Computer

From the beginning, it was a technology revolution. On Jan. 22, 1984, during Super Bowl XVIII, Apple aired its first glimpse of the Macintosh computer. The commercial, now known simply as the "1984 Big Brother," was more than an advertisement of the new computer. It was also a bold statement that the company was there to break barriers. Since 1980, Apple had promoted the Mac's predecessors: the Apple II and Apple III. These met with little success. The 32-bit Lisa, released in 1982, was an even bigger flop.

The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized the purchase of 20 Dell computer workstations for the new 911 emergency center. The high-performance computers will be purchased from GHA Technologies Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., for $80,980, according to a report by Information Technologies Director Ron Whitt. The contract for the purchase was negotiated by the Western States Contracting Alliance, a 15-state cooperative purchasing group, Whitt said. Agreements made by the alliance are open to approved governmental bodies, including those in states not in the alliance, Whitt said.

A Hagerstown man has been charged after he told police he has probably downloaded about 1,000 child pornography files on a computer, according to Washington County District Court records. John Stephen Sekula III, 20, of 11520 Selema Drive, Apt. 2, was charged Jan. 16 with possession of child pornography and with promoting/distributing child pornography, according to court records. Sekula was released Jan. 21 on $1,000 bond. Using a certain type of computer software, Cpl. John H. Linton of the Maryland State Police said he was able to browse the suspect's "shared file directory" and found a movie of an adult male engaging in a sex act with a prepubescent child, according to court records.

Friday, Dec. 5 Microsoft Windows XP and Vista operating systems BOONSBORO - Computer specialist Curt Johnson will teach a class about Microsoft Windows XP and Vista operating systems. Johnson will demonstrate the use of free software to secure home computers. The discussion will be geared toward the nontechnical home computer user and will include: viruses, phishing and identity theft. 6 to 7:30 p.m. Boonsboro Library's community room. Registration is required. Call 301-432-5723.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - The Berkeley County Commission's decision last week to create a new information technology job to work at the county's 911 Central Dispatch center might need to be revisited to comply with state law, county attorney Norwood Bentley III said Friday. Because the salary and benefits for the IT Department job were approved to be paid with E-911 fund fees, Bentley said he needed to make sure that the county clearly has defined the department's relationship with the dispatch center in writing.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Seventeen-year-old Lakota Demers worked to insert a floppy drive in a computer in a class at Washington High School on Wednesday and he talked about working in the computer programming field some day. Meredith Douthett sat in a darkened room with about 10 students in another classroom where they learned about how to build their own Web sites. Examples of the work were projected onto a screen as teacher Laura Borkholder talked. In a studio where JCS Television programs are made, students worked with computerized production equipment.

Name of business: Kilgore Computer Solutions Owner: Craig Kilgore Address: 18016 Maugans Ave., Hagerstown, in Maugansville Plaza across from the old Maugansville Elementary School Opening date: Aug. 18 Products and services: Virus removal, computer repair, networking, data recovery and computer upgrades. "We also offer in-home or on-site business troubleshooting and/or consulting. " Market area: Washington County and Franklin County, Pa. How did you get into your business, or what motivated you to start it?

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - When Melanie Brownsmith became pregnant, she wanted to continue painting, but without having the chemicals around her or her children. So she turned to digitally painting photographs, using Corel Painter and Corel Paint Shop Pro. Brownsmith had been a wedding photographer and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from then-named Shepherd College, so she combined photography and painting. Several of Brownsmith's landscapes and cityscapes will be on display in the Jean Heiler Gallery at the Old Opera House, 204 N. George St., from Friday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 2. Some of the works are painted photographs and some are unaltered photographs.

Do you think Ford Motor Co.'s new feature on many 2010 models that uses a computer chip in the key to limit teen drivers' speed is a good idea? Yes 326 votes (80 percent) No 82 votes (20 percent) o Results as of Wednesday at 11 a.m. from votes received at herald-mail.com

Computer crimes investigators usually need between 50 and 70 hours to conduct a complete forensic investigation of a hard drive, said Lt. John Wilhelm, commander of the Maryland State Police computer crimes section. Investigators begin by creating forensic copies of a computer's hard drive and copying all of the information onto their own equipment, Wilhelm said. Just making the copy could take a few hours or a few days, depending on the size of the hard drive being copied, he said.