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Hot Jewelry

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

We purchased a pair of earrings over the Internet from the USA. They were to be given as a Christmas gift to a friend of the family. I decided to test them with a new computer based Geiger counter I had just assembled.

To my surprise these earrings turned out to be considerably radioactive. From the front side, and with the earrings next to each other, they tested 0.90 uSv/hr. Normal background here has been around 0.10 uSv/hr, so these earrings where testing 9 times background.

Originally thought the radioactivity was coming from the blue Topaz looking centre stones in this design, because there have been reports of radioactive Topaz being detected in jewelry. After removing these blue stones, and retesting the earrings, the light yellowy green stones positioned around these blue stones, were found to be the main source of the radioactivity.

Here are the scintillator and Geiger test charts results for the earrings test. The main isotopes detected were Thorium Th-234 and Uranium U-235.

The Thorium Th-234 is from Uranium U-238 decay. U-238 puts out hardly any gamma, but the Thorium Th-234 puts out enough for the scintillator equipment to detect it. The presence of Thorium indicates the presence of Uranium U-238, as Thorium Th-234 is a decay daughter of Uranium U-238.

Scintillator test Chart of earrings

This explains why there was so much beta detection with the Geiger test. Couldn’t work out why at first. Thorium Th-234 puts out a lot of beta, and a small amount of gamma radiation.

Geiger Counter test chart using a Russian SBT-10 pancake tube. (Information on how to build your own computer based Geiger counter, for under $100, will be in next month magazine.)

Thorium Th-234 info

http://ie.lbl.gov/toi/nuclide.asp?iZA=900234

Conclusion:

The small yellowy/green stones on the earrings are Uranium glass made from purified Uranium ore, because there are no decay daughters of Lead Pb-214 or Bismuth Bi-214 isotopes present. It would appear that someone is supplying Uranium glass stones to the jewelry industry.

Most of the radiation is beta radiation with a small gamma component. This is manly from the Thorium 234 decay. Most of the beta radiation body exposure is blocked by the glass stone metal mountings, in this particular earring jewelry design.

Using the Geiger Counter with the SBT-10 tube I detected approximately an extra 0.06 uSv/hr, above background from the rear of the earrings, as opposed to 0.90 uSv/hr from the front.

The Alpha output by Uranium U-238 and U-235 isotopes would be locked into the glass.

Do these earrings pose a health hazard? Probably not in this design, as the wearer is protected from most of the radiation by the metal mountings during use. A resent commenter pointed out that when beta radiation hits metal it can produce bremsstrahlung secondary radiation. This also maybe a potential hazard that needs further investigation.

Do the stones themselves pose a health hazard? Maybe in these, or some other unforeseen circumstances.

Listed in order of possible risk

A. At a manufacturer site or jewelry store, where these stones could be stored in bulk. Being exposed to the dust from cutting or polishing this type of glass, in these environments, could pose the greatest health risk.

B. People spending long hours close up to the jewelry during assembly.

C. A person who had collected a lot of this type of jewelry, and stored it close to where they sleep.

D. Different types of jewelry design using these stones, could be potentially hazardous in these circumstances

1. The piece used larger stones, or more stones.

2. Thinner metal mountings were used.

3. If a piece was worn close to the body. The more proximity and surface area touching the body, means more radiation exposure.

It is suggested that those of you with Geiger Counters, check everything that comes into your house.

Next month I will provide information on how to build, and set up, this computer based Geiger counter kit used for testing in this article. The open source Geiger counter software and USB hardware modules, plus Geiger tube, cost under $100.

Not only can these USB hardware modules be used to set up a cheap professional lab quality Geiger counter, they can also can be used to set up computer based motor control, light and temperature sensors, plus used to build computer based robotics very cheaply. The Geiger counter kit is probably the simplest item to build using these modules, and easiest project for members to build, to try their hand at this fascinating area of computer technology. For those members who are interested the hardware modules will be available for members to take home and experiment with.

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research. Views expressed in the pages or images on the SCCC Inc., site maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Buying and Selling on Ebay, Computers, Health and Environmental Effects of Technology, Life Saving

Hacking, the good, the bad and the ugly

By Peter Daley · Comments (1)

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

by Peter Daley

Hacking as an activity is now wide spread and International, as our society has become more and more dependent on everything being controlled by computers. Hacking has become a much more influential activity for the good, the bad and the ugly in our society.

I know the media constantly portrays hacking as an evil activity, but I quote from Wikipedia here, a hacker is by definition, “A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and stretching their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.”

Our world wide infrastructure is so tied to computers that hacking can now be used as powerful tool for intelligence, construction or destruction of our industrial or communications infrastructure. Western countries complain about the Chinese, or the Russians hacking their systems. The West have their ownspecial unites dedicated to hacking Russian, and Chinese systems. They’re all just as bad as each other, they are all constantly trying to break into each others sensitive systems. World wide, given an opportunity, any country will use hackers to gain an advantage, commercially, politically, or militarially. Corporations are constantly using hacking to improve their commercial advantage. The News of the World mobile phone hacking scandal is a good example of this. (Read my blog on mobile phone hacking here, http://sccc.org.au/archives/1602)

Hackers have been trying to find ways to break chip based industrial control systems for years. It ended up that the West and Israel secret services handed them the information they needed to do this on a platter. Thisstory would make a best seller, or a great movie. The West and Israelis wanted to stop the Iranian nuclear program, or at least slow it down. They went to the big industrial chip makers and got what was secret or proprietary back door information to control industrial chips. In this case, the industrial centrifuges that where being used by the Iranians to concentrate uranium for their nuclear programs. They then went away and developed a very effective virus called Stuxnet. It was released into the Iranian enrichment plant control systems and it did what is was designed to do, it destroyed large numbers of theIranian centrifuges.

They were very pleased with themselves, and gave themselves a pat on the back. Job well done they thought. Except that now they hadopened Pandora’s box and provided what hackers have wanted for years, back door industrial chip information to enable them to make viruses, and Trojans to control, disrupt, or destroy industrial control systems. By back engineering the Stuxnet virus which now is in the wild, thanks to the West and the Israelis, any government, criminal group, corporation, or hacker with some skill can create their own variation on Stuxnet.

This means that previous viruses will look like child’s play. This technology can potentially be used to shut down power plants (nuclear, coal or hydro), electricity grids, water supply systems. Also,industrial plants or anything using industrially control chips can be a targeted. There have already been instances where Stuxnet variations may have been used to shut down, or disrupt Nuclear power plants and other industrial systems in a number of countries. No one is admitting that Stuxnet or a variation may have been the cause of these mysterious shut downs, or disruptionsto Nuclear power plantsin the USA, or Japan recently.

Well there you have it, and we are consider ourselves to be Intelligent. We’re like children playing with fire.

Now we have hacker groups that are saying they are using their skills for the benefit of humanity by standing up to what they consider to be corporate imperialism. A splinter group of hacker group “Anonymous” have now focused on multinational Corporate food giant Monsanto.

Below is a text transcript of a video message they posted on the Internet.

——————————————————————————-

To the free-thinking citizens of the world:

Anonymous stands with the farmers and food organizations denouncing the practices of Monsanto We applaud the bravery of the organizations and citizens who are standing up to Monsanto, and we stand united with you against this oppressive corporate abuse. Monsanto is contaminating the world with chemicals and genetically modified food crops for profit while claiming to feed the hungry and protect the environment. Anonymous is everyone, anyone who can not stand injustice and decides to do something about it. We are all over the Earth and here to stay.

To Monsanto, we demand you STOP the following:

- Contaminating the global food chain with GMO’s.
- Intimidating small farmers with bullying and lawsuits.
- Propagating the use of destructive pesticides and herbicides across the globe.
- Using “Terminator Technology”, which renders plants sterile.
- Attempting to hijack UN climate change negotiations for your own fiscal benefit.
- Reducing farmland to desert through monoculture and the use of synthetic fertilizers.
- Inspiring suicides of hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers.
- Causing birth defects by continuing to produce the pesticide “Round-up”
- Attempting to bribe foreign officials
- Infiltrating anti-GMO groups

Monsanto, these crimes will not go unpunished. Anonymous will not spare you nor anyone in support of your oppressive illegal business practices.

AGRA, a great example: In 2006, AGRA, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, was established with funding from Bill Gates and The Rockefeller Foundation.

Among the other founding members of, AGRA, we find: Monsanto, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter and Gamble, Merck, Mosaic, Pfizer, Sumitomo Chemical and Yara. The fact that these corporations are either chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturers is no coincidence.

The people of the world see you, Monsanto. Anonymous sees you.

Seeds of Opportunism, Climate change offers these businesses a perfect excuse to prey on the poorest countries by swooping in to “rescue” the farmers and people with their GMO crops and chemical pesticides. These corporations eradicate the traditional ways of the country’s agriculture for the sake of enormous profits.

The introduction of GMOs drastically affects a local farmers income, as the price of chemicals required for GMOs and seeds from Monsanto cripples the farmer’s meagre profit margins.

There are even many cases of Monsanto suing small farmers after pollen from their GMO crops accidentally cross with the farmer’s crops. Because Monsanto has a patent on their brand of seed, they claim the farmer is in violation of patent laws.

These disgusting and inhumane practices will not be tolerated. Anonymous urges all concerned citizens to stand up for these farmers, stand up for the future of your own food. Protest, organize, spread info to your friends!

Say no to poisons chemicals in your food.
So no to GMO!

Say no to Monsanto!
We are Anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget

Expect us

To back up their claims they provided these links.

Birth defects caused by Monsanto chemicals – Here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/roundup-birth-defects-herbicide-regulators_n_872862.html

Monsanto hired mercenary Blackwater to infiltrate anti-GMO groups – Here

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/297701#ixzz1HDZcVpoj

Monsanto fined $1.5m for bribery In Indonesia – Here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4153635.stm

Monsanto Accused of Attempt to Bribe Health Canada for rBGH (Posilac) Approval – Here

http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/news/10009.htm

Destruction of soil, air quality, groundwater contamination, deforestation – Here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A46648-2001Dec3

Corporate food giant Monsanto uses patents to bully small farmers and strangle competition – Here

http://www.examiner.com/sunset-district-libertarian-in-san-francisco/corporate-food-giant-monsanto-uses-patents-to-bully-small-farmers-and-strangle-competition#ixzz1R1zkI2qK

Farmer suicides in India – Here

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/indias-hidden-climate-change-catastrophe-2173995.html

—————————————————————————-

You can watch the video of the above transcript at Youtube here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1A-DYK4M4Q&feature=player_embedded

Hacking as an activity has grown to be the good, the bad and the ugly computer power of the twenty first century, love it or hate it, it will be shaping our future.

Disclaimer: This is a amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research. Views expressed in the pages or images on the SCCC Inc., site maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computer Security, Computers, Uncategorized

Freedom and Privacy being eroded by Technology!

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Technology is becoming Big Brother’s surveillance tool. Everything we now do in modern society is being recorded and watched, whether you like it or not. Let’s look at the personal computer of the twenty first century, the mobile phone.

What can it do.

1. It pulses every 8 seconds even if it is turned off, and from this pulse your location can be triangulated. The only why to stop this is to take out the battery and sim card.

2. New phones will have a gyroscope built in so you can get those fancy games working well. This can be used to work out what you are physically doing at any point in time, walking running, driving, or cleaning the windows etc.

3. Even if the mobile is turned off it can be used to take a picture, or record your conversations. Look up mobile phone hacking on youtube if you want proof.

4. The latest edition it its armoury of detective tools is to not only triangulate where you are at any given time, but also to record that information for later analysis. These personal location tracking and recording tools add a whole new dimension to the mobile phone tracking armoury. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/apr/25/steve-jobs-responds-iphone-tracking

5. Record all your keystrokes and SMS messages, plus send this info off somewhere unknown, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57333652-17/android-handsets-secretly-logging-keystrokes-sms-messages/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&tag=nl.e703

This information was not volunteered to the public by Google, or Apple, but discovered by independent researchers. The big question is why two so called independent rival corporations had quietly installed personal location tracking, and recording tools on their phones. It is only by a chance discovery that it was revealed.

You buy a mobile phone to have convenient mobile communication, not to be a Big Brother tool for recording and watching every thing you do. Not only can this technology be used by governments, and corporations, but anyone who wants to do some basic research can get the tools to use it to gather your private information, and movements.

When you purchase a Mobile Phone it should come with a clear warning!

You may be tracked when using this device for government, or corporate use.
Your conversations may be recorded without your knowledge.
The device may take photographs without your knowledge.
Your physical activities may be monitored at any time without your knowledge.
All your Keystrokes and SMS messages are recorded, and sent off to somewhere unknown.
It can be hacked easily so the manufacture accepts no responsibility for the loss of private information.
Use at your own risk as the radiation from mobile phones may affect your health.

Mobile Phone health risk Industry sponsored research says it has no effect except for a slight warming on the body tissue. Independent researcher indicates long term frequent use can potentially cause serious health problems. Read my previous article here on this subject http://sccc.org.au/archives/1574

The mobile is now being touted as a wallet to be used instead of cash, or credit cards.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/153830/20110528/google-wallet.htm

Governments and history change, with these technologies governments can impose total control over their citizens. There has already been numerous instances of a number of governments using this technology to track, and collect citizen‘s information, and at times pass on this intelligence to corporations the citizens were protesting against.

You won’t be able to sneeze, or go to the toilet without the government knowing about it. In the machine verses human, I think the machine is winning!

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Categories : Computer Security, Computers, Health and Environmental Effects of Technology

The true cost of modern technology

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

By Peter Daley,

“Modern technology” is a deceptive term, a better description would be “Exploitive technology”.

Most modern technology is made to last three to five years if you’re lucky. It has built in redundancy. It also appears by the pricing structure, that what you are purchasing is a bargain. A bit of investigation reveals you are actually paying more financially, environmentally, and emotionally, than you realize.

Ten years ago an average priced computer with a screen, keyboard and mouse, cost around $1,500 and lasted up to 10 years. Now a modern computer costs, with the above, around $1,000, but only lasts 3 to 5 years. So over the same period you have forked out $2,000 to $3,000, plus had the added cost and emotional stress of having to transfer your data to a new machine two to three times. It also means that you have created three times the environmental damage.

So in real terms you have been ripped off by the illusion of getting a bargain! Some would argue that the modern computer is faster, but then it is weighed down by bloated software that pretty well robs it of any gains in physical performance.

I saw a joke recently that pretty well sums this up.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

A modern engineers take on that is “If it ain’t broke add more features.

If you are going to have a technological systems changing so rapidly you need to have very efficient recycling systems in place to recycle all these resources back into production, or all we are going to end up with is a planet full of mounds of toxic junk. Have a look at this presentation which explains how our present production system works “Story of Stuff.” The only reason for having a endless junk production cycle is that it makes a few very rich by concentrating wealth. I have nothing against people being wealthy and rich, but we have lost a sensible balance. More people are becoming collectively poorer while a few are becoming super rich.

The big question is does any of this mountain of electronics and gadgetry actually contribute to our personal and collective true wealth and happiness? It would seem wise to have all this enormous physical, financial and collective effort of technology focused onto collectively reducing world hunger and raising world living standards, and not producing endless junk.

How can we have a so called advanced civilization with some of the most advanced technology ever created, focusing most of its efforts on trivial entertainment devices and endless production of junk, when a third of the population is living in abject poverty?

This system, which is focused on making a few people incredibly rich by trashing the planet and wasting our collective resources in endless production of junk, while a third of the world starves, is morally sick. It would appear we need a better system.

The collective priorities for human life are universal.

Have fresh clean air to breath.

To have clean water to drink.

Have fresh food to eat.

Have good shelter.

For you and your children to live in a healthy safe environment.

To live in a free and supportive community, that understands that individual rights have to be balanced with social responsibility.

We have to look after each others interests which are all the same. This means collectively looking after Earth’s biosphere, because it is what sustains human life.

Our technology should be aimed at improving and sustaining the above, this is where our true collective wealth is! Using technologies that are destroying the collective priorities for human life is just craziness!

To me the sole aim of modern technology and production seems to be aimed at keeping a relatively small group very rich and powerful by keeping the majority entertained and distracted. The price we are paying for not paying attention to what is really happening is that our true wealth is being destroyed.

We need a new financial and technology system, one that supports the collective priorities for human life. A system that provides freedom and incentive but not at the selfish exploitation of other people and the environment.

© Peter Daley 2011

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Categories : Computers, Health and Environmental Effects of Technology

Investor Beware

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Financial systems have changed dramatically with the advent of computer technology. It has allowed ease of access to your banking, and investment information. We now have the ability to deposit, and transfer funds instantly, and electronically.

Unfortunately, it has also allowed a lot of growth in corruption at high speed!

High speed trading, using super computers provides the big players with the ability to manipulate the market easily . Market volume can appear to be high where in fact it can just be an enormous number of trades for small amounts of money. The use of super computers and sophisticated software has given the big banks, and investment houses great power. By using super high speed computation, and analyst of financial information they can influence the price of stocks, and shares at will.

In my opinion it has become a very uneven playing field for the small investor. It also appears that by the use of power, and money these large banking, and investment organization have been influencing politicians to remove a lot of the institutional checks, and balances that where put in place to protect everyone.

Have a look at this 60 Minutes program to get a lot of good information on what you are up against if you are a small investor.

How Speed Traders Are Changing Wall Street – 60 Minutes – CBS News

60 Minutes on CBS News: How Speed Traders Are Changing Wall Street – Steve Kroft Gets A Rare Look Inside the Secretive World of “High-Frequency Trading”

Another import issue that I have been seeing in stock, shares and commodities markets is more and more use of virtual products. The gold market is a case in point. Gold is commanding large amounts of money at present ,and investors are purchasing gold in large volume all over the world. The trouble is that the volume of gold that is being traded at present is 45 times more gold than is psychically available.

That means that if every one who purchased gold wanted their bars at once, only one in 45 could possibly get the purchased gold! Now the informative link below clearly defines what most people are actually purchasing is paper gold.

Here is a definition on Paper Gold from site https://www.igolder.com/glossary/paper-gold/

How can we have a system base on this virtual gold, and not the real thing?

How is this allowed to happen?

In my opinion lot of people are going to get burned if, and when the music stops.

If that is not bad enough here you have reports of a lot of fake gold bars in the system.

Fake gold bars out of tungsten a counterfeit story By MERLIN LAFLEUR, 2009/12/02

Gld ETF Warning, Tungsten Filled Fake Gold Bars :: The Market …

12 Nov 2009 … Gld ETF Warning, Tungsten Filled Fake Gold Bars :: The Market Oracle :: Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website.

The only way I can see that this has been bought about is by our government officials, and politicians changing the legislation, and rules to suit those who run these markets. The politicians and government officials must have great retirement funds.

Mortgage Gate is another example on the creative use of computer technology by the corrupt. It has been used to manipulate the financial system, and create financial havoc worldwide. If you wonder why your retirement funds, and superannuation have gone backwards here are some more examples of the creative use of computer technology to create mass fraud of epic proportions. Sell something ten or more times to different organization, and class it as an AAA investment.

The mortgage gate crisis and the coming wave of “Mulligan …

and here

http://www.zerohedge.com 21 Oct 2010 … The mortgage gate crisis and the coming wave of “Mulligan Mortgages”. … If you are suddenly being offered a new mortgage by your bank.

Computer technology has changed the way financial systems work, a lot of what is being offered for sale as an investment, or commodity is no longer real but a fictitious virtual item of no real value. So I would suggest that if you are investing in anything, you make sure you are really purchasing something of real value. A lot of this information is not provided by the main stream media, so you need to do your own research on your subject of interest.

Disclaimer

NOTE: This article is in no way intended as to convey any financial advice on behalf of the SCCC inc., or Peter Daley. It is for information purposes only.

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Categories : Computers, Uncategorized

Technologly, freedom and destiny!

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

The advance and power of technology is increasing exponentially! The technology we see and use now is already outdated. The reality is that the technologies available to governments and corporations are 50 to 100 years in advance of what we are presently using. Here is an example

Technology is greatly influencing human destiny. You are constantly playing with all the latest tech., toys and gadgets that are replaced with a new model every year, or so, keeping you entertained, and amused. This in itself is a system of control, and mass manipulation, go to this “Story of Stuff” web site and watch the informative free movies and get a really clear picture of how the present system was set up, and how it works.

The real powerful advances in technology are being used to take global control. Here is one example. There is strong evidence at present that there are secret weather control experiments being conducted in Australia to influence the weather and make Australia greener. Australia is a large land area but most of it is arid, or desert. Since the 15th January 2010 there have been strange patterns appearing in the Australian weather radar systems all over the country. The Colin Andrews web site has an extensive chronicle of these events. Most Australians don’t even know this has been happening. It is not reported in the main stream press. It has been so obvious to those who have been watching, that the Australian Government Weather Bureau has had to place a notice at the top of the national radar loop web site. Who is conducting these weather experiments? These strange radar patterns have now been seen over other countries. If you can control the weather you can control the world.

Technology is not just the physical tech. objects, but the ability to gather information and correlate it for use. Governments and corporations now have an unprecedented ability to monitor pretty well everything you do as an individual, or group, from what you purchase, to where you travel, who are your friends and associates, to what your politics and religious beliefs are. The technology is already such that they can predict, or influence how you, or your group will react during a crisis, or political upheaval.

Your phone conversations are monitored for keywords and phrases to see if you pose a threat to the established order. Why do you think that governments like India, United Arab Emirates were threatening to ban the sale of the Blackberry Smart Phone. The sophisticated encryption would not allow them to monitor their citizens smart phones! Go to YouTube and type in “mobile phone spying” into the search facility, to become informed on this subject. This is just what the average person can do to spy on you, governments and corporation have much more sophisticated technologies!

The technologies available to governments and corporations is 50 to 100 years in advanced to what you now see before you.

Wake up!

How are the corporate governments using it?

To advance humanity, or to take total control?

Where is the debate on these technologies?

You are being kept in the dark on some of the most powerful and influential technologies ever created. The people in control of these technologies now have have unprecedented control of you, and human destiny.

Transhumanism is another important future technology issue. Search for and watch some of the Transhumanism documentaries at http://www.youtube.com/

Will this create another human underclass as only the rich may benefit?

Do we really want this future?

Future generations demand we ask these questions now and take back our future!

Mobile Phones and the Blood Brain Barrier

The Future of Energy Technologies, good or bad? Peak Oil!

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Categories : Computers, Health and Environmental Effects of Technology

Net phones (VOIP), get better and can save you a lot of money?

By Peter Daley · Comments (1)

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

A telephone revolution is taking place. You can potentially save thousands of dollars in personal or business phone calls per year by making them over the Internet.

These calls can be made for free over the Internet if the person at the other end is using the same telephone computer software, or a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) hardware device.

Yes, that’s correct, free phone calls anywhere in the world! Well, not quite, you need an Internet connected computer. The sound quality isn’t always prefect, but its getting there. There are a number of ways of doing this.

Method One: (A no cost way to try it.)

You will need an Internet connected computer, preferably connected via a high speed broadband connection, to get the best results. Then you will need to download and install one of the free VOIP software packages. Skye is probably the best known at present.

It can be downloaded from, http://www.skype.com

Skype has Linux, Windows, and Apple Mac versions available. Then you will need to have a microphone head set. You can use a desktop mic, and your computer speakers but this tends to create echo problems down the line.

Method Two: (You’re committed)

You will need to buy a VOIP hardware device. ( Some broadband modems have a VOIP device already built in.) Call quality can be an issue if your broadband service is not that fast, or there is a lot of traffic on the Internet.

The advantages of these devices over the software Skype method above is that the computer doesn’t need to be on. You simply plug another phone, or cordless phone into the VOIP hardware device, and connect it to your broadband router or modem.

(Skype does provide a Skype phone that works the same as any stand alone VOIP box. Because Skype is an international service, calls to ordinary phones are international, therefore there are call charges, except for Skype to Skype calls which are free.)

As long as the modem / router is connected, you can make and receive calls. Plus, the hardware VOIP systems are more compatible with other VOIP systems, which means you can make free calls to friends and businesses that have these devices. You will need to know their VOIP device phone number, or ID to do this.

Yes, there are fees to phone someone’s normal phone, or mobile. Costs vary between the different systems, so shop around, and do some research before committing to any of them.

Method Three: (Naked VOIP, calls all through broadband phone.)

All phone calls in, and out are made through your Naked VOIP broadband system! Naked VOIP services are new and are now becoming available as broadband speeds increase. Naked VOIP services are only available on Broadband 2, or faster broadband services. These Naked VOIP services can allow free local, or national phone calls through the VOIP system to normal phones.

(Be aware that not all Naked VOIP services may allow free local, or national phone calls through their Naked VOIP system, mine does.)

Naked VOIP also allows you to ditch the phone rental charges, because there is no need for a normal phone connection anymore. This means extra savings. There are still charges for Naked VOIP calls to International, and Mobile phones through Naked VOIP.

Naked VOIP system set up can mean your phone system will be down for a few days while they put the new equipment in the exchange and get it up, and working. You may also have compatibility issues using older broadband modems, and VOIP hardware with the new Naked VOIP system. This could mean a few more days of trouble shooting until it all works. Make sure you have some alternate way of communicating with the Naked VOIP service provider to get technical help if you have set up issues, or you will be stuck with not phone for an extended period of time!

Tell friends, and relatives that the system may be down for a while. You should at least be able to get emails, even if the VOIP phone is not working quite right for a while.

International call rates, and mobile calls through these systems to an ordinary phone vary from country to country. VOIP service companies provide call rate lists on their web sites.

Because I was able to ditch my phone line rental, and can now get free local and national calls I have probably saved approximately AU $1000 in the first year. This has value added my ADSL broadband system we already pay for.

If you don’t have a broadband Internet connection, and only make a few dollars worth of calls a month on an ordinary phone, it’s not much point setting up one of these systems!

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Categories : Computers

How to get really mobile

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Monday, September 21st, 2009

By Peter Daley

Carry all your files and programs you need in your pocket, and do everything you need on the cheap. Some may see this as free loading, but why spend money on something, when you can use someone else’s legally?

Portableapps are small programs designed to work directly from a flash drive and are 100% free to use, copy and share. All you need is a half decent flash drive/memory stick that’s big enough to hold all the files you need. The faster the flash drive the better. All flash drives are not made equal. Corsair make a GT series of Voyager flash drives, which are very fast and robust. OK, if you’re slumming it, any flash drive will do. Once you’ve decided on which flash drive to use go to

http://www.portableapps.com

Here you can download a broad selection of useful applications that are designed to work directly from a flash drive, CD or external drive. Most of you will probably want the Firefox web browser, Thunderbird email program, Clamwin anti-virus program and OpenOffice or Abiword word processor. This selection of programs will do most of what the average computer user would need.

If you just need a good word processor, and don’t need an Office suite, you will find portableapps Abiword a fine choice. It will save room on the flash drive, because it is much smaller than OpenOffice, plus in it’s settings you can set it to compress all the documents you create.

Once you have selected and loaded all the Portableapps you want, you can now free load to your hearts content. So when you are travelling, (no more problems with airport security), or are visiting friends, you just plug the flash drive into their Internet connected computer, and run Portableapps programs from the flash drive. It works independently so as you move from computer to computer, all your emails, addresses, bookmarks, documents, photos, music and preferences, are stored and run directly from the flash drive.

(Note: Always virus check any files you bring across from the host computer with your up to date Portableapps Clamwin anti-virus. You don’t know what the host computer has caught.)

Be careful and make sure you don’t keep any sensitive info on the drive unless the drive provides you with a good security system. Some Flash drives have password protection and encryptions facilities, most don’t. Small and portable, like a mobile phone, means you can put it down and walk off and forget it. A good idea is to physically put your phone number on it, but no other contact details, in case you mislay it.

For portability you can alternatively use a mini Linux Distro loaded onto a flash drive. Here are a couple, and there are many more.

http://www.mandriva.com

http://damnsmalllinux.org

You can get all of the Portableapps programs, plus more, with one of these mini Linux distros. Boot (Start) the computer from the Linux flash drive, and this will keep your computer session completely separated from the hosts computer, which may have malicious content on it. Once you have finished and shut down the host computer, your flash drive is clean from possible cross infection. More skills are involved in using a USB Bootable Linux drive, but it is definitely safer. I have a single flash drive that works both systems. I can start the computer as a Linux session, or opt to use the Portableapps session.

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site or at SCCC activities, without further research. Views expressed in the pages, images, or tutorials on the SCCC Inc., web site or presented at venues, maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers or presenters, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computers

Doing it tough! Here is how to save money, and stay productive

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Monday, September 21st, 2009

By Peter Daley

I know there are a lot of you out there doing it tough, so here is a great way to save money and be productive at the same time. Use these free excellent software program recommendations. They cover just about anything the average person would want to do with a computer. They are constantly updated, so you don’t need to shell out money to purchase upgrades, just download the latest version, (always use stable releases)! All these programs can be installed on as many computers as you like.

I will use these indicators to show which operating system (OS) they will work on. Windows (W) Linux (L) or Apple (A) computers

Word processing and desktop publishing

Scribus, is a powerful free desktop publishing tool for creating anything, from that family recipe to that best selling novel, or the newsletter about the end of the world as we know it. It is also powerful enough to create your own newspaper empire. Don’t tell the editor I told you this Professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation are supported. (L) (A) (W)

OpenOffice, is also very good for desktop publishing. It is also a very sophisticated office suite that can be used for word processing, creating spreadsheets and presentations, plus lots more. If you can’t afford Microsoft office, you can use this as a viable alternative. It also has some nifty ability to turn any document instantly into a Portable Document Format (PDF) document. You know, the one you usually open with Adobe Reader. With the document you want to convert open in OpenOffice, just push the Red and white “Export Directly as PDF” button in the OpenOffice button bar. This blog, and the Sunshine Coast Computer Club Inc., monthly magazine are created in OpenOffice.

You can also create, open or edit, Excel Spreadsheets, or Word documents in OpenOffice. Most students could use it for school work. If they need to save that document or spreadsheet as a word .doc or Excel .xls type, go to the OpenOffice menu item “File/Save As” and in the “Save as” box that pops up, give the doc a name and then select “File Type”. Then in the drop down selection box choose Microsoft 97/2000/XP/. This means it will be saved as a .doc or . xls file type, and be able to be opened as a Microsoft word document or Excel spreadsheet, on any computer. Lots of free online tutorials on OpenOffice are available. (L) (A) (W)

Abiword, if you only need an easy to use powerful word processor with lots of features, Abiword is lean and mean. It will open in a flash, even on a old dinosaur. (An old dinosaur in computer terms is any computer older than 5 years, or 3 years, depending on your viewpoint.) It can also save documents in a Microsoft Word format, plus many other types. (L) (A) (W)

Graphics and Photo touch up

Picasa, Find, edit and share photo’s easily with this very good free photographic organiser and graphics tool, provided by Google. It is probably better than a lot of the software provided with that camera you purchased.

Irfanview, has been one of my favourite graphic tools over the years. Very fast, intuitive and easy to use. You can even batch convert or resize lots of pictures instantly or create a slide show! It is so good I could have written a blog just on it. I should have, damn it, too late. Now I have to think of other great free programs to write about! (W) (L) (It will work in Linux if you have WINE installed.)

The Gimp a professional graphics program. It is as powerful as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, not quite as intuitive maybe. Lots of drawing and paint features as well as photo touch up tools. Gimp lets you get into the real serious graphics stuff. Lots of help built in, plus a free help book and forums online. (L) (A) (W)

InkScape, this is a powerful free vector graphics program supporting many advanced SVG features, like markers, clones, alpha blending, etc. This means you can scale your drawing to any size that your printer is capable of printing. The side of a sky scraper if you wanted, without resizing distortions. Imagine what a graffiti artist could do with this. (L) (A) (W)

Photostory, Yes this is a great free program provide by Microsoft for creating computer, DVD, or TV photo presentations / slide shows. Easy and intuitive to use, and you can add music, narration, motion, plus more, to your photo multimedia presentation. It is provided free for owners of genuine legal versions of Windows XP. (W) XP only

Click on the following links to read my previous blogs on recommended free security programs,

Firewalls,

Anti-virus ,

and

Spy-ware removal programs.

If you make use of one of the programs listed here, think about sending a thank you email, or make a small donation to the development teams of these great programs. It would be nice for them to know their efforts are appreciated.

So to the nay sayer’s out there, see, I can write something positive about modern technology

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site or at SCCC activities, without further research. Views expressed in the pages, images, or tutorials on the SCCC Inc., web site or presented at venues, maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers or presenters, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computers

Get a good secure firewall!

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Friday, September 18th, 2009

By Peter Daley

Get a good secure firewall on your Windows computer for free. For those who have no idea what a firewall is, it is like having a security guard at the entrance to a building, monitoring who is coming and going. The guard stops those entering the building who he sees as suspicious or dangerous, and prevents those leaving the building who may have broken in and be trying to steal something. A computer firewall basically a security guard for your computer.

Everyone, no matter what OS (Operating System) they are using, Windows, Linux or Apple, should be using a good secure firewall. Windows, from XP onwards, has the Windows firewall built into the OS. The stats suggest that the average Windows machine on the Internet without a firewall is hacked within minutes.

One of the club members recently sent me information about Virux, a new virus which is spreading through Windows computers, although mainly in north America at the moment. The interesting thing about this one is that it is reportedly bypassing the Windows in built firewall. You can greatly improve your Windows security by turning off the Windows Firewall, and using a free or commercial firewall instead. There are lots out there. The question is which one to use?

Here are two free excellently rated firewalls. Pick one and install it.

Comodo (If you are still using a dial up Internet connection I suggest you use Armor. I have found dial up problems when using Comodo on some systems.)

Armor

Because of the changing security environment, just like anti-virus software, the firewall has to be constantly updated and improved to protect you from the latest security issues. A lot of firewalls that are free or commercial are useless, and are not giving you any protection. Even though I recommend these two at present, their effectiveness can change with time. So I suggest you check the Matousec site to see where your firewall stands in the independent firewall testing ratings from time to time. (On the Matousec rating page look at the product rating mixed results list for the largest comparision of firewall products.)This is to make sure your firewall is actually effective against the latest threats. Take note of the version that is being rated. You may see the same firewall rated poor or excellent in different places in the rating lists. It is the version that is important, make sure you get the best rated version. Purchased versions of the firewalls will often give you extra features over the free version, and with some deals support you if you are having difficulties, or issues using the product.

If you are using one of the popular security suites which combine a anti-virus , anti-spyware and firewall in one product, and have found it rated a useless in the Matousec ratings list, then turn of the firewall feature in your security suite, and install one of the recommended firewall programs. You can’t have multiple firewalls running on your computer at the same time. Not only may they clash, they will drive you crazy with all the questions they will ask! Yes, modern Windows firewalls are constantly asking you questions, and more questions, on whether something should be, or not be allowed to change something on you computer. There is a firewall learning period. After it has been trained on what is safe, or not it will not ask as many questions. There are no easy answers to some of these questions.

These are the best general rules I can give you to deal with all those firewall questions.

If you are installing, un-installing or updating a software that has been virus checked or you know is safe, Allow / Remember it in the firewall pop up when asked. In Comodo, it will give you the option to select “Treat this as an Installer / Updater.” Select this option if the program fits the above program profile. If in doubt, temporarily block the program in the firewall pop up options box and do a search engine search, Google / Yahoo etc., to see if it is malicious. (To temporarily block the program in the firewall, select Block in the firewall pop up options box plus un-tick the Remember / Permanent option until you find out if it is malicious or not.)

Good luck in the present security environment, you need it in my opinion, using a Linux or Apple computer on the Internet, is a much more peaceful experience at present.

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site or at SCCC activities, without further research. Views expressed in the pages, images, or tutorials on the SCCC Inc., web site or presented at venues, maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers or presenters, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computer Security, Computers

Free Computer Tutorial “The Principles By Which All Software Works”

By Jayleb · Comments (0)

Saturday, August 25th, 2007

The Principles By Which All Software Works

If you are very new to computers we recommend starting with The Principles By Which All Software Works. This tutorial touches on the important basics of how a basic word processing program works. Word processing programs are used to write letters and documents. By completing this tutorial you will start to develop a basic understanding of the principles by which all software works on any computer. All computer programs have the same principles of operation, whether you use Windows, Linux, or an Apple Mac computer.

This downloadable printable file is in a portable document format (PDF), so you can have it in your hands as you try it. You will need Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader installed on your computer to view and print it. Both are free programs. Most of you will already have one of these PDF readers on your computer. Download the file, and see if you can open it by double left mouse clicking on it. If it does not open then download one of the readers above, and install it. Then try opening the file again.

Price: FREE

The Principles By Which All Software Works

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site or at SCCC activities, without further research. Views expressed in the pages, images, or tutorials on the SCCC Inc., web site or presented at venues, maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers or presenters, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computers

Search Tips by Peter Daley

By Peter Daley · Comments (0)

Monday, June 18th, 2007

Everone appears to have become Googlized when it comes to Internet searching. OK, Google is a great search engine, but there are lots of other great search engine out there in cyberspace! No single search engine can track all the info on the internet. It is just too vast with millions of new pages of information being added every day, to the billions that are already there.

Just because you can’t find it on Google, doesn’t mean it’s not out there. There are lots of other very good search engines you can try. Here is an extensive list of good alternative search engines to try, it is by no means a complete list of all the best that are out there. Bookmark them in your browser once they are opened, or simply bookmark this site which I have created which lists them all on one page. http://www.ozemail.com.au/~vital1/lstlinks.htm

If you are looking for Australian information try one of these.

Web Wombat. ……. ANZWERS ……. OzSearch ……. Sensis, ……. Mooter, ……

Here are some excellent International search engines, be aware that you can also search Internationally through the Australian search engines above.

All The Web, ……. Alta Vista ……. Hotbot. ……. Lycos, ……. Excite ……. Yahoo. ……. Go.com. ……. Looksmart ……. Teoma ……. NBCi ……. Google ……. Northern Light ……. Starting Point. ……. Einet Galaxy. ……. LinkMaster ……. Jump City

Here is a list of meta search engines. A meta search engine is not strickly a search engine in itself, it allows you to submit a search query to half a dozen search engines all at once and bring back a list of their first 20 to 100 results. (It allows you to do searches through lots of search engines all at once.)

Search66 …….Dog Pile ……. Webcrawler. ……. Metasearch, ……. Multicrawl,

You will also find specialized search engines for specialized subjects, or for finding people’s email addresses or business contacts.

Yahoo People Search, international e-mail addressses, special offers, Web Direct! sm, find people World Wide Yellow Pages. or AnyWho,

Why not try going to a search engine and typing “search engine”, (use the quotes it tells the search engine that you are looking for the phrase search engine.) You will be supprised just how many are out there. Country specific search engines can be an excellent way to find specific country related information, like tourist information, hotel booking info, or plane or bus travel information. Break the mold, be adventurous, try something different.

Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site or at SCCC activities, without further research. Views expressed in the pages, images, or tutorials on the SCCC Inc., web site or presented at venues, maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers or presenters, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.

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Categories : Computer Tutorials, Computers

Search Tips Part 1, by Jay Leboutillier

By Jayleb · Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

When you are new to computers and the internet, finding what you are looking for amongst the billions of web pages on the world wide web can be difficult, time consuming and frustrating. That is until you learn a few good search tips. This months search tips aims to help you understand more about searching the world wide web and how you can quickly locate the information, resources and services you are looking for using what is known as a search engine.

There are many search engines you can use to search for what you are looking for on the world wide web. The most well known search engines are Google, MSN, Yahoo and AOL. There are also hundreds of smaller speciality search engines.

If you cannot find what you are looking for in one search engine you may find it by using a different search engine. This is because none of the search engines alone cover every sinlge webpage that is available on the world wide web.

For the next few months we will focus on the most well known search engines Google, MSN, Yahoo and AOL because they do cover most of what can be found on the world wide web. This month we will start by learning about Google.

To locate the Google search engine you type the following web address into the address bar of you Internet browser. http://www.google.com.au

Your Internet browser is also known as the Icon on your desk top with Mozilla written under it, or the blue E Icon on your desk top that has Internet Explorer written under it.

I recommend using the Mozilla Internet browser because it is less vunerable to virus and spyware activity. If you do not have the free Mozilla Internet browser installed you can visit the club drop in centers for more information and support.

Once you have typed in Google’s address you will be directed to their main search enquiry page. You will need to click in the search box under the Google Australia colour heading to enable you to type in what you are looking for. This is known as typing a search term, phrase or search keyword.

When searching for any information, service or product it is best to use a search phrase. An example of a searm term or keyword that would be commonly used when searching for homes for sale on the Sunshine Coast would be Real Estate. Now an example of a search phrase that would be commonly used would be Sunshine Coast Real Estate.

If you had used the first search keyword Real Estate than you would have been displayed results from all over Australia, plus you would get served results for Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Brokers, Real Estate Loans etc. The more specific you can be the more specific the results will be. By using a search phrase containing many keywords that are relevant to what you are looking for, you will be served more specific results. Sunshine Coast Real Estate used as a search phrase will return more specific results but still this phrase will also serve some results we are not looking for.

Note: If you want to see results from Australia make sure to select pages from Australia in the space provider below the Google search box. Please be aware that this does not always mean you will get pages from Australia. If there no pages available from Australia under your selected search term then pages from the USA will be displayed instead.

Next month we will look at search tips to fine tune our search results in Google further. Links to the other search engines mentioned in this article are, http://www.yahoo.com.au http://www.aol.com.au http://www.msn.com

Jay Leboutillier is a web site designer and search engine marketing specialist. His web site address is

http://www.myeasyfind.com

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Categories : Computers

Archive for Computers

Hot Jewelry

Hacking, the good, the bad and the ugly

Freedom and Privacy being eroded by Technology!

The true cost of modern technology

Investor Beware

Gld ETF Warning, Tungsten Filled Fake Gold Bars :: The Market …

Technologly, freedom and destiny!

Net phones (VOIP), get better and can save you a lot of money?

How to get really mobile

Doing it tough! Here is how to save money, and stay productive

Get a good secure firewall!

Free Computer Tutorial “The Principles By Which All Software Works”

Search Tips by Peter Daley

Search Tips Part 1, by Jay Leboutillier

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