Let’s back up to the turn of the millenium. The internet was there, but seldom used. Computers were big blocky hunks of silicone that blinked pretty lights. And Apple came out with an mp3 player that could hold five whole gigabytes worth of music! The hottest cellphones looked like bricks. And then slowly, the internet became a utility. Then a necessity. And then the world. Digital music became more common than music on CDs, and records were nearly obsolete by then. And cellphones got smaller and smaller, and then larger and larger until they began to look more like mini-computers.

Caught in a blur by all of this were the folks still using their Olivetti typewriters, replacing ribbons and detangling keys; those sticking by their film cameras, having to readjust every time a film developing shop closed, having their kids buy them a big machine that lit up.

Recently, I tried to contact my friend, Kemma, via a mutual Facebook group. For weeks, I waited for a response assuming her lack of response was due to her minimal use of the popular social network. But when I realized Kemma had logged on since I wrote to her, I wondered why she was ignoring me. When we finally did get in touch, I realized our miscommunication was caused by a simple issue: she didn’t know how to check her Facebook notifications.

Kemma is part of this group who is living underneath a digital rock. While buying her a computer or a fancy smartphone may be a well-meaning gesture, the device and its mind-blowing processor and endless possibilities will mean nothing to her if she doesn’t know that it’s capable of such features in the first place.

I was taken aback learning someone had never heard of Facebook notifications. Clicking on the small globe at the top of the screen is the first thing I do when I log on.

Immediately, I enlightened/overwhelmed Kemma with different ways she could use her phone and computer – ordinary actions that were so obvious to most, it might never have occurred to them they weren’t obvious to everyone. In honor of Kemma and all others under the “digital rock” I present 5 seemingly obvious micro-tutorials.

1. To check your notifications on Facebook, locate the small blue globe located at the top right of your screen. This will show you recent events that may or may not be relevant to you such as comments on pictures and posts, friend suggestions, and event invitations. You may set which notifications you receive right here in Facebook settings.

2. You need not stress your eyes looking through that heavy, possibly outdated dictionary. Instead, access an online dictionary at Dictionary.com.

3. If you want easy access to a website you visit often, you can bookmark it. A bookmark is a shortcut to a specific link on the internet. In order to bookmark a page, go to “Bookmarks” and select “Add Bookmark” or “Bookmark this page” depending on your browser. This will make a shortcut to that site appear underneath your address bar. Instead of typing in the URL, you need only click on your bookmark.

4. If you want to take text from somewhere such as a website or document, and use it in another document or an email, there is no need to retype the text. Instead, you can copy it from its source and paste it into your desired destination.
To copy the text, place your mouse at the beginning of the text, click, and hold as you pull your cursor over the text. It should highlight it. Once all you want to copy is highlighted, unclick your mouse. To copy the highlighted text, you may a) Go to “Edit” and select “Copy” b) Right click and select “Copy” c) Hold down Control+C on your keyboard (Command+C if you are using a Mac)
To paste the text, click your cursor into the place you want the text. Make sure this symbol is blinking in the text input: |
Now, you may a) Go to “Edit” and select “Paste” b) Right click and select “Paste” c) Hold down Control+V on your keyboard (Command+V if you are using a Mac)

5. If you want to revisit a website you recently viewed, but cannot recall its URL (or do not wish to retype it), you can easily view your browser History, or a list of websites you have previously visited.  To view your history, go to the main menu at the top of the screen – it should have menus such as “File” and “Edit” and “View”. One of these is labeled “History”. Simply click on “History” to view your internet history.

Humankind’s shifted ways of functioning can be both confusing and daunting to some. For every one person that raises an eyebrow at the blinking screen in front of them, there are at least ten young ones more than willing to offer a thorough explanation. To the technologically decrepit, I urge you to always ask for help when your own instincts do not prevail. To the competent enlisted to aid them, may you find both patience and luck.

Throughout the past few years, there has been a surge of mobile technology. From the tablet craze to the swivel-screen laptop, the message is clear: the modern cloud based lifestyle demands thinner and lighter.

Apple contributed to this trend by creating the iPad. While the revolutionary mobile device is controversially flawed, Apple’s influential marketing cleared the path for other tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Nexus 7, and Kindle Fire.

The Macbook Air received a major update when Apple tried to produce the lightest and sleekest laptop on the market. There were plenty of complaints that it was poorly built and not customizable. Its lack of an optical drive had held back sales in the past, but with the rising necessity of mobility and diminishing use of discs, the Air finally had its time to shine.

Here’s why the public didn’t mind the shortcomings of the iPad and Macbook Air: Most of their owners bought them as secondary machines to complement a main computer sitting at home. When they were sitting at Starbucks, the last thing they needed was an optical drive. Discs could be dealt with on their desktop in their home office. As for customizability, changing up the RAM in an airplane toy or a light machine for checking Facebook was far from critical. Therefore, Apple thrived.

After a whopping 19 months, Apple finally revisited its desktop hardware. However, it returned in the wrong mindset. iFans were expecting a retina display, primary SSD option, and significantly better graphics. In this long-awaited December update, Steve’s elves delivered essentially nothing.

This time around, Apple did what it has done with its Macbook and iOS products during the last few years: increased aesthetic appeal. The new iMac is significantly thinner than its predecessor, and eight pounds lighter. At 12.5 pounds, the iMac is to most desktops as Gary Coleman is to Santa Clause.

But for a desktop, is bling and weight what customers are looking for? In an age where people have a laptop, tablet, and phone, the desktop is home base. It’s where everything important is saved, and expensive single-license software like Photoshop is installed. On their desktop, they import old CDs or hookup record converters to put obscure Greatful Dead albums on iTunes.

Let’s have a show of hands: How many of you care so deeply about what your desktop weighs that you consider this while buying one?

Thought so.

A desktop’s weight doesn’t matter. People don’t constantly pick it up and move it after the initial trip from store to car to desk. A select few will occasionally upgrade the RAM, but that’s about it.

So what was Apple’s aim? Let’s look at its ”revolutionary” product’s tagline.

Well, this portrays where Apple’s priorities stand. Looks. Then usability. This allegedly innovative corporation has sacrificed functionality and technological innovation to make its primary desktop computer more physically attractive. Why? Maybe because the majority of its users are swiping their credit cards based off sleekness and glamour, and don’t care to speculate on the meaning of 5400-rpm. But general technological ignorance is a whole other rant that I won’t start. For now, let’s look at what Apple sacrificed for aesthetic appeal.

An internal disc drive
With the introduction of the Mac App Store, Apple no longer relies on discs for revenue. Most of its software sales consist of impulsive downloads. However, just because Apple thinks the optical drive is obsolete doesn’t mean the everyone else does. Surely, the mobile world doesn’t have much use for it anymore. But discs remain a significant device, and the loss of an internal optical drive is devastating to desktop users. The only reason Apple rid its main desktop of this essential feature was to make it thinner. This would make sense if the iMac was a laptop, but desktop users don’t even consider monitor thinness. The main factor for monitors is the size of their screen because that is what desktop users view. Weight is the last of concerns.

Customizability
The iMac has followed its little brother and distant cousin, the Macbook Air and the iPad, in their non-customizable bodies. More advanced users will no longer be able to open up the back of their desktops to upgrade RAM or replace a hard drive. Since desktops are generally more expensive than laptops, most people purchase them expecting them to last. While an iPod is un-devastatingly replaced when its irreplaceable battery dies, most people don’t replace a desktop for a faulty hard drive. When the Macbook unibody made it more difficult to customize, techies grumbled. When the iPad was released, they rolled their eyes. The Air made them grit their teeth. The iMac was considered the one place non-customizability wouldn’t hit. In December, Apple proved them wrong.

Hard drive downgrade
One aspect of the new iMac Apple loves to brag about is its “Cutting-edge storage options.” But are its storage options really cutting-edge?

There has been a lot of talk about an Linux distribution called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is one of the most preferred Linux distributions, or Linux “distros” these days. People refer to it as “the best Linux operating system” and a “must have” when in reality, although it is one of the better Linx based operating systems, it is only preferred by the majority of Linux users because it is so user friendly from the sleek graphics to my favorite, Ubuntu Software Centre. While it, like every operating system, has its pros and cons and depending on what you need or want, Ubuntu may not be the best choice for everyone, it is easy which is why a handful of people walk around in “Ubuntu: Linux for humans” t-shirts. You can test Ubuntu on its online demo here!

One of the greatest things about Ubuntu is that it is so customizable. Unlike Windows and certainly unlike Mac OS X, almost everything in Ubuntu can be customized by almost anyone, not just computer geeks. In both the Windows and Mac OS X installation, all you can choose is which partition to install the operating system in, and standard things such as your account name and password.

I have switched to Ubuntu on my laptop, a Toshiba Mini NB205 (a Toshiba netbook), but on my desktop, an iMac, I run Mac OS X and Windows XP Professional (with Boot Camp). As a lifetime Mac and Windows user, I say that Ubuntu is wonderful. For Mac users, it’s not only more customizable (less restrictive) and straightforward in many ways, but there is not need to give up those sleek graphics you’re used to which is a sacrifice users are forced to make when switching to Windows XP (though Windows 7 has fixed that problem in my opinion). There is also Ubuntu Software Centre which gives users access to thousands of Ubuntu applications, free (in addition to anything else on the internet compatible with Linux). Windows users, oh, you guys gain so much by switching to Ubuntu. For those of you who still use Windows XP, the Ubuntu graphics are stunning. Best of all, Ubuntu is free. I recommend to anyone not familiar with Ubuntu to try Ubuntu, and by try, I do not mean install. Burn yourself an Ubuntu USB drive or disc – you will be given two options, try and install. Click try and you will be able to experience Ubuntu with out doing anything to your computer as you are booting off your disc or USB drive.

However, there are drawbacks to using Ubuntu instead of Windows or Mac OS X because software like Quickbooks are not available for Linux. For those who want Ubuntu as well as their existing operating systems, the developers of Ubuntu make it easy to run both on your computer. I will explain how to dual boot any Windows operating system and Ubuntu. Mac users can simply use Boot Camp Assistant and pop in the Ubuntu disk instead of a Windows install disc.

Dual booting Ubuntu with your existing Windows install is simple because Ubuntu comes with a boot loader called GRUB (short for GNU GRand Unified Bootloader). Here is how to dual boot. I am assuming you already have burned an Ubuntu install disc. If not, go to Ubuntu.com for directions and the free Ubuntu download.

• Boot into Windows (basically, turn your computer on).
• Insert the Ubuntu disc.
• Restart your computer.
• Enter your boot order. This is done by pressing F12 or F2, sometimes 0 depending on the computer.
• Boot to the CD. If you did not have the boot menu option, go into your BIOS settings (also done by F12, F2, etc. depending on the computer) and change the boot order making “CD/DVD” or something along those lines to first by pressing F6 or F10 depending on the computer. Then, reboot. If this is the case, you must change the boot order returning your hard disk drive (or solid state drive) to first before you reboot your computer during the installation).
• It will take a while, but you will finally boot into the Ubuntu install. If you like, you can try it without installing it for a minute or two to make sure you really like it. Click install.
• Proceed with the installation until you get this question: “How do you want to partition the disk?” or something similar.
• You can either choose the first option (It should be something like: “Resize IDE1 master, partition #1 (hda1)” and use freed space if you have partitioned your hard drive prior to installation, or select “Manually edit partition table” or something like that. Remember the word “Manual” and you’ll be fine. There, you will be able to choose how much of your hard drive you want to dedicate to Ubuntu and how much you want to dedicate to your existing Windows installation.
• Go on forward and install Ubuntu.

When you turn on your computer, it will boot into GRUB, or a list of operating systems. You can either select your Windows installation or Ubuntu. Ubuntu will be first by default, but it can easily be changed. As I mentioned, Ubuntu is super-customizable.

Good luck, and enjoy Ubuntu!

Yesterday was Black Friday, a market created “holiday” on which stores are absolutely flooded with consumers, pouncing for special deals on products they may or may not want. Stores such as Best Buy, Target, the Apple Store, and Walmart are packed. Parents claw at the toy racks. But today is Saturday, and the storm has calmed. For those of you who are not brave or willing enough to endure the menacing crowds of Black Friday, there is still hope. Some stores celebrate the entire post-Thanksgiving Day weekend instead of one day. Many online retailers celebrate another market-created holiday, Cyber Monday. This less popularly known day has been used as online retailers’ Black Friday, on which they offer steep discounts for holiday shoppers. All of this excitement can be a little bit overwhelming. Here are some things I learned this Black Friday.

Black Friday Rules:

1. Don’t buy anything you would not otherwise buy. When you’re in a store, freaking out about the awesome deals, pressed up against a bunch of other people who are also freaking out about the awesome deals, spaz tends to be contagious. Pressure builds up in your head, and you become prone to the mindset: Must have. Only chance. You are led to believe that you need to buy a certain product you’re on the fence about right now, right away. Of course, this impulsivity mindset doesn’t last long – it tends to diminish after you’ve swiped your credit card. It may be helpful to make a list of things you need.
2. The best deals are the retailers’ worst failures. Usually stores use Black Friday to offload their worst-selling products of the year. Take Samsung. What are their most popular products? Their Galaxy line – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, their newest smartphone, the Galaxy S3. Although they did offer some sweet deals on their touch devices and computers, their biggest sales were in their TVs. You could grab a TV from Samsung for half off this year! And what did Samsung sell the least of this year? Their TVs. 
3. Don’t die. Almost every year, we hear about different people who were trampled to death among the chaos and scramble. I vaguely recall one man freezing to death while camping outside of a store this year. Now, that’s just crazy. Talk about materializing Christmas. The holiday season is for you and your family to enjoy each other’s company, and gifts simply enhance the excitement. Is a new TV really worth dying for? In the end, the point of Black Friday is to get a head start on your Christmas shopping. You still have another month before Santa hits town, so stick around and don’t kick the bucket just yet.

The driver’s test: the closest thing to a right of passage for a non-Jewish, non-Hispanic, non-Catholic teenager living in Southern California. I may not be showered with gifts at a bat mitzvah, waltz with my dad at my quinceanera, or sit through a boring ceremony that confirms me a member of the Catholic church, but a little white plastic card with a quite unflattering picture of me makes all those selective festivities taste like crap.

To a teen, a driver’s license may as well be a ticket to adulthood. When we’re little, there are a lot of things we can’t do that adults can. Eat as much candy as we want, go to bed after 8:30 PM, and say things like “shut up” without having to apologize. In the car, there are three stages of life:

1. The stage in which we are propped up by a car/booster seat so that in the event of an accident, the seat belt doesn’t strangle our tiny necks
2. The stage in which we ride the back seat bareback
3. Shotgun
4. The driver’s seat

The other day, I went to the store for some Mountain Dew. They were out, but one of the cashiers pointed me to the back corner of the store, which had one last 12 pack of it. The first thing I noticed about it was the box: it was different. And then I realized why.

This mountain dew was made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, one of the top ingredients of almost every non-water beverage these days. In a nutshell, it is a highly processed sugar substitute that once had something to do with corn. Let’s look at the pros and cons of high fructose corn syrup, starting with the cons.

Cons:

• It can lead to abnormal increases in body fat
• It raises cholesterol
• It increases the risk of heart disease
• Raises blood pressure
• Corn grown uses pesticides, which cause a good deal of pollution

Pros:

• It’s cheaper
• It can make food and drinks last (almost) forever

But here’s the thing: while high fructose corn syrup is this evil chemical that plagues the minds of every health obsessed mother in America, and plaques the teeth of each person who eats it, in making it the “bad guy” we have forgotten that sugar is also not the greatest for you. It makes you fat, increases your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, raises cholesterol, etc. Sugar was the antagonist of society before manufacturers created a chemical sugar. So why am I paying more for soda (which is far from the healthiest drink around) that uses real sugar instead of fake sugar. Here’s the thing. Pepsi is taking advantage of high fructose corn syrup’s bad reputation, and advertising mountain dew with rea sugar, making it look like the “healthier” option. It’s like buying organic fruit verses non-organic. But their logo, “Real sugar…real good” Pepsi is implying that it is the healthier option.

I don’t know what to call it: sad, pathetic, strange. But it is one of those words, that we live in a world where being able to drink a can of soda with real sugar is a big deal. In reality, it’s all crap. It’s soda, and whether or not it has real sugar or high fructose corn syrup in it, you’re body’s gonna suffer. My suggestion: look to the left of the soda section and grab a bottle of water.