Your source of news about the people, places, things, and events across Second Life.
When it comes to graphics cards, NVIDIA is one of two brands Linden Lab recommends your computer uses. But lately, it seems the latest driver programing is causing glitches and problems.
10 to 11 AM
The last two presentations in this series explored particle physics, the world of the very small, and our solar system, the much larger space that surrounds our more familiar world. In this episode we will explore one area of how science is applied to create technology by examining how the very small, and relatively simple, world of computer electronics is employed to create the more familiar and complex worlds we represent on devices we can carry around with us.
First, we will briefly look at how transistors, the components that create the ‘1s and 0s’ used to store and transmit everything, are made so small that billions can fit into the chips that form the ‘brains’ and ‘memory’ of every computer.
Then we will step through how transistors and other circuitry work together to create the logic of an electronic calculator.
Finally, we will step through how the processor, the ‘brain’ behind operations, works with memory and peripheral units to process a computer program (commonly called an application or app) that instructs your computer to do all the wondrous things we do with them these days.
Presentation by Dr. Phil Youngblood
For more information, Click Here.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/67/129/32
Saturday October 10
10 AM to 11 AM SL time
A presentation by Phil Youngblood, PhD.
Every technology, from fire and the wheel long ago, to quantum computers and companion robots today, is at some point an “emerging technology,” that is, an application of science well beyond ‘concept’ or experimental stage, something that is very real but is not mainstream yet. Emerging technologies may only be known by those who follow the field closely or may be known more widely, but most people have not yet experienced them firsthand… but soon will!
What are the emerging technologies of the 2020’s? Join me as we examine eight interrelated technologies that will shape your world in the next decade:
— 5G communications
— artificial intelligence (new applications)
— 3D printing (new applications)
— brain machine interface
— immersive spaces (like SL)
— augmented/virtual reality
— autonomous transport
— robotics
For more information, Click Here.
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/114/206/30
Windows 10 has had a number of problems since it's release by Microsoft. Last month, it was "warning" users not to use more popular web browsers and use Microsoft's own. But this time there's a more serious problem. On October 2, the "Windows 10 October 2018 Update" was released for Windows 10 insider testers and anyone else whom wanted to go ahead with the update. Soon after, some people were finding important files deleted, including music recordings and pictures. One user posted on the Microsoft forums, "it deleted all my files of 23 years in amount of 220gb. This is unbelievable, I have been using Microsoft products since 1995 and nothing like that ever happened to me." Fortunately, he had backed up his files a couple months earlier, but more recent ones were still gone.
On January 3, Intel and other makers of computer chips announced that two flaws had been discovered. Nicknamed "Spectre" and "Meltdown," they exposed the users of the computers with the chips to potential hacking attacks. The result has been both companies and individual computer users having to update their computer software. Unfortunately in the case of Windows updates, there are problems. The company "confirmed that some Windows 10, 8 and 7 adopters will face slower computers once the patch is installed." 
Those of you whom have been around the days of browsing the Internet and the World Wide Web since the beginning will remember America On-Line's AOL Instant Messenger. Also known simply as AIM, it helped pioneer the days of social media, people using the Internet and being online to get in touch and chat with one another instead of simply looking up information and checking email. But like many other pioneers in technology, it became outclassed by later products. It was announced earlier this month by the VP of Communications of Oath, the company created by the merger of AOL and Yahoo, that AOL IM would be shutting down in December 2017 after 20 years of operation. 
Reports of the malware, called "WannaCry" began coming in on Friday. What happens io infected computers is the files are locked and a picture appears on the screen demanding $300 US dollars worth of Bitcoin within three days for the key to unlock the computer. Unlike typical malware attacks that rely on tricking computer users into opening email attachments or clicking on links, WannaCry is a worm that attacks computers through active online connections through vulnerabilities in system software. WannaCry locks up files, looks for other vulnerable computers to infect, then deletes itself. Most computer experts recommend treating the files as lost, with only the backup files on external hard drives, if any, as recoverable. It is not recommended that people pay the criminals as in past cases of ransomware, the criminals almost never provided any key to recover lost files. It is believed that the reason Bitcoin is the method of payment demanded is because it's transactions can't be traced.
