Tag: Column

Column: Bonnie Jean Feldkamp: Support children navigate the on the net gaming world (9/16/23)

Audrey

When I was a child, video online games had two selections: perform with a buddy on a console or attempt to defeat the pc. The rise of the net and smartphones has added a third possibility: participate in on line with mates and strangers. It truly is wonderful that gaming has grow to be super accessible. Game titles are on our phones and on our computers as very well as our Tv consoles.

My 7-12 months-outdated son has fallen in enjoy with “Minecraft” and “Tremendous Mario Bros.,” although I would not enable him play in multiplayer modes just but. There is certainly a ton to navigate in those areas. Gaming will get a negative rap from quite a few as worthless or harmful, but mom and dad are not able to implement these assumptions similarly across the board. I indicate, “Minecraft: Instruction Version” is a thing.

But there are poisonous areas, and just before my son stumbles into those people spaces he desires to mature and we require to have additional conversations about risk-free gaming. In some ways, online gaming is an extension of social media with chat features the two audible in a headset or readable in messages. Gamers can “good friend” other players within just video games and decide on to perform with them all over again. But a random player can also bounce on-line and be part of games spontaneously this state of affairs is ripe for harassment. Players can block persons also, which allows.

Dad and mom should remain engaged in knowledge what video games their youngster is enjoying. I have it established up so my son cannot down load a new video game on his iPad with no my thumbprint. We have a discussion about every single new activity initial.

“Shooter” games, wherever the objective is to dominate and endure, are inclined to portray extraordinary environments with overly sexualized feminine figures. These are off-limitations for my son. Women enjoying these online games tend to get more sexist feedback. For illustration, if a character can take a kneeling stance for overcome, women are most likely to listen to, “She’s on her knees yet again!” or some thing equivalent.

Like the movie industry, lots of match genres exist and your game option can establish your expertise. So numerous game titles are cooperative, narrative, earth-creating or very simple, exciting, puzzle-kind games. And each and every game has testimonials and age appropriations that support manual family members as to what is most effective for them. We lean into these resources for guaranteed.

When harassment does take place, it is crucial that young children are cozy talking to dad and mom without having the menace of the sport currently being taken away. There are approaches to assistance little ones without having punishing them in the course of action, like turning off chat features or having the sport enjoy by way of the dwelling as a substitute of the headset so mothers

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John Myers column: The ‘Vex Hex,’ mesmerized by ice fishing electronics – Duluth News Tribune

Audrey

DULUTH — I’ve develop into a little bit of an nervous human being in my old age.

Sitting down to view a television exhibit has grow to be virtually unachievable. Almost nothing holds my desire for a lot more than a number of minutes. An entire movie? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Looking at a ebook has been difficult lately. I just can’t get more than a couple of chapters in and I’m prepared for a little something else.

Even observing a hockey sport in particular person has been tougher, my thoughts wandering by the second period. I know, I know. Blasphemy.

But on a few warm December times previous 7 days, I sat in a tent on a frozen lake in Canada, for additional than 4 several hours each time, and stared at an digital box that flashed crimson and green and whirred a hypnotic buzz. And I could not end observing. My eyes did not shift from the display screen. I was captivated. Enthralled. Bewitched.

I call it the “Vex Hex,” the spell forged by a Vexilar fishing depth finder, or any other identical model of machine.

walleye and Vexilar
A 16-inch walleye caught Dec. 9 even though applying a Vexilar ice fishing depthfinder.

John Myers / Duluth Information Tribune

Vexilars are potentially extra hexing, or vexing, simply because they develop a faint but audible whirring audio as they flash, exactly where most of the other units are silent. But it’s extra the shades — Christmas-like reds and greens, and the spinning motion of the Vex display — that cast the hex on me. Particularly when that very little purple blip moves up from the base, then will get larger, as it approaches the minimal red blip that represents your fishing entice.

That blip coming up from the bottom is a fish, and you can enjoy in real time as they assume about munching your bait. From time to time they attack instantaneously. Often they feel to be maddeningly undecided. From time to time they leave, unimpressed with your offer you.

That these gadgets assist you capture is not in question. They present you how fish react to distinctive lures, diverse baits, distinctive jigging steps. They also keep you mentally in the game.

For generations, ice fishing meant waiting and wanting to know what, if something, was down there. Now, you know the second you turn on your Vex. If you see absolutely nothing and are impatient, move on to new places. If you are assured in the place, as I was past 7 days, hold out and check out for the minimal pink blips to exhibit up.

Either way, you know if the fish are down there.

But perhaps greatest of all is they give you that split next to get all set. Like the point of a very good pet that tells you a pheasant is keeping shut, you get a 2nd to compose your feelings and make the proper decisions, the proper steps. Of study course, I however overlook as lots of

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Column: Computer system coding is easy mailing a letter is really hard

Audrey

There is, on the other hand, wisdom that accrues with age, even if it’s wisdom about matters that are setting up to fall from prevalent use. For instance: I know how to mail a letter.

It is a quaint art, and some of us of a specific age are so adept at dealing with the U.S. Postal Assistance that it is second-character, type of the way much more contemporary whippersnappers can make a boomerang TikTok or purchase an NFT of a bored ape employing cryptocoin.

Earlier this week, Sebastian, 26, the Post’s director of membership, was assigned the process of mailing a letter signed by anyone on the Post’s staff to congratulate running editor Jeremiah Dobruck and his wife Lindsey on the event of the birth of their third son, Peter Riley Dobruck.

Sebastian’s not stupid in point he’s been performing a impressive job in expanding our membership and our members’ generous contributions. An case in point of his intelligence: Though email and direct-messaging and Slack and any variety of other computerized strategies are absolutely free, he understood he required a stamp to mail the letter productively. And the individual who built the ask for for the mailing instructed him there was just one in her drawer. So, armed with everything he necessary to fire off the card in the antiquated snail mail—the letter by itself and a stamp—Sebastian proudly stuck the letter in the outgoing mail slot in the Post’s garage.

Afterwards, it dawned on him: How does the mail know where to go?

He came to work the subsequent morning and sheepishly confessed that he hadn’t set the Dobruck’s tackle, or any other info that would get the letter to its intended receiver, on the envelope. His humiliation didn’t abate at all when his news was achieved with gales of laughter from staffers who have mailed letters just before, and even my calming and sympathetic assurance to not worry—“You do a large amount of other items right”—didn’t seem to be to raise his plummeting self-esteem.

Happily, Sebastian staked out the outgoing mailbox for 40 minutes ready for the postal provider, who generously allowed him to fill out the handle and suggested that he also insert a return tackle, which admittedly is getting into the much more esoteric space of mailing a letter.

Jake, our TikTok man, was sympathetic about Sebastian’s mistake as perfectly. He admitted that the last time he set everything in the mail was when he was sending a sort to the DMV and it hardly ever obtained there. “It just disappeared.”

Hmmm.

Assuming that individuals who are no for a longer period identified as whippersnappers (as a substitute, they’re just Gen Z or Millennials) can grapple with YouTube, here’s an Instagram reel showing you how—or, you can observe the online video under from the authorities themselves. And, if you want aid with just about anything else, like how to use a rotary cellphone or function a clothespin, we’re listed here for you—for a several far

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Column: Why computer extended warranties are a waste

Audrey

Q: Are computer extended warranties worth buying?

A: No matter what tech device you buy from practically any retailer, it’s pretty likely that they’ll try to get you to pay a little extra for a ‘protection plan’ that goes above and beyond the standard factory warranty.

In some cases, it seems like such a small amount of money that you may say, “why not get the extra coverage?”, but the credit card you made the purchase with may already provide this basic protection.

In the vast majority of cases, you’re simply improving the profitability of the sale for the retailer, which is why you’re seeing it virtually everywhere.

Many of the electronic devices you’ll buy today don’t have the moving parts that would commonly wear out in the past, making the ‘protection’ even less likely to pay off.

Computers: It’s Not Covered

When it comes to computers, there are a variety of reasons that buying ‘extra protection’ up front can be a waste of money.

First and foremost is that these protection plans generally only cover hardware components, which is rarely what causes those aggravating computer issues.

In our 30+ plus years of servicing computers, the vast majority of issues that we see are software or operating system-based, which isn’t covered by most extended warranties or protection plans.

They know that most consumers don’t realize this and that they won’t take the time to read the fine print. Even when some form of coverage includes the operating system, it means they will return the computer to the factory settings.

“Factory settings” means the stuff you really care about like your programs, data files, browser settings, printer drivers and desktop icons are all going to be wiped out.

When you get your computer back from this type of ‘warranty’ service, the burden of reloading your programs, restoring your data files (hopefully you had them backed up), reinstalling printer drivers and getting the computer to work the way it used to is on you.

Warranty service can also take a lot longer depending upon your device as large retailers may require the device to be shipped to a central repair facility in another state.

Maintenance Plans

If you’re going to pay for extra coverage on a computer, it’s best to get a plan that covers software-based issues and includes data backup and restoration. Another thing it should address is the one thing that very few computer owners ever think about: maintenance.

The reason so many computer problems become complicated, time-consuming and expensive to fix is because most users tend to ignore the signs of a problem when they first appear.

They don’t reach out for help until the computer becomes unbearable to use, which means it’s likely loaded with issues by then.

Imagine how expensive car repair would become if you never maintained your vehicle and waited until it broke down before taking it to a mechanic.

Addressing quirky computer issues when they occur keeps them from becoming a cascade of issues,

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