Since my last column ran, my wife and mother passed away. As a husband and son, I’m devastated. But as your friendly neighborhood technologist, I hope to bring you some hard-won wisdom that can help you today, and help the people who love you tomorrow. Read more
I think it’s safe to say that over the past year or so, we’ve all spent more time preparing our own food. In doing so I’ve tried to adopt technology that will make a difference in both my culinary life and well- being. The first item my research has led me to is the Vitamix Ascent 2500. Read more
With many of us still working from home for the foreseeable future, now might be a good time to adapt or upgrade your technology to improve the remote work experience. Chief among things to consider is your wireless network. Read more
With cyberattacks at an all-time high and what seems like weekly reports of major organizations falling victim to ransomware gangs, Info Security groups around the country are in an all-hands-on-deck situation. Read more
There are plenty of good reasons to be skeptical of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Read more
A recent study from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance finds that 83% of people were prompted to either create, revisit or adjust their financial plan during the pandemic. That is hardly a surprise to J.R. Robinson, a financial software developer and founder of Honolulu-based Financial Planning Hawaii. Read more
Some features available on the current release of Office 365 are not available on the Windows 7 version. This gap will only widen as time goes on. Read more
COVID-19 has forced everyone to rely more heavily on communication tools to stay connected from home. Read more
In crisis there is also opportunity. Amidst all the tragedy and loss wrought by the pandemic, some saw a silver lining in all the disruption: a chance to reinvent oneself, pivot a company, change direction or try something new. Read more
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As we migrate to a post-COVID world, those of us fortunate enough to work from home have had a chance to determine what technology has made an improvement in our lives. I’ve found the following products to be indispensable. Read more
The recent, highly publicized ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. was one of the latest in a string of attacks that have plagued businesses and government agencies. The Colonial incident was just the tip of the iceberg, concealing numerous other, less publicized events. Such attacks are ramping up at an ever-increasing rate. What can folks do to avoid such an attack? Read more
Whether we liked it or not, 2020 was a year that brought a great deal of change. Many workplaces were forced to go remote basically overnight, and it was predicted that cybercrime would rise to new levels as a result. Read more
With Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Etherium and other cryptocurrencies making headlines in the past couple of weeks, it’s natural for anyone to be curious about them. Read more
Nowadays most of us are leery of taking phone calls from numbers that we don’t recognize. Even though calls have local numbers, chances are the person on the other end of the line sounds like they are at a call center on another continent. They might even claim to be “tech support” from Microsoft or perhaps the IRS. Never mind that you own an Apple computer and your taxes are all paid up. They are here to help you. Read more
Since the dawn of broadband internet, folks have always wondered, is my connection as fast as advertised? Is there any way to get an unbiased measurement? Obviously, the answer is yes. Otherwise, this would be an awfully short column. How, then, does one go about keeping the internet service provider honest? Read more
Before COVID-19 many businesses had already been transitioning to virtual/remote work models and using more cloud-based applications and services. Then, when the pandemic hit, there was a forced move by those who needed to quickly adopt remote work environments to continue operations. More than a year later, now is the time for businesses of all sizes to reexamine how employees are accessing critical work assets to ensure it is being done securely and efficiently. Read more
My friends, family and co-workers all know that I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. Read more
A recent column I did on agroforestry spawned a number of reader inquiries about urban gardening. To get the skinny on getting started, I spoke to Nat Bletter, co-founder of Madre Chocolate and NattybyNature.net. He has 22 years of experience in botany, documenting exotic fruits and vegetables throughout the world. With a Ph.D. in ethnobotany, he has created the ultimate urban garden in his Palolo backyard. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, it was discovered that data stolen from Facebook was available on the dark web. While the data was stolen in 2019, it can still be effectively used by bad actors today. Individuals and organizations should see this as a wake-up call to take care of their data themselves instead of assuming that everyone else will keep them safe. Read more
In response to the ever- increasing risks of cybersecurity attacks that target both residents and businesses, Hawaiian Telcom recently created a new security operations center. SOCs encompass a team of cybersecurity analysts who are dedicated to monitoring and responding to threats 24/7. Read more
In much the same way Americans lump all journalists and news organizations into a singular monolith called “the media,” we tend to paint the largest technology companies with the same broad brush. Read more
