Although I’m non-technical, I’ve been learning a great deal about the Internet in the relatively short time I’ve been a netizen. Many of the things I’ve learned the hard way aren’t thought about — much less talked about — by the tech folks who could probably explain them in seconds. But so often they don’t understand that we don’t see things the way they do, and so they don’t realize what we don’t know, or why we sometimes feel like throwing our computers out the window in frustration.

Writing about usage based billing forced me to fight my way through concepts and come to some understanding of the workings of the Internet that were (and still are) far over my head. Although I’m sure the tech folks I know feel rather like I did the day I tried to explain time to my toddler, they have been extraordinarily generous at explaining, discussing and sharing information with me.

This blog is my small way of passing along some of the tech lessons and philosophies I’ve been absorbing.

In order to protect ourselves and our families online, it is essential for people to be informed about:

• privacy
• personal security
• social network pros and cons
• DRM (digital rights management/digital restrictions management) and
• TPMs (technological protection measures ~ see above)
• free software
• free culture