The Holiday Gift that Makes You a Super Hero!

We all know the vast amount of information, whether it be fact or fallacy, that exists on the Internet. And we know that it takes a little bit of "know how" to make your own website. Well here is a great way for anyone one from "one to ninety-two" to get started.

My friends over at opensource.com are constantly working to bring the latest happenings to us from the side of the computer world that offers huge opportunities for free. Today they sent out an update letting everyone know a new use for a Raspberry Pi - a device so inexpensive that everyone should have one. If you do not already have it, head on over to my previous post to learn a little more: More Raspberry Pi to Love.

Then have a look at this intro video about a new initiative called Coder for Raspberry Pi. I think it will whet your appetite.

Borrowing from the Coder for Raspberry Pi originators; "Coder is a free, open source project that turns a Raspberry Pi into a simple platform that educators and parents can use to teach the basics of building for the web. New coders can craft small projects in HTML, CSS, and Javascript, right from the web browser."

Check out the article describing how to use Coder for Raspberry Pi here: Raspberry Pi and Coder by Google for beginners and kids and look directly at the Coder for Raspberry Pi website here: A simple way to make web stuff on Raspberry Pi.

Thank you, Google, for yet another great opportunity to learn!

Very Large Windows Bug!

If you use almost any release of Microsoft Windows operating system, this bug is affecting you!

In a nutshell, this issue creeps up whenever your computer attempts to create a secure connection with another machine or network. The bug can allow cyber criminals to get into your machine and cause you heartache.

Please, read the following article and run updates on your computer ASAP! Thank you.

Windows SSL / TLS Bug

P.S. If you are still using Windows XP or prior, you must consider upgrading to a newer version of the operating system. There will, likely, be no fix for this.

Seven "P"s In Information Technology

Here is an excellent article I found dealing with a situation new IT professionals make. It will take a few moments to read, but it is worth the time.

The Seven "P"s

Raspberry Pi B+ ... More Pi to Love!

There is a new Raspberry Pi in town; the Raspberry Pi B+. This is purportedly a great way to experiment with tiny computer, programming, and Linux.

According to the adafruit website, here are the features associated with the new model:

 New Specifications:

• Dual step-down (buck) power supply for 3.3V and 1.8V

• 5V supply has polarity protection, 2A fuse and hot-swap protection (so you can plug/unplug USB without resetting the board)

• New USB/Ethernet controller chip

• 4 USB ports instead of 2 ports

• 40 GPIO pins instead of 26. The top/first 26 pins match the original layout, 9 additional GPIO and 2 EEPROM Plate identification pins

• Composite (NTSC/PAL) video now integrated into 4-pole 3.5mm 'headphone' jack

• MicroSD card socket instead of full size SD

• Four mounting holes in rectangular layout

• Many connectors moved around

Not New:

• Same basic size, 85mm x 56mm

• Same Processor, Broadcom SoC running at 700MHz (can be overclocked)

• Same RAM, 512MB soldered on top of the Broadcom chip

• Same power connector, microUSB

• Same software - be sure to run the latest Raspbian/NooBs but otherwise the overall Linux software is the same

• First 26-pins of GPIO are the same

• Same HDMI port

• Audio part of the A/V jack is the same

• Same Camera and DSI Display connector

In a nutshell, this new Raspberry Pi B+ is the same single-board Linux computer that started the trend but with a new neater layout that should make it easier to use.

Get your copy here:

Help! Windows Drivers Will Not Reinstall...

Countless times I have found myself trying to reinstall the Windows operating system just to figure out that not all the drivers loaded.

Typically this means using the Device Manager to figure out what drivers did not install and, simply, going to the manufacturer's website and downloading those drivers. However, manufacturers tend to use whatever hardware they have handy on lower-end computers. This means there might be five or six different sound or graphics or network drivers from which to choose. What do you do?

Have a look at this very good article from PC Pro and see how they lead you through being a kind of Sherlock Holmes to force the operating system to tell you where to look.

How To Find a Driver for an Unknown Device