The Central Processing Unit (CPU), the heart of your computer, is located on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. The IC chip also contains the memory (the data that you have created or captured and stored) of your computer. Some technicians refer to the memory as the brain, but a brain thinks, reasons, and forms ideas, whereas memory, like a library of books, only gives you back what it has.
Most folks know about the IC chip, the most important (and most expensive) component of their computer. Those who do not know that usually learn it when a chip manufacturer (such as Intel, AMD, Nvidia, or other) reports that they will send a software patch to correct a vulnerability in chips they sold or placed in electronic devices, like your computer. Think of a technology vulnerability like a door left unlocked in your house. Someone unwanted might enter your house. A vulnerability in your IC chip provides an opportunity for someone to get access to your memory data, to steal it, mess it up, or lock it up until you pay them a ransom to get a code to release it.
But, remember that your computer has a heart, the CPU, which processes the patches of vulnerabilities. Find out who sends the patches to your computer and how. Microsoft supports your computer that contains a Microsoft Windows operation system. Apple supports your iPad or other Apple product. You may have a Linux operating system and need to get your patches from Redhat or other Linux supporter. Other types of microprocessors exist as well. Check your purchase data to learn about them. When you find the correct one, contact them and find out when they push the patches electronically to their product users. Probably your operating system support company sends a massive electronic push once per month, a smaller weekly push, and (in an emergency to correct a serious IC chip flaw), as soon as the patch exists.
You may leave your computer on all of the time. If you do, your operating system support company regularly sends the patches to your computer. Check your security history file to see which ones you have (you want to see current dates). Contact the sender if you want to know more about the patch. If you turn your computer off at the end of your day, pick one day each week in which you will leave it on to get the patches. Also, say a prayer for your CPU. As long as it has a heart, you have a computer.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
The Twenty Minute War
Jannsun Rader had started work for Matrix right after he tired of trying to write the great American Novel, which was about five years ago, right after the war. He was old for a Web Zone designer but who knew? Who cared? His work was all done via satellite and as long as his work was good, his online brokerage account kept growing and growing.
He grabbed his sat phone, his digital companion, and headed topside. The wind had settled down and he was making 5.5 knots over the surface of the water according to the GPS. He gained some sort of comfort in thinking of the cloud of satellites overhead keeping track of his exact location anywhere upon the surface of the globe. Single handed sailing was surely not what it used to be. Now the isolation was more illusion than reality. If he should encounter serious trouble, his position would be marked from satellites and a hover craft would be on site within two hours. Hell, they probably would even have a photograph of his terror stricken face. Of course the insurance bill would be hefty, but it was the law. The illusion was fine though, he could really feel himself to be the last (or the first) man on earth. From horizon to horizon for days on end, not one sign of human habitation.
He walked to the rear of the cockpit and sat behind the wheel as the auto pilot silently turned it ever so slightly in accordance with the next way-point previously set into the Global Positioning System software. Through the fog, he could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, or what was left of it, since the earth changes had started. It would be good to get back to San Francisco or San Frantasia as it was now called since it had been pretty well destroyed by the Richter 8.9 quake the previous year.
On his radar, Jannsun could see the blip of a large freighter coming over the horizon. These cargo carriers were absolutely huge. As he got closer he could see the helicopter lift off and turn back toward land. That would be carrying the crew. These new ships were totally robotic once they reached the twenty five mile limit. Then the crew was choppered off and the ship sailed on controlled by the auto pilot and the overhead satellite array. Since they were so large they could not turn to avoid a small craft such as Jannsun's, so their defense was an ungodly loud alarm horn which woke Jannsun up on more than one occasion. The klaxon would be triggered at five miles separation if the ship's radar suspected a possible collision. Once the horn was sounded it was the smaller craft's job to move out of the path of the floating city of steel. Still there was no guarantee. Many a large cargo ship had entered port with the debris of smaller vessels caught in the anchor chain and smeared across the steel bow.
As Jannsun watched the sails pull his boat along over the small waves he had to laugh when he thought of the recent War and the rumors about the war. He had been between the Marshall Islands and Hawaii when it happened. It was supposed to be a secret but it seemed the older he became and the more connected he became, the more secrets he was becoming privy to.
He heard it from a guy, who heard it from a guy, who knew a guy, who was actually involved. According to this guy, The War lasted twenty minutes, give or take a few seconds. The computers told each side who would win, by how much and the outside limits of the overall devastation. But the losing side was new to computer war and insisted on firing a real nuclear salvo. That mistake would not be made again.
Jannsun had been aware of the holo-projection of soldiers and implements of destruction on and over battlefields and street corners but he hadn't been aware of the Time Benders, the Mach 50 anti-gravity machines. Machines that were so fast they could actually intercept an enemy missile before it's physical body could completely lift off its launching pad. Machines so fast it was said they literally--bent time. These Time Benders were said to be able to move from a base in the states to a foreign battle field before a hostile combatant's hand could cycle a round into the firing chamber of his rifle. So fast, they could be there before an enemy tech's fingers hovering over a computer keyboard somewhere in a subterranean bunker could even reach the "Enter" key. Two seconds, maybe less. Some even went so far as to say that the newest stealth, skunk works stuff was so fast it could actually bend time and travel slightly backward so as to be there looking over the enemy's shoulder as the hostile idea first seemed to occur in his mind. Time Benders. San Frantasia to New York in two seconds, maybe four. The time delay was to give the controller on the ground a chance to gather his thoughts. No passengers allowed.
These craft were not piloted by human beings. It was found way back in the nineties that human pilots could not take anything above 12 "G's" before slipping out of their bodies. This was called "G-lock" and it spelled the end for super high performance manned fighter planes. These robo-drone super planes were now all flown remotely by teenagers from underground bunkers. It was the ultimate synchronicity that children (future warriors) had been training for years on very sophisticated and ever evolving 3-d video games. The athletic pilot/engineer of the 20th Century was a thing of the past, just another artifact. Technology was on the verge of time travel, and American teenagers would be the ones with their grimy little fingers on the buttons.
In the case of the Twenty Minute War, five enemy nucs blew about ten feet off their own launching pads. "No Nucs Today", was the glad news on CNN that evening. At least not on American soil. The media, fed by the government machine, made it appear the enemy was so incompetent that all their missiles misfired and exploded in their silos but both sides knew the truth. Jannsun knew the truth, or as much of it as his personal data net was aware of. Who really knew anything for sure anymore? It looked like the technology of perception had finally outrun the technology of verification.
Maybe there was no truth. Things had become so strange that sometimes Jannsun suspected that everything had already happened and we were just toying with selective memory.
He grabbed his sat phone, his digital companion, and headed topside. The wind had settled down and he was making 5.5 knots over the surface of the water according to the GPS. He gained some sort of comfort in thinking of the cloud of satellites overhead keeping track of his exact location anywhere upon the surface of the globe. Single handed sailing was surely not what it used to be. Now the isolation was more illusion than reality. If he should encounter serious trouble, his position would be marked from satellites and a hover craft would be on site within two hours. Hell, they probably would even have a photograph of his terror stricken face. Of course the insurance bill would be hefty, but it was the law. The illusion was fine though, he could really feel himself to be the last (or the first) man on earth. From horizon to horizon for days on end, not one sign of human habitation.
He walked to the rear of the cockpit and sat behind the wheel as the auto pilot silently turned it ever so slightly in accordance with the next way-point previously set into the Global Positioning System software. Through the fog, he could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, or what was left of it, since the earth changes had started. It would be good to get back to San Francisco or San Frantasia as it was now called since it had been pretty well destroyed by the Richter 8.9 quake the previous year.
On his radar, Jannsun could see the blip of a large freighter coming over the horizon. These cargo carriers were absolutely huge. As he got closer he could see the helicopter lift off and turn back toward land. That would be carrying the crew. These new ships were totally robotic once they reached the twenty five mile limit. Then the crew was choppered off and the ship sailed on controlled by the auto pilot and the overhead satellite array. Since they were so large they could not turn to avoid a small craft such as Jannsun's, so their defense was an ungodly loud alarm horn which woke Jannsun up on more than one occasion. The klaxon would be triggered at five miles separation if the ship's radar suspected a possible collision. Once the horn was sounded it was the smaller craft's job to move out of the path of the floating city of steel. Still there was no guarantee. Many a large cargo ship had entered port with the debris of smaller vessels caught in the anchor chain and smeared across the steel bow.
As Jannsun watched the sails pull his boat along over the small waves he had to laugh when he thought of the recent War and the rumors about the war. He had been between the Marshall Islands and Hawaii when it happened. It was supposed to be a secret but it seemed the older he became and the more connected he became, the more secrets he was becoming privy to.
He heard it from a guy, who heard it from a guy, who knew a guy, who was actually involved. According to this guy, The War lasted twenty minutes, give or take a few seconds. The computers told each side who would win, by how much and the outside limits of the overall devastation. But the losing side was new to computer war and insisted on firing a real nuclear salvo. That mistake would not be made again.
Jannsun had been aware of the holo-projection of soldiers and implements of destruction on and over battlefields and street corners but he hadn't been aware of the Time Benders, the Mach 50 anti-gravity machines. Machines that were so fast they could actually intercept an enemy missile before it's physical body could completely lift off its launching pad. Machines so fast it was said they literally--bent time. These Time Benders were said to be able to move from a base in the states to a foreign battle field before a hostile combatant's hand could cycle a round into the firing chamber of his rifle. So fast, they could be there before an enemy tech's fingers hovering over a computer keyboard somewhere in a subterranean bunker could even reach the "Enter" key. Two seconds, maybe less. Some even went so far as to say that the newest stealth, skunk works stuff was so fast it could actually bend time and travel slightly backward so as to be there looking over the enemy's shoulder as the hostile idea first seemed to occur in his mind. Time Benders. San Frantasia to New York in two seconds, maybe four. The time delay was to give the controller on the ground a chance to gather his thoughts. No passengers allowed.
These craft were not piloted by human beings. It was found way back in the nineties that human pilots could not take anything above 12 "G's" before slipping out of their bodies. This was called "G-lock" and it spelled the end for super high performance manned fighter planes. These robo-drone super planes were now all flown remotely by teenagers from underground bunkers. It was the ultimate synchronicity that children (future warriors) had been training for years on very sophisticated and ever evolving 3-d video games. The athletic pilot/engineer of the 20th Century was a thing of the past, just another artifact. Technology was on the verge of time travel, and American teenagers would be the ones with their grimy little fingers on the buttons.
In the case of the Twenty Minute War, five enemy nucs blew about ten feet off their own launching pads. "No Nucs Today", was the glad news on CNN that evening. At least not on American soil. The media, fed by the government machine, made it appear the enemy was so incompetent that all their missiles misfired and exploded in their silos but both sides knew the truth. Jannsun knew the truth, or as much of it as his personal data net was aware of. Who really knew anything for sure anymore? It looked like the technology of perception had finally outrun the technology of verification.
Maybe there was no truth. Things had become so strange that sometimes Jannsun suspected that everything had already happened and we were just toying with selective memory.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
How To Stop Thinking About Technology
Is technology always on your mind? It need not be. It's a wide world out there for you to venture and experience a lot of other fun stuff which may be missing from your life. Please stop thinking about technology for a while. This article gives you seven ways for that. Read on to find out.
Here they go:
1) Life is not only about cell phones and digital screens. The more you focus on them, the more UV rays radiating from them deteriorate your eyesight and may even lead to blindness. It is so much better to spend time, cuddle and chitchat with your family members for a greater while.
2) You don't want to be contacted every five minutes by your family or friends. Switch your cell phone off and enjoy the scenes and sceneries around as you drive on the highway. Let your hair down, drive carefully and enjoy the beauty of life.
3) There are so many fun activities to do instead of sitting slump on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching the TV. Be active and join the volunteers team of your community and do some volunteer work for instance, mowing the highly grown grasses of your environment and planting new seeds for growing trees. Working as a team and spending time in mother nature will definitely raise your spirits and make you look forward to doing more of it again and again.
4) Instead of staying addicted to technology, engage yourself in one or two hobbies in your spare times. It can be cooking new recipes or plotting a fiction story whatever you love and spend your time fruitfully. It will definitely broaden your outlook and you will be wiser day by day as you engage more in hobbies you love.
5) Instead of opening your digital screens, borrow books from the local library and make time for reading them. It may be anything you like to read in your niche or a niche you are beginning to get interested. You become learned by the number of books you read every month and you will soar to great heights.
6) Instead of staying glued to technology, find a way to better your fingers at playing the piano which gets little attention in the piano space of your home. Get more musical sheets and play more and more until you are ready to play in a concert for fund-raising reasons for sick children or adults near about your community. God will acknowledge your good intentions and shower on you with more blessings.
7) Instead of chatting with new modern girls or celebrities, control yourself, get real and buy roses for your spouse to show how much you love her and how much you appreciate her contribution to the family, without whom your life would be empty.
These are seven special reasons why you need to stop thinking about technology for a while, be manly, carry out responsible activities as a spouse, parent, colleague or Boss and make the most out of everything from your life.
Here they go:
1) Life is not only about cell phones and digital screens. The more you focus on them, the more UV rays radiating from them deteriorate your eyesight and may even lead to blindness. It is so much better to spend time, cuddle and chitchat with your family members for a greater while.
2) You don't want to be contacted every five minutes by your family or friends. Switch your cell phone off and enjoy the scenes and sceneries around as you drive on the highway. Let your hair down, drive carefully and enjoy the beauty of life.
3) There are so many fun activities to do instead of sitting slump on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching the TV. Be active and join the volunteers team of your community and do some volunteer work for instance, mowing the highly grown grasses of your environment and planting new seeds for growing trees. Working as a team and spending time in mother nature will definitely raise your spirits and make you look forward to doing more of it again and again.
4) Instead of staying addicted to technology, engage yourself in one or two hobbies in your spare times. It can be cooking new recipes or plotting a fiction story whatever you love and spend your time fruitfully. It will definitely broaden your outlook and you will be wiser day by day as you engage more in hobbies you love.
5) Instead of opening your digital screens, borrow books from the local library and make time for reading them. It may be anything you like to read in your niche or a niche you are beginning to get interested. You become learned by the number of books you read every month and you will soar to great heights.
6) Instead of staying glued to technology, find a way to better your fingers at playing the piano which gets little attention in the piano space of your home. Get more musical sheets and play more and more until you are ready to play in a concert for fund-raising reasons for sick children or adults near about your community. God will acknowledge your good intentions and shower on you with more blessings.
7) Instead of chatting with new modern girls or celebrities, control yourself, get real and buy roses for your spouse to show how much you love her and how much you appreciate her contribution to the family, without whom your life would be empty.
These are seven special reasons why you need to stop thinking about technology for a while, be manly, carry out responsible activities as a spouse, parent, colleague or Boss and make the most out of everything from your life.
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