Apr 26, 2014 | internet, News
The Internet is changing, whether you know it or not. There’s already talk of selling the US Internet to the global community. But let’s talk about the FCC.
Let’s talk about Net Neutrality. It’s the belief the same Internet company that provides you with home service should provide you with mobile service. It guarantees you quality service without the blocking, confusion or mind games. This freedom has allowed social media to explode over the last eight or nine years. Those days could be numbered. Now the FCC is coming up with a plan to keep Net Neutrality, but it? includes: Using a loophole, a loophole that allows major Internet/communication companies to create slow and fast lanes how they see fit. It allows Internet service providers to negotiate backroom deals with website and app creators. Rates will likely vary, and free services could get bumped into the slow lane.
Now you may say to yourself, “These companies will do right by the people.” Will they? Ever hear of a saying, ‘When the cats are away the rats will play?’ If this loophole is exploited, what’s to stop these companies from deciding which site or app gets first class bidding? Service providers could also use this loophole to censor certain freedoms of speech. So you support a cause the powers that be don’t like? Off to the slow lane for you, pal. That’s my concern here. So is the new Net Neutrality going to keep protecting all involved? Or is it going to open a Pandora’s box for exploitation and censorship?
Apr 25, 2014 | Uncategorized
Today, yet another chapter in communication technology begins. After many months and unimaginable dollar amounts, Microsoft is purchasing all, and I mean all, of Nokia’s devices and services.
By the time Microsoft pays for Nokia’s hardware and licensing, they will spend $7.2 billion in this acquisition. Now, Microsoft controls most of Nokia’s Lumia brand, the Asha brand, and Nokia X handsets and other feature phones. Microsoft will now be responsible for 200 million handsets and 25,000 jobs. And that’s just handsets. There isn’t yet a full plan on how to totally integrate the two. Nokia CEO Steven Elop will host a press conference Monday April 28 to address the matter.
Of course, both Microsoft and Nokia are excited about this merger. For many years, Microsoft has been the software king. Now, they can be the hardware king. If I were a Microsoft high ranking official, I’d be excited about that too. But what about people like you and me? Some people can take the optimistic road and say this will drive prices down while improving quality. I like to think that will happen. But can the opposite happen? I’ve read of mergers making things far worse. They’re closer to a monopoly. And if you have a monopoly, you can charge and do whatever you want and there’s nothing that can be done. That’s why I’m concerned about mergers like this. What’s your take on the Microsoft/Nokia merger?
Apr 24, 2014 | Wireless
I read an interesting article about Internet trends. I have one question for you: Are you a mobile addict?
According to Internet Trends Report, a mobile addict is someone who launches apps over 60 times daily. The average is 10 times daily. The number of mobile addicts have more than doubled since April 2013. Super users (those who launch apps 16-60 times daily) have increased 55% in that same time. But the most interesting aspect are the social demographics. Charts show the 35-55 year-old crowd consists of 28% of mobile addicts, followed by college age, then high school age persons. Women were more likely to become mobile addicts then men. What are mobile addicts into? Things like sports, games, parenting, education, and cars.
Those five are the leading categories of mobile addicts make a lot of sense. How many times do we catch the score when we can’t watch the game (guilty as charged!)? How many games do we play games on these devices…on a daily basis? And parents, how often do you load education videos on your device just to keep them calm and keep yourself sane? So those top categories make perfect sense. But I’m still trying to figure out why the middle aged crowd beat the twenty somethings in mobile addictions? I thought they would be number one. Think of how easy mobile apps are to get. Think of the mobile apps they’re coming up with. Don’t you think mobile addicts will only increase by this point?
Apr 23, 2014 | Entertainment
When the social media craze started in the mid 2triple000s, it took the music industry little time to embrace this medium.
One music video hub called Vevo has about 6 billion views a month and viewership has increased almost 50% in the last year. The company is owned by Sony Music and Universal Music. Nearly two-thirds of these videos are viewed on mobile devices. This was done by design: They knew mobile devices were the wave of the future. Created in 2009, they started sending artists’ videos to You Tube and other streaming sites. Much of the revenue comes from advertising.
Guess what the most watch Vevo video of all-time is? Unfortunately, it’s Justin Beiber’s “Baby”, with over a billion streams and counting. What we know about Beiber today, and prayerfully, the counting part is slowing down. Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason” was the #1 watched video of the past year. But you can watch Vevo and find videos that are over 10, 15, 20 years old and over. That’s great news for people like me who stopped caring about new music over a decade ago (am I showing my age here?). So next time you’re on You Tube and looking for videos, check them out. I like to call it free music without the guilt; that’s a whole other debate for another time. What do you think of the Vevo revolution?
Apr 22, 2014 | Entertainment
How many of you remember the life changing epic film Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher? I don’t either. But reports say Hollywood is trying to make another biopic of the Apple co-founder.
Sony Pictures is the movie house that scrambles to captain this highly anticipated project. But drama already surrounds it. Director David Fincher is out due to money disputes and creative disputes. One is he wanted Christian Bale to play Jobs, but due to contract issues, that’s not happening. Now they’re talking to Danny Boyle about the directing job. Rumor has it Boyle is talking to Leonardo DiCaprio about the lead role. These two worked together in the 2000 movie hit The Beach. This movie is written by Aaron Sorkin. He wrote the mega hit The Social Network, even won an Academy and Golden Globe for best screenplay.
If they just have to give the Jobs biopic another try, this is a good way to start.? I hope the Fincher and DiCaprio do lead this upcoming movie. Remember how successful The Beach was? Whose to say the same magic can’t strike twice? I don’t know what went wrong with Kutcher’s Jobs movie, but I hope this one goes better. If Sony Pictures pull this new Steve Jobs movie off, will you watch it?
Apr 21, 2014 | networking
For years now, Facebook and social media has been synonymous. What started in a Harvard dorm 10 years ago is now a global phenomena. Now it’s adding to it’s repertoire.
At the end of April 2014, in San Francisco, Facebook will be participating in a F8 Developer Conference. It’s expected the social media giant will promote a mobile ad network to publishers and developers for better ad targeting and reach. For years, people have been screaming for such a network, but Facebook dragged it’s feet. In 2013, they saw the revenue they made. That year, mobile ads made them 1.23 billion dollars, over half their annual earnings. Much of that came from ‘app-install’ ads. These ads entice users to download apps from the advertisers’ respective company. Facebook refused to comment.
Facebook isn’t the only one pushing for this. There’s Google’s AdMob network and Millennial Media. Twitter has Mo Pub ad network. If Facebook wants to compete in the mobile ad game, now is the time to do it. I think this is a good move for them. I’ll admit, I’ve been suckered in by a couple of app-install ads myself. Maybe a reason it took Facebook so long to embrace mobile ad networks is because it wasn’t very popular until recently. Are mobile ad networks a wave of the future?
Apr 20, 2014 | Backup, Computer technology
When one thinks of Iowa, what comes to mind? Is it cornfields? Is it traditional Midwestern values? Is it presidential elections?
How about Microsoft? That’s right: This tech giant is making plans to put a billion plus dollar data center in West Des Moines, Iowa. Among other things, this center will house equipment that will run portal services as part of Microsoft’s online services businesses. This will bring a $2 billion dollar investment to the state and take about four years to complete. This will also create many good paying jobs for the West Des Moines area, not to mention tax revenue? and the companies this will attract. I think West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer has a reason to be exited. He said, “?It really sets up central Iowa as the leading technology center in the United States.”
I’m happy for Iowa and for West Des Moines, but I’d love to see this be trend for all over America. I’m tired of hearing experts talk about how bad America is weakening and how much China and India are prospering. I urge all corporations to follow Microsoft’s tune and create more technological jobs and opportunities for here at home. Will this trend spread?
Have a safe and prosperous Easter, everybody!
Apr 19, 2014 | Entertainment, internet
I said it once. It bears repeating. If you get any news on Facebook, especially about celebrity deaths, check other sources!
I was proven right. Yesterday as I scrolled down my Facebook page, I read about the alleged death of World? Wrestling Entertainment legend Undertaker, real name Mark Calaway. Right away, something didn’t seem right, and I figured it was another Facebook Hoax. I did a little more investigating, and I was right. Mr. Undertaker’s ‘death’ was a cruel hoax started on social media. These rumors claimed Undertaker died from a head injury suffered at Wrestlemania 30 on Sunday, April 13, 2014, during a match against Brock Lesnar. While he did suffer an injury during this brutal match, he was treated at a nearby hospital and released the next day. The Undertaker is alive and well, thank you very much.
This comes in the the wake of the real sudden death of Ultimate Warrior. He was a WWE Champion in the early 1990s. So was that their pull? When one pro wrestler really dies, now they want to follow that with some trick in hopes people will believe it? I must admit, when Warrior died, I checked mainstream sources to make sure it was true. At best, I want to think the people who published this Undertaker death hoax got really bad information. If that’s the case, learn a lesson. It’s always, always critical to check your sources and information. But I think something way more sinister is going on here. I think this was a deliberate attempt to fake someone’s death. If this was supposed to be a joke, I and millions of others didn’t get it. Did they think about this man’s family and friends when they spewed this hoax? I wonder if they will be legal ramifications because of this. There should at the very least be a very public apology from the hoaxers. I doubt it will happen. What should be done about this?
Apr 18, 2014 | Malware, Security
In the last several hours, it’s been announced arts and crafts store Michaels Inc suffered a security breach. As many as 3 million credit/debit cards may have been compromised.
According to their own statement, they noticed something was wrong as early as January 2014 and began notifying their customers. It took weeks of intense investigation. But through independent security firms, it was discovered subsidiary Aaron Brothers was attacked by sophisticated malware. These affected accounts are feared to contain payment card numbers and expiration dates. It’s believed customer names, addresses, emails and PIN numbers are not at risk. Micaels Store said 54 physical stores were also hit. Sales between May 2014 and January 2014 are at risk.
This comes in the wake of the Target credit breach during the 2013 holiday shopping season, where around 40 million accounts were compromised. I also think of Neiman Marcus, who earlier this year, endured the theft of over a million accounts. It may seem hopeless because the culprits’ technology is getting more sophisticated. But there are ways you can fight back. Check your card amounts, statements and transactions. Check them often! If anything seems out of whack, cancel the card and ask for a new one to prevent further damage. Don’t depend on credit monitoring services to do it for you. At best, they can alert you after the fact. What are some ways of prevention?
Apr 17, 2014 | internet, networking
Mobile apps are such a part of daily life today we sometimes take it for granted. Go back just five years and you’ll see a different picture. With the app game changing, ways of promotion are changing.
In comes MoPub Marketplace. It’s one of the biggest mobile app exchanges around. It handles over a billion devices worldwide and 130 million ad requests a month. Mobile advertising is so powerful today they can send ads to over 241 million Twitter users…at the same time. And there’s the mobile ad suite being tested on twitter. If tests go well, this suite would enable advertisers to better promote mobile apps. Advertisers like Seat Geek, Gree, and Get Taxi are leading the charge. Advertisers can also start up campaigns on Twitter Publishing Network with more ease than ever before.
Why am I even talking about advertising? Because maybe there’s someone reading this whose a small business owner whose in need of advertising. Maybe there’s an ad exec who need to promote a business and doesn’t have all the money in the world. Twitter is setting up a good network for that. That’s what I like about online advertising. It levels the playing field, well, it does more than TV or radio advertisement. So I compliment what Twitter and other groups here. Some may complain this will lead to more ad bombardment on Twitter and other social media. My question for that is: You’re not paying for Twitter, Facebook or You Tube, are you?
