Archive for February, 2010
Why Google Needs a Student Version
Google needs to have a student version of its popular search software. It’s not because of pornography. It’s not because of meeting weirdos online. It’s simply a matter of being able to concentrate on things that kids need to concentrate on without any distractions.
The classic example is Ethan Allen. Enter the term into Search and you’re [...]
Posted: February 26th, 2010 under boomers, college, education, internet safety, tech skills.
Tags: Goggle, Learning, Search Engines, Students
Comments: none
Should Google Be Doing More to Keep Us Safe?
I don’t know about you, but from my vantage point the signs of some virus/malware/bad guy troubles are everywhere. The first whiff came from a note sent by Avast!, a free (for basic protection) anti-virus program with a large user base.
The company cautioned that malware gangs have become adept users of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). [...]
Posted: February 23rd, 2010 under internet safety, legal issues.
Tags: anti virus, avast, Google, internet privacy, internet protection, page rankings
Comments: none
Toy Fair Where Grownups Get to Play First
Toy Fair, an industry trade show in NYC this week, is one of my favorite annual visits, because it’s a chance to be a big kid in a candy shop full of toys that the public has not yet seen.
This year’s show feels a little recession strapped in that the toy manufacturers are packing volumes of [...]
Posted: February 16th, 2010 under TV, Your Digital Home, Your Digital Kids, creativity, creativity and play, education, toys.
Tags: gps, iPhone, lego, Mattel, screentime, Toy Fair, TV
Comments: none
New Computer Engineer Barbie Gives New Meaning to Geek Chic
She wears a shirtdress decorated with zeros and ones over a pair of tight, shiny black pants. She’s got a Bluetooth headset in her ear, those smart-girl looking glasses, and a pretty pink laptop.
She’s Computer Engineer Barbie and she sprang to life via the popular vote of consumers all over the world. They voted on what Barbie’s [...]
Posted: February 13th, 2010 under Your Digital Kids, creativity, creativity and play, games, toys, women.
Tags: Barbie, Career, Computer Engineer, Mattel, Toy Fair, women
Comments: none
Facebook: The Six-Year-Old With a Messy Room
Facebook turned six this week and so did my relationship with it. Initially, at its creation, I was a voyeur on my kids’ sites because I didn’t have the requisite college .edu address to access to the site.
Soon after, when it expanded to include high school students, it dropped the .edu address requirement. It wasn’t [...]
Posted: February 10th, 2010 under Your Digital Kids, facebook, internet safety, social networking.
Tags: facebook, new interface, privacy, social networks
Comments: none
Tech’s Early Zealots Are Singing a Different Tune: Has Age Made Them Wiser or Just Older?
Maybe you haven’t noticed that we’ve become the nation with the collective attention span of a tsetse fly. Or that we’re a nation utterly convinced that the more things you can do at the same time the more gifted you are.
The signs of the impending wreckage are everywhere. In London, they’ve padded certain phone poles [...]
Posted: February 2nd, 2010 under Your Digital Home, tech skills.
Comments: none


