Jul 31, 2014 | Wireless
Samsung is losing ground. It’s reporting their first quarter year-to-year drop in almost three years, thanks to intensifying competition. Investors are selling off their stock. What to do?
Build, promote, and sell new smartphones. Samsung is planning the launch of not one, but two new phones in the next six months. One model is expected to have a large screen, while the other model is said to have “new materials”, whatever that means. Could it mean bendable screens? Ironically, Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone similar in size soon. The other model will be lower brow, but still have cool models and features. Their goal is to produce high class phones but sell them at a reasonable price. Hopefully, people will buy lots of these and Samsung will make a good profit.
But is selling two new brand of phones within a few months a good idea? It sounds like Samsung is struggling with the products it has already. During this borderline disastrous quarter, Samsung shipped 74.3 million phones. That sounds great, but they were expecting to ship 90 million. The launch of Galaxy S5 didn’t help matters much. Now it’s banking on two new phones the public knows little about to bail them out. I think they should take some time to find out what went wrong this quarter. Yes, competition is intensifying, especially in Asia, but that’s just one factor. What if these two phones are complete flops and Samsung digs themselves into an even deeper hole? Is this double launch a good idea or is it bound to backfire?
Jul 30, 2014 | News
Back on Thursday, July 24, 2014, Microsoft found itself in federal court in New York. They challenged the federal government over forcing tech companies giving them emails in international data centers.
The battle started in December 2013. Federal officials gave Microsoft a search warrant requesting Microsoft turn over emails of a certain person over an illegal drug investigation. The emails they were after were stored in Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft has a data center there and it serves international customers. Microsoft believes a US search warrant shouldn’t be valid beyond the US border. Government officials argue emails in a cloud belong less to you and more to the cloud/business provider. Business records have lower protection than personal records do. And because of this, some government officials say it has authority to get emails worldwide.
This is where my cynicism kicks in. I’m not disputing the law. And I believe in safety and justice. So if this person is in illegal drugs, they need to be brought to justice…in a legal and ethical way. But I wonder if this is just an excuse to spy and snoop. Ever hear of the phrase, ‘You give and inch, you take a mile’? Is this is an excuse for the US government to read emails around the world? I’m not giving Microsoft a medal of honor either. This is a business move. They know 83% of American voters believe cloud info deserve the same protection as paper info. Do you think Microsoft would be fighting this hard if only 38% of American voters Who will win this argument: the US or Microsoft?
Jul 29, 2014 | internet, News
Earlier this summer, Facebook found itself in controversy. Reports revealed Facebook deliberately manipulated other people’s emotions. Now a popular dating site was caught doing the same.
OK Cupid’s CEO Christian Rudder admitted to such psychological mind games. He admits this site has removed text from people’s profiles, removed photos, and told people they were compatible matches, when in reality, they were poor matches. These experiments reveled when profiles while removed, people had more in depth conversations. When profile pictures are left, conversations are far less. The reason OK Cupid told people they were 90% compatible when they were really 30% compatible was in hopes they could get together and OK Cupid would get the credit.
Christian Rudder makes no apologies. He defends these practices, pretty much claiming he’s just doing what other websites do all the time. He says, “…if you use the Internet, you’re the subject of hundreds of experiments on any given time, on every site.” Remember when our parents used to tell us, “If everybody else jumped off a bridge…?” You know the rest. So I don’t accept this as an excuse to manipulate, lie and deceive the public. But is he right? This and the Facebook controversy makes me wonder how many more social media sites are using deceptive tactics to play with people’s minds. I’m not saying it’s right. I think this whole operation is morally and ethically wrong. If I went around blatantly lying to people like OK Cupid did, I’d be either fired, arrested, or in some situations, even worse. Who is going to be the next website we hear of do this?
Jul 28, 2014 | networking
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?
Jul 27, 2014 | Computer technology, News
A solar flare hits the Earth, causing massive blackouts. There’s no smartphone, computer, television, or radio to be had. We’re knocked back to the American Civil War era. Sounds like a great TV pilot, right? In real life, it almost happened.
Back on July 23 2012, a solar storm barely missed the Earth’s orbit. If that same storm crossed our path nine days earlier, it would’ve sent all technology worldwide into chaos. According to the National Academy of Sciences, a solar flare like the one back in July 2012 hitting Earth could cost over two trillion dollars in damage, put 130 million people in the dark, and take years to rebuild from. In 1859, a solar flare called the Carrington event did hit the earth. On average, a flare hits us every 150 years. A little overdue, don’t you think?
This is why the solar flare issue needs to be addressed. In the 1850s, the worst that happened what the telegraph system going a muck. Today, our computer systems, technology, Internet, electricity, sewage systems, communication services, fuel supply, even access to food and clean water could all take a hit if one hit us today. I’m not preaching fear by any means, but I do think we need to be aware. And talking about it is the first step to preparation. The second step is building a warning system, kind of like what we have for severe weather today. Why are we hearing about this potentially dangerous flare two years later? A logical step would be create technological products and systems that can better stand up to such a threat. What else can be done to keep us protected from an event of this magnitude?
Jul 26, 2014 | General
Yesterday I talked about European governments intervening on technological issues. Today, I learn the Federal government has addressed the issue of cell phone ‘unlocking’.
The House of Representatives passed legislation allowing people to unlock cell phones and? switch from one carrier to another. Both parties, consumer advocate groups, and even the wireless industry backed the legislation. This bill, called the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, would counter act the 2012 decision of the Librarian of Congress. That 2012 decision says anyone who unlock their phone to switch providers after their contract ends would violate copyright laws. So the barrier of switching carriers is broken.
This is a huge step in the right direction. Can you imagine being in legal trouble just because you wanted to change your phone carrier, especially if the previous carrier treated you wrong? President Obama praised this action, saying this gives Americans choices and better flexibility. And this goes to show Congress can actually get things done. You know, Americans’ view of Congress over isn’t very high. But this shows when, or should I say if, our elected leaders can put partisan differences aside, and put the needs of the people first, things can get done that will actually benefit the people. What more bills can be passed with this kind of cooperation?
Jul 25, 2014 | internet, Security
In Europe, Google has implemented a ‘right to be forgotten’ service. What is that?
Google will delete countless links from it’s search engine. In May 2014, the European Union’s top court granted Europeans the right to request Google and other search engines remove information about them. So that when someone types their name up, that information will not exist. In the two months that followed, so far, Google has received 91,000 request throughout the continent, removing over 328,000 websites and URLs. Not all requests have been acted upon, but they will be. Microsoft has been watching this ruling close. Some European leaders are calling for even stricter privacy rights laws. But not all embrace the right to be forgotten. One UK group called Society of Editors believes this will lead to censorship and even kill freedom of speech throughout Europe.
Why do I even bring this up? First off, someone in Europe may read this. Second off, the right to be forgotten could be a trend throughout the world. Privacy rights vs. technology has been a hot button issue here in the United States and other nations for years. So the condition is just ripe for this ruling to come to other continents. Will right to be forgotten be embraced in the US? Maybe. I can think of many who would sign up for it. My only concern would be if a criminal or predator sign up for it and ask for his records to be removed from search engine sites. Then you’d have no way to conduct criminal background checks. Other than that, I would have no problem with right to be forgotten. If this came to the US, would you sign up for it?
Jul 24, 2014 | networking
Remember when Facebook stocks struggled to hover around $20 a share? Facebook, you have come a long way, baby!
This morning, July 24, 2014, Facebook stocks opened at over $76 a share, beating the record of $72 back in March 2014. Their shares increased 173% since since summer 2013. It’s also one of the most traded stocks on Wall St. today. While they’re soaring, other technology stocks have decreased nearly 20% since March. What’s the cause of this rally? Several factors contribute to this. Mobile ads are the fuel behind this record pace profit machine. Mobile advertising alone was responsible for nearly two-thirds of ad profits. Facebook offers more services than it used to. It has a video ad app. It’s newest acquisition, Live Rail, is expected to help with video promos. Facebook also acquired the What’s App and are rumored to start making headsets with Oculus VR.
There’s one more thing: more users. Facebook has 1.32 billion accounts. There’s 7.1 billion people in the world today. You do the math. The average US user spends 40 minutes a day on the social media website. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is involved with charitable ventures. One is getting Internet connection around the world. So these ingredients are taking Facebook from Wall St.’s laughing stock to Wall St.’s darlings in less than two years. Without sounding like an after school break special, this is perseverance, creativity, innovation and a never get up attitude. So congratulations to Facebook. Would you invest?
Jul 23, 2014 | Computer Repair
Today we are going to focus on what Geek Choice Computer Repair has found to be the top 10 types of calls we get from customers. Some may even be accompanied by funny videos to reinforce what we go through.
10. Computer Broken
-From time to time we get that client that really isn’t sure about what is going so the title is left to be very generic. As shown in this clip from the IT Crowd although this seems exaggerated I assure you we have gotten calls of this nature.
9. Email issues
-Email comes in all forms, from free email like gmail and yahoo to exchange email addresses or hosted email address that end with @yourcompany. We have faced many different types of email issues assure you we can tackle any of your home or business email issues.
8. Internet is down
-Not being able to connect to the internet is another big issue that a lot of our clients face. We usually recommend that you contact your Internet Service Provider first, to make sure there isn?t an outage in your area. If there are no issues with the provider we can get out there fast to help you get connected to the internet.
7. Can’t deal with other tech support services
-A lot of people call us because they just can’t deal with calling a company which has outsourced their phone support and customer service. Our headquarters is in Boston, MA and we will always have someone that you can feel comfortable speaking too.
6. Not booting into Windows
-As shown from the clip above the person had an issue booting into Windows. This is a common problem that we fix all the time. This is typically due to an issue with the operating system itself or the hard drive failing.
5. Web Design
-Geek Choice offers web design and lot of companies are looking not only to get on the web but redesign the site they already have and Geek Choice can help.
4. Laptop Screen Repair
-It is all too common. You drop your laptop and crack, the computer screen is damaged. Well never fear Geek Choice can replace most PC laptop screens. Just give us a call or contact us now with the full model number and we can look it up.
3. Data Recovery
-The one thing most people take for granted is the data on their machines. If your hard drive has failed and you need to recovery lost data. Bring it to Geek Choice and we can try and recovery your lost data.
2. Replacement Computers
-Fixing computers are not the only things we do. Sometimes computers are so old that they are not worth fixing, so Geek Choice can help by selling you a new computer. Interested in a new computer? Geek Choice can find you the right computer to fit your needs.
1. Virus Removal
-By far the number one call we get is about virus removals. If you get a virus, spyware or malware, please make sure to call us right away and make sure to turn off the machine. The longer you have it on the worse it can get for you.
So there you have it. I hope you have enjoyed our top 10 list and thank you to the IT Crowd for shedding some light on some of our major issues with computers.
Jul 23, 2014 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Comcast is the largest and most respected cable provider, Internet service provider, and one of the biggest telephone service providers in the world. Despite all these accomplishments, Comcast is one of the most hated companies today, and a customer service episode doesn’t help matters much.
Controversy and fallout continue after an embarrassing service call. A customer named Ryan Block calls to cancel his Comcast service. Instead of complying with Block’s wants, the Comcast rep demands, borderline bullies Block, for an explanation. The conversation leaks into social media and becomes a national headline. Now, COO Dave Watson has gotten involved, posting a heart felt letter on the company website. Mr. Watson says he’s embarrassed by the call, he also says the rep was trained to save customers anyway he/she can. He admits the rep fell short in respecting the customer. Mr. Watson vows in the statement to review and refresh training programs and to better reward customers about doing the right thing.
I hope COO Dave Watson means what he says, and this isn’t some temporary band-aid until the media stops focusing on this. I understand business is business and the goal is to get and keep customers. But respecting customers’ rights and wishes should take precedent over that. Plus, Comcast is the biggest telecommunications company in the world. They even own NBC, several cable channels, Universal studios, and trying to get Time Warner. Why were they so worried about one consumer? They’ll probably get at least 10 more before the rep’s shift is over that day. Their customer relations reputation isn’t that good, but they’re too big to fail. That’s why I cringe when I hear the word merger. Companies get so big they don’t have to care. There’s another lesson here. Be careful of how you talk to your customers. In this era of sophisticated technology, your conversation can get leaked and played all over the world, especially if it’s a bad one. Then what? What other lessons can be learned here?
