Microsoft Vine for Worried Moms

Earthquakes, volcanoes and floods. It makes a mom wonder what theworld I is coming . Microsoft has come up with a program that keeps ordinary citizens in the loop when it comes to emergency response. You won't have to rely on tweeting, cell phones or Facebook any more to find out what is going on in the world. By the way if you own a Mac this is not a blog you are going want to readas it Vine does not function well on Macs.

 

Microsoft Vine can be described a new social networking tool, designed to help its users keep tabs on people and places during any kind of emergency situations. Currently in a beta test in Seattle, the service lets you enter a location and see news reports gathered from twenty thousand places including United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This can help you get updates from other big organizations.

 

For example let's just say that there is a worldwide flu pandemic. Still you want the kids to go visit grandma. You could get updates directly from the World Health Organization about where the worst cases of the epidemic is, about school or road closures or about the number of people affected by it so that when you put them on that train you know they will be safe.

 

You can enter the people you want to be in contact with on Microsoft Vine. You can then receive an email message about them on the Vine dashboard. It is the ideal way to keep in touch with someone in case of a disaster. I think every woman's babysitter sould have this.

 

There is a map overlay in the program that allows you to track where everyone is online. You also have a status update like Twitter does and it also can feed your Facebook account. This could be valuable for your friends who are not on Vine like you are but still need to know where you are and where you might be going in the event of a disaster.

 

You can also use Microsoft Vine to let people know where you are and you can issue a report with emergency contact information. This is a good way to let people know where you are going and how long you will be gone.

 

The great thing about this program is that it cuts the tweeting and gets down only to the bare basics of where you will be during an emergency. There is not casual talk allowed on this thing. It is a good thing for you and your teenager to have.

 

People are already using Twitter to let friends and family know about big emergencies. Vine does not use traditional GPS based location awareness. This makes it less than ideal for critical emergency communications but it is better than maybe trying to navigate solely through Twitter or Facebook because there is not a lot of casual talk in the way.

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Should You Spy on Your Kids Online?

It’s a given that we generally know where our children's are each day, whom they’re with, and what they’re doing. However in the virtual online world, where even our youngest children are spending a growing amount of time, we’re often reduced to the role of someone who just helplessly watches. It also does not help that our kids seem to know more about technology then we do.
Today kids live in a cyber-filled world where technology is woven through every aspect of their lives. Most kids are finding friendships, an education and a social understanding of the world online. How the heck do you know what they are learning is good for them?
So how far should you go when it comes to spying on your kid's behavior?
Experts say the worst thing you can do is surprise them. If they know you are spying and you catch them then they may start hiding things from you.
If you are going to watch then be honest about it. They will self-monitor and not do anything sneaky if the computer in your house is located centrally. That way you can casually wander by and say something out loud like 'Hey, what website is that?' without a qualm.
Yes you want to trust your kids but you want to keep them safe. That is why you can take a look at the browser issue to see what websites they visited today.
Unfortunately if you find something they are looking at is a bit iffy it is not the best idea to start quizzing them about what website they are looking at. Relying on their word may not be enough to keep them safe. Don't accuse the kid of being on the computer too much or say 'Don't look at that website!' That will only compel them to want to look at it even more!
If you are really worried there are a couple of kinds of software you can use to check up on your kids. You can get blocking software that lets you create a list of sites and then block unapproved sites.
Recording software records all data that’s sent, received, down — loaded, and viewed. It also takes periodic snapshots of the screen. PCs and Macs have parental controls built into their operating systems, and each of their newest systems (Windows Vista and Mac’s Leopard) offers parents more control than ever.

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