New Technology:

Gadgets & Trends

Gadgets
Digital Content

•MP3, MP4, WMA, WMV, AAC, FLV, OGG, DivX

•What is it & where do I get it?
Web 2.0 – The Interactive
Web

 Blogs, Wikis & RSS

 Podcasting
 Social Networks
 www.facebook.com
 www.myspace.com
 www.secondlife.com
 Cool Applications
 Picasa
 Google Earth
Operating Systems & Security
Gadgets: Memory

 Memory Storage
 Floppy disks are slow, low-capacity
(1.44 MB) and unreliable
 USB Thumb Drives
 Faster, higher capacity & more reliable
 Replacing floppy disks and CD-R / DVD-R
 New generation of USB drives
 U3 and PortableApps.com
 Applications run right from the drive
 Cameras, MP3 Players, Phones
 Require storage for content
 Compact Flash
 SD Cards
 MMC
USB Thumb Drive with U3

 Stores data & applications

 Office applications & documents
 E-mail, browser & bookmarks
 Passwords, anti-virus
 Free & commercial applications
 U3
 Proprietary software pre-
installed on certain models
 PortableApps.com
 Free alternative that you can
install on any USB drive
Digital Cameras

 Point-and-shoot
 Digital SLR
 Get that perfect shot
 Instantly preview every shot
 Edit & print your own digital
pictures
 Make digital movies
 Post pictures online
 Flickr.com
 MyPhotoAlbum.com
 Facebook.com
 Weblogs (aka “blog”)
MP3 Players

 iPod, Zune, Zen, Yepp

 Purchase & download
music from online
music stores
 iTunes, AOL Radio,
Puretracks.com
 Rip from your own CDs
 Download free content
 Podcasts, vidcasts
Digital Video Recorders & Players

 Not your father’s VCR

 Pause & rewind “live” TV
 Appliances:
 TiVo*, AppleTV
 ExpressVu PVR
 Cogeco DVR
 Sony, Panasonic, Phillips
 PC-Based:
 MythTV,
 Windows MCE
 Portable
 iPod, Archos
 Cell phones
 Sony PSP
GPS Devices

 Global Positioning System

 System of 24 GPS satellites
 Device uses Trilateration
 Various Implementations
 Factory-installed devices for cars
 After-market installations
 Portable Units
 Software & USB GPS Receiver
 Laptops, Palm Pilots & iPAQs
PDA – Personal Digital Assistant

 PocketPC, Palm Pilot & even

Linux E-mail & Internet
 Address Book
 Calendar
 Task List
 Applications
 Word processing
 Spreadsheets
 Media
 Audio & Video
 Digital Camera
Fun & Games

 For the serious gamers:

 Sony PSP
 Nintendo DS
 Some devices have:
 Built-in web-browsers
 Wireless
 Media Player for movies and music
Cell Phones - Convergence

 One device to do it all!

 Krzr, Blackberry, iPhone
 Phone
 Audio & Voice Recording
 Video & Pictures
 Internet
 E-mail
 PDA
 Camera
 Games
Wireless Technology

 802.11 a/b/g/n
 Computers, PDAs
 WLAN - 30m up to 100m
 11 Mbps, 54 Mbps, 108 Mbps+
 Bluetooth
 Keyboards, mice, headsets, cell
phones
 PAN - 10m
 CDMA & GSM
 Cell phones
 PC Cards (for laptops)
 Must be in digital coverage
area for enhanced services
Digital Content

 How do I get it?

 Subscribe (RSS - Push)
 Requires RSS Reader
 RSS Owl, Sage
 iTunes (Download – Pull)
 Direct from website (twit.tv)
 Some content is free
 Some is paid
Web 2.0 – The Next Generation

 Interactive Websites
 Slashdot.org
 Digg.com
 Social Networking
 MySpace.com
 Facebook.com
 SecondLife.com
 User-Created Content
 YouTube.com
 Dynamic & Customizable
Content
 iGoogle.com
 Mash-ups
Mash-ups?

 Many developers publish

their API:
 Google Maps, Amazon
 Can provide maps for
real estate listings,
restaurants, etc.
 Combining content from
different sites or services
into a new site:
 maps.google.com
 MTO camera feed
 Mash ‘em up
 Up-to-date traffic
information with
pictures
http://toronto.ibegin.com/traffic/
Putting Mash-ups to Good Use
Putting Mash-ups to Better
Use
Blogs, Wikis & Podcasting

 Blogs
 “Web logs”, online journals
 Amateurs to professionals (Anderson Cooper, Rick Mercer)
 Wikis
 Websites that allow visitors to add, edit and delete content
 Great for collaborative authoring
 Wikipedia.org
 Podcasting
 User generated audio or video content
 Resides at a unique web feed address
 Users can subscribe to content
Cool Applications

 Google Earth
 Hi-res sat images
 Layers of data
 Roads
 Parks
 Restaurants
 Landmarks
 Terrain
 Etc.
 Picasa
 Organize photos
 Widgets
 Floating Desktop
Icons
 Weather
 News
 Stocks
 Clocks
 Photos
Operating Systems

 Microsoft is Dominant on
the Desktop
 Security has always been
an issue
 Viruses, Worms & Spyware
 Apple has a small niche
market
 Very secure
 Linux is another alternative
 And it’s free!*
 Free as in beer and free as
in speech
 Dell has recently started
offering Ubuntu on their
systems
Windows XP to 7, 8

 Dominant desktop OS
at present
 Most hardware and
software support
 Security** is an issue
 Most users run as
“admin”
 Can be made secure
Mac OSX

 Innovative Graphics &

Features
 Aqua & Quartz
 The Dock
 Widgets
 Exposé
 Better Security**
 LUA
 Few viruses
 Built on BSD
 Inter-operable with
Windows
Linux

 Free* & Open-source

 Thousands of
free applications
 Secure**
 Few viruses
 Choice
 Many different
distributions
 KDE, Gnome,
XFCE, Fluxbox
 Inter-operable with
Windows
 “Live” CDs
Important Notes

 Free*:
There’s nothing preventing anyone from
charging money for the software. Some
do, as they may provide support or
regular upgrades.
Free-libre open-source software (FLOSS)
permits the end-user to modify, upgrade
or build-upon existing software, as long as
they return the modified code to the
community
Important Notes

Security**:
 No computer is really secure
 Any time your computer is connected to a network, you
are vulnerable
 Security vulnerabilities occur in:
 Operating Systems
 Applications
 Programming Languages
 Users can be tricked into phishing scams or unknowingly
install malware.
Security - What You Can Do

 All Operating Systems are

vulnerable
 Security requires a layered
approach
 Turn on firewall / Get a router
 “Least-privileged User Accounts”
 Don’t use “root” or “admin”
accounts
 Keep OS and Applications up-to-
date
 Turn off unneeded services
 Use Firefox
 Anti-virus and Anti-spyware
 Don’t eat yellow snow on the
internet
Links

 Social Networks  Linux

 www.facebook.com  www.distrowatch.com
 www.myspace.com  www.ubuntu.com
 www.secondlife.com  Firefox Web Browser
 Audio & Video  www.getfirefox.com
 www.youtube.com  RSS Readers
 www.itunes.com  Extensions for Firefox
 www.puretracks.com  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/browse/type:1
 Google Products
 www.rssowl.org
 GoogleEarth, Picasa, GMail, Blogger
 Podcasts
 www.google.ca/intl/en/options/
 www.twit.tv
 User-driven Content
 www.itunes.com
 www.digg.com
 U3 & PortableApps
 www.slashdot.org
 http://www.u3.com/
 Mash-ups
 http://portableapps.com/
 http://toronto.ibegin.com/traffic/
 http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/search/label/Toro
nto
Questions?

 This presentation can be downloaded from:

www.stcatharines.library.on.ca/content/present