Category: Computer Related – Basic

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Tool Claims To Show Google Search Bias

The commenter Yo_its_Me is on the right track. The key issue is not whether or not they can or should do it. The key issue is deception versus accuracy in the adherence to their published definition and public’s understanding of “Search Results”.

If millions if not billions of people believe that Google’s search results are organic, then they should be just that. If the public see an ad and recognise it as an ad. no problem.

If the public see a link to a promoted page and recognise it as a link to a promoted page, again, no problem.

Its when Google elevate a link to a page above its natural ranking and the users cannot obviously see that is the case is where I question the integrity of the process.

I know many people do not even recognise the paid ads at the top of the organic search results as ads.

http://www.webpronews.com/tool-claims-to-show-google-search-bias-2014-10

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Malware Built At Record Rates

If you do not have malware (MALicious softWARE) protection (anti-virus being the simplest example) then you are it is only a matter of time before you are badly stung.
Trojans continue to dominate the threat landscape, according to Panda Security’s latest quarterly report, released Monday.
The anti-virus maker’s research arm, PandaLabs, found that between January and March of this year, more than 6.5 million new malware strains were built, with trojans comprising 75 percent of those. In total, trojans were responsible for 80 percent of global computer infections – a record – far outpacing worms, viruses and adware.
Across the globe, researchers discovered that more than 31 percent of PCs have been seeded with malware, with machines in China experiencing the highest infection rates (around 50 percent). In the United States, PandaLabs said 28 percent of computers are infected nationwide, numbers that roughly correspond to previous versions of the report.
http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/342296,stats-confirm-malware-built-at-record-rates.aspx

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Perfect Use For QR Codes

Just read this newsletter from one of the world’s most prominent usability researchers, Jakob Nielsen.
Overly Tabletized Museum Info
Just back from Singapore. It’s about 15 years since my last visit and it’s amazing how much progress they have made. The world’s most efficient country. The new National Museum of Singapore is very impressive, in terms of both buildings and collections. I particularly liked the full-length paintings of old-time governors, including one by John Singer Sargent that could be in any art museum in the world, even disregarding the historical value.
Sadly, the museum is an example of mobile technology run amok. All information about the exhibited objects is provided on a tablet that you borrow when entering the history exhibition. The good news is that this allows for more in-depth information than traditional museum labels, and it’s also easier to provide the text in multiple languages that would crowd a printed label.
But the tablet fails to support the actual museum-going experience. You pause by a wall or display case with maybe 10-20 objects, each only marked by a number. And then you’re supposed to enter all these numbers into the tablet to find out what you’re seeing. No way: much too slow.
Nothing beats the roaming human eye in terms of quickly taking in volumes of information, especially when glancing around a large physical space. In a second or two, you can scan a big wall and focus on the label for the object that interests you the most. A few more seconds suffice to scan the label for the most pertinent information (what is it? how old is it?), and then you can either read more or move your gaze to the next object. All in much less time than it takes to type in a 3-4 digit number on a tablet.
You can easily imagine a more efficient retrieval user interface: for example one that utilizes location and direction to display information about an object simply by being pointed in the direction of that object. While faster, this would still be slower than simply glancing at a label next to the object.
Let’s stick to old technology when it works better. Then for sure use tablets to provide supplementary information, multimedia, and other elements that utilize its strengths and provide sufficient added-value to justify the interaction cost.

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Your Computer

Estimates put the value of the data on a computer three months old as being of more value than the cost of the hardware. When next you need to replace your computer, get the vendor to put in two mirrored hard drives so if one fails all your data is on the other drive.
Next step is to get at least one, if not two, hard drives so you can copy the data from your computer to one of the drives then give it to a trusted person to store in an off site location. Put a password on the drive so that if the trust sours, your data doesn’t become public domain.

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Here is a trifold flyer that you can print out with XP keyboard shortcuts

http://websupportblog.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/keyboard-shortcuts-trifold.pdf
…and here is another list…
General Shortcuts
Use these keyboard shortcuts when working with files and folders within Windows
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
CTRL+A – Select All
CTRL+C – Copy
CTRL+X – Cut
CTRL+V – Paste
CTRL+Z – Undo
DELETE – Delete selected item (move to Recycle Bin)
SHIFT+DELETE – Delete item permanently without moving to Recycle Bin
F2 – Rename the selected item
F3 – Search for a file or a folder
F4 – Display the Address Bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 – Refresh the contents of the active window
F6 – Cycle through the screen elements in a window or the desktop
F10 – Activate the menu bar in the active program
CTRL while dragging an item – Copy the selected item
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item – Create a shortcut to the selected item
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys – Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop
ALT+ENTER – View the properties for the selected item
ALT+F4 – Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+ENTER – Display the properties of the selected object
ALT+SPACEBAR – Open the shortcut menu for the active window
CTRL+F4 – Close the active window
ALT+TAB – Switch between the open items
ALT+ESC – Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened
SHIFT+F10 – Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
ALT+SPACEBAR – Display the System menu for the active window
CTRL+ESC – Display the Start menu
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name – Display the corresponding menu
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu – Perform the corresponding command
RIGHT ARROW – Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu
LEFT ARROW – Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu
BACKSPACE – View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive – Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC – Open Task Manager
Windows Explorer Shortcuts
The following shortcuts can be used within Windows Explorer.
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
HOME – Display the top of the active window
END – Display the bottom of the active window
LEFT ARROW – Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder
RIGHT ARROW – Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder
NUM LOCK+ * (Asterisk) – Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder
NUM LOCK+ + (Plus key) – Display the contents of the selected folder
NUM LOCK+ – (Minus key) – Collapse the selected folder
Dialog Box Shortcuts
The following shortcuts can be used when a Windows dialog box is open.
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
CTRL+TAB – Move forward through the tabs
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB – Move backward through the tabs
TAB – Move forward through the options
SHIFT+TAB – Move backward through the options
ALT+Underlined letter – Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option
ENTER – Perform the command for the active option or button
SPACEBAR – Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Arrow keys – Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
BACKSPACE – Open a folder one level up when a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box
F1 – Display Help
F4 – Display the items in the active list
Accessibility Shortcuts
These shortcuts can be used to modify Windows Accessibility settings.
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
Right SHIFT for eight seconds – Switch FilterKeys on or off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN – Switch High Contrast on or off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK – Switch the MouseKeys on or off
SHIFT five times – Switch the StickyKeys on or off
NUM LOCK for five seconds – Switch the ToggleKeys on or off
Windows Natural Keyboard Shortcuts
Use these shortcuts to navigate Windows with a Windows Natural Keyboard
(The keyboard must have a Windows logo key next to the Alt key).
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
Windows Logo – Display or hide the Start menu
Windows Logo+BREAK – Display the System Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+D – Display the desktop
Windows Logo+M – Minimize all open windows
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M – Restore all minimized windows
Windows Logo+F – Search for a file or a folder
CTRL+Windows Logo+F – Search for computers
Windows Logo+F1 – Display Windows Help
Windows Logo+L – Lock the keyboard
Windows Logo+R – Open the Run dialog box
Windows Logo+U – Open Utility Manager
Text Editing
The following shortcuts can be used in text-editing programs, such as Notepad and WordPad.
Keyboard Shortcut – Action
CTRL+A – Select All
CTRL+C – Copy
CTRL+X – Cut
CTRL+V – Paste
CTRL+Z – Undo
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW – Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+LEFT ARROW – Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+DOWN ARROW – Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+UP ARROW – Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys – Highlight a block of text
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys – Select a block of text one character at a time