Shouldn’t social media be the perfect place to debate social, political and spiritual issues? Since it’s a social no-no to talk about sex, religion and politics at the dinner table,? surely you can vent it all on the Internet, right? Maybe not.
According to studies done by Pew Charitable Research and Rutgers University, sites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and You Tube actually hinders debate. In fact, these studies suggests social media websites silences public opinion all together, especially if it goes against the crowd. What’s happening is that in social media, just like in the real world, we surround ourselves and friend ourselves with people just like us. And we want to remain in good standing with our friends and followers, so we don’t dare post anything that could be looked at as different, challenging, or controversial. But they’re more complex issues behind this kind of online conformity. Twitter just said it will allow anyone to read your tweets, whether they’re followers or not. Facebook says it will hide certain stories. It’s well known employers, landlords, and other authority figures can and often do check peoples’ social media sites. Then there is the social epidemic of cyber bulling.? Nobody wants to be the victim of that. Not too many people want to be seen as the cyber bully either.
Social media conformity, to me, is disturbing and sad. This almost reads like jr. high or high school all over again. How many people fought and died for the right to speak our mind, no matter how unpopular it is, so long as we don’t put anyone in harm’s way. If you’re uncomfortable with what he/she said, just un-friend or dis-follow them. Crackdowns on certain social media sited aren’t helping. I have been long against employers checking social media pages as some litmus test if someone gets hired or fired. And as far as cyber bulling as concerned, please, let’s be disagreeable, but respectable about it. I know it’s cool to many to people to see how many likes they can get, but isn’t that falling into a popularity contest? Shouldn’t we make social media a place where all ideas are heard and respected, not just those that are conforming, cool and popular?
Today in the grandest city of them all, New York City, HTC showed us all its new Windows Phone, the HTC One M8 For Windows Phone! From Customizing your own home screen, to linking with your Xbox One, this phone looks killer. Now this is not a new phone that you haven’t seen, it actually came out earlier this year running the latest and greatest of Android OS. But for those of us who don’t really like the Android OS, and are more used to our Windows 8.1 PC and XboxOne consloe, the?HTC One M8 For Windows will perfectly sync with everything.
From the great aluminum design, to the use of Microsoft’s live tiles to the Epic Audio, HTC Boomsound, the?HTC One M8 For Windows Phone brings it. Cortana is Microsoft’s answer for Siri, and is faster and smarter, and able to help you with anything from finding a restaurant to scheduling your whole life. Which is great if ?you are a busy person, like a lawyer or restaurant owner who is always on the go, and having a reliable personal assistant in your pocket comes in handy.
My favorite part of the HTC One M8 for Windows Phone is how easily it syncs with my XboxOne which already syncs with my entire home. I no longer have to worry where my kids put the remote, or get up off the couch to turn off the lights or fix my thermostat (I have fully integrated my home with my XboxOne) now my phone will do it all for me. My entire home in the palm of my hand. This is the future we were told about when watching cartoons as kids, and now it’s easier.
Price-point for this phone is set at $99.99 with a 2 year contract and is available through Verizon Wireless only. As always if you would like some help syncing your new HTC One M8 for Windows Phone with your PC at home or at work, Computer Geeks is a full service residential and business IT service that can help you do it all!
?Below are some of the specs for the?HTC One M8 for Windows Phone:
General
Size: 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm
Weight: 160 grams
Display: 5.0 inch, Full HD 1080p
CPU Speed
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU
Platform
Windows Phone 8.1.1 with Cortana
HTC BlinkFeed
Memory
2GB of RAM
32 GB of onboard storage
Expansion card slot support for microSD cars up to 128 GB
Sensors
Accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Gyro sensor
Barometer sensor
Connectivity
3.5 mm stereo audio jack
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX enabled
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz)
DLNA for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
Micro-USB 2.0
Microsoft Project My Screen
Miracast
Support consumer infrared remote control
Sound
HTC BoomSound
Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
Twitter followers are seeing tweets favored by others on their page, and are getting notifications when their followers follow someone else. At first it was just a handful of users that were being subjected to this. Now, more and more followers are. It doesn’t seem to be a hit. One Tweeter user says, “Twitter [is] filling my feed with stuff I didn’t ask for…”.? This isn’t the first experiment that’s upsetting consumers. Other experiments like removing Bing translation and embedding Tweets have only caused confusion and frustration among Twitter users everywhere. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just listen to these dissatisfied customers. One person said, “Why does my twitter timeline randomly show me what people have [favored] and who they follow?” Someone else said, “I I do not wanna see what people [favored] on my timeline…” Now, there’s talk of Twitter building a Facebook style platform. That means content on your page will be randomly selected for you.
Look, I can appreciate Twitter trying to provide better service and I can even appreciate them using trial and error to do so. But isn’t there a better way than this? I don’t have all the answers, but maybe a survey of people who will willingly partake in such tests is a good start. And from the looks of things, these tests aren’t working. My suggestion to Twitter is don’t tick off your fans so much they won’t Tweet anymore. Yes, it can happen. I’ve seen it myself. So let’s stop the testing. And I wonder what will the next uninvited, unwanted Tweet I will get on my Twitter page?
Ever see a movie or TV show that is so bad you can’t help but go see it again? Is the Facebook Messenger App in that category?
The Facebook Messenger app is the number one free app in the App Store today. It also has the dreaded one star rating. Many people are very upset since Facebook forced Apple and Android device users into Facebook Messenger. This app is nothing new. It was created in 2011, but users have been hesitant on using it; now it’s being pushed onto the consumer. The one star rating is in App Stores all over the world, okay, maybe some nations have mercy and give it a two star rating. The only reason still has a four star rating on Android is because Android combines the old Facebook app and the new messenger app ratings. And even there, the reviews on Facebook Messenger are hardly anything good.
Every concern imaginable, from poor uploading to privacy issues, is what’s holding Facebook back. Previous changes haven’t worked so well for them either. I’ve been asked, “How is this any different than what Microsoft did to Windows XP back in April?” Well, by April, Windows had newer and better versions, so most people were comfortable with switching. Facebook Messenger App was the only plan, and few are happy with it. Plus, nobody really likes to be forced into doing something. That’s just human nature. People have gotten so comfortable with the old Facebook app and now to change everything is a breeding ground for disgruntle consumers. Will Facebook learn anything from this?
#1- You’ve Been Searching for Hours, but still can’t find the “Any” Key
Chances are if you think that the “any” key exists, when you get hit with a virus, you’re not going to be able to remove it yourself. And to the best of our knowledge here the “tab” key never dispenses soda, as awesome as that would be. If you are having problems setting up a new computer, Computer Geeks is the one to call!
#2 Someone told you “the files are IN the computer” so you smashed it open, only to find nothing..
The files in your computer shouldn’t be hard to find, if you are having issues with Data Recovery, I suggest calling Computer Geeks to get the files out, just a bit more gently.
#3 If you cannot describe your issue, chances are you can’t fix it
If this is you, then we can still help. The key to giving your Computer Geeks representative the information he needs, is to simply ask yourself “What does the computer do when you turn it on?” Do you get a blue screen? Does it say Hard Disk not found? or are you just not connecting to the internet? Whatever the issue, we’ve got you covered.
#4 You’re Knowledge of how your business network functions may not be at 100%
Business Networking is a complex thing. Something as simple as sharing a file with a coworker, rather than sharing it with everyone could be the difference between you having a job and not having one. Even though you get more phone numbers from it. Computer Geeks specializes in Business Networking and can make sure you and your staff are properly trained on all of the inner-workings.
#5 You want to buy a new computer, but don’t understand what all the techy stuff is.
Buying a new computer can be a scary thing. How much RAM do you need? What kind of Processor is best? How big of a Hard Drive do you need? If any of these questions alludes you Computer Geeks can help. Not only do we do any computer repair you may have, we also sell computers too. We can have a professional tech assess your computer needs and make sure you get into the right machine for you, at the right price.
Apple is racking up the acquisitions, especially when it comes to all things music, news and radio. Now it’s adding another new kid on the block.
Swell is a news radio app and works as a Pandora talk radio app. Rumor has it Apple is about to buy them out for around $30 million. It’s raised millions from investors like Google Ventures. Swell’s partners include ABC News and NPR, National Public Radio. They’ve gotten praise from Time and Forbes magazines. Despite these powerful allies, they can’t seem to find a wide audience. This is where Apple comes in.
Apple has it’s own news and information style app, but it’s hardly getting anywhere. It ranks 1.5 out of 5 stars. Swell has been testing an Android app, but nothing ever came of it. But despite struggling to find regular users, the fan base Swell does have is extremely passionate and loyal. So this sounds like a hand and glove situation. Apple needs a good news radio app and Swells needs a major audience. Ironic this comes at a time Apple is purchasing earphone giant Beats, and a book suggestion app called Book Lamp. Apple seems to be building all the tools for a powerful radio/music based network. Will it work?
