Get a Superior Education Online

March 31, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love the Internet, love it! Step back for a moment and think of all the amazing things we do on it: make and correspond with friends; share experiences, photos, and videos; work online (that’s what I do); and so much more. Did you realize that you can get a superior education online, too? Prestigious schools such as the University of Southern California– the USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC, specifically, offer some outstanding educational opportunities for aspiring educators and teachers. It’s very innovative! Here are just a few advantages of the MAT@USC online program:

  • Experience an interactive learning environment on the Internet, blended with field-based experiences.
  • Complete the program as soon as 12 months, if you wish.
  • Become part of the elite USC Trojan community.
  • Check out the excellent tuition reimbursement program and scholarships available.
  • Learn at home, on your own schedule, at your own convenience.
  • Earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from an accredited, renowned school.
  • Learn from distinguished USC faculty in a school that has been ranked #22 in the United States, and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report.
  • Enjoy full USC student status and benefits
  • and more

This is terrific news for anyone wanting to work toward a superior education and obtaining a degree, all at the convenience and flexibility of learning at home. You can check out the program information page for more details.

Visit my sponsor: Master of Arts in Teaching degree online from USC

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Posted in educational programs, Internet, technology. Tags: , . 1 Comment »

Beware the Chinese-Made Computer Parts

March 31, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

Ya gotta wonder.

A few years ago, there was news that Chinese-made Maxtor/Seagate hard drives sold in the UK and U.S. were infected with malicious trojans. From what I recall, the Chinese shrugged and said “oopsie.” Now there’s news that the Chinese are installing malware and distributing computer accessories with purposeful security holes.

United Kingdom’s MI5 — Americans can think of this as a combination of the FBI and CIA — has reported that the Chinese government has been giving UK executives electronics with built-in security holes.

According to the Sunday Times, “A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of ‘gifts’ and ‘lavish hospitality.’ The gifts — cameras and memory sticks — have been found to contain electronic Trojan bugs which provide the Chinese with remote access to users’ computers.”

How much more are we going to take? This is unconscionable! The Feds bust gangs for *thinking* about militia, war-time activity (which, last I looked, wasn’t a crime in this country– you can’t bust people based on their thoughts), but the Chinese get off SCOT FREE, contaminating our pet food, milk, hacking and spying on us, and infecting our computer parts with password-stealing malware. Unbelievable. All the while, the government continues to encourage out-sourcing of our manufacturing to China. It’s really unconscionable.

Beware ANYTHING made in China. Including the bought-and-paid-for politicians.

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Posted in computers, crime, news. Comments Off »

A Software Creation Tool

March 26, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

Want to create your own software? I know I would! I have often wanted some software application to help me with something or another (such as, network chat– I still cannot find a good network chat program), but have no idea how to go about it. Plus, I like to tinker. :D

Well anyway, here’s a Software development tool I have heard about: REAL Studio software. There’s a demo video at the website and I found it absolutely fascinating. The demo shows how to make a web browser! The software looks incredibly easy to use. I’m very impressed! If you have even a mild curiosity about creating your own software, or seeing how it is accomplished, do check out the website.

Other things that jumped out at me as I perused the software description:

  • You can download a trial version of REAL Studio to see if you like it.
  • REAL Studio is compatible with all versions of Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  • There are a lot of tutorials and information available.
  • The makers of REAL Studio have gone the extra mile by providing excellent tutorials, a detailed Help section, and a forum for support. Wow!
  • REAL Studio has a 90-day money-back guarantee, and that’s even after you check out the trial version for 30 days.
  • REAL Studio is affordable! The Personal Edition is $99. Other, more extensive versions exist for server and larger studio needs.

Here’s an introductory video from the site. It gives you an idea of how simple REAL Studio program can be:

I think this is a great application– for making software AND for teaching basic software creation lessons. I’m downloading the software trial version, and will definitely have my children get familiar with it. Who knows, maybe we’ll get our own network chat software after all!

Remember, I’m a pro-blogger and I am sometimes compensated with stuff or money to mention or review products! This was one of them. You can read more about my blog policy on my “About” page.

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Posted in desktop publishing, html coding, technology, web design. Tags: , . Comments Off »

WordPress 3.0 Coming Soon

March 24, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had WordPress-Update-Disease. I’m tired of updating WordPress all the time! :-p

Each new version is an improvement, so that’s a plus…. but I don’t want my WP to be a Swiss Army knife of blogging platforms. Unless there’s a necessary security update, I’m really happy with what I have and don’t want any new, complicated features.

In case you haven’t heard, WordPress 3.0 is slated for an April release.

Highlights

* The merge with MU (but not the extra domain stuff, which will remain plugin territory for this version)
* Better support for custom post types
* Better support for hierarchical (category-style) taxonomies
* New default theme “Twenty Ten”
* Better menu management

New Features

* Multisite capabilities (#11644)

User Features

* Custom Navigation (#11817)
* Custom Backgrounds (#12186)
* Upgrade plugins in bulk from the plugins page (#11542)
* Active plugins can no longer be edited; you must first deactivate
* Choose username for the first account, rather than using ‘admin’

Development, Themes, Plugins

* Admin support for custom post types (#9674)
* New template files for custom post types (#12105)
* Admin support for hierarchical taxonomies (#10122)
* Author specific templates (#12064)
* get_generic_template function to include generic files (other than header, sidebar, footer) (#13146)
* Standardized comment form with comment_form() (#10910)
* jQuery updated to 1.4.2 (#12305)
* get_taxonomies() function to get a list of all registered taxonomies (#12516)
* Settings API now supports automatic error display for validation problems with add_settings_error() (#11474)
* the_shortlink() template tag (#10640)

Advanced Features

* Customizable death (wp_die is now pluggable) (#11892)

“Customizable death,” LOL?! Now I KNOW that WordPress is getting too big for its britches.

It’s unfortunate that WordPress couples security updates with software updates. They should be separate. I would like to update ONLY security releases. Why must we be forced to clutter our databases with more and more updates, throw our themes and plugins out of whack, and more, for a fancy new machine? I dislike it.

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Posted in blogs, Wordpress. Comments Off »

Keep Track of Your Internet Bandwidth Usage

March 10, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber
bandwoiewurp

I found out about this handy little program from Kim Komando. By the way, if you don’t listen to her radio show or get her emails, I suggest you do! When i was a new computer user, some ten years ago now, her show was immensely helpful. Today, she discusses less about computers and more about computer gadgets (such as iPhones, iPods, etc, which are useless to me), but I still glean a lot of good stuff from the broadcasts.

Anyway, this latest download is called AnalogX NetStat Live. It will monitor and measure your bandwidth– incoming and outgoing– as well as CPU usage. This is a great way to keep tabs on your bandwidth usage, especially if you have an ISP that charges by bandwidth or gives you a monthly cap, this is what you need to measure your usage. You’d have to install the NetStat Live on all computers on the network, and total up the Incoming Totals and Outgoing Totals across all computers. That will tell you the bandwidth you’ve used. The software is free.

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Posted in desktop utilities, free programs, Internet, surveillance. Tags: , . 1 Comment »

Optical Solutions

March 8, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

The Internet has done many amazing things, hasn’t it? We just finished our taxes, and I marvel at how quick and speedy the paperwork comes in with the process. Of course, it’s still painful to fill out those forms and cough up the $, but at least it’s speedy. :-p

One of the better things to come down the pike is the online shopping opportunities. I still don’t purchase clothing or shoes online, but we have bought some eyeglasses in past, from Zenni Optical. Clark Howard raves about Zenni. My husband got some glasses from them and they are very nice! And DIRT CHEAP. Zenni Optical crafts and ships the eyeglasses directly to the consumer– no expensive middle man!

We have five people in the family who wear glasses– those things add up! Mine alone cost upwards of $250. Zenni prices are exceptional. We can get new glasses for about $10!!!

There’s a great review at the Examiner about Zenni. I think the writer did a great job:

Zenni sells full prescription eyeglasses starting at just $8 per pair. Yes, that’s right, eight bucks. Talk about cheap prescription eyeglasses, huh? Their prices range up to around $40 and there is an extra charge if you want bifocals or thick lenses. They also charge extra for anti-glare coating (though it’s $4.95 extra as opposed to around $50-$100 extra elsewhere). Shipping is just $4.95 no matter how many pairs you order, so it pays to order for the whole family at one time.

It’s a good review, with good tips. I have yet to see an eye doctor (no insurance yet) to get my new prescription. Believe me, I’d much rather pay $20 for a pair of eyeglasses and do the measuring myself, than pay $250 for a slop job at the eye design place!! It IS possible to get quality eyewear for an inexpensive price.

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Posted in chatty, deals, Internet. Comments Off »
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