Children under 9 should be banned from Computers
A PROMINENT psychologist has urged schools to ban children under the age of nine from using computers because the technology is damaging their brains.
Speaking at a conference of childcare specialists in the UK, psychologist and author Dr Aric Sigman said technology affected children’s attentions spans and was harmful to their under-developed brains.
Dr Sigman said rules introduced in the UK in 2008 which recommend toddlers be introduced to computers as early as 22 months of age were “subverting the development of children’s cognitive skills”.
“There is evidence to show that introducing information and communication technology (ICT) in the early years actually subverts the very skills that government ministers said they want children to develop, such as the ability to pay attention for sustained periods,” Dr Sigman said.
“The big problems we are seeing now with children who do not read, or who find it difficult to pay attention to the teacher, or to communicate, are down to attention damage that we are finding in all age groups.”
The Early Years Foundation Stage or “nappy curriculum” suggests computers should be introduced from 22 months and that from 40 months children should be able to “perform simple ICT functions, such as select a channel on the TV remote control and use a mouse and keyboard to use age-appropriate software”.
Primary schoolchildren in the UK have at least one ICT lesson a week and computer use is widespread.
Debate about the benefits of introducing children to technology at a young age is mixed.
Research evidence shows that technology can help children’s learning, social development and health. A number of studies in the US show that age-appropriate software can help language development.
Dr Sigman said that even though screen technology can assist learning, children should be introduced at a later stage.
“It must be introduced and used judiciously at much later ages — ideally at least age nine — or it can subvert the development of the cognitive skills and curiosity it was intended to foster and enhance,” he said.
Dr Sigman has previously spoken against social networking sites and TV as potentially damaging technologies. He is the author of two books, Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives and The Spoilt Generation.
Read more…Psychologist says children should be banned from computers until the age of nine | News.com.au
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Iped five times cheaper than the Ipad
APPLE might have sold two million of its new iPad tablet computers in less than two months, but it has a Chinese challenger – the identical looking iPed.
Apple’s iPad is not even on sale yet in China but the iPed can be bought in Shenzhen in the country’s south for ¥713 ($126), almost a fifth of the price of the new Apple gadget.
The world’s first iPad lookalike runs on Google’s Android operating system and is apparently powered by an Intel chip.
Pictures of the iPed, filmed by Japanese TV news and posted on YouTube, show the gadget being sold in a Shenzhen computer mall in packaging that even looks like an iPad box.
The change in vowel is seemingly the only major difference in appearance between the two computers.
Read more…Apple beware: World’s first iPad lookalike goes on sale – China’s iPed | News.com.au
Categories: Technology Tags: Ipad, Iped, tablet computer
How to Permanently Erase Data Off a Hard Drive
So you want to make sure that someone can’t get their hands on your private files on a hard drive. Here are ways to render your data completely unreadable.
When files are deleted from a computer by emptying the Recycle Bin or Trash (or by reformatting), the operating system removes them from the list of files on the hard drive.
However, the actual contents of the files remain on the drive until it is overwritten, either by use of the same space on the drive or by intentional data destruction.
Data that has not been overwritten can easily be recovered with a few tools and a little know-how. This article covers methods of deleting data in such a way to be unrecoverable.
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Predictions Google Android Could Topple Apple IPhone Within Three Years
iPhone might rule the smartphone sector for now, but market researchers predict that the dominance of Apple’s popular handset could be toppled by Google’s Android mobile platform within three years.
The global sales forecast published by Gartner predicts that in 2012, Android, Symbian (found mainly on Nokia phones) and Research In Motion (BlackBerry) will dominate the mobile operating system market, pushing Apple’s iPhone OS into fourth position with a 13.6 per cent slice of the market.
“The iPhone is all about user experience but Apple can only produce a small number of handsets and not everyone wants an iPhone handset. They will remain strong but they won’t take over world,” said Robin Simpson, a researcher at Gartner.
Android, on the other hand, is expected to lift its market share from 5.1 per cent to 18 per cent, moving ahead of RIM (13.9 per cent) to sit below Symbian, which will lose some of its 48.1 per cent stronghold by 2012 to claim 37.4 per cent of the market.
Like Apple and RIM, Google’s Android platform has a thriving marketplace of smartphone applications, which is becoming a key differentiator within the mobile market, but it is yet to establish a dominant presence here with only 2-3 per cent of the market and only three Android handsets now available.
Predictions Google Android Could Topple Apple IPhone Within Three Years
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Windows ready to launch smartphones
MICROSOFT chief Steve Ballmer has unveiled a line of Windows smartphones in an offensive against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android system.
Around 30 types of “Windows phones” with various designs will be available by the end of the year in more than 20 countries.
Seven phone-makers, including Sony, Samsung and Toshiba, and 16 operators including Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile, are involved in the launch.
The phones, which combine the ability to make calls, surf the Internet and view videos, carry Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.
The new mobile operating system was launched simultaneously in France and New York.
Mr Ballmer presented the Windows phones at Microsoft’s new French headquarters near Paris in Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Read more…Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer launches Windows smartphones | World Breaking News | News.com.au
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