High ISO gives you the ability to shoot at faster speeds, but opens up the possibility of getting more noise (or graininess) in your fotos. Some cameras have the ability to set ISO really high, but going over 3200 isn’t recommended. Low ISO corresponds to slower shutter speeds but also provides for very crisp pictures, so use a low ISO of 200 or so when plenty of light is available.
At the Georgetown University #PovertySummit President Obama made some very real comments, tying his own background to modern society’s challenges in the areas of education and social investment; access to jobs, internet, transportation; mentoring, youth, fatherhood, families and community:
I am a black man who grew up without a father, and I know the cost that I paid for that. And I also know that I have the capacity to break that cycle, and as a consequence I think that my daughters are better off … For me to have that conversation does not negate my conversation about the need for early childhood education, or the need for job training, or the need for investment in infrastructure or jobs in low-income communities…
Twitter is my favorite social media platform. It works great for power users like me who share and pick up important news there, but casual users find it unwelcoming. And, although the company is worth $23 billion, Wall St. doesn’t love Twitter as an investment vehicle.
Matt Iglesias of Vox proposes an idea I like a lot: ignore investors and build Twitter up as a power user tool, which is what it seems to want to be anyway. It might be a great shot in the arm were Twitter to rekindle good relationships with 3rd party developers too – and bring back the robust user choice ecosystem it used to enjoy.
It’s an embarrassment to the search giant that Google Maps produced highly inappropriate racist results, even though it happened because racist terms are often shared on the internet. A Wired reporter explains:
It was discovered that when searching for “n***a house” and “n***a king,” Maps returned a surprising location: the White House. A search for “slut’s house” led to an Indiana women’s dorm. Initially, you may have suspected this to be the work of a lone vandal, or even a coordinated campaign. But Google Maps gave racist, degrading results not because it was compromised, but because the internet itself is racist and degrading … It … means that if enough people online refer to a specific place using vile epithets, even one of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States can be reduced to racist garbage.
6 links that will show you what Google knows about you. You can manage some of the information and other stuff you can find out about.
Facebook is 0 for 2 today. Doing a great job suppressing the progressive voice, which is not surprising given its founder is a great friend of conservative darling @corybooker and heavily supports the conservative agenda.
A few minutes ago I reported that Facebook wouldn’t let me share news about Newark’s new civilian police review board. Now they won’t let me share a Bernie Sanders quote either…
Most Americans, their reality is that they’re working longer hours and for lower wages ~ Bernie Sanders
Oh man. Facebook just tried to block me (using a discouraging warning) from following a link.
This a new level of censorship. Cut it out, guys 🙁
Haven’t you heard – Net neutrality is now law in the United States?
Struggle with language issues when you’re traveling, trying to chat up a potential foreign love or doing business? Struggle no more, there’s an app for that! Google Translate on Android or iPhone instantly translates conversations & signs – even when there’s no internet connection. See real-time translations of words your camera sees. Or set up instant audio translation with a couple of clicks.
Barak Turovsky, product lead for Google Translate explains how this works once you’ve put the app in conversation mode:
I’ve made comments to the FCC about net neutrality in previous comment periods but not this one. Enter John Oliver, who made such a convincing argument about the need to take advantage of our bloody rights as US citizen to make a positive difference in this matter, that I felt shamed enough to submit another comment today.
If you too wish to be motivated to get off YouTube, Facebook or whatever you’re on for a while and use your computer for the God-given purpose it was clearly designed for (that is: the protection and furtherance of global democracy) then you too NEED to watch John Oliver’s segment on Last Week Tonight about Net Neutrality. Go on, I dare you to watch and come away uninspired.
WAKV Radio Station in Plainwell, MI had its show archives and music wiped out by ransomware thieves. Fortunately, they had their music library backed up on another computer.
CNet writer Seth Rosenblatt explains in his report “Your computer and smartphone, held hostage: Cybercriminals are making their attacks personal, remotely locking your computers and smartphones until you pay a hefty ransom.”
The mother of a New York Times writer got ransomeware hacked and paid $200 to get access to her data back. As Alina Simone’s family learned, the criminals don’t want your data, they just want your money. And they’re getting plenty of it:
I came across a pretty interesting discussion on copyright law today, which was sparked by photographer Tony Bynum’s post on the illegality of using photographs found on the internet and copied. Yes, that’s right: we are supposed to get permission to use photographs and custom graphics by obtaining the creator’s verbal or written authorization or by paying … because all images are somebody’s intellectual or creative property and they’re protected by a body of law known as copyright law. Images are owned by their creator or the company they were working for when an image was created.
I’ve been really thinking about a Facebook friend’s earlier post, saying she feels exposed by having 822 friends and will start deleting some in order to get more privacy. I just had to reply to the privacy issue and afterwards, realized that my assertions needed to be backed up by reliable data. “I must say,” I commented to my friend, “I find it strange that you would play a game on Facebook or post anything here and voice concerns about privacy,” and followed that with my first information point: “Facebook sells your data to game creators – this is a well-known fact.”
In this well documented article, a former AP editor explains why all major media outlet’s Middle East reporting portrays little Israel as the big, bad oppressor of the long-suffering Palestinians – no matter what the truth is.
For starters, the AP alone has over 40 staffers reporting on ME affairs. And, AP and all other major news outlets’ Middle East reporters are only allowed to write stories that reinforce the “Bad Israel – Oppressed Palestinians” legend. The editors of major media publications simply refuse to publish any other type of stories.
My Mac note-keeping app of preference is BareBones’ TextWrangler, which I also use for coding. I love TextWrangler because although it’s a very powerful program, it’s also light on cpu usage even when I open a lot of windows and files with it. Navigating and managing open files through multiple windows is made easy with drag and drop functionality. And TextWrangler saves files on quit even if I don’t and will bring up unsaved files on relaunch.
So, how did I manage to create and access notes over the past couple weeks after TextWrangler suddenly stopped working for me? Since any text editing program will open the plain text files TextWrangler creates, I found a well-reputed free substitute in Sublime Text 2 and used that instead. I was able to open my old files and create new ones without needing to use Apple’s TextEdit – which corrupts text files by adding way too much bloat code to them – but oh boy, did I miss TextWrangler’s features and simplicity.
When I saw this bank envelope had been ripped open, I assumed my kids had opened it, then left it in the mailbox in the hallway my family shares with one neighbor. I looked inside and found the Visa debit card I had been waiting for. But it wasn’t my kids. So, my mail has been tampered with. What to do?
Post office rep says, “First thing is to file police report, then we’ll give you the number to the inspection service and the matter gets referred over to them.”
Police officer arrived about 15 minutes after I called. He asked some questions and said I can pick up his report in 5 days at the violations bureau window. They don’t dust for fingerprints on an item like this, as it’s been handled by too many people. The officer gave me really valuable advice: that I can either replace my credit card and get a new number, or monitor my bank account for unauthorized withdrawals (there haven’t been any to date). He reminded me that replacing the card means I will need to contact any companies that make automatic withdrawals and update my data with them .. and suggested asking my bank if they will handle this as an automated service.
