Which browser?

So many people have asked me this question I think I should reveal all! I have a PC and five browsers installed and ready to go - IE8, Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari for windows. And the winner is - Safari. Thats what I use all day and everyday. Why? Its fast and its a fortress against viruses. As for antivirus? I have three of the best and latest antivirus, antispyware and antimalware - all running together. And best of all - I have nothing of importance stored on the computer I use for the Internet. How boring for ye who hack! 

No more trips to the bank. Scan in your cheques.

Few people are aware of the fact that a cheque can even be written on a piece of paper, provided you write in all the information required to debit your account and use the correct wording. However, through years of conditioning, almost all of us dont risk it and turn to the bank issued cheque book when we need to write a cheque - which in itself is very rare these days, what with the massive use of credit and debit cards. 

However, when you do receive a check, be it written from a traditional cheque book or a page from Aunt Janes recipe notebook, one thing we all have to do to cash it or deposit it is make a trip to the bank. Now that may not be necessary. Banks are planning on letting customers scan in their cheques from wherever they are and use internet online banking to deposit them. They are still working out all the "how to prevent fraud" details before putting out the service on a mass scale. 

My pets name is yqsz3r221xcfrdmq

Be it a fun website or your email address or the bank, now you have the unavoidable security question from time to time. But ever since a famous celeb's Twitter account was broken into because she had written in the real name of her pet for her security question, people are frantically searching around for something different to defeat the hackers. 

The above should do nicely I think. Even the most dedicated hacker wont be able to get around it. The problem is how am I ever going to remember it?

Laptop Losses!

I had to read it again just to make sure I understood.  In the US, where they keep accurate statistics, around 1200 laptops go missing at Los Angeles International Airport each week. And if you add it all up then some 624,000 laptops go missing or are lost at airports in the US each year. Thats a staggering figure. Not all are stolen. Many are forgotten while going through security checks. If you have an identity tag pasted on your laptop then you will be paged to come get it - provided you even remember you left it behind. There are so many hassled and spaced out travellers who dont even register that the laptop is gone or their name is be being paged.  

The other factor is just plain and simple theft. While you wait for your flight and read that newspaper somebody has walked off with your laptop bag. But help is on the way. There are already laptop recovery software available, and though it might set you back about a hundred dollars, you can track your laptop's whereabouts with it. It works. It transmits information to a central tracking unit or to yourself and you can take it from there. Some even click a picture of the thief and send it to you the next time he/she connects to the internet. If that isnt cool I dont know what is!

Bye Bye AC adaptors

Tired of carry about the AC adapter brick for your laptop? And forgetting it in hotel rooms? Soon it will be a thing of the past. The adapter part will be incorporated in the laptop (with no significant addition in the weight) and all you will need is a normal extension cord. Fujitsu is leading the way with the tech to make this happen. Cant wait to reduce the number of accessories in my travel bag. 

His and Her chargers

A tangle of chargers in your travel bag might be a thing of the past. Starting next year all the major cell phone companies will have one standardized charger for their phones. However, if you want to charge all mobiles in your possession in a hurry then no point in carrying just the one charger and, say, three mobiles. You will still end up carrying that tangle of chargers to get the job done.  What we really need is the five minute charger which packs a punch quickly. Anybody listening?