The Online Mom provides internet technology advice and information to help parents protect their kids, encourage responsible behavior and safely harness the power of technology in the new digital world. Social networking, photo sharing, video games, IM & texting, internet security, cyberbullying, educational resources, the latest on tech hardware, gadgets and software for kids 3-8, tweens and teens, and more.
Google finally unveiled its cloud storage service yesterday. Known as Google Drive, the service allows individuals and businesses to store photos, videos, documents, and other files on Google’s servers so they are available from any web-enabled device.
Google’s late entrance into the online storage business has allowed companies like Dropbox, Microsoft (SkyDrive), Apple (iCloud) and Amazon (Amazon Cloud Drive) to get a head start but that won’t stop Google from using every tool at its disposal to try and catch up.
This game takes its name and its general aesthetic from the French name for a photography technique in which the photo is taken facing directly into a light source. The result is a high-contrast, heavily silhouetted image which emphasizes the shapes and lines of the subject rather than details such as facial characteristics or colors.
Contre Jour extends this metaphor into an outstanding physics-based game. Developers Chillingo stripped this game down to the bare essentials. You’ll first be struck by a color palette that includes only black, white, and a notably vibrant shade of incandescent blue. This sparse palate makes the visual effects the game achieves that much more impressive.
Last Sunday was Earth Day, the one day of the year when organizations from around the world try and focus everyone's attention on issues such as climate change, reusable energy and a cleaner planet.
While issues like global warming might seem far beyond the influence of any one individual, there are certain actions that all of us can take to try and make a difference. One of those actions is to recycle.
When we think of recycling, most of us think of separating cans, bottles and plastics and leaving them next to the garbage for the weekly pick-up. But there is another type of "household waste" that is growing exponentially and becoming a significant threat to the environment. We are talking about electronics.
The Online Mom Blog - Should we expect online privacy at work?
The recent uproar over job candidates being asked for their Facebook passwords has rekindled an oft-visited debate over how much online privacy workers are entitled to expect from their employers. Should our social networking activity and other online pursuits be off limits to supervisors and co-workers, or does the importance of a corporation’s reputation trump all other considerations?
At first glance, it seems a no-brainer. Just because we get a paycheck from a company doesn’t mean it has the right to scrutinize what we do in our own private time. After all, we don’t allow our bosses to monitor how we spend our evenings and weekends, so why should they monitor the time we spend online?
Yesterday, The Online Mom had the pleasure of hosting a Twitter chat for Jeff Matsushita, Executive Producer at Microsoft Studios. Jeff oversaw the development of Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure, the remarkable new Kinect game for the Xbox 360.
One of the great back stories of Kinect Rush is the involvement of so many dads in the design and production of the game. As the above video describes, several of the development team at Microsoft have children that are in the perfect age range for playing Kinect Rush, and the dads were only too happy to have their kids provide instant feedback as the game came together.
The result is a wonderful interactive video game experience that appeals to the entire family!
