Fingerprint Authentication

All of us have to remember our computer password that we use to log into the computer. A new laptop I bought couple of months ago came with fingerprint authentication technology with a fingerprint scanner. To use the scanner authentication, you first need to match the fingerprints to the system, which takes only a few minutes. At first I struggled to get the system to recognize my fingerprint but once my fingerprint was programmed, the authentication worked great. The fingerprint reader scans the finger image and matches it against the previously authenticated identification. I can start my computer only if the fingerprint is authenticated. Now I do not have to enter password every time I start my laptop. My laptop fingerprint reader provides the benefits such as simple convenience and strong security. You can easily perform the day to day online activities including accessing email, accessing web accounts, paying bills and more with this integrated biometric laptop fingerprint reader. Once the computer is up and running, the inbuilt software stores user names and passwords in a password bank. All my passwords are conveniently stored in the password bank and released with the correct authentication.

Laptops, especially the more expensive ones, are popular targets for thieves. Laptop fingerprint authentication is an attempt to increase laptop security, and the technology is implemented also into other portable devices such as cell phones and PDAs. Biometrics authentication through fingerprint scanning provides a convenient replacement for memorizing codes and passwords. As the price for biometric scanners on laptops has come down, the proportionate cost for adding a fingerprint scanner to a laptop is now within reasonable range. There are an increasing number of portable computers with biometric authentication devices. Personal computers today often store sensitive and confidential data. They are also the access point to corporate networks. As systems become smaller and more mobile, they are more at risk of being lost or stolen. Use of a fingerprint reader in combination with a password offers a much higher level of authentication security for access to data or networks than can be achieved with a single form of authentication.

iPhone

People have been using cell phones for decades. I owned my first cell phone in 1998. At that time all my phone could do was place a call. All the features in my phone were related to placing and receiving call. The cell phone devices used to be large and bulky in size. Every couple of years I would buy a new cell phone to keep up with the advancements and features cell phone vendors were adding. Gradually with passage of time cell phones have become smarter and smaller in size.

Not until 2007 when Apple introduced iPhone that the cell phone industry changed the way people used phones. I bought my first iPhone a month after Apple released the iPhone and I have had it since then. It is almost three years and I still love my phone. Before I had my iPhone, I used to carry an mp3 player, a cell phone and a GPS device with me when I used to travel. Now I only take my iPhone with me with all my music and videos on it. I can use my iPhone to get directions when I am driving and I can also listen to music at the same time in my car. I can quickly check my email to make sure everything is ok in the office. If I am bored of listening to music while flying, I can play games on it, a lot of games. There is thousands of application available for the iPhone. I have about 40 apps ranging from apps to check stocks and weather to apps for finding the nearest restaurant. Above all I have about 20 games on my iPhone. I can do almost everything on my iPhone I can think of. I used to forget about meetings happening right after lunch and I was always showing up late for those meetings. Now my iPhone reminds me of all the meetings and appointments in advance. iPhone has change my life and I can’t think of not having one with me.

Sanjeev

Global Positioning System

Most of the people these days own a GPS system. Either the system comes installed in the car or it is an after market device. There are lots of GPS devices used in different forms of life. The one I am going to talk about is the one that people use to get street directions while driving.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based navigation system that provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to civilian users on a continuous worldwide basis, freely available to all. GPS is funded by and controlled by the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD). While there are many thousands of civil users of GPS world-wide, the system was designed for and is operated by the U. S. military. For anyone with a GPS receiver device, the system will provide location and time. GPS provides accurate location for an unlimited number of people anywhere in the world. The GPS is made up of three parts, satellites orbiting the Earth, control and monitoring stations on Earth and the GPS receivers owned by users. GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that are picked up and identified by GPS receivers. Each GPS receiver then provides three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus the time.

About a decade ago, just before the internet revolution started, you wondered how you find the address of your friend called you at his/her house for the first time, or if you are travelling to a different city and you need to find a restaurant or a pharmacy. I can't imagine travelling to a new city without my GPS. It just saves me so much time and hassle. With a GPS device in hand, you can stand in the middle of a cemetery, and it will determine the latitude and longitude coordinates, and even altitude if it has enough satellites tracked. A device can store your location in memory so that you can refer back to it later on.

Most of the GPS devices have the ability to remember the locations you mark. You can assign a short name to each location, and even an icon. You can even buy mapping software for your PC that will allow you to assemble a list of destinations, and then download to your GPS device. Even though the GPS is capable of providing 1 foot resolution of accuracy, it will never actually be that accurate. That's because there are so many weather factors that can offset the timing of the signals bouncing back and forth between the device and the satellites. Still, navigation experts claim that you can expect accuracy to within 15 to 40 feet. Either way when you are driving you get audible directions in advance for any turn or exit. I find it so useful that I keep it in my car all the time now.

Logitech's Universal Remote

My last post was about DVR and how DVR changed the way we watch TV. Today I am going to write my experience with the Harmony One universal remote. Every house today has a TV and some has a DVD player and a cable or a satellite box. Having so many devices in the house brings as many remotes on your table as well. It gets annoying when you have to switch between remotes when you have to watch a movie on your DVD player. You have to use two remotes, one for your TV and the other for your DVD player. Well it is easy for me to figure out which remote to use with which device but still sometimes it was annoying me also so I got a universal remote from Logitech called Harmony One.

This device is little expensive for a remote but it is amazing. You will have to spend some time programming this device when you buy it. The software that comes with the device is straightforward and will guide you step by step on how to program your remote. The remote connects to your computer through a USB interface. One you program your remote with the devices you are going to use, it remembers your settings. You can re-program the remote if you buy a new device or when you sell an old one. The software has almost every manufacturer and device you can imagine and Logitech keeps updating the list with new devices.

Now when you have to use the remote, all you need to do on its small touch screen is what you want to do, Watch TV? Watch Movie? Etc. and the remote will turn on the devices that need to be turned on for the task you specified. When you turn the volume up, the TV volume goes up and when you want to pause the movie and click pause on the remote, your DVD player responds with the command. Another good thing about the remote is that is has an inclinometer. When the remote is sitting on the table, its lights turn off and as soon as you hold the remote, its inclinometer senses motion and turns the light on so you can see the keys on the remote in dark.

Now you can put all your remotes on the side and just have one remote to control all our devices and keep your table clear of clutter and you don't have to explain your wife which remote to use every time she wants to watch a movie on the DVD player.

My First Post - DVR (Digital Video Recorder)

This is my first blog and I am writing this while watching TV with my wife. Watching TV has changed so much in the past years especially with the invention of DVR (Digital Video Recorder). I have TV service from Dish Network and we recently upgraded to a receiver with DVR capability. It took some time for me and my wife to understand it capabilities. Now that we understand what this thing can do, we can’t even think about going back to watching TV as we used to do. I will tell you why we love it so much but let me explain what is a DVR first. A digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) is a device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive or other memory medium within a device. You can make your computer a PVR. I have done that and I will tell you how to do it in my other posts.

You must have heard of TiVO which I think is a market leader in providing DVR services. TiVO provides you with a DVR that you can hook with most of the cable and satellite TV networks. I have a DVR from my satellite provider. A DVR functions a lot like a VCR, except it uses a hard drive to record, as opposed to videotapes. This means that there aren't any tapes to cue, and there is more recording time available. Like modern VCRs, users of digital video recorders can record television shows. One of the most popular DVR features is its ability to fast forward or skip commercials. It also allows users to pause, fast forward, rewind, or replay live television.

Now if you can skip commercials then who would want to sit through them? This is what we love about it. My wife is so used to recording all the shows and then watching them later by skipping commercials and scenes that she don’t like. We have a DVR that has three tuners. What this means is that we can record two shows and watch a third show at the same time or we can watch a DVR recording and record three shows at the same time. Usually I watch all the games live. I never record games. So what I would do is record my wife's shows if they clash with my games and watch my game live. We just cannot see ourselves watching TV without a DVR and I can't even think about taking this away from my wife.