Sep 27, 2018 | General
So more people are dependent on technology and IT support than ever before. People are also trying to eat healthier than ever before. But let’s put the two together. Can technology help you eat better?
I ask because their is a company they call Farmer’s Fridge. One of it’s leaders is Eric Schmidt, a former Google CEO. Farmer’s Fridge is making vending machines. And this machine will serve ready-to-eat healthy meals and snacks, like salads, granola bars, and healthy sandwiches. Also, keep in mind they make fresh meals and food for these vending machines daily. All you do is put dollars in the machine. Then, the food comes out like a drinking vending machine. Each trip will run you $5-8, depending on what you want.
So how is it working? Well, according to the reports I’m getting, there is only 5% food waste, and this is after purchase. That says something. Their headquarters are in Chicago. So far, there are around 200 machines in the Greater Chicago and Milwaukee areas. And they are everywhere, from airports to hospitals to stores. In fact, these meals are in such demand that they have to restock the machines five days a week. Revenue is good for Farmer’s Fridge. This is also creating jobs. Someone has to harvest and prepare the food. Then someone has to restock the machines. By late 2019, Farmer’s Fridge expects to go from 130 to 200 employees.
They also plan to expand. I don’t know to what cities, but I think they will do very well in Boston near our computer service shop. In fact, they would do well just about anywhere. I grew up in the eastern part of North Carolina. And even there, where pork used to be king, many people are going vegetarian and vegan. Of course, there is a huge health movement here in Boston; we’re one of the healthiest cities in the country. What I’m saying is this is a trend that can really catch on. Can technology help you eat better?
Sep 26, 2018 | Computer technology, Smartphone
So it goes without saying. Kids today are a lot smarter than we were some 30 years ago. We can thank computer repair and technology for that. But sometimes it feels like they’re too smart for their own good. Kids infiltrate Apple’s screen control system.
Apple’s screen control system’s goal is to limit how much time kids and teens have on Apple devices. But kids are finding new ways to get around that, and/or hack the system all together. The youngest one to do this is only seven? years old! All he did was uninstall apps, then reinstall them again. Another kid, 13, changed dates and times on his device. That way, he manipulated how much downtime his parents set for him.
This new ‘screen time’ feature came out with iOS 12, because it came out just a few weeks ago. However, the 7-year-old confessed he went to the App store, downloads a formally installed game through the cloud. It works. Meanwhile, the 13-year-old changed the old time to unlimited time. All he did was go to settings and change date and time. This even impressed the parents themselves. This is already getting around like wildfire. Somebody posted about this on Reddit. I’m not sure if it was the parents, kids or who started the conversation. But it’s already getting over 500 comments and have no signs of slowing down.
I saw that this system is only a few weeks ago. So it sounds like Apple has some kinks to iron out. But what else do I often say? Hackers are getting smarter and smarter. So are kids getting smarter with technology. Let’s look at the 13-year-old. He was born between 2004-05. This means he can’t ever remember a time before smartphones and social media. The 7-year-old obviously can’t. So when they’re and raised into this world, then of course they’re going to know more about hacking then we ever did. I myself was amazed when a 13-year-old kid came into our computer service shop. Not only did he diagnose his own issue, but virtually fixed it, too, with a little bit of our help, of course. What do think of this next generation of tech whiz kids?
Sep 25, 2018 | Smartphone
So a couple of weeks ago, Apple introduced a new group of iPhones. The two biggest ones was the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XS. Though it’s more expensive, iPhone XS Max wins sell race. But why?
So in polls and pre-sales, the iPhone XS Max seems to be somewhat more popular than the iPhone XS. In fact, it seems to be way more popular. One MacRumors blogger says The Max phones are selling 3 to 1, maybe even 4 to 1, what the XS regulars are selling. The gold and space gray are the most popular colors. The 256GB is the most popular size.
But did you get a 512GB or planning to get one? Well, they’re in short supply because of NAND Flash. And only Samsung can ship that, well, with accuracy. Also, the Max is especially popular in Asia. They expect the XS Max only to increase by the year’s end because they expect Asia to eat these iPhones up. This is just in time for the holiday season. Keep in mind the iPhone XS Max cost $1,099. This makes it the most expensive iPhone of all-time. The iPhone XS only cost $999. However, the iPhone XS Max wins sell race. But why?
Many say it’s because of the 6.5 inch OLED screen. The XS regular gives you only a 5.8 screen. That may not sound like much, but most iPhone users will tell you that means a huge difference. Those who use iPhones in our computer service shop will tell you that. However, there may less of an IT service reason and or of economic reason. According to many statistics, the US economy is doing better than it has in a long time. Furthermore, economies in China, India and Israel are booming. Okay, China may be hit because of the tariffs. What this means is more disposable income. So when people have more, they tend to want to buy up. Is that what is happening?
Sep 24, 2018 | Computer technology
So Microsoft is about to have their Ignite conference in Orlando. But the star of the show wasn’t Steve Ballmer or Bill Gates. It was AI (artificial intelligence) technology. This is the new Microsoft Office: The New Microsoft Office.
In fact, most of their new features have AI’s backing. The biggest feature is Ideas. These are tools within Excel and Power Point, and their goal is to save time, then energy. They also say Ideas can choose your layout for your specific presentation for you. Furthermore, Ideas can pick your charts for you. These changes are also coming for Power Point Online in the near future.
But that’s not all. Excel is getting new features, all based on AI. These features include turning raw data into easy data you can easy put into spreadsheets. It also comes with image recognition. With this, you can turn data pictures into Exel files. One thing I like about the new Microsoft Office is they make the functions easy and it looks organized. Then there is Microsoft Search. It’s a search network that will soon debut on Bing and Office.com. Who knows? Maybe they’ll come to other sites as the future progresses. This is the new AI Microsoft Office.
For more than a quarter century, Microsoft led the IT service world. And we all know that in the last few years, the AI/robotic technology is the wave of the IT support world. This trend has no end in sight. And it looks like Microsoft is following the trend. This doesn’t surprise me, except for that it took this long. We hear how others companies, tech or not (especially restaurants and fast-food industries) embrace AI. Maybe Microsoft planned this for years and told nobody. Or maybe they finally gave in to the AI craze. Will it work out for them?
Sep 20, 2018 | internet, News
So we hear about how cryptocurrency will be the savior of the future economy. It could be. However, hackers must know it as well. Because they hacked cryptocurrency…again.
So this time, Zaif is the victim. Zaif is a Japanese digital exchange company. They are part of the family of Tech Bureau Corp. Well, earlier this week, hackers stole over $60 million worth of Bitcoin from them. The hackers did the job on Friday September 14. But it wasn’t until the 17th when they found server problems. Then they discovered the cyber crime and reported it, to the media as well as the authorities. Also, they hacked two other of their cryptocurrencies.
Somehow, the hackers broke into their ‘online wallet’. Before they could steal anything else, they shut the system down. We don’t know when they’ll put it back up, in fact, it may be up again now. There’s a reason why I say they hacked cryptocurrency…again. Because last year, another company in Tokyo lost a whopping $547 million worth of cyrptocurrency. They believe this was a cyber theft. The name of this company is Coincheck. You may have heard of them. In fact, they hit Manacoin as well. They also lost millions on cryptocurrency.
So why are hackers hitting Japan so often and for so much? Because Japan is a leader in the cryptocurrency market game. It’s been that way since 2012. In fact, they pride themselves on IT support digital licences to regulate these markets and protect consumers from incidents like this. But even with these extra layers of protection, they still get hacked. Yes, I, along with many in computer repair believe this will be a powerful tool in future world economics. But it’s obvious they have a long, long way to go. This currency is a good way to go and hackers know it. What can be done to keep Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies safe?
