Online Courses in Computer Engineering
Published October 29, 2011 | 
There are many ways to progress in your educational career. One trend growing in popularity is that of taking Online Courses to obtain a college degree. Degree programs are available for many different fields. For example, if you’re looking to go into IT, you might try one of the many online degree programs in computer engineering to get your credentials. It’s a good idea to review the coursework offered by any school you wish to attend, whether on-line or in person. It’s important to understand how comprehensive the program is, and whether it dives into your specific areas of interest. For example, in the case of computer engineering, you may have ideas about going into manufacturing. If that’s the case, then you would make sure that the coursework offered includes instruction on using related systems and architecture. Once this has been confirmed, your next step is to figure out how to pay for your education.
Online universities tend to be very affordable compared to their traditional counterparts. This is due to the lower overhead of running everything virtually. There are no classrooms, leased space, custodial staff or other expenses that drive up the costs for a good education. However this may not always be enough. Luckily, it is still possible to submit a Free Application For Federal Student Aid, even in today’s economy. To apply, go here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.
Once you’ve selected your school and secured a student loan, it’s time to begin. Take your classes, get ahead in your field of interest and make your way towards a new career in a field you find most interesting.
Spending $$$
Published October 25, 2011 | I appreciate the guest post, Rodrigo Coffey
Man, I spent a lot of money I wasn’t counting on when I bought my first house. Things like closing costs and attorney fees and even initial taxes really added up and when I moved in I was a couple thousand dollars in the hole. I just wish I had planned better and bought a house that was slightly under my budget so I could handle all these horrible expenses without them being so hard on me! I tried really hard after the move to save money in other places. I got some good cable deals and actually made some rugs out of carpet remnants at the carpet store. It looks great! The place isn’t quite done yet but it’s getting there and I am slowly working my way back to having a little emergency fund. I wish someone would have told me being a homeowner was so darn expensive…I probably would have planned a lot better so that all those extra expenses really hit me so hard! I guess you live you learn.
Walden University – Online Degrees
Published October 22, 2011 | Walden University’s online degree programs include training in a number of disciplines that can be reviewed on their website, WaldenU.edu. Their curriculum includes classes related to many areas, including Education, Management and Technology. In addition, they offer both Bachelor’s and Master’s programs.
With regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Walden has a few colleges and schools with related courswork. Their College of Management and Technology offers programs in Computer Information Systems, Information Systems and Information Technology. They also have a College of Health Sciences with courses that include, among other things, Epidemiology and Health Informatics.
Years ago, online degrees were far less common than they are today. However, the times are changing and education is not what it was in the traditional sense a decade ago. Colleges and Universities with physical campuses are offering far more online courses than they were in the past. Walden takes it to the next level by offering a fully virtual system. This allows people to get the quality education they deserve without the added costs associated with a physical campus or commuting. It also allows stay-at-home parents to get that degree they’ve been meaning to get, but are too busy taking care of their families.
To find out more, visit their website to learn about Walden.
Finnish Engineering Companies Face Crisis
Published October 21, 2011 | Nationwide strikes at nearly 40 Finnish engineering companies are threatening to expand to numerous other employers, including Nokia. Workers at the Finnish groups began a strike on Friday, planned to last for 3 weeks, after the company unions turned down a wage agreement.
The union threatened to expand the reach of the strikes if a deal was not met. So what does that mean for the engineering companies? It means a loss of nearly 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion dollars) if the ordeal continues. The crisis will likely just add to the turmoil in Europe as the euro zone debt crisis continues.
Finland relies heavily on its exports, one of the most prominent of which is engineering products like metals. The country is potentially facing a recession if they cannot get unions to come to an agreement and go back to work as soon as possible.
The engineering companies in Finland typically manufacture steel and various other metals, along with materials for ships and other popular machines. Because it is one of the country’s largest exports, the industry employs a great number of the Finnish population. Coming to a wage agreement, which is crucial for the success of companies in the country, and ultimately the country’s economic success, could mean raising wages by 4.3 percent over the course of two years. The raise would take a chunk of money out of the pockets of many companies in the area, and could mean lower profits for the calendar year.
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 4g Wireless – Can’t Connect on Verizon
Published October 17, 2011 | 
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
I recently purchased the 4g version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 at my local Verizon store. There were a few small issues like not being able to watch Netflix on the device (though with the price increases I recently cancelled my Netflix account). However, I have to admit that I am very pleased with my new mobile device. There is one problem: every so often, it loses 4g connectivity (and 3g doesn’t work either when this happens). This just happened again today after using it as a wireless hotspot for a few hours. I tried a hard-reset, turning on and off airplane mode, turning on and off wifi, and many other logical solutions, but to no avail. I Googled for a solution, and found a few links, but none of them provided me with the right solution either, though it was nice to see that I wasn’t the only one with this problem. Then after some tinkering I discovered that you can fix this connectivity problem pretty easily as follows:
- Turn off your Samsung 10.1
- Remove the Sim card
- Turn on your Galaxy Tab – the system will restart and prompt you to shut down.
- Do a full power-down (hold the power button and then “turn off” the tablet)
- Power up – you will get a warning that the Galaxy won’t work without a Verizon Sim card plugged in
- Power down and insert the Sim card
- Power up and your 4g connection should be working again
Remembering Steve Jobs
Published October 14, 2011 | Steve Jobs, the late Apple CEO passed away on October 5, 2011. He was the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. On his death certificate, his occupation was listed as “entrepreneur.”
Jobs changed the world in his position as Apple CEO. In the last 10 years, Apple introduced, under Jobs’ guidance, the iPod, iPhone, and most recently the iPad. In addition to these hand-held devices, Apple has revolutionized the computer industry with their laptop and desktop technologies.
The iPod came into being because Jobs observed a lack of technology in hand-held music devices. Existing devices were either too clunky or too small, and both rendered themselves completely useless to users. The first iPod was released in 2001 and featured enough space for 1,000 songs. More modern versions of the device have 64 GB of available space and can load apps, have HD video recording, and multiple cameras for Face Time.
After the development of the iPod came the revolutionary iPhone. Apple has released five versions of the device thus far and each has been accompanied by an upgrade of the Apple operating system, iOS. The first iPhone was released in June of 2007. The most recent version, the iPhone 4S was released on October 4, 2011. With the dawning of the iPhone came the Apple App Store. For the first time, users could download applications for their smartphones to make accessing certain websites, games and services easier.
Most recently, the iPad and iPad 2 have both created and dominated the market for tablet computers. Jobs, although on a medical leave of absence for much of the iPad frenzy, was able to make it to the iPad 2 launch.
Jobs struggled with a very rare type of Pancreatic Cancer and battled his health for many years before his death in 2011. Although he passed away, he will be forever memorialized as the man who changed the world for this and future generations.
Jobs was known as a successful CEO and a marketing genius. He truly understood Apple’s core message, that “less is more.” In a Stanford Graduation Speech he delivered in June, 2005, Jobs gave now famous advice to graduating seniors that will remain with his legacy; “your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 Review
Published October 7, 2011 | 
Blackberry Bold Touch 9930
Designed for the businessperson on the move, the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 is a smartphone that adds multimedia capabilities to Blackberry’s cutting-edge productivity and email suite. The 9930 is a 3G touch screen phone with a 2.8-inch capacitive TFT touch screen. The phone’s 5 MP camera and impressive 8 GB of storage allow the recording and playback of most audio and video formats. The camera has an LED flash and image stabilization. An additional microSD slot can add 32 GB of storage. The 1.2 Gigahertz processor is remarkably powerful, allowing you to run your email, office document manager and multimedia tools with ease.
Apple To Reveal The New iPhone
Published October 4, 2011 | It won’t be long before Apple reveals its new iPhone,
but it seems that there is a serious question as to how many people prefer the Android over an iPhone. The article raises some good points, but fans of the iPhone certainly shouldn’t start worrying about the demise of Apple. I have no doubt that the new iPhone is going to set the internet world on fire as mobile phone reviews all across the web will feverishly raise to be the first to talk about Apple’s new phone. Moreover, given Apple’s track record I think it is safe to assume that there will be some hot new features to get users re-energized.
The important thing to remember here is that all of this is good news for the world of cellphones. It is no secret that the driving impetus for research and innovation is competition, and at this rate there is a huge impetus for all companies dealing with smartphones to continue to spend all the time and money needed to make them as amazing as possible. So whether you are a fan of the Android operating system or Apple’s operating system, you can look forward to some truly spectacular devices in the foreseeable future.