Chatbug Karen

I have been blogging for many years and the one thing I think is best about blogging is how many friends I have made.

I work full time in our business and have little free time. When I am not working, I am sewing. I love to make quilts. My mom bought a long arm quilting machine and she and I are enjoying quilting with it.

I love to read and find myself falling asleep each night with a book or Kindle. Do you read yourself to sleep and jerk awake when you drop the book?

So, what do you enjoy about blogging? Has it made a difference in your life?

I always smile when I see my blog listed on a post saying I was one of that blog’s top droppers. Check out Entrecard to see what the heck I am talking about. LOL
Here are the top droppers on this blog for the month of September. Thank you top droppers!

I went with my mom to find out why her wireless card quit working. When the guy at the counter opened the laptop he had no luck getting it to boot. He looked inside the laptop and could see the wireless card but could offer no help except to say it was time for a laptop funeral. Mom knew that the day was coming but had tried to save her poor laptop several times.

We went to look at all the brands including toshiba computers. Most of the laptops had the same features which made it hard to decide which one to buy. Two of her grandchildren have Toshiba computers so we checked to see which suited her needs.

After 3 hours of looking, we needed to eat and so we headed to Bob Evans. Did you know they have a new menu? More decisions!

A few weeks ago, I bought a new laptop. I am enjoying this laptop but have to admit to being frustrated while figuring out how to make things work. I was used to sizing photos in my PhotoShop program. iPhoto works great but I have to use my memory to remember how to use it. That takes time where on my old laptop, it seemed second nature.

I do enjoy the ability to open my laptop and have it come on immediately. My old laptop was so slow and would lock up frequently. Maybe I needed to buy memory to make it work better but I am not a computer guru. I know how to turn computers on. The rest is up to the computer.

I cannot believe I actually bought myself a new laptop! That is what happens when I take my kids into Best Buy. We were looking for a book light for my daughter and of course I had to check out the computer department. I was looking at the awesome custom usb drives when I glanced over to the Apple laptop display. My daughter has been trying to convert me to become an Apple user so I decided to check one out while she was with me. The rest is history.

I am very impressed with the speed of my new baby. I got the super slim 13 inch laptop, MacBook Air. I am reading the manual so if you don’t see me for a few days, I am studying.
update: I am learning how to size pictures using iPhoto

will my laptop last? I have not seen my laptop for two weeks because it is, once again, at the repair shop. I think they have had it more than me. Sigh. I am resigned to reading laptop reviews to decide which type of laptop I should purchase to replace it. I don’t need a dvd player but it seems that they all come with one. Most computer purchases entail laptop bundles.

I am intrigued with the mini laptop systems. Mini Netbooks have 1.66GHz of netbook power that would allow me to browse as efficiently as I am used to. I learned, the hard way, that a 17″ laptop is not very handy. I like the 10.1″ size offered with the mini. I just want loads of memory and a fast system. I cannot believe I am having to think about this. Grrrr

I am so excited for my daughter! and a bit jealous of her new Kindle reader. She is loving being able to read her favorite books on a lightweight reader. She doesn’t have to use a separate book light at night and has been known to read until the wee hours of the morning. She doesn’t show her tiredness like her mom who has to work with face moisturizer to get all the sleepy lines off her face.

Newspapers may go by the wayside but I don’t think we will ever be a book-less society. It feels so good to have a book in my hands and turn the pages. The convenience of the Kindle is appealing. My daughter was able to save so much money by downloading her textbooks for her master’s program at college. The savings nearly paid for the Kindle!

from Wikipedia
Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 for rendering and displaying e-books and other digital media.[1] Three hardware devices, known as “Kindle,” “Kindle 2,” and “Kindle DX” support this platform, as does an iPhone application called “Kindle for iPhone”. The first device was released in the United States on November 19, 2007.

The Kindle hardware device uses an E Ink brand electronic paper display, and is able to download content over Amazon Whispernet using the Sprint EVDO in the USA or, for newer Kindle 2 devices, AT&T’s network internationally.[2] The Kindle hardware device can be used without a computer, and Whispernet is accessible without any fee.[3] These devices also provide free access to the internet. Kindle devices sold prior to October 19, 2009 were sold only in the United States.[4] On October 7, 2009, Amazon announced an international version of the Kindle 2 with a built-in 3G (HSDPA) and EDGE/GSM wireless modem for connectivity in over 100 countries. This international version went on sale October 19, 2009 worldwide.[5]

On March 3, 2009, Amazon.com launched an application called Kindle for iPhone in the App Store, allowing iPhone and iPod Touch owners to read Kindle content on those devices. Through a technology termed “Whispersync,” customers can synchronize reading progress, bookmarks, and other information across Kindle hardware devices and other mobile devices.[6][7]

Amazon announced the Kindle DX on May 6, 2009. This device has a larger screen than its predecessors and supports PDF files natively. It is marketed as more suitable for displaying newspaper and textbook content.[8]

Amazon has released Kindle for PC as a free software download, allowing users to read Kindle books on a Windows PC.[9]

The Kindle competes with other e-paper devices: the Barnes & Noble nook, the Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, the Jinke Hanlin e-Reader, and CyBook by Bookeen.

I have to tell you something that strikes me as being funny. My husband and brother in-law went to the mall three times this weekend. Yes, these men who normally whine and beg us not to have to accompany us gals to the mall went there by themselves not once, not twice but let me count the times. One, two, three times to the mall! I must say that there was a knife store there that kept sucking them in. They haven’t become total mall junkies yet!

I rarely go to the mall these days. The Internet makes it possible to order almost everything I normally shop for in the convenience of my own home. I use a wonderful savings site at http://www.couponchief.com that has coupon codes for so many of the shops I used to have to visit at the mall. I am not tempted by all the pretty things I would walk by at the mall when I use Coupon Chief instead. I simply find the shop I need and get the savings code. The link at Coupon Chief takes me directly to the store where I order what I need.

For example, let’s say that I need some lotion from Bath & Body Works. I check at Coupon Chief and get the Bath & Body Works coupons code to use when I check out at Bath & Body Works online. I can even buy my favorite lotion with Lancome coupons through Coupon Chief. I save so much time and most of all I save money by using Coupon Chief.

Shhh, don’t tell the guys that I don’t need to go to the mall.

I think an upgrade is in order…again…sigh.

From WP
esterday a vulnerability was discovered: a specially crafted URL could be requested that would allow an attacker to bypass a security check to verify a user requested a password reset. As a result, the first account without a key in the database (usually the admin account) would have its password reset and a new password would be emailed to the account owner. This doesn’t allow remote access, but it is very annoying.

We fixed this problem last night and have been testing the fixes and looking for other problems since then.

The Internet is constantly changing. As mentioned in my previous post, we need to keep up with these changes. I notice that since I began using Twitter, using shorter URL addresses is popular. The problem with shorter url addresses is that you can not read where the URL leads. That leaves one open for entry into bad sites and possible malicious behavior. Fortunately, there is a way to unshorten those URL addresses. Daniel who writes at Daily Blog Tips, recommends using a URL unshortening tool like the one over at Sucuri.net. This tool will reveal the real URL behind the link and make checks with Google and with SiteAdvisor to make sure the website is safe to be visited. Thanks Daniel. This is good to know.