Table of Contents
Are your kids safe? RFID tags could help
Is it hot in here, or is that just your laptop?
Written and produced by authors and editors at CustomGuide,
Inc.
Copyright 2005
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Issue 43, July 2005
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Microsoft Publisher 2003 now available
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A new eLearning title is available for beginner computer users: Computer
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Urban Ed is a community development organization in Washington, D.C. that provides employment information and skill development to low-income people of color who are at risk of being victims of drugs and violence. Urban Ed focuses on preparing youth and young adults for stable jobs with above-average wages so they can achieve economic independence. Pathways to Prosperity Initiative |
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The TechnoForce Development Program targets unemployed young adults ages 17 and up. Program participants train for the A+ certification, and receive preparation for careers in computer and network support and programming. The TechnoOffice program helps participants become specialists in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. Urban Ed also offers technology and leadership training to youth, ages 13-18, as well as other programs to educate parents and young leaders to so that they can help work for economic justice.
How you can help
Urban Ed has launched the Save a Future campaign, and they welcome cash
donations to the campaign or volunteers who would be willing to be technology
trainers or guest speakers. They are also seeking representatives from
large and small businesses, as well as educational institutions, for positions
on their corporate advisory committee.
If you would like to join CustomGuide in recognizing the Urban Ed program,
you can contact them at info@UrbanEd.org, and be sure to visit their website
at www.urbanEd.org.
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Help us out by referring your favorite non-profit organization. Just follow
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Are your kids safe? RFID tags could help
You know how it goes. You're walking out of a department store after purchasing a new pair of pants and suddenly you hear the beeping alarm. You look around. Is it you? You open your shopping bag and spot the offender—a security tag that wasn't removed from the pants.
Meet RFID tags
The use of those little tags, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
devices, is growing rapidly, and before you know it, different versions
of RFIDs are likely to pop up in ways you never expected, both in the
workplace and at home.
How they work
RFID devices are made up of tags and decoder systems with antennas. Tags
can be either passive or active. Passive tags are read by the strategically
positioned antennas, and information embedded in the tags is fed into
a computer system—or, in the case of the store security tags, is
used to trigger an alarm. Active tags, on the other hand, can transmit
a signal up to 600 feet, and can have read/write capabilities, so the
data on the tag can be modified by the decoder device. For example, an
active tag attached to a raw material in a factory can relay assembly
instructions to decoders integrated into machines, and after a process
is completed, the decoder can update the tag with new information.
RFIDs for business
Besides being used for retail asset security, RFID tags are appearing
in warehouses as part of sophisticated supply-chain management systems.
Sears and other companies are using the tags to track the identity and
location of inventory and palettes, and even to guide vehicles through
warehouses. The tags are an improvement over traditional bar code scanning,
because forklift operators don't need to stop and scan the items. Instead,
information embedded in the RFID tags is read by an antenna and relayed
to a computer in the forklift, telling the operator where to put the inventory.
RFIDs are also finding their way into auto manufacturing because the tags
can survive the rigorous manufacturing processes while continuing to relay
information about the car's location and stage of completion.
RFIDs for personal life
RFIDs are surrounded by controversy as well. Mainly, it centers on the
use of RFIDs to track people and personal information. Tiny RFIDs, the
size of a couple grains of rice, are increasingly used to tag dogs and
other pets, and even a handful of people have had the devices implanted.
In a less drastic application, tags have been added to bracelets for hospital
patients (nurses use a handheld decoder to pull-up patient medical information)
and ID cards for students (one California school that required RFIDs for
their students stopped the practice after parents complained about privacy).
Although questions about privacy have plagued any practice of using the technology to track people, new uses continue to appear. A children's clothing manufacturer has sewn passive RFIDs into sleepwear that is set to hit the shelves of stores such as Target this winter. The tags, which cost the manufacturer only about 30 cents a piece, will alert parents if their child goes beyond a boundary, such as a door or window, hopefully preventing abductions and other mishaps. The system requires a decoder system that would cost about $500, but plans are in the works to incorporate the system into home security systems from companies such as ADT. The tags, which are activated via a Web site, won't require parents to enter a child's name or other personal information, but would only require that a unique number be set up identifying the child.
And RFIDs in clothing don't end there. Soon, we
can expect to see active RFIDs that emit a stronger signal incorporated
into clothing for hikers and skiers. Someday, an RFID clothing tag could
serve multiple purposes; aiding manufacturers and retailers during the
supply-chain management process, triggering the security alarm if removed
from the retail store, and then providing location tracking benefits for
the wearer. And who knows, once socks start being tagged, maybe we'll
be able to answer the age-old question of what happens to socks that go
missing in the dryer.
Visit www.rfidinsights.com
and www.aimglobal.org
for more information.
Interested in our new Computer Basics eLearning? Preview this free tutorial on the inside of a computer.
Click here for your Computer Basics tutorial.
Is it hot in here, or is that just your laptop?
Fortunately this isn't a lame new pickup line, but laptop overheating has the potential to be just as annoying. For example, has your laptop ever shut itself off, without any warning or direction from you? Have you ever compared your laptop's surface to that of volcanic rock?
Perhaps the most frustrating thing to afflict computers since the onset of SPAM, laptop overheating has sparked a variety of problems within various systems. This increasingly common malfunction can cause, amongst other things, unbearable surface temperatures and the automatic shutdown of overworked components. Why? Well, just as our own bodies can suffer from heat stroke, computers react similarly when faced with abnormally high temperatures and no way, or limited ways, to reduce them.
Fuel to the fire
In attempts to produce the fastest, most powerful processor and package
it in the most portable unit, laptop manufacturers are constantly faced
with new design challenges. The higher the speed, the higher the heat
- and the smaller the unit, the harder it becomes to find ways to offset
this.
Most laptops are programmed to shut down when overheated, and if you're lucky, your laptop will do the same. Although this usually results in a loss of data, your computer still remains operable. However, prolonged occurrence can cause data errors and lockups, and, if not remedied, can cause a system to become inoperable and useless down the line.
Contributing factors to laptop overheating include:
- Concentrated heat surrounding the CPU chipset. Other significant heat generators include the hard disk, memory module, and graphics processor. Heat buildup in one or more of these areas can cause the surface of a laptop to become unbearably hot.
- Dust and dirt congregating around grills and fans, blocking airflow in and out of the unit. This is one of the most common causes of laptop overheating, and is surprisingly easy to remedy on newer models.
- A broken fan. The cooling system for most laptops consists of several case openings, an internal heat exchanger, and a fan. If this fan breaks, heat is unable to exit the system, thus causing temperatures to climb inside the case.
- Screen brightness. Believe it or not, screen brightness is a significant generator of heat and a drain on battery power. Many laptop manufacturers have recognized this, however, and are designing more intelligent BIOS software (software that contains all the code required to control the display screen and a number of other miscellaneous functions) that is able to reduce this.
The cure
Although laptop manufacturers aren't predicting laptop temperatures to
become a whole lot cooler any time soon, they are taking steps to ensure
that temperatures of next-generation systems at least do not increase.
In the meantime, here are several tips and suggestions to consider if
your laptop is overheating:
- If your laptop is still under warranty, send it back to the manufacturer for inspection and repair. Although this will mean giving up your computer for several weeks, the results will be well worth it in the long run.
- Try manually cleaning your laptop's vents. After turning off your computer, use compressed air (or your own, if you can muster it up) to blow through the back vents/exhaust openings. Keep in mind that the newer your computer is, the easier it will be to expel dust.
- Thermal monitoring tools, such as SpeedFan 4.24 and fanGUI, allow you to monitor the fan speed and voltage of your respective unit and gives you an internal temperature reading of your CPU. Such programs help you to understand your system's thermal performance, thus forewarning you of impending shutdowns.
- You can also purchase laptop-cooling products online, including the Notebook Chill Mat and the Lapinator, but be wary.
- Notify the manufacturer. The more complaints
a manufacturer receives, the more inclination it has to develop better
products for the future.
The electronics market in China reached $271.97 billion in 2004, which accounted for 18 percent of the global market, InStat says. The electronics market in China is expected to grow at a compund annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 percent over the next 5 years, contributing a significant 30 percent share of the world's electronics market by 2010.
Forrester Research found that 74 percent of customers used retailers' in-store customer-service departments, compared with 40 percent using the phone, 16 percent using e-mail, 5 percent using regular mail, and 3 percent using a live chat.
Seventy percent of retailers with more than $5 billion in annual revenue are actively expanding their points of online customer service through such means as in-store kiosks and hand-held devices, Aberdeen Group says.
France is the largest market for VoIP in Europe, with 1.2 million subscribers by the end of Q1 2005. Norway also has a dynamic VoIP market, spearheaded by Telio. Telio targets the first line market, and had 50,000 subscribers by Q1 2005 (a penetration of around 7 percent of all broadband lines in Norway), Point Topic says.