Track Down, also known as Takedown outside the USA, is a 2000 film about computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura.

 This is a story about two hackers one notorious for eluding the FBI for years and one for being a computer security expert.



Kevin David Mitnick (born on August 6, 1963) is a computer security consultant, author, and hacker. In the late 20th century, he was convicted of various computer- and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States. he made use of his skill to steal things from the internet used systems with unauthorized access. With his skill he illegally obtained various data from secure and prohibited computer networks. He made use of his abilities to break the law in which he got captured and convicted.


Tsutomu Shimomura (下村 努, Shimomura Tsutomu, born October 23, 1964) is a Japanese scientist and computer security expert based in the United States, who became an instant celebrity when he, together with computer journalist John Markoff, tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker Kevin Mitnick. He is the other side of the coin, where in Mitnicks goal was to infiltrate computer system he on the other hand makes sure those computer systems are secure. He made use of his skills and knowledge to safeguard computer systems. He helps law enforcement capture cyber offenders. Although he is also a hacker he uses this skill within the legalities of the law. He made use of skills which does no break the law in turn using hacking to counter other hackers.

self servicing kiosk

kiosk

   Self serving kiosk is a prime example of automation. People create ways to earn more and work less which gave birth to self servicing kiosks. These kiosk are often called vending machines they are simple programed devices which complies to a touch of a button. 

   But is it really reliable? With machines comes a chance of breaking down. Since it is a simple mechanism it does not have a corrective process for example a piece of merchandise is stuck it can't differentiate that the merchandise is stuck as long it has done what its programed. It is often vulnerable to cheating since most kiosk are not monitored by it owner frequently people find ways to cheat its programing. Their programing is so simple that if you cheat their sensors it will dish out its merchandise.

   We can say it is a useful tool but as such it comes with its pros and cons. We should be wary in using it since it is just a machine and it can not be reasoned with.

Free texts to hurt carriers' bottom line?

    Text should it be free or not there is a debate on that issue right now. People want the text service to be free but carriers are making huge amounts of money making it pay to text service. We all know life now are hard and the simple joy of texting friends is one of the prime hobbies of Filipinos. We love to text and as such we spend money on it be it daily, weekly, or monthly. Here comes a debate that text services should be offered free since it is a service that should be given by the carriers. 

        With that comes the dilemma carriers are running a business if text services are offered free then their stocks will fall and investors will pull out in turn causing it to shut down. I think free text is good but should be moderated carriers must come up with a system which is fair to us consumers and is not hurting their business.

    Law makers should look at the bigger picture ad not think of their wallets since the only way to delagate this issues is with the help of the government. Although carriers in the Philippines are offering a wide array of promos with text such as unli-text there is still a need to regulate it as not to be abused by consumers and the carriers alike.

5 trends to watch for 2011

*The recession is transformational

         This is due to recent events where in companies take budget cuts and low manpower. IT shops should come up with a way to answer this trends. There will be a large need for companies to seek help with under-maned staff.

*The spotlight remains on cost-saving technologies

         It comes with little surprise since more and more people are looking for ways to cut cost. An example of which is virtualization  where in which there is need for physical servers. Server virtualization makes much better use of computing resources than physical servers do, since you can run many different virtual servers on a single physical host.

*Mobile is exploding

smartphones

We all know that the phone business is booming. This in turn creates an environment for technology to go mobile from phones to laptop to tablets everything is now portable. With everything almost having a handheld version its no surprise that with years to come we will be facing an increase of development in the field of mobile technology.

*Software is undergoing rapid change

Software companies

        The race is on for new stuff to hit the market. With fierce competition in the market software's are going thru rapid evolution. And with the demand for mobility these software's are now adaption to the need of various people with software applications going mobile. Days of the LAN based application are closing to an end.

*Enterprise 2.0 will run its course

           Crowd sourcing information is a powerful tool  helps in starting business from scratch by using information of previous business. It gives us ideas to start fresh and innovative.

green computing

          With the expansion of IT related transactions, corporations, etc... There is a significant rise of energy consumption. The rise in energy consumption is a huge threat to the environment. With more  energy consumption comes a hotter environment. Energy consumption because of IT related things doubles every year. With the increase of energy consumption people find ways to improve computing and removes the threat to the environment, The answer to this is green computing.

think green!

           Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment. 

energy star logo

        The energy star program was launched October 2006 which impose stricter efficiency requirements for computer equipment, along with a tiered ranking system for approved products. Computer equipments need to have efficient energy distribution so as not to waste energy.

We need to manage our power consumption since a lot of gadgets today drains a lot of power. Managing power helps to keep in check the large energy consumption of various devices. We need to learn to shutdown things we do not use to conserve power and to avoid needless power drain. Only retain things that are essential rather than blasting away with power consumption.

3 technologies to watch

In our times technology is fast evolving. There are many different technologies that are popping up everywhere. But there are some that are cut apart from the rest. I would like to introduce a couple which I think has huge potential for development.

xbox360 kinect

Kinect is a peripheral add-on for the xbox, It is a gesture-based device developed by microsoft. It is a motion capture device. Unlike its competitors nintendo wii and playstation 3 you do not interact with it with controllers or wands instead it captures motion with it's sensors. It captures the movement of your body and the transmits it as commands for various games such as boxing, golf, dancing etc... with it you are free you are not holding anything which may be distracting. But Kinect's gesture sensor can be much more and can be expanded to greater fields. Imagine you controlling your house with a wave of your fingers. Imagine a touch pad without having to touch it.

augmented reality Paris

Augmented reality is is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real world and computer generated data.It integrates the real world data with computer applications to produce real time data. With a smart phone and a GPRS you can virtually know what ever street your on by pointing your phone in whatever direction you like. This technology would be a great teaching tool since with a simple click real time data is introduced to you. This would be a good tool for various occupation. This technology is a must to watch out for since it is still in early stages of development.

macbook air 11" and 13"

Finally something small with lots of computing power, it is something that tablets will never be. The width and depth of the MacBook Air (11-inch)—11.8 by 7.5 inches—are no different than what you'd get with Windows-based laptops like the Asus UL20FT-A1 and Acer Aspire 1830T-3721, but what Apple shaved off in terms of thickness makes the other two look like giants. It is so small it can fit into a standard brown envelope. And if you thought this is a netbook you are wrong this is part of the laptop family. macbook air shows the future of laptop. It also show that you can thin and small gadgets without sacrificing the coputing power. Powerful computing with ultraportabilty is the future of laptops.

Computer Literacy for Elementary School Children

 

Not so long ago literacy is just related to ones ability to read and write. With the modern age dawning literacy now takes another form.

 

Computer literacy is The level of expertise and familiarity someone has with computers. Computer literacy generally refers to the ability to use applications rather than to program. Individuals who are very computer literate are sometimes called power users.

Computer literacy is a good skill to develop in early childhood, since the world is fast evolving to accommodate the fast paced development of technology. It is best to start learning computer skills early in life as not to be behind the times. Basic computer skills such as how to interact with a basic desktop computer is a plus to learn in early stages of life. Since the brains of children have  "plasticity", or ability to physically change and adapt they can easily absorb the different task there are in operating computers. These days being competent with computers is a must since we are always surrounded by technology. Computers nowadays are just as common as pen and paper which in turn people must adapt.

 

 

DepEd(Department of Education) is pushing through their ICT integration of education program in schools here in the Philippines.With such it helps broaden the approach on teaching and enhance the methodology of teaching youngsters nowadays.  Computer literacy is fast becoming the key to success these days.

 

As times have change so has technology advance. We  discard all our doubts and accept technology for it is not just a trend it is the future. We live in a technology driven world without the knowledge to harness it you may be as well deaf and blind.