Of course, life would be no fun without crazy paranoid apocolyptic theories, so Benjamin put on his Mythbusuters toupe and moustache and went to seeing if this really is the end of the internet. Basically, the sum of it is that the current form of IP addresses is about to run out. Hypnothetically, that means no more expansion of the internet, cyber-doom, and galactic implosion. Right? No. There’s a new form of IP in the works. And it will hold 2 to the 128^th power addresses. This is about Half of a duodecillion. Or it’s a 3 followed by 39 digits. Essentially, it’s a mind-bogglingly huge number. I, for one, see no end to the internet in sight. And neither does the Hubble telescope…

                This week Benjamin also interviewed Alexa Caldwell from www.couponwinner.com, a site with shopping strategies, and, of course, coupons! Check out the site for more info!

                 This week Benjamin also talked about Obama’s lack of a good geek. His top two both have problems. Vivek Kundra has a rap sheet. And Aneesh Chopra, the other geek, is infamous for having his systems hacked into. So what’s the deal here?

                For another laugh, Benjamin brought us news of Kevin Lutes, computer repairman for Action Reality in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Turns out the company suffered the theft of a hard drive, and Mr. Lutes said he could recover all of the information on it, like magic. Or, just like theft. You see detective? I was right! The repairman did it!

                For your protection, Benjamin also touched on innocent law breaking. There’s a lot of web laws out there, and some of them aren’t very public or hard to break. For instance, using a nerighbor’s web connection: illegal. File sharing: illegal. Being in possession of high-gain wireless antenna or other tools that COULD be used for a crime, even if they aren’t: illegal. The list goes on and on. Be careful out there.

                Additionally, Benjamin talked about changes in trends of internet usage. When it was first invented, the internet was primarily the terrain of young hackers. Now, with new user interfaces making things easier than ever, the fastest growing group of internet users is 70 to 75 year olds, growing from 26% of the range in 2005 to 45% in 2008. This is an interesting trend to keep an eye on.

                Lastly, Benjamin talked about kids and computers. This is a broad topic. Obviously, you want to keep your child safe on the web. For this reason, make sure it’s in a good family area. Additionally, keep the computer at a good, comfortable height to minimize risk of injury. You also probably want to get a desktop, since they break less easily than laptops. As far as games go, make sure you know what’s in them. Use the ESRB ratings, talk to your friends, etc. For younger kids, you’re mostky going to want “edutaintment” games.

                Additionally, Benjamin received a phone call from Lisa asking why Microsoft Word had gone bonkers on her. Also, Richard e-mailed in with a question about why his computer was so slow.

Remember to tune in next week and to listen to this week’s show right now by using the links below!