Aug 21, 2018 | Computer technology
So back in 1938, Orson Wells came out with radio broadcast War of the Worlds. This piece of fiction sounded so real people really took to the streets expecting aliens. Now, there is social media footage that kinda reminds me of that. Robot freaks out Twitter. Is AI going wild?
So a few days ago, someone put up a Tweet of a robot walking around. This robot looked almost too human. He had all the human forms we do: head, two arms, two legs, was upright, etc. This bot walked around cars in the front yard like it was nothing, with no human help. Before long, this Twitter video got over 5 million views. The feedback was that of fear and even apocalyptic paranoia.
So many called the footage, ‘scary’, ‘creepy’, and ‘terrifying’. Then you have mentalist Darren Brown tweeting, in all capital letters, “We’re all going to die!”. One person tweeted back an evil robot that was on the verge of killing people. Then another person posted a movie clip and in the titles it said, “We’re not going to make it, are we?”. But everybody can go ahead and relax. Because the robot isn’t even real. Because 3D artist Maxim Sullivan used CGI (computer generated imagery) to make Adam, this robot, look all too real.
That’s how I make the comparison between this robot and War of the Worlds. People really did think War of the Worlds was real, and it scared them to death. In the same way, people thought this robot was real, and it was scary. But this should tell you what people think about AI technology in IT support. That is is scary. It is scary that every job from cooking to nursing to computer repair will be replaced by robots soon. Yes, it’s scary to think people are taking robots for mates, even as spouses. Of course it’s scary to think robots will serve as police officers and military personnel one day. No wonder why robot freaks out Twitter. Then you have scary robots that are as real as can be. So what do we do about it?
Aug 20, 2018 | internet
So Walmart wants to become a huge player in the IT support game. In fact, they may be already. But Walmart wants more. Maybe that’s why Walmart buys out Flipkart and partners with India.
Walmart leaders said they bought Flipkart for $16 billion. Flipkart is an e-commerce firm out of India. The deal includes a 77% share of Walmart, so now they own over three fourths of Flipkart. This deal also guarantees $2 billion for equity funding. This will help them become a public company one day. However, Flipkart’s leadership will still be under India’s leadership. They will still be backed by India’s corporations like Tencent and Tiger Global.
There are other reasons why Walmart buys out Flipkart. According to one Walmart COO, she admires their problem solving skills. She also likes their AI space and how they’re using and advancing data usage. This is the same company that recently created a IT service platform called PhonePe. I’m sure many in India may worry about losing their jobs due to this. That often happens in mergers. But they shouldn’t be, or so they say. Walmart assures India they will work with the country to bring job creation and growth. They say they will also help bring support to farmers.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room. They want to compete with Amazon as the top online business dog. Every year, they face off with Amazon for online sales. Walmart and Amazon are definitely rivals, and they feel this merger will help them beat Amazon.? I will give them credit. India is one of the largest nations in the world. India is also one of the up and coming nations in technology. So I see why they’re partnering with India to get to that next level. So with this acquisition, don’t you think Walmart can pay their employees a little better?
Aug 17, 2018 | internet
So I tried to avoid this for the longest time. But I’m an Android user. In fact, many of our computer repair customers are Droid users. And just about everybody uses Google. Then I have to ask the question: Is Google still tracking us?
So the AP (associated press) came out with an investigative report this week. Google is supposed to stop recording our location when we turn our location history off. However, an AP report says Google is not honoring that. This could affect around two billion Android users (I told you there were many of us). Also, this could affect countless iPhone users, because many of them use Google Maps on their iPhone.
What’s happening is apps like Google Maps and weather apps take snapshots of your location, even when you turn off location history. We can thank a feature they call Google Web & Activity for this. By default, this is what takes your location, whether you want it too or not. As you can bet, lawmakers and privacy rights advocates are not letting this one slide. In fact, one researcher in New York City turned off his location history. But whenever this researcher checked the weather on his Android, he found Google still tracked him. This happened to him several times in just a matter of days.
Everywhere, IT support experts expressed disappointment in Google for this flaw. And quite frankly, so do I. Google is a company that prides itself on privacy rights and tech ethics. At least they did answer have an answer to these shortcomings. Of course, this spokesperson says yes Google offers a turn off option, and this is just a flew as we continue to improve Google location. What I wanted to hear is how they’re going to make this right. Is Google still tracking us?
Aug 16, 2018 | internet
So Facebook has a tradition. Whenever it’s your birthday, you can choose to ask friends to donate to a certain charity. Then you have the numbers that back that up. Facebook birthdays raise 300 million in charity.
So yesterday they celebrated the first anniversary of birthday fundraisers. Here, users can create a donation drive to their favorite charity. Also keep in mind there are over 750,000 charities to choose from. Furthermore, keep in mind this feature isn’t in all nations yet. So you can expect this to keep growing. But wait…there’s more. New features are coming to this birthday donation feature.
What if can’t choose which charity we want to support on our birthday? Then Facebook will give you more info on them in the feature selection tool. That way, you can learn about each and every charity you may be considering. They’re also letting Pages create and donate to these causes. Then add matching donations with other charities. With these new features coming out, you can even set up a monthly donation. So far, the most popular charities are St. Jude’s Hospital, The American Cancer Society and the ASPCA. They used to have a fee for this service, but that ended back in November 2017. That means you can be confident that all of the money is going where it is needed most.
I’m talking about this because you read so much negativity about Facebook and other IT support companies. It’s nice to report about something good. One customer from our Boston computer service shop put up a birthday button on his Facebook. On his one birthday, he raised over $2,000 to the Jimmy Fund, a local organization that help kids fight cancer. This works. I often see my own Facebook friends use this feature. It worked for them. Facebook birthdays raise 300 million in charity. Which charity are you picking for your birthday?
Aug 15, 2018 | Humor, News
So all parents cherish a child’s first…first steps, first words, first day of kindergarten, first scam. Wait…first what?! Yes, a six year old child scammed Amazon. Six year old vs Amazon: cute or warning sign?
So let me explain. For her sixth birthday, her mom let little Caitlyn order a Barbie doll from her mother’s account. She did. But this was when mommy was watching. However, she asked her mom could she look and track the Barbie’s package. This is when Caitlyn found the ‘add the cart’ button. Not only did she find it, but she used it. And she used it a lot.
Because the next day, one box didn’t arrive at their Utah house. Several of them did. In fact, imagine the shock on mom’s face when she saw several boxes on her stoop. The total came out to $350. The content not only included the Barbie, but other toys and video games. Caitlyn’s older cousin, Ria, posted a picture of the child posing with a smirk on her face and crossed arms on Twitter. Ria talked about how her cousin bought over $300 worth of toys without her parents finding out. So what happened to Caitlyn? According to Ria, she wasn’t punished, but they returned all the toys Caitlyn ordered except for the Barbie.
Caitlyn’s episode isn’t a unique one. I’m reading several incidents on Twitter where kids are using the easy add to cart and pay buttons to buy to the max. This is a huge flaw for the world’s largest IT service company. In our Boston computer service shop, while searching for a part for a computer repair job, I accidentally pressed the purchase button for the wrong part. Luckily, I was able to correct the issue. But what if a professional adult scammer sees this and goes to town with your credit/debit card Amazon already has on file? Six year old vs Amazon: Cute or warning sign? If it is a warning sign, then what should we do about it?
