Archive for the ‘computers’ Category
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Is Google Wallet a Good Idea
Are you looking for the newest useful app for your phone? Then you should take a look at Google Wallet. Do you think its a good idea?
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43 Things You Should Know About Google Wallet
May 28, 2011 http://www.WebProNews.com Would you use Google Wallet to store all of your credit card information? |
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43 Things You Should Know About Google Wallet Chris Crum | Staff Writer For Consumers and Businesses Share your thoughts about Google Wallet with us in the comments. Here is what you need to know about google Wallet: 1. Google Wallet stores virtual versions of credit cards and coupons on a phone. 3. Google Wallet is a free app. 4. Google Wallet is separate from Google Checkout, and can be thought of as the brick-and-mortar counterpart to the online payment nature of Google Checkout 5. Google Wallet uses Near Field Communication to allow consumers to make contactless payments. 6. Google Wallet is currently field testing, but will become available to consumers this summer. 7. At first, Google Wallet will only be available on the Nexus S 4G by Google from Sprint, but Google will expand it to other devices/platforms in time. 8. Citi, MasterCard, First Data, and Sprint are launch partners for Google Wallet. 9. Google is also partnering with point of sale systems companies, including Verifone, Hypercom, Ingenico, and ViVOTech, to “introduce rich interaction between Google Wallet and the point of sale.”
10. Google says it continues to partner with issuing banks, payment networks, point of sale systems, semiconductor companies, mobile handset manufacturers, mobile operators and merchants on Google Wallet-related elements. 11. Google is being sued by PayPal, who had two executives leave for Google. More on this here. 12. If you want to be notified about Google Wallet availability and product updates, you can give Google your email address here. 13. Google Wallet will support Citi PayPass eligible MasterCard credit cards and the Google prepaid card upon launch, but will support more in the future. 14. Users can pay with Google Wallet anywhere MasterCard PayPass is accepted. 15. Users can tap their phones on the merchant’s PayPass terminal to transmit payment details. 16. You don’t have to have a network connection to make a payment. 17. You can’t use Google Wallet if your phone battery is dead. 18. Currently, when a user adds their Citi MasterCard to Google Wallet, they can immediately spend up to $100, but to access their full line of credit, they’ll have to wait for Citi to send an activation code to enter into Google Wallet. 20. Google Wallet will sync to your Google Offers (Google’s recently launched Groupon competitor, which it also intends to integrate into other Google products like Search, Latitude, Maps, and Shopper. 21. According to reports, there will be stickers that customers can put on any device that can hold the information for one card, and when tapped on an NFC device, would work with Google to handle payments. Security and Privacy Concerns 22. If your phone with Google Wallet is lost or stolen, Google says you should contact your credit card company for assistance, and that you should report your phone lost/stolen and basically take the same precautions you would have anyway. 23. Google Wallet will allow you to remove all cards from your phone by resetting it (which also removes all transaction data). 24. Google says it protects your payment credentials by storing them in a chip called the “Secure Element” that is contained within the Nexus S 4G, and is isolated from the phone’s main OS and hardware. Google does not say how this will be addressed with other devices. That’s probably for the manufacturers to determine. 25. Google does enforce a PIN number. 26. In terms of the possibility of a malicious app accessing your credit card, Google says, “Both the Android platform and the Secure Element are designed to prevent this from happening. Android enforces strict access policies so that malicious applications wouldn’t have access to data stored by Google Wallet. Even Google Wallet itself has very limited access to the Secure Element, and cannot read or write data from its memory. There are multiple levels of protection for data stored on the Secure Element and it is protected at the hardware level from snooping or tampering.” 27. Note that malware did infect Android apps as recently as March. 28. Google’s response to the possibility of someone getting close to your phone to read sensitive data, is, “The NFC antenna in your phone is only activated when the screen is powered on, and even if the antenna is on and in proximity of a reader, payment credentials can only be transmitted from the Secure Element to a payment terminal if you first enter your Google Wallet PIN.” 29. As far as being held liable for unauthorized transactions on credit cards store on Google Wallet, Google says the same rules apply as plastic cards. 30. Google says it does not “currently” receive data about products you purchase using Google Wallet. 31. Google Wallet does record locally on the phone the time of transaction and the credentials used to pay. There is an option to turn on a feature to record your location. 32. Google enables you to clear your transaction history from the main menu of the app. 33. To accept contactless payments, Google says your terminal must be ISO 14443 or 18092 standard (they will normally contain the universal contactless symbol). 34. You’ll need First Data’s latest systems to be able to accept Google Wallet (in addition to other contactless payments). 35. Merchants interested in participating can call First Data at 888-265-8147 (you can also request a call back here). 36. Merchants pay card-present rates for transactions made via Google Wallet (as opposed to card-not-present rates) 37. There are no additional charges. 38. Google does not take a cut of transaction fees through Google Wallet. 39. Businesses can request to become “SingleTap” merchants, where consumers can pay, redeem offers, and earn loyalty points. Merchants can integrate gift cards into Google Wallet. 40. Current SingleTap merchants include: American Eagle, Bloomingdales, The Container Store, Duane Reade, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy’s, Noah’s, Peet’s Coffe & Tea, RadioShack, Subway, Toys R Us, and Walgreens. 41. Current Tap and Pay merchants include Coca Cola, CVS, Jack in the Box, Sports Authority, and Sunoco. 42. Merchants can always send questions about Google Wallet to the company at wallet-b2b@google.com. 43. Google says it will remain an “open commerce ecosystem” by supporting many payment instruments with the goal of creating virtual versions of all the plastic cards that exist today, establishing APIs that issuing banks can develop for, and APIs to enable transfer of offers, loyalty programs, receipts, etc. at the point of sale, and spreading Google Wallet to more mobile devices and platforms. “In terms of iPhone, RIM, Microsoft — we will partner with everyone,” Google VP of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius (named in the PayPal suit) is quoted as saying. Questions There are still plenty of unanswered questions. Rachel King at ZDNet posts some good ones, such as what happens when the battery dies? ATM cash advances? International travel? Google is clearly very serious about the future of this app (see those aspirations mentioned earlier). I’m guessing some of these things will be addressed in time. Do you think Google Wallet is a good idea? Tell us what you think. |
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Steps 1 and 2 of the Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg
The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life by Daniel Sieberg
Have you ever felt that something hasn’t really happened until you post it on Facebook or Twitter? Does a flashing red light on your BlackBerry make your heart flutter? Do you know you shouldn’t be texting and driving—but still do it? If you said “yes” to any of these questions then you’re not alone; you’re among the millions of people who can relate to being overwhelmed by technology. Fear not—from leading technology reporter Daniel Sieberg comes the first self-help book to address America’s newest addiction: THE DIGITAL DIET: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life, a four-step, dietary-style approach to help you slim down on everything from gadgets to social networks to video games.
The Digital Diet is a 28-day plan that’s meant to reawaken our awareness of technology in our lives, provide tools and gadgets to improve life, and instill the right motivational/practical formula for managing it in the future. It can be tailored based on age, profession, hobbies, and a person’s particular electronic poison and includes a self-assessment, a detox phase, and a week-by-week guide to building time for technology back into your routine.
These are the 4 steps:
Step 1 – Think
Consider how technology has overwhelmed our society and the effect it’s had on your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Step 2 – Boot
Take stock of your digital intake using Sieberg’s Virtual Weight Index and step back from the device.
Step 3 – Connect
Focus on restoring the relationship that have been harmed by the technology in your life.
Step 4 – Vitalize
Learn how to live with technology – the healthy way, by optimizing your time spent e-mailing, texting, on Facebook and web surfing.
Step 1 – Re: Think (Excerpt from The Digital Diet)
In recent years there’s been a raging debate in the tech world between those who believe we need to unplug on a regular basis and those who say plugging in is both necessary and advantageous. But the argument between the two misses the point: the goal is moderation. I’m not advocating going “off the grid” or even eliminating technology for a while and then giving yourself permission to indulge later. My intention is to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the online and offline worlds and teach you to recognize when operating in one rather than the other is a suitable option. Perfection isn’t possible. But seeking betterment is.
Some experts argue that the way we live in the twenty-first century is no different from the way we lived a hundred years ago because it’s relative. Back then we had to struggle with milking machines and a washboard. Or getting the mail and wanting to read a book. The difference is that those activities had a finite experiential window. People would stress about these pursuits or needs before they finished them, but once the physical act was complete— the book closed, the washboard down, the mail opened— it was on to another activity. Not so today.
Today we are part of the matrix. I don’t mean the movie; I mean the endless web of questions about the kids’ babysitter and birthday reminders and wondering if that accounting report is finished. We don’t “tear ourselves away from work” anymore; our work tears us away from everything else. And there is often little sense of completion with work or other activities. We can adjust the time and place of a meeting instantly through text or e- mail, or we can change our mind about the color of a rug and order a new one. We can be reached at all times in nearly all places.
Our connectedness often translates into a constant state of flux, and the decisions in our lives are rarely final. The technology that helps us stay in touch also makes us crazy by constantly demanding our time and attention. Just as we set up a Skype call so the grandparents can see the new baby, the boss e-mails and asks for an “emergency” update on the budget numbers. But there are ways to cut through the sticky strands and turn that web into an empowering weapon rather than a net (think Spider- Man).
Step 2 – Re: Boot (Excerpt from The Digital Diet)
This is the beginning of a journey aimed at asserting your control over technology, improving your communications, and taking back your real life. The dividends could last a lifetime.
The first step in the process involves powering down. That’s good news, I promise. During the next stage in the diet you will assign a value to each device and online tool. Those values will become part of your Virtual Weight Index, or VWI. Following that, the key part of the diet looks at which technologies are effective for you and your family, which ones are unnecessary, and which ones can be eliminated. Eventually I will outline a digital intake plan that you can tailor to your particular situation, lifestyle, and needs. That plan will very much let you stay in touch. Along the way, we will delve into brain and body exercises to relieve stress, and I’ll offer plenty of fun tips and tricks to stay positive. In the end, you’ll regain a balance to your life that has probably slipped away in the past decade.
The critical stage of the Digital Diet is the beginning, because it homes in on why you’re here, assesses your current situation, and forces you to ask what you’re afraid of giving up if you trim your tech (and even eliminate it for a short while). In the detox stage, the goals are:
1) highlight the amount of technology in your life
2) appreciate what it’s doing to your communication, multitasking, and self- worth
3) imagine your life without technology by eliminating it from your life for a short period of time
4) briefly discover alternatives, and
5) establish boundaries with friends and family.
Onward.
Take Action: It’s time to detox. First, put your personal devices and temptations in a box. That’s right, a literal box. It can be a shoebox, or, if you’re a bit more gadget heavy, then you can always use the top drawer of a dresser. And I mean everything— the cell phone, the BlackBerry, the laptop, the portable video game. Go on, I can wait. If you can’t move something, like your video-game console or your desktop computer, then shut it down and put a garbage bag or something similar over it.
Now have a look at them. How do they make you feel? Likely a mix of emotions. Which are taking up the most of your time and energy? You may see some devices as both utopian and dystopian. Your smart phone is where you receive a photo of your niece playing soccer but also a reprimanding note from your colleague. For now, physically and mentally separate yourself from your gadgets. Leave them in the box as we head to the next phase.
For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit http://www.danielsieberg.com/. For your own copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-4-step-addiction-balance/dp/0307887383 (print) and http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-addiction-balance-ebook/dp/B004J4WM3G (Kindle)
An Interview with Daniel Sieberg Author of The Digital Diet
| A Q&A with Daniel Sieberg, author of
THE DIGITAL DIET The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life |
Why did you decide to write this book?
It started as part of a personal journey to streamline my own technology intake. During a series of events in late 2009 I realized that despite my myriad gadgets and devices and websites, I had actually lost touch with my family and friends. My over-indulgence in technology was largely to blame, and I needed a plan going forward. I still love technology but now I make it work for me rather than the other way around.
How is your book different from others about “de-teching”?
In my opinion, too many books about “de-teching” or “offlining” start and stop with the idea of abandoning technology—forever, for a short time. My book is about instilling a greater cultural awareness (both at home and in the workplace) while encouraging people to use technology to their advantage. It’s about having a long-term strategy that works for all aspects of life. There are anecdotes and tips and ways to maximize your time spent in the digital world, and clear guidelines on how to trim the stuff that isn’t enhancing your relations and work. It’s about consciousness and control, which I think we’ve lost over time as technology has infiltrated so many aspects of our lives.
Can you explain the concept of “Facebook envy” and how it can have a negative impact on your mood?
Social networks make it easy to be a voyeur and peek over our digital fences. If we indulge in that behavior too much it can result in feelings of inadequacy, jealousy and frustration. Most people portray an idyllic life on social networks and don’t reveal the very real struggles they may be going through. Therefore the way we “see” our friends and family can be distorted and inaccurate. My hope is that this book gives people perspective on their real life versus their online avatar or alter ego. Real life is real, social networks are not. End of story.
What is the link between technology and childhood obesity?
There have been countless studies linking the over-use of technology with childhood obesity. Whether it’s spending too much time playing video games or avoiding physical activities or simply exercising the fingers and thumbs and nothing else. Parents constantly struggle with monitoring their child’s use of technology, and the book is meant as an educational resource that inspires them to stay involved. It’s also about suggesting plenty of technologies that assist children with losing weight or staying in shape. There are real ways to incorporate gadgets and software and do it the right way.
Some may initially think this is a book about the evils of technology. Can you explain why its not?
It’s absolutely not a book about the evils of technology or how everyone should be anti-technology. Just like a diet book isn’t anti-food but rather about consuming meals that make you healthy and energetic. In the same vein, my book encourages people to embrace technology but for the right reasons and for the right occasion. It’s all about seeking balance. Technology that liberates not inundates.
It seems that nowadays everyone around you is on their phone checking emails, texting, and/or talking. What do you consider proper phone etiquette when in public places, particularly business meetings, train rides, and restaurants?
We crave someone reaching out, responding to a text or an email, and all too often we sacrifice the people around us. The book outlines some practical suggestions for juggling your technology and keeping your relations intact. For example, eliminating what I call “tech turds.” That refers to dumping your smartphone on the table at a restaurant or at the dinner table. It’s a clear sign that the people around you are less important than whatever you receive on your device.
What is your advice to parents who want to try the digital diet as a family but are getting resistance from their kids?
Keep trying. There are real benefits to be gained from finding a balance. It doesn’t mean unplugging everything in the home or flushing gadgets down the toilet. It’s about having heartfelt and patient conversations. Sometimes that’s easier said than done but it’s always worth pursuing. And to be honest, the parents can be just as guilty as the kids in terms of establishing a pattern of behavior. If the kids see mom or dad always typing on a smartphone or constantly tied to the computer then they may emulate that. It starts with parents getting control of their own digital diet and then being upfront and straightforward with a plan in the household.
How is “digital overload” affecting the corporate world, and what can employees do to slow down?
I think what some employers don’t realize is that tethering people to work through technology may actually be making them less productive. Many new studies question the effectiveness of multitasking, and a worker’s morale and motivation can plummet if they don’t get the balance they need. I look at a number of technologies that help people organize their life and structure their “e-day,” which is when online time begins and ends. The corporate world can learn a lot from a digital diet that still fosters innovation and inspiration.
Can you explain the concept of a “data hoarder”?
Data hoarding is a decidedly modern diagnosis. It means never wanting to delete anything for fear of possibly needing it one day. Or keeping old gadgets and websites even when they’re obsolete. We’re all guilty of data hoarding on some level. But in extreme cases it can be debilitating and physically and mentally harmful.
How important is the digital diet when it comes to texting and driving?
Critical. Texting and driving simply should never happen. Period. I’ve interviewed a father who lost his son to a woman who was texting and driving. Was she flirting with a lover? No, she was texting with someone at her church. The reasons don’t matter—the two activities just don’t mix. That said, there’s no question the desire to text (or email) while driving can creep in to even the most responsible person’s mind. To that end, the digital diet looks at technologies to help “outsource self-control.” There are several programs that will switch off the messaging feature while driving.
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TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL SIEBERG, PLEASE CONTACT:
CAROLINE SILL, 212-782-8943, CSILL@RANDOMHOUSE.COM
THE DIGITAL DIET:
The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life
By DANIEL SIEBERG
Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group; May 3, 2011
Trade Paperback Original; $13.00; ISBN: 978-0-307-88738-2
Ten Digital Diet Rules to Live By From Daniel Sieberg
Ten Digital Diet Rules to Live By
From THE DIGITAL DIET By Daniel Sieberg
1. Avoid tech turds. Don’t just dump your smart phone on the table at a restaurant or at home. Keep it in your pocket or purse unless it’s critical to have it out. If you must have it out, acknowledge its presence and inform your companions that you’ll check it only in an emergency. It’s a courtesy that you’d appreciate, too.
2. Live your life in the real world. If you must post a status update or tweet or blog about something in your life, then make sure it’s something you’d be willing to announce to anyone you know face to face.
3. Ask yourself whether you really need that gadget. There are tons of cool stuff in the tech world, and some of it might even improve your or your family’s life, but don’t feel compelled to buy every new toy that comes out. Before you make a digital purchase, question its necessity.
4. Seek tech support. Navigating the wilds of the wired world can sometimes be too much to handle alone. It’s okay to ask for help and it’s also okay to use technology to help “outsource self control” when needed. Check out the many programs that can assist with budgeting your time online.
5. Detox Regularly. Once you’ve completed the Digital Diet, return to the detox phase one day a month. You can do this as a family, too. Use that day as a touchstone to remember what life can be like without technology.
6. Sleep device-free: Move your chargers out of the bedroom to another room in the house, and let your devices live there overnight. They need a break from you, too.
7. It’s either the human or the device. Work toward choosing people over the device. Yes, there’ll be times when it’s tricky or nearly impossible to choose between your smart phone or laptop and paying attention to your child or your loved one or your friend, but try to use your devices more on your own time rather than during the time you share with others.
8. Remember the “if /then” principle. Choices that you make in the virtual world can have an impact in the real one. For example, if you don’t find the time to put down the gadgets and log out once in a while, then you might lose the ability to appreciate the finer moments in life.
9. Structure your e-day. Work toward a finite beginning and end to your connectedness. In other words, dive into the gadgets and the e-mail and the texts only when you’ve composed yourself in the morning. When you’re ready to unplug in the evening, do it without reservation and focus on what—and who—is immediately around you.
10. Trust your instincts. If you think you might be spending too much time being a voyeur on social networks or playing online games or endlessly texting, then you probably are. That little voice knows when it’s all become too much. Listen to it. Pursue the ultimate goal of balance and awareness.
For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit http://www.danielsieberg.com/. For your own copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-4-step-addiction-balance/dp/0307887383 (print) and http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-addiction-balance-ebook/dp/B004J4WM3G (Kindle)
About the author
Daniel Sieberg is an EmmyÒ-nominated reporter who hosts Tech This Out! for ABC News NOW. He has also covered science, environment, space and technology stories for CBS News, CNN, PBS, NPR, BBC News, Planet Green, MSNBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Oprah.com, Details, Time, The Vancouver Sun, CTV News, CleanSkies.TV, Fuse.TV, The Nate Berkus Show and The Dr. Oz Show.
About The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life
Have you ever felt that something hasn’t really happened until you post it on Facebook or Twitter? Does a flashing red light on your BlackBerry make your heart flutter? Do you know you shouldn’t be texting and driving—but still do it? If you said “yes” to any of these questions then you’re not alone; you’re among the millions of people who can relate to being overwhelmed by technology. Fear not—from leading technology reporter Daniel Sieberg comes the first self-help book to address America’s newest addiction: THE DIGITAL DIET: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life (Three Rivers Press; On Sale: May 3, 2011; Trade Paperback Original; $13.00), a four-step, dietary-style approach to help you slim down on everything from gadgets to social networks to video games.
The Digital Diet is a 28-day plan that’s meant to reawaken our awareness of technology in our lives, provide tools and gadgets to improve life, and instill the right motivational/practical formula for managing it in the future. It can be tailored based on age, profession, hobbies, and a person’s particular electronic poison and includes a self-assessment, a detox phase, and a week-by-week guide to building time for technology back into your routine.
Why Can’t Children in the US Read
I am not saying that all children have a problem reading – however, there are far too many people who read at a elementary school level. I remember learning to read long ago – not saying how long – but I remember using the method of sounding out the letters to figure out words. It seems that is a far more effective way to learn to read, instead of memorizing things. Could that be one of the fundamental problems in the US educational system? The problem is not getting better from any of the reports I’ve seen and from the things I see people posting online – it seems the problem is very wide spread. Teaching children to memorize in order to pass tests — is NOT working. This is an interesting article that a friend sent me – do you have any thoughts about this problem?
Why Johnny Can’t Read
Fifty-six years ago, in 1955 to be exact, the most significant book about American education was published and, with very good reason, caused quite a stir. It was written by Rudolf Flesch, who had come to America to escape the Nazis in Vienna, became highly fluent in English and got a Ph.D in English at Columbia University. The book was entitled Why Johnny Can’t Read. It became a best-seller and rankled the entire education establishment. In it Flesch explained why so many children in American schools were having such a difficult time learning to read. He wrote:“The teaching of reading – -all over the United States, in all the schools, and in all the textbooks – -is totally wrong and flies in the face of all logic and common sense.”
He then went on to explain how, in the 1930s, the professors of education changed the way reading was taught in American schools. They threw out the traditional alphabetic-phonics method, in which one learns how to sound out new words, and replaced it with a new sight, whole-word, or look-say method that teaches children to read English as if it were Chinese. He said that when you impose an ideographic teaching method on a phonetic reading and writing system you get dyslexia, or reading disability.
Flesch’s book was the first salvo in the Reading War, which is still going on over a half a century later. The progressive educators, who had introduced the new reading programs, were not about to give up their crusade to use the schools to create a socialist America. Their view, as first stated by their leader John Dewey, was that traditional phonics produced independent, individualistic readers who could think for themselves, while the new whole-word approach produced readers dependent on the collective for meaning and interpretation and were thereby easier to collectivize and control. And anyone who has visited a public school lately will become aware of how socialistic the curriculum has become.
In this socialist crusade, behavioral psychology would play an important role. For example, Dr. Paul Witty, professor of education and director of the psycho-educational clinic at Northwestern University, was interviewed by Nation’s Schools in July 1955. Flesch had singled out the professor as one of the whole-word gurus. So the magazine prefaced the interview with this paragraph:
“How does one tell a gullible public that it is being exploited by a biased writer — as in the case with Rudolf Flesch and his book Why Johnny Can’t Read? It will take time and patience for parents to learn that Mr. Flesch has mixed a few half-truths with prejudice to capitalize on two misconceptions. The first is his superficial notion as to what reading really is. The second is his misrepresentation as to how reading is taught.”
By now we know exactly what the progressives mean by “what reading really is.” The word method is now called Whole Language, and in 1991 three Whole Language professors wrote a book, Whole Language: What’s the Difference?, in which they defined what they mean by reading. They wrote:
From a whole language perspective, reading (and language use in general) is a process of generating hypotheses in a meaning-making transaction in a sociohistorical context. As a transactional process reading is not a matter of “getting the meaning” from text, as if that meaning were in the text waiting to be decoded by the reader. Rather, reading is a matter of readers using the cues print provide and the knowledge they bring with them to construct a unique interpretation.…This view of reading implies that there is no single “correct” meaning for a given text, only plausible meanings.
This is the kind of pedagogical insanity that now reigns in our colleges of education and has filtered down to the classroom teacher. Most parents assume that our educators are sane human beings who use common sense in their classrooms. Unfortunately, few if any parents have access to the writings of these so-called professors of education, and so are totally ignorant of the kind of crackpots who are educating their children.
Of course, back in 1955, the educators had every reason to denounce Rudolf Flesch because he put in jeopardy all of the new programs that were created to deal with the reading problems children were having as a result of the new teaching methods. An article in the May 1953 issue of High Points had described the new world of remedial reading which had come into existence:
Nearly every university in the United States now operates a “reading clinic” staffed by psychiatrists, psychologists, and trained reading technicians, and equipped with novel mechanical devices such as the metronoscope, the ophthalmograph, and the reading rate accelerator…. In addition, an entirely new professional group of private practitioners has arisen, whose specialized training in the field justifies their hanging out their shingles as “reading counselors” and rating large fees for consultation and remedial treatment.
So in addition to the education establishment and the new basal textbooks they wrote promoting the new teaching method, a whole new field of psychological therapy had developed to take care of children’s reading problems. Indeed, as early as 1944, Life magazine was writing articles about the epidemic of dyslexia among American children. The article stated:
Millions of children in the U.S. suffer from dyslexia which is the medical term for reading difficulties. It is responsible for about 70% of the school failures in the 6- to 12-year-age group, and handicaps about 15% of all grade-school children. Dyslexia may stem from a variety of physical ailments or combination of them-— glandular imbalance, heart disease, eye or ear trouble — or from a deep-seated psychological disturbance that “blocks” a child’s ability to learn. It has little or nothing to do with intelligence and is usually curable.
The article then went on to describe the case of a little girl with an I.Q. of 118 who was being examined at the Dyslexia Institute of Northwestern University. After her tests, the doctors concluded that the little girl needed “thyroid treatments, removal of tonsils and adenoids, exercises to strengthen her eye muscles.” No one suggested teaching her to read with phonics.
No wonder Flesch’s book hit a sensitive nerve among the educators, psychiatrists, psychologists and “reading specialists.” They all had an economic stake in the continued use of teaching methods that produced these thousands of affected children.
The result of Flesch’s book is that it awakened many parents who then began to teach their children to read at home. But the public schools continued to use the teaching method that continued to produce reading disability. And by now the full story of the deliberate dumbing down of the American people has been fully documented by such books as Charlotte Iserbyt’s the deliberate dumbing down of America and John Taylor Gatto’s monumental, The Underground History of American Education.
And yet most American parents continue to put their children in the government schools where the dumbing down curriculum is still in place and does its job of destroying their children’s ability to become good readers and successful human beings. And yet, the idea of reforming the public schools still resonates among the public who constantly approve of the government’s efforts of reform by throwing billions of dollars at the educators.
But Flesch knew how difficult the job of reform would be. He wrote:
It’s a foolproof system all right. Every grade-school teacher in the country has to go to a teachers’ college or school of education; every teachers’ college gives at least one course on how to teach reading; every course on how to teach reading is based on a textbook; every one of those textbooks is written by one of the high priests of the word method. In the old days it was impossible to keep a good teacher from following her own common sense and practical knowledge; today the phonetic system of teaching reading is kept out of our schools as effectively as if we had a dictatorship with an all-powerful Ministry of Education.
And the situation today is about the same as it was back in Flesch’s day. My contacts in the teaching field tell me that not much has changed since 1955, despite the fact that many books have been published since then corroborating Flesch’s findings. But it seems that only the homeschoolers have bothered to read them.
Back in the 1970s when I became aware of what was going on in the schools, I decided to write a phonics reading program that could easily be used by any parent to teach their child to read at home. I eliminated the use of any pictures and simply taught the student our English alphabetic system in a rational, systematic way. Its title is Alpha-Phonics. By now it has been used by thousands of homeschooling parents quite successfully, proving beyond any doubt that we can restore high literacy to this country if the will to do so is there. Unfortunately, it isn’t among the educational establishment.
Meanwhile, just about everyone who reads a newspaper knows that we still have a severe reading problem, which is not helping our country compete with all of those students learning English in China, South Korea, Japan, and India.. Indeed, the National Endowment for the Arts was so concerned about our declining literacy that they conducted their own survey which was released in November of 2007 entitled “Reading at Risk.”
According to the Report, the number of 17-year-olds who never read for pleasure increased from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004. About half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 never read books for pleasure.
Endowment Chairman Dana Gioia stated: “This is a massive social problem. We are losing the majority of the new generation. They will not achieve anything close to their potential because of poor reading.” The survey found that only a third of high school seniors read at a proficient level. “And proficiency is not a high standard,” said Gioia. “We’re not asking them to be able to read Proust in the original. We’re talking about reading the daily newspaper.”
Well, as you can imagine the Report had as much influence on our educators as Flesch’s book of 1955. By the way, Flesch wrote a new book in 1983, Why Johnny Still Can’t Read. That book was totally ignored by the educators, who had so completely solidified their control over reading in the schools, that they couldn’t have cared less about what Flesch had to say in his new book.
How long will America continue to suffer this literacy blight? As long as there are government schools controlled by the progressives, there will be no true reform. Thus, if parents want their children to become successful, literate human beings they will have to do it themselves or place their children in private and church schools they can trust.
Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld is the author of nine books on education including NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, The Whole Language/OBE Fraud, and The Victims of Dick & Jane and Other Essays. Of NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education, former U.S. Senator Steve Symms of Idaho said: “Every so often a book is written that can change the thinking of a nation. This book is one of them.” Mr. Blumenfeld’s columns have appeared in such diverse publications as Reason, The New American, The Chalcedon Report, Insight, Education Digest, Vital Speeches, and WorldNetDaily.
http://thenewamerican.com/index.php/opinion/sam-blumenfeld/6283-why-johnny-still-cant-read
Texting For Seniors
I just received this and wanted to pass the humor along 
Since more and more Seniors are texting there appears to be a need for a STC (Senior Texting Code). If you qualify for Senior Discounts this is the code for you.
Please pass this on to your CHILDREN and Grandchildren so they can understand your texts.
ATD: At The Doctor’s
BFF: Best Friend Farted
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CGU: Can’t get up
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk’s On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
PIMP: Pooped in my pants
ROFL… CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing… And Can’t Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where’s The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
GLKI (Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In)
A Technical History of Flash Memory
Flash memory gets its name because its microchips are arranged in such a way that its section of memory cells get erased in a single action or “Flash”.
Both NOR and NAND Flash memory were invented by Dr. Fujio Masuoka from Toshiba in 1984.The name ‘Flash’ was suggested because the erasure process of the memory contents reminiscent of a flash of a camera, and it’s name was coined to express how much faster it could be erased “in a flash”. Dr. Masuoka presented the invention at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) held in San Jose, California in 1984. Intel recognized the potential of the invention and introduced the first commercial NOR type flash chip in 1988, with long erase and write times.
Flash memory is a form of non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and rewriten, which means that it does not need power to maintain the data stored in the chip. In addition, flash memory offers fast read access times and better shock resistance than hard disks. These characteristics explain the popularity of flash memory for applications such as storage on battery-powered devices.
Flash memory is an advance from of EEPROM (Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) that allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. Unlike an EPROM (Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory) an EEPROM can be programmed and erased multiple times electrically. Normal EEPROM only allows one location at a time to be erased or written, meaning that flash memory can operate at higher effective speeds when the systems using it read and write to different locations at the same time.
Referring to the type of logic gate used in each storage cell, Flash memory is built in two varieties and named as, NOR flash and NAND flash.
Flash memory stores one bit of information in an array of transistors, called “cells”, however recent flash memory devices referred to as multi-level cell devices, can store more than 1 bit per cell depending on the amount of electrons placed on the Floating Gate of a cell. NOR flash cell looks similar to a semiconductor device like transistors, but it has two gates.The first one is the control gate (CG) and the second one is a floating gate (FG) that is shield or insulated all around by an oxide layer. Because the FG is secluded by its shield oxide layer, electrons placed on it get trapped and data is stored within. On the other hand NAND Flash uses tunnel injection for writing and tunnel release for erasing.
NOR flash that was developed by Intel in 1988 with the unique feature of long erase and write times, and its endurance of erase cycles ranges from 10,000 to 100,000 makes it suitable for storage of program code that needs to be infrequently updated, like in a digital camera and PDAs. Though, later card demand moved towards the cheaper NAND flash, NOR-based flash is the source of all removable media. 
In 1989 Samsung and Toshiba created NAND flash with higher density and lower cost per bit’ then NOR Flash with faster erase and write times. However it only allows sequence data access, not random like NOR Flash, which makes NAND Flash suitable for mass storage device such as memory cards. SmartMedia was the first NAND-based removable media and numerous others followed like MMC, Secure Digital, SD-Picture Cards and Memory Sticks. Flash memory is frequently used to hold control code such as the basic input/output system (BIOS) in a computer. When BIOS needs to be changed (rewritten), the flash memory can be written to, in block rather than byte sizes, making it simple to update.
On the other hand, flash memory is not practical to random access memory (RAM) as RAM needs to be addressable at the byte (not the block) level. Thus, it is used more as a hard drive than as a RAM. Because of this particular uniqueness, it is utilized with a specifically-designed file system, which extend writes over the media and deal with the long erase times of NOR flash blocks. JFFS was the first of the file systems, replaced by JFFS2. Then YAFFS was released in 2003, dealing specifically with NAND flash, and JFFS2 was updated to support NAND flash as well. Still, in practice most follow the old FAT file system for compatibility purposes.
Although it can be read or written to a byte at a time in a random access fashion,the limitation of flash memory is it must be erased a “block” at a time. Starting with a freshly erased block, any byte within that block can be programmed. However, once a byte has been programmed, it cannot be changed again until the entire block is erased. In other words, flash memory (specifically NOR flash) offers random-access read and programming operations, but cannot offer random-access rewrite or erase operations.
This effect is partially offset by some chip firmware or file system drivers by counting the writes and dynamically remapping the blocks in order to spread the write operations between several the sectors, or by write verification and remapping to spare sectors in case of write failure.
Due to wear and tear on the insulating oxide layer around the charge storage mechanism, all types of flash memory erode after a certain number of erase functions ranging from 100,000 to 1,000,000, but it can be read an unlimited number of times.
In spite of all these clear advantages, worse may occur due to system failure, battery failure, accidental erasure, re-format, power surges, faulty electronics and corruption caused by hardware breakdown or software malfunctions; as a result your data could be lost and damaged.
Flash Memory Data Recovery is the process of restoring data from primary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. Flash memory data recovery is a flash memory file recovery service that restores all corrupted and deleted photographs even if a memory card was re-formatted. This can be due to physical damage or logical damage to the storage device. Data even from damage flash memory can be recovered, and more than 90% of lost data can be restored.
The Advantages of Buying Refurbished Laptops
Laptops are sent back to manufacturers for a number of different reasons. Perhaps the purchaser finds the screen of the laptop scratched or with a blemish, the packaging of the laptop is dented or it simply does not function correctly.These units are usually returned to the manufacturer. Once sent back these laptops can not be resold as new,they are inspected, tested for quality then repackaged by the manufacturer and resold at a reduced price. These laptops are called refurbished laptops.
How they do it
When the laptops reach the factory, they undergo inspection for any manufacturing defects by passing through various stages of tests. If no defect is found, the hard drive is formatted and a fresh operating system is loaded. Once this is done it’s tested again for no less than 4-5 hours to check for any defects, any parts are replaced if they are found to be defective. The refurbished laptop is then given a new serial number to mark it as a factory refurbished unit. The process carried out for the restoration of laptops may differ from company to company, but the main goal is the same, to make the laptop run as efficiently as if it were brand new.
Custom refurbished laptops
Also available are custom refurbished laptops which are reassembled to match the customer’s preferences. It allows consumers to customize their laptop by selecting features options like, screen size, processor speed, multimedia capabilities, memory capacity, hard drive size, optical drives, graphics, accessories, Blue-tooth and various other options. It gives the consumer an opportunity to get a laptop that suits their needs, at a very affordable price.
Like new only better
Have you ever bought something brand new that didn’t work right out of the box? Have you wondered how something brand new could be defective or not work properly? This is due to the fact that manufacturers don’t test every unit they produce.They do sample testing by pulling a unit every so often and testing it. Though this does help with over all quality control, it does not mean that every unit that has been manufactured works. Refurbished laptops are very reliable because they are checked for high standards of performance and full functionality, before being packaged and sent out for resale.This is done with every unit almost guaranteeing you laptop will work when you first use it. Most brand name laptop manufacturers offer refurbished units. This allows consumers to obtain the latest models at a reduced price. Though it varies from Brand to brand ,refurbished laptops like new ones, do come with a warranty. Commonly a 1 year manufacturers warranty is offered. These warranties support replacement of parts and maintenance that may be required. So if your in the market for your first laptop, need to upgrade an older model,or simply need an extra one but cant afford the cost of a brand new unit, ask about refurbished ones, neither you or your bank account will be disappointed.
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