Internet

Get Your Groceries From Amazon

May 31, 2023 by noemi

If you live in the United States, you’re probably thinking: “What the heck is she talking about?” Yes, indeed, Amazon has already been selling groceries and other food and drink items on their site for a while. What started out as an online bookstore has branched out a lot in the past years.

In the United Kingdom, however, the idea of Amazon selling groceries is quite a novel one. As a matter of fact, the online store just launched their groceries section in the UK this week. Watch out Asda, Sainsbury, and Tesco! Amazon seems to have been successful in most of their ventures, so there’s no saying what might happen to the grocery market in the UK with this launch.

The selection that Amazon is offering is quite impressive. They are carrying labels such as Ariel, Dolmio, Kraft, Carte Noir, Oreo, Purina One, and more. They also have an international section, as well as kosher, organic, and vegan items. It looks like they just might give the competition a run for their money – if not right now, in the near future.

Regarding deliveries, consumers may opt for the regular delivery options or pay ?49 for an annual membership. Paying for this membership gives unlimited one-day delivery.

This kind of service is definitely going to be more popular in the near future, and it is just another indication of how technology is becoming a staple part of our lives. I wouldn’t mind doing my grocery and book shopping in one go, would you?

3 Internet Pet Peeves and Their Fixes

May 31, 2023 by noemi

Considering the time that you probably spend online, you would know that there are a lot of things that can happen out there that get your goat. We all have our pet peeves; some of them we can find fixes for, some we just can’t do anything. And, speaking of these Internet problems and fixes, I read a very interesting and useful list at PC World.

There are too many too mention here, but let me give you the three that are my pet peeves.

Facebook game and apps overload

I love Facebook games – a couple of them, at least; but I know how irritating it can be to see all those feeds when you are NOT interested in them. Hence, I try to limit the things that I publish. If you have friends who can’t help but flood your feed with their Facebook games and apps, though, PC World suggests Facebook Purity, which is part of Firefox’s GreaseMonkey add-on.

Useless search bars in web sites

What use is a search bar embedded in a web site if you can’t get relevant results? This has happened to me countless of times that I have simply stopped using them most of the time. What I have been doing is what PC World suggests: go to your usual search engine and key in site:nameofsite.com “what you’re looking for” instead.

Flash ads automatically blaring out some audio

Imagine browsing the net while at Starbucks or some other place when suddenly, this loud audio emanates from your speakers. Forget that – imagine working late into the night, you’re alone at home, and the same thing happens. I have jumped out of my skin so many times because of this! Here’s the fix from PC World: use FlashMute, which blocks Flash access to your audio. They do have a disclaimer: your anti-virus software might see it as an attack when you download the software. Ignore it.

For the complete list, visit PC World.

Security Tips When Using Public Wi-Fi

May 31, 2023 by noemi

It’s a dream coming true, isn’t it? Most places you go nowadays, you can access the Internet via Wi-Fi. Most cafes are following the trend – even Starbucks, which has been resistant for quite some time. In some cities, the coverage is especially wide.

While this is pretty convenient for all of us, we should realize that using public Wi-Fi isn’t exactly the safest thing to do. Still, as long as you don’t access and transmit sensitive information, right? You might be wrong there – you cannot deny that there are many ways by which you can be prone to security issues when using Wi-Fi. With a little vigilance, though, you can make your access a little more secure.

Always use SSL, if possible.

That is, use HTTPS instead of HTTP. For example, when accessing Google, key in https://www.google.com/ instead of http://www.google.com/. The good news is that this is where Google is headed anyway. If you take a closer look, Gmail already uses HTTPS as a default. To make it even easier, check out HTTPS Everywhere, an add-on for Firefox.

Make sure your sharing settings are secure.

In other words, turn off all sharing! If you’re like me, you have certain files and folders that are shared for use at home. When you go out and use public Wi-Fi, however, it is better of you turn sharing off. How to do this? Go to Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center, then click Choose Homegroup and Sharing Options -> Change Advanced Sharing Settings.

Double check your firewall.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, I turn off my firewall at home. I don’t exactly remember the reasons, but I am pretty sure they were convincing at that time. Don’t take it for granted – operating systems come with basic firewall setups, but they can be your very first line of defense.

Yahoo Publishes Style Guide For Web Writing

May 30, 2023 by noemi

Writing for the web is not an excuse for poor writing. This has always been a problem since there are a lot of bloggers and web site writers who have great ideas and excellent know how, but are sorely lacking in writing skills.

On the other hand, there are some good writers – in the traditional sense – who have encountered problems when writing for blogs and other web sites. Tech terms may prove to be difficult; formatting is another issue; and the list goes on and on.

Unlike academic writing, there really are no clear cut rules about writing for the web. Well, there are many rules – it’s just that we haven’t all agreed on one particular way of writing. That is, until Yahoo published its own Style Guide.

I am not that big of a Yahoo fan, but I am quite impressed that they took the initiative to create this Style Guide. It contains a huge amount of information covering the many aspects of writing for the Internet. From word lists (e.g., it’s 3D and not 3-D) to formatting tips to tips on how to write strong headlines – the Style Guide has a lot to offer.

Now I haven’t had the time to look at the Style Guide intently, but it does look promising. Access Yahoo’s Style Guide, the online version, and see for yourself. If you want the hard copy, you have to wait for it to be released on the 6th of July. I am happy to take a look at the online version first.

Let us know what you think about it.

Cyber Security Bill Approved, Feared By Many

May 30, 2023 by noemi

The Internet has become so big that the government just can’t seem to “ignore” it. In fact, laws have been cropping up left and right, so as to impose some measure of control over activities online. The most recent one is the Cyber Security Bill which the Senate Committee has just approved.

If you’re unaware of what the bill is all about, here’s a short description, courtesy of Politic365:

• Would establish a White House office for cyberspace policy and a national center for cybersecurity and communications, which would work with private U.S. companies to create cybersecurity requirements for the electrical grid, telecommunication networks and other critical “infrastructure” (water, electricity, banking, traffic lights and electronic health records)
• Allow the U.S. president to take emergency action to protect critical parts of the Internet, including ordering owners of critical infrastructure to implement emergency response plans during a cyber emergency
• The president would need congressional approval to extend a national cyber emergency beyond 120 days under an amendment to the legislation approved by the committee

Naturally, controversy has arisen, primarily because of the fear of the creation of an “Internet kill switch.” Imagine the power that any one person has if he has access to this kill switch. You can read through the Myth versus Reality document that Homeland Security has created, though, and decide for yourself if your fears are unfounded or not.

On the one hand, the concept seems sound – an attack is bound to happen one of these days and the government is being proactive in passing this bill. On the other hand, we know that it is open to abuse, and there are so many loopholes.

What are your thoughts and sentiments on the Cyber Security Bill?