The Microriver 1GB iSecure Biometric USB Flash Drive is one option for grads. It sells for about $34 online.

Family, friends and loved ones of soon-to-be high school and college graduates want to give them gifts that will aid them in the next chapter of their lives.

For some that chapter will include furthering their education. For others it will entail entering the job market. Regardless of the road ahead for these graduates, there are many affordable tech gifts to make that road a little smoother.

Whether on campus or in the corporate jungle, USB flash drives seem to be commonplace. A particular flavor of USB flash drives that don’t seem to be everywhere are biometric or fingerprint scanning USB flash drives.

These drives have been around for a few years, but haven’t really caught on in mass numbers. But the fact remains that these are among the best USB drives to own. Biometric USB flash drives allow access to the drive only after a user has been authenticated by running a fingerprint over a biometric scanner embedded on the drive.

The benefits of biometric USB drives are numerous, but among the top reasons for considering them as a gift for graduates is their security features. The information stored on them is not only secure, but the fact that the information cannot be accessed acts as a theft deterrent and may even serve to increase the odds of the drive being returned if it where lost. Biometric USB drives are more expensive than regular USB drives of equal storage capacity, but there are plenty of lower capacity biometric drives priced below $50.

If your graduate is heading into the work force, you may want to consider paying for a professional subscription as a gift. Careerstrides.com is one of many Web sites that offer a professional résumé service to people new to the job market. Popular employment Web sites such as Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com offer upgraded résumé posting, a feature that is supposed to give placement preference so employers will view them before the non-upgraded résumés. This, too, could help recent grads looking to test the job market. In the current employment environment, every advantage helps.

For those who are leaving the high school campus for the larger and much greener college campus, the Digimemo may be ideal. The Digimemo is a digital tablet that allows users to write notes, draw or doodle and save it all to the device. Having a device that can save 999 individual pages of notes without the need for special paper that some other devices require will lighten the backpack of any college student. At a cost of $99, it won’t lighten the gift giver’s wallet too much, either.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

Q I recently upgraded from dial-up to high-speed DSL. One question that I have concerns the DSL modem. I always shut down my computer at the end of the day. Should I also turn off my modem or leave it on? Whatever the answer, why is that the correct answer?

Norma I.

A: This question is one that has been around just about as long as home broadband connections. DSL connections, like all broadband connections, were meant to always be connected.

There are three prevailing opinions to this question. One is that you should turn it off. Another is that you should leave it on, and the final is that it doesn’t matter either way.

Those who say you should turn the modem off often cite potential security risks as the primary reason. It is argued that leaving your modem on opens the door for people to use your Internet signal to cause mischief online or on your home network.

I can see the truth in this, but it is built on several assumptions. One assumption is that every home network is wireless. Some home networks are still hard-wired or networked through the electrical outlets. There is also the assumption that all home wireless networks are open and do not have the requisite security in place to prevent spurious intrusions.

Those who support leaving the modem on use many of the previous viewpoints to strengthen their own position. They also expound the notion that the number of people who are technically proficient enough the circumvent most home network security measures is rather low. If someone who falls into that category wants to get into your network and cause havoc, then you are limited in your options for securing your computer.

The third position uses combined and ancillary retorts to support their viewpoint. Some of the circumstantial information factored in includes the location of the modem, network, the computers, the manner in which the computers are used and the number and level of the users who have access to the computers.

These factors serve to paint a broader picture that can lend itself to a more situation-specific solution. If the computer connected to the modem is in the middle of nowhere and is used only for updating a blog or reading news links from Google, then it really doesn’t matter if you turn the modem off or leave it on.

Personally, I am of the last school of thought. It is a situational call and you must weigh as many factors as possible. If your modem broadcasts wirelessly, is unsecure, and you are concerned about people picking up your signal and using your wireless to go online, then you may want to turn it off. Otherwise, there may be no harm in leaving it on.

The correct answer depends on your specific situation.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

Because this is not given the attention it deserves, it is often overlooked and misunderstood. Protecting and managing your digital self is often confused with taking steps to prevent identity theft.

Although taking measures to protect yourself against identity theft is important, protecting your digital self casts a broader net. This may be an oversimplification, but identity theft prevention, from an online perspective, focuses on securing passwords, account numbers and sensitive financial information. Managing your digital self should include these tasks, but it goes a step further and requires that you frequently stay abreast of the information publicly available about you.

I use the phrase “manage your digital self” because that’s all you can do – manage the information. The source of the online information about you may not necessarily be you. It can range from publicly available government records and documents to opinions written about you from friend and foe alike. Following are some tactics to successfully manage your digital self.

The Internet never closes, so neither does the opportunity for information to be uploaded about you. Something to keep in mind is that unless you catch some of it almost in the instant it appears online and have it removed, you can expect that information to long outlive you. The rate at which information is copied, backed up and stored in multiple locations online would amaze most people.

The next thing to keep in mind is that even if you don’t use the Internet frequently, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a significant amount of information about you online.

One of the first steps you want to take is to see what is out there about you. An easy way to do this is to do what’s called a vanity search. This means that you essentially Google yourself. I would suggest that you use slight variations of your name and quotation marks on both ends of your name. This will ensure that only the exact name between the quotations appears. You can also set up Google news alerts to e-mail you whenever something containing your name appears.

You also will want to hit the social networking circuit. This means MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Ning and other Web sites of that ilk. If you find information that is incorrect, you do have a recourse. Most times it involves contacting the owners of the Web site and asking them to remove it.

The problem is that by this time it is likely to have been populated in other places online. An easy solution is to use the same social networking Web sites and other Web resources to cast yourself in the light that you would like to be viewed.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

I have tried reading about optimization but just don’t understand the language. I would like to hire someone to do it for me. The Tucson-based companies listed in the Yellow Pages deal only with large corporations who have thousands of dollars to spend.

Is there anything you could suggest to help me. I purchased “Website Optimization For Dummies” but gave up after the second chapter, so that was no help.

C. Matthiasson

A: SEO or search engine optimization is major concern of most businesses. There have been studies that show that the majority of search engine users don’t look beyond the first couple of search results pages. In some cases, users only consider the first few items listed. This makes the first few items prime real estate.

When entering the world of search engine optimization, it helps to understand how the process works. This can be of benefit if you are going to optimize your own Web site or hire it out. Otherwise, it may be difficult to know if you are receiving what you are paying for.

Since Google dominates the search engine genre, I will provide a general explanation of how its search results listing works.

Google uses a program called a spider that goes out over the Internet, makes copies of the Web pages it finds and returns those copies to Google’s database to be indexed. These indexed pages are then evaluated by a secret and constantly changing set of criteria. It is this evaluation that determines how relevant a Web page is to any given performed search. The degree of relevance is supposed to determine the ranking of a Web site on Google’s search results page.

Before hiring a company to optimize your Web site, there are a few things you can do yourself. If your business is about doulas, then have one of your Web pages named doulas.html. Also, the description of each page of your Web site should be clear and concise. Historically, the more Web sites that link to your site may increase your ranking. For this reason, you may want to consider joining groups that swap links.

Now if you have made the modifications previously listed and you still want a higher ranking – and who wouldn’t want a higher ranking? – you can hire an SEO company. They can be prohibitively expensive, but the most expensive ones have well established track records.

That is what you are looking for when vetting an SEO company. Ask to speak with some of their customers and find out their level of satisfaction and results. Don’t limit yourself to local companies. SEO can be done from anywhere.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

I downloaded and installed Reader 9.0, but when I attempt to open one of these .pdf files, Adobe 6.0 opens and then gives me the previous error message. This even happens if I first open Reader 9.0 and then click on the .pdf file. What do you think is causing this and how do I correct it?

G. Fotre

A: Your problem is not uncommon. There can be a number of reasons for the issues that you are experiencing.

Some of the most frequently seen are that a necessary file was deleted or that it is a Web browser issue. Since you can’t read files after opening the Adobe reader from your desktop shortcut, this lowers the likelihood of your Web browser being the source of your problem.

I am of course assuming that you saved the pdf file to your computer and then you tried to open it up and were unsuccessful. If I am wrong in my assumptions, then try saving a pdf to your computer and then opening it up.

If my assumptions were correct, then that would explain why you were advised to upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader. We can follow the missing or corrupted file premise. If you recently performed some system cleanup and deleted old files, you may have gotten rid of more than you expected. You may want to consider a system restore. If that doesn’t correct the problem then you may want to look at some other options.

If your computer still sees Adobe Reader 6.0 as your default pdf reader, then I would suggest uninstalling all versions of Adobe Reader. This can be done via the control panel. It may also require you to uninstall your version of Adobe Professional.

Once you have uninstalled all of the Adobe reader and creation software on your computer, you can reinstall the Adobe Professional and opt out of the option to install the reader program. If you don’t have this option, you may have to uninstall the Professional software and install the latest version of the Adobe Reader first and then reinstall Adobe Professional. This should set the latest version of Adobe Reader as your default pdf reader.

Other options include using another software program to read your pdf files. For this, you may want to consider a free pdf reader named Foxit. You can download it from download.com or foxitsoftware.com. An alternate option is to read pdfs through a Web browser. There are a few free online pdf viewers. Two of the most popular are pdfmenot.com and pdfescape.com.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

This makes sense given Google’s magnitude; it’s by far the leader among search engines. But being the leader doesn’t always mean that it is the best for every search. The answer to queries could unlock more from the Internet than what is represented in a Google-only search.

Why should you consider another search engine? Google has a large number of Web sites indexed and cataloged, but it doesn’t have the entire Internet indexed and cataloged. Using other search engines may yield useful Web sites that aren’t available on Google. Diversity is the spice of life.

What should people consider when looking for a different search engine? They should try to find an engine that fits their searching style and needs. It can be easy for people to simply assume that Google is the only game in town and they must adapt to it rather than the search engine adapting to them.

One search engine that has been around for a while is alltheweb.com. It may provide Web sites that aren’t on Google.

Another engine that has been in Google’s shadow for years is Dogpile.com. Dogpile is a metasearch engine, and metasearch engines allow you to search several engines at once. This in turn allows you to cast a wider net.

Leapfish.com is a search engine that provides results from MSN, Google and Yahoo. What really makes Leapfish stand out is that when it refreshes, new results can be added to your list.

One of my favorite Google alternatives is Cuil.com. The search tips that are offered after your results are returned make it easy to refine the topic you are looking for.

What are the options for those who just don’t want to let go of Google? The obvious one is to continue to use Google. For those who want to slowly wean themselves from a Google-only diet, they can use Leapfish.com, which searches Google.

Or they can go to Google lite. Ecosmartsearch.com is another search engine that was created by the people at Google. It is designed to be a greener Web site that allows monitors to be more energy efficient.

Although this article may come across as being anti-Google by some, it isn’t intended as such. If you have read some of my previous articles, then you should know that I consistently urge people to try the various incarnations of Google and its many applications.

To truly get the most out of the vast resources of the Internet, you can’t limit yourself to the popular Web sites. Occasionally, stepping off the beaten path could be just what is needed.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

Q I mentioned I’m not quite an expert so I do have one question to ask of you. I’ve been running Firefox as my browser for the longest time. With the latest Firefox update that I downloaded I’ve noticed that my browser now gets an “f” where the Flash Player stuff should be.

I have to click the little “f’s” or arrows in order to view a YouTube video, for example. That wasn’t the case before the new update was installed. I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Flash Player but with no luck. Guess I’m still not as close to being an expert as I thought. Any help you could provide would be appreciated.

F. Ramos

A: This is a known problem. I would ask if you have the latest update for Adobe Flash? The latest version is supposed to fix this problem. The problem is unique to the Firefox plug-in for Flash. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then you may want to consider using another browser to watch videos. Internet Explorer or Google Chrome should meet your needs.

Q: Mr. Hobbs, I have a problem. I was having a problem with my ISP one night. I called them and explained that I could not get into some sites once I clicked my mouse. One of the support personnel said that I had a virus and suggested that I buy a program to remove it. I answered that I had Norton 360 and that I would call them and run it.

I decided to run it first. I did this and that and somehow came up with a site where Norton said I had an unknown cookie and that it would be simple to remove. The only thing about this is that they or I could not find out how to remove the program. I have 10 cookies on this list, but this one’s name is only, “unknown.” This list also said that this has been tracking me since last July 2008.

How do I find out who is tracking me with this cookie deal and how do I get rid of this program as the Norton program suggested?

A. Ortiz

A: Mr. Ortiz, there are two types of cookies. The ones that are used while you are visiting a Web site are called session cookies. These stop tracking when you leave the site. The one that you are concerned about is called a permanent cookie. The name is slightly misleading.

Although they track you after you leave a Web site, they aren’t permanent. They have dates of expiration. To delete your cookies, open your Web browser. I will use Internet Explorer for this example.

Look in the Tools header. You should a section on the General tab named Browsing History. It is here that you can delete cookies. If this doesn’t remove them, then consider using Malwarebytes or SUPER AntiSpyware to remove them. The free edition should get the job done.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds @yahoo.com.

I have tried to reinstall the sound with the help of friends. I’m in no way a computer whiz and I need plain English to have things explained to me. I’m hoping you may be able to figure out what I may have done and can get it fixed without it costing a fortune.

S. Valdez

A: I will start with possible causes. When it comes to no audio from your computer, the root can normally be found in a handful of places.

One of the most common is missing device drivers. This seems to be what you and your friends initially suspected. I take it that when you said you reinstalled the sound, you were referring to the drivers for your sound card or other audio devices.

The drivers could have been compressed and archived or deleted when you performed your disk cleanup. The problem is that if it were a case of a missing driver, you should receive a pop up message that says that a driver or file is missing.

This leads me to the second possible culprit, a bad speaker. This is easy enough to check. Plug a pair of headphones into your computer and see if you can hear anything. If you can, then it was the speakers.

Also, I am assuming you checked the audio settings and ensured that they were not set to low or muted entirely. It would also be worth verifying that the correct audio device is selected as the default and enabled. You should be able to find the audio settings in the control panel, which can be accessed via the start button.

All of this may sound condescending, but this is not my intent. You would be surprised how many hours of troubleshooting audio problems have been solved by simply plugging the power cord into the speaker or computer. So check all of the speaker connections. Since you can’t hear anything from games or online sources then this generally rules out it being a case of media player problems.

When all else fails you have three surefire low cost options. The first is to perform a reinstallation of the audio files from your system recovery CD that should have come along with your system. The second option is to install a new sound card, and a basic card should cost you less than $20. The installation is as simple as unscrewing 4-6 screws and placing a card in a slot. A true five minute job. This is a sure solution to your woes.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds@yahoo.com.

Glen R.F.

A: What you have planned sounds very interesting. I don’t think you need Windows 7 or USB 3.0 to accomplish what you have planned.

It probably won’t be until fall 2010 before you can expect to see USB 3.0 connections as the standard on computers. Once this does happen, the increased speed at which data can be accessed from a thumb drive will be noticeable. They should have a data transfer rate of about 5 gigabits per second. This is a lot of information being moved in a short amount of time.

This high transfer rate is due in part to the preparation for the inundation of lower-cost high-capacity thumb drives. With 128 GB thumb drives being prepped for the consumer market, a faster USB Drive format is only logical.

One other benefit of USB 3.0 is that it will be backwards compatible with previous versions. There will also be a “standard-B” version of the 3.0 connections. The standard-B connection is the type of connection that your printer, fax or external hard drive may use. It normally has a beveled end that connects to the device and a rectangle USB connection on the other end.

As far as USB 3.0′s interaction with Windows 7, it shouldn’t be an issue. Microsoft is reportedly in the process of creating the necessary drivers in Windows 7 for the new USB 3.0 ports. This provides a good transition into the Windows 7 part of your question.

Based on the fact that the beta version of Windows 7 expires in August, I would expect the full version of Windows 7 anytime from the late summer through the fall. As I said in last week’s article, I would be surprised if it isn’t out by the end of the year. This means that to have the Windows 7/USB 3.0 combo you are looking for, you will probably have to wait until the fall of 2010.

The only wildcard that I can foresee is if phase change drives become practical or popular, then they may usurp flash drives.

• • •

On another note, this likely will be my last article for the Citizen. It has been a good run, and I have enjoyed the reader response. I hope I have been of some assistance and provided information you found interesting. Whether I write for another paper or online, you can continue to e-mail me your questions and I will try to provide you with a solution. Thank you for your support over the years.

Quincey Hobbs is a team member at the University of Arizona’s Center for Computing and Information Technology and an instructor at Pima Community College. Send questions to quinceyresponds@yahoo.com.

KATHLEEN ROGERS

In today’s confusing and disheartening economic landscape, it’s more important than ever to navigate carefully – and make the right turns.

At least, that’s what shipping giant UPS is doing. After implementing a “right turn” strategy (taking more right turns than left to avoid idling in left turn lanes), UPS has saved more than 30 million miles of driving – including 3 million gallons of fuel and $600 million a year from the change – not to mention countless tons of carbon emissions.

The rest of us can learn from this strategy and start our own “right turn” campaign.

UPS, however, isn’t the only big green giant: Wal-Mart, the second largest procurer of energy only to the U.S. government, has made a pledge to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell greener products.

The retailer also is building skylight/dimming systems into its new stores. As daylight increases, skylights allow Wal-Mart to dim the lights or even turn them off, thereby reducing the demand for electricity during peak hours.

This system will result in an annual savings of about 250 million kilowatt hours a year, enough to power approximately 23,000 homes.

Corporations such as Hewlett Packard, Toyota and even British Petroleum have taken steps toward greening their production.

And J.P. Morgan Chase is investing $2 billion of its own capital to fund renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar in 17 states. Chase believes an investment in renewable energy will help revitalize rural communities by creating jobs and increasing the local tax base.

More and more, companies are finding that simple green solutions are attractive.

These forward-thinking companies are part of a movement we can dub “the Green Generation” – a new way of thinking and doing business where sustainability takes precedent, as the most efficient strategy emerges as the most economical.

Similar to the “greatest generation” that met the challenges of World War II, the Green Generation seeks to break with the past and includes companies, as well as ordinary people, who are engaged in individual and collective activities to improve their health, to better their schools and to participate in building a solution to urgent national and global issues, such as climate change.

The Green Generation wants to put people to work – building a better, greener world.

What makes a better world? Smarter, more efficient, corporations – the kind that see their success intertwined with the greater good and realize that a move to energy efficiency saves resources – and with it saves money and jobs.

Smarter, more efficient investments can occur in growing sustainable markets – from alternative energies such as solar power, wind power and geothermal energy to green farming, green schools and public transportation.

A nationwide move toward energy efficiency could create 5 million new jobs in the U.S. alone – and many millions more worldwide.

Now that’s a turn for the better – for our economy, our environment, our individuals and our industries.

The Green Generation sees their commitment to fight climate change as the responsibility of both communities and corporations, as a movement both personal and unapologetically political.

Good too, because now’s our chance: President Obama already has committed to an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. With the Green Generation’s support, both Congress and corporate America will be hard-pressed not to push for more sustainable practices in all industries.

“Green-outs” will replace bailouts as we mandate that companies that want public assistance – such as the auto industry – change to accommodate the public’s need for high-efficiency products that cost less to maintain.

Every time humanity comes to a crossroads, after all, we achieve our next greatest accomplishment to date.

Between 10,000 and 5,000 BC, we needed more food – hence the Neolithic Revolution and the foundations of modern agriculture. The end of the 20th century was marked by a need to disseminate information all over the world, leading to the Digital Revolution.

And now, fluctuating fuel prices and a struggling economy mean that efficiency is, finally, everything.

Our Green Generation Revolution, led by our Green Generation, is here. There’s a new bottom line in town and it’s green. Companies and consumers, that make all the right turns toward sustainability will have no trouble getting there.

As individuals, we can realize that less can give us far more – more opportunities for creativity, more opportunities for invention, more chances for success, and more reasons to appreciate the interconnection between our economic and environmental health.

Kathleen Rogers is the president of Earth Day Network. This commentary was distributed by the American Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization that provides views of experts on major public concerns to stimulate informed discussion.