Remember when the online travel game was competitive? Okay, not so much. But now it’s getting less so. Last week, Expedia bought out competitor Travelocity. That’s just the beginning.
Expedia buys Orbitz for $1.6 billion dollars in cash, plus shares of stock. This deal includes all of Orbitz names, like ebookers and Cheap Tickets and Hotel Club. According to Expedia CEO and President Dara?Khosrowshahi, they chose to acquire Orbitz because of their strong brands and the impressive manpower behind those brands. They’re banking this acquisition will better service a more diverse clientele. Orbitz CEO Barney Harford is just as excited about this uniting. He hopes this merger will increase great offerings and deals to customers and partners alike. Apparently, this deal has been in the making for quite some time. Orbitz ?has been outsourcing to Expedia since 2013. Expedia wasn’t the only bidder for Orbitz, but I’m sure the many months of outsourcing made the difference. Now, Priceline is Expedia’s only major competitor in the US.
And the way it looks, Priceline is doing fairly well. Their main spokesperson, TV legend William Shatner, has made over $600 million since his the first commercial he did for them back in the 1990s. Their stocks are almost 65 percent higher than it was just a year ago. They’ve had a very good last couple of quarters. They have a very strong international travel base, especially Europe and Asia. But they’ll even tell you the US travel base is better than Europe’s at the present time. I think Expedia has a better edge in the Americas’ travel market. And America’s economy is getting better (well, according to reports). Everyone I know uses Expedia for their travel needs. I’ve been a loyal Expedia customer for many years. And I’m confident Orbitz will boost Expedia’s sales. I’d wish there were more competitors in this online travel race, but we have what we have. This is going to be an exciting race. Who do you think will win: Expedia or Priceline?
A marriage ends in divorce. A long term relationship ends in a break up. If you’re thinking about putting nude, sexually explicit or embarrassing photos of your ex online, you better think again!
The state of California makes it clear: no more revenge porn! They made an example out of Kevin Bollaert (the younger guy in the photo), operator of a former website called U Got Posted. This website allowed anyone to post nude or explicit pictures of anyone they wished to, without the victim’s knowledge or approval. Bollaert’s website required the victim’s age, name, location, and Facebook page. Bollaert’s U Got Posted also charged the victim $350 a pop to have the scandalous photo removed. Thousands of dollars were made through this extortion. But a San Diego, CA court found Kevin Bollaert’s guilty of 20 counts of ID theft and six counts of extortion. Bolleart could face 20 years in prison. This is the first time a revenge porn operator has ever been convicted of running such a website. California has specific and strict laws against revenge porn.
And to this I say, hats off to San Diego and California! I’m glad one state is taking a stand against this evil and madness. Revenge porn is often difficult to prosecute because victims often don’t own the revenge pictures. I don’t know if this is because so many Hollywood celebrities have fallen victim to this hacking and unwelcome attacks. But whatever the reason, I like this crackdown. There is an old saying: As California goes, so goes the nation. In this case, let it be so. I know some will defend such actions in the name of free speech. But with freedom comes responsibility. And every adult and teen knows right from wrong. We should all be responsible enough not to put our exes nude pics online, or to blackmail strangers to take them down. How would you like it if someone did that to you, or your loved ones?
Facebook employment booms, especially in Seattle. There, their roster has increased to 400 workers and shows no end in sight. In 2012, Seattle Facebook’s office had only 90. Things are going so well for them that they’ve had to expand more floors in their Seattle building just to house the incoming talent. In fact, a Seattle area real estate agent let slip they were looking for floors in the Macy building downtown. Seattle’s technological talent pool is credited for Facebook’s employment boom. “Seattle is just a hotbed of awesome talent,” said Facebook Seattle site leader Paul Carduner.
Not only is Facebook employment on the rise, it’s been said that Facebook is one of the best places to work. So while some online dating services are letting people go, and while many shopping conglomerates are letting people go by the thousands, Facebook is hiring people by the hundreds. Keep in mind they just moved some of there headquarters to Seattle from Silicon Valley not even five years ago. So while may businesses of all aspects struggle, Facebook seems to thrive. What’s their secret?
Since the dawn of the Internet, many have used it’s dating services to look for love. That’s not going too well…I mean for online dating services like Zoosk.
Zoosk goes down in employment and leadership. Last month, it’s founders announced they opted to become board members instead of CEOs. Now, one of their spokespersons announce they’ve laid off 15% of their work force this past week. A statement said they will cut in other areas in order to sustain cost. Lately, most revenue was brought in by membership fees. But that’s hardly covered their advertising. The market isn’t helping either. They’re delaying their IPO plan well into 2015. But the biggest threat is their competition, particularly Tinder. In the last several months, while Zoosk, Ok Cupid Dating, and others have seen market shares plummet, Tinder’s share has skyrocketed, up to almost 90%. One chart took Zoosk, Match.com, Ok Cupid Dating, Hinge and Tinder. By November 2014, of those five, Tinder had 80-some percent of the market. Zoosk had under five percent among those five.
But I’d like to be personal for a moment. Yes, among these five, Tinder is blowing the competition out of the water. But there has been so many ugly stories about online dating, such as people claiming to be something they’re not. Now I know there has been many success stories of online matches. But I’ve heard some horror stories as well. I’m not that old fashioned, and I think the Internet/21st century technology can be used for doing wonderful things. Meeting your soul mate shouldn’t be one of them. What ever happen to 1st dates, meeting people at socials, or dare I say it because I don’t want to encourage too many people, even the bar scene? Human interaction has linked men and women together for millennium. Don’t you think human interaction will work for our generation too?
Over in the Computer Geeks office,? one of the more common problems clients ask us to assist them with are phony solicitations for anti-malware programs. When browsing the internet, users encounter bogus virus and spyware alerts that prompt them to input personal information:
Credit card #
Checking Account #
Social security #
Address and telephone #
These are more commonly referred to as “Phishing”viruses. Understandably, many of them are concerned about surrendering such sensitive information, worried that it?ll be used for purposes other than facilitating the purchase of software that will protect their system against malware.
Well, they?re right.
Our clients will? happen upon a website that spawns a number of pop-ups alerting them to the presence of viruses and spyware,? ending with a solicitation for the purchase of? non-existent anti-malware software. In response to these pop-ups, users usually attempt to close the windows, resulting in the emergence of even more pop-ups.
One of the more notorious nuisances of this sort is Antivirus 2009. Masked as a legitimate program that removes viruses, this annoyance infects the client?s system with spyware, inundating them with pop-ups that insist that they purchase an ?upgraded? version of software that doesn’t exist.
Similar bugs go by the name of:
Winantispyware
Antispyware Pro XP
Anti-virus Lab 2009
If you?re ever met with one of these pop-ups, do NOT click on anything ? do NOT close the window, click on ?No,? or type in a single field. If you?re taken to another website, do NOT click on any of the links.
Instead, Press CTRL-ALT-DELETE, which will bring up your task manager. When reviewing the list of processes, you will notice one that is linked to your internet browser. Highlight that process and click on ?End task,? a button located at the bottom of your task manager window. This will close your internet browser, including any pop-ups it has spawned.
While the pop-ups are momentarily done away with, simply terminating your internet browser will not completely solve the problem, as the source of the issue remains. If left unaddressed, the spyware will continue to see that you’re harassed by pop-ups each time you use the internet
The safest thing you could possibly do on New Year?s Eve is not drink, not go out, not do anything.?You?re probably going to go out, anyway.?You?re probably going to go to some party and you?re probably going to drink. A lot. You?ll dance terribly. You?ll tell someone that you love them. This person is someone you do not love.
New Year?s Day is also the worst day for drunk driving accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Over half of all fatal accidents on New Year?s Day happen in the early morning hours and with drivers?with a blood alcohol level over .08 percent.
We hope you don?t make an ass of yourself and we hope you don?t try to drive while drunk. But just in case you do have a bit too much to drink, here are some?tech tools to help you save yourself from your drunk self this New Year?s Eve:
Uber surge pricing might make you feel like you?re forking over what?s left of your rent money on New Year?s but it?s worth taking that or a cab home if you are too drunk to drive. Breathometer helps you know definitively if you are too?inebriated to drive by blowing into either the wireless or original breathalyzer device and then testing your BAC level. For $50-$100 plus a free app, it?s cheaper than most breathalyzers out there.
Hint: if you are having trouble navigating through the testing process, you are too drunk. Seriously, test yourself before you even think of getting behind the wheel.
Drunk texting is one of the more incriminating things you can do while intoxicated. Someone else has the evidence of your embarrassing moment.?You might find yourself drinking more than you planned and then whipping out your smartphone in the corner of the room at a New Year?s Eve party and?texting someone?incoherently.
There are several apps that attempt to prevent you from texting while drunk. Drunk Mode hides certain people from your contacts list for up to 12 hours when you tell it you?re about to go drinking. It also helps you locate your drunk friends with the ?Find My Drunk? feature. And just in case you can?t remember a thing, the ?Breadcrumbs? feature helps you retrace your steps, your delirious, embarrassing steps from last night.
Remember when we told you not to drive drunk? Well, this device will make sure you don?t. It?s?a?member of?ignition interlock technology and it is normally geared toward those who have a problem with drunk driving. A?third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated?are?those with a previous record, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. California State Senator Jerry Hill has a proposal in the works to require all convicted felons residing in the state to have one of these devices in their car.
The device allows the driver to turn on the ignition in their car only if they blow a BAC below the legally required limit to drive. It?s also pretty pricey.?These devices run anywhere from $500-$1600 and are usually installed by a car dealership.
You drank too much, you know you shouldn?t be driving?but you?don?t want to leave your car where it?s parked for whatever reason. Do not drive! For about $40 + $2.65/mile,?StearClear will hire someone?to drive your car for you. It?s possibly more expensive than a cab (on any night besides New Year?s) but cheaper than getting your car towed. It promises not to ?hyper inflate or invoke surge pricing on weekends or peak travel times so this may be a good alternative to Uber.
This is a similar service to StearClear but costs about $35/hour + $2.40/mile. It?s made for corporate executives but can be used as an alternative to get?you or your drunk friend?s car?home safely, too.
If you do happen to get behind the wheel after drinking and you happen to live in L.A. there?s an app that will alert you to DUI checkpoints. Mr. Checkpoint says it helps prevent drunk driving and wrongful arrests. The founder tells us , ?I personally have been wrongfully arrested for DUI and sued the city.??To?be clear, this app?alerts you to the checkpoint. Drunks can use it to avoid getting arrested,?spending the night in jail (or longer) and handing over thousands in fines. How it prevents drunk driving is a mystery.
One day we will have self-driving cars and possibly built-in?alcohol detection systems in all our technology. For now we have apps and devices that require you to take responsibility for your actions on your own, before things get out of hand. But people keep on being people and not heeding the warning signs or taking measures to prevent themselves from acting like idiots. Consider this post a PSA and stay safe out there.
