Google Chrome's popularity growing

Chrome’s share of the browser market is growing at a breakneck pace, according to data from Net Applications. Between February and March, Google’s browser rose to capture a full 6.1% share of the market, maintaining its lead over browsers such as Safari and Opera and closing the gap between Firefox, which currently holds a 24.5% share.

While most browsers rose a fraction of a percent, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer continued to decline, losing almost a whole percent over the past month alone.

Part of Chrome’s increase may be due to Mac users. In December, Chrome for Mac was released, but many users were loathe to switch browsers because the early beta didn’t have extensions or support bookmark syncing. All of that changed with a new version released in February. At that point, Mac users were given all of the bells and whistles that PC users had, and so many opted to make the move to Chrome.

In a quick poll we conducted on Twitter, many users said they heard Chrome was quicker and migrated from Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. But others said they still stick with Firefox due to a few key features — such as Firebug and certain extensions — that Chrome doesn’t have yet. Others complained that Chrome was unstable or couldn’t handle certain websites or user behaviors as well as Firefox. And some of those in the enterprise are still bound to IE, at least during business hours.

Which browser do you currently use and why? Have you recently made a switch?

My Discovery World Experience

On March 25th, my "Emerging Technologies" class went to Discovery World for a class field trip; to which I haven't been since I was just a wee tot.  This place is full of exciting and cool technologies. Some of their technologies were educational and were good experiences. The HIVE, sponsored by MATC, was one of my favorite attractions, which is composed of a Virtual Program that created the Virtual Milwaukee that can be useful for business environments. It can help any business get an idea of expanding their buildings or adding more space.  Businesses are always expanding and there are always more businesses being build. It can help the construction business get a view of what their projects will be like. It will also make things easier if they can see and move things around when it is actually not build yet.  We went into the HIVE in several groups and my group was the last to go in.  My group went into virtual space, which we "learned" that Pluto isn't really a planet anymore.

Another favorite of mine was the Flight Simulator .  There we got to fly a life-like plane.  This simulated experience practically matches the real experience.  I only wish I got a few pictures where one classmate lost a wing in mid-flight and someone else landed and flipped over her plane (I'm not mentioning any names Professor Theel).

Another Interesting thing I did was lie on a bed of nails.  We lied on a clear platform and someone who worked there would turn on the nails raising them slightly above the surface.  It was an interesting sensation.

New To Blogging? Watch This video!

If you are not sure what a blog is or how it works, the video called Blogs in Plain English will help. This video explains why blogs are such a "big deal". Just click on the large arrow in the middle of the video window below to view the video.

Whole-House Surge Protestion

It's important to protect all your electronic devices, not just computers, from surges.  Printers, televisions, appliances and computer peripherals all require protection.  However, it can be inconvenient to use individual surge protectors on all devices that need protection.  One solution is to install a whole-house surge protector as shown in this photo.  The device is installed by an electrician and is attached to the circuit breaker panel.  Whole-house surge protectors function like other surge protection devices, but they protect all electrical devices in the house at once.  The typical cost of $200 to $300 (installed) is generally less than buying individual surge protectors for every electrical device in your home.

MATC Closings

Here it is Tuesday evening and I'm watching the news and they just had a piece on closings in Wisconsin due to the severe weather.  Naturally, I was wondering where I could find information about MATC closings.  I was channel surfing when I stumbled upon a rolling banner at the bottom of the screen on channel 10 (WMVS) stating that evening classes starting at 5PM were canceled.  I then went to MATC.edu and searched for closings and came up with the 'Closings and cancellations' page.  Now, I don't know if this is new news, but it sure is too me!  I did however know about wisconsin closings at Todaystmj4.com as well other sites.

You can also give MATC's Weather Hotline a ring to find out about any closings or cancellations at (414) 297-6561.

Free Calls to Haiti for Time Warner Cable Customers

In an effort to relieve at least a small measure of worry for our customers with friends and family in Haiti, Time Warner Cable will immediately make all calls placed by its Digital Phone customers to Haiti free of charge through the end of February 2010. This program will be retroactive to January 12, 2010 and includes calls to both landline and cellular telephones.

If you make direct-dialed calls to Haiti during this period, you do not need to do anything to receive a credit. The program will cover any Time Warner Cable Digital Phone customer. If you made calls to Haiti in the days after the earthquake, Time Warner Cable will issue credits to your account, with no need to call a customer service representative. It’s automatic — so you can rest easier as you talk to your loved-ones — whenever and as often as you’d like

Man treats Haiti earthquake wounds using iPhone app

An American filmmaker trapped in the Haitian earthquake used his iPhone in some pretty ingenious ways to survive until he could be rescued 65 hours later. It's like a digital multitool!

Dan Woolley was caught under a pile of rubble when the earthquake hit, injuring both his leg and his head. A first-aid app instructed him on the best way to create a tourniquet for his leg and a bandage for his head, and even warned him against falling asleep after head trauma—so he set his iPhone's alarm clock to go off every 20 minutes as a precaution.

Evidently the strategies worked, because he survived long enough to be rescued 65 hours later and reunited with his family. I can't figure out exactly which app he used, which is mildly inconvenient since now I'll have to download every first-aid app I can find.

Watch the video below: