Free Stuff: Shredder at Staples

Staples has this shredder this week for free after rebate.

You pay $9.99 and fill out the Staples rebate (which can be done online), and you get $10 back.

This must be done in stores, but you should be able to go in to stores and ask for a ID Armor 4-sheet Diamond-Cut Shredder (SKU #643145).

Not bad for a home user, especially at that price!

Toolbar Madness!!

Ever wonder how many toolbars someone could get at the top of their screen in Internet Explorer? Ever wonder what happens if you always click on "Yes" when it asks if you want to install things? Well, this site has the answer. The guy running the site tested the new Internet Explorer and tried to see how it protected a user who knows little about computing.

The screen looks something like this:


Funny little article about how a new user could really be overwhelmed!

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Resume Ignored

Came across this article on the Internet. It's an article about some of the things you should not do when applying for a job, specifically about things you should NOT do when writing a resume.
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=859

Internet Explorer 7. Finally.

Microsoft has (finally) released their new version of Internet Explorer, version 7.

CNN Story here!

...

and

...

the first bug in it has already been discovered:

Story of the first bug found here.

Be the first kid on your block to have it by downloading it here!

virusPod

Apple has apparently shipped video iPods recently that were infected with a virus! Though somewhere around 1% of them were infected with a virus, that is still a lot of products to be sending out infected.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20607677%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

Shockingly enough (and I say that sarcastically), Apple and Microsoft exchanged nasty little comments about this, with Apple placing some of the blame on Microsoft and Microsoft blaming Apple.

Free and Legal Copy of Registry Mechanic

Registry Mechanic is a program that will allow you to clean your registry. It removes issues and can really speed up your computer. That said, note this disclaimer:

DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR REGISTRY IF YOU ARE A BEGINNING USER.

Yes, I just typed in all capitals. Very important point there.

You have to sign up here to get a free license key:
http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/free/promo/VNU0306

After doing so, you can download the tool from here:
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2164197/registry-mechanic50
(be patient, everyone on the Internet seems to be trying to download it)

The second Web site has an excellent explanation of what the tool does:
The Registry on a new PC is compact, efficient, containing only the entries required to run your installed applications. And that's great, but this happy state of affairs doesn't last long. As you add and remove other programs, so orphaned entries are left behind, with the result that the Registry just keeps getting larger. Over time it'll consume more RAM, and take a little longer to locate Registry values, slowing your PC down.

Recommended for more advanced CIS 101 students and students beyond, but make sure to set a System Restore point first. If you don't know what System Restore point is, it's probably not a good idea to download this.

Also - once you get the tool, run a deep scan on your registry, fix the problems, and then let it compact it. Even in the 45 days or so since I last ran the tool, I had 200+ errors in my registry!

Free Listing at Ebay

Quite timely information for my CIS 101 students, as we have been discussing Ebay.com and the other types of E-commerce.

Ebay (a web site that allows you to sell your stuff online directly to other consumers in an auction format) typically charges a small fee for listing items. If you've never sold anything on the site and want to try, Ebay is giving people who have never listed an item the chance to sell their first three items without charging a listing fee.

Starting October 17, 2006 between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Tuesday, October 17, 2006) and ending 23:59:59 PT on Saturday, October 21, 2006 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Any eBay member who has never listed any item for sale on eBay. This offer is for first-time sellers only. Only your first three listings will be eligible.

http://pages.ebay.com/promo/firstlist06/

Telemarketers

The government created a site a few years ago to allow you to "opt-out" of telemarketing telephone calls. If you visit the following free web site and put in your phone numbers, you will stop receiving most annoying telemarketing calls within a month. Highly recommended, and worth the five minute visit:

http://www.donotcall.gov

Registering your number will remove you from calling lists for five years!

Friday the 13th...

Happy Friday the 13th!

Did you know:

Fear of the number 13 is called Triskaidekaphobia

Fear of Friday the 13th is called either paraskavedekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia

They've got a long word for everything, don't they?

Free after Rebate Stuff at Staples this week

Staples has the following items free after rebate this week. For those of you in need of a Virus Scanner or Firewall, this is a good week to get one for free!

(yes, the McAfee ones have two rebate checks)

ATS 2.4Ghz cordless phone (Item #653119)
$19.99 (sale price) - $20 rebate = Free

McAfee Internet Security 2007 (Item #656947)
$59.99 (sale price) - $20 rebate - $40 easy rebate = Free

McAfee Virus Scan Plus 2007 (Item #656944)
$34.99 - $10 rebate - $25 rebate = FREE

Sterling 56K V.92 internal softmodem (Item #487054)
$19.98 - $20 rebate = Free

Zenith/Phillips universal remote (Item #508162)
$9.99 - $10 rebate = Free

Peachtree Pro Accounting 2007 (Item #645797)
$139.99 - $140 mir = FREE

View the Entire Local Ad

New Scholarships!

Two more scholarships! These ones have very few requirements:

---

The Frank O'Neill Memorial Scholarship is available to students who are attending college or other post-secondary education program in the 2006 - 2007 academic year. Two (2) $1500 scholarship(s) per year will be awarded.

To be eligible, students must submit an essay of fewer than 750-words on how one instance of peer pressure has made a positive or negative impact on your life and if given the chance, would you change this instance.

There is no GPA requirement and international students are encouraged to apply.

Students must fill out an online form along with their essay at http://www.easyaid.com/scholarship_form_online.html

The deadline for applying is: December 31, 2006.

---

The Patricia M. McNamara Memorial Scholarship is available to students attending college or will be attending college within a year of the award deadline. One scholarship will be awarded in the amount of $2500.

Students must submit an essay on the following topic: "In 1000 words or less and in your own words, define diversity including an experience in which diversity has effected your life in a positive or negative impact."

Students must fill out an online form with their essay at http://www.patricias-scholarship.org/apply.html

There is no GPA requirement and international students are encouraged to apply.

The deadline for applying is December 31, 2006.

Book Deferments

We've been asked to tell students that the last day they will be able to use book deferments to purchase textbooks and/or other materials is this Friday, October 13.

If you have a book deferment, use it now! The bookstore things you can buy other than books (including USB drives!).

Windows Vista RC2

The latest test build of Windows Vista (the replacement for Windows XP) is available for download for free at the following site:

http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm

Teleportation Breakthrough?!

We've seen teleportation in all sorts of shows, from Star Trek to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Some British scientists have made a breakthrough in this field!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/10/04/teleportation.reut/

Gas Prices

I for one am happy to see the prices of gas fall lately. Even with that, there is a lot of variation in the prices. One gas station by my apartment has regular for $2.59 a gallon, while others I pass are as much as 40 cents lower per gallon! In other words, shopping around provides many advantages.

There is a web site that allows you to check gas prices in your area:

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Select New Jersey, and you will be able to search by area for the highest and the lowest gas prices. How do they know? Well, people report them. There is a community of folks out there who take the time to contribute information to the site.

As of now, the lowest price in the state is $1.90 a gallon in Pleasantville (which is sadly an hour south of here), and the highest is $2.99 in Summit. That's a larger gap than I expected, really, but it does help my point. Great site to add to your bookmarks!

Scholarship Available!

The General Motors Minority Dealers Association Scholarship Program provides scholarships each year to help deserving ethnic minority college students pursue their educational dreams.

Applicants are chosen based upon their academic excellence (3.0 GPA) , volunteer and work experience, career aspirations and the strength of a personal statement.

Interested students can obtain an application for the 2006 - 2007 scholarship program at http://www.gmmda.org/main.cfm?location=15

Application deadline is November 17, 2006.

Database Stuff: SQL Syntax

I've always felt that once you understand the logic behind programming, the syntax is the easy part. For example, as someone who developed myself as a programmer, I was able to pick up languages like Perl and Ada even though I never took a class in either language. One of the best tools you can get in a case like this is a quick reference guide (for example, I always had this site bookmarked for Perl).

Learning SQL is a little different than any programming language, but there are quite a few web sites that help with the syntax. Here is a web site that has a quick list of the syntax for the SQL language. Also notice on the left are short tutorials on each of the commands.

Biometric devices

There are all sorts of methods of authentication (making sure someone is who they say they are). Passwords are one way. The problem there is that people usually a) choose something basic or b) choose something complex and then write it down.

I think in the future that you may see more biometric (body measurement) devices. These types of devices go back to the 1930's, believe it or not.

Here's a site with information on all sorts of biometric devices. Some look rather strange (measuring the time spacing of typed words??):
http://ctl.ncsc.dni.us/biomet%20web/BMIndividuals.html