So I’m sure most of you know of the violence and tragedy that took place yesterday in Sri Lanka. A series of bombs went off in churches and hotels, killing 207 and injuring hundreds more. But what is the Sri Lankan government doing about it? Sri Lanka censors social media: Blocking online communication.
So right after these terrorist attacks, Sri Lanka President Udaya Seneviratne announced a block on all social media sites. This includes Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He said the ban happened because the Sri Lanka government wanted to stop fake news. And this is especially in the wake of a tragedy. However, he said social media will be back up after the investigation. But he didn’t say how long the investigation will take.
And many confirm what the president said. Sri Lankan citizens reported their You Tube down and Whats App inaccessible. One Facebook spokesperson said while their hearts are with that nation, he criticized this move. Because in a tragedy, people depend on social media to see if their loved ones are okay. But fortunately, this doesn’t happen often. However, when it does, the world takes notice. Sri Lanka censors social media because they fear social media will spread hatred and bullying, especially against the country’s Muslim population.
I agree with that Facebook spokesperson. This is the wrong time to be blocking Facebook, or any kind of IT service or IT support. First of all, in times of crisis, people really do depend on social media. Look at how people use it to let they’re all right, especially in times of disaster. Yes, some people use social media for hatred. But in cases like this, more people use social media for encouragement and love. This is why Facebook and other social media sites are needed even more, in times of tragedy. Do you think it’s ever right for a country to block or censor social media?
So we all know some of the controversies involving facial recognition. There are privacy concerns. There are also racial and gender concerns. The latter is the root of the Microsoft conflict with police over facial recognition.
So recently, Microsoft president Brad Smith said they spoke with a California police department (I don’t know which one). They wanted to buy equipment and body cameras with facial recognition technology. However, Microsoft turned them down. One reason is because the police wants to scan every face they pull over. This includes those they pull over even for the most minor of offenses. Apparently, Brad Smith saw where this can lead to.
He expressed concern that this could lead to racial and gender profiling. With this facial recognition, women and minorities could be a bigger target than white men. The IT support technology itself struggles with this. Because the facial recognition itself is trained mostly on ID’ing white men. Therefore, they could easily mistake a woman or a minority man. Then, as we all know, this technology can accuse people for crimes they didn’t commit. Thankfully, Smith says they are working on these flaws. They want these machines to get the person’s gender and skin tone right. Ironically, Smith revealed this at an AI conference in Stanford U., which is in California.
I actually have to agree with Brad Smith on this one. Often, news headlines shout about the law targeting the wrong person. Very often, the victims of this profiling are people of color. So I don’t say this often, but kudos to Microsoft for taking this stand. Many of you in computer repair have followed me for years now. So you know how I feel about AI technology period. If not, then this video pretty much sums it up. But at least this Microsoft conflict with police over facial recognition is starting up a conversation. It’s also raising questions and awareness. Do you trust facial recognition to get this right?
So several times now, I talked about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Fold phone. This could be a revolutionary event in the smartphone and IT service game. Or it could be the biggest flop since 2013’s Google Glass. But let me ask you. Is the Samsung Galaxy Fold worth $2,000?
So yes, it’s here and it’s available now. Off the bat, this mammoth has 12 gigs of RAM and 512 and six cameras. That’s enough to literally, hold data on a small nation. Even when you shut the foldable phone, you still have your main camera to make social media videos. You can use two of them when you open them up. Then the other three are in the back of the phone. It also has two screens, one when close and one when opened. So you almost get 3 for the price of one.
That’s what right with the Samsung Galaxy Fold. But what’s wrong with it? If you can get over that big, obvious crease in the middle of the screen, then you’re doing better than most. Critics also complain about how bulky it is to carry. There is no expandable storage. There is also no 5G (which is a good thing, depending on who you ask). And that $2,000 price isn’t for everybody. But then again, this is a ‘luxury’ phone, right?
However, it’s a better deal than the $2,600 Huawei folding phone. But there are more complications. Yes, the phone is available to order for shipping, but when will you get it? I ask because the demand is so great, they had to push back the shipping dates. So if you have to have this thing, like a few of our computer repair clients do, I strongly urge you to wait until they’re in stores after April 26, 2019. But I ask you again. Is the Samsung Galaxy Fold worth $2,000?
So the IT support leader’s name is Francois-Henri Pinault. He’s pledging over 100 million Euros if his own money to rebuild the Notre-Dame. Pinault will use his investments, like Artemis, to fund this mission. He’s also using his voice to raise awareness and funding for this cause. In fact, French President Emmanuel Macron calls for international funding to get this cathedral back together again.
So who is Francois-Henri Pinault? In European circles, they know him as a fashion luxury guru. But he’s more than that. During his interview with TechCrunch, he talked about his love for and contribution to IT service and computer technology. One time, he served as a software developer at Hewlett Packard. That led to the founding of Soft Computing. In the 1980s, he helped found it in Paris. It became a powerhouse in the French and European tech community. In fact, last year, Soft Computing merged with a tech ad company Publicis. Pinault even helped funded a smart headphone company in LA.
So this is how this French techie helps rebuild Notre-Dame. So often, we talk about tech leaders doing negative things. Maybe we do this too much. It brings me joy to talk about how tech billionaires are doing positive things. This is one example. Thankfully, there were no deaths or severe injuries. But there is speculation. Yes, they told us it wasn’t terrorism, or any other crime. However, some people aren’t buying it. But does it matter now? Maybe we should follow Pinault’s example and instead of pointing fingers, maybe we should do something else. Maybe we should ask: What are we going to do about it?
If Alibaba is the Amazon of China, then Jack Ma is the Jeff Bezos of China. He’s the IT support mogul over there. Ma’s story is an inspiration (which I’ll get into later). However, some of his workers are protesting what they call brutal work conditions. Alibaba’s work culture: Inspiring or Detrimental?
So for anyone who wants to work for Alibaba, they must abide by the ‘996 rule’. That means employees work from 9am to 9pm for 6 days a week. Ma defended this ruling. He tells people off the bat if you’re looking for an 8-hour lifestyle, then don’t come to Alibaba. He also calls working 12 hour days ‘a blessing’. But obviously, not everyone thinks so.
Because there is an online labor movement they call 996.ICU. It’s now one of the most popular websites in China. They say the 996 rule exploits workers, and the only reason Ma does it is to benefit himself alone. They say they work these long hours with no overtime compensation. In fact, they name the website 996.ICU because working these long hours will get you in the ICU. They use horror stories of computer repair techs and programmers literally dropping dead because of long hours. Ma calls such stories ‘nonsense’. However, that’s about the only response from Alibaba about this controversy.
Well, here is Ma’s inspiration story. In the late ’90s, he was a teacher in China earning $12 a month. Remember, this is Communist China, here. He came to the USA, only to be kidnapped at gunpoint. He promised the gunman to be business partners if he let him go. Then, he learned about the Internet and e-commerce. Several years later, Alibaba is born, and is today worth over $400 billion. Ma’s personal worth is $36 billion. We don’t know what the Alibaba employee makes, or if there is overtime comp. But looking at Alibaba’s wealth, maybe 996.ICU has a point. Maybe all this long work isn’t for their benefit at all, but simply to serve one man and one man only. And that’s not right. The debate rages on. Alibaba’s work culture: Inspiring or detrimental?
