Out of 233 votes, the results were as follows: 11% think laptops are the best option for schools, 13% think it should be tablets, 17% voted for desktop computers, 19% voted for networked clients, and 33% voted for some combination of these options. 6% think schools shouldn’t offer any of these options.
Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.
Don’t forget to check out last week’s best comment by Lisa Santika Onggrid. It was a very hard choice this week, but Lisa managed to pull forward and win 150 points yet again. Keep the awesome comments coming!
This week’s poll question is: Which Is The Best Note-Taking App Out There?
Taking notes used to be a simple task: you get a piece of paper and a pen, write a note, and then carry the crumpled thing in your bag for a month before you throw it away. Things are different today; we now have note-taking apps we can use no matter where we are, and access our notes on all our devices, be it a computer, a tablet, or a phone. There are hundreds of note-taking apps available, but several big ones stand out from the crowd. Do you use one of the best known ones, or do you opt for a small one we’ve probably never heard of? Or maybe you still prefer pen and paper over all apps?
What makes your favorite app the best? Is there an app that should have been included but wasn’t? Are none of the apps as good as a piece of paper? Discuss it all in the comments.
The post Which Is The Best Note-Taking App Out There? [MakeUseOf Poll] appeared first on MakeUseOf.
BitLocker is a feature of Windows 7 and 8 that is extremely useful, included in the operating system, and not nearly as many people know about it as they should. If you’re curious about what other cool stuff your Windows operating system might have, check out Christian Cawley’s, “The Top 5 Cool Hidden Features In Windows 8” and Yaara Lancet’s article, “8 Hidden Tools In Windows 7 You Still Might Not Know About“. Here, though, I’ll be focusing on Windows’ military-grade privacy tool called BitLocker.
Not all Windows’ operating systems have BitLocker bundled with them. At this point, it is just in the Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Vista, and Windows 7, and with Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 8. You can also find it in Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012. What BitLocker is, it’s a drive encryption tool. A drive encryption tool is something that takes all your data on any particular drive and make it completely unreadable to anyone but you. If you don’t have one of these operating systems, I suggest you take a look at TrueCrypt and our TrueCrypt User’s Guide: Secure Your Private Files.
There are two meanings for ‘drive’ in this case. One is any volume or partition on a single hard drive. You need at least two volumes on the drive to use BitLocker – a main volume that you probably will do your day to day work in, and another volume that is at least 100MB in size that will be your system’s volume. Your computer will boot from this volume. This volume can NOT be encrypted. That would make booting your computer very difficult.
The other ‘drive’ is any removable drive like your USB drive. This type of drive does NOT require a boot volume. Which is really cool, because if you encrypt your USB flash drive and you have sensitive information on it, you don’t really have to worry about anyone getting that information if you lose the drive.
BitLocker takes all the data on your drive and applies a bunch of fancy math to that data. Remember, all data can be boiled down to just numbers so it can be manipulated with math. Officially, this math comes in the form of algorithms, or sets of instructions, such as AES – 128-bit or 256-bit encryption, and Diffuser.
Let’s go through a very simplified process of encrypting the word ‘USE’.
Diffuser takes those three letters and scrambles them. It could come out as ESU, SUE, SEU and so on. Then BitLocker creates the key, which is the way to unscramble that word, and holds on to it for you.
Now BitLocker applies AES. AES is the Advanced Encryption Standard adopted by the US Government as a standard in 2001 – hence the military-grade designation in the title. 128-bit or 256-bit encryption defines how many bits a single bit of your original data may be represented by. Now, a bit is just one piece of data, like a letter or a number. Then, the math makes that particular bit into a ‘combination’ or key that is either 128 or 256 bits long. It’s like slapping a combination lock with a 256-numbers-long combination on a locker holding the letter ‘U’. Think about that.
Let’s go back to encrypting the word ‘USE’. You have to open three different lockers with three different combination locks, each with a combination that is 256 numbers long. Now, you can see how this would be a pain to anybody but the most dedicated cracker.
This is where it gets military-grade, I mean tank tough! Remember AES? Well that application puts each combination lock through the math 14 times for 256-bit encryption! Now, you have to know 14 different 256-bit-long combinations to get at your letter ‘U’. Forget it. Go home, cracker. Of course, BitLocker creates a key that will unlock, or decrypt that word for you.
At the end of it, there are two keys now needed to start the process of decrypting your data. If someone doesn’t have access to both of those keys, they are going to have to be very patient, very smart, and very dedicated to get at your information.
These keys aren’t physical keys of course, and they don’t resemble passwords either. By themselves, they would look like gobledy-gook to ordinary folk like you and me. But what Windows does is allow BitLocker to use those two keys to get at your data, as long as you can prove to the computer that you are who you say you are. These keys are held by the Trusted Platform Module.
The Trusted Platform Module is another key piece in the BitLocker set of tools to protect you. This is a bit of hardware that can be found on most computers.
What it does is check out your computer each time it boots to make sure no one has been trying to mess with the start-up procedures to get around your encryption. What it also does is prevent someone from just slipping the hard drive out of your computer and popping it into their computer to get at the files.
Depending how you set up your BitLocker, your TPM may just let you log on to your computer. Or, you might set it up so that it requires a PIN number to continue to logging in. Or, you can create a USB key that has to be plugged into your computer when you boot, to get you to the login stage. Or you can go hardcore and set it up to require that you have a PIN AND a USB key. The TPM applies only to volumes that are physically on your computer. USB drives don’t need a TPM, but they may need a PIN or USB key for verification.
There are computers without TPM’s, but for most computers manufactured after 2006, the TPM module is already on the motherboard.
Well, no, nothing really is. But it’s as safe as you’re going to get without having the budget of the CIA or MI-5. Speaking of government spying, the UK’s Home Office has asked Microsoft to put a backdoor in BitLocker to allow them to have easy access to your data. Microsoft has flat out refused to do so. Score one for Microsoft.
It’s surprisingly easy to use if you are just going to encrypt your main volume on the hard drive in your computer. Check out this short video on how easy it is.
If you want to get into the guts of BitLocker and use it on external drives or set up the different TPM validation methods, it can get a bit more complicated. Microsoft does have a Step-By-Step Guide for BitLocker on Windows 7. I haven’t seen any real documentation on Windows 8 yet. If you have, let us know in the comments, please.
BitLocker is the best protection for your data that you are going to get just by buying a Windows computer. If you are concerned about data theft and the security of your information, why wouldn’t you make this military-grade tool a part of your computer security arsenal? It just makes sense. BitLocker is a serious tool developed for you by a company so many people think of as being evil at different times. I think this application is a redeeming quality for Microsoft and makes me feel less disgruntled about the cost of getting Windows.
What do you think? Do you currently use BitLocker? I’d like to hear about your experiences with it. Do you feel safer knowing BitLocker is out there and may be a part of your Windows computer? Let’s hear about it in the comments. No encrypting please.
Image Credit: TPM on Asus Motherboard via WikiCommons, BitLocker Icon via WikiCommons, UK Home Office via WikiCommons, Lockers via Shutterstock
The post Free Military-Grade Privacy For Your Files: How Bitlocker Works [Windows] appeared first on MakeUseOf.
Ahem.
Perhaps a little harsh, but anyone who has been gaming since the mid-1980s will probably sympathise, if not agree.
So imagine my surprise when I downloaded a copy of the Xbox Live title for Windows Phone, Little Acorns, only to discover that as platform games go, it isn’t half bad. Now, I don’t expect you to rush out and buy a $0.99/£0.79 game purely on this recommendation (although at that price it is easily one of the cheapest Xbox Live games available for Windows Phone), especially as you know nothing as yet about Mr Nibbles.
Yes, he’s cute, he’s loveable and he has a name that inspires dread.
But you’re still looking for that recommendation, so let’s move on…
As aims of games go, this one is pretty noble – guide Mr Nibbles through 80 different levels to collect nuts and fruit to put away for winter, thereby providing the family of squirrels with enough food. Spread across four years – with four seasons in each – this is a particularly long game for a mobile platform. Note the price too – this is value for money, based on price per minute of gameplay.
Different surfaces come into play at different times of year; for instance, Mr Nibbles becomes tough to control in the winter when he slides around on ice.
Hooks to swing on, rising and falling platforms and temporary floors that fall away are among the landscape items that can help and hinder your progress.
The real problem, however, are the other creatures in the woods who are out to stop Mr Nibbles…
Basic left, right and jump controls enable you to negotiate Mr Nibbles through the various challenges that are presented in Little Acorns, and thanks to the hooks (which can be latched onto using the jump button) there are many ways to get the squirrel through a level before the clock runs out, including some time bonuses.
Spiders and grey squirrels block Mr Nibbles’ way, but these can be overcome with speed boosts, jump powerups and a special helmet that makes the character impervious to damage for a few moments.
As platform games go, Little Acorns is extremely playable and a lot of fun. If you’re fortunate enough to complete a level before the clock runs down, there is also the opportunity to collect fruit for bonus points before you head to the level exit.
Twenty achievements can be unlocked in Little Acorns, each at 10G, resulting in an additional 200 for your Xbox Live Gamerscore – a great reason to have a Windows Phone.
As mentioned earlier, Mr Nibbles is one of those “cute” platform characters, and this look extends to the entire game. Blending a 1950s cartoon art style with a modern smartphone results in a visually attractive game that is complemented by a suitably jazzy soundtrack.
Befitting a platform game, the actual in-game sound effects aren’t particularly impressive, but the soundtrack makes up for this – a particular bonus is you like a nice, slow jazz track with some added funky fuzz guitar.
This is the type of platform game that you really cannot go wrong with. The low price (check the game in the Windows Phone Marketplace to confirm this – prices can change!) and the cute design hide a game that can prove fiendishly difficult to complete. Some levels can be particularly tough, but the satisfaction in watching the acorns tumble into the squirrel’s tree after a level is completed is particularly warm.
Yes, I know they’re not real squirrels, but for all of his cuteness and hack back-story, I’ve grown quite fond of Mr Nibbles (so much so that Little Acorns is on MakeUseOf’s Best Windows Phone Apps list), and look forward to helping him through many more months of acorn collecting – at least until I’ve got all achievements unlocked and my 200G!
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