Definition: A sort of pseudo-reality that exists when you make something up and enough people agree with you. Coined by Stephen Colbert, reporter for Comedy Central’s Colbert Report.
Source: Can Wikipedia Handle Stephen Colbert’s Truthiness? (MTV News)
Of course, that begs the question of what to call the ever-changing “reality” that is found on Wikipedia, since popular terms may be edited nearly constantly throughout the day and an entry is almost never definitive. Instabiliality?
I love being able to read the news online. When our power was out last week, I actually bought a newspaper for the first time in years, and it seemed very odd. I particularly like Google News, which aggregates headlines from papers all over the world. I have it customized an emphasis on world news, including headlines from French papers; an extra section with articles that mention “French language”; and no sports section. I visit my personalized news page at least three or four times a day – it’s great.
Have you ever noticed that when you bookmark sites or add them to your favorites, they sometimes come with a little image next to their name? This is called a favorite icon (favicon for short), and I just discovered a site that will make them for you. If you have a website, you can upload an image and click generate favicon. Then just upload it to your site, add a single line of code to your homepage, and when someone bookmarks your site, your little logo will be right there too. Apparently it can also make animated icons, but I haven’t tried that yet: FavIcon from Pics
The verb “to google,” meaning “to look up on Google,” is now in both the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary. I can’t wait to see if French comes up with an equivalent authorized by the Académie française. 😉
The fourth problem I often see on PCs is an overloaded desktop. A lot of people don’t realize that everything you have on your desktop has to be loaded every time you boot your computer, which can really slow down your load time. Shortcuts aren’t too bad, though if you only use certain programs once a month, you might want to consider accessing them through the start menu instead. On the other hand, documents, photos, and programs (especially programs) should not be loaded on your desktop – you should always keep them somewhere else (such as My Documents, My Pictures, and Program Files, respectively), and just make a desktop shortcut to the ones you access regularly. Keeping your desktop clear can make a big difference in your computer performance.
Help: Troubleshooting Your PC For Dummies
A third computer problem is lack of malware protection. Malware basically means bad software, and includes adware, spyware, and more. An anti-virus program is usually not enough to protect against malware; you need a firewall and/or malware protection. Fortunately, there are numerous programs that are both effective and reasonably-price (or free). I use these three on my computers, because I haven’t yet found a single program that offers 100% comprehensive coverage. Run the scans at least once a week and your computer will be in great shape.
ZoneAlarm Firewall | Ad Aware | Spybot