completely sold out in a matter of days.

Of course, that's not a sustainable price for HP. Pundits estimate that it costs HP about $300 to make each TouchPad, so the company is probably losing about $200 on every tablet sold.

That's why HP confused everybody when it announced that it would manufacture more TouchPads through Oct. 31 in order to respond to the "stunning" uptick in demand.

Bitcasa: Your hard-drive in the Cloud

2011-09-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Rumors of the Google Gdrive have recently heated up -- but in the meantime, other firms are coming up with useful products. One product that looks interesting is Bitcasa -- which will put your hard-drive in the cloud, available where you have internet access! It will be available in a beta version soon (free for a capped storage; $10/month for unlimited storage; there will also be a free version). Sign up for the beta version here:

https://www.bitcasa.com/beta-signup?share=4435534

With Bitcasa, in concept anyway, users no longer have to worry about a single local hard-drive failure eating their data, since everything is mirrored on the Internet. Users also get all their data on all their devices, and every time you get a new computer, you just point it to your account and all your data appears on your local device. Whether it's actually there is another matter, but if Bitcasa is fast and smart enough, you'll never know nor care.

Coming Soon: Amazon's Color Kindle

2011-09-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

From TechCrunch.com

It’s called simply the “Amazon Kindle”. But it’s not like any Kindle you’ve seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android.
Rumors of Amazon making a full-fledged tablet device have persisted for a while. I believe we were one of the first to report on the possibility from a credible source — the same person who accurately called Amazon’s Android Appstore. That source was dead-on again, it just took Amazon longer than anticipated to get the device ready to go. They’re now close.

This initial version of the device will be WiFi-only. Amazon is supposedly working with carriers to possibly product 3G-enabled versions (as they have with their other Kindles), but that won’t be the case at launch.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/

Tracking Hurricanes

2011-08-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the east coast of the US, here are some links we are keeping an eye on -- to track the predicted path of the hurricane.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5day?large#contents

http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-response/hurricanes/latest-news-map.html

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

Be safe.

Earthquake in NYC

2011-08-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today -- at around mid-day eastern time -- an earthquake, hitting an estimated 5.9 on the Richter Scale -- and centered in Virginia, could be felt at least as far south as NC & as far north as Rochester. Airports in NYC were closed at least temporarily; and tremors were felt for at least 10 seconds in some parts. Reports of the tremors are verified in Baltimore, Philly & NYC...

Here's an article about the potential for earthquakes in NYC:

Could an earthquake hit New York City? History says yes, but not like 9.0 magnitude Japan earthquake

BY ALIYAH SHAHID

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Could a major earthquake shake the Big Apple to its core?

If the past is any indication, the answer is yes, says John Armbruster, a seismologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Based on historical precedent, Armbruster says the New York City metro area is susceptible to an earthquake of at least a magnitude of 5.0 once a century.

Young Scientist & Fibonacci

2011-08-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Fibonacci Sequences in Trees

Here's an excerpt of some work by the Aidan, age 13, a winner of the American Museum of Natural History's Young Naturalist Award.

I compared my results on graphs, and they were interesting! The Fibonacci tree design performed better than the flat-panel model. The tree design made 20% more electricity and collected 2 1/2 more hours of sunlight during the day. But the most interesting results were in December, when the Sun was at its lowest point in the sky. The tree design made 50% more electricity, and the collection time of sunlight was up to 50% longer!

http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/2011/aidan.html

Singularity: Intelligent Computers (from Time Magazine - Science)

2011-08-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

From an article titled: "2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal" -- this is a good article on artificial intelligence, computers.

...we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity — our bodies, our minds, our civilization — will be completely and irreversibly transformed. He believes that this moment is not only inevitable but imminent. According to his calculations, the end of human civilization as we know it is about 35 years away.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html#ixzz1VSSM6ox7

Dropbox -- Great for File-Sharing

2011-08-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

There is lots of talk about the "cloud" -- but one application we like a lot is Dropbox. They offer a free account (2GB), and it is easy-to-use. You can share a folder with others in a "Public" folder -- or just keep things to yourself.

By installing Dropbox on each of your computers you can:

Save a file to all your computers at once.
Start working on one computer, and continue working on another.
Get to your photos, docs, and videos from anywhere.

Always have your stuff when you need it with @Dropbox. 2GB account is free!

Please check it out:
http://db.tt/R5i5ymR

Our Favorite Tablets

2011-07-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

The Apple iPad remains most people's favorite when it comes to tablets (and iPod Touches & iPhones).

The name-brand helps -- as well as the build-quality and great integration of hardware and software. Adobe Flash remains unavailable on these Apple products, so in addition to the Apple tablets and iPods, here are some our other favorite tablets (particularly if you use websites that need flash).

Although not a full-fledged color-tablet, the Kindle remains one of our favorites. The "experimental" web browsing and free 3G service makes the Kindle very valuable when you are on the road (especially if you do not have a smartphone to check your email).

This helps to save the cost of a cellphone data-plan (if you are a heavy-user of the internet, the Kindle browser may not be good enough for you, but for simple email and checking of news and sports scores, it works fine).

The less-expensive version of the Kindle does NOT offer the 3G service.

The Barnes & Noble Nook Color offers a beautiful 7-inch color display and it's browser will give most users the capabilities they need while they are on the road.

Although it doesn't offer free 3G service like the Kindle, it's browser is more functional -- and uses an Android-based operating system. The most recent upgrade to Android makes flash available to Nook Color users. Some folks use an SD upgrade to make the Nook function like a full-fledged tablet (with access to Android Market).

For just under $400, you can get a full-fledged tablet with flash capabilities from ASUS. The ASUS Eee Transformer offers a 10.1-inch screen and has great reviews.

Tablets -- and the lack of Flash

2011-07-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a good article on the reason why Flash is not readily-available on most tablets.

"The Real Reason Why Flash On Tablets Hasn't Happened Yet"

...

So why aren’t we seeing Flash-enabled browsers on tablets? Plenty of manufacturers have announced Flash capability but we’ve seen little evidence of it running well. Unfortunately, it turns out that Flash Wars is more than just a bit of industry politicking: there are some very tricky technical problems to implementing Flash on an embedded processor – and it’s not going to be solved by locking programmers into a room and yelling “fix it!” at them.

Flash was designed in the mid-90s for PCs and the new Internet era to display multimedia content in a web browser. It decodes video in software, combines the video and graphics in software, synchronizes the video and audio in software, handles Internet dropouts in software, and copies the results as fast as possible into the web browser. It relies on the CPU being fast and handling RAM accesses very quickly.

Space Shuttle Facts

2011-07-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

With today's last shuttle launch, we wanted to revisit some fun shuttle facts:

Here's some video from a distance (just light in the sky) -- but still amazing to see and a great memory (from a launch we saw two summers ago)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B0dk_bhqio

Some Fun Space Shuttle facts:

On the launchpad, the shuttle is the same height as the Statue of Liberty but weighs 3 times as much (4.5 million pounds).
The shuttle burns more than 10 tons of fuel per second during takeoff. That's more than 1,000,000 pounds of fuel a minute!
At liftoff, the temperature inside the shuttle's engines are two-thirds the temperature of the sun's surface (Sun's surface temp is 9800 degrees F; sun's center is much hotter, at 25 million degrees F).
0 to 60 mph in about 5 seconds. Sports cars can match the shuttle, but the shuttle is fighting gravity (UP) and has 4.5 million pounds to move!
If the space shuttle didn't roll backwards soon after launch, it would lose communications (blocked by fuel tanks), astronauts wouldn't have a clean line of sight if navigations went out, and fuel efficiency wouldn't be as great.
At 10 seconds (T+10 seconds) - the shuttle is traveling 900 mph. The speed of sound at sea level is 742 mph. At an altitude of 20,000 feet, the speed of sound is 660 mph (Mach 1).
30 seconds - 1,200 mph; main throttle is turned down (to get through denser part of atmosphere more smoothly and with less stress on the shuttle).
48 seconds - 1,400 mph; main throttle up as shuttle gets to thinner atmosphere. Fighter jets fly at this speed (Mach 2 or faster).
1 minute - 2,000 mph
2 minutes - 3,600 mph
It takes the shuttle 2.5 minutes to leave earth's "generally recognized" atmosphere of about 62 miles (100 km). (The atmosphere gradually thins, so there's no hard line that separates the earth from space.)
5 minutes - 8,000 mph
8 minutes - 17,500 mph, it's orbiting speed. That's 10 times the speed of most fighter jets.
To put this speed in perspective: a commercial airliner takes 6 hours to fly from NYC to LA. A fighter jet can travel the 2,500 miles in less than 2 hours at top speed. The shuttle would do this in less than ten minutes.
The shuttle orbits the earth in about 1.5 hours.
The shuttle must cool down and "rest" for 40 hours before they can open the bay doors and go outside.

If you are lucky enough to be in Central Florida for a rocket or shuttle launch, visit the Kennedy Space Center for an up-close view. You can also get good views from Titusville (Space View Park) or Cocoa Beach. Due to the delays, we just watched from Orlando (40 miles away) instead of Titusville (13 miles away).

Video from Titusville:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIhhpUsvDU&feature=related

Prepare to have your Email Read

2011-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

"With a new major hacking incident seemingly daily, the Department of Defense is scrambling to find the right shield against future for attacks. But why hide behind a shield when you can charge onto the battlefield underneath the invisible but ironclad cloak of the National Security Agency? That's exactly how the DoD is mounting it's first strike back at the hackers--a preemptive strike that will increase online surveillance at defense contractors by partnering with internet service providers for privileged access to the rivers of data flowing through their cables. AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink are all on board."

Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Chips enter "Sweet Spot"

2011-04-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

We keep track of laptops in terms of performance versus price -- and we are excited that more of the Intel Core i3/i5/i7 series is entering the sweet spot of performance to price. BUT what are some of the differences between the i3 and i5 chip (and i7)?

Thermal Design Power (TDP): The lower the number, the better. This measures the power, or wattage needed to run and cool the computer's processor. This is where the i5 shines over the i3.

The i3 uses about 75 watts of power as compared to 35 watts for the i5. This means the i5 chip runs cooler and uses less energy.
This means better performance to energy usage (and more efficient battery usage!) for the i5.
Currently, tech limitations caps chip clock speed at around 4Ghz -- with many laptops running chips in the 2 Ghz range.
This is why the chip manufacturers (mainly Intel & AMD) have made dual core and quad core processors (using 2 or 4 processors to improve computing performance).
The i5 has a Turbo-boost for better performance when needed.
The i7 uses about 45 watts of power but has higher specs in terms of number of cores and cache.
The i7 is still a bit pricey, but i3 and i5 laptops are currently in our "sweet spot" of laptops.

We love the i3 -- and especially the i5 chip -- if you are shopping for a laptop.