PCCC Registration Fall 2011

For all my PCCC students - I hope you have registered at this point, but if you have not, it's okay. Registration is going on right now. Of course, in the interest of getting people registered, they generally have a large gym registration in Paterson. If you are a student with a major, you can request to see someone specifically. I generally can only give very basic advice to Criminal Justice majors, and I am sure the Criminal Justice department doesn't know the IT program as well as I do. The Center for Student Success also has a number of qualified people, but there is no way anyone could know every nuance to every single program the college offers, let alone what schools our programs transfer to, etc.

If anyone in the IT or Computer Science majors saw someone outside of the major for registration, you can always come see any of the faculty members in-person. I personally will be at the Wanaque campus from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Monday the 29th, and again at the Wanaque campus on Wednesday the 31st from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Our other faculty members (Professors Atshan, Bamkole, Siegel, and Yip) will be in the gym in Paterson at various times, so you could go in and see one of them.

I'd say it is always better to ask if you are unsure, rather than end up stuck with a schedule that holds you back.

Google and Motorola

I love technology, in part because there is more drama than an episode of Mad Men.

 Google bought Motorola Mobility, who makes a number of mobile handsets. Motorola has been involved in a number of technology areas for a number of years. In 2000 or so, I had a Motorola pager. They've obviously graduated to smart phones by this point.

The company also makes processors and tablets. As a matter of fact, for many years, the Motorola processors were the only processors found in Apple computers. They've since gone to the same processor as you find in a PC.

The interesting part here is that Google now enters the mobile market full force. Will Microsoft feel the need to respond? Will Google's new Motorola products overtake Apple? Is Google trying to take over the world? Time shall tell.


Link to story

RIP Google Toolbar?

I hate filling out forms on the Internet. For a while, I was using a tool called Roboform to assist me with it. The problem with Roboform was that there was a trial version, but to use the full version, you had to pay.

Google eventually introduced a form assistant in their Google Toolbar program, and I downloaded and installed it. I've been using the Google Toolbar for a while; it did what I needed, and though not as full-featured as the Roboform tool, it is free.

Firefox 5 recently came out, and when I upgraded, I got the warning that some of my add-ons were not compatible. Among them was the Google Toolbar. I figured Google would figure it out and send out updates eventually.

It turns out Google, surprisingly, has decided to no longer support the Toolbar in Firefox according to Google Toolbar's blog. This is disappointing for me, if for no other reason than I don't like change when I am used to something.

I've downloaded AutoFill Forms for the moment, and it seems to be working out. It is free, relatively unannoying, and functional. If you are looking for a replacement, or do not have a tool to fill out forms automatically, I would recommend trying this tool. There are of course other options available, but this works nicely for me.

I am just surprised because Google generally seems to be on the same page as Firefox. RIP Google Toolbar, at least on my computer.

Book Update and Soliciting Help

One of the portions of my book involves me demonstrating a fake business on Facebook, and showing how you can set up a Facebook Page for a business. I set up a fake spa on Facebook, and in order to create a shorter Web site address, I need 25 people to "Like" it. I am hoping I could ask for help. I would need for people to first click the link below, and then click on "Like".

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Moon-Spa/247383158624759

My goal is about 16,000 words, and I am at 13,876 as of this exact moment. I haven't written out the step by step description of the demonstrations, which I figure is probably another 1,000 words. There are very few illustrations and pictures in it, but it is at almost 55 pages double spaced. In other words, it is close. Now comes the proof reading and copy editing and all that. It has been a good experience thus far, though quite honestly a little intimidating at points.


I am posting this to my blog because I know I have former students who may not be friends with me on Facebook who may be able to help out.