Technology

UT Extension offers resources and suggestions for families making to switch to home-based virtual learning due to COVID-19. “Well, I guess we’ll just figure it out…I’m not prepared for this!” These are the thoughts and emotions of many parents across the country as school reopening plans and fall options continue to be unveiled. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects ...

The Southern Connected Communities Project is holding a public meeting to discuss building a community-owned rural broadband internet network in Sevier County. The Southern Connected Communities Project, a project of the Sustainable and Equitable Agricultural Development Task Force, is working to bring locally-owned internet access to rural Sevier County communities. “Rural Sevier County is being left behind by internet providers,” the organizer ...

By Phil Bredesen In today’s world, the internet is quickly becoming as vital as telephones, or electric power, or roads, or water and sewer services—a fifth utility. We use it to stay connected and informed, to shop, to communicate with others. It’s an important tool for nearly every business, which puts any place without reliable broadband internet access at a ...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a public service announcement Friday advising consumers and small offices to reboot routers and networked devices due to widespread malware infection by foreign cyber actors. The agency said the malware affects hundreds of thousands of routers produced by several manufacturers and that, “The size and scope of the infrastructure impacted by VPNFilter malware is ...

Credit card and debit card information for customers of Vol Magic Wash in Sevierville and Jefferson City may be affected by a data breach of the company’s credit card payment system. Vol Magic Wash, LLC says it was informed on April 3, 2017 that the point-of-sale system, which is operated by DRB Systems of Akron, OH, experienced an intrusion between ...

At U.S. Cellular’s free Device Workshop in Sevierville, attendees can hear advice on how to make sure your phone’s data, like contacts and photos, can be backed up before an incident occurs and what steps to take if your smartphone takes a plunge. As August continues to bring warm weather to Sevierville, hitting the pool or local swim hole is ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Inventory and Monitoring Branch has partnered with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the School of Arts at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, to create a new web application called Species Mapper. Everyone from park managers to school groups can use Species Mapper to explore suitable habitats for more than ...

An App for helping parents on the topic of bullying? Yes, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has developed FREE apps on some tough topics. These apps have resources that can help address some of the toughest mental health and substance use challenges, including suicide prevention, bullying prevention, behavioral health following a disaster, and underage drinking prevention. The ...

The Tennessee departments of Health and Agriculture have partnered to develop a mobile app that allows users to check Tennessee restaurant inspection scores no matter where they are located. Tennessee Restaurant Inspection Scores is a free app available for both iOS and Android, which lets users view health inspection scores from Tennessee restaurants and retail stores that prepare food, including ...

Tennessee has a new website to help bird watchers find good locations for birding across the state, including places here in Sevier County. The Tennessee Birding Trails website, launched this month by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), details 130 of the best places in the state for bird watching and has in-depth profiles for many of the bird species ...