Happy Holidays!

From the bloggers of The Human Side of Technology (technically, theres only one, lol!), I personally would like to greet you Merry Christmas!! Enjoy the holidays, everyone!

Where do babies come from?

I wonder. Hmmm... I think babies com from mommy's tummy because it was hid there on the first place. By who? By daddy. That's why they like to be together alot. But who gives them to daddies all over the world, you ask? God does. I wonder how....

Lol! I often wondered how fun it would to be turned again to our young ages, where our minds are so innocent and so pure. That is why I decided to share you something. It's all about what little children think on how babies are made. Actually, a friend of mine passed this link and after reading some lines, I decided, I wanted to blog about it!

Here it goes.

To make a baby you need to eat 18 broccolis.

Joseph, 7: Babies come from mummies' tummies which is where they get born. There is an egg inside the tummy and it cracks. The tummy decides if it's a boy or girl. It starts by making the head and then the rest of the body. The daddy helps the mummy look after the baby and he helps by sex. He gives the baby half the blood. One day when you are really in love, you say you are going to have sex and then you've made a baby.

Angus, 5: Babies come from the mummy and daddy. Inside the mummy's tummy, they go zoom - the two things. Whoever wins the race goes wuvavoovavoov, mixed up with the egg and then out pops the baby. Which one won the race? Did I win the race? Do they have eyes? I won't have any children. I don't want to put my willy in that secret hole.

Funny, though this teaches us lessons on why it is sometimes important that children, as early and as young as they are, would know the little facts of life. Well, you know what kind of facts I mean.

I'm pretty sure that not talking to your kids about sex is how teen moms happen. Age appropriate discussion, of course. Based on these bright young children's answers, someone has done a good job of keeping kids in the dark just enough to satisfy them until they are old enough to handle the truth.
- Michelle, Terre Haute, USA

To read the full account, visit Women's Time Online.

Have a safe baby making, aw! Sorry, I meant enjoy reading.

Search mp3 Indexes on Google

Want to download mp3s? Searching for it online? Having a hard time searching for it online? Hmmm... Its about time you should know the trick.

We all know that there are very helpful search queries that could assist in effective searching. For example, "intitle" would display results only with the ones where the keywords can be found on the title and "inurl" where keywords are on the url. These would help in filtering the search results.

There is a query that would bring you to the indexes of the mp3 files. Try typing intitle:Index.of?mp3 then a space then any search query like the name of the artist, the title of the song or whatever you please.


Now, this is not to encourage you to pirate (does it?). Try it, and be amazed of the search results. Thanks Google!

Alien Technology and etc.

Ever wondered if life outside earth exists? If they do, what would they look like? Would they look like humans?

Last saturday, I watched the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. Yes, the remake of the most rated sci-fi movie of all time. It recieved bad reviews from the critics and most of the fans of the original movie, but I actually thouht it was decent (for someone who did not see the 1951 movie). My movie experience was a pleasant one. But hey, we are not making a review of the movie. Rather this post aims to talk about (or ask about), well, you guessed it right, about alien technology and more.

In the movie, it was not discussed which part of the universe the alien came from, but it is greatly implied that indeed, it was "foreign" from earth. And he brought with him a technology very unknown and much more advanced than ours. If alien do exist, would they have the technology like these?

Maybe you're right, this is something we shouldn't talk about. But I'm sure everyone is curious. I mean, will they be a friend (E.T.) or an enemy to us (Mars' Attacks)? Will they invade us in the near future (Independence Day and War of the Worlds)? Are they civilized than us (most of the alien movies) or are they in awe of the brilliance of man (A.I.)? Well, we can never tell.

The reason why I am making this post is that I may be just so overwhelmed by the reel world. But one of the main reasons why I am writing about this is because I would like to stress that in most of these films, the one that makes us stand out is because of our humanity. The reason why we win, why we end up saving the day or we befriends our alien visitors is that we stay human and true to our very nature. That we love and we care.

So if aliens visit our planet, one thing I can only advice, stay human. Only by our humanity, that we can be saved. So stay human. (And run, I guess, lol!)

Rod of the Future. .(@_O)"

Translate Dot Google Dot Com

Language has always been a barrier in all of us. From the start of the time until the modern age, we are4 still divide by how we speak. But since the technological innovations are being created every minute and communication has become more accessible, we can never deny serious efforts and inventions to erase the gap between all of humanity around the world.

And honestly, I can't help it but laugh at the desperate efforts of the few. Don't misunderstand me, this post is not meant to insult the innovations made by Google, but rather, it is to praise them for this great achievement. It is a great effort of bridging all of us. But you also cannot deny that, damn!, they make me laugh.

Yup, I am talking about Translate.Google.Com!
If you have time, go ahead and try it. And just for curiosity, educational and testing (or any other kinds of) purposes, I decided to try it to the universal sentence we all love to type in our grade school. Check it out.

English:
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog near the bank of the river.

Español:
El rápido zorro marrón saltó sobre el perro perezoso cerca de la orilla del río.

Français:
Le renard brun rapide sauté par dessus le chien paresseux près de la rive de la rivière.

Filipino:
Ang mabilis na brown soro kumuha ng higit sa mga tamad na aso malapit sa bangko ng ilog.

日本語:
クイックブラウンフォックスは、川の銀行の近くの怠惰な犬を飛び越えた。

中國:
有緣千里來相會附近的河岸。

Deutsch
Der flinke rote Fuchs sprang über den faulen Hund in der Nähe der Ufer des Flusses.

العربية:
الثعلب البني السريع قفز فوق الكلب الكسول بالقرب من ضفة النهر.

Italiano:
La volpe veloce marrone saltato oltre il cane pigro vicino alla riva del fiume.

I am not saying anything like I understand all these languages, but I'm quite sure it contains a lot of errors. lol!

But as I have stated before, I admire this effort of Google to bring everyone on the world closer. A little more time, this would be perfect.

Marketing and Designing Tips for your Website

Hi everyone! Just posting for the update I made with my Virtual Assistant Inc Blog with regard to marketing and web design tips.

Marketing your website needs to be done correctly in order for it to be successful. Here is an excerpt from the article.

Do I really need this for my website? My answer would be yes. The importance of Internet Marketing has increased throughout the growth and expansion of the Internet Itself. Plus, this is also one of the main reasons why one is building a website, to promote their products, services or organization. So what would be the use to create a site that would not be seen by its intended and targeted audience? This is why promotion of your webpages is one of the most crucial stages of web development and maintenance.

If you are interested, go ahead and check The Good Way of Marketing your Website.

There are also many things that needs to be considered in making the design for your website. I made a list of the tips on your website optimization and development. Here is an excerpt on the article.

How you developed your website contributes greatly on its optimization with the search engines and the success of your website with its marketing...

Always be sure to think about how you would react when developing and designing a website. Take constructive comments from other people especially those who know nothing about you.

If you are curios and interested, check out Design Tips for Web to be SEO Friendly.

Thanks!
Rod of the Future .(@_O)"

Enchantress from the Stars

I had always loved reading great books and novels, much more with science fictions. And adding a futuristic theme would make me drool to death. lol!

Kidding aside, for me, sci-fi is more appealing than other genres like fantasy or drama, because your imagination would really bring you on the world where these exist. That is why I love science fiction novels. That is the same reason why I am writing today about one of the novels I like the most.

And the novel I chose to feature is Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl.

Enchantress from the Stars

by Sylvia Louise Engdahl

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Firebird (February 24, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142500372
ISBN-13: 978-0142500378
Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces

Plot Summary on the cover:
The Federation Anthropological Service would never officially have allowed Elana to be on this mission to the medieval planet Andrecia. If Youngling peoples found out that a supremely advanced and enlightened society like the Federation existed, it would irreparably damage their evolution. Stowing away aboard her father's ship, Elana suddenly becomes the key to a dangerous plan to turn back the invasion of Andrecia by an aggressive, space-faring Youngling civilization. How can she possibly help the Andrecians, who still believe in magic and superstition, against a force armed with advanced technology -- without revealing her alien powers?

Apprentice medical officer Jarel wishes that the planet the Imperial Exploration Corps has chosen to colonize didn't have a "humanoid" population already living on it. The invaders don't consider the Andrecians to be human, and Jarel has seen the atrocious treatment the natives get from his people. How can he make a difference, when he alone regrets the destruction that his people bring?

Georyn, youngest son of a poor Andrecian woodcutter, knows only that there is a terrible dragon on the other side of the enchanted forest, and he is prepared to do whatever it takes to defeat it. In his mind, Elana is the Enchantress from the Stars who has come to test him, to prove he is worthy of defeating the dragon and its powerful minions. Despite both Elana's and Jarel's inner turmoil, Georyn's burden is by far the heaviest. Ultimately, he must pit his innocent faith in the magic of his Enchantress from the Stars against foes who have come from a world beyond his comprehension.

About the Author:
Sylvia Louise Engdahl is the author of six novels published between 1970 and 1981 of which Enchantress from the Stars was the first. It was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1971 and the Phoenix Award in 1990. Ms. Engdahl currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, and she encourages you to visit her Website at sylviaengdahl.com

Reviews:
"A beautifully rendered novel with high intelligence, captivating character, and cosmic soul. In many ways, Sylvia Engdahl's writings are the logical successors to Heinlein's derring-do tales of gifted individuals making a difference in human exploration of other worlds. But Engdahl's pace is more leisurely, reflective, and the tapestry she weaves may well outlast Heinlein's.... Although Elana is young, this is a novel for adults of all ages." -Paul Levinson, Amazon.com

"...An original and charming exercise of one of fiction’s finest prerogatives, getting into other skins and seeing through (literally) alien eyes... Girls who like their fantasy realistic, or an aspect of magic to their realism, should enjoy this one." -Ursula LeGuin, New York Times Book Review

"An involved and provocative science fiction story for thoughtful readers." -Booklist

For more reviews and information, check pages on the official site of Sylvia Louise Engdahl about Enchantress from the Stars and Reviews.

My Thoughts:
The best book I have ever read. Not only it is entertaining, the author has conveyed what she wants to share and the message of hope and humanity to its readers.

With regard on the style of writing, I liked how well it was written, in which we are given three different perspectives. Elana's tale is told by her and is the very center of the main plot, is delivered in a very science-fiction manner. Jared's tale focuses more on humanity and conscience. Finally, Georyn's tale is written in a fairy tale like fashion.

If you have time, go grab a copy. I recommend this book!

My Apologies

I apologize for not being able to post articles recently. I intended to spend a little more time on my other blog which is about outsourcing and hiring good virtual assistants. If you have time, you can go ahead and check it out and I have posted there tips on how to identify a good virtual assistant, their proper training and more. See you at Virtual Assistants Inc.!

Worry not because I won't leave this blog permanently, I'm going to check it from time to time and post articles, maybe once a week. But for now, yadda!

Rod of the Future .(@_O)"

Learning Robotics Technologies: What, How and Where?

Have the fascination with robots? Want to learn robotics? Well, what are you waiting for, enroll Bachelor of Science in Robot Technology! But wait, do you think your compassion would be enough for you to take this course? Well, think again.
Course: Bachelor of Science in Robot Technology

This degree aims to teach and train students to become professional robot engineer. Their course syllabus would include variety of works with Mathematics and Engineering fields. Their programs would teach and familiarize with computer programming and the key operations of the robots. There are also choices of emphasis on Technology Management if the students wish.

Requirements: Ofcourse to be able to qualify for this course, you would need to be knowledgeable and must have skills with mechanical and electrical algorithms and rules. Well, they actually encourage that you finish a degree first with these fields. They also require that you must posses skills in the following:

• Basic Electrical Engineering
• Applied Electrical Math
• DC and AC Machines
• Programmable Logic Controllers
• Quantitative Mathematical Reasoning

Skills that will be learned with this would include the ability to understand both the physical and the conceptual functions of robots, to be able to formulate and create working machines.

Well, sounds promising. Now, where should I go if I qualify? There are many schools all over the world that caters and offers robot technology and other related courses. But recently, USNews.com has release their top preferred schools for robotics. I prefer Purdue University.

Purdue University. Their freshmen retention rate is at 86%! Got in for the first year? Well, good luck. This university has earned many acclaims (click on the link to see).

In March 2008, Purdue's speech-language pathology graduate program was ranked second and the audiology program was ranked ninth by U.S. News & World & Report magazine. In engineering, Purdue's aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical program was ranked fifth and the civil and mechanical engineering programs were ranked seventh.

Purdue's Krannert School of Management had two programs ranked in the top 10. Productions/operations was ranked third and supply chain/logistics was ranked eighth.

Purdue's School of Pharmacy was ranked ninth.

Graduate program rankings reflect both masters and doctoral programs or only doctoral programs.

Still thinking this is the right direction for you? Go ahead. Enroll. :)

Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence

Is it possible that the robots in the future would develop artificial intelligence? Sounds like it only exists in the movies, ey. But judging from the development of technological innovations right now, this is very much possible.

While surfing the net, I found this very interesting book. Here are the details provided at Amazon:

Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence

by Hans Moravec

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 2, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0674576187
ISBN-13: 978-0674576186
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces

The book tackles on the great possibilities of the future machines and the chances that robots can indeed develop intelligence.

Product Description by Kirkus Reviews
"A dizzying display of intellect and wild imaginings by Moravec, a world-class roboticist who has himself developed clever beasts . . . Undeniably, Moravec comes across as a highly knowledgeable and creative talent--which is just what the field needs."

Read the following reviews.

One would be making a mistake to let Mind Children recede unopened into a guiltless oblivion. It's a tonic book, thought-provoking on every page. And it reminds us that, in our accelerating, headlong era, the future presses so close upon us that those who ignore it inhabit not the present but the past.
-Brad Leithauser (New Yorker)

A comprehensive and highly readable survey of the state of the art in robotics.
-M. Mitchell Waldrop (New York Times Book Review)

Moravec, by his own admission, is an intellectual joyrider, and riding his runaway trains of thought is an exhilarating experience...This is an intellectual party that shouldn't be pooped, no matter how much it may disturb the neighbours and encourage over-indulgence.
-Hans Moravec (Guardian)

If you have time, go ahead and check it out. Let me borrow, okay, lolz!

Website Optimization and Link Building Tips

Want to optimize your site to be very organic and search engine friendly? I posted some tips on Virtual Assistant Inc blog about the focus on the content for your website. Here is an excerpt:

Website optimization means that we do the best in order for the website to be compatible to all its users, or in oder words, we maximize its usability. By users we mean, those who are visiting the site. There are instances that people use an outdated browser or a non-flash compatible one, and we do not want them not to be able to navigate the website we are making. We also want to maximize the web pages to be very friendly to the search engines, in order for it to find your content. But what are the things to consider to optimize your website?

To read full account, please visit the post about Website Optimization.

On the other hand, building links is also important. I also made another post with regard to the things to consider upon building links.

Upon outsourcing, one of the first things most website owners would consider is directing traffic to their site and adding its popularity. But how can this be done?

One of the best way to do this is by Link Building. Link building means that we create links that will direct other people to your site. This is also one of the things that Google takes into consideration upon assessing the importance of your content. And how can we build these links? There are many ways to make links.

If you're interested, read my post about Building Quality Links.

Feel free to leave a comment there. :)

The Human Side of Technology Supports Wikipedia

After a while seeing it on their site and after reading a post posted by my good friend Roger of Cynosure, I decided to go ahead and join the campaign of Wikipedia's WikiMedia Foundation.

So, let us say you wanted to know something. A research is needed. Whether it is about an historical event or an influential person, or a TV show information, to whom do we lean on?

I could already hear all of us answer in chorus. "Wikipedia!"

Wikipedia, according to, well, Wikipedia, is a "free, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites) and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's 10 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone who can access the Wikipedia website. Launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, it is currently the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet."

Throughout its existence, we turned into this source for help, now they need us, wouldn't we have enough reason to join their cause?
Please support Wikipedia and please donate now. Thanks Wiki!

My Top Five Robot Movies

These days where one can make wonders on the big screen with realistic special effects, it seems easier to make sci-fi movies and robot films. My topic today, my top five favorite robot movies. But I sure want to make some twists and I wanted it to be more related to our theme. So yeah, I chose my top five robot movies wherein the robots developed humanity. Here it goes.

5. Wall-E
What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, discovers a new purpose in life, besides collecting knick-knacks, when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. Eve comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans, who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home. Meanwhile, Wall-E chases Eve across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion.

4. A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)
In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting raise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the human race keeps advancing, reaching to the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas) to serve him. One of the mecha-producing companies builds David, an artificial kid which is the first to have real feelings, especially a never-ending love for his "mother", Monica. Monica is the woman who adopted him as a substitute for her real son, who remains in cryo-stasis, stricken by an incurable disease. David is living happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real son returns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramatically. A futuristic adaptation of the tale of Pinocchio, with David being the "fake" boy who desperately wants to become "real". (by Chris Makrozahopoulos: makzax@hotmail.com)

3. Robocop Series
After Omni Consumer Products (OCP) announced that it bought out the Detroit police department, the department decides to go on strike. Alex Murphy, gets transferred from Metro South to the West. He and his partner, Anne Lewis, track down a group of criminals led by Clarence Boddicker. Unfortunately, Murphy was killed by Clarence's gang. Bob Morton, one of OCP's employees, transforms Murphy's corpse into Robocop, to compete with another employee Dick Jones' ED-209. Robocop's tests are successful. Unfortunately, Robocop rediscovers his memories (when he was Alex Murphy), and now knows he has to find and arrest Clarence Boddicker. He realizes that Clarence is working for Bob Morton's competition Dick Jones. Now, Robocop must stop both Clarence and Dick Jones. (by John Wiggins)

2. Blade Runner
In 2019, humans have genetically engineered Replicants, which are essentially humans who are designed for labor and entertainment purposes. They are illegal on earth, and if they make it to our planet they are to be hunted down and killed. Rick Deckard is a blade runner, or a hunter of replicants. A group of replicants make it to Los Angeles to seek out a way to extend their life span. Replicants have a built in 4 year life span, and this group is at the end. Although he hunts them to the end, the replicants end up teaching the detached Deckard what it really means to be human.

1. The Terminator Series
In the future, Skynet, a computer system fights a losing war against the humans who built it and who it nearly exterminated. Just before being destroyed, Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill Sarah, the mother to be of John Connor, the Leader of the human resistance. The terminator can pass for human, is nearly indestructible, and has only one mission, killing Sarah Connor. One soldier is sent back to protect her from the killing machine. He must find Sarah before the Terminator can carry out it's mission. (by John Vogel:jlvogel@comcast.net)

There you have it. Well, can robots really develop feelings? Can they become humans? We can never tell.

Random Things

Well, sometimes, it is suggested that we go off the topic. This would actually maintain the quality of the site or blog, and the writer or the blogger would have a little fun! This is a fact. Who saids so? I do! lol!

Well, related or not, I decided to post few information which may or may not bring great significance in your lives. Some items may be important, some may be... errr... well... not so important. Here it goes!
.(@_O)"
Of all the IT machineries, the computer and its monitor makes up 40% of the total carbon emission. So want to go green? Want to save the planet? Hands off your computer.
.(@_O)"
Contrary to what is believe that to enjoy it, consume it in a longer time, fast foods' best quality is on the minute it was served and that makes a 50% decline every 5 minutes pass.
.(@_O)"
Mario of Super Mario's original name is Jumpman, who first appeared in Donkey Kong, a 1981 arcade game. It was later changed to give honor to Mario Segali, the Nintendo of America's landlord.
.(@_O)"
Women are more likely to go to a psychiatrist than men with 37% difference!!!
.(@_O)"
Here's another, girls blink twice as much as boys!
.(@_O)"
Hmmm... Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
.(@_O)"
In an odd twist, scientists have discovered a weird fact about women, sex and chocolate. Eating chocolate and having sex result in the same, exact brain functions in a woman! (What the!!!!)
.(@_O)"
Many go on suicide, according to statistics, on Monday than any other days of t6he week. Want to go on suicide? Don't do it Monday.
.(@_O)"
Did you know that the dot above the line in the letter "i" is called tittle?
.(@_O)"
Charlie Chaplin only won third place in a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest.
.(@_O)"
Coca-Cola was originally green. (Whoa! I know, I'm surprised myself!)
.(@_O)"
Like Poker or cards? I bet you didn't know that the kings actually represent great kings in history, Spades is King David, Hearts is Charlemagne, Clubs, Alexander the Great, and Diamonds is Julius Caesar.
.(@_O)"
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
.(@_O)"
"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English Language.
.(@_O)"
Conception occurs more in December that in any other months. (Oh please, thats ordinary. Its Holidays!)
.(@_O)"
Cockroaches can live for 9 days after their head has been cut off. And they die because of hunger.
.(@_O)"
Red is my favorite color.
.(@_O)"
And I don't make any sense. .(@_O)"

Hikikomori - Caused by Technology?

The rapid change of technology these days is the main reason why our age has been dubbed as the age of the Rise of Innovations. True. Technological innovations are being created every day, if not every second. Thus, also creating stir that we, the people using and creating them, need to cope with the changes that these bring.

Good thing if we can adapt to these changes. What if we can't?

Since all men feel pressure from the world and from other people, some people react by completely separating themselves. Hikikomori is term that Japanese use referring to the sociological phenomenon wherein some people choose to "withdraw" themselves from other people. In other words, they preferred to confine from their social lives, living in complete isolation. This is done by not talking to other people or even trying to interact with others, which ends up that they have very few friends, if none at all. In most cases, like that in Japan, youth would tend to lock up themselves in their room for a long period of time, sometimes taking years. There are many factors that may cause this, whether it would be a personal reason or a social one.
One of which reason that could trigger Hikikomori is the disability to cope with the changes in technology. Most youth, due to monetary limitations, tend to separate from others thinking that it is better since they are unable to use the current fad, like new cellphones or digital cameras. Their envy results to this decision, thinking that their incaspacity to cope will make their interaction with others very difficult.

Another reason may also be the complete opposite of the first. Some would tend to seclude themselves as they are very busy with the latest technology that they got in hand. For example, instead of going outside to socialize, young people would often prefer to stay inside their rooms and try out the newly released video game.

See how technology sometimes become a problem.

This can, however, be fixed with interaction with others and a little guidance and discipline from their family. Or if this is not enough, try reaching out with a good psychological advise. But most of all, try putting a little touch of humanity when we use technology. By then we can fully utilize and share the main objective of technology. Connection.

Japan's Age of Machines

Japan is the country in which most of us knows that have great expertise in creating innovations, specifically robots and machines.

I chose to make a time line of few of Japan's greatest achievements. Here is my compilation:

1945. The United States dropped the uranium A-bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki is devastated by the plutonium A-bomb "Fat Man" on August 9, leaving Japan to surrender on the war and to start all over from scratch.

1950. Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. (or Sony later) develops the G-type, Japan's first magnetic tape recorder.

1952. The debut of Astro Boy, a hero by manga guru Osama Tezuka. He is considered as more than just a fictional character but has become a cultural icon for the country.

1953. NHK begins TV broadcasting!

1955. Sony releases the TR-55, Japan's first pocket sized transistor radio after buying the license for transistor.

1957. Casio releases Casio 14-A, the world's first compact electronic calculator.

1960. Sony comes out with the world's first all transistor television set.

1964. First scheduled service of the Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train) began.

1966. Middle-class consumers aims to get the "Three Cs" - a car, a color television and an air-condition.

1969. Kawasaki Heavy Industries begins manufacturing Japan's first industrial robot, Unimate 2000, primarily used to weld automotive parts together.

1970. Fujiko Fujio's comic strip about Doraemon, a robot cat from the future, debuts.

1973. NTT started offering fax services in all of Japan.

1976. JVC launches VHS-format video recorder.

1979. Sony releases its portable Walkman.

1981. Fujitsu Fanuc begins using robots to manufacture robot parts.

1982. Compact Discs and CD players go on sale, developed simultaneously by Sony and Philips.

1983. Nintendo releases Family Computer, also known as the Nintendo Entertainment System, bringing videogames to the living room.

1989. Nintendo comes out with portable Game Boy.

1994. Sony releases PlayStation game system.

1996. Nintendo 64, first 64-bit game system, goes to the market; DVD player released by Toshiba and Matsushita simultaneosly.

1997. Honda develops P3, a humaniod robot.

1999. Sony releases the Aibo robot dog.

2000. SoftBank cheif Masayoshi Son surpasses Microsoft's Bill Gates in paper wealth briefly.

These is just a brief summary and I may have left out some details. But if you wanted to add something, just leave out a comment. Thanks!

Sources: Time Magazine, May 2000 issue and Wikipedia.org

Vindication on Reading The Terms and Conditions

You are browsing the web, then you found this really cool site. And since you think that its worth that you sign up an account with them, you go through the registration process. Well. It then instructs you to read the site's Terms and Conditions. And it's 19 pages long! The same happens when you install a software, open source or licensed. You are asked to read this very long, very detailed and very, um, uninteresting list of things that you should comply. But what really is this? Is it important to read all of it?

The Terms and Conditions is the list of, well, terms and conditions that a certain company, group or individuals set when you are joining them or using their resources. It is what they wanted you to comply with. It is here that they state their rights on the content and their limitations as a provider or yours as a user or as a member. For example, when signing up on a certain site, you need to agree first and confirm your acceptance on the rules that they set, which includes the permissions that they provide you, the restrictions on the use of their site contents, your conduct while on membership and lastly, the indemnity with you participation (meaning, you hold them not reliable for any action that you take on or outside the domains premises).

But is it really important to read all these before agreeing? Yes. I would assume that most of us here would rather skip this step by simply agreeing to the terms and conditions without understanding it. But this is wrong.

There are advantages in reading through all of it. One of which is that you will be informed of what are your limitations, thus, preventing future issues out of their support. For instance, you did something that violates the terms and conditions of a software which resulted for the program to not function properly. This would be one of the situations wherein they would not offer any assistance to solve the problem, your problem.

But you can also use your limitations on their terms to review if your benefits do outweigh them. I mean, you wouldn't want to spend or waste your money on something not useful, right? But this is most of the time committed because of the wrong information due to self assumption, something that could have been prevented if you read through their conditions.

Another advantage is to know what it the scope of your possible actions that do not violate the law. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects original content on the web and reserves the its rights to the original author. This is the law that is mostly ignored by internet users. But well, the law excuses no one.

Always read the Terms and Conditions. It may take a while, but it is very worth of your time.

Astro Boy Teaser Released!

Remember my post about Astro Boy - The Human Side of Technology?

Well just passing by to make an update that IMAGI has released the official teaser trailer of the movie. Check it out!



Great trailer. And from the looks of it, it seems that they are keeping into great consideration it's previous anime structure. Definitely worth the watch!!

Most Annoying Alarm Clocks

Technology can go great just like Pleo. Innovations like these are so magnificent that one would awe and believe that we are very close to another age, the generation of technology. If you are thinking like this, continue reading, and then think twice.

I was actually browsing the internet and viola! I found lots of alarm clocks that are funny, innovative and not only it assures waking you up, sometimes, it will leave you in a bad mood the whole day. *groan*

There are lots of it and the following are just the few.

The Flying Alarm Clock.

This clock has a spinning top that goes off of it and flies around your room when the alarm turns on to the time you set it up. Geeky right. But wait there's a twist! You have to catch it and put it back on place to turn off the alarm! Still thinking it's still geeky?

Wake up? Five stars out of five!
Leave you annoyed for the rest of the day? Three stars out of five. To think that would be fun.

Chrome Clocky.

Alarm goes on. You still sleepy? Try to hit the snooze button and it will actually roll off of the night stand, fall on your room's floor and run. It will not just run, but worst, it will hide from you on a new spot everyday. And alarm only turns off ones you catch it.

Wake up? Five stars out of five!
Leave you annoyed for the rest of the day? Three stars out of five. At least you get a good morning exercise. lol!

Laser Target.

All you have to do, in order to turn off the alarm, is to shoot the target with its laser beam. Sound easy. Still dizzy? Snap out of it!!!!

Wake up? Five stars out of five!
Leave you annoyed for the rest of the day? Four stars out of five. Simply annoying.

Nooby.

Here is the machine that will verbally abuse you. It starts nice, waking you up with a greeting. “Rise and shine, it’s time to get up!” Ignored? It'll wake you up again. This time, it gets nasty. And in order to turn it off, simply wring the clock's blue neck. Be careful, once it senses that you are angry, it will ignore you.

Wake up? Five stars out of five!
Leave you annoyed for the rest of the day? Five stars out of five. I mean, think about it.

Puzzle Alarm and Whack-a-Mole Alarm.

Puzzle is a distant cousin of Whack-a-Mole, and both of them are bound to ruin your day. To turn the Puzzle alarm clock off, you have to solve the puzzle at its top. It gets hard when you are half asleep and the pieces you put together will go off if you don't solve the puzzle fast. Now imagine if it's dark. Nerve racking.

On the other hand, with Whack-a-Mole alarm clock, all you need to do to set it off is to, ofcourse, whack a mole. Now not just guarantees to wake you up, but also to leave you annoyed the rest of you day.

Wake up? Five stars out of five!
Leave you annoyed for the rest of the day? Five stars out of five. I've tested Whack-a-Mole. Trust me, you don't wanna try it.
.

Pleo: The World's Smartest Pet Robot

Everyone of us would sometimes long to be a child again. Someone who is carefree. Someone who appreciate life's simple joys. Someone who wants to have fun. Someone who plays TOYS. lol, I don't know with you but I would want to play robot toys again, just like when I was young.

Toys have evolve very much like with the pace of technology. As time passes by, and as technology progresses, there is also a rapid development of toys. From the traditional stuff toys, to hand held game consoles and now, interactive robots. Wouldn't you wish these existed in the 90s?

Back in 2006, Ugobe unveiled the yet smartest toy of the generation, Pleo.



Pleo is a robotic toy designed to emulate the appearance and act with the behavior of a week old Camarasaurus, a cute green dinosaur. A Camarasaurus may grow up to 60 feet long when it reaches adulthood, but its just as size as this toy when it was newborn. It was designed by Caleb Chung.

What makes Pleo special is that every individual toy is designed to be different. As the Official Site of Pleo has stated "Every Pleo is autonomous. Yes, each one begins life as a newly-hatched baby Camarasaurus, but that's where predictability ends and individuality begins. Like any creature, Pleo feels hunger and fatigue - offset by powerful urges to explore and be nurtured. He'll graze, nap and toddle about on his own -when he feels like it! Pleo dinosaur can change his mind and his mood, just as you do."

Isn't it great! Your Pleo can have a very unique personality, depending on how you raise it.

What also makes this toy very different and outstanding is that it can convey different expressions and emotions. It can go happy, playful, scared or sad, depending on the awareness it has developed with its companionship with you! Pleo also grows old with you. He starts as a newly hatch, then you can take care of him as an infant until he turns juvenile. And his characteristics would all depend on his experiences as he is growing old, would he be shy or confident or joyful.

So it would be wiser to treat Pleo as special as you could. This toy is also capable to interaction with others, or be it another Pleo. You can go and hug it, cuddle with it, talk to it, listen, shake hands and many more! Plus, Pleos can go bond with each other.

Ugobe has used its Life OS in developing this innovation. Life OS is the complex platform of tools and technologies that enable Pleo's mechanical, electronic, sensory, and Artificial Intelligence systems to interact as a lifelike whole. A Pleo is equipped with a infrared transmitter and receiver, touch sensors all over its body, cameras, microphones and speakers. It is also mobilized with a rechargeable battery, making it very mobile.(Plus, you'll know when you need to charge it because Pleo goes tired!)

Indeed, this is a great step in developing interactive robots and innovative entertainment. Go Pleo!

Violence in Video Games: Can it Lead to Violence in Reality?

A new research proves that violence in video games can indeed can increase on physical aggression among children and teenagers, just months after they started playing these games.

If you have time, go ahead and check my full article about this how violence in reality is linked to violence in video games.

Thanks, yadda!
Rod of the Future .(@_O)"

The Human Side of Information Technology Management (Book)

I was actually surfing the World Wide Web when I stumbled upon one item, a book by Edward J. Szewczak and Mehdi Khosrow-Pour. It is entitled as "The Human Side of Information Technology Management" and I felt like sharing this information because I do think that it is very rare that a book would tackle on management strategies with the focus on information technology.

Here are the details of the book as provided by Amazon:

The Human Side of Information Technology Management

by Edward J. Szewczak and Mehdi Khosrow-Pour
Hardcover: 388 pages
Publisher: Idea Group Publishing (March 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1878289330
ISBN-13: 978-1878289339
Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds



Product Description by the Publisher:
The influence of information technology (IT) is being felt throughout modern organizations from the senior management level to line management to various clerical and support-group levels. As IT has grown in sophistication along a broad range of technical aspects and features, organizational personnel have witnessed changes in organizational life and ways of doing business that have transformed their thinking about what it means to contribute effectively and efficiently to the well-being of their organizations. It has influenced organizational decision-making, has altered organizational structures and cultures, has reshaped organizational communication and learning, has changed management thinking about organizational design, and has raised ethical issues that must be confronted daily in the workplace. People's responses to IT have influenced the nature of managerial work and the quality of work life. This readings text is a collection of scholarly papers dealing with issues concerning the "people" aspects of IT. It is intended to help managers and students of IT to better understand how the human side of IT is as important as the technical side of IT. Indeed, some may argue today that in the context of organizational life, the human side of IT is more important than the technical side of IT for successful organizational functioning, especially in the implementation of IT. These papers were originally presented at the Information Resources Management Association International Conference held in San Antonio, Texas during May 22-25, 1994. The papers were revised and expanded especially for this volume, and serve as individual chapters in the book.

About the Authors:
Edward J. Szewczak is a professor and Chair of the MCIS Department at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He received a Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985. His information systems research has been published in Data Base, European Journal of Operational Research, Information & Management, Information Resources Management Journal, Journal of Management Systems, Journal of Microcomputer Systems Management, Journal of MIS, Omega, and Simulation & Games as well as in a number of readings texts and scholarly conference proceedings. He has also co-edited two books of readings entitled Management Impacts of Information Technology: Perspectives on Organizational Change(1991) and Growth :The Human Side of Information Technology Management (1996), and Measuring Information Technology Investment Payoff: A Contemporary Approach (1999) published by Idea Group Publishing of Hershey, PA. He is currently an associate editor of the Information Resources Management Journal.

Mehdi Khosrowpour is currently an Associate Professor of Information Systems at Penn State Harrisburg. He is the editor-in-charge of the Information Resources Management Journal, the annals of Cases on Information Technology Application and Management in Organizations and Information Management and consulting editor of the Information Technology Newsletter. In addition, he also serves on the editorial review boards of six other international information systems journals and has authored/edited 10 books and more than 30 articles published in various scholarly and professional journals.

I have not read the book yet, but if given a chance, I will. I will buy it if I found a copy(buying online is not an option here in my place). If you have a copy and you are willing to lend it to me, the better, lol! But seriously, The Human Side of Information Technology Management seems to be very interesting.

Why work with a Virtual Assistant?

Heyya, just dropping by to share an article about on what are the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant. If you have time, check it out.

Thanks.
Rod of the Future .(@_O)"

Friendster is back... but will it's users be?

One of the largest, most popular and the best social networking site in the world of the internet, Friendster(Google Pagerank 7 and Alexa Ranking 40 as of the day this has been posted), has been offline for several days last week. After that it went active for about few hours only for most of its users to find their list of friends to be gone. Now, for someone who have loyal for some years and those who have grown in love with the site, that's something very scary!!!

A social networking site focuses on building communities of people who share interests, hobbies and activities online with each other. Many social networking websites, like Friendster, are web based and provide a many of ways for subscribers to interact, like electronic mails and instant messaging.


Friendster, according to Wikipedia, is "based on the Circle of Friends and Web of Friends techniques for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon." Also stated is that "based on Alexa.com, Friendster ranks 2nd most visited website in the Philippines. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of internet users in the Philippines have Friendster accounts. David Jones, vice president for global marketing of Friendster, said that 'the biggest percentage of users is from the Philippines, clocking in with 39 percent of the site's traffic.'"

Now, what happened? Here is the statement released by their team (which is found on the page of the full friends list):

What happened to my friends?
Currently, the number of friends in the friends list is being displayed incorrectly.

Are my friends lost permanently?
No. The data for all friend connections is intact and is not lost.

When can this be fixed?
Friendster is currently working on this problem and we hope to have this fixed within 24 hours.

Can I still add friends while the problem has not yet been fixed?
Yes, users can still add new friends and use other features of the site.

What caused this problem?
There was a building-wide power outage at the QTS / Globix data center in Sunnyvale, California, USA where Friendster’s servers are co-located, along with about 50 other customers. As a result, the memory caching of data was affected. Since Friendster has 85 million users, the cache is taking a considerable amount of time to build. Once the cache has been completely built, all friends will re-appear.

I have my full trust that their technical team can indeed fix this issue. To date, I see no problem now with one of my accounts, but on the other account of mine, I have ZERO friends!!!! All my hard work, the sufferings, the heartbreaks, the triumphs and the sacrifices of collecting those 200+ friends, all gone!!! Huhuhu! Nah, I'm just overreacting, but well, good luck to them on fixing the problem.

Will the hordes of followers of continue to patronize Friendster, even when they have to start again from scratch? Yes ofcourse. To most users, Friendster has been parts of their lives. I, myself, wouldn't consider my internet life complete without signing in to my account in the site once a day.(Thank goodness, my friends are still intact on my primary account.) Friendster has become one of the most effective way to find old friends, create new ones and stay in touch with them. Friendster is the human side of technology.

Astro Boy - The Human Side of Technology

Ever wondered what was Japan's inspiration why they went this advanced in technology, even after their devastation on World War II? You got it right! (Assuming you read the title of this post)

Astro Boy first started as a manga series which was first serialized in Japan from 1951 to 1968. It was then followed by two further series on 1975 and 1980 to 81. He is created by Osamu Tezuka, often reputed as the "god of manga." It was later serialized in the United States under the Dark Horse Comics.

Thanks to the ever helpful Wikipedia, I was able to gather important information.

Astro Boy also saw alot of action in motion. It was made into a television series, and dubbed as the first anime ever made. The beginning of the series was produced by Mushi Productions, which premiered on Fuji TV on New Year's Day 1963, but was eventually moved to the NHK network. It was also the first anime to be broadcast outside Japan. It lasted for four seasons, with a total of 193 episodes. At its height it was watched by 40% of the Japanese population that had access to a TV. In 1964, there was a feature-length animated movie called Hero of Space released in Japan. It was an anthology of three episodes; The Robot Spaceship, Last Day on Earth and Earth Defense Squadron. The latter two were a special treat for Japanese fans since the theatrical versions were filmed in color.

There has been a lot of plans for a movie. In 1962, MBS released an hour and 15 minutes of black and white live action film and since there are limitation on what people can do with a film, the success of the film was out of reach. It was on 1999 that Columbia Pictures has announce the making of the Hollywood version of the comic series.


The Astro Boy feature film version is slated for 2009 from Imagi Animation Studios.

The plot of the series is simple. The story focuses mainly on Astro Boy, a robot created by Dr. Tenma, the head of the Ministry of Science in hope that he would be able to replace his son, Tobio, who died on a car accident. After the realization that the robot would never have emotions, he sold it to a cruel circus owner, Hamegg, who later gave him to Professor Ochanomizu, the new head of the Ministry of Science.

Throughout the series, Astro Boy, fights crime, injustice and evil at the same time struggles with the difficulties of his hopes to be a real boy. The series, whether on manga or on TV, explored issues on morality, responsibility, racism, prejudice, true heroism, and acceptance of loss.

While, on the storyline, our hero is built on pure metal, yet he displays great human emotion, even greater that most of the people on the series. While the story focuses on his struggles as a robot and his wants to be human, the loss, the responsibilities and his limitations, Astro Boy remains loyal and and pure, making him the real picture of the perfect technology. A technology with a touch of humanity.

Indeed, Astro Boy is an existing evidence, that in every technology we make, build or create, we always long for it to have a human side.

Internet and Data Security Terms and Meanings

I was browsing the internet today and I found this very valuable resource. Just thinking of sharing it.

Internet Security is always an issue, not only to large corporations but also to individual users. It builds the confidence between business partnerships and and keeps your properties protected. also, Internet Security is a big part to one's overall security strategy and business solutions.

But the problem nowadays is that most of us is not knowledgeable of even the most common terms that internet security gives. I found this great site, Internet and Data Security Guide, which defines most of these terminologies that is very clear and concise. The following are just a few from the site:

Anti-spyware - An Anti Spyware software is similar to an Anti Virus, but it works on programs that don't try to take over your system, but instead pop up ads and unwanted messages.

Anti-virus - Software to deal with programs like computer viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware. These programs are all characterised as being unwanted software that install themselves on your computer through deception.
In order to prevent damage by viruses and worms, users typically install antivirus software, which runs in the background on the computer, detecting any suspicious software and preventing it from running.

Authentication - The process for verifying that someone or something is who or what it claims to be. In private and public computer networks (including the Internet), authentication is generally done with passwords.

CSIA - The Cyber Security Industry Alliance is an international public policy advocacy group dedicated to ensuring the privacy, reliability and integrity of information systems.

Certificate - An encrypted file containing user or server identification information, which is used to verify identity and to help establish a security-enhanced link.

Cookie - A small data file that is stored on a user's local computer for record-keeping purposes and which contains information about the user that is pertinent to a Web site, such as user preferences.

Cracking - Finding a password by trying many combinations and words.

Cryptography - The practice and study of hiding information.

Decryption - The process of converting encrypted data back into its original form.

Email filter - Software that scans incoming email for spam or other unwanted material and filters it accordingly.

Encryption - The process of converting data into cipher text to prevent it from being understood by an unauthorized party.

Firewall - A firewall blocks any unauthorized ports on your computer, thus restricting unfettered access.

Hacker - Illegally breaking into systems or writing viruses and other malware.

Information security - The art and science of protecting computers and data from misuse.

Internet Security - The prevention of unauthorized access and/or damage to computer systems via internet access.

Malware - Malware can be classified as trojans with a limited payload and are often not detected by most antivirus software. They may require the use of other software designed to detect other classes of malware, including spyware

Password - A password is a secret word or phrase that gives a user access to a particular program or system.

Phishing - Phishing is when you receive an email that looks like it's from your bank, Paypal, or another site you use, and asking you to login to confirm your information.
The way this works is the attacker sets up a web site which mimics the target site, say a fake bank site, and then sends this phishing email to thousands of people, until one bites.
Then when the person tries to login, his login information is gathered by the bad guys and used to steal information or money.
The most basic rule is to never click a link in an email, never download from an untrusted source, and always type in the address of your financial sites to access them.

Spam - Unsolicited e-mail. Also known as junk e-mail.

Spyware - Software that runs on a computer without the explicit permission of its user. It often gathers private information from a user's computer and sends this data over the Internet back to the software manufacturer.

Trojan horses - Programs that conceal their true purpose or include a hidden functionality that a user would not want.

Viruses - Programs that can slow down system performance and cause strange system behavior and in many cases do serious harm to computers, either as deliberate, malicious damage or as unintentional side effects.

Worms - Programs characterised by having the ability to replicate themselves and viruses are similar except that they achieve this by adding their code onto third party software.
Once a virus or worm has infected a computer, it would typically infect other programs (in the case of viruses) and other computers.

I know that I listed a lot, but these terms are just the few that one needs to be informed of. So if you have time, go ahead and check it out. ^_^x


DISCLAIMER: The following definition was given by RuleWorks.co.uk and all credits goes to them. I do not guarantee that the content will be available by the time this post is read.

The Art of Wall-E

Once in a while, there are just movies that stand out. So, I decided that once in a while, I should blog about the films I loved. Ofcourse, I will also take into consideration that the films I am going to feature should stay in our theme, which is, the human side of technology.

So, my first review will be about..... drumroll please.... tada!
Disney and Pixar's Wall-E!

To be honest, it is really rare that I would get this feeling on watching a movie, the satisfying and the heart-melting feeling I mean. The last time I felt this good on a movie is with Rules of Engagement (in terms of screenplay) and Spider-Man 2 (with the special effects and the character involvement). This is by far, the best movie of the year for me, the best of all the animated films and one of the best this century. Why? Check it out.

The plot. What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, Wall-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. An adventure that not only would threaten Wall-E's love, but also the existence of the entire humanity.

The plot is very simple, nothing that deep to confuse you, yet is intelligent enough to keep its viewers focus on the movie, and make you think after you got out of the cinema. But what made me this attached to the movie is because of Wall-E's character. Pixar has succeeded in perfecting a movie for a character. You couldn't help but to understand the character, to say why he is lonely, to know what he wanted and to understand why he falls in love. It has been so long, since people, like me for instance, who get so attached with a character, mush less on the character's situation. Wall-e, if real, would be a real example of how human technology could go.

I am not going to give out any details or any spoilers, but I would highly recommend the you guys watch this movie. If you can catch it in the big screen, the better. Trust me, Wall-E is the character you'll love, and you'll never stop loving.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the image on this post. It is owned and copyrighted by Disney and Pixar.

The World's Greatest Brand Names and Where they came from

I made a comprehensive list of the world's greatest brand names and the reason why they were named like that and where the it basically came from. Here are just the few and the most famous:

Adobe - named after Adobe Creek, a river located and ran behind the house of its founder, John Warnock.

Apache - it got its name from 'A PAtCHy' server, a result when its founders applied patches to code written for NCSA's httpd daemon, in which the program started from. Thus, the name Apache.

Apple Computers - the name came from Steve Jobs' favorite fruit. The issue was he was actually late for filling a name for his business, he threatened his colleagues that if they did not suggest any better name by 5 o'clock, he is going to call the company Apple Computers.
CISCO - short for San Francisco.

Google - it was originally named 'Googol', a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. But is was later changed by its founders when they got their cheque after presenting the project to its investors, which was made out to "Google".

Hotmail - its founders formulated the best name for the service that would end with "mail". They settled with Hotmail, originally because it had HTML on it. And it was originally written as HoTMaiL with the uppercasses on it.

HP - its founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether they would name the company as Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

Intel - Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company 'Moore Noyce' but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain, so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

Lotus (Notes) - Mitch Kapor, who used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation got the name for his company from 'The Lotus Position' or 'Padmasana'.

Microsoft - coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the dash was later removed.
Motorola - the name came originally from the company Victrola, which manufactures radios for cars and was the where Paul Galvin started.

ORACLE - Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the Central Intelligence Agency. The code name for the project was called Oracle which stands for "One Real Asshole Called Larry Ellison".

Red Hat - Company founder Marc Ewing was given the Cornell lacrosse team cap, with red and white stripes, while at college by his grandfather. He lost it and had to search for it desperately. The manual of the beta version of Red Hat Linux had an appeal to readers to return his Red Hat if found by anyone !
SAP - "Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing", formed by 4 ex-IBM employees who used to work in the "Systems/Applications/Projects"

SUN - the acronym for Stanford University Network.

Xerox - came from the Greek word "xer" which means dry. The inventor, Chestor Carlson, named his product trying to say "dry", as it was dry copying, markedly different from the then prevailing wet copying.

Yahoo! - the word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book 'Gulliver's Travels'. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos.


These are just a few but it was fun to know that some of these company names where actually formulated with weird reasons. A proof that indeed technology has a human side.

DISCLAIMER: The following information used was not approved by its founders and I do not own any of these images. The logo is copyrighted by its preceding companies.
.

The Laws Microsoft has set on Computer Security

This information is quite old yet just want to post it and share it again.

The Microsoft Security Response Center has received before a lot of reports with regard to users experiencing a lot of errors and breach of security even they have updated their anti-virus softwares and they always turn on their firewall. And with their investigation, they found out that most of these cases were because of the owner's fault. As a step to help prevent future problems like these, Microsoft has released a list on what they think is the fact with regard to computer security. They called the list The 10 Immutable Laws of Security.

The following is the content of that specific list.

Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore

It is true that a program is designed to run as what it was supposedly programmed to do even it would be something negative. It is also a fact that when a program is running, it could do a lot of changes on your computer, changes that even could go beyond the limit of what you can do for your computer. But it is also a fact that a program cannot run without one's approval. That is the reason why it is not advisable to install, run or even download softwares and computer programs from a untrusted source.

Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it's not your computer anymore

Operating Systems is just running with a series of ones and zeroes, and if it would break down, one cannot blame the OS, because it was right all along to follow inputs. Therefore it is always best to give restrictions and privileges to other users of your computer, to ensure that only trusted individuals can alter and make changes on your computer's operating system.

Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore

I mean, why the hell would you let your computer to be used by an untrusted individual!

Law #4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your website, it's not your website any more

See rule #1, only in this case, uploading untrusted files to your site is the case. The end result of these is that there actually no difference between users that has been tricked and users who has voluntarily did it.

Law #5: Weak passwords trump strong security

In choosing a password, it is advised the we develop a complex one, one that is not easily forgot and not to be able to be guessed by others. And please don't use predictable passwords like you dog's name, or you favorite superhero, anniversary dates and worse, your name! Consider special character enriched passwords and random capitalized or not capitalized letters and numbers. A good password contains atleast one capital letter, another letter which is not capitalized, two numbers and, importantly, atlease one special character.

Always remember, even though you have the best security in your computer but you do not have a strong password, you are as marginally vulnerable as those who do not have security at all.

Law #6: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy

Microsoft has stated that "Every computer must have an administrator: someone who can install software, configure the operating system, add and manage user accounts, establish security policies, and handle all the other management tasks associated with keeping a computer up and running." Thus, a computer is secured when its administrator is someone who warrants trust. Take steps to keep honest people honest. Diversify task as effectively as possible, it is always best to divide task to more than one administrator, limited to only a few number of people.

Law #7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key

No better way to say this than how it was posted in the Microsoft website about the 10 Immutable Laws of Security which goes:

"Suppose you installed the biggest, strongest, most secure lock in the world on your front door, but you put the key under the front door mat. It wouldn't really matter how strong the lock is, would it? The critical factor would be the poor way the key was protected, because if a burglar could find it, he'd have everything he needed to open the lock. Encrypted data works the same way—no matter how strong the crypto algorithm is, the data is only as safe as the key that can decrypt it.

Many operating systems and cryptographic software products give you an option to store cryptographic keys on the computer. The advantage is convenience – you don't have to handle the key – but it comes at the cost of security. The keys are usually obfuscated (that is, hidden), and some of the obfuscation methods are quite good. But in the end, no matter how well-hidden the key is, if it's on the computer it can be found. It has to be – after all, the software can find it, so a sufficiently-motivated bad guy could find it, too. Whenever possible, use offline storage for keys. If the key is a word or phrase, memorize it. If not, export it to a floppy disk, make a backup copy, and store the copies in separate, secure locations. (All of you administrators out there who are using Syskey in "local storage" mode—you're going to reconfigure your server right this minute, right?)"

Law #8: An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all

One should make it a standard operating procedure to always update your virus archive signatures as often as everyday if possible. Not only that, one should also update the anti virus itself on a period of time that would range from three months until eighteen months, the more often, the better. While, it is a must to have this software, keep it as minimal as possible. By this, I mean it is also unwise to install five different softwares on your computer, in which would be a reason why your computer would be very vulnerable to the outside world.

Law #9: Absolute anonymity isn't practical, in real life or on the Web

Human interaction in the web is as safe as we want it to be. It is not always recommended, although at times it is best, to stay anonymous. As long as one would only give information, personal and pertinent, to trusted individuals and sites, one does not have to fear about violation of privacy.

Law #10: Technology is not a panacea

Technology can do many great things. It can be very very helpful, especially in our world today that computing and communication's best medium is technology. But just like, everything, it is not perfect. Nothing in technology is perfect. Even the most secured computer will have flaws. Even if it is paired with the best administrator.

Keep your expectations low on your security and high on its vulnerability.; But always keep in mind the two main things that would keep a good security, its technology and its policies.

There you have it guys. For more related information, it is best to check the 10 Immutable Laws of Security in Microsoft. Yadda!
.