The Virtual Valley
a column on technology and life
“The Virtual Valley” began appearing in Visalia Direct in August, 2006. The column addresses how technology affects life in the relatively rural San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The publisher, Direct Media Inc. (DMI), specializes in newspaper magazine inserts and freely distributed publications in Central California.
| # | Submitted | Issue | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20-Jul-2006 | Aug ’06 | Searching for "Visalia" on Google / Search Engines |
| 2 | 19-Aug-2006 | Sep ’06 | Visalia and Wikipedia |
| 3 | 12-Sep-2006 | Oct ’06 | Local and Regional Performing Arts Online |
| 4 | 6-Oct-2006 | Nov ’06 | MySpace Predators and Teens / Online Safety |
| 5 | 14-Nov-2006 | Dec ’06 | Day Trip Destinations with Online Sites |
| 6 | 17-Nov-2006 | Jan ’07 | Online Groups and Forums for Valley Residents |
| 7 | 17-Jan-2007 | Feb ’07 | Gardening Information Online (esp. Roses!) |
| 8 | 12-Feb-2007 | Mar ’07 | How Secure is Your Wireless Network? |
| 9 | 4-Mar-2007 | Apr ’07 | Virtual Utopia Proving Hard to Find |
| 10 | 2-Apr-2007 | May ’07 | Computers Hate the Valley Summer |
| 11 | 6-May-2007 | Jun ’07 | Finding Free Books Online |
| 12 | 10-Jun-2007 | Jul ’07 | OpenOffice, GIMP, Google Docs, etc. |
| 13 | 2-Jul-2007 | Aug ’07 | The Challenges of Online Travel Sites |
| 14 | 11-Aug-2007 | Sep ’07 | Schools Putting Information for Parents Online |
| 15 | 16-Sep-2007 | Oct ’07 | Your Favorite Station Anytime, Anywhere |
| 16 | 14-Oct-2007 | Nov ’07 | Shopping Online / Greeting Cards / Photo Sharing |
| 17 | 11-Nov-2007 | Dec ’07 | Students Need to Really Know MS Office, etc. |
| 18 | 13-Dec-2007 | Jan ’08 | Teaching Programming Using Free Tools |
| 19 | 7-Jan-2008 | Feb ’08 | Pursuing a Degree Online |
| 20 | 10-Feb-2008 | Mar ’08 | Exercise Aided by Computers, Game Consoles |
| 21 | 7-Mar-2008 | Apr ’08 | Technology Helping the Disabled |
| 22 | 11-Apr-2008 | May ’08 | Researching Medical Information Online |
| 23 | 12-May-2008 | Jun ’08 | Students Cheating via the Web |
| 24 | 7-Jun-2008 | Jul ’08 | Games to Exercise Your Brain |
| 25 | 7-Jul-2008 | Aug ’08 | Developing Good Backup Habits |
| 26 | 12-Aug-2008 | Sep ’08 | Earthquakes, Fires and More Mapped Online |
| 27 | 11-Sep-2008 | Oct ’08 | Shopping for a New Car Using Online Research |
| 28 | 8-Oct-2008 | Nov ’08 | NY Atty Gen Forces ISPs to End Usenet Service |
| 29 | 8-Nov-2008 | Dec ’08 | How Did We Get so Many Computers? |
| 30 | 8-Dec-2008 | Jan ’09 | Deleting Files and Junk from Hard Drives |
| 31 | 2-Jan-2009 | Feb ’09 | Any Recipe You Might Want… And More |
| 32 | 2-Feb-2009 | Mar ’09 | Social Networking and Facebook |
| 33 | 2-Mar-2009 | Apr ’09 | My Addiction to PDAs: My iPod Touch |
| 34 | 30-Mar-2009 | May ’09 | Virtual Romance, Real Complications |
| 35 | 4-May-2009 | Jun ’09 | Twittering or Tweeting, It's Not for Everyone |
| 36 | 29-May-2009 | Jul ’09 | Font Fanatic: Putting the Best Face Forward |
| 37 | 30-Jun-2009 | Aug ’09 | Keeping Track of Everything in Your Life |
| 38 | 26-Jul-2009 | Sep ’09 | YouTube and You, Unemployed |
| 39 | 26-Aug-2009 | Oct ’09 | Facebook Fling, Twitter Toss: the Risks of Social Computing |
| 40 | 27-Sep-2009 | Nov ’09 | Beyond the Valley: Are We There Yet? |
| 41 | 22-Oct-2009 | Dec ’09 | Software to Help the Writer Within |
| 42 | 25-Nov-2009 | Jan ’10 | Peering into My Crystal Ball |
| 43 | 29-Dec-2009 | Feb ’10 | Words on a Screen: E-Books are the Future |
| 44 | 23-Jan-2010 | Mar ’10 | Will Textbooks Go Digital… and Free? |
| 45 | 1-Mar-2010 | Apr ’10 | The New Job Hunt: Searches Begin Online |
| 46 | 1-Apr-2010 | May ’10 | Capturing Memories: Comparing Photo Printers |
| 47 | 30-Apr-2010 | Jun ’10 | The Trails We Leave Behind |
| 48 | 24-May-2010 | Jul ’10 | Personal Reflections on Education and Technology |
| 49 | 29-Jun-2010 | Aug ’10 | Back to School Computer Shopping |
| 50 | 29-Jul-2010 | Sep ’10 | Learning to Program, Learning to Think |
| 51 | 29-Aug-2010 | Oct ’10 | Nurturing the Valley Tech Economy |
| 52 | 1-Oct-2010 | Nov ’10 | Building a Business via Social Networks |
| 53 | 25-Oct-2010 | Dec ’10 | Scrapbooking the Easy Way |
| 54 | 15-Nov-2010 | Special | Wedding Registries Go Virtual |
| 55 | 6-Dec-2010 | Jan ’11 | Virtual Valley Predictions for 2011 |
| 56 | 27-Dec-2010 | Feb ’11 | Science at Home: DIY Labs and More |
| 57 | 24-Jan-2011 | Mar ’11 | Archives Aren't Backups: Storing Data for the Future |
| 58 | 28-Feb-2011 | Apr ’11 | Crawling the Crafters’ Web |
| 59 | 28-Mar-2011 | May ’11 | A Web of Tech Problems: Finding Answers Online |
| 60 | 12-Apr-2011 | Special | The Wedding Planner: Google Your Big Day |
| 61 | 1-May-2011 | Jun ’11 | Reliving the Past: Retro Gaming and Vintage Computing |
| 62 | 25-May-2011 | Jul ’11 | Real Estate Websites: House Hunting Goes Virtual |
| 63 | 27-Jun-2011 | Aug ’11 | Online Universities: An Opportunity for Valley Residents |
| 64 | 1-Aug-2011 | Sep ’11 | Virtual Theology: Comparative Religion Goes Digital |
| 65 | 29-Aug-2011 | Oct ’11 | Artists Gather Online: The Valley’s Virtual Art Colonies |
| 66 | 26-Sep-2011 | Nov ’11 | Crafting a Résumé for the Digital Age |
| 67 | 31-Oct-2011 | Dec ’11 | Have a Happy High-Tech Holiday |
| 68 | 3-Nov-2011 | Special | The Ultimate Online Shopper (and Bride-to-Be) |