Merry Christmas!

Greetings Everyone,
Just a brief note to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Pray you have an enjoyable time partaking of the season's festivities with family and friends. Please remember those less fortunate and share/help when and wherever possible. Thanks!

AvaByGrace
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Our Condolences

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc., died today at age 56 (1955-2011).  There are numerous reports on this breaking news all over the Internet so I would not attempt to write an article that may not truly represent his life’s accomplishments.

Web Bytes Blog extends our sympathy to the family and friends of Steve Jobs and we would like you to know he will be truly missed not only in the field of technology, but business as a whole.
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Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

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Happy Birthday!

Today, Web Bytes Blog celebrates its 4th birthday. This past year has not been a very productive one due to other commitments and I pray this would improve as we go forward. There are a wonderful array of technological advances being made at this time and I would like to be able to research and write about them here. Again, I implore you to give your input into the type of articles you would like to see published here on Web Bytes Blog.

Thanks again for your continued readership and support.

In His service,
AvaByGrace
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Tid Bit: Hidden

Hidden is tracking software for Apple computers. If stolen, Hidden will show where the computer is and who has it. See an actual occurrence in recent news of a California man who activated the software when his MacBook was stolen. Through the iSight camera, Hidden will take pictures of the thief and the surroundings; it will take snapshots of the thief in action showing what is happening, and use advance tracking to locate the computer anywhere in the world close to the actual location. This is not freeware and the price range from $15 a month on one computer (Basic plan) to $395 a month on 100 computers (Ultimate plan). In addition to the above, the Hidden team will help the owner work with the authorities to recover the stolen computer.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,

AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.

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Google's E-guide To The Web

In light of Google’s stance Wednesday on discontinuing support of older popular browsers for Google Apps, their wonderful E-guide (similar to an illustrated children’s book) released in November 2010 and titled 20 Things I learned About Browsers and the Web, will give insight into the use of modern browsers and their impact on how we view and use the Internet.

Some of the topics covered in this E-guide are:
• What is the Internet
• Cloud Computing
• Web Apps
• HTML5
• Plug ins
• Browser Cookies
• Browser Privacy
• Malware, Phishing and Security Risks
• Open Source and Browsers

As stated in the E-guide, just remember it takes a modern browser to take advantage of most of the Web’s modern features. If we are or are not seasoned user of the Internet, this E-guide has things to offer every user. Try it out and let me know your opinion.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace


You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.

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Google Browser Support for Google Apps

Article first published as Google Browser Support for Google Apps on Technorati.

On Wednesday, Google announced (Gmail Bag) it would soon only support recent versions of popular browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari) for Google Apps. By recent versions, Google would support the current and last versions of that browser as it focuses on new capabilities available to modern browsers through HTML5. This change in discontinuing support for older browsers is schedule to take place on August 1, 2011. On this date, Google will no longer support Firefox 3.5, Internet Explorer 7, and Safari 3. This lost of support will be on a rolling basis (each time a new version is released, Google will start supporting that version and stop supporting the third oldest one).

It behooves users to keep their browsers up-to-date in order to take advantage of all the benefits available with the new capabilities housed in modern browsers. Initially when this change takes place, apps such as Gmail desktop notification for email and chat messages, and Google Calendar may not work properly and eventually would not work at all. So as stated by Venkat Panchapakesan, Vice President of Engineering at Google, “As the world moves more to the web, these new browsers are more than just a modern convenience, they are a necessity for what the future holds.”  Others are taking strides to help users transition to current browsers such as: Microsoft (Internet Explorer 6 Countdown, Apple (Apple – HTML5), and Mozilla (Showcased HTML5 through videos) to name a few. Vendors are looking to the future and embracing HTML5 through their various applications.

HTML5 dominating the Web and putting HTML4 out to pasture is not in the very near future; however, the rate times are changing and technological advances are emerging it does not hurt one to stay abreast of modern technology and have fun doing so.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.

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Today in Computer History

On this day
…1996 – AT&T announced video phone call system, a system which allowed personal computers to make and receive video calls over a standard telephone line.

…2001 – Microsoft released Office XP

In His service,
Avabygrace


References
Computer History Museum

Computer Hope
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Dropbox

is a convenience tool that quite a number of people would not want to be without. It allows you to have access to your files, photos, and videos etc. anywhere via your computers and mobile phones (Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry). It is a downloadable application for the device you will be using it on and makes the data available to you anywhere whether you are or are not online. Every time you update Dropbox, your computers and mobile phones will also be updated making the data current on all devices and totally in sync with each other. The only part of the data that is transferred to your devices is the changed portions.

You can also invite others to share your folders and also to share only specific files. Any changes made will be seen instantaneously, making collaboration on projects and other activities easy and an efficient use of time.

Another benefit of Dropbox is that if there is a problem with your hard dive, the data is availability for restoration in a snap. This is like having your personal backup system for the information you entrust to Dropbox. On this note, the information is protected through the use of encrypted channels (SSL – Secure Sockets Layer) for transmitting the data and all files stored are encrypted with AES-256 (Advance Encryption Standard). Dropbox also keeps 30 days of undo history on all your files even if they are deleted from your hard drive, giving an added recovery feature if warranted within the time frame.

Best of all, Dropbox is free for the Basic plan of 2GB of space. For those wanting more space, there is Pro50 with 50GB of space for $9.99 and Pro100 with 100GB of space $19.99 per month. There is also a referral incentive for free memory upgrade up to 3GB. Additionally, there is support via the Help Center, Forums, and Vote Box as well as a Dropbox Blog, Twitter, Facebook and Wiki.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,

AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.

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Gmail Labs - Background Send

The newest feature in Gmail Labs called ‘Background Send’ is a feature to enable you to continue with other tasks instead of waiting for your mail to be sent. You can even send more than one email and it will be sent in the background while you continue to work. Of course, since this is in Labs (click on Options then Labs) it is in the testing or beta stage and is not quite ready for prime time. If you enable this feature, there is a possibility it could break, change, or completely disappear at anytime.  So far I have had positive experiences with the features I enabled while in Labs.

When you enable this feature and ready to send an email, as you click the ‘Send’ button you will get a message “Sending in the background” (images taken from Gmail Blog at reference link below).

If your message was sent successfully, you will get “Your message has been sent”.

If there is a problem with sending the email, you will get a ‘send error’ stating “There was a problem sending your message. Fix. Fix later”. You can continue working and fix the problem later or fix it right away as the options imply. The ‘send error’ will remain until you fix the problem.

If you are still seeing “Sending in the background”, it is advised not to sign off or close your browser until the mail has been sent because you will probably lose it.

I enabled and used this feature and the emails were sent faster than prior to enabling it. If you decide to try it out, I would be interested in hearing how it is working for you.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.


Reference
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-in-labs-background-send.html

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Tid Bit - Chrome OS

There is talk about some sort of SaaS (Software as a Service also known as cloud computing) angle for Chrome Operating system. According to thechromesource.com, rumor has it that Google has plans to sell Chrome OS on a monthly basis ranging from $10 to $20 per month subscription service. I gather it would be somewhat like a cell phone contract for the service. There is no mention in these rumors if this will be bundled with other services for the subscription rate. To reiterate, it has been rumored!

If you are interested on more information on this rumor, PCWorld.com  has an article that could give you an expanded view on this Tid Bit topic. Daniel  Ionescu of PCWorld.com, in another article, also mentioned the devices for the Chrome OS (netbook) is scheduled to be in stores by mid-2011.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.
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Gmail Tweets

Recently, there have been some changes made to Gmail in response to users stating the one thing that would make them love Gmail even more. There was such a terrific job done on the original article that I won’t reiterate the intricate details of the changes. Here is a list of the tweets made and the link to the original article in the Official Gmail Blog:

• Auto-save contact setting
• Better warnings for typos in email addresses
• Fewer annoying error pop-ups
• Easier transition between certain actions
• Keyboard shortcut guide for everyone
• Refresh button

To read the description of the changes visit the Official Gmail Blog link.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader
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Web Browsers

With all that has been happening lately in the world of web browsers, I thought I would do a brief overview of some of the most popular choices available. Bear in mind this is not an exhausted list and they are listed in no specific order or preference.

A web browser is a software program that allows one access to the Internet and programs on a computer’s hard drive. It provides other functionality not often thought of by the average computer user while navigating the various programs on the computer and sites on the Internet such as spell check, password management, tab browsing, run large applications and download items to name a few. You can have more than one web browser installed on your computer at the same time, in fact I encourage you to do so in case there is a problem with your main browser, you would have another way of accessing the Internet and performing browser-tasks; I have three currently installed on my desktop.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) – First released in 1995, IE was the most widely used web browser for many years and continue to be one of the most popular. Statically, according to w3schools.com as of February 2011, IE is used 26.5% of the time. The latest version of IE is 9 and there is a mobile version.

Mozilla’s Firefox – Released in 2004, this browser is currently the most widely used web browser as shown by w3school.com with 42.4% user rate in February 2011. Additionally, it is one of the most standard-compliant web browsers available. The latest version of Firefox is 4 and there is also a mobile version.

Google’s Chrome – Released in 2008 and is one of the most popular browsers with a 24.1% statistical user rate. The latest version of Chrome is 10 with 11 beta format.

Apple’s Safari – Released in 2003 and is the default browser for Mac with a 4.1% user rate, but is also available for Windows and iPhone operating systems. The latest version is 5.

Opera – Released in 1996, this is the smallest and fastest web browser in the world according to Opera software and has a user rate of 2.5%. The browser is used in smartphones, internet activated mobile phones PDAs, Windows, Mac, and Linus operating systems. The latest version of Opera is 11 for Windows.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader
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Google Account Advance Sign-in Security Feature

Today, The Official Google Blog provided us with information on this new security feature that would help us not lose control of our email account, such as emails we receive from our friends asking for aid when stranded or invites to the best of employment opportunity; spam to be more specific.  To significantly increase the security of your Google account, Google has developed a new advance security feature called 2-step verification which helps to verify ownership of the account.  This advance protection was developed previously for Google Apps customers and would become available for all Google account holders shortly.  This feature will be rolled out within the next few days via a link in your account settings tab. According to the blog post, enrollment can take up to 15 minutes to complete and there will be a set-up wizard to help in this process. Once the 2-step verification is enabled (see diagram below), you will see a second page prompting for a code to complete the sign-in process. Upon entering your password, Google will call or send you the code via SMS messaging or you are given the choice to generate it yourself through a mobile application for Android, Blackberry or iPhone devices. By entering this code during the sign in process, you are telling Google you are the person authorized to sign into this account. 

This 2-step verification process offers more security since for hacking to occur, the hacker would need to know your username and password as well as have access to your phone. As seen in figure #2 above, you can choose to have your code remembered on this computer for 30 day, but in my opinion this weakens the security process we are hoping to enforce. The post also mentioned one-time application-specific passwords to sign in to non-browser base applications that can ask for the password, but cannot prompt for the code.

To learn more about 2-step verification visit Google’s Help Center.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

To follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.

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OpenOffice.org 3.3

The latest version on OpenOffice.org, version 3.3 is available for download at http://download.openoffice.org/ and of course it’s free. This popular office productivity suite has been steadily claiming the spotlight and is the preferred suite for over a hundred million users.

OpenOffice.org 3.3 addressed current and future user requirements and the folks working on the project also mentioned this version being faster in start up and overall operation. Below is a brief list of the new elements:
•    Embedded standard PDF fonts
•    New document security and collaboration options
•    Provisions for one million rows in a spreadsheet
•    New Options for CSV (Comma Separated Value) import in Calc
•    Ability to insert drawing objects in Charts
•    Improved slide layout handling in Impress
•    A common search toolbar
A complete list is available at
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.3/ and the security bulletin with full details of the potential vulnerabilities fixed is at http://www.openoffice.org/security/bulletin.html.

If you haven’t taken a look at OpenOffice.org yet, visit “The Case for OpenOffice.org”. This information enables you to see why you should seriously consider giving it a try or at least be aware you have a free option.

As always, post your comments, email me with your topics and let’s have a good time learning together!

In His Service,
AvaByGrace

You can follow this blog via the “Follow with Google Friend Connect” link on the right, add http://www.webbytesblog.com/ to your RSS feed or Google Reader.
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New Year's Note

As 2011 starts, I would like to say “Thank you!” for being a valued reader in 2010 and pray you will continue in the future. Last year was very difficult and time was not available to concentrate on meeting the goals for Web Bytes Blog. I pray with the passing of the old and the beginning of this New Year, I would be able to provide you with the type of postings you came to expect from Web Bytes Blog. Right now I am still pressed for time, but prayerfully hope to change this in the very near future.

As always, please submit topics that you are interested in. I am praying 2011 will be a healthy, happy and Christ-centered year for all of us.

In His Service,
Ava
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