Question: Once in a while, my laptop says there's a wireless network around called "free wi-fi". Should I try to connect to it or is it a scam?
Answer: It's not a scam in the sense that no one's out to get money or information from you, but it's also not going to get you on the Internet. When you look at the different wireless networks that are available at any one time, you'll see different icons that identify the type of wireless network it is. Most wireless networks are of the infrastructure type, which means that your computer connects to a wireless Access Point, including routers. The "Free Public Wi-Fi" network is of the Ad-Hoc type which means that it's a computer to computer connection. The thing is, once you connect to it, it'll broadcast to other systems that this network is available, so it spreads virally. The bad part is that it could, but probably won't, allow your computer's security to be compromised. If you'll just disconnect from that network, and remove it from any preferred network lists, it should go away, but check out links in the show notes when I get them fixed for step by step methods to prevent connection to ad-hoc networks.
Cool Site: Birthday Party Ideas.com: This site bills itself as "The World's Largest Collection of Birthday Party Ideas" and that may well be true. If you're busy or have a tough time thinking up ideas for Birthday Parties for your kids, then check out this site. There's a top-ten list that includes such party types as "Princess Party", "Pirate Party", and "Beach Party". There's a form to include your own ideas (in case you ARE the creative type). They've got ideas separated out for Kids, Teens, Adults, and Holidays like Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, or Valentine's Day. The Birthday party ideas cover all aspects of the party from invitations to party favors, activities, games, snacks, the cake and even costumes.
Cool Gadget: Iceblox: The very first game I ever heard described as "addictive" was Tetris. I must confess, I was hooked on the game myself. Prepare to be hooked again. Iceblox is a food-grade silicone ice-cube tray/jello mold shaped like Tetris pieces. It comes in orange and blue and costs $8.50 online. I've really always wanted to try out silicone ice trays because I suspect that they'd let go of the cubes more readily. That they're shaped like Tetris pieces is just gravy.
It's All "Geek" To Me: eCommerce: In society we go through phases and fads. Same goes for computers. Right now, because of the iMac and iPod things get named beginning with "I". Before that, there was a fad where "Active" went in front of everything. But the first fad was putting e for electronic in front of things, just like e-mail does. When we add an "E" to Commerce, we get e-commerce, which refers to doing business on the web. Most often, that means Business to Consumer, like Amazon. But other times it refers to Business to Business commerce, like a wholesaler might. So it really just means doing business on the web.
