May 9, 2014

My BIX Adventure, Part II

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

After running the BASIC programming language forum on the BIX network for many weeks, I was unceremoniously dumped from my post. A powerful columnist had me removed and replaced by one of his dear pals.
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May 7, 2014

My BIX Adventure, Part I

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

Back in the mid-1980s, BYTE magazine started up an online service. It was called the BYTE Information Exchange, or BIX for short.
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May 5, 2014

Fifty Years of the BASIC Language

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

Long before it was made popular by Bill Gates and Paul Allen of Microsoft, the BASIC programming language was born at Dartmouth College in the 1960s. Its fathers were mathematicians John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz.
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May 2, 2014

Changing Android Account Passwords

Filed under: Main — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

As you and your Android phone or tablet wander this weary Earth, you carry with you various accounts and online personas. Keeping those accounts and their information synchronized should be effortless — unless something changes.
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April 30, 2014

Have You Been Hacked Yet?

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

I hope you haven’t suffered the indignity of being hacked. Easy passwords are easy to steal. It doesn’t surprise me when I see some spam email from a friend’s account, but it does surprise me when that friend is someone I figure should know better.
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April 28, 2014

Graphics File Format Memory Lane

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

As the early computers gained enough oomph to sport graphics, it became evident for some method to store those images. Thus was born the graphics file format.
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April 25, 2014

Where the Hell is Half Life 3?

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

half-life-logo During my current work lull (it happens), I’ve been reviewing some of the great computer games I’ve played — kind of like watching a favorite movie again. It’s fun! My latest nostalgic journey is with the Half Life series, which got me to thinking: Where the hell is Half Life 3?
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April 23, 2014

Exploring Android Storage with ASTRO

Filed under: Main,Video — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

Unlike a computer, your Android device is app-oriented. The notion of a file manager app is really an example of forcing computer-think onto a mobile device. File management is possible, but it’s rather clunky.
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April 21, 2014

The Myth of the Progress Bar

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

I remember my first progress bar. “That’s pretty neat,” I said, looking at the screen. As a file loaded, a little thermometer filled up. I watched in awe as time passed, the animation entertained me, and the process eventually finished. I was impressed.

Of course, the progress bar was a joke.
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April 18, 2014

The SSD Transition

Filed under: Main — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

The main storage device in your next computer will not be a hard drive. Oh, yeah: You’ll call it a “hard drive,” but in fact it will be a digital hard drive. The proper term is SSD.
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