So being in delivery can be dangerous in any situation, from food to IT service. But try being a deliverer at night with no uniform. It could have cost somebody his life. A celebrity almost shoots Amazon employee.
That rapper is hip-hop legend and actor Ice-T. On Twitter, he stated an Amazon delivery driver pulled up to his house at night. He had no uniform. In colorful terms, Ice T said he almost shot him. Then he took his complaint to Amazon via Twitter. In no uncertain terms, he suggested Amazon give their delivery drivers uniforms or vests. He also said it isn’t safe for Amazon drivers to keep making deliveries in regular clothes. Of course, Ice T said it in language I can’t quote here.
But how did Amazon respond to Ice T’s complaint and suggestion? Dave Clark, Amazon Sr. VP of Global Operations and Customer Service tweeted back. But the response was about as casual as, “Did you see Game of Thrones Sunday?”. He thanked Ice T for the suggestion and said lots of innovation is coming in this way. Basically, Clark told Ice-T ‘they’re working on it’. Many, many customers on Twitter support Ice T’s call for Amazon to put their drivers in uniforms.
This isn’t the first time Amazon delivery caused an uproar. Because not long ago, one driver stole a dog from a customer. Thankfully, that story ended happily. This one ended peacefully. I agree with Ice T. Every delivery company, post office employee, and food service: What do they have in common? They’re wearing uniforms! At Computer Geeks, many of our computer repair experts wear Computer Geeks shirts. Now Amazon is the richest company in the world. Surely that can fork over a little cash to keep their people safe and give them uniforms to wear. Clark’s response sickens me. It doesn’t take much ‘innovation’ to create vests and/or uniforms and hand them to their drivers. A celebrity almost shoots Amazon employee because of Amazon’s neglect and carelessness here. Is it going to take a severe tragedy to put their drivers in uniform?
So the foldable phone is supposed to be the next IT service big thing. But it’s not looking good. Huawei’s trade war and Galaxy Ford’s issues keep getting in the way. Despite these setbacks, computer companies are moving on. Introducing the foldable laptop despite phone.
Because now, Lenovo shows off it’s ThinkPad X1. Their foldable display can make this thing look more like a tablet than a PC laptop. Yes, it’s 13.3 inches, but once you fold it, the screen and rest of it’s size is cut in half. I will admit. Those in computer repair know, and respect Lenovo for their innovations. Some worked. But some others ended in disaster.
What the ThinkPad X1 does is remove the screen from the tactical keyboard. That’s how you can fold it in half and cut space. But Lenovo isn’t the only one playing with this. Dell told computer experts they’re working on the same thing. But in the pictures I’m seeing of the Think Pad X1, the screen almost covers the keyboard. That’s how it folds. Experts know how little about this item. We don’t even know the price. But we can expect Lenovo to release it sometime in 2020.
Saying all this, what are we going to do about the foldable smartphone? Well, I’m interested in neither. But if you are, then my advice to keep waiting. Yes, Samsung delays the Galaxy Ford, but be patient. They’ll get there. The Trump administration pretty much blacklisted Huawei from even doing business in the US. Is it bad for me to say that I don’t feel sorry for Huawei at all? Not even a little bit. So needless to say, the foldable smartphone isn’t going so well, and has little resolution in sight. Now, Lenovo is introducing the foldable laptop despite foldable phone. Is this a good time though?
So the WikiLeaks drama is a gift that never stops giving. If you want a refresher course, then here it is. One of the main players of this is Chelsea Manning; the Chelsea Manning drama continues.
So Manning is back in jail . Let me explain. Back in March, they locked her up because she didn’t cooperate with a grand jury subpoena. But last week, it expired and they had to let her go. But yesterday, they sent her back to the Alexandria, VA Detention Center. Because once again, she refuses to cooperate with a grand jury. With poise and dignity, Chelsea Manning explained her reasoning in this You Tube video.
This goes all the way back to 2010. Because back then, Manning leaked over 250,000 pieces of classified info to WikiLeaks and it’s founder, Julian Assange. She did this while serving as a former US Army intelligence agent. Also, she leaked military field reports and footage of US airstrikes. Manning was soon indicted, tried and convicted. She received a long prison sentence, but former President Obama commuted that sentence. She got out in 2017. As you can see in the video, Manning is not backing down. But neither is the court system.
Because Judge Anthony Trenga didn’t just jail Manning. He’s fining her $500 a day per day she doesn’t cooperate, starting next month. And if she doesn’t cooperate in 60 days, then he’ll double it to $1,000 a day. I don’t think that’s going to phase Manning that much. This is why I say the Chelsea Manning drama continues. Some in the IT service community call her a hero. They say she exposed the government and what they’re really up to. Now she’s a political prisoner. But some call her a dangerous criminal. They say her leaking of military information put many, many Americans in danger. But what do you call her?
So you still don’t think the US trade war with China has anything to do with your little world? You better think again. This is especially if you’re in the IT support world. Because US President Donald Trump signs national emergency to protect computer tech.
So basically, this emergency deals with potential threats on our communications. Also, the threats are specifically from foreign entities. Though the document didn’t say so, China is that foreign entity, especially their IT service company Huawei. However, this shouldn’t shock anyone. For example, last September, the US indicted several individual Chinese hackers. Now, they claim companies like Huawei and ZTE are spying on American interests.
But there’s more. This order can forever ban certain companies from doing business in the USA. Nobody really knows what these companies are. However, most of us see that Huawei and ZTE are probably at the top of the list. In a statement, FCC leaders applaud President Trump’s efforts. They say with this order, they’re willing to take whatever it takes to keep communications safe. Furthermore, they say the order will keep foreign spies from doing damage to our IT service infrastructure. The real statement is more legalize, but that’s pretty much the sum of it.
However, some Americans will suffer. Because in rural areas, some get their cable services from Huawei. They’re prices are so low that some people can’t resist. Of course, we can only imagine what this would do to the Chinese economy. And if the US bans Huawei altogether, then how will stocks in both countries react? Yes, Trump signs national emergency to protect computer tech. In a best case scenario, this will protect our systems from dangerous hackers. Maybe spies will get the message and go home. That’s best case scenario. But what is the worse case scenario?
So I just read an interesting report about a potential security threat. It certainly has IT support security leaders’ attention. It’s the exposing of Intel chips. Could this lead to a massive hack?
So researchers found flaws in these Intel chips. They fear if these flaws get in the wrong hands, then they can steal info from these chips. I mean the kind of leaked info, like passwords, private photos and messages that can mess somebody up. They compare it to Meltdown and Spectre. But this would be even worse. In fact, they’re already calling this new group of bugs Zombie Load. Yes, it is as scary as it sounds.
Because instead of hijacking systems with malware and other things, Zombie Load lets hackers exploit the chip’s own flaws. So it would be like a system turning against itself, then eating itself from inside out. Sorry if that sounded too graphic. Zombie Load is also made up of not just one, but four different bugs! But wait…there’s more. These security experts and researchers say every Intel chip since 2011 could be venerable to Zombie Load. In the computer technology world, 2011 may as well be the 1911. In other words, that is a lot of chips that could be exposed by Zombie Load. I could be venerable to this. So could you. In fact, anybody could.
For instance, the exposing of Intel chips could even mess up your apps. Because Zombie Load leak data from app to app. For instance: What is that Facebook post doing on Twitter? Now what do we do? First of all, we don’t panic, but we remain alert and aware. Or as the Millennials and Gen Z’ers say, ‘stay woke’. If you do see something wrong, call someone. Here at Computer Geeks, we’ve been solving these issues for over 20 years. We can very much do it today. In fact, we can fix them better than ever before. But could this lead to a massive global hack?
