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.
The ESPYS were held July 17. Watching that show makes me think of how close modern technology, especially social media, has bridged the gap between them and everyone else. This is especially true for Twitter. So I looked for the most entertaining tweets of the summer so far.
10 Jose Conseco: “Welcome to Twitter (expletive)…”. Nothing like broadcasting an old rivalry for all the world to see.
9. Metta World Peace: “I’m so happy to be Metta this morning because at 4 am…I turned into the Geico lizard…” I?don’t get it either, but with his colorful Tweets, I had to put World Peace on this list.
8. RGIII:?He Tweeted?how “pleasantly surprised” at how good?The Internship was. Remember that Google movie starting Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn last month? I’m glad someone was pleasantly surprised.
7. Nazem Kardl: This Toronto Maple Leaf center criticized ‘it’ couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian for?naming their baby North West. “Get a hold of yourself!” Well Nazem, what to?you expect from a?man who thinks he’s God?
6. Johnny Manziel: “…I appreciate all the love and support over the past couple of days.”?He showed love to his supporters after some not so flattering reports of?Johnny Football’s off-the-field activity.
5. Andrew Shaw: “Best feeling ever! Wooooooo!” This Chicago Blackhawk center summed up the feeling of winning the Stanley Cup, NHL’s richest prize.
4. Gosder Cherilus: “How do you survive 27 years of jail…to change a country and the world…Big ups to you Nelson Mandela!” This Indianapolis Colts tackle gave?respect to one of the?greatest civil rights leaders and heroes of our generation.
3. Adam Jones: He literally laughed at Heat fans who left before the infamous Game 6 of the NBA Finals was over, and tried to get back in when the Heat made a comeback. “Hahahahahahaahha! Bandwagon.” Jones has a point. After 2010, there were an awful lot of Miami Heat fans all of a sudden.
2. Chad Johnson: He tweeted about being sentenced to 30 days in jail due to a probation violation. The sentence was triggered by him slapping his lawyer on the butt during proceedings. He closed the tweet with “See you in 30.” He was out in 7.
1. Steve Cishek: His MLB All-Star Game tweet said, “Nothing like Mariano Rivera running out of that pen.” He paid tribute to a retiring future Hall of Famer. He got the whole arena into it and echoed their sentiment. His tweet may have made baseball history.
Yesterday, Netflix made history with it’s Emmy nominations. Yes, this is a growing phenomenon. Here are some reasons I like Netflix.
10. No More Video Store Runs: Remember when you had to rush to the video store and endure long lines, bad?attitudes and take the risk of?your movie being sold out?
9. The Free Trial: At first I thought this was too good to be true. Maybe it was: after that one month trial, I was hooked!
8. Old Shows Given New Life: When FOX cancelled Arrested Development, I was upset! But Netflix gave it another chance, and it’s getting a cult following as well as critical acclaim. Who is laughing now?
7. No More Fighting Over TV: I’m not the only one! When someone insists on watching this reality TV garbage, I can log on my laptop, or even iPod Touch, and watch something far more meaningful.
6. No More Late Fees: Have you ever had a late fee from a video store, even the library? They made credit card companies look like Dr. Phil! I used to work at a video store, and you should have heard the overdue calls we made!
5. Travel Entertainment: Okay, I’m one who thinks all flights should have entertainment again.?But even on trains and buses, ?there is Netflix to entertain me, during delays, storms, even crying babies.
4. Easy Access: You can’t escape it, no matter how bad you may want to! It’s available on most of the technological outlets available, from Apple to Microsoft.
3. Breaking New Ground: You can read yesterday’s article. This year was the first time a web series was nominated for an Emmy. Let’s hope they get it!
2. Movies Galore: I wish they had a bigger library, but I’m just thankful with what they have now! I’m glad I found some obscure B movies here, and would like to see more.
1. New TV Shows: Shows like House of Cards are making a statement. And I’ve seen House of Cards, and this show could give Scandal a run for it’s money. Despite critical bashing, Hemlock Grove isn’t that bad, either. I smell a trend coming.
Before you write this off as a promotion, I know there are plenty of things wrong with Netflix. So are you a fan or no fan?
Do you remember when most Emmy award nominations went to the big 4 networks (ABC, NBC, CBS FOX)? I remember when Fox wasn’t even in the equation. Then cable TV shows got heavily recognized (Sopranos, Sex in the City). Now, the star of the 2013 Emmy Awards may be Netflix.
Netflix hit it big this morning when Emmy Award nominations were announced. One show, House of Cards, hit the jackpot! They ?won nods for best drama, best lead?actor in Kevin Spacey and best lead?actress in Robin Wright. It also received nods for outstanding directing, best casting, best cinematography, best editing, and best musical composition. Netflix comedy Arrested Development did well. They received nods for outstanding editing and music composition for a comedy, and Jason Bateman got a nomination for best lead actor in a comedy series. Keep in mind it’s only been five years since Internet shows were allowed to take part in the Emmy process.
This is huge for Netflix, and it’s viewers. I usually watch Netflix to keep up with shows that I miss or shows I want to watch again, and of course, movies. But for all these nominations for two shows is phenomenal. Now imagine if they win at least some of these awards, especially the big ones. This is a reason for tech lovers to watch this year’s show. If they win (and the competition isn’t that rigorous, you know what I’m saying?), I can see the tide turning. Maybe it already is. Can you see shows leaving mainstream TV and coming to Netflix like an exodus?
Don’t know if you know this, but 80% of people working in computer technology are men. But women are definitely making their mark in this field. Let’s pay some of?them tribute.
10.Radia Perlman: She’s been called the mother of the Internet. She’s known for her revolutionary innovations and creativity, especially when it comes to making a better Internet.
9. Safra Catz: Born in Israel, she’s the CFO of Oracle, the third largest software maker around today. She’s been an executive there since 1999.
8. Sophie Wilson:?She designed the Acorn Micro-Computer and the ARM Processor, and is still very active in?the?company she helped create.
7. ?Meg Whitman: Not only was she the president of Ebay for 10 years, she’s now the CEO of Hewlett-Packard and ran for California governor in 2009.
6.Sophie Vandebroek: She’s the chief technology officer of Xerox and president of the Xerox Innovation Group. These innovations run from software to fast food.
5. Melody Meckfessel: She’s the heart and soul behind Google’s engineering, and is credited for?making that team together.?It is said, “If there’s no Google engineering, there’s no Google.
4. Susan Wojcicki:?Speaking of Google, she’s the vice-president of advertising and production management. According to a 2012 Forbes article, she’s one of the most powerful women in the world.
3. Ursula Burns: She’s the president and CEO of Xerox. She’s the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 Company and the fourteenth most powerful woman in the world.
2. Marissa Meyer: She helped get Yahoo off the brink and turned it back into a major Internet powerhouse. The culture in the office changed, it’s buying out other Internet businesses and it’s on it’s way to a whole new level.
1. Grace Hopper: Though she’s been dead for 21 years, her contributions are just as important today. She was one of the first computer programmers ever and first compilers of computer language.?During her later years, she was a great ambassador to her field and eager to lecture younger generations. Where would we be without her legacy?
Yesterday, I did an article on a little known inventor who died earlier this week. That got me thinking, what other tech heroes don’t we know about. I found 10 Tech Heroes I think we should all know, in no particular order.
10. Dr. Doug Engelbart: He invented the computer mouse, though he never made a dime and got little credit from it. He came up with the idea in the mid 20th century, decades ahead of his time.
9. Marty Cooper: In 1973, he made the first ever cellular phone call. The rest is history.
8. Tony Fadell: Around 2001, he had this crazy idea and Apple hired him as a consultant. That crazy idea turned into the iPod.
7. John Backus: This IBM scientist came up with the first computer programming language, FORTRAN. He was once diagnosed with a brain tumor, and designed his own head?plate.
6. James Gosling: As a Ph.D student, he wrote a microprocessor version on Unix. Eventually, that version turned into the first Java code.
5. Newark Mayor Cory Booker: In 2012, during Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Booker Tweeted to his constituents about power updates and where to get help. There’s no telling how many people he?saved.
4. Alan Kay: His Dynabook probably paved the way all the devices we hold near and dear, maybe a little too near and dear today.
3. Benjamin O’Keefe:?Once, Abecrombie & Fitch’s CEO said he only marketed to cool kids. O’Keefe used the?Internet and?social media to threaten a boycott, and Aberrombie’s execs met with the 18 year old and change begun.
2. Larry Ellison: In 1990, his Oracle company almost went kaput. Now, that company is the leader of many aspects of the software industry, and in comeback fashion, he’s the 3rd richest man in America.
1. People Like You: I know this sounds cheesy, but think about it. Unheard of people are making a positive difference in the tech world every day. Are you one of them?
