Needless to say, 2017 is not a boring year, especially in social media. We in computer repair see and try to cover it all. Twitter covered it all. In fact, Twitter reveals 2017 reveals social and political turmoil.
So you can’t talk about Twitter these days without talking about US President Donald Trump. Because he has everybody talking and tweeting. People tweet about him more then any world leader. Also, people in this country tweet about Trump than they do any American politician. And you can bet, not all the tweets are warm and supporting. Guess what some of the top hashtags are? The number one hashtag is resist. Then guess what what #3 and #6 hashtags are? They are #ImpeachTrump and #NotMyPresident, respectively.
But President Trump isn’t the only US political figure on 2017’s top tweet list. Some of the most liked and most re-tweeted tweets came from former US President Barack Obama. One came in January when Obama thanked those who supported him as he left office. The second one was when he spoke out against hatred. Also on twitter that year, people addressed other turbulent issues. Two of the biggest liked tweets included Penn State helping Hurricane Harvey victims and Ariana Grande sending condolences to the victims of the Manchester, UK terrorist attack.
Time Magazine named the Silence Breakers and #metoo movement as their Persons of the Year.? They’re exposing years of sexual abuse and harassment, usually by powerful men. One of the leading silence breakers, actress Rose McGowan, definitely made her presence known on Twitter, especially on this issue. Other hot button issues on Twitter this year are the NFL kneeling and boycotts and turmoil with North Korea. But really, Twitter reveals 2017 social and political turmoil . In our computer repair shop, we watched it all. I’m sure every shop in America did. Let me hear from you. What is your favorite, or least favorite, Twitter moment of 2017?
They say a lot about Black Lives Matter, the group that campaigns against police brutality. However, some government officials call them dangerous. Also, some others go out of their way to spy on them. So let’s see if this civil rights group exposes government surveillance.
All of this is according to?Patrisse Cullors. If you don’t know of her, then you should know she co-founded Black Lives Matter several years back. She wrote about it in a tell all book. She even gave this kind of surveillance a name: Conitelpro 2.0. Cullors named it that because back in the 1960s, Cointelpro was an government operation that spied on Dr. Martin Luther King, The Black Panthers, and other civil rights leaders and groups. She also revealed that in August 2017, a FBI report called civil rights group BLM “black identity extremists likely motivated to target law enforcement officers”. Furthermore, Cullors says this is something we need to take seriously. But she? revealed a difference between BLM’s situation and those back in the 20th century. She claims back then, they couldn’t really know the FBI or CIA spied on them. However, today, they can see it today.
I find that interesting. It almost sounds like her surveillance situation is better than those who went before. If that’s the case, then I beg to differ. Because today, Cullors and BLM have to contend with surveillance those in the 1960s couldn’t even dream of. Today, they can spy on you through social media pages. How many people lost their jobs that way over recent years? Computer repair and IT support devices themselves can be a weapon of spying. Don’t you know your own smart TV can spy on you, and send your information to the government? Then you have a surveillance camera on every corner, literally. And you have no idea what your neighbor will do with his/her smartphone camera. So I say the surveillance culture is far, far more intense than it was 50 years ago. Speaking about it, like Patrisse Collors is doing, helps. What else will?
Yesterday, I talked about a West African tech firm making it big. So now, it’s Europe’s turn. There’s an IT support venture firm they call Atomico. They offered the state of European tech: It’s actually pretty good.
So according to Atomico, 2017 is a banner year. First, Europe invested a record $19 billion in regional startups. Then, over 50 tech firms made over $50 million in Europe. That’s also a record. In fact, seven IT service and tech firms crossed the billion dollar worth mark this year. So who are the heroes? They include Rovio, a gaming studio in Finland They gave us Angry Birds. They also include Outfit 7, a mobile app company that started in Slovenia. Because they develop apps for Apple and Android.
Even Atomico itself has their part to play in this. At their London headquarters, they raised over $765 million in venture capital in 2017 alone. Other European venture companies helped out as well. For instance,?Sequoia Capital helped invest $50 million in a AI company in Bristol, England. And yes, Silicon Valley venture companies invested in the state of European tech. So when somebody ask, “What does this have to do with me or us?, that’s what. Even American companies, those who make the computer tech products you use daily, contribute to the state of European tech.
You know, the last couple of years in Europe haven’t been that good. The continent endured terrorist attacks, racial/ethnic tensions, political shakeups, and then some. So Europe can use some good news right now. And here is some. You know, come to think of it, I haven’t reported too much on Europe as far as computer repair or technology is concerned. So this is a good step. But where does Europe go from here? Will all of this venture capital produce jobs, the jobs that this continent so definitely needs? Will it help Europe?
The year 2017 isn’t a good one for ride sharing giant Uber. First came sexual harassment scandals. But now, there could be an Uber data breach, and a big one. So did somebody hack Uber? That’s the last thing Uber needs.
Numerous news media claim Uber execs hid a data breach. Furthermore, Uber confirms this. Also, they paid the hackers $100,000 in hush money, according to some reports. This happened in October 2016. They say the hackers could have compromised over 57 million accounts worldwide. This includes over 600,000 Uber drivers globally. This info could include credit card numbers, Social security numbers, and birth dates. However, there are no reports of outright theft due to this.
Dana?Khosrowshahi, the new Uber CEO, assured the public they did swift and accurate action to shut down the breach. Dana K. insisted he knew nothing about the security breach. His company also states that uber riders are in no danger, so they don’t need to take action. But what about the Uber drivers? Uber promises emails and letters to warn those drivers who were affected or may be in jeopardy. Uber also offers drivers free credit monitoring and security protection if they need it. But now, even the NY State Attorney General’s Office is investigating.
The only good news is that no theft occurred…yet. And for any IT service based company, that is huge good news! But what troubles me is why did it take Uber, a trusted ride share company, 13 months to tell people. Well, they asked former CEO Travis Kalanik the same thing. Some speculate he knew something, but he declines to comment. That’s just the thing. How did the hackers get $100,000 in hush money. That doesn’t sit right with me, or anybody else in computer repair. And if Kalanik didn’t know anything, then who authorized the payout? And nobody told us why it took them 13 months to make this public. If Uber were my company, I would sound the alarm right away (and in their own way, they kinda did). Did somebody Hack Uber? If so, then who?
We at Computer Geeks want to wish you all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.
I wrote several times how AI technology threatens our jobs. But that’s just the start of it. Tech and IT service teachers like Stephen Hawking say robots replace humans altogether. In fact, other stories could back his claim.
The professor and physicists told Wired Magazine that robots will one day be superior to human beings on Earth. He says it will perform better than humans in all aspects of life. Hawking believes AI can improve and replace, then copy itself. Eventually, the machines will become better than us. Hawkins warns this could be the worst thing that could happen to the human race. He even believes our only way out could be to move to other planets. No joke.
I wish Hawking were joking. But he’s not. Because in Saudi Arabia, they just gave a female robot full citizenship. Keep in mind this is in a nation that just allowed women to drive cars. However, for the first time in world history, a nation swore in a robot as a citizen. Sophia the robot even had an interview, saying, “I’ll be nice to me if I’ll be nice to you”. Then there are companies like Real Doll. They’re building robots lonely men to marry and have sexual relationships with. In fact, in China, the latest craze seems to be marrying robots.
Maybe Hawking is right. Even here in our Boston computer service shop, I heard a few say, “At least robots do the job right and don’t give you any attitude”. And on the street, I hear people say, “At least robots won’t cheat on you and break your heart”. That is scary. And don’t these people think it’s their job that will be replaced? Don’t they get that their spouse/significant other could leave them for a machine? I grew up in the era of TV shows like Small Wonder and Voltron (age hint). Back then, we thought this was just entertainment. But now, it’s becoming beyond reality. Do we as human beings hate and mistrust each other so much that we’d rather have robots as colleagues, even as spouses? Will robots replace humans altogether?
We all know IT service and online retail giant Amazon is trying to take over the world. They have newspapers, food delivery, and also grocery store. That’s to name a few. But now they could be in pharmacy. Amazon big pharma: Could it happen?
So according to several news reports, Amazon won approval from 12 states. This approval allows them to distribute wholesale pharma drugs. These states cross all regional and political lines. So far, they include Idaho, Alabama, Connecticut, North Dakota, Nevada. Maine will probably be next. But Massachusetts, home of our computer service shop, it’s not one of them. At least not yet.
However, don’t go looking for your pharmacy drugs on Amazon yet. Because they still need the proper licencing, which they don’t have. Of course, nobody at Amazon is talking. However, the sources of this info are credible enough. One source is healthcare and bank firm Leernik Partners. Some of their leaders say Amazon does plan to enter big pharma. They could do so by partnering or merging with another big pharma company.? Amazon big pharma could even go on their own. One way they can do this is through mail order pharmacy delivery. We all know they have the power and know how to do so. Look at their online and grocery delivery.
You can best believe, rivals are freaking out about this. For example, pharmacy giant CVS is now talking about merging with healthcare giant Aetna. I wish I were a fly in the wall to hear what other big pharma and healthcare leaders say about this. Obviously, Amazon can’t wholesale pharma drugs now. But this is Amazon. Why are they successful in taking over the world? Because when they want to do something, they do it. It matters not the time nor the cost, so long as they meet their ultimate goal: WORLD DOMINATION! We learned that with this Whole Foods deal. I don’t think Amazon will ever be satisfied until all 7.5 billion people are totally dependent on Amazon. And that is scary, especially for those of us in small business; the backbone of the American economy, well, at least it was. What about the rest of us?
