I’m a big football fan, college as well as the NFL. But I like to keep up with things that go on beyond the playing field. So these are my favorite football apps.
10. Twitter App: Athletes are notorious for their tweets. This app lets me know what they’re saying and how they’re thinking.
9. Food Network in the Kitchen: Because football is a lot more fun to watch while eating with other people. It’s great for football parties! You can even learn to make great drinks with this app.
8. Stubhub App: For those who are lucky enough to attend a NFL game live,?or a SEC game live, this is the way to get tickets without long lines or shady scalpers.
7. iOdds: I don’t encourage or endorse sports gambling at all! But if you’re curious at what the odds are of your team winning, this is the app for you.
6. Ultimate College Football: It’s a fast updating app. You can even upload your photos from the stands, if you’re fortunate enough to go to a game. It’s a great way to keep up with game schedules.
5. NFL Trash Talk: It’s a chat room where you can release your inner Stephen A. Smith (whoops! Did I say that aloud). One room is with your favorite team and one is with the team you’re playing against that week. Bond with your fellow football fans, while verbally running opposing fans into the ground!
4. College Football Scoreboard: It does what it says and more. You can also keep up with standings and all the college football news, collectively and breaking it down to conferences and teams.
3. NFL Pro: Do you go through football withdrawal? NFL Pro is perfect! It’s?a free app, and the graphics rival that of?All Madden. You can be your favorite team by playing this game. And it’s a lot less complicated?than Fantasy Football.
2. ESPN:?This speaks for itself. Find everything you want about pro and college football. Watch the play by play through?gamecast. It’s worth getting an account through these guys because then, you can get all the custom features,?too many to name here.
1.?NFL Mobile: What better way?to get all things NFL than straight from the source? It includes scores, schedules, merchandise, tickets, and yes, even fantasy football. Even the news is?strictly from NFL.com. This app is simple,?yet the ultimate must have for any?NFL fan.
When we found out the National Security Advisory was checking in on our smartphones and computers, without search warrants, our knowledge or our approval, many believed the NSA and computer and phone companies were in cahoots with each other. As we later learned, that wasn’t often the case. Now, another tech giant is taking on the issue.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg tackled the issue at a Tech Crunch conference. He insists he didn’t give the government access to servers. He claimed the NSA “…blew it on communicating the balance of what they were going for with this.” Facebook and Yahoo are filing a suit asking FISA’s blessing to publish more data on the government’s request for people’s information. But it doesn’t stop there. Next week, Zuckerberg goes to Washington and meet with Congress. Right to privacy issues and NSA privacy leaks are expected to be hot topics.
Nonetheless, I do find it suspect that Zuckerberg is only meeting with top Republicans, including John Boehner. Forgive my cynicism, but if he wanted to tackle the surveillance issue, shouldn’t he be meeting with both sides of the isle? Then I read about his other political contributions, and that makes me a little more suspect. I’m not suspect about his intentions about the NSA. I’m sure he’s doing this to protect his best interest and his users. He knows much of the public is sick and tired of this kind of spying. What if people stop using Facebook because of these NSA revelations? He can’t have that, can he? So business wise, I believe he’s sincere about taking on gov’t surveillance. But the cynic part comes in when I read about how he’s only meeting with top people from one party. Add that into the thousands he’s contributed to other politicians, and the millions Facebook has given to lobbyists. So what are Zuckerberg’s intentions: are they for us or for his own social/political intentions?
Can you believe 20 years ago there was no Yahoo or Google? Can you believe 10 years ago there was no You Tube, Facebook or Twitter? Now we can hardly picture life without them. They had to start somewhere. Now, many start-ups are striving to be the next big thing. Who are they?
Well, there’s Snapchat. This app allows people to send embarrassing messages and photos to others, then they self-destruct in a matter of seconds. I know that sounds like something from Mission Impossible. But it can be really neat to see those embarrassing party pictures go bye-bye before wondering eyes. So far, approximately 20 million messages are dealt with daily with Snapchat. There’s the Oculus VR. It’s a virtual reality game console you put around your head. They’re still working on it, and it won’t be available to the public until 2014 at the earliest. It’s getting great critiques at expos. So virtual head games isn’t your thing. Since the early 2000s, online shopping has been as big as mall or downtown shopping. Here’s where Wanelo comes in. This is geared towards online shoppers who shop out of hobby, not out of necessity, and for those who like collecting funky items. There must be a lot of you out there, because the site has over 10 million users. For gamers, there’s King. It’s a simple game, but addictive. King has 45 million players, more than Spotify or Texas Hold Em’ Poker.
Obviously,?I’m just scratching the surface.? But don’t be surprised a few years?from now, these names are as mainstream as?Instagram. ?How will they get their big break? Some have just crept on the scene, some burst in the scene. Some have been bought by bigger companies, like Yahoo bought Tumblr, or Facebook bought Instagram. Whose is going to be the next online big thing?
A team of British scientist are working on it. According to these physicists’, that’s where quantum cryptography?comes in.? You see, quantum cryptography is controlled by physics, not by math. Physics can’t be broken. If two people parties are in communication and a third party wants to break in, he’d have to solve a math problem to do so. But with quantum cryptography, there would be no problem to solve, so the third party couldn’t go hacking. It once took lots of serious hardware to accomplish this, but now, it looks like that is changing.
Imagine that. Imagine exchanging emails or text messages or making a purchase with a device. And an ID thief is on the other side trying to break in and get your financial information. With quantum cryptography, they can’t get in. I can’t guarantee this will stop all cyber security woes. But?while the cyber world is a blessing, it’s getting?increasingly dangerous. I’ve done stories myself?about nations hacking nations, and about the disturbing trend of sextortion. But if this quantum cryptography can at least decrease this threat, isn’t it worth taking a looking into?
No, the headline isn’t a typo. Yahoo is #1 in web property, as far as unique visitors per month. Why is this such a tremendous story and feat?
The last time Yahoo was #1 in web property visits, George W. Bush was president, few people had ever heard of Twitter, and the iPhone was in it’s first generation and in it’s infancy. That’s right: March 2008 was the last time Yahoo beat out all competitors in getting first time visitors to their site and keeping overall visitors (although some stats say 2011 was the last time Yahoo was #1, I’m sticking to my March 2008 stat). Google has held this honor for five years running, with Microsoft running a fairly distant third. Also, note that Tumblr, Yahoo’s biggest acquisition, isn’t even included. And they were ranked #28 out of the top 50. So this could be the beginning of a major run.
This also goes to show people that Yahoo’s comeback is real. I was a little skeptical about all these acquisitions and CEO Marissa Meyer changing the office culture, but I must say, it seems to be working. At one time in the past 12 months, stocks were at $14.59. As of today, they’re around double that. Though this is off the subject, I noticed in ’08, Facebook was #15 on the list. Today, it’s #4. Just an observation. Is this a sign Yahoo is coming back, or is this just a one hit wonder?
In much of the country, especially in my circles, the Internet is something taken for granted these days. Then I saw this map. There are nations in which less than 10% of people have Internet access. Even in rising economies like India and China, the number is lower than I thought. There are people and companies trying to change that.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg is leading the charge to make the Internet accessible to those that don’t have it. Samsung, Nokia and Qualcomm are among those helping with this cause. Their tool is called Internet.org. They want to cut the cost of delivering Internet services, through computer or smartphone. They also want to make apps run more efficiently and improve networks to transport data better with less battery power. In one Interview, Zuckerberg claims, “The Internet is such an important thing for driving humanity forward, but it?s not going to build itself.”
On one hand, I applaud these efforts. These days, everyone around the world should have the right to have Internet access. In 2013, the Internet shouldn’t be a privilege, but a right. In many cases, it’s not a luxury, but a necessity. And people should have that choice and opportunity to use online services. But then the cynic in me kick in. There’s a part of me that wonders if this a tool to make more money for these companies. They know developed nations can only give them so much business, and here is a new source of revenue. So why is Zuckerberg and this Internet.org coalition doing this? Is it humanitarian, business, or a bit of both?
