Cell Phones--The Increasingly Indispensable "Luxury" GadgetsWritten by Larry Denton
Millions of people in U.S. and around globe use cell phones. They are such great gadgets--with a cell phone you can talk to anyone on planet from just about anywhere! Once thought of as an expensive, distracting "toy", cell phones have become a necessity for many people around world. In just a few short years, cell phones have graduated from being considered a luxury to an absolute necessity. The ability to keep in touch with friends, family, business associates, and access to email are only a few reasons for increasing importance of cell phones.When cell phones were first introduced, they were heavy, bulky and expensive. Good reception was a major problem and battery life was severely limited. These days, cell phones provide an incredible array of functions, and new models are being added at a breakneck pace. Depending on your cell-phone model, you can: store contact information, make to-do lists, use built-in calculator, download information from Internet, play simple games, and even listen to music. Camera cell phones are one of newest and neatest pieces of pocket technology on market. Camera cell phones have benefited from ever-shrinking microchip technology, making phones more affordable and pictures more viewable. If you want to purchase a camera phone, consider quality of pictures you want to take. Most camera phones have less than one mega pixel resolution which produces low-quality images. If you really need to take clear photos, check out a camera phone with 3 or more mega pixels. And always buy one with a removable memory card which will allow you to upgrade camera's memory capacity and allow you to more easily transfer photos to a computer or printer. Selecting a cell phone is no longer just about communication--it is now a lifestyle choice. If you don't get one to fit your personality, you won't be satisfied. Text messaging or "texting" in now a standard feature on most cell phones. Multimedia messaging allows you to send audio, video and pictures. Some of newer phones are designed with entertainment as a primary function. They can play music MP3 files, stored video, movies and even video games. Random House hopes to cash in on cell phone phenomenon by offering foreign language courses using cell phone text. And more changes are on way! "Charge it to my cell phone," is an instruction that store clerks may soon hear in increasing numbers. Phones that can be swiped against credit card readers are already on sale in Asia and U.S. cell phone manufacturers are seriously studying technology. A new report from Diffusion Group, a consumer technology think-tank, shows that most consumers are comfortable playing music and videos on their cell phones and that more than 30% of U.S. consumers surveyed wanted to watch TV on their cell phones as well. According to survey, more than 70% of U.S. households now own at least one cell phone.
| | Protect Yourself From Spyware Snoops!Written by Larry Denton
Just when you thought you were Web savvy, one more privacy, security, and usability issue springs up--spyware. Spyware is techno-version of a Peeping Tom. Installed on your computer without your consent, spyware software monitors or controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your computer to specific websites, monitor your Internet surfing, or record your key strokes, which, in turn could lead to identity theft and misuse of your private information--such as credit card numbers. Why do so many computer users allow spyware snoops to monitor them online? The answer is very simple. They may not even know they are being watched. Your best protection against this particular privacy invasion is to learn about this hideous misuse of Internet and act accordingly, using software that is readily available and very inexpensive--even free in many cases. "Spyware is a technological disease that is proliferating each day. It threatens efficiency of our computers and Internet services as well as security of our personal information and private transactions, " said Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA) when explaining her introduction of H.R. 2929 in April, 2004. "The Safeguard Against Privacy Invasion Act" (SPI Act) works to protect individuals and companies from unknowingly downloading spyware by requiring that "consumers receive a clear and conspicuous notice prior to downloading spyware." Many experienced Web users have already learned how to recognize spyware, avoid it, and delete it. According to officials at Federal Trade Commission (FTC), all computer users should "get wise to signs that spyware has been installed on their machines, and then take appropriate steps to delete it." Clues that spyware is on a computer include: a barrage of pop-up ads, being redirected to unwanted websites, a sudden or repeated change in your computer's Internet home page, new and unexpected tool bars, new and unexpected icons at bottom of your computer screen, keys that do not work (for example, "Tab" key that does not work when you try to move to next field), random error messages, and sluggish or exceedingly slow performance when opening programs or saving files.
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