Jun 24, 2014 | Computer technology, Wireless
Remember last November, when Apple’s iPad Air was released? It was thinner and lighter than any tablet yet. You know Apple’s rivals like Samsung was going to play catch up.
This is where Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S comes up. It will be out in July 2014. It’s even thinner, lighter and has a larger screen than the iPad Air. A Wi-Fi 16GB model will run you around $500. They also offer an 8.4 inch model for $400. More expensive models should be out later. The battery life is about 12.5 hours, a little less than iPad Air, but good battery life nonetheless. The camera has 8 megapixels with LED flash in back and a 2.1 megapixel camera up front. I do praise Galaxy Tab S for it’s wide variety of screenshots.? Did I mention this tablet offers free magazines?
So if I had to choose between a Galaxy Tab S and iPad Air, which would I choose? Because I’ve been an Apple guy for so long (with the exception of a Mac; that’s another story), I would choose the iPad Air. I would equally be sold on the slightly higher battery life. But I respect Galaxy Tab S for what they’re doing. It’s going to make the competition fierce, and it should. What I’d like to see is more advertising of this Samusng Galaxy Tab S. If they want to beat Apple, or even come close, they need to be more aggressive in their promotion. How can anyone buy it if no one knows about it? But I think the freebies, like the magazines, will be a huge selling point. Will you be standing in line for the new Galaxy Tab S?
Jun 23, 2014 | Computer technology, Security
If you live in or plan on visiting the greater Chicago area, you’re going to see strange artwork on Michigan Ave. Wait, that’s not artwork.
Those metal sculptures are masking data sensors. They’re going to measure downtown Chicago’s air quality, weather, light and sound. Sounds pretty good, right? Did you know these data collecting sensors are counting people via cell phone traffic? As you can imagine, privacy advocates know it, and they’re not liking it. But sensors insists these sensors are counting quality and not recording addresses and other personal info.? Scientist say the sensors will help make the city safer, even give the city technological advances. Chicago wants these sensors to start set-up by mid-July 2014.
I can understand where the privacy concerns come from. But don’t they already have surveillance cameras throughout the city, and just about every other city in the western world? And who is going to pay for these sensors? I’m assuming these weren’t gifts. And Chicago wants to be the leader in sensor technology. So this mean they expect other cities to follow the lead. If they do, how will they use them? I’d love to take their word for it: they’re doing this for the health and welfare of the city. But with so much controversy about surveillance, I don’t know what or who to believe anymore. What do you believe?
Jun 22, 2014 | Entertainment, internet
Ever been to a website, whether it’s a social media site, news site, or any other, and you just couldn’t leave? Yahoo wants to be that kind of website.
And they’re taking creative steps to make that happen. Under the leadership of CEO Marissa Meyer, Yahoo is creating digital magazines. They’ve already hired journalism legend Katie Couric to produce informative videos for Yahoo News. They have fashion cosmetics guru Bobbi Brown for Yahoo Beauty. They’ve also brought on best selling technology author David Pogue and Elle Magazine creative director Joe Zee. Last month, Yahoo Tech won over 9 million new visitors. Yahoo Food is calling on all aspects of food and drink, form Klondike bars to making the best cocktails.
This is another way for Yahoo to continue it’s comeback. And it looks to me they’re off to a good start. I like the way they’re bringing in the celebrities and top experts to launch and improve these various news magazines. But celebrity should be only part of it. I’d like to see regular people put up videos of their favorite food or beauty product, or debate the latest news topic or which tech product is best. Make a dialogue for all people, not just a select few. I hope this works for their sake. Meyer and company shelled out scores of millions. Is this gamble worth it?
Jun 21, 2014 | Computer technology, networking, News, Security, Software
This story is a little more complicated than the title. Dropcam, one of the world’s most popular home monitor systems, is being bought out by Nest for over $550 million.
If you don’t know what Nest is, they make smoke detectors and thermostats. Now Nest, who just purchased Dropcam, is being acquired by Google for 3.2 billion dollars. Got that? According to Nest co-founder Matt Rodgers, Dropcam will be moving it’s headquarters from San Francisco to Palo Alto, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley. Dropcam’s home security cameras will run you little money a pop, but that’s just part of this story. Dropcam once tried to use existing cameras to support video achieves. But since most of the market wasn’t buying it, they made their own.
I’m pretty concerned about these acquisitions. It’s not just because one corporation will have so much power and dominance, leaving little if any room for competition. So Google wants to control the home thermostat and smoke detector market now?? But privacy issues come to mind. With Google and Nest owning Dropcam, can’t that give them a license to look into our homes and businesses, even during our most private moments? Nest insists we shouldn’t worry. They claim, “Dropcam will come under Nest?s privacy policy, which explains that data won?t be shared with anyone (including Google) without a customer?s permission.” I’ll believe it when I see it. Am I being too skeptical here?
Jun 20, 2014 | Computer technology, Software, Wireless
I’ve talked quite a bit about the upcoming Apple Smartwatch and some of it’s benefits, especially dealing with health and fitness issues. But we’re learning there’s more to this smartwatch than medical health.
According to multiple news sources, it’s starting it’s mass production in July 2014, thanks to Quanta Computer Inc.. They’re based in Taiwan. It’s speculated the iWatch will be available to the public in October 2014. It will have ten other sensors or more, including health/wellness. As many as 15 million Apple watches are expected to be shipped by the end of 2014. The screen will probably be about 2.5 inches and will have a touch interface and wireless charging abilities. Sorry, but I can’t find anything on a potential price for this ‘iWatch’.
Keep in mind it’s been four years since Apple came up with it’s last technological revolutionary product. That was the iPad. So in other words, they haven’t come up with a new product since Steve Jobs passed away. I think Tim Cook is under a lot of pressure with this smartwatch. If I were Mr. Cook, I’d want to get this thing out as quickly as possible while making it as flawless as possible. Many experts say we’re heading toward the age of wearable technology. Nike Fuel Brand and other gadgets are quickly becoming darlings of the tech community. It would be nice if Apple would be more specific about these 10+ sensors. I wish they would give us a clue about prices. Do you think Apple’s iWatch is going to be Apple’s next boom or Apple’s embarrassment?
Jun 19, 2014 | internet, networking, News
Today, the early morning hours of June 19, 2014, is a day social media giant Facebook wants to forget.
This is the day Facebook suffered a major outage. This outage was felt worldwide, from the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, India other parts of Asia and much of Africa. This includes Facebook mobile as well as the Web. Fortunately, the outage didn’t last long, and the site was back up within a few minutes. In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said ‘an issue’ caused to go offline, and apologized for any inconvenience the glitch caused. The ‘issue’ was never specified, either because they don’t know or aren’t telling us. Facebook experienced a glitch down last month.
The good news is the shut down could have lasted a lot longer. The other good news, at least for us in the United States, is that the glitch took place overnight. Can you imagine if it took place later in the day? I’ve read reports of people switching to Twitter while Facebook was down. Some say Twitter is more popular anyway and some say Facebook’s glory days are about over. If you said that, then you probably learned a lesson from all this. Facebook, like all social media, is still a very popular social media entity, especially among older people. If it goes down, even if it’s but a few minutes, it will be sorely missed. Ever hear of the saying, “Don’t know what you got until it’s gone?” Well, that’s what happened here. I think the consumers directly affected get that. Do Facebook employees and advertisers get that?
Jun 18, 2014 | Entertainment, internet
You Tube is about to launch a music subscription service. We don’t know the date yet. But not everybody is celebrating the occasion.
Independent record labels and acts are upset, to put it in kid friendly terms. There’s a dispute going on. Indie labels, such as Beggars Group and Google’s mega streaming video service can’t agree on royalty terms or existing terms of free service. You Tube leaders say they can’t offer free service and pay indies royalties at the same time. Therefore, indie videos are being taking down. You Tube leads the world in free streaming music and video service. Since it’s inception in the mid 2000s, they’ve paid over one billion dollars to music-right holders.
And it’s not just your local garage or nightclub band’s video that’s being pulled off You Tube. Major acts like Adele are being affected due to the dispute. Indie labels are skeptical. They argue they get far better treatment at rival digital services. This dispute is going to be settled eventually. There’s too much money to be made and too much potential. The indies may not get what they want out of this. But a little something is better than a lot of nothing. You Tube may have to shell out more cash, but look at the alternative. Keep in mind they’ve literally given out billions for royalties. Now they can’t give out more to these independent labels? So they’d rather cut off artists’ videos altogether, and the fan base is the one that suffers most. Come on people! These guys are executives of businesses and have people’s careers and dreams on the line. This isn’t some 4th grade playground dispute over whose captain of the kickball team. How should this dispute be settled?
Jun 17, 2014 | Computer Repair, Malware, scam, Security
Has this ever happened to you? You’re getting ready to watch TV or have a get together. Your phone rings. The person of the other end says they’re from Microsoft, a certified partner or professional. From there, they’ll tell you you’re computer is seriously infected or thousands of errors. They will then request to take over your machine remotely and clean your computer out. If you haven’t received this call, please note that this is a scam. If you receive this call, there are many different ways this could go. The best way is to get off the phone with them and call us because they may have put spyware on your computer to get your information. If you have decided to go further, and let them into your computer, you may have even more issues because not only do they have your information, but now can hold your computer hostage for a high sum of money.
Geek Choice is a well known computer repair company located in downtown Boston. We never solicit outbound calls to people telling them their machine is infected. We rely on customers to call us when they have a problem. The next question you may have is how do I know if I have a problem? In this blog, we’re going to tell you a few things to look out for that could tip the hand that your computer is infected with viruses, spyware, and/or malware.
The key to knowing if your computer is infected is just like any other illness and infections, knowing the symptoms. If your computer is running slow and is under three years old, you could be looking at an issue where your computer is infected. There is always a slight chance you’re overusing your resources by having multiple applications begin at the start of Windows without you even knowing. Another symptom that you may be infected is that you are not going to the websites you have requested to go to. If your computer is redirecting your web browser to another site your computer is infected. If you’re getting multiple pop-up ads, your computer is infected.
Geek Choice is committed to making sure that your computer is safe and secure and if you have seen any of these symptoms you should contact us immediately for onsite computer repair in Boston and beyond.
Jun 16, 2014 | Computer technology, News
Apparently, the rumors are true. Later this week, Amazon is expected to announce it’s own smartphone brand.
Billions have been invested. Warehouses have been built. Tablets and other devices are being constructed. Creating, licensing and copyright deals are being done. Stock investors are cheering. Competitors are quaking. Customers…we’ll see how they respond. I’ll talk about that later. One of their hopes is that Amazon lovers will use their upcoming smartphones to buy more stuff off the Amazon website. Amazon is already branching into to areas like grocery store delivery. But smartphones aren’t groceries.
Other well respected and popular mega conglomerates have tried to excel in the smartphone world. Google had Nexus One. Little more than one persons were buying it. They moved on to Motorola, then scratched the idea. Blackberry is lucky to even be alive. And that was once one of the most popular brands in the market. The Facebook phone flopped. And even Windows Phone is holding on to only three percent of the smartphone market. Come to think of it, the only two companies running away with the smartphone game are Apple and Samsung. But Amazon, and some tech analysts, insists this is Amazon’s next logical step. I’m pessimistic. The odds aren’t in their favor. And Amazon is going to have to get very, very, very creative to offer things the smartphone kings don’t. What do you think Amazon’s chances are?
Jun 15, 2014 | General
I must admit, many CEO’s don’t have that good a reputation today. There’s one report say the average CEO makes 250+ times that of average American wage earners. But I got a different side of one of the most powerful CEO’s today.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was awarded an IQLA (International Quality of Life Award) back in December 2013 for using Apple products to improve the life of people worldwide. Two stories in his speech that night impacted me. The first took place while growing up in Alabama during the 1960s- early ’70s, a place and time of social change. While riding his bike, he passed by a cross burning in front of an African American family home. That family’s humiliation never left Mr. Cook’s mind, and fueled his quest for civil rights and human dignity ever since. The other story was about an email he received from a single mother of an autistic toddler. The iPad the toddler received gave him an outlet he didn’t have before.
This is what drives Mr. Cook: computer technology that can break such barriers. We need to hear more stories like these.? We need to be reminded what we do and build and fix actually impacts peoples’ lives for the better. It should never be just about the dollar bill, but about the human race. Now we can be cynical and tell ourselves things like, “The only reason they say these things is to touch our human side to buy more of their stuff and get our money.”? But let me just daydream for a minute. Wouldn’t it be cool if every CEO sincerely let their human side out?
Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement or promotion of the Apple brand.
