World’s first consumer deca-core processor – Intel i7-6950X

On 2016/07/04   /   IT Matters, Technology   /   1 Comment

This is huge! Desktops are getting the next big leap in processing power with Intel’s Core i7-6950X Broadwell-E processor which has 10 3.5 GHz cores (20 with HyperThreading). It’s been a couple years since we’ve had such a breakthrough. This was accomplished by shrinking the transistors again, now only a tiny 14 nm. Human hair is 0.017 to 0.18 mm thick… there are 1 million nanometers (nm) in a millimeter (mm). Unfortunately new emerging technology has a price, this processor is coming in around $1,500. Ouch. But wait a year and it should be affordable for people interested in beefing up their HEDTs (high-end desktops).

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Google Website Testing

On 2016/06/29   /   IT Matters, Resources   /   1 Comment
Google Website Testing

Everyone wants their website to be on the first page of Google search results. It’s a very difficult thing to achieve and search engine optimization (SEO) has become an important online science, though unfortunately many employ smoke and mirror tactics as they don’t understand it.

Google has daily minor updates to its search algorithm with major updates occurring several times a year. One of the latest major factors announced was regarding how mobile-friendly your website is.

There are many testing tools out there. A recent new one added to the mix is (which is free):

https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/

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Preparing your online social legacy

On 2016/06/20   /   IT Matters, Security & Privacy, Social Media, Strategies   /   6 Comments

We caution our children about the digital paper trails we leave. We need to be aware of what gets posted online, who can see it, and how things can be easily taken out of context. Another problem that is starting to manifest itself is our online legacy. What happens to our social media accounts when we pass away? Can our family access them or are they simply online forever stuck in limbo?

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Automation apps and devices that can make your daily life easier

On 2016/06/10   /   IT Matters, Technology   /   11 Comments

Smartphones and tablets, along with the near-endless selection of apps, often seem like nothing more than time-consuming distractions. According to a study conducted by British psychologists, most people spend an average of five hours a day using their smartphones – that’s roughly one-third of a person’s total waking hours. Crazy, who are these people?! Lol!

While this may seem like the current direction for humanity (Wall-E?), we can always take a look at the bright side. There’s also a growing number of apps and devices that help you use technology to save time, instead of wasting it.

Let’s take a look at some of them:

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Important facts about encryption on smartphones

On 2016/05/31   /   IT Matters, Security & Privacy   /   9 Comments
Important facts about encryption on smartphones

With recent security and privacy issues resulting from the San Bernardino iPhone dispute, it’s a good time to learn more about encryption.

What is encryption?

Basically encryption is a method used to secure information stored on any electronic device. This includes data such as text messages, photos, emails, and documents on smartphones.

When data is “encrypted,” it means it’s in a scrambled format, which makes it unreadable for computers or people without a key (such as a PIN code or passphrase) to the device.

It’s actually more complex than simply requiring a PIN code – Apple for example, requires several pieces of information in order to access data within the device. In addition to a PIN code or a fingerprint required from the user, there is also a key embedded in the device’s processor (secure enclave), which is unknown to anyone.

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