Dig a hole through the earth

If you dig a hole "clear through the earth", will you really come out in China?

Find out with this very clever Google Maps mashup by a Brazillian developer.

Clever and fun.

Zoom vs. text size in IE 7

Internet Explorer 7 has many new features to help you as you surf. One I like is the "Zoom" feature.

First, let's be clear. "Zoom" is not the same as "Text size" in IE 7. Changing the text size does only that -- increases or decreases the size of the text on the page. If what looks like text is really part of an image, it does not change. "Zoom" make the entire page enlarge or shrink. That also means that as you enlarge the page, it will (usually) eventually exceed the window area and the left and right parts of the web page will be "cut off" in the view.

So text size and zoom each have their uses.

In the lower right of the (bottom area) status bar, you see a zoom percentage. You have several options to changing the "zoom": level

• Click on the zoom number. This rotates through a three zoom levels (125%, 150%, 100%).
• Click on the down-arrow to the right of the zoom percentage, then select one of the set levels you want to view or choose "Custom view".
• If you have a wheel mouse, hold down on the keyboard's "Control" key (often marked "Ctrl") and rotate the mouse wheel. Rolling toward your body decreases the zoom by 10%. Rotating the wheel away from your body increases the zoom by 10%.
• Hold down on the Control key and then press the plus (+) or minus (-) key to zoom in or out by 10%.

Family-proof your PC

Family members vary in the degree of risky computing behavior they perform. You can help lessen the chances of getting infected by taking the below steps:

• Create a separate user account for each family member.
• Only assign the type account really needed. Try to use "User" level for most. Assign "Power User" with caution.
• Never sign on and do normal work with an account that's a member of the "Administrators" group.
• Take the offensive against possible attackers. Install software that monitors and protects the computer. Many such basic software programs are free. The gamut includes general security monitors, security scanners, antivirus software, antispyware, and firewalls.
• Protect surfers. Configure privacy and security settings in the user's browser (each user has their own settings). Use a program like McAfee's SiteAdvisor, which gives sites a color-coded safety rating.
• Upgrade to the latest version of your browser. This is especially important if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer. Version 7 is more secure and nicer to use that prior versions.
• Use filtering software (aka Parental Controls) for your kids.
• Teach each user. Explain why opening messages from strangers is not a good idea, for example.

These tips are based on an excellent article, "How to family-proof your PC", by Jessica Dolcourt, CNET Download.com.

Tis the season ... to be paranoid

It's OK to be paranoid if people really are out to get you. And that's the case with "greeting card" attacks. As the Christmas season nears, the number of attacks involving faked greeting cards rises.

The attack arrives in your inbox as a message (perhaps looking like it's from a friend) with a link to a "Greeting Card". If you click on the link, you may even see some sort of online greeting. But along with the greeting comes a Trojan. You have been attacked.

Prevention tips:

• Don't open email messages from strangers
• Don't assume a message from a friend is really from that person, especially if it has links or an attachment you didn't expect to receive.
• If you get a message like above from a friend, send them a separate email and ask if they really sent the one with the link or attachment.
• Don't "reply" to a suspicious message -- you could be replying to the attacker.
• When in doubt, delete.

Recent science-related news

It's a bit off-topic, but here's a motley collection of recent web and science-related news links...

• M.I.T. and Britain's University of Southampton plan to offer a research program in Web Sciences.
  [Required free registration]
• Commerce, NASA IGs investigate White House for muzzling scientists and altering scientific reports.
• Midterm elections may affect science.