Geeks2U | January Newsletter

Down On the Streets With Google

Online maps are becoming a larger part of our lives every day. In Australia, we have been using whereis.com for years in order to get simple directions. Recently, internet giant Google has introduced its own brand of convenient mapping that includes detailed satellite imagery and individually customisable features.

Google has introduced a feature known as 'Street View' showcasing 21 major American cities using street level panoramic photos. Street view enables users to view a selected area in 180 degrees as though they were actually standing on the street. They have done this by attaching panoramic cameras on top of vans and continually taking photos whilst driving.

Over the coming months, these vans will be seen around Australia's major cities taking panoramic snapshots. Be on your best behaviour, because you may end up with your photo in front of millions of people. Google has already taken down many images in the United States of people caught at embarrassing moments due to privacy concerns!

Practical uses for Street View will be far and wide. For example, if you'd like to go to a shop that you haven't been to before, you can see exactly what it looks like just by typing in the address. A virtual stroll down any street in Australia's capital cities should be possible by the end of 2008. Click here to take a look at Google Street View

Keeping Your Data Safe - Hard Disk Drives

The hard drive was invented in 1956 by IBM. The first commerical hard disk could store 5MB of information, it was called the 350 Disk File and contained a set of fifty 24” metal plates aligned on a central rotating spindle. It weighed over 1 tonne. By comparison, the standard hard disk you'd find in a home PC today can store 50,000 times more information and is 2,000 times lighter!

1956 IBM 350 Disk File - 1,000 kg

A modern hard disk - 0.6 kg

Today's hard drives work on exactly the same principle, with a set of metal disks on a rotating spindle. Modern hard drives often crash because they use so many delicate moving parts. Once a hard drive is physically damaged, information can still be recovered, so don't lose hope immediately! Generally speaking, information on a hard drive needs to be overwritten several times in order to disappear beyond recovery. Even when you delete a file it is not technically gone, usually the only part that is actually deleted is the part that tells the computer where to find the file, so after deletion the computer will not know where to look. Information can almost always be recovered from a hard disk, depending on the reason for information being lost, whether it has been accidentally deleted or if the hard disk has failed.

Some organisations, such as law firms, the military, or anyone who needs absolute confidentiality use a method known as 'shredding' files using special applications. Short of destroying the actual hard drive, this is the only way you can make information completely unreadable. These applications work by overwriting information several times with random data, rendering it completely unreadable.

Gadget of the Month

There is an endless supply of technology gadgets on the market, each month we'll be introducing a new gadget that may interest our readers. This month's gadget is an Asus Internet Radio. Connect it to your home network (either by a standard wired or wireless connection) and access 10,000 internet radio stations around the world.

The ASUS Internet Radio

This gadget works independently from your computer, and it'll work with any broadband internet connection. Just either plug it into your router or bring it in range of a wireless network. It's very easy to use with simple, straight forward controls and saves 250 station presets. Whether you rock out to heavy metal, get down with funk or have an odd fascination with airport control traffic from Belgium, this is the gadget for you!.

The ASUS Internet Radio is now available from Geeks2U for just $299 (excludes delivery).

Your Question?

Do you have any questions about computers and technology? Maybe there's been something you've constantly wondered about but never had the right person to ask? Well, now you do - If you've got a question please send us an email and each month we'll publish a selection of questions and answers from our e-newsletter readers. to send us your question!

Technician of the Month

John Greenfield After completing a university degree in Physics in 1995, John commenced his IT career as a Technical Support Officer with Ozemail.

Need a New PC?

This months specials include two wonderful deals on new PCs! We have one PC tailored to the average home user and one PC tailored to power-hungry gamers!

Each PC comes with: