Tag: Computers

The art of technology on display in the Jepson Center TechSpace

The art of technology on display in the Jepson Center TechSpace
Many people still seem to assume that people who work with computers are not creative. In my experience the best technologists are always creative, although often that creativity manifests itself in ways that are not always visible to those outside their industries. But sometimes the person working with the computer is a visual artist, and... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
September 11, 2017 at 6:51 am • 

Hak4Kidz: 4 Reasons to take your kid to a hacking conference

Hak4Kidz: 4 Reasons to take your kid to a hacking conference
Hak4Kidz NFP is a hacking convention for children and young adults. The Chicago Hak4Kidz 2017 event is on June 3rd and registration is open now. I’ll be attending with my son, and we are both very excited to go. But, wait! you may say. I’ve seen movies! I’ve seen stock photos of guys in hoodies!... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
May 10, 2017 at 9:00 am • 

Do terms like 'cyber attack' prevent good computer security practices?

According to research by David Hauser, describing cancer as an enemy that needs to be fought reduces the extent to which people focus on preventive behaviors such as changing their diets. Hauser’s work seems to indicate that describing cancer in terms of war and battle metaphors focused people on direct attack actions and made them... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
May 21, 2015 at 6:09 am • 
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Valentine's Day cards for infosec geeks

Information security specialists are not just people who nag you about strong passwords and not clicking on strange things. We are also people. People with hearts. People with hearts that love. I’ve made some Valentine’s Day cards for my fellow infosec geeks. Enjoy. You have my permission to save, print, and share these valentines with those... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
February 9, 2015 at 9:12 pm • 

Learning to code is NOT the new literacy

People keep promoting the need for everyone from kids to mid-career professionals to learn how to write computer code. The argument is that in the very near future (if we aren’t there already) learning how to code will be as important as learning to read and write. An article in Mother Jones asked, “Is Coding... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
January 20, 2015 at 6:02 am • 

Do they still teach typing in school?

Do they still teach typing in school?
Many people have become concerned that cursive is no longer being taught in school. I saw the effect of this when one of our high school interns had trouble transcribing a meeting attendance sheet because some of the names were written in cursive. As someone who rarely uses cursive except for my signature (which is really... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
November 10, 2014 at 2:56 pm • 
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10 very short stories about technology

10 very short stories about technology
When I started Fiction Friday I was looking for a way to reinvigorate my imagination in quick bursts of flash fiction. Some weeks I know well ahead of time what will write. Some weeks an idea didn’t come until Thursday. However, a theme that that has emerged is short stories about technology. I guess it... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
June 24, 2014 at 8:12 am • 

Not engineers or executives: The other women in tech

When people talk about “women in tech” they usually mean female engineers or women who have risen to positions of executive leadership, but there are a lot of women in tech who are neither of those things. Analysts and project managers are to “women in tech” what stay at home moms are to the general feminist... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
June 10, 2014 at 7:21 am • 

What is the Heartbleed bug, and what should you do about it?

Do you use the Internet? Congratulations, your data has been vulnerable for about 2 years and is even more vulnerable now that the Heartbleed bug has been revealled publicly. Until web sites patch this OpenSSL vulnerability that little lock and https that you’ve been taught will keep your data safe as it travels across the... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
April 9, 2014 at 10:20 am • 
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Should parents use NSA surveillance techniques to spy on their kids?

Documents leaked by Edward Snowden have revealed details of NSA surveillance programs including those that monitor email and other Internet activity. These revelations have invigorated the debate about sacrificing privacy under the guise of trying to increase security. This is a debate that happens on a smaller scale in the minds of many parents. Should... Read more »
By Kim Z Dale,
August 12, 2013 at 8:12 am •