Aug 25, 2013 | General
Recently, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO since 2000, announced his retirement. Ballmer is expected to step down in the next 12 months. That will help make the transition easier for his successor.
But I’d like to take time to look at his body of work. Under Ballmer’s leadership, we’ve seen successes like Xbox and the upcoming Xbox One. We’ve seen Microsoft goes from Windows 2000 to Windows 8. We’ve seen hundreds of Microsoft retail stores all over North America. It’s now worth $78 billion and employees over 100,000 people. It’s gotten competitive in the smartphone game with Windows Phone OS. There’s also been snafus under Ballmer. There was the monstrosity of the Kin smartphone. There was Zune. There was Spot watch. There were the many critical and costumer complaints of Windows 7. Then there’s the competition with conglomerates like Apple and Google. Some battles were won, some left Microsoft in the dust.
Well you can’t win them all. I read Ballmer’s personal wealth is around $15 billion dollars. So he must have done something right. Let’s face it, Microsoft is a household name. Our lives wouldn’t be the same without it. I wonder what these last 12 months are going to be like. Do you think this will be a smooth transition or can we expect chaos?
Aug 11, 2013 | General, internet
Have you ever read an article?online that caught your fancy? So you like the article and even share the article. Scientist say your friends will probably?like, comment, or even share it.
If you ‘like’ an article, chances are someone will approve. But even if you show dislike for an article, it probably won’t spur others to like it. They’re studying online articles and conclude a positive comment or even a like can have a great ripple effect. The study shows people tend to herd toward popular things, no matter bad that thing might really be. In the study, a website submitted some articles. Readers comment, liked, or disliked the article, and other people’s comments. People who saw the positive comments and thumbs up were more likely to give an article a positive comment themselves.
I guess that explains quite a bit. It kind of makes me wonder about some things about pop culture. Do people like certain things because it’s good, or because it’s popular? Same thing with these articles online. I’ve read articles where all people do is rant, rave and curse and it gets lots of positive reactions. I’ve read very thoughtful, dignified articles that get negative or no responses at all. I shouldn’t be surprised. Look at what passes as popular TV today. What does this say about us today?
Aug 6, 2013 | General, News
And another newspaper sort of bites the dust, well, I doubt it will be like it was. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post, one of the nation’s most well known newspapers.
Bezos bought the paper from the Graham family, who ran the news leading?media conglomerate?for generations, for $250 million in cash. Bezos himself will own and run the Post; Amazon will have nothing to do with it. During the Grahams’ leadership, the Washington Post has been the leader in informing us about major national events, such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, Jonestown, 9/11 and most recently, the NSA surveillance unfolding.
But in the last 10 years or so, the Internet, smartphones and social media have made the good old American newspaper almost obsolete. Not even one of America’s most respected newspapers could escape this dilemma. That’s what led to their financial crisis. ?One article predicts that in 20 years, the newspaper will be dead. Nevertheless, when David Graham made the announcement to his staff, many were in shock, some even wept.
So why Bezos? ?The Grahams and Jeff Bezos had been friends for years. Bezos is a great entrepreneur. For example, Bezos started Amazon in his basement on a $300,000 loan from his parents. Now Amazon is worth over $25 billion dollars. Bezos also owns a piece of Pets.com. Since 2004, Amazon’s stock has quadrupled. In 2012,?Fortune named him Businessperson of the Year. He’s also looking to start ?a feature film production. I think these are good qualities for running a news entity like Washington Posts. Plus, you can see the respect Bezos has for the medium when he says, “The values of the Post do not need changing.” Though Amazon will have nothing to do with the purchase, I can see Bezos using Kindle and other Amazon products to boost Post revenue. Do you think Bezos and Washington Post is a good combination?
Aug 2, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment, General, Wireless
It’s August. I know, summer’s not over yet, but it is the back to school shopping season. I know many of you don’t want to hear that, but I’d like to help prepare you with some great gadgets for this upcoming academic year.
10. Laptop Lock: You’ll need this in the worse way. This won’t just protect you from theft, but what if someone hacks into your system and starts real problems?
9. Noise Cancelling Headphones: While your roommate and friends are blasting that so-called music, you’re going to want these.
8. Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse: It’s not your ordinary mouse. It’s sleek, wireless, fast, smooth, and runs longer than the Energizer bunny ever did.
7. Nintendo 3DS: I know the parents aren’t going to like this suggestion. But this portable gaming system and it’s Mario and Zelda themed games?are?huge stress relievers. And I can think of far worse relievers.
6. Dragon Software: I would bargain my soul to have software like this! You can talk into it and the dragon does your documents for you?! Kids today have it too good sometimes.
5. Netflix:?There’s a lot of crap on TV today. Some of it I wouldn’t recommend to a mosquito, much less a kid.?Thank goodness for Netflix!?Get all the movies, games and entertainment you want for far less than cable or satellite!
4. Amazon Kindle: Soon, textbooks will be on the endangered species list, especially on the college/university level. Plus, why do you want to carry 10 books around when you can carry them all on this device?
3. Samsung Galaxy S4:?There are so many things this device from heaven has that if I listed them all, it would take several pages.
2. ?Ipad: The LA school system is already handing out free ones to kids as an educational tool. One day, this device will be in every classroom in America. Mark my word!
1. Mac Book Pro: No more using a chalkboard! Using this Mac Book to teach history, math, writing and reading has almost become standard. Using Mac Book Pro for paper and project is the wave of the future.
Which device have I left out?
Jul 24, 2013 | Computer technology, General
For the last decade, Apple has had a yo-yo growth trend. Take the stock market for instance. One time last year, it was around $700 a share. Now it’s hovering at $443 a share. Now the growth trend has declined.
Between Sept. 2011-June 2012, Apple?has grown between 40-75?percent each quarter. But during the?last 2013 quarter, Apple?has only grown one percent. That’s their lowest quarterly growth rate in over 10 years, and probably?ever. Don’t expect growth anytime soon. Experts say in the next year, you can expect 3% growth at best, none at all, or?a decline up to 5%.?So what happened to make a?major tech conglomerate like Apple only grow one percent?
For one thing, Mac and iPad sales have dropped. It hasn’t had a product launch lately. They are?redoing the operating systems for upcoming devices, but that won’t be until Christmas. ?Some experts wonder if they can continue leading the ‘post-PC’ era, an era dominated by smartphone, tablets, laptops and other gadgets. The next wave is going to be extremely competitive. Then there’s the building and speculation of new products, like Apple televisions and Apple watches. Some say Apple is in need to promote and sell cheaper products.
I say chill out. Apple has always bounced back. In 2009, they had a quarter where growth was barely 10 percent. Two quarters later, growth was around 50 percent, and rose even higher the next quarter. So Apple will get out of this hole. My question is: How will it happen this time?
Jul 16, 2013 | General, News, Software
At a Microsoft Summit, Bill Gates didn’t limit his conversation just to Microsoft. He shared quite a bit of himself and what he thought of America and issues?education, science and the importance of giving.
Gates addressed the American crisis of education and where it stands. He pointed out we have the highest college drop-out rate of all first world nations. According to many articles, lower aspects of education aren’t doing much better. His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has raised over $470 million dollars for educational matters. Gates is a huge advocate for online courses, and wants to do more so online education can reach it’s full potential.
Gates was very optimistic about computer science, claiming we live in the golden age of that field.??He believes most of us aren’t using Microsoft to it’s full potential; but to him, that’s where the excitement comes in. He looks forward to seeing how smaller and smaller devices can bridge the gap between what humans and machines can do. This?can get pretty scary of where we can go, but that’s just me. About philanthropy, Gates says, “It’s a work in progress”. Keep in mind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world. He credits billionaires like Warren Buffet for helping his charity. He also knocks US giving down a notch. Gates said that rich Chinese are more giving because there are many first generation millionaires out there. In other words, new money in China is having a huge impact on the non-profit scene.
Now comes the so what factor. Why do I even talk about what Bill Gates think? Obviously, he’s one of the most powerful men in the world. If you use anything Microsoft, you can thank Bill Gates for that. Not only is he one of the great businessmen and innovators of all-time, he’s one of the great philanthropist of our time. Is it really making a difference? Well at least he’s trying, unlike some billionaires out there who do nothing, except when it makes them look good (they know who they are). So when Gates speaks, people listen. I guess my only question is: Is he speaking the right things?
