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5th Grade Coding

It was different when I was 5th grader in many ways. Learning how to code was not in the realm of elementary schools back then. Computers were simply too large and expensive for kids to play with and having a good teacher who knew programming languages was rarity. So I was in a bit of a blur when I pressed "P" key on, my first, just unboxed, brand new and state of the art, Sinclair ZX Spectrum  keyboard with amazing 16KB of RAM memory. It reacted immediately and at the bottom of the large home TV, it said "PRINT" followed with blinking black square cursor. "2+2" I added and hit "ENTER". It was like magic seeing "4" printed on the screen next instant. The magic of course was not in the correct number. It was rather in the unworldly feeling I got that exact moment of what would come next. What I could command it to do. It was like I found the door of the amazing new world and the door started to open wide! Soon later I learned more, esp...

Friendly IoT or Daemon of WarGames

Is Internet dangerous? Well, yes we know all the hazards of spending all the work hours behind monitor screens, browsing the web at home, doing social networking, playing online games, watching YouTube, staring at smartphone little displays or for whatever reasons we sit above our keyboards most of the time every day. That's indeed what we first think of all the negative aspects of mighty global network, but today I am not referring to all the potential medical issues inherited from too long sitting on the chair or everyday looking into LCD screen. I also don't mean the obvious social and/or physiological outcomes from letting the virtual world to take over the real one for more and more people every day. No, I mean the real danger. Did Internet overcome the pure network system and became a tool for mass destruction or a background tool for criminal activities? Can someone use the internet to hurt somebody or to perform a murder? Either directly or indirectly? Can some organisa...

Technology Today

The most memorable part of my life is of course the childhood, especially the part from the point when I learned to read until the middle teen years - for me it was the period of life when empty bucket in my head rapidly started to fill itself with every information it stumbled everywhere possible. When I look to that period from today's point of view what comes to mind first is that it was technology free time. The state of the art technology of the time was color TV set with only two programs with broadcasting ending around 9pm. Radio stations were at the peak of their popularity with small handheld AM receivers and only few owned a FM receiver with crystal clear sound - that is if you don't move quickly to avoid noise. Communication device of the time was heavy pulse telephone set that required a hard table with special place in the house. But I don't connect my childhood with technology gadgets of the time. Not at all, what it pops to my mind now is a big cherry ...