Q: what is the story behind the birth of the iPad? -- a.P.L. Fanboy, Carrick
A: to tell it briefly, Steve Jobs went to the top of the sacred mountain and came down with the iPad and gave it to the people.
Q: I often Web-surf on the open network of my local coffeehouse. it has no password and no encryption. How safe is my data? -- I.M. Naive, Allison Park
A: Take out your credit card. Scotch tape it to your table at the local coffee shop. Leave. That's how safe your data is on an open unencrypted network.
Q: my teenage child uses my computer to "share" music files. How dangerous is this? -- Bob Bullseye, Upper St. Clair
A: go down to your local computer store and buy a big bag of viruses and worms. Pour them into your computer. It's about the same.
Q: I understand WikiLeaks is going to extend its document leaks to the local level. -- Ima Nebby, Chalfant
A: Yes, in order to get more hits, WikiLeaks is going hyperlocal. the first local documents they have threatened to publish: Ben Roethlisberger's foot X-rays; Ben Roethlisberger's nose X-rays; Allegheny County restaurant inspection reports.
Q: When I hold my iPhone 4 a certain way, I drop calls. what can I do? -- Bill Fanboy, Polish Hill
A: I asked Steve Jobs this question. His answer: "Don't hold it that way."
Q: Nanotechnology, the science of the very small, is a hot field. Perhaps Pittsburgh could become a center of nanotechnology. -- Bob Booster, Upper St. Clair
A: we already have a number of nanotechnology experiments going here. Among the things we are trying to reduce to vanishingly small: Port Authority bus service; Pirates season wins; the city's population.
Q: Often big news stories and scandals spawn television programs. Do you see any coming out the WikiLeaks dump of diplomatic cables. -- Julian Assange, London
A: Plenty of possibilities. Here are two: "Guarding Moammar," a reality show about the duties of Moammar Gaddafi's "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse; "Silvio and Vladimir," two world leaders and wild and crazy guys play out their bromance on the party trail through the nightlife of Rome and Moscow.
Q: a recent charity drive in which celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga stopped posting on Facebook and Twitter and only donations would make them start again didn't raise as much money as hoped.
why? -- Frank Goodwill, Bridgeville
A: they did it backward. they should have asked people to donate to make Kim Kardashian shut up.
Q: it seems that all the possible stupid names for cell phones will soon be used. can you think of any area of names that hasn't been exploited yet? -- John Hancock, Beechview
A: No one seems to have mined the area of minor human afflictions. the Rash, the Zit, the Hive and the Carbuncle come to mind as possible phones.
Q: now that the founding of Facebook was the subject of a movie, I heard that Hollywood was considering other movies based on technology. -- Martin Scoreseasy, Aspinwall
A: I have it on good authority that several tech-related scripts are making the rounds in Hollywood. Among them: "Unfriend Me if You Dare," a stalker/slasher movie; "Tweet Charity." the Hallmark Hall of Fame story of a geek who raises money for the poor online; "Die Hard Drive," Bruce Willis battles a gang of Luddites who have taken over Microsoft headquarters.
Security tip
One of the best ways to protect your home computers from invasion is to have a router, either wireless or wired.
Routers provide a hardware firewall that monitors the ports on your system and allows entry by only people and software that have been "invited." it protects against bad guys who are scanning the ports of your computer, looking for a way in.
Routers are not expensive (a decent one can be had for $50 with some as low as $25) but often your cable company will provide one. if you have FiOS Internet service, your modem should include a wireless router.
If you have Comcast, my experience is that it will give you one for free as part of the cable modem rental if you ask.
first published on December 12, 2010 at 12:00 am
TechMan: Questions TechMan wishes readers had asked