This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News

By Larry Magid

At Google’s I/O developers conference in San Francisco last week, Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai announced that Chrome is now the world’s most popular Web browser and that there are now 900 million Android devices worldwide.

Read more on Forbes.com

A forensics experts has shown how he can undelete Snapchat photos

I recently wrote about Snapchat, the popular photo sharing app that allows users to share photos that will self-destruct from between 1 and 10 seconds after they’re viewed.  As I said in that story, there are many reasons people use Android and Apple iOS app and that, despite worries about sexting, most kids are using the app in ways that parents would probably approve of.

But, it’s also important for kids and adults to realize that there’s no such thing content that absolutely disappears forever. Anything that can be digitized can be copied and stored and, as a forensics expert recently demonstrated, with the right tools, Snapchat photos, like PC files, can be undeleted.

After transfering data to a PC, forensics examiner Richard Hickman can access deleted photos from a “received image” folder (screen shot from KSL TV)

Richard Hickman, from Utah-based Decipher Forensics,  showed a KSL TV reporter how  how his firm can restore deleted  Snapchat photos from Android devices. He said he is working on a way to do the same with iOS phones and tablets. In a blog post, he described how he is able to transfer Snapchat data from an Android phone to a PC and recover deleted images.

Snapchat responded with its own blog post admitting “if you’ve ever tried to recover lost data after accidentally deleting a drive or maybe watched an episode of CSI, you might know that with the right forensic tools, it’s sometimes possible to retrieve data after it has been deleted.”

 Lessons learned

I’m sure you’ve heard this before but it doesn’t hurt to remind kids that, on the Internet, there there is no such thing as an eraser button.  Even if you think something is gone, you never know for sure.  The safest way to avoid problems is not to post or send anything that could get you into serious trouble if it were ever revealed.That’s not to say you shouldn’t do things that are a wacky or potentially even a bit embarrassing but you should avoid posting something that could get you into serious trouble or cause you severe mental distress were it later to surface.

When it matters: Calculating risks

It’s all a matter of calculating risks and benefits. Unless you’re sending your photos to mean or devious people, the odds of someone capturing the screen and sending around your pictures are probably quite low and — at least based on current technology — the process of undeleting is complicated and expensive and requires physical possession of the phone. It can’t be done remotely. The company that discovered it will charge parents and law enforcement between $300 and $500 per image recovered). What that means to me is that it’s OK to send wacky photos to your friends but not OK to send photos that could be illegal (such as sexually explicit or nude pictures of people under 18 — including self-portraits) or that could get you into serious trouble at school or with current or future friends or love interests.

Advice for parents

The takeaway for parents is, once again, to talk with your kids about how they are using this and all other apps, but not to panic or prevent them from using the app. There are lots of fun and appropriate ways to use Snapchat and other photo-sharing apps and its “disappearing” feature, however imperfect, can add to its fun because kids know that in most cases the images won’t stick around forever. Does that equate no risk? Of course not, but it also doesn’t mean that there aren’t good — and appropriate– ways to use the app.

This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News

By Larry Magid

We’re just a few weeks away from school letting out and — for lucky families — a chance to spend a bit of time together on vacation.

Summer also means lots of free time for children and teens — time that can be taken up in outdoor activities like sports or playing in the park, indoor activities like playing video games and going online, or hybrid activities such as hanging out with friends while, at the same time, using their mobile devices for texting, taking and sharing pictures, playing games and social networking. For many kids these days, the lines between being offline and being online are blurry.

Talk but don’t lecture

So for parents, this is a great time to sit down with your kid and have “that talk.” No, not about the birds and the bees but about the bits and the bytes or, more precisely, about the appropriate use of the technology that many kids will have almost unfettered access to while they’re away from school.

The most important thing is to make this a conversation, not a lecture, and to approach it with a bit of humility because — at least in terms of the apps and services they use — they probably know more than you do. Use that to your advantage by getting them to explain what they’re doing on their computer, tablet, phone, iPod touch, game console or whatever devices they’re using to get online.

Engage kids in helping

Have the kids use their tech skills to benefit the entire family. If you’re planning a family trip, have the kids go online to research the history, geography and all the cool things to do at your destination. They can search through mobile app stores to find apps focused on the place you’re going (some cost money, so have them help you figure out if they’re worth the price). Have them read through local newspapers for the area you’re visiting and report back on what’s happening there. If you’re driving to your destination, the kids can be in charge of navigation with your cell phone GPS and by consulting an online map before you go (though with the price of gas today, I recommend you check out the route too).

If your teen or child has a smartphone, ask them to show you all the apps they use and have them explain what they do with them and how they are protecting their privacy. Ask them to explain the privacy features of the app and then do a little research on your own to make sure there aren’t some they’ve missed. Do the same with any social networks they use. You can find links to articles about settings for Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and popular game consoles at SafeKids.com/privacysettings.

Tablets and Toddlers

Very young children are now going online with tablets, iPod touches or their parents or older siblings’ smartphones, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are lots of great apps for small children from PBSKids and others but do be aware of how much time they’re spending with the device and what they’re doing.

Don’t assume that an app has to be labeled “educational” to have value. As Hanna Rosin asked in a recent Atlantic cover story, “Would you make your child read a textbook at bedtime? Do you watch only educational television? And why don’t children deserve high-quality fun?” She and experts she quotes make the case that young children can learn from a variety of apps and activities regardless of what “category” they fall under.

Still, and I know you’ve heard this before, never use technology as an electronic baby sitter. Kids of all ages need lots of interaction with family and friends and a wide variety of activities, including plenty of physical activity. Come to think of it, so do adults.

Be a good role model

And speaking of adults, consider how you’re role modeling. You can’t expect your child to moderate his or her use of phones, tablets and computers if they see you constantly using yours. Try to have dinner together as a family and try to ban the use of devices during the meal. Don’t leave your devices on in the bedroom. Consider creating a charging area in the main part of the house where devices can recharge their batteries while family members recharge theirs in bed. And “I use my phone as an alarm clock” isn’t a good excuse. You can buy a stand-alone alarm clock for under $10.

As I look back at my summer vacations as a kid, I remember hanging out with friends, spending a bit more time watching TV, playing games and sometimes being bored. The same can be true today. Kids can hang out with their friends in person and online (sometimes at the same time), they can play with apps on their devices and, instead of TV, many will watch YouTube.

And when it comes to boredom, that too isn’t such a bad thing. It’s a time to slow down, reflect and be left alone with your own thoughts. For that to happen, we need to “unplug” once in awhile — a lesson worth teaching our kids and heeding ourselves.

Read this post at Forbes.com

With $7.5 million in start-up funds from Redpoint Ventures and some individual investors, Curious.com is open for business as a marketplace that allows teachers of all kinds to market video lessons to eager learners.  Part YouTube, part Khan Academy and a big part something unique, the service not only enables teachers to post video but to enhance their lessons with exercises, attachments, a discussion board and what the company is calling ”Curious Cards” for students to share their achievements and interact with teachers.

While there are lots of free lessons on the site, teachers have the option of charging — typically between $1 and $3 per lesson. Teachers keep 70% of the revenue with the rest going to support the site.

Topics vary widely from beer making to photosynthesis. There are even classes on how to apply makeup.

Justin Kitch plays guitar when he’s not starting companies (image: ceounplugged)

Co-founder Justin Kitch calls Curious.com “a marketplace for lifelong learning” and in a recorded interview for CBS News and CNET (click here and scroll to bottom to listen) he said the company built its own “lesson player” to empower teachers to create full featured lessons rather than just videos.

Part of the inspiration for Curious.com came from Kitch’s own (apparently successful  efforts to learn to play guitar. Kitch performs at company events and local bars and venues in the San Francisco area.

More:

Justin Kitch launches ‘Curious’ learning network (podcast)

A 1993 advertisement from CERN announcing the World Wide Web

On April 30th, 1993, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced that it was creating the World Wide Web “to make an easy but powerful global information system” that  ”consists of documents referring to each other by links.”  The source code from the “web” was made available on a royalty free basis.  CERN has re-posted what is believed to be one of the first websites and is sharing a copy of an early advertisement about the web.  The web itself was invented by British physicist Tim Berners-Lee.

Continue reading at Forbes.com

Listen to Larry’s 1-minute CBS News/CNET Tech Talk segment on the Web’s birthday