Computer viruses are scary. If an attacker gets control of your computer, they can snoop through your files, steal your sensitive information, and even use your computer’s webcam and microphone to spy on you. But just because there are scary things on the Internet, doesn’t mean that we should stay off of the Internet. Instead, practice safe habits such as installing virus protection. Virus protection will not protect you against all attacks, but it may stop the most common ones. It also helps to keep your software up to date. Software updates close security holes. By installing updates from software providers, you will have a stronger system. Perhaps the most important thing that you can do is to be smart about how you browse. Don’t click on suspicious links and don’t open attached files unless you are expecting them. The Internet can be a dangerous place, but you’ll be safer if you take a few precautions. Happy browsing!

I've noticed that a lot of people are confused about mobile data and Wifi. Some people think that they’re the same thing. Sure, both mobile data and Wifi allow you to connect to the internet, but there are some important differences between them. Mobile data is provided by the mobile phone company while Wifi is comes through cable or phone lines. Mobile data gives you internet access anywhere that your phone can get a signal, but you can only get Wifi access when you are near a router. Wifi is usually faster than mobile data too, but perhaps the most important difference is the amount that you can use. Customers are usually given an nearly unlimited amount of Wifi data, like an all-you-can-eat buffet. On the other hand, mobile data is often sold in limited portions, like an expensive restaurant. It is important to know which you are using so that you aren’t charged hefty fees for going over your mobile data plan limits.

Looking around our society nowadays, it's hard to imagine a time when we weren't surrounded by computers, but it really wasn't that long ago. In 1977 a mere 48 thousand personal computers were sold. Fast forward to 2001 and over 125 million were sold. By 2002 over one billion personal computers had been sold worldwide. The first one billion computers took 25 years to sell. Five years later in 2007, another one billion computers had been sold. The second billion sold happened five times faster than the first! In 2011, global computer sales topped 355 million. This data shows us that computer usage is only accelerating. If you think that you are surrounded by computers now, just wait a few years. You haven't seen anything yet.

Buying a computer can be a frightening and overwhelming task, but don't let that prevent you from getting the right one. The first thing that you have to do is figure out which one you want. Start by researching on the internet: read reviews and compare features. Decide what's important to you and how much you are willing to pay. Once you have found the right computer, it is time to compare prices. Search by the model number of the computer. Check prices from at least three websites before you make your purchase, and don't forget to factor in the cost of shipping and handling. Also Google the name of the website on which you are planning to buy the computer and read reviews to make sure that they are reputable before placing your order. If it looks good, enter your information, await your shipment, and enjoy your new computer!

More and more people these days are buying tablets instead of personal computers. Each has advantages over the other. If you have to write a paper, build a website, or do a lot of computer work, you will probably want to use a personal computer since it will have a full size keyboard. Tablets also have keyboards, but they are not as comfortable to use for long periods of time since they are smaller. If you are just doing some casual internet browsing, social networking, or messaging, you may just want to use a tablet. Tablets are smaller and more portable than personal computers. That means that you can use your tablet while you are lying on the couch, on vacation, or in a car. Personal computers need to be plugged in to work while tablets have batteries that allow them to run for a long time without connecting to an outlet. There is a right time to use each of these devices. I want both.

Working on a computer may be easier and safer than working in a mine, but it doesn’t come without risks. Using a computer for a long time can lead to poor eyesight, muscle loosening, back pain, and injuries to the hands and wrists. If you find yourself working or playing on a computer quite regularly, take a few steps to prevent these problems and you’ll thank yourself later. When you are computing for a long time, take frequent breaks. Get up and walk around every once and while. Exercise a little bit. Take your eyes off of the computer screen. Stretch your hands and wrists. Straighten your back. It can be hard to pull yourself away from your computer once you get into a zone, but your body will thank you later if you do. Make your health a priority and don’t worry so much about what’s happening on that little screen.

Being a clown isn’t all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or are bucked off of bulls at riding competitions, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention. In this way rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so protect the rider. So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business.

The wolverine, a medium sized mammal weighing no more than 50 lbs., has earned its reputation for ferocity with its documented ability to kill prey many times its size. The reason why wolverines have so many conflicts with other animals (including wolves, cougars, and even bears) is probably because of the wolverine’s preferred hunting style. Rather than chasing down or tricking its prey like most hunters, the wolverine prefers to take its meals directly from other hunters. So while a polar bear or a lone wolf might be enjoying a hard earned carcass, a hungry wolverine may try to take his lunch. This keeps the wolverine in plenty of fights.

Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a gym teacher at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He wanted a vigorous game that would keep his students moving. After rejecting a few other ideas because they were too rough or not suited for the walled-in gym, Naismith wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith’s students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn’t a part of the original game, and it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed, but this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?

What’s that humming sound? Could it be hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight? Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds. Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern. This allows the hummingbird to hover in position, fly upside down, and move about very rapidly. And while other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying, and work their ways up to their top speeds, the hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously. After you’ve seen a hummingbird in flight, it’s unlikely that you’ll mistake them for another bird.

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Remember, if something is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly. That said, the key to making perfect cookies is merely a matter of preparation and precision. To begin with, read your cookie recipe thoroughly before baking. Make sure that you have all of the necessary ingredients before you continue. Next, use good tools and utensils. Sometimes, the craftsperson is only as good as his or her tools. By using good tools you can minimize mistakes and improve the quality of your product. Lastly, you should use top quality ingredients. Unlike in the fairytales, you can’t turn lead into gold. If you use poor quality materials, you’ll create an inferior product. So, to make perfect cookies you should use the highest quality materials available. Bon apatite!

The term “machine gun” is commonly applied to any gun that is designed to fire repeatedly and in rapid succession for as long as the trigger is held down. During the course of warfare, the trigger of some machine guns may be held down almost continuously for hours to create suppressant fire (rounds fired not necessarily to kill an enemy, but to prevent them from attacking). All of this firing can generate a lot of heat, which may cause the weapon to overheat and malfunction. But this situation has been addressed in a number of ways. For one, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, which allows air to cool the breach between bursts of fire. Additionally, some machine guns have removable barrels, which allow hot barrels to be replaced. And some advanced machine guns even have sophisticated barrel cooling systems, which maintain a functional heat level within the weapon. As you might have concluded, a lot of brain power has gone into keeping those guns firing.

What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut? A Robonaut! Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts. Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed to the public. Robonaut B may have featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs, but scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut. In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public. Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut. An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011. Robonaut functioned exactly as designed.

Automation is the use of machines to reduce the need for human labor. In other words automation is when jobs done by people become jobs done by robots. Automation can be a good thing. Because of automation, clothing, cars, and other manufactured products are available at good prices and in large supply. But automation can also be a bad thing. Because of automation, there are over 700,000 robots in America alone that do jobs once performed by humans. The way of automation may not be best for humanity, but it is the course we are taking.

From airplanes to forklifts, hydraulic power is the strength behind many amazing technologies that affect our daily lives, even the breaks on your school bus, but how do they work? First, fluid is rapidly released into a chamber through a valve. As the fluid collect, the valve is slammed shut which causes a pressure spike. Because the chamber is sealed, the pressure has nowhere to go. The hydraulic mechanism channels the pressure and provides great power. And that’s how, with the help of hydraulics, Grandma can stop a car with one foot.

Many people use the words cyborg and android interchangeably when, in fact, they have different meanings. Both terms refer to beings powered by robotics, but an android is powered entirely by robots. Though androids are completely mechanical, they are designed to look like humans. They may have synthetic skin, hair, and other features, but no human organs. On the other hand, cyborgs are part human and part machine. They may have robotic hands, legs, or eyes, but all cyborgs have surgically implanted technologies that enhance their abilities.

It is widely acknowledged fact that machines are stronger than people, but is it possible for them to become smarter than us too? Some scientists fear that it is, or so says the theory of technological singularity. In a nut shell, the theory of technological singularity says that when a computer becomes capable of improving its own capabilities, even in just the slightest way, it will go into an infinite loop, getting progressively smarter, which would inevitably lead to machines becoming smarter than people, or so the theory goes. Such gains in available intelligence might lead to huge improvements in science and medicine. Diseases could be cured and so forth. On the other hand, it could lead to the total domination of mankind by robots, which would be bad. I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.

Fellow Members of the Springfield Robotics Club: It has come to my attention that the workshop has been left an absolute mess on at least two separate occasions. Remember, that this is a shared space, so we must clean up behind ourselves after every meeting. It is in the spirit of keeping our club meeting space that we establish this rule: when you take a tool off the rack, put it back. If everyone puts their tools back immediately after they are done using them, there will be minimal mess to clean up, and we won’t get kicked out of the spot. So if you like having a meeting place, put your tools back.