Alternative power options. Schools spying on kids, and more…
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NEWS:
THON: $7.8 million raised–and the CV THON is this weekend.
Stories:
Bloom Box– Clean Energy’s “Holy Grail”?
- Ideally one in every home (Backyard or basement)
- Google has already “gone there”
Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said in an e-mail to Computerworld that an undisclosed number of Bloom Boxes installed at the company are already supplying a “portion” of the energy needs at its Mountain View campus.
“This is just another on-site renewable energy source that we’re exploring to help power our facilities,” she added. “We have a 400 kilowatt [Bloom Box] installation on Google’s main campus that delivers clean and affordable power. Over the first 18 months, the project has had 98% availability and delivered 3.8 million kilowatts of electricity.”
MORE ENERGY NEWS: Google to become an Energy Company
- The move lets them become “carbon neutral”
- May be move to give away power management services, in exchange for buying their “green” energy.
- Worth watching.
Spying on Students? (time for Steve to talk like “No Agenda”)
- Talk about creepy–right here in PA.
- They say they only acfivated 42 times–for lost or missing computers. Hmmm….
- Worried? Some simple protective measures:
- Use tape
- Check the light. According to one article from Slate ‘That said, almost all laptops have a light that turns on whenever the camera is on—a feature that hackers can’t disable since it’s controlled electronically, not programmatically.”
- Disconnect it, or turn it (if not built in)
- http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/02/23/2030207/Federal-Judge-Orders-Schools-To-Stop-Laptop-Spying?from=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
BlueAnt S1 Visor Speaker Phone review:
- Entry-level unit
- Good quality audio
- Can “voice answer” (say “answer call”)
- price is competitive
Upgrade Updates
- (Steve) Helped my in-laws upgrade
- Key points: always check your connection types/sizes/compatibility
- Be sure to ground yourself. Touch something to release static charge.
PICKS of the WEEK:
Steve: Cumberland Valley THON
Tony: CyberPower Battery Backup
Past Picks of the Week now available at: http://tinyurl.com/RTPicks
websites to visit:
http://getthenext.com
http://theprofessornotes.com
Show Voicemail: 814.808-JOE1 (814.808.5631)
Tony is: tony.pittman@gmail.com or twitter.com/tonypittman
Steve is: scmprofessor@gmail.com or twitter.com/scmprofessor and he blogs at http://theprofessornotes.com
