Video Post

Hewlett-Packard Premium Stereo Headset

The HP Premium Stereo Headset is an over-the-head headset that delivers premium sound quality as well as great microphone clarity, it uses audio ports, not a USB port. I have used HP's Headset for quite a while now and i have been very pleased with it. It is comfortable to wear for several hours, and it's great to use with online games and voice chat programs such as Skype. It has a fold-in design that allows it to become more compact, which i have found very useful for moving between LAN parties, and also taking to school to use with a laptop.

It has great sound quality and it's comfortable to wear for several hours, and with headsets almost being a must for online gaming it's a great buy.

Netgear's Ethernet over Powerline Adapter

I have been using Netgear's Ethernet over Powerline adapter for quite a while now, and it's a great product. It is for those who have computers, or other pieces of equipment that use ethernet lines to connect to the internet, spread around the house. It works like this:



1. Cable line goes into the Modem,

2. an ethernet line goes from the Modem to the Router (a router is required to use the adapter),

3. an ethernet line then goes from the Router to the Adapter,

4. a SECOND Adapter is placed in another room in the house (it must be on the SAME CIRCUIT),

5. from that Adapter (which comes in 1 or 4 port versions) an ethernet line goes out to whatever needs it.



There is NO software required to use the Adapter, it is simply plug and play, also there is not a note-worthy difference in connection speed through the Adapters. I have tested the Adapter with two different routers, one very old; one brand new, both work perfectly.

I use my Netgear Adapters to get internet to my PC and Xbox 360 that are in a seperate room than the Router and Modem (they are on the SAME CIRCUIT, this is important to remember).



These Adapters (and remember you do need TWO Adapters in total, you could use three if they were all on the same circuit) are a great way to get the internet through out your house without having to wireless (while that may not be important for some people [none gamers] it is for those like me who need a faster connection speed).

Powerline AV Enet Adapter Kit

Professional Computer Science Related Groups

ACM - is the Association for Computing Machinery. They are the largest educational and scientific computer society. ACM provides the computing field's premeir digital library and serves it's members with publications, conferences and career resources, they are

"Advancing Computing as a Science and a Profession."


- a professional membership with ACM lasts for 12 months, with a large amount of options for membership.


- there is a tri-weekly IT news digest, a bi-weekly IT careers news digest, over 2,500 online courses, 1,000 virtual labs, and 1,100 online books, and full access to ACM's Career Center for members (included in membership dues).


-ACM's contact info.

Phone: 1-(212)-869-7440
Web Address: acmhelp@acm.org


Mailing Address:
2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701
New York, NY 10121-0701
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ACL - is the Association for Computational Linguistics. ACL is "THE international and professional society for people working on problems involving natural language and computation."

- Membership includes the ACL's quartly journal, Computational Linguistics, reduced registration at most ACL sponsored conferences, discounts on ACL sponsored publications, and participation in ACL special interest groups. You must fill out an application to become a member. ACL has different payment options 1 year costing $60 dollars for a regular member, an unemployed student membership costs $30 dollars, a member who is retired also must pay $30 dollars, as well as someone who is unemployed. There is also an option for people who are having hard financial times, who's membership costs half of what is regularly due.

- When signing up to be a member you can check to have a newsletter sent to your email address. Other available documents would be the quartly journal: Computational Linguistics.

-ACL's contact info.
Phone:1-(570)-476-8006
Web Address: acl@org.aclweb

Mailing Address:
209 North Eighth Street
Stroudsburg PA, 18360
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W3C - is the World Wide Web Consortium. The World Wide Web Consortium is an international community that develops standards to ensure the long-term growth of the web. W3C's mission: to lead the Web to its full potential.

- Membership just a few of the membership benefits to the W3C are: The opportunity to interact and work directly with the leading companies, organizations, and individuals in the Web world; The ability to provide strategic direction to the Consortium through review of W3C activity proposals and operational policies; Participate in W3C working groups, where specifications and guidelines are developed, and in W3C interest groups, where discussions are conducted. Fees for the United States are: $68,500 USD for PROFIT organizations that have an annual gross revenue of greater than or equal to $50,000,000 (50 million) USD; $7,900 USD for all other organizations including non-profit organizations and government agencies.

- There is no newsletter available, but there is access to a member-only website for early information on emerging Web technologies, software, events, forums, news and announcements.

-W3C's contact info.
Phone:1-(617)-253-2613
Web Address: susan@w3.org or karen@w3.org

Mailing Address:
32 Vassar Street
Room 32-G515
Cambridge, MA 02139

Computers: What's inside "the magic box?"

I'm sure there are a large amount of people who use computers on a regular, day to day basis. I'm also sure that probably 90% of those users have never looked inside their computer. What makes a computer so intimidating? Why are we afraid to glance inside "the magic box?"

I think the reason most users would give for not opening it is because they wouldn't want to damage their computer and this is a reasonable concern, but unless they are replacing their processor or changing the power supply; damaging the computer is unlikely.

Everyday users should regularly open the computer, simply to dust it out. If dust is left in a computer for too long it can clog the fans, and cause the computer to overheat, which can cause some serious damage. A computer should be dusted regularly, perhaps once every month or every two months depending on usage level, or maybe do it everytime you dust the house. Compressed air cans get the job done just fine.

Don't be a shy user, take a look in the box. You may be surprised at how it looks at first, but get familiar with your computer, understand it's specifications so that; should a problem ever arise, you can provide the details of your computer to whoever's helping you so they can locate the problem with greater ease.

Has technology made our lives easier or more complex?

Technology is a wonderful thing, it really is. We have cell phones that can access email, facebook, myspace; we can text, IM, and call our friends and family from anywhere in the world (assuming we have reception). But has this made our lives easier? Or has it, unbeknownst to us, made it more complicated?

I'm on the (fail)boat to say that it's made our lives easier. We have instant access to our friends, we can call and arrange dinner with our loved ones when we aren't even home from the office yet. We can send eachother pointless forwarded text messages, and even better we can forward pointless emails!

But I do believe that there are some good pieces of technology out there. For the diabetics of the world you can check your blood sugar with the touch of a button; for people who's hearts are fail, you can get a new one. Speaking of hearts, those who have nobody in this world can go online and start meeting people (there are some online dating relationships that have turn into something real, i was at the wedding!).

Technology does add to our lives: we don't wake up and feed the chickens and milk the cows anymore.
We wake up and turn on the machine that feeds the chickens; and turn on the machine that milks the cows.

The BloggingHodges Experience

Please note that all posts written in the BloggingHodges are written by Jacob Hodges.
All opinions posted are the opinions of the blogger, Jacob Hodges.
Have fun reading The BloggingHodges Experience.
Should be fun!