September 10, 2024
Have you ever wanted to play music from a CD on your iPhone? It's possible, but how do you transfer those songs from that circular plastic disc to your phone's flash memory?
You'll need a computer, optical drive (internal or external), and an iPhone. It's a little easier with a Mac, but you can do it with a Windows computer as well.
September 1, 2024
ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms are incredibly helpful, but remember to consider your privacy when using them. These services are powered by algorithms that may retain and reuse the information you provide. Therefore, be cautious about sharing personal information with any AI-based chatbot or platform.
Sharing personal information with AI services poses privacy and security risks. Once data is shared, it could be stored or used in ways that you don't expect. In the wrong hands, someone can use your personal information for malicious purposes such as identity theft or fraud. Moreover, sharing personal details with AI services can lead to unintentional data exposure. Even if the service is trustworthy, there's always the risk of a data breach that could compromise the information you've shared. I've lost track of how many "data security incident" notices I've received in the past several years. 🙄
August 2, 2024
Imagine this: You run a small software company that generated $1 million in revenue last year. Sounds pretty good. But it costs money to develop software, and developers are not cheap. Your development costs are $900,000, and your other expenses, such as equipment, software purchases, and advertising, are $90,000.
You squeak out a $10,000 profit, so your business owes about 20%, or $2,000 in taxes. Right? Wrong. Under the current tax law, you owe $332,876 in taxes. Yes, that is correct. Your tax rate is over 33,000%.
August 1, 2024
In today's digital age, it's easy to find yourself glued to a screen for several hours a day. Whether you're texting your friends, scrolling through social media, or working on your computer, screen time can quickly add up.
Monitoring screen time is a crucial step in understanding and managing your media consumption. Luckily, several tools and methods are available to help you monitor your screen time across various devices, including your smartphone and PC.
July 26, 2024
I received a text message from Xfinity today saying they were working on fixing an issue with my Internet service. Apparently, that was code language for "completing a service upgrade." I ran a speed test this afternoon and saw download speeds above 2 Gbps (2,000 Mbps) for the first time ever.
Download: 2334.05 Mbps
Upload: 357.56 Mbps
July 4, 2024
In elementary school, we read a short story by Hans Christian Andersen called "The Emperor's New Clothes." The emperor loved fancy garments and showing off his apparel to those around him. One day, two thieves, purporting to be weavers, convinced the emperor they could make him a garment so beautiful that it would be invisible to those who were "simple in character."
The emperor agreed to their enticing proposal. When the thieves presented the finished garment, the emperor would not admit he couldn't see it. So he went out in public wearing only his underwear. His officials and the townspeople were too scared to state the obvious, for they did not want to be considered simpletons. Instead, they praised the emperor and his new garment, which they could not see. The emperor paraded around the city, blissfully ignorant that he was exposed in his underwear. That is, until a young child exclaimed, "The emperor has no clothes!"
July 1, 2024
I often duplicate files and folders to create a quick backup. For example, I might duplicate an entire website folder before making major changes to the site. Or I might create monthly backups of a database so I can reference or revert to previous data if needed.
While duplicating data is a quick and easy way to create a backup, the copies can take up unnecessary disk space. If you're not planning to use the data for a while, it's best to compress your backups (there's a reason they're called "compressed archives"). Below is an example of a database backup I created that is less than 25% the size of the original database.
Today is Sep 20, 2024
