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The About Seniors Technology News page is updated weekly with the latest breaking news. You can find out the latest tricks on how to successfully bid and earn money on EBay, download the latest Free Anti-Virus software, or even update yourself on the latest Spam and Scams making the rounds so you don’t get caught out!
Most free email accounts, including Gmail and Hotmail have blocked the sending and receiving of EXE files, but About Seniors, Webmaster, Drew, explains how to get around what is a major inconvenience.
Until recently, .exe files had been an accepted form of file being sent via email. As time progressed, a number of malicious viruses appeared of which .exe files were the main culprits. When .exe files were clicked, this would allow the virus to instantly take over and infect your system. Major service providers then started to block .exe files from being sent and received as they pose threats to users.
The most obvious way to get around this issue was to compress the file/files into a Zipped format (.zip/.ace/.rar) using WinZip, WinAce or WinRar depending on the installed program at each end. Once you have the software program installed, all you need to do is right click on the item you wish to make into a zipped format, and click “Add to “Name.format” as per the example above.
Over the past year, major service providers have stepped up security to a new level, allowing their software to scan the files being received at the receivers end to locate any malicious files in the zipped file. If this software locates .exe files, it will automatically filter the file as a virus.
Once again, people have to find a way around problems caused by security features that are put in place to protect us, which in the end, prevent us from sending and receiving valuable files. As you can see in the above example of the .ace file. We need to change the format of this file. To do this, right click on the .ace file and scroll down to Rename and left click this. Now highlight the .ace part of the file name and delete. Replace with .jpg and hit enter.
Your zipped file will now be converted into a picture file (although it will not be viewable as a photo obviously). This will fool the email scanners. All you need to do when you send this file is explain to the recipient that they need to save the file to their computer and rename it to .ace/zip/rar depending on the initial version you used.
If we believe what we see in the movies, then 2012 is the year we will meet our destiny as the apocalypse arrives. While this may be movie madness to the extreme, there is plenty of futuristic technology that now has its place in everyday life.
Film and television have long held a fascination with future technology. Perhaps technology developers take their lead from what they see on the big screen! So, just which everyday technologies started life as big screen fantasy?
Ten film concepts that have become a reality
1. The Jetsons - video conferencing
2. Harry Potter - invisibility cloak
3. Back to the Future - Hover board
4. Back to the Future - Robotic vendors
5. Minority report - touch-screen computing
6-10. Star Trek - flip and watch phones, translators, voice recognition, portable storage devices (CDs), automatic doors
The Jetsons:
Everyone met George Jetson, and his son Elroy. And everyone knows that he wasn’t allowed a minute of privacy because his house was filled with state of the art video phones that teleconferenced members of his family, his robotic maid and his angry boss Mr Spacely. These gigantic video phone calls often interrupted George from whatever he was doing, and he would often fall down. However, thankfully, we in the past would never have to worry about coming face-to-face with people far away and could settle into our blissful privacy! Until teleconferencing, videophone and skype technology was invented at the turn of the century of course! Now people in an office in Burkina Faso can have a brunch meeting with a boardroom in Burma about budgetary branch-outs without buying a plane ticket!
2. Harry Potter:
As recently as 1998, J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in which Harry Potter wore an invisibility cloak, which made him transparent. Well, scientists are one step closer, and it only took them a decade, inventing a material that makes light bend away from it.
3. Back to the Future:
We all had our hearts in our mouths but jealousy in our souls as Michael J Fox, as Marty McFly, got to ride on the coolest invention ever, the hoverboard in Back to the Future 2, . But it seems that science has done it again, with hover technology edging closer and closer to being invented. One amazing Australian company has made the Scarpar, a power board which gives the illusion of hovering!
4. Back to the Future:
One of the more biting social commentaries in Back to the Future Part 2 was that the human race would be so lazy and machine reliant in 2015 that we would not even have a need for the humble shop keep, instead have a video screen featuring a Michael Jackson look-alike who serves us Pepsi robotically. While we are not quite there yet, we do have robotic vending machines, and Coles have gone a step further by introducing “self serve” counters, which they hope to phase into each store completely, virtually eliminating the need for shop assistants. So again, the view of the future was not too distant.
5. Minority Report
One of the most amazing things about the Tom Cruise thriller Minority Report was the amazing technology. When Tom Cruise began working on a touch screen computer in Minority Report, many thought he must have had some kind of alien technology. Now, only years later, we have the gift of iPhones, iPads, navigational GPS systems and all the other touch screen computer systems that make our lives that little it easier.
6. Star Trek.
Star Trek truly was one of the most revolutionary shows that has ever appeared on the air. With some of the most forward thinking writers ever, many of the revolutionary technologies that appeared in the future in star trek are beginning to pop up in the ‘noughties’ and the ‘tenties’. One of the most useful is spray on anaesthesia. In star trek, so the doctors didn’t have to use needles, they would spray on medicine to heal wounds. There is now a spray on local anaesthesia that can be administered, and doctors are also working on a “medical hypospray” that actually absorbs through the skin!
7: Star Trek
We have also seen the concept of automatic revolving/horizontal lifting mechanical doors come out of Star Trek. They have become often a necessity in nuclear facilities, airlock’s and the like and were born right out of this 1960’s era Sci-fi.
8. Star Trek
It seems that Star Trek also invented a precursor to the mobile phone! The characters carried flip phone style communicators, and were able to communicate with the ship when down on the planet.
9. Star Trek
Perhaps most interestingly, it seems that Star Trek came up with the notion of the miniature mass storage device. In times when Computers were he size of a house and would perhaps store 40 MB’s of ram, Star Trek came up with the notion of a miniature mass storage device, akin to a CD or most likely a USB, like we have so readily available today, essential for not only for the running for the Starship Enterprise, but business and day to day life of human beings today!
10. Star Trek again!
One of the most amazing precursors Star Trek came up with that human beings were sure to have never thought possible was voice recognition. In the show, the characters used voice recognition to distinguish themselves and as a security measure, yet today thanks to countless brilliant minds, we can use voice recognition to enter our house, car, call people on our cell phone and a myriad of other options that make our lives that tiny bit simpler.
However not all the predictions that were made in film and television have come true. Humans today can’t say “beam me up Scotty” and be transported as matter to any destination. While scientists are getting closer to transporting light, one would contend that the days until matter transportation is invented are still a while away yet. And space houses, flying cars, magic wands, time travel and a robotic maid named Rosie are all things we can look forward to in the very distant future.
After the success of their iPhone app developed for the Tour Down Under cycling event earlier in 2010, the City of Adelaide has developed a free iPhone Audio Tour of the city.
The application makes use of the inbuilt GPS system in a visitor’s iPhone and guides them through the city with audio narrative from an Adelaide local, Annabelle, at 29 points of interest. These points include the Adelaide Zoo, Central Markets, Visitor and Travel Centre and many more.
The iPhone app (a downloadable application) will feature:
- A 60 minute do-it-yourself city tour with audio narrative and directions
- Further information and audio narrative about points of interest along pre-determined routes.
To download, visit iTunes.
Webmaster, Drew, answers all sorts of technical questions. This week, he help About Seniors subscriber, Maurice, understand the benefit of choosing the correct GPS system.
Q. Maurice
Hi Drew
I have a Traveller brand GPS Navigator but I still get fined for speeding through a school zone. Where can I find info about what to look for in a GPS Navigator that will warn me that I am in a school zone and exceeding the speed limit. I plan to buy a more suitable GPS Navigator but do not know what specifications to look for or whether the maps are current?
A.
Hi Maurice,
GPS systems should only be used as guidance tools and attention should be paid at all times to road signs and road traffic rules.
When it comes to GPS, there is a genuine disparity between quality and price. You quite literally get what you pay for. So in your case, if you’re having problems with your current system, you may have to spend a little more money. However, if it saves you on speeding fines, it does tend to pay for itself. I find the best brand for speed camera alerts is the NAVMAN brand.
The best thing about the NAVMAN brand is that the GPS system has a live traffic update feature, so the maps are constantly updated. Because most school zones are a relatively recent addition to our roads, many navigation systems may not have them built into their operating systems. However, thanks not only to the built in ‘School Zone’ function of the NAVMAN brand, and the live traffic update feature, the NAVMAN GPS is the way to go! As you can tell, Head into your local electronics store today to find the best deal.
It seems you’ve not long purchased the latest, most up-to-date piece of computer hardware before something better hits the shelves. The key is to pick the right computer for your needs and one which will last.
When shopping for a new computer, you have to shop smart. Easier said than done!
Budget is the first consideration for most computer buyers and this usually means purchasing a PC rather than a MAC. You have to decide whether a desktop PC or a laptop will better suit your needs. With the amount of wireless technology that is floating around, and the drop in price for many laptops over the last couple of years, the smart money is on a laptop. With a laptop, you have two choices. A netbook or a notebook. A netbook is a small, lightweight ‘mini’ laptop, the likes of which have enjoyed a rise in popularity. They are light, have excellent wireless technology are easy to carry and often cheaper than its big brother, the notebook. However, if you are not on the go often, then a notebook is probably the better buy.
There are three things to look out for when buying a laptop, of which the layman may not be aware. Firstly, perhaps obviously, ask what the computer’s wireless capability is. Secondly, ask what the battery life is. Most laptops manufacturers claim to have a superior battery life, but this is usually based on your notebook working on the lowest power. Choosing a laptop with a guaranteed long battery life is essential, as less charging also prolongs the life of the computer. Thirdly, ask how much room, or ‘gigabytes’ (GB) the hard drive has. Will you be storing lots of music, photographs and emails? Or just using your computer to surf the net? The price difference between a laptop/computer with a 200GB storage capacity and an 80GB storage capacity is astounding. If you know how much you need, and it’s not a lot, the opportunity is there to save some money.
Buying a desktop PC is still a good idea, and is considerably cheaper than a laptop. If you have no need for portability and wireless technology, then there are plenty of good desktop computers out there. However, PC’s are large and take up a lot of space. Also, most of the money invested in technology these days has gone into developing notebooks, wireless technologies and smart phones, meaning that the desktop PC is thought to be slightly antiquated, with not too much focus on developing new technology.
Setting up a wireless network at home gives you the freedom to roam around and surf the internet whenever and wherever you please. It also enables more than one user to connect to the internet at the same time. Buying a wireless router for your broadband modem is relatively cheap and by following the instructions, can be set up relatively quickly.
When buying a new computer, you will have to buy an operating system, most likely Windows. And I do hear you when you ask …”what is wrong with my windows 95? I’ve grown to love ‘clippit’ and his slightly useless help”. For years, we were impressed with the notion of a talking paper clip but sadly, technology has moved on. These days, most users run Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Anything older can cause problems when you wish to share files. Files created with newer software can be difficult to open; many users will have at some point received a file in “docx.” format, which can only be read by Windows 2007 and above. If you can afford it, go for Windows 7, as Microsoft seems to have ironed out the problems of Vista.
If some people live by the ‘fool me once’ principle, and have already had their fingers burnt by Microsoft, and are somewhat computer literate, then perhaps purchasing an Apple Mac would be the best suggestion. Whether purchasing a ‘Macbook’ (netbook) a ‘Macbook Pro’ (notebook) or the incredibly well designed iMac, which has a computer built into a 21 inch screen, Macs are the boutique computer on the market today. While Macs are more expensive than some PCs and laptops, Apple doesn’t update their software as often as Microsoft, saving you an expense in the long run. Add to the equation that Macs never get a virus…ever, ensure that your purchase will be for the future.
Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, the old saying ‘if a deal seems too good to be true…’ is most applicable when buying a new computer. Most cheap deals are so because the software is already out of date and the warehouse guy wants them clear before Friday. Longevity is essential in the technological world, and if you have some nous, you won’t have to pay too much. Making the correct purchase, even if it costs a little more initially, could save you hundreds on repairs and updating software in one or two years.
However, it funds are limited, check out this $179.95 netbook deal
The rapid evolution of modern technology has forced Australians to ensure the safety of their PCs and laptops. But how many mobile internet users give the same security consideration to their smartphones?
Apple, Blackberry, and every other company that sounds like a fruit, have released a phone that is, quite literally, a mini computer. These phones offer exciting and new capabilities that we could not have even dreamed of 10 years ago. However, these phones are showing signs of coming at an even greater cost than just the purchase price. With the same capabilities as most computers, these phones are susceptible to most of the risks. So, how do smartphone holders keep their data safe:
- Set and maintain strong passwords: Similar to a computer, ensure you have strong passwords, and that your pin is always turned on, making it harder for thieves to use if your phone is stolen/ lost.
- Think before you click: Do not open MMS or attachments or emails unless you are expecting them from a trusted source
- Check for updates to your phones system regularly: These updates will make your phone more secure
- Be careful when downloading from the web: Do not download from an unreliable source, and try to use the application store or website of your smart phones operating system or manufacturer to be safe.
- Back up your data regularly: Set up your smart phone so that it backs up your data each time that you connect and synchronise it to you PC or Laptop.
The first signs of your smartphone account being hacked is a sudden increase in your phone bill with no clear reason, messages in sent folders you didn’t send and any other suspicious changes. If you suspect foul play, do not hesitate to contact your service provider to investigate.
If you follow the principles of responsible PC or Laptop use, yet changing some of the parameters to allow for the change in device, then you should be fine. Staying smart and vigilant is the key!
AAPT has got the ball rolling on unlimited download plans by releasing the only cap-free plan currently available in Australia. Australia is one of the few countries around the world where caps are common on internet plans but this change may force other providers to follow suit.
Offering ADSL^2 with no download limits or throttling (slowing your internet speeds if you pass a certain download limit), AAPT has broken the internet service industry in Australia wide open.
Telstra and other companies were offering unlimited download limits on internet services around 2000-2003 on broadband services. These services were discontinued as their servers could not handle the constant bandwidth requests from the growing subscriber base. Of course, there was also the opportunity to make more money and saw a way to make more money from their customers (fees when you exceed your download limit).
Subscribing to this new APPT plan has many benefits for a user who spends the majority of their time at home. With a unlimited download plan, you can purchase as many movies, music, TV shows and games online without worrying about exceeding that limit your service provider has put in place.
How much are APPT asking per month for this service? $99 per month on a 24-month contract which also includes home phone line rental and a Wi-Fi Modem.
If you are happy with your service provider and do not see the benefit of unlimited downloads, AAPT’s move will certainly benefit you in the long run, as prices will only get better for the consumer and download limits should be lifted eventually!
Find out more on AAPT’s unlimited internet download package.
Whether you want to play against a friend or by yourself, there are many websites offering free games.
Yahoo Games
With over 40 free online games to choose from, Yahoo Games is a great place to play with friends or meet new people through knowledge and skill.
Facebook
With a large number of games on offer to members, all free, you may find yourself logging in daily to check your animals in Farmville or play a challenging game of Bejeweled.
Pogo
Offering a large range of free online games to play against players from all around the world, Scrabble, Mahjong, Jigsaw Hunter and Sudoku are a few of the games here.
About Seniors
Offering new puzzles daily and a busy Meeting Place, About Seniors has a number of games to keep you entertained for hours.
Just when you think you’ve got the hang of the internet, SMS and social media, someone invents another new acronym with which to puzzle and perplex. So just what do you do when you LOL?
When cruising the world wide web or getting a message from a more experienced user you could be forgiven for thinking that there’s a new language that you don’t understand! In terms of development, internet slang is the fastest growing language that, well, isn’t really a language but is becoming an essential tool to save time.
Internet slang was originally invented to save keystrokes but it grew to incorporate youth culture, technological terminology and evolved to cater to the instant nature of social networking sites. Fear not, below is a crash course in the basics - 10 common internet/ SMS acronyms that should have you exclaiming OMG in no time.
1. OMG: Starting from where we left off, OMG. Essential when the exclamation point isn’t enough. Translate, this means ‘Oh My God’
2. BTW: For those full of digressions, this one is a lifesaver. Translated, it means ‘By The Way.’
3. BRB: Great for IM’s, Facebook Chat and MSN Messenger, BRB translated means ‘Be Right Back’.
4. TYVM: Expressing gratitude has never been simpler! Just type the aforementioned, and turn 16 letters (‘Thank You Very Much’) into four!
5. LOL: A literal way to express laughter, LOL translated means ‘Laugh Out Loud.’ For extreme circumstances, use ROFL, or ‘Rolling on the Floor Laughing.’
6. GR8: The number 8 has become a terrific proxy letter. In internet slang, it is almost the 27th letter in the alphabet. Gr8 is translated as ‘great’ and can also be used in L8R (‘Later’) and basically any time the ‘ate/eat’ syllable is formed in a word.
7. IMO: Translated, this means ‘In My Opinion’. If worried about appearing too strident, ad a H(IMHO) so it is translated as ‘In My Humble Opinion’.
8. BFF: ‘Best Friends Forever.’
9. TTYL: An easy sign off, TTYL means ‘Talk To You Later’
10. GTG: Another great sign off, GTG simply means ‘Got to Go’.
The most-used chat program worldwide, Windows Messenger allows you to chat, video call, share files and photos, play games and have multi-way chats!
How to download and install messenger
Visit the Windows Live website and click on the download button as per the image to the right.
A pop-up will now appear. If using Internet Explorer, click Run, if using Mozilla Firefox, click Save File and then run the file from the downloads popup.
Now, choose the programs you would like to install. For this demonstration, we are only installing Messenger. This will already be selected. Before you click install, you will need to close Internet Explorer. Now, click Install at the bottom right of the screen.
Depending on how fast your computer and internet connection is, this stage may take anywhere from two to thirty minutes.
Once installed, you need to be careful of the next pop-up. Do not just hit Continue. We recommend all users to uncheck the top two boxes, which are trying to set Bing as your selected search provider and MSN as your home page. Make sure they are unselected and then hit Continue.
If you do not already have a Hotmail, Messenger or Xbox Live account, you will need to sign up for a Windows Live ID. Click Sign-up in this pop-up now. If you already have an account, click Close.
Once you have signed up for an account, click the Close button.
Now the login to Windows Messenger will pop up. Enter your email address and password to sign in.
How to customise my Windows Messenger
At the top of your Messenger, as per the picture to the right, click the down arrow button and then select Options. This area gives you the chance to change your display name, display picture, comments and away settings. Furthermore, you can change many more settings by clicking the tabs on the left such as Layout, Sounds and Alerts. Once you have made a change and want to keep it, click the Apply button at the bottom. When you are done, click Ok and the changes will have been made.
How to add a friend
As per the image on the right, click the arrow next to the little messenger figure. This will drop down and you will be given the option to “Add a contact”, click it. Now enter the email address of your friend who is already a user of Windows Messenger and click the Next button. You will be given the chance to send a personalised message so they know it is you. Click Send Invitation when complete and you have added a friend. Repeat for additional friends.
Once a friend comes online, double click with your left mouse button on their name and a window will appear. Just click inside the text box provided and start chatting.
Sign-on to Windows Messenger now!
http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger
Digital television is being introduced across Australia and the Federal Government has announced a program to assist residents in certain areas of Australia.
Eligible households in Mildura, regional South Australia, regional Victoria and Queensland will be offered assistance and used to test the switchover to digital television. The results will be used to inform the approach when the switchover occurs through the remainder of Australia.
A household will be eligible for assistance if at least one resident is receiving a maximum rate Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer payment, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) service pension or the DVA income support supplement payment. Eligible households will have started to receive letters last month. There will be NO reimbursement for those who have already purchased a digital set top box.
For more information, visit digitalready.gov.au
Apple recently announced its eagerly awaited tablet product to mixed reviews. About Seniors, Webmaster, Drew, looks at it in detail and gives and compares it with similar products already on the market.
Rarely has the anticipation of a new tech product been as great as that of the arrival of the Apple iPad and Apple have not disappointed with the must-have gadget of 2010. Surpassing everything on the market at a competitive price is no mean feat but how will the iPad be most used? And is it worth buying?
The two main competing e-readers to the new iPad are the Amazon Kindle and the Nook. Both products are currently available and have enjoyed market success up to this point. Listed below are the pros and cons for the new Apple iPad compared to its competitors.
Pros
1) More than just an e-reader:
The iPad offers more than your average e-reader. As well as being able to read books comfortably on screen, it also allows you to play games, watch movies, browse the internet, edit documents, download iPhone applications and other applications.
2) The Amazon Kindle is currently the top selling e-reader on the market, although it only comes with a black and white screen unlike its other competitor, the Nook, which comes with a colour screen. The Apple iPad will come with a multi-touch colour screen.
3) Amazon has had the publishing industry over a barrel, taking 70% revenue share on all products sold. It has been reported that Apple has offered a 30% revenue share to all publishers signing up with them, and this is expected to create lower prices overall for consumers.
4) The price of the iPad for the low-end version will be $10 more than the current Amazon Kindle DX. From $500 RRP you will get a colour e-reader, which has many additional features beyond what a Kindle can achieve.
Cons
1) E-Ink. Unlike its counterparts, the iPad is not using the smart E-Ink technology. E-Ink does not refresh on the screen, which is much better for your eyes and reduces strain. This is the single greatest reason not to buy an iPad if you are looking to use it solely for reading books online.
2) Apple released a product… without a camera! It is unbelievable that a product of this technology did not include a camera of any kind. While there is no doubt that some developer will create a camera you can attach to this product, you would expect it on such a groundbreaking device.
3) The biggest issue I have with this product is multitasking. It has been proven that setting up multitasking on iPhones, which have far less processing power than this item, is possible as long as it is coded correctly. Apple has chosen not to introduce multi-tasking onto the iPad, which is a big mistake. What does this mean exactly? You cannot write a document on your iPad while having a book open in the background or a messaging program. Multiple windows should have been an essential part of this product.
4) The Amazon Kindle uses a keyboard similar to one on your computer, while the iPad has opted for a touch screen keyboard. There are advantages and negatives to both but from a usability point of view, having a keyboard that does not require you to touch the screen is generally easier to use.
It is clear from the above comments that Apple has tried to please not just the e-reader buyer but also a large target market of happy Apple consumers. Apple has tried to combine many features into one product, while leaving out a number of vital items, which may just appear in more expensive later versions – a pattern of many Apple products.
If I were solely looking to purchase an e-reader to download and read books, I would choose either the Amazon Kindle or Nook e-readers. If I was looking for more than just an e-reader and did not think I would use the e-reader for more than two or three books a month, then I would definitely consider the Apple iPad, even though it is several months away from release in Australia.
For more information on the iPad, www.apple.com/ipad/
123456. If you are amongst the majority of people whose busy schedule, lack of imagination or apathy has led them to choose a password that resembles a sequence of numbers similar to the aforementioned, then you are a prime target for hackers.
With ATM pin codes, birthdays, taxes and keeping up with changing super and pension entitlements, we have a lot to remember these days. So when it comes to online passwords, many people believe ‘the easier to remember, the better.’
However, data security firm Impervia recently released a detailed analysis of the top 10 passwords chosen by internet users. The report yielded worrying results.
The report identifies the most commonly used passwords:
1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
One of the key findings in the report was that many users held the same easy to hack password, such as 123456 or abc123, for both an easy to hack Facebook account, and their bank account and work emails. While the latter may have been harder to hack, with the password gained, the process was much easier.
It is recommended you change all your passwords on a 6 monthly basis and be sure to include at least one capital letter and one numeric character in your passwords. For example: About2010Seniors.
Find out more on Staying Secure Online.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is the process of compiling your favourite news feeds in a simple and easy to use program. Webmaster, Drew, makes it easy for you to syndicate your online life.
Wouldn’t it be great if all your favourite news and information websites were streamlined in a simple, easy to understand method that made task of surfing the net much less exasperating?
Well thankfully, RSS is here to answer your prayers. RSS is a web publishing format that allows websites to share their information with the world via other websites, desktop programs, or even email!
RSS feeds can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader”, or “aggregator”, which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based.
In layman’s terms, it is a web publishing format that ‘reads’ websites and, when you subscribe to a website, for example The Age or Herald Sun, compacts and summarises the data and sends it straight to your email address or reader.
When you are trying to find a website that has an available feed you can subscribe to, simply look for one of the icons in the picture above, in your browser toolbar.
You can set up a Feed Reader for free on Google or you can subscribe to a maximum of five feeds to be sent straight to your email for free, with FeedMyInbox.
Australians often like to include a visit to an Australian war memorial when travelling overseas and now you can search online for one before your departure.
The Overseas Memorial Search is an online resource that has details and photographs of over 100 overseas memorials which honour the brave men and women who fought for their country. The database includes official and privately constructed memorials, ensuring you need not miss out on that special visit.
As more data that is collected the database will continue to grow, providing a much needed resource for those who treasure the memory of a loved one.
To find out more or to search for a memorial, visit Overseas Memorials Search.
Most of us will admit to being a little nosey from time to time so you may be interested to know where other Australians go on the web.
Internet trends are fascinating. According to Alexa.com, the following list is the top 10 most visited sites by Australians in the past year. It is interesting to note that six are search engine/news sites, two are social networking sites, one is for online shopping and one is a not-for-profit information site!
2009 List
1. Google Australia (www.google.com.au)
2. Facebook (www.facebook.com)
3. Google (www.google.com)
4. Youtube (www.youtube.com)
5. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
6. Windows Live (www.live.com)
7. Ebay Australia (www.ebay.com.au)
8. Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)
9. Ninemsn (www.ninemsn.com.au)
10. Blogger (www.blogger.com)
2008 List
1. Google Australia (www.google.com.au)
2. Google (www.google.com)
3. Windows Live (www.live.com)
4. Facebook (www.facebook.com)
5. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)
6. Youtube (www.youtube.com)
7. Ebay Australia (www.ebay.com.au)
8. Ninemsn (www.ninemsn.com.au)
9. Myspace (www.myspace.com.au)
10. Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)
View the 100 most visited sites, here
Why not test your nutritional knowledge with a trip around the Dietitians Association of Australia’s (DAA’s) Virtual Supermarket.
Understanding the basics of nutrition and products are labelled is a step in the right direction to a healthy diet. Food Standards Australia requires all packaged foodstuffs to have a Nutritional Information Panel - but what does it all mean?
The DAA’s Virtual Supermarket not only explains how to read a label but also highlights the words by which nasties such as saturated fats, salt and sugar may be known.
Take a tour and test your nutritional knowledge.
High quality images of Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton written in the 18th century have been published online, giving an insight into the brilliant mind of the man who developed the theory of gravity.
Published to mark the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society of Britain’s National Academy of Science, you cannot fail to be fascinated by that apple falling downwards from the tree.
As taken from the book, “Why should it not go sideways or upwards, but constantly to the Earth’s centre? Assuredly, the reason is that the earth draws it.”.
You can view the photos online at The Royal Society website.
About Seniors subscriber, Liz, is trying to find an independent website to compare broadband and phone plans for her 88-year old mother.
Q. Liz
Could you please direct me to an independent website where I can see comparisons between all Telco’s? I am trying to find, on behalf of my 88-year old mother living on the Gold Coast, the cheapest bundled landline and broadband plan. In my opinion, she would need no more than 1-2 GB of broadband. I find that there are so many plans out there and on talking to some of the reps of these Telecos, they themselves are not too sure about their plans! It is all too confusing for my mother and frustrating for me! Please help.
A.
Hi Liz,
Below we have listed a number of different websites for comparing broadband and landline deals around Australia. As your mother is in receipt of an Age Pension, she is eligible to receive broadband, landline and mobile service through TADAust Connect, an organisation who provides discount services to people with disabilities, the aged and veterans.
TADAust Connect
Phonechoice
Youcompare
Regards,
Drew
With governments worldwide urging people to stop using the Internet Explorer browser, what are your safer alternatives?
It appears that an exploitable flaw in the Internet Explorer browser led to the recent cyber attacks on Google and other businesses. This is not the first time a security flaw has been exploited in Internet Explorer, or a Microsoft developed product. If you were to search the internet, the number of updates to fix exploits are well documented throughout the history of Internet Explorer, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for!
Microsoft has issued a statement to all users to confirm the weakness in their design and that the hole could be closed by setting the browser’s internet security zone to “high”. Although this would severely limit what a user can do online, it cannot guarantee an attack on your browser will be prevented.
There is no evidence to suggest that all the other internet browsers available on the market are rock solid security wise but it would be wise to consider an alternative to Internet Explorer. There are three main options to choose from:
Mozilla Firefox
Easy to use and very similar to Internet Explorer with a good add-on area if you wish to customize your browser experience with tools and gadgets. To download, click on the words above and when you get to the Mozilla website, there will be a download link on the bottom left hand side. Follow the installation prompts and you will be ready to use Mozilla Firefox within minutes of downloading!
Apple Safari
The default browser on all Apple products, Safari is an easy to use consistent internet browser. To download, click on the words above and when you get to the Safari website, there will be a download link on the bottom left hand side. Follow the installation prompts and you will be ready to use Apple Safari.
Google Chrome
An extremely fast and easy to use browser that takes a while to get used to, but is extremely convenient once you learn all the features involved. To download, click on the words above and when you get to the Chrome website, there will be a download link on the top right hand side. Follow the installation prompts and you will be ready to use Google Chrome.
The Digital Health Summit and Silvers Summit offered a full day of presentations specific to technology for older consumers at the 2010 CES in Las Vegas. Some interesting products:
Wellcore – New Personal Emergency Response system (PERS) which detects falls.
Kodak Picture Frames – New picture frames which allow users to email pictures directly to the frames bypassing the downloads.
Kwikset’s SmartCode with Home Connect Technology – Keyless entry solutions using FOBs, numeric touch pads and biometrics along with various electronic monitoring solutions.
TV-Ears – A television designed specifically for seniors.
Comment
There seems to be no end to the new applications for older adults – to keep them safe, connected, informed and entertained. The most interesting comment on the new technologies at CES, however, came from a reporter for Seniors Housing News (SHN) who noted the emphasis on service. Yes, that’s right, old-fashioned service. Some Australian-based companies such as Telstra, Microsoft and NEC noted a while ago that the more you bother to explain technology to older consumers, the more they will use it. They may not be digital natives, but they’re not stupid either. Wooing older consumers with real service support via phone or face-to-face is such a basic, you wonder why it’s taken so long for marketers to get it?
About Seniors subscriber, Joan, is looking to upgrade her television and purchase a device that will record TV shows so that she can watch them at a future date.
Q. Joan
I want to buy a new TV with a TiVo or similar device to make my recording of TV shows easier. Can you suggest a package that will do the job? I have broadband with my computer but not wireless connection. My son has a TiVo, which I think would be good, but is there anything else that will do the same job. I am looking to buy a 42” high definition TV as my eyesight is not the best so want the bigger screen (present TV is 26") to watch sporting events, especially the Winter Olympics. I can afford to buy the package that will give me the best results to make my TV viewing the best available at the moment.
A.
Joan, there are a number of different devices and packages available that will allow you to record, rewind and plan your viewing experience. Webmaster, Drew, has some suggestions.
Foxtel
As an avid sporting fan and owner of Foxtel at home, I would recommend that Joan purchase the minimum package available from Foxtel with Foxtel IQ included. Foxtel IQ is a device that costs about $5 extra a month and allows you to record, pause and rewind shows. The great thing about Foxtel is you can upgrade or downgrade your package at any time as long as you do not start on the higher package on the “24 month” purchase plan. Foxtel has a dedicated Winter Olympics channel that will cover events live as they happen 24/7. There is a substantial cost every month from ($42-$135 depending on the package you select). You can purchase a Vancouver 2010 pass for $50, which allows you to view every event as it happens.
Find out more about Foxtel
TiVo
Released in America over 10 years ago, TiVo helps the user to record multiple shows at the same time, allowing you to view them at your convenience. What makes TiVo so unique is how smart the system is. You can tell your TiVo to record an entire season of a television show and even if the show changes program times, it will pick up the change and record it. TiVo even allows the user to transfer their recorded shows onto their computer. Although not a new product, TiVo has only recently been introduced in Australia but it deserves to be listed in the top five for its sheer brilliance!
Find out more about Tivo
About Seniors subscriber, Michael is finding it hard to get around as much as he used to and has purchased a product to view digital downloads on his television but is seeking advice on where to legally purchase and download.
Q.
Dear About Seniors
I recently treated myself to a high definition mini media player and exterior hard drive, as I can’t get around like I used to. I would like to learn how to download movies and old television series to watch. I was told to download the following programs: Warezbb , doc4 you and rapid share paid member so it’s all legal.
The trouble is I don’t know how to bring this all together. What I want is someone to help me step by step to finish this project. I have tried looking for book that would help me could not find any. Tried looking on the computer but my old brain cannot grasp all those tech terms they use. Can you help?
A.
Hi Michael,
I will start my explaining for those who do not know, a high definition mini media player is a way to super size your digital media on your big screen TV. Simply connect the player to your TV, plug a USB drive into the player and you’re ready to enjoy all your digital media such as movies, photos, music and other items.
Sadly, there are not many “legal” download sites operating that offer the download of digital media in regards to old television shows and movies. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer customers the opportunity to purchase and download movies, music and television shows on their websites. If you are a customer of the ISP who is selling the products, the majority will not take any bandwidth for the downloads from your current internet plan, which is a huge incentive to change to that ISP if you are looking to download many different movies and shows.
I had a look at the sites you were recommended and I can’t confirm that any of those you listed were legal download sites. Indeed, one of them seemed to be a sharing community, which is highly illegal.
You can look more into these types of services at Bigpond Movies and TV
The release of James Cameron’s movie masterpiece, Avatar, has sent all major television producing companies scrambling to invest significantly in producing viable 3D TV, and it’s not far off!
You may have just purchased a Digital Set top box, recently upgraded to HDTV or be one of the many who have not even taken the leap. Regardless, TV is set to change, in the very near future.
3D enabled televisions will enable the consumer to select from HDTV or 3DTV. 3DTV will appear blurry to the naked eye and will require a special pair of glasses to enable your eyes to filter the content. The glasses then allow the consumers brain to interpret the slight differences in depth, just like it does in real life. This gives you a more realistic view and will be incredible for watching sports in the future.
A few major brands had launched 3DTV within 2008 but the prices were extremely high and have yet to fall. With competition and creation of new 3DTV sets expected to be manufacturers’ main focus in 2010, prices should significantly plummet to more acceptable levels and by the end of the year, you should be able to pick up a smaller version for around $3,000.
Find out more about 3DTV
About Seniors subscriber, Margaret, has asked us to explain exactly what an e-book reader does and what is the best one to buy currently on the market?
2010 has been dubbed by many as the year of the e-book reader but what exactly does it do and are they worth purchasing?
An e-reader, or e-book reader as it may be called, is a device with the sole purpose of letting the user download, store and read books on an electronic device. Before you say, “Why would I want to read a book on a screen”, you need to know that e-readers are completely different to computer screens.
Dedicated e-readers (the sole purpose of the device is to display books) are unique in design, using what is called E-Ink which displays sharp and clear text on the page with a paper-like appearance so that your eyes never get tired when reading on the surface, unlike on a computer screen. Another great advantage of e-readers is that you can use them anywhere, in almost any condition, as unlike a computer, direct sunlight does not affect the screen.
E-readers are extremely portable and the major advantage is that you can take them anywhere and store hundreds of books on your device while being able to read your book in larger font than what would be in a normal book.
There are quite a few e-readers on the market at the moment but the stand out product would have to be the Amazon Kindle. It has a large battery life, is fairly compact compared to its opponents and has a full keyboard attached allowing you to search and download books from the Amazon book e-store directly to your e-reader. With a retail price of $259 AUD, it may just be worth the investment for avid book readers.
Find out more on Amazon Kindle.
Or watch a video of it in action.
With Tablet and Slate PC names being thrown around the digital ring, will these new touch screen technologies from Apple and Microsoft take off or fail?
Microsoft announced the release of the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Tablet on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This type of technology is expected to be the future of computing with the overly hyped Apple iSlate also expected to be announced later in the month. Microsoft have dubbed the HP Tablet as “a product almost as portable as a mobile phone with touch screen technology and the performance of a PC running Windows 7”. The HP Tablet is running the Amazon E-Kindle technology, which allows users to purchase, download and read e-books, but it is still unclear exactly which other features the HP Tablet will include.
Rumours are floating around the internet about what the new Apple touch screen Tablet PC, being called the “iSlate” by commentators in this field, will bring to the table. Many digital electronic commentators expect it to look like a oversized iPod Touch or iPhone, with similar features to the iPod Touch and the additional capabilities of a laptop and add-on software that would allow people to read e-books, watch films or television and listen to music.
No prices have been announced so we will have to wait until about midyear for the release of both products onto the market to see where this technology will enter in the scale of affordability. I would expect the HP Tablet to go into the market around the $500 mark while the Apple product around the $1000 mark judging by rumours and how both companies conduct their business.
I can see these products taking off, but I do not anticipate either replacing the keyboard and mouse computer that we are used to in our daily lives. Because the latter are faster, more reliable and overall in the long run cheaper to own and they are not as prone to being dropped or broken.
As the new millennium was ushered in, many held their breaths to see if the infamous Y2K bug would wreak havoc with technology. Nothing untoward happened – until 10 years later.
As 2010 began, the Bank of Queensland suffered a glitch in their internal clocks, causing their systems to register 2016, much like what was expected in the year 2000. This in turn caused credit and debit cards to be rejected by systems, which registered them as expired – causing havoc for retailers and consumers alike. As of 5 January, Bank West has also encountered a number of glitch’s in their system.
With the banking system plagued by troubles last year, with the online services for each bank going offline at least once during the year, the outlook for 2010 also looks to be a little bumpy.
Christmas is just around the corner so it is time to consider a few changes for the New Year, to ensure you continue having a safe and secure online presence.
Passwords
The majority of professionals will recommend you change your password every three months and that your password should consist of eight or more letters - including at least one capital letter and one number. Realistically, if you change your passwords every six to twelve months they will remain secure if keep within the suggested criteria. Christmas is the best time of year to change your password as you can include a future goal or travel destination in your password to remind you to aim for the sky!
Virus Scanning
Scanning your compute for viruses should be preformed weekly but, as this makes your computer run slow, who has time to do this? With this in mind, it is no wonder that many people turn their scanning off and only run a scan rarely. Again, Christmas is the time to scan your computer. If you do not have a virus scanner, you can download a free version or consider purchasing software. Find out more about virus scanning software.
Firewall
Imagine your computer is a branch of Westpac Bank. Running no firewall is the equivalent to leaving the branch unstaffed, door open, with all the money sitting in bags on the front counter ready for someone to take. Personal emails, Facebook and other websites you visit can reveal sensitive data about you that could be used fraudulently if falls into the wrong hands. Most virus scanning programs come with a built in firewall program that monitors all data being sent and received and can identify the more common variety’s of viruses and hackers.
Spyware
Less dangerous than it sounds, spyware is made up of files called Cookies. These bytes of data are stored by certain websites you visit and may make your computer upload data back to them, monitoring how you view the internet. While they are not dangerous and are generally used to monitor consumer behaviour, they are a nuisance you can do without, as no one wants a company monitoring their every move while they surf the web. There are two free programs that can be used to remove spyware. Find out how to remove spyware.
In a world where technology is advancing at a rapid rate, it is no wonder that a device has been developed for the iPhone that will turn it into a credit card processing unit!
The device is called the “Square”, and was developed by Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey. The device is going to be affordably priced to be useable by the target audience of the product, small business people who conduct their business on the road such as electricians, plumbers, nannies, babysitters, etc.
You can find out more about this fascinating technology.
Facebook, everyone’s at it, even your local MP! While some may consider their posts as witty or clever, the danger of getting caught doing something you shouldn’t, should be enough to make you think twice about what you write on your wall.
Whether you sympathise or ridicule these Facebook fools who got more than they bargained for, it’s important to learn from their mistakes.
1. Love was in the air for Stuart Slann of Sheffield, who, after driving 400 miles to meet ‘Emma’, who he met on Facebook, was confronted by two rival football fans he met on holiday. Slann has since received 300 mocking e-mails a day since details of the hoax were posted on YouTube and Facebook.
2. The temptation to drive through a puddle and soak unsuspecting passengers waiting at a bus stop was just too much for a female motorist. After posting a video taken from inside the car of Facebook and YouTube, the woman has set herself up for possible prosecution.
3. Working in a call centre may be one of the world’s worst jobs and proved too much for Kyle Doyle, who pulled as sickie and bragged about it on Facebook. When challenged to proof his claim for sick leave was genuine, Doyle had the rug pulled from under him when bosses provided a screenshot of his Facebook profile.
4. Wanted for fraud charges in the US, fugitive Maxi Sopo thought he had escaped to Mexico without trace. Boasting about his new life in paradise, Sopo had apparently unwittingly added a former Justice Department official to his list of friends – making his capture all the more easy!
5. Surely the secret to a successful burglary is getting in and out as quickly as possible without detection? Unfortunately, 19-year-old Jonathan Parker not only booted up his Facebook page while looting a neighbour’s house but also forgot to log out, something which to his court appearance on burglary charges.
Want to learn more about social networking? Webmaster, Drew, has all the ins and outs of setting up a Facebook profile.
You may have laughed when the Jetsons featured flying cars, but American company, Terrafugia, is having the last laugh, as they are in the final testing stages of their street-legal flying car.
No, I am not having you on, this is not a joke. Terrafugia is a company that was founded in 2006 by award-winning MIT-trained aeronautical engineers and MBA’s with the goal of developing a flying car.
I was astounded by the price of the “flying car”, as I thought it would be a lot more costly than they are expecting the price to be. With a retail anticipated purchase price of $194,000, it seems to suggest that flying cars may be the way of the future.
You can find out more information on the Terrafugia website
Controversially, Telstra introduced a $2.20 administration fee for people paying their bills over the counter or by mail but, less than two months later, Telstra has been forced to scrap the fee and will refund all those affected.
Telstra has realised that they have taken the wrong approach by introducing a fee for people wishing to pay bills by mail or over the counter. Whenever you “punish” your customers for choosing one bill payment method over another, you are setting your company up for a fall. The smartest move that can be made in business, is offering incentives to customers for using a payment system that saves the company money and saves the consumer time, such as the electronic payment system they were trying to “force” their customers to use.
It is important to note that Telstra was not the first telephone company to introduce a fee of this kind, they were simply attempting to fall in line with the trends of other companies in the industry, but unlike the others before them who succeeded, Telstra will always be in the media spotlight and will never be able to charge such ridiculous fees to customers without a public outcry. Vodafone charges customers $2 to receive a paper version of their bill, and $1.50 to pay the bill at Australia Post. Meanwhile, Optus charges a $2.20 fee to receive a paper invoice and 55 cents to pay the bill at an Australia Post outlet.
The fee changes will be implemented over the next few months and Telstra will refund all administration fees paid by current customers.
1989 was a big year. Down came the Berlin Wall, signalling the end of the Cold War. Of course, technology has also advanced in the last 20 years.
The first 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System were sent into orbit, Nintendo released the popular Game Boy hand-held gaming console and Microsoft released their first versions of Microsoft Office!
The Internet had been around for a while but did not go “commercial” until the start of the 90s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and boosted the commercialism of the Internet to grow to what we have now, a community with a population estimated to be 1.67 billion as of June 30, 2009.
There were also many medical advances in technology and others relating to the produce industry. The 90s saw the development and growth of genetic engineering or genetically modified foods and the growth of the new science of Biotechnology. Genetic modification is used to make foods resistant to insecticides and herbicides and it is estimated that over 60% of products on Australian shelves include genetically modified ingredients.
The mobile phone has come a long way in 20 years. Twenty years ago SMS was not invented. A basic phone would have cost $200 and would have weighed 750 grams! Because of their weight and size, they were referred to as “brick phones” because they resembled the size and shape of a brick. How times have changed. Phones can now fit in the palm of your hand, surf the internet, send pictures, files, videos, play songs and do 100 other things we could never dream of!
Imagine where we will be in 20 years, the sky… no… the universe is the limit!
Technology advances mean whole new raft of words to learn. About Seniors subscriber, Tim, is keen to know what an “App” is and if he needs one?
Q. Tim
I am a 68-year old who travels regularly and my family recommended I purchase and iPhone for my travels so I can check my emails on the road. They also said it is possible to take photos with the camera and upload them directly to the internet so I can share my caravanning adventures. I have done some research on the iPhone but am confused about what an app is, and why I should have to pay for something that is not included in my plan. Am I missing something or could you explain this in a little more detail to me?
A. Hi Tim, Drew here
I am glad to hear you are taking the leap into the future of phones. You may struggle at the start with the iPhone but will eventually get the hang of it with continued use, as I also had problems when I first attempted to use one. An “app” refers to a downloadable iPhone application listed on the Apple App server. There are now over a million Apps that you can currently download, many which are free. These apps are developed by companies and prices listed accordingly.
Hopefully this answers your question. I have detailed a couple of useful apps below.
Speed Cameras
An app that utilizes the GPS capability of your phone and location in order to warn you when a photo enforcement device such as speed cameras or red lights cameras are approaching, and when you exceed the limit speed. This app costs $2.99 but could save you hundreds of dollars if you accidentally went over the limit!
Grocery IQ.
An interesting app that lets you save a grocery list onto your iPhone that is sorted according to the section of the supermarket where you will find it (e.g. dairy, fruit and vegetable).
I hope this information helps you to understand the iPhone and the complexities involved, but also makes you realise what is now possible while travelling the globe!
Visit the iPhone app store.
The first gaming console built solely on wireless hand movements, the Nintendo Wii is revolutionary. Offering games that will test your skills and even help you lose weight, find out why you should look into buying one!
How does it work?
Through sensors placed on top of your television, the Nintendo Wii senses the movements you make with the controller in your hand. If you are playing Wii Sports and want to play Ten Pin Bowling with a friend, you position your bowling figure on screen and hold down a button to release the ball from locked position, you swing your hand back, and then forward, just like you would if you were bowling!
What age group is the Wii suitable for?
The Wii does not have a specific age group that the games or console is suitable for. It can be played by anyone over the age of three and has different types of games to suit all ages.
Which type of games are available?
The Wii Fit game combines Yoga training, Strength training and several other training techniques all into one game which are completed on an included balancing board, which can record your current body weight. With this feature, you put in your height and can record your body mass index overtime which will be graphed on the screen, which if you are trying to lose some weight, especially after Christmas, is extremely useful!
Other games include Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort which combine games such as Golf, Ten Pin Bowling, Archery, Basketball, Tennis and many others. Of course if you are after some strategy games, Nintendo is famous for their Mario line of games and you will not be disappointed with Mario Galaxies.
The Wii is great for personal use in the home but is even better when you have a couple of friends or family members over!
Read more Technology articles for helpful tips.
Should I upgrade to Windows 7
The latest evolution of the Microsoft Windows showcase, Windows 7 (W7), hit the shelf last week, but should you go to the hassle and expense of upgrading?
There’s no doubt that W7 is the fastest and most stable platform released by Windows since the 98 version but will your computer be able to run it - and is it worth the $199 it will cost to upgrade?
The best part about W7 is that it looks exactly like Vista, indeed, many people are calling it an “upgrade” to Vista. While it may look similar, there are some distinct enhancements to some of the features that come with W7. I remember trying to set up my internal network at home with three separate computers in different locations, hooking them all up to a printer, modem and other storage devices was a nightmare. With W7, there is a new feature called HomeGroup, which makes it easy to share files and folders while also making it easy to connect your computer to a local network to use printers and storage decides. Unfortunately, this feature only interacts with other W7 enabled computers.
Can your computer run W7?
The “minimum” recommended requirements to run W7 is at least 1GB of RAM and a processor of 1GHz or higher. For those who are not technologically minded, if you purchased a computer in the past three years, your computer is likely to have at least a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. Upgrading is easy and you can purchase extra RAM for under $100 if need be but you should consider purchasing a new computer to run with W7 if you don’t have the minimum requirements, or stick with your current system if you cannot afford a new PC.
I currently run Windows XP, will it be an easy upgrade?
The simple answer is no. If you currently have Windows Vista installed, the process will be less painful than other Windows platforms. While W7 will be able to transfer most of your files and recognise your existing software and hardware settings if you do upgrade from Vista, W7 will not identify any of this information from other platforms, so you will need to back up all this data and W7 will walk you through importing these documents and emails. You will still be required to re-install your software and download all updates and patches released over the years.
You can check whether your computer is up to scratch by running Microsoft’s W7 Upgrade Advisor program.
Find out what the Sydney Morning Herald thinks of Windows 7.
You don’t need to be an internet entrepreneur to make a few extra dollars online. Try your luck on one of these three options to boost your coffers.
Online Surveys
A survey here, a survey there, before you know it, you have $30 extra in your account! If you have the time and the patience, completing online surveys is a good way to earn a little extra pocket money.
Pure Profile
Signing up to Pure Profile will take about an hour and once all your information has been recorded, you will be sent an email when a survey becomes available to you. Offering a minimum of $4.20 per 20 minute survey, it’s worth the effort. Visit Pure Profile.
Easy Cash
Without having to register, you can access a variety of links to a number of different surveys, each of which has been rated by users and the rating noted below the posting. Please note you should never pay any money to sign up to participate in surveys, as some of these might. Visit Easy Cash.
eBay
Make eBay work for you. If you have a talent for painting, crafting or any other skill, including woodwork, you can create and sell your products online! If you have no creative bone in your body, you may still be able to find a niche in the market currently not accounted for! If these options aren’t for you, you can always sell some items you have been hoarding in your cupboard which you will never use!
Find out how to make eBay work for you!
Competitions
Current affair programs often feature stories of people who keep winning competitions. There is an art to being a winner. One is being persistent and entering as many competitions as you can – the law of averages! Find a competition that takes your fancy and go for it.
Ninemsn competitions
Ten Competitions
Herald Sun competitions
Never has having access to the World Wide Web been so advantageous when looking to buy electrical goods. Over the past year, the Australian Dollar has jumped 38 per cent but retailers have been slow to pass on the savings.
The price of many imported products has not changed in the past year. With the price of electronic products such as phones and ipods generally sticking firm, the manufacturers are reaping larger profits. Microsoft is selling Windows 7 online for $199 USD for US users only but you cannot find the product in Australia for any less than $280 USD – why the disparity? While most products fluctuate on the market, such as fuel prices, electronics sold in stores are always within a 10% price range between stores and rarely exceed this. There are a number of reasons for the 38 per cent to not have been passed onto the consumer:
· Consumers are still purchasing the products regardless of price
· Many companies who import products took a huge hit when the Aussie dollar fell 20+ percent last year and see this as a way of recouping that loss
· Inventory is purchased in advance and were not purchased at the current exchange rate
· Australian consumers have brand loyalty to stores and products and will purchase at any cost
Ask yourself - how can I make the most of the strong Aussie dollar?
Purchasing products online from overseas sources is of great advantage to Australians at the moment. Apart from the Euro, the Aussie Dollar is the best performing currency in the world and looks like it will continue to increase on the weak USD. Buying new and used products online is simple, if you are purchasing items from Ebay, or Amazon, you are sure to get a great price far cheaper than you can buy at the retail stores in Australia, even after you pay the shipping costs!
The internet is a great way to provide fun in an educational way for children. About Seniors have found five child friendly websites for you to visit and have fun together!
Club Penguin
A website designed for kids committed to providing a safe and creative environment for kids. Kids can engage in a variety of activities, chat and play games with friends.
Visit Club Penguin
Funbrain
With a large variety of fun and exciting games, ranging from Math Baseball which combines fun with learning, to Grammar Gorillas aimed at improving speech, you and your grandchildren will be learning and playing for hours!
Visit Funbrain
Disney
The home of cartoons and creativity for children worldwide, Disney has created hundreds of memorable characters throughout the decades and their website celebrates all of these characters and shows with music, activities and games for all ages!
Visit Disney
ABC Games
Games range from the Bananas in Pyjamas to Billycart Racing. Fun for both boys and girls, this website has a large range of games for kids of all ages!
Visit the old easy to use site
Visit the new site
Barbie Girls
The place for girls to be girls! A safe place for kids to pretend they are Barbie, where they can play games, hang out and furnish their own room!
Visit Barbie Girls
The figures don’t lie, one in five Australians over the age of 16 have been victims of identify theft in some way, shape or form and the numbers continue to increase.
According to the Veta Advantage Identity Crimes Report, fraud is up 23% in the past 12 months with more than 1.5 million Australians being the victims of skimming, where the credit cards details stored on their magnetic strip are copied, and 1.2million Australians have had their bank accounts illegally accessed.
The news does not get any better for online fraud according to police experts, who announced on 12 October at the national crime conference on the Gold Coast, that identity fraud is costing Australia over $3billion a year!
According to the experts, criminals compile data from social networking sites of potential victims, which may not be used for a number of years until any substantial information is stolen such as credit card information or similar. The more information a criminal has on the victim, the more money can be made from their actions. The experts warned that 50% of all wireless Internet networks installed in houses and businesses around Australia are insecure, with open networks or easy to hack passwords.
Find out more information about identity theft and how it can be prevented.
Since 5 October 2009, the login data of over 30,000 email account users of Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo and AOL has been posted online, and this may only be the tip of the iceberg. How do you make your email secure?
Details of email accounts were posted on forums such as, Paste Bin, where 10,000 Hotmail accounts were posted, on 5 October 2009. While this in itself was concerning, the lack of security in place with passwords selected is a huge issue. Out of the 10,000 Hotmail email addresses, 82 were either 123456 or 123456789. What is most alarming is that 42% of the email addresses that were hacked, were using passwords that rate as very poor for security, which contain only lowercase alpha passwords (a to z).
How did these email accounts get hacked? There are a number of different ways this could have occurred. The most common would be a generic robot (bot) hack, which refers to a program setup to try and break into email addresses that have been given to a hacker overtime to form a database. This bot runs by itself trying to break into every email box on the list by attempting to enter the most common passwords used. These bots keep getting smarter and adding even larger password lists so you need to be careful in selecting yours.
Another popular way for hackers to get your personal information is through key logging. This occurs when you visit a website or download a file (email or website) which contains what is known as a key logger (virus). The key logger hides itself in your computer and records all your keystrokes. This information is then sent to the hackers server where he sets a program to filter the information to what they want.
Making your email box secure is easier than you think. Changing your password every 90 days is advised, but in all honestly, no one does it. Changing your password once a year is a must for all users. The safest password you can use will always contain at least one uppercase letter and one numeric character such as the following examples: Melbourne1956 or frankJ46.
For more information, read our PDF on Staying Secure Online.
In the wake of the inquiry into the handling of this year’s bushfires in Victoria, the Federal Government has reviewed the “stay or go” policy and changed a number of laws. Regardless of which state you live in, it’s worthwhile assessing the fire risk to your home.
Raging bushfires may seem like the biggest threat during a long, hot, dry summer but 85% of all houses that are lost during the fire season are due to ember attack. With this in mind, there are a number of vital steps you can take to reduce the risk before, during and after a bushfire. While the CFA is a Victorian based organisation, the Household Bushfire Self Assessment Test is applicable throughout Australia.
Thanks to smartphones and mobile internet, those who feel they need it can have access to email and ‘Facebook” 24/7. One downside of staying connected is the increasing phenomenon of Bill shock.
With complicated plans being marketed by telcos, it is no wonder Australians are being billed $1000s for exceeding their data limits.
What is bill shock? Bill shock can happen if a user grossly goes over the data allowance of their plan through the use of data applications such as internet on a mobile phone. Generally, the user gets bill shock because they are unaware of how much it will cost to use such applications and telco’s do not express in clean terms, what the user is entitled to under the plan.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is receiving around 1000 complaints a day with around 350 of these regarding smartphone costs.
It is no wonder that consumers are being overcharged by telco’s who have free rein with the packages they are producing. I was looking at buying a smartphone and came across a plan that involved a 30megabytes (mb) data cap, with anything additional being charged at a incredibly high rate per mb. There are many phone users who would have no clue what a megabyte or gigabyte is, 30 megabytes sounds pretty huge to me, but in reality I know that it is less than two hours of surfing the internet.
I feel it is completely unjust that phone companies are allowed to get away with charging ridiculous amounts for such a simple service. There needs to be some common-sense and regulations need to be put in place for maximum charge amounts on excess data and limits on how much can be charged. Further to this, telco’s need to be held to providing real services to their customers by letting them know when they have reached and exceeded their data limits and how much the charges will be from there after.
Optus is the leader in providing data capped plans for Internet, which severely decrease your maximum internet speed back to dial-up internet levels when you exceed your maximum data cap for the month on broadband internet. The same should be in place for mobile internet, with the option of paying a fee to increase the data limit for the month.
For more information on smartphone usage costs, visit the TIO.
At some point, many mobile phone users will have dropped their phone in water. Quick and correct action may save you a hefty repair bill.
Read our tips on what to do when you drop your mobile phone in water and hopefully, if it ever happens to you, your phone should escape the ordeal intact.
Do’s:
· Separate your battery from your phone IMMEDIATELY.
· Pull your phone apart as much as you can (make sure you remember how to put it back together!)
· Dry the phone as much as possible with cotton wool or cotton buds
· Either leave your phone somewhere warm or place it in bowl of dry rice (the rice absorbs moisture), for at least 1 day.
· If your phone will not turn on after this process, place your battery in a freezer safe bag (only the battery, not the phone) and pop in your freezer. This will reset the battery and hopefully make it work again.
Don’ts:
· Don’t put the battery back into the phone just to see if it’s working, wait it out! Most phones that are dropped in water are damaged as a result of short circuiting because of the battery not being removed or attempting to activate while still wet.
· Don’t use a hairdryer to speed-up the process. This won’t evaporate the moisture; instead it will force the moisture deeper into the circuits!
· Don’t try to heat the phone in any way; it needs to be dried SLOWLY. You can put it near a heater on very low, in a hot water cupboard or in an uncooked bowl of rice as above, but if you try and heat it, the moisture will be forced somewhere harder to fix and cause long-term problems.
These steps are general guidelines and may not work in every instance, but when faced with buying a new phone or paying to have it repaired, they are certainly worth a try.
Using only store-bought equipment costing under $170, a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students have sent a camera into near-space and captured photos of Earth.
This is certainly not the first time a group of students have sent a camera into space to take photos. What is so amazing about the MIT project, is how little the mission cost. Other reported missions similar to this have cost over $1000 to launch. The students wanted to conduct the mission for as cheap as they could, to prove that you don’t need to spend billions of dollars to get some cool photos of the Earth!
What did they use that cost $170 to send a camera into near-space, track it, take the photos and retrieve them? The students purchased a Canon A740 camera and programmed it to take photos every five seconds but they needed a way to track the helium-filled weather balloon, which was to be the “spacecraft”. They purchased a prepaid phone with GPS technology and placed it in a Styrofoam beer cooler, which was used a housing for the equipment. They placed hand warmers inside the cooler to ensure the camera did not freeze and attached it to the weather balloon. The hardest part of the mission would be retrieving the balloon, once it popped and came back to earth (parachute was used to ensure a safe landing).
Luckily, the University of Wyoming had already developed a tool to estimate and track where a weather balloon would travel to and fall, if launched. Using the mobile as a GPS locator, they were able to find the unit! Have a look at their website space.1337arts.com. You may question the launch site used by the students, there was potential for the balloon to land close to buildings, houses and roads but luckily, it fell in an open field.
The students plan to release all details of their launch and how anyone can launch the same experiment, so expect to see many more students around the world launching into near-space in the near future!
Store and share your documents free and securely online. Just on the off chance a household accident destroys your PC, or your computer becomes infected with a virus, keep those important documents intact!
A new release from Google adds to the ever-increasing line of features offered by the web gurus. Google Docs is one of the most useful features added to Google’s impressive list of tools. Google Docs allows the user to upload a document or text and save it in their profile. The user can then share the information with 50 email addresses if they desire and set certain emails with the ability to edit the material if they choose to!
How do I get started?
Visit the Google Docs website.
If you do not already have a Google account, you will need to create one. This will only take a minute and you will definitely use it in the future. If you already have a Google account, sign in now.
Unlike other applications, you do not need to opt in or sign up, it will automatically let you in and enable you to use it right away!
The set up is very simple. Set up like an online email address, you click the “New” button to create a new document, presentation or spreadsheet. If you are looking to upload a file to be stored or to share with friends, you hit the “Upload” button and find the file on your computer by hitting the “Browse” button. Once you have selected the file, hit “OK” and then “Upload File”. It will now upload and open the document in a web format for you. If you want to share this file, you can see the button at the top right hand side of the screen next to “Save” and “Save and Close”.
If you want to share this file with friends, click “Share and Invite” people. Now put in the email addresses of whom you wish to be able to view the item. You have two options to choose from below this address box, you can click “To Edit” or “To View”. If you want some people to edit and some to view, click the relevant one, enter your message in the box to the right and invite those people you want to be able to edit your document, then put in the email addresses of those who you want to be able to view only and enter your message and send to them.
Now click across to the “Advanced Permissions” tab at the top of the mini screen. You can now choose if those who you have invited can invite others to view the item or to even edit it.
Now click “Save & Close” and you’re done with inviting.
At the top right of the page you can now click “Save & Close” to take you back to the Docs homepage!
Enjoy and backup those files!
While you’re at it, make sure you have a Virus Scanner on your computer. If you don’t, download a free Anti-Virus program.
Do you ever struggle closing down programs when they freeze? About Seniors Webmaster, Drew, has a simple way for you to close them down instantly!
To do this, you will need to create something we will call the Kill switch. What it does is shuts down any problems that are not responding to the computer. To do this we need to create a shortcut on our desktop. Minimise all your programs you have open until you see your desktop and right click anywhere that does not touch a shortcut on your desktop. From the list, select New Shortcut. Now for the location of the item enter the following details.
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TASKKILL.EXE
Please note some windows systems have this file as a different name, so if this does not work, try the following:
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TSKILL.EXE
Now click on Next and enter a name for the shortcut such as Kill Switch and click on Finish. Now whenever a program is frozen and won’t recover, just click this desktop shortcut and it will instantly close your programs.
Not everyone is trustworthy. The sheer size of the internet and its “virtual” anonymity of transactions and conversations mean ever more vigilance is required. The following tips, explained in our downloadable PDF, Staying Secure Online, will assist you to protect your privacy and your financial information.
In the last 40 years, technology has taken us to the moon, cloned animals and given us access to the World Wide Web. But just what do the next 40 years have in store?
Where were we 40 years ago?
We were making one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind by sending Apollo 11 to the moon. While this was happening, the first ATM machines were being installed worldwide, the Boeing 747 was making its debut, which still services companies worldwide and the Microprocessor was invented, opening the way for the computer revolution that has defined how many of us live our lives.
Where are we now?
The moon is no longer in our sights; instead we have landed a rover on Mars, explored far away galaxies and even found the Goldilocks galaxy, which has its own Red Dwarf star (similar to a sun) and a planet far enough away to be habitable. You can access your money via ATMs all over the world, computers are in almost every household Australia wide and holiday flights have taken a whole new meaning with flights in to Space being sold by Virgin Galactic, who expect to launch their first mission in early 2011.
Where will we be in 40 years?
It used to be that the sky was the limit. Now, even the universe doesn’t feel too far away. No one can accurately predict where we will be in 40 years, but it is safe to assume, that we will be far beyond anything imaginable. Flying cars, talking dogs, alien life forms, inhabiting planets outside our solar system, teleportation gates seen in science fiction TV shows such as Star Gate may not be so far fetched.
To launch National Science Week, the Australian government is giving you the opportunity to send an interstellar message to Gliese 581 d, the habitable planet in the Goldilocks galaxy using NASA’s Tidbinbilla space tracking station, outside Canberra. Travelling at light speed, the message will not reach the planet until 2029.
To post an interstellar message, you must visit HelloFromEarth.net, which will operate until August 24. Messages can contain up to 160 characters.
What are you waiting for, connect with an alien buddy today!
A 60-year old pensioner is facing a $23,000 Bigpond bill after not paying a Telstra Bigpond bill of less than $1000 issued eight years ago and is facing the reality that she might lose her house.
The pensioner claims that in that time, she was contacted once, and in 2007 was told to pay the bill that had grown to about $2000. At this time the pensioner claims that she tried to negotiate a repayment of $100 per fortnight, which seems fair but was rejected by Telstra’s debt collection company, Accounts Control Management Services. Instead, they told her to pay the money within seven days, and when this did not happen, she was taken to court and lost, resulting in a bill that jumped up to $16,000.
There’s no need to leave your home to have fun with puzzles, to meet new friends, get recipe ideas, or comment on a matter close to your heart, as mentioned in our downloadable PDF, Playing online.
Sitting at your computer for long periods of time can be strenuous on your body and if you are not correctly positioned, can lead to back, neck or knee pain and tingling of the hands.
Step 1. Positioning yourself in the chair
Adjust the height of the chair so that your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are equal to, or slightly lower than, your hips while in the chair. Push your hips all the way back in the chair and adjust the chair to a 1000 reclined angle.
Step 2. Keyboard and mouse positioning
Sitting close to your keyboard and mouse are important as stretching and overreaching can take a toll on your body overtime. Make sure the keyboard is positioned close and directly in front of you with the mouse close to your body as well. Adjust the height of the keyboard so your wrists and hands remain straight when using it.
Step 3. Positioning of the keyboard and materials
Positioning yourself correctly and materials you are using in front of your computer is important to keeping a relaxed posture. Keep your monitor at all times directly in front of you, above the keyboard and make sure all documents you are using to type from are either in a copy stand positioned directly in front of you, or on a document holder next to the monitor. Make sure the screen is at least an arms length away and adjust the distance for your vision after that.
For more information click here.
Paying $30+ for broadband internet on top of every other cost in these times is becoming a struggle for many Australians.
While being able to use the internet in the comfort of your own homes is convenient, a walk down to the local library is healthy and easy. Almost every library throughout Australia offers free broadband internet and computer usage for between 30 minutes and one hour. You may need to book in advance. Contact your local council to find your nearest library service.
Government funding has been made available to provide free internet kiosks to seniors throughout Australia. $15 million are being spent over the next three years to provide services in approximately 2,000 community organisations and locations such as neighbourhood houses and senior citizens centres.
Read more about the Helping Seniors Make Ends Meet – Broadband For Seniors program.
