Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

Chris Dancy is known far and wide for being "the most connected human on earth", but how exactly does he do it? It's much easier than some people think. He takes advantage of the numerous technologies and systems available, and they all work together to track his every move. Why would he want to do this? It's not for bragging rights, as some might say - rather, it is all about a "quantified life existence." To find out what this means, we got a chance to interview Chris about his tech journey.

Apple's iOS 7.1.1. operating system has been affected by a series of bugs throughout this month. The first bug was emails being sent unencrypted, but now a new threat lurks in the shadows - a lock screen flaw that allows hackers to access your contacts list without unlocking the phone.

Microsoft has announced that, unless you upgrade to Windows 8.1 Update (think of it like a service pack) users will no longer receive updates and support for Windows 8.1. The deadline was set for May 13th, but Microsoft bailed on this deadline the day before it would pass and, instead, extended the deadline. The update is crucial if you are using Windows 8.1 and desire to continue receiving patches for the operating system.

Mobile devices like Google's Chromebook are designed with the casual computer user in mind. Equipped with Chrome OS, some people mock the device calling it, "Nothing more than a browser with a keyboard." Granted, a Chromebook can't come close to doing what a "real" computer can do, but if you know how to use it, the device can be much more than a glorified browser.

In an interesting twist to the Microsoft OS saga, Microsoft announced that it will cease providing security updates for Windows 8.1 unless users upgrade the software to Windows 8.1 Update (the newest Microsoft OS update). What's Microsoft's reasoning behind this verdict?

Last week, six versions of Internet Explorer were diagnosed with a crippling vulnerability that could have potentially allowed hackers to take over your computer, install malware, or steal sensitive data. The threat was deemed so immediate that the United States and the United Kingdom both issued warnings advising against the use of Microsoft's beloved web browser.

Just like the dark waters of the benthic ocean trenches, the Internet is filled with wondrous creatures that have never been seen before. However, there are also rather ugly things lurking in the depths as well. No matter how deep you swim, there are always the deep sea phishermen that will try to rip you away from everything you hold dear – your personal and professional data.

Due to the overwhelming success of George Lucas's science-fiction film franchise Star Wars, fans all over the world will be celebrating May 4th as a holiday (May the Fourth be with you). Star Wars wouldn't have been nearly as successful if it weren't for its fascinating space technology, something that was previously only imagined by the most creative of minds. X-wings, blasters, and hyperdrives seem really neat, but they can break down just as easily as present-day space technology. There's something about the unknown void that is space which draws our attention, even if it's "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

In high school, there were always the rebellious kids who never wanted to do what their teachers said. They would vandalize the bathroom stalls, walk around the halls without permission, skip classes, and make the school an overall unpleasant environment. The teachers eventually decided that enough was enough, and they banned certain privileges that the students had. Bathroom breaks became timed. Hall monitors stalked the halls looking for troublemakers. Our liberty was stolen by these hooligans.

Alert! Those using Windows Internet Explorer as your preferred web browser might want to take a short break from it and consider using a different browser like Chrome or Firefox until Microsoft works out a recently-discovered vulnerability.

Touchscreen devices have been all the rage for around a decade and have brought a degree of mobility to business that was unheard of only a short time ago. At first it was the smartphone, followed by the 10-inch tablet, and then the smaller tablets; which are designed for media consumption. This recent trend, which provides a superior user experience, has integrated touch screen usability into the expectations of end users. Recently, some of the largest and most recognizable personal computer manufacturers have begun making hybrid laptop computers that have all the capabilities of a powerful laptop, but come equipped with a touchscreen display. Can these all-in-one devices be just what your business needs to get to the next level?

The people of 1967 were no different than we are today - obsessed with the future and the new technology it might yield. It was a magical time when technology was developing so rapidly that people were placing wild assumptions of what the technology of the 2000s would be like. How accurate were the predictions of the scientific community of the 1960s? Let's look at this 1967 video from CBS's The 21st Century!

Your computer might only be two years old, but in terms of tech-age, it is often much older than you realize. The rate at which new technology, malware, and viruses are being produced, it might as well be twenty years old. This is called Moore's law, which states that computers double in complexity every two years. Think of it like the lifespan of a dog or a cat - their lifespan is so short that one human year is equivalent to multiple years for them, meaning that they are much older in terms of their actual lifespan than they are in human years.

There are times when you put off something on your to-do list and somehow it magically works itself out. This usually happens when someone else picks up the slack and takes care of what you needed to get done. Then there are things on your to-do list that, if you don't get to in a timely manner, will end up costing you in the long run--like PC maintenances.

Computers are machines that need to be cared for and maintained. If a PC is left totally unattended to and it's used regularly, it will wear down after each use and eventually experience the dreaded crash. The primary piece of equipment responsible for this risk is the hard disk drive. A computer hard drive contains disks called platters that have data written on them. These platters spin at thousands of RPMs and tiny moving parts are used to read the data off of the spinning disks. The intricacy and design of all the tiny moving parts lends itself to product degradation.

The Heartbleed bug, one of the nastiest deficiencies in Internet security to date, was found last week. More than two-thirds of the Internet's secure information could have been leaked from websites utilizing the OpenSSL cryptographic library's encryption style. Most major websites have already issued a patch to resolve the problem, but that doesn't change the fact that this information has been available to anyone looking for it for over two years. Worse still is that you would have no idea how to tell whether your data has been compromised.

Multitasking is something that everyone prides themselves on, but cognitive psychologist Art Markman seems to think otherwise. He says, "you are your own worst judge of how good a multitasker you are," due to the same areas of the brain that monitor performance are the same areas that work with multitasking, making it nigh impossible to determine how well you are actually multitasking. Of course, multitasking is something that every good employee should learn how to do, as it can improve productivity significantly.

The world is changing as technology grows ever more mobile. Cell phones have gone from bulky, large pieces of hardware to smaller, more compact specimens. Fifteen years ago, if you were to tell someone that your cell phone could connect to the Internet, you would quickly be dismissed. If you look past the surface laden with Candy Crush Saga and Words with Friends game requests, you can get to the heart of what smartphones have revolutionized – the way we communicate with others.

The same day that Microsoft ceased supporting Windows XP with security patches was also the day a vicious little monster was discovered – the Heartbleed bug, which renders privacy in the OpenSSL cryptographic library completely obsolete. Basically, anything utilizing the OpenSSL open source library is at risk here. Websites utilizing this form of encryption include Yahoo! Google, and Facebook. To put it in perspective, sites that utilize OpenSSL number more than two-thirds of the entire worldwide web. Though this bug only applies to versions 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 beta of OpenSSL, hackers are able to obtain private keys which can be used to obtain sensitive information from countless people all around the world. Nothing says "heartbreak" like having your identity stolen and your sensitive data Shanghaied.

The Internet has grown to such a vast size that it in itself is like a world within a world. Some people live on it, and share their secrets far too openly. These people think themselves safe in a world that technically doesn't exist, but there is a lot more danger involved with the Internet than some people realize. There are criminals everywhere, and they are just waiting for you to drop your guard long enough to swipe everything you've worked so hard to protect.

April 8th is a big day for Microsoft; it's when they will finally pull the plug on their successful Windows XP operating system by ending its support. There are many users around the world that are still using Windows XP, which is a very risky move after tomorrow. Before we retire XP from the office, let's take a look back at how great it was with help from Steve Ballmer.