Question: Question from Kathy: "I accidentally backed my chair over my printer cable and it broke the USB port. When I tried to restart my computer, the power comes on, but it won't boot. What can be wrong?"
Answer: Great question. Check that USB port very closely. It has a piece of plastic that keeps the contacts where they belong. The other thing that plastic does is to make sure you can't plug into it wrongly. If that breaks, you should make sure that the contacts don't touch each other or the sides of the USB port. If this happens, it creates a short and since USB is a bootable technology, your computer may not be able to boot. To fix it, you'll need to have that port repaired. If you have a USB hub, I suggest replacing it. If this is a port that is built into your computer, then you will have to have it serviced. It may mean the replacement of the motherboard, or it may mean the complete removal of that USB port. Removing the port will be less expensive than replacing the motherboard.
Cool Site: : This week, we're taking a break from apologetics to look at a little something that's just for fun on this holiday weekend. Roblox.com is "a kid-friendly place on the internet where your children can exercise their creativity in a moderated online environment." What that means is that you and your kids sign up for accounts (there are both parent and kid accounts) and the site gives the kids a virtual online building game with moderated interactions. The site is designed for kids from 8-18, but is open to anyone. You choose an avatar and give it an identity. You can then start to create things in this almost infinite playground. Your avatar has an area and a toolbox. Using the tools, you build things just like you might with Lego or some of the other plastic building bricks. You can create games, places for others to explore, all kinds of stuff. Members can earn badges and ROBUX with which they can shop the online catalog for more tools, building materials, stuff like that. You can play alone, or with others, it's completely up to you. The site can be enjoyed completely free, or by joining the Builders Club for at most $6 per month, the ads go away, and the kids are able to get better stuff from the catalog. This is really the model that most sites are beginning to employ: free basic service, and paid premium service.
Cool Gadget: Bringrr: A few weeks back we looked at the Zomm, which makes sure you keep your cell phone close by. What if you just want to be sure you've got it with you when you get in the car? Gearlog has an article about the Bringrr. Bringrr is a device that plugs into the car’s power outlet (we used to call them cigarette lighters). It pairs to your cell phone via Bluetooth, and when you start your car, it looks for the phone. If your phone is in your car, Bringrr will beep and light up in blue. If it doesn't find it, an alarm goes off and the light changes from blue to red to let you know you've forgotten your phone. It runs about $35, which is a lot more expensive than a note stuck on the back of the front door, but it's also a lot harder to ignore. They have a second model that incorporates a car charger for $10 more, called Bringrr Charge.
It's All "Geek" To Me: RSS: This week, we're going to continue our terminology related to podcasting. RSS stands for Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a specification for a file called an RSS Feed. An RSS Feed is a text file that your web browser or another program downloads periodically. The file follows a specific format, which we'll talk about next week, and contains articles. The articles can be about anything, and many news sites or blogs have this feature. Twitter has it also. You subscribe to the feed, and your feed reader lets you know whenever new stuff is available. An article can have an enclosure, similar to an attachment in an email, and this is how podcasts are distributed.
