2048

The game that seems to be taking the world by storm - 2048. It frustrates people to no end, and when it's finally over, there's that feeling of relief that will never go away. Finally, you think. It's over.

When I began playing 2048, I never would have thought that it would have been so addicting. I just thought it was a phase, that I would get through it. It's like Candy Crush Saga, though. It takes a long time for the hype to die down. But it isn't anything like that.

Up, down, left, right, up, left, right, down. The possibilities are endless, and you think you're just beginning to get the hang of the game when - BAM! Game Over.

But 2048 players, do not lose heart. We all will finally get there.

Tablets to Communicate with Autistic Children

After a communication breakdown between two boys, – one with autism – speech therapist Jordan Sadler recreated the incident in an iPad app called Puppet Pals in order to address the issue. Using the tablet, both children identified what happened and made better decision. Similarly, many others are utilizing the tablet to communicate with autistic children.

Four years after the debut of the iPad, app creators, educators, and parents are looking to find new ways of using the tablet in order to work with the 1/68 kids in America with autism. The iPad allows autistic kids to think visually and to “interact with content directly without the cognitive hurdle of a mouse,” (CNN). Siri is also able to help with articulation. According to an interviewee, “the tablet has also given (kids) more independence.

Tablets also allow much more control than a TV, as they can rewatch videos and have a more ‘intimate’ experience with their game. All in all, the future to communicating with autistic children may have tablets such as Android tablets or iPads in view.

To find out more, visit the CNN article here.

HeartBleed

Frequent Internet users, beware! A new issue, HeartBleed has recently been discovered by a security engineer, and now websites are trying to fix it – but is it too late? According to the WGGB (find the link here), the HeartBleed bug “has been…putting your personal information at risk for years.”

One thing needs to be cleared up, though. The HeartBleed bug is not a virus. According to Tyler Brooks, at tech at GoGeeks Computer Rescue in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, explains: “It’s not a virus, it’s a glitch in the programming code.” But if it doesn't ruin your computer, why do you need to be worried?

Basically, the HeartBleed virus takes any information from what you’ve done on the website: credit card information, passwords, et cetera. How does it do this? Hackers use a security loophole in the communication program that computers use, called OpenSSL and trick servers into leaking information. So, technically, it was impossible to protect yourself from. But the bug affects secure websites – ones that begin with the web address “https,” such as Gmail or other social networking sites.

How do you protect yourself and your information? The easy way is to change all your passwords, especially ones on this list. Second, make sure to check for credit card statements and identity theft.

Don't forget to stay safe on the internet - you never know what could happen.