The 2022 winner was Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center Software Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The award recognizes the top organic software activity that, through its mission accomplishments, provided extraordinary capability for operational units supported. The award is named after RDML Grace Hopper, a pioneer of computer programming who popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages. I was proud to be part of a team that earned the Rear Admiral Grace M. Hopper Award for Software Maintenance Excellence.

When technology does it’s job, it easy to grow accustomed to it, and when it’s done right, to love it.  Rain would fall from clouds, and cisterns were there long before we had ways to purify water and kept water stored underground during times of drought.

Then again, when the song “Video Killed the Radio Star”  that deal with the impact of modern technology by the British pop group “The Buggles” and it’s music video is well-remembered as the first music video shown on Music TV or MTV in the United States at 12:01am on 1 August 1981. Our concepts of music delivery were changed overnight to be more exciting, visual, and stunning.  Funny that the same song on the album is just one of the tracks of “The Age of Plastic”, the whole theme is nostalgia, for a period of technological change in the 1960s that reflected on impacts from social behaviors towards 20th-century technical inventions, and the inventions used that changed media arts such as photography, cinema, radio, television, audio recording and record production. We would tape the music and tape the show. Our new personal computers even backed-up to tape drives.

Then, there were so many musical groups that quickly rose to popularity because of their video in the 80’s, it was staggering. You needed some digital media to store it, like a compact disc, and then we entered the Digital age, with Apple’s Digital rights Management, along with an iPod to keep up with the new music published in digital forms, and play the Video, now digital too. iPod became a huge Cistern to store your music and take it with you, because the cellular airwaves at the time couldn’t provide bandwidth.

Ars Technica speculated in 2011 that the iPod Classic was nearing its end, and the site’s readers generally agreed it would not still be produced in 2013.The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2013 revealed no new iPod Classic and Apple was not expected to produce another one. Production of the iPod Classic continued in low volumes as a stop-gap measure to clear out and monetize inventory of unused stand-alone parts

So again, I recognize the same pattern when Apple’s iCloud was introduced in 2011; it began to provide a way for Apple to market a “cloud service” that competed and rumored to have killed the very product that I had grown to love. Then on September 9, 2014, Apple discontinued the iPod Classic. A Seventh generation 160GB iPod Classic was the last Apple product in the iPod line to use the original 30-pin iPod connector and the Click Wheel that started it all. The 7th generation became the final form of the iPod Classic that helped Apple achieve its success in the 2000s. Nostalgia versus changing Social behavior.

Now, five months after its discontinuation, the last generation iPod Classic has seen a price increase by up to four times its original retail price on eBay due to increased demand by music fans. When my iPod died in the past, the good news was I would go get a new iPod. Now, Bummer!  Apple discontinued making and selling the Classic, so I’m buying a refurb model and if I need to keep a spare, I’ll be sending my busted iPod in for repairs and refurb.

According to Tim Cook speaking at WSJD Live, the iPod Classic was discontinued because the parts were unavailable and a redesign was unwarranted given the small amount of consumer interest in the product.

Since I’m one of those, it could cost me a lot of money, over time, depending on what it takes to keep me in iPods.

Google claimed it’s A new type of computer with everything built-in. Curiosity got the best of me, so I acquired at awesomely low price, an Asus C300-EDU model with 4GB RAM and a 32GB SSD.

I was impressed how easy it was to start using. It’s tight integration with the Chrome Web (using a PC) and Android Platforms (Tablet or Phone) makes this a very accessible and secure option for most users. No java allowed.  If you don’t have a Google account, you may want to stop reading this here, because most of the functionality you have as a guest is limited to web and temporary storage using native apps during a one-time sand-boxed session.

With a Google account on the chromebook, everything is awesome…and when using my new Chromebook for surfing and entertainment, I could do alot. I further enhanced my Chromebook with extra web applications (apps, for short) and features for the browser (also known as extensions). The apps are used like regular software programs for desktop computers.  Native Google along with many other applications are fully functional, and when they get installed for use on a chromebook, they may have versions that can work offline (with offline documents, mail, or media) or if you have a Gigabit Ethernet or Wi-fi connection, they run entirely on the web.

Extensions provide custom features and functionality for the Chrome browser. You can find both apps and extensions through the Chrome Web Store, a site dedicated to resources developed specifically for Chromebooks.

You can use a Chrome cast device to easily display on a big screen inside the same wi-fi network or keep it connected without wi-fi to a local display using the HDMI port.

Use a full-size secure digital (SD) card port for more storage or offline expansion, or you can sign up to get 15GB on Google Drive storage…and now through January 31, 2015, they are offering  1TB of Google Drive storage, for 2 years free, with the purchase of a new, eligible Chromebook.

Never give up, never surrender. Activated the Omega 13. Using a Galaxy S4 now. So far, the hardware seems solid.

The S4 contains Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 system-on-chip, containing a quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU and an Adreno 320 GPU. The chip also contains a modem which supports LTE. This one is from AT&T Mobility supports the 4G LTE network types and bands and implements a regional lockout system in certain regions, requiring that the first SIM card used on a European and North American model be from a carrier in that region. Samsung stated that the lock would be removed once a local SIM card.

In February 2014, Samsung began rolling out an update to Android 4.4 “KitKat” for the S4; the update adds user interface tweaks such as a camera shortcut on the corner of the lock screen, options for setting default launcher and text messaging applications, support for printing, and a new location settings menu for tracking and controlling the use of location tracking.

I like it.

By Grabthar’s hammer, by the sons of Worvan, you shall be avenged.

Complete a Training Course (non CompTIA Certification Course) allows 1 CEU for each hour to complete the training course.

The rules are the max CEUs that can be earned within a 3 year during the CE cycle, training activity permits a CompTIA Security+ professional to complete is 50 CEUs.

Using cloud technology like Amazon or OneDrive make sense.  If your laptop fails or worse you lose everything in a catastrophe, i.e. fire, you can still access those files.  Buying a cloud storage account seems to be much cheaper and now most offer access to your tablet.  Exercise care with who you trust and what you share.

Using one of these now.  The integration is very good and the features are exceptional. Installed a 3rd party video driver that supports using hardware acceleration for video playback in streaming media, and it really is visually stunning.

Google has done it again. The latest version of the Android phone and LG hardware are combined as a mobile smartphone. The Nexus 4 is fast, sleek, and has many features that are techno-logically cool.

As an unlocked phone, you’re no longer tied to one individual service provider.

I’m typing this post from my Google Nexus 4 and all I can say is: Wow!

Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket is just right for those Independence Day blasts by the dawn’s early light. The red glare of the Skyrocket has a beautiful 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display along with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an NFC chip, and support for AT&T’s LTE network to watch it so gallantly streaming and keep those bombs bursting in air.

It ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and has 16GB storage memory and 1GB RAM onboard, 8-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash with 1080p video capture supports 1080p video recording of the star-spangled banner. A 2-megapixel front facing video chat only over a Wi-Fi connection o’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming to communicate in the land of the free. A GSM banded world phone with Bluetooth and enhanced audio for keeping in touch with the home of the brave.

Box includes battery, SIM card, charger, headphones, USB cable.  Add an Otterbox Defender case with screen-protector whose broad stripes, and a belt holster that doubles as a stand as one of the bright stars through the perilous fight and to ensure you can proudly hail it until the twilight’s last gleaming .

Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave?  The Android Kernel version was updated in April 2012 to 2.6.35.11, Build number GINGERBREAD.UCLA3. Listed enhancements for this update: Improved performance from several Qualcomm patches and other refinements, User interface updates such as the new screen unlock swipe, ability to reply all to MMS messages, Exchange ActiveSync wipe to remove all content from the device and microSD card, Improved battery indicator icon accuracy.

This should give proof through the night that our flag was still there.

This is a discussion for initial experiences gained with using the the HoneyComb Android Tablet as a platform.  I began using a Toshiba Thrive this week as part of a demonstration.
My prior experience was with the Android Phone Platform, so I’ll add some thoughts to users who are transitioning from that platform.
Set-up.  Yes, you should use Google and have a g-mail login.  You should allow about 15 minutes and have a wi-fi network access to complete login, installation and downloads.
Login: Google seems to have increased complexity of passwords, so be prepared to provide a complex password that passes their login test.  It may be helpful just to set this up on a PC in advance.
Network: I have a wireless N network and the platform was readily connected.
Downloads: Be prepared if you already have apps on your account to provide any passwords or account input information.  If you use a new account, it would be a good idea to have g-mail or a phone handy to validate login credentials,
Generally speaking, not too difficult but it is a little time consuming.