Month: August 2020

Ethereum 2.0

By Alex Robert On In Misc

For years, cryptocurrency has been a big-ticket news item in the tech industry to the point where it bled into mainstream cultural awareness. Due to the “crypto winter” in December 2018 and more recent world developments, it has fallen off the radar for most people who may have been following crypto, even if only as a fringe interest. Crypto is an extremely volatile and speculative investment, and in a time when many of us don’t know if we are going back to our places of work soon, or if we will have places to work, it’s lost its luster. I have been interested and was very active in the crypto scene for a few years before it took a dive. Then COVID happened, and it became even less of an interest due to the risk, so I’m not here to sell you on throwing money at crypto… nope, wait, I totally am!

Fake News

By Sean Christopher On In Tech Tips

Hello, Readers! I have a fun one for you today: let’s talk about Fake News. This topic is tricky – politically speaking – so let’s just be real. We are currently in the middle of an election season, a global pandemic, and an unknown economy. It goes without saying that we all need accurate information. Here are some browser add-ins that will help rid your lives of false information.

Contact Tracing Apps: State Sponsored Privacy Intrusion

By Laura Jean On In Misc

There has been a bit of media attention regarding contact tracing and some of the phone apps that are purported to aid in tracing COVID exposure and find possible cases. While at first glance, some may find these applications useful in determining where infected people may have contributed to spread (largely by not wearing masks), there is a definite cost to privacy that comes with usage of such “people tracking” applications. Let’s look at it in the simplest terms:

Beating the Heat the NASA way!

By Michael Gregory On In Tech Tips

Like many people, I’m working from home most days now, and that comes with the benefits and drawbacks of where I live. My apartment building was built in the 1930s and like most Chicago buildings, it doesn’t have air conditioning. I’ve purchased two air conditioning units – one for my bedroom and one for my home office – and from May through September they’re running whenever I’m in either room. However, as the 1930s was not known for its energy efficiency, even with the AC on high, it still often struggles to cool a room with a person, two computers, and some network equipment. If the temperature outside is above 75, the temperature inside is at least 82. My apartment is always at least 3-5 degrees hotter than outside during daylight hours. And I am definitely a cold weather person.