Jan 22, 2014 | Entertainment, internet
We all know about the triumphs of online streaming TV giants Netflix and Hulu. Even World Wrestling Entertainment is producing it’s own TV network. What’s Amazon doing?
Amazon is talking to major?media companies, asking their licensing permission to?possibly?start their own pay TV service. Amazon hopes to take advantage of those giving up on cable TV and other pay TV services. Yesterday, Amazon insists they aren’t starting a pay TV service. But they?plan to build their Prime Instant Video library and?start their own shows, produced on Amazon’s own studio lot. While Sony and other companies?are trying to do likewise, Amazon?is already building relationships with the right media companies?and have their?own studios.
I don’t know if Amazon will start their own pay TV or not. But I do know this is another nail in the coffin of traditional cable and/or satellite TV.?And if Amazon produces their own shows, that means more shows and stars will be stolen?from mainstream cable companies. And what if Amazon?produces an?Emmy award winning show? Netflix did.?Why go to the movies?when you know?it will be on Amazon, perhaps the?next month? Will Amazon go?Pay-TV? The way cable is going, will it even have to for it’s continued downfall?
Jan 21, 2014 | Entertainment, internet
We’ve turned to premium cable stations like HBO and Showtime to bring premium entertainment, from the latest movies to shows like Sopranos and Sex and the City. Not only is online streaming challenging their popularity, they seem to be taking it over.
According to an independent research firm called NDP Group, subscriptions to premium cable channels six percentage points between spring 2012 and summer 2013. Meanwhile, on-demand services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video increased by four percentage points. But HBO says it gained a million subscribers since January 2013. Starz says it added 1.2 million. But Netflix alone has increased subscriptions by 24% in a year difference.
Let’s look at some other stats. I read somewhere that cable companies are among the most hated companies in the US. They’re definitely among the most expensive for what you’re getting. Some are switching to satellite. Yes, the service and product is better, but you’re often at the mercy of the weather. But you can get Netflix at $7.99 a month. So is Hulu Plus. Netflix is already producing their own shows, and winning awards for those shows like House of Cards. Whether they want to admit it or not, online streaming is the wave of the future. People are even hooking up systems so they can watch You Tube on the big screen. Maybe cable companies can lower their rates, treat customers a little better, or produce better shows. Does premium cable have a chance against online streaming TV?
Jan 20, 2014 | Uncategorized
In June 2008, Bill Gates stepped down?as CEO from?Microsoft. Steve Ballmer took his place. Last year, Ballmer, much less known than his predecessor, announced he was stepping down as soon as his replacement was named. Now what?
For months now, there has been a rumor carousel going on about who that replacement will be. Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg’s name has been thrown in the hat. So have names like Satya Nadella, Tony Bates, and Stephen Elop. Some say Bill Gates should come back as CEO. But he’s so busy with his philanthropy, especially with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.?This foundation, not only has helped millions of people, but has?helped his reputation. It’s definitely made him?look like a kinder more outgoing man, and less like a introverted out-of-touch?computer geek.
Hey Microsoft, do you really want to?shake things up? I have two ways you can do that. First, hire a woman?or minority as?Microsoft?CEO. Look at?how Yahoo is making a comeback?with Marissa Meyer as the leader. Or you can persuade Bill Gates himself to come back as?CEO. Most people don’t know who these other guys are, but Gates and Microsoft are synonymous. Plus, with all the great work he and his wife are doing worldwide, people will be more than happy to have him back, if he’s willing to come back. So I ask again: where does Microsoft leadership go from here?
Jan 19, 2014 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Since the 1890s, 35 millimeter? film has been used by every movie studio in Hollywood, and everywhere else, to produce films. In the 2010s, expect that to change. One major motion picture company is leading the way.
Paramount Pictures is the first major movie production house to stop using the old film entirely and to start going all digital. Will Farrell’s ‘Anchorman 2’ was the last to go film and Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘Wolf of Wall Street‘ is the first to be produced, released and distributed only digitally. Digital distribution is so much cheaper : it only cost $100 to put a digital copy on a disc. Digital technology is also easier to hook up to bigger 3D screens, also becoming popular today. Other major studios are following suit. Disney and 20th Century Fox said they would stop sending 35mm film in the next year or two. It’s just as well: it’s reported 92% of all movie theaters in the US are digital.
I think it’s best and a sign of the times. The only thing that surprises me is that total crossover took this long. This trend started over a decade ago, but some top cats in the industry were resistant due to potential low revenue. The only thing that’s going to lead to low revenue is bad movies. There’s not a technological fix to that, is there?
Jan 18, 2014 | General, internet
Well, most of the numbers are in for the Christmas 2013 shopping season. For most, the numbers are disappointing, and for Target…no comment. But online stores don’t seem to have that problem.
Last week, Best Buy was the latest to report declining numbers. According to Shopper Trak, the number of retail traffic in stores has declined for the third year in a row. Some stores opened on Thanksgiving day, but that did little to help. After the Thanksgiving weekend, sales either held? slightly below average or declined drastically. Shopper Trak shows Americans visited five malls in 2007, in ’13, only three. Meanwhile on the online front, sales increases have more than doubled from just a few years earlier. Even Best Buy says their online shopping sales have increased 24% since last year.
It was thought after the Great Recession of the late 200os, people would return to the malls and stores. But many never did. Instead, people are returning to online stores. And the economy isn’t really fully recovered (I wonder if it ever will), but that’s just part of the problem. One woman testified that with three kids, it’s just too chaotic to go. It’s a lot easier to look for that last toy online for your kids than to be fighting over it at the store. Season after season, there are news stories of people getting trampled, fights breaking out, even people getting killed because of insane store shopping. Hmmm…is that one of the reasons store fronts is losing and online fronts are winning?
Jan 17, 2014 | Computer technology, Software
First came the smartphone. All the rage in 2014?will be?smart watch and Google Glass. Have you ever heard of smart contact lenses?
Today, Google is launching a sensor system, a chip of some sort,?that can be put in a contact lens. It’s geared toward diabetes patients. It’s supposed to measure blood sugar/glucose?in the tears. It’s supposed to be a better alternative to the needle sticking and device monitoring. Now don’t go rushing to your drug store or your technology store looking for this potential smart contact lens. This is more of a publicity stint, showing the world it can be?done, for now. But they’ve already brought some lenses to the US Food and Drug Administration. Apparently, some at Microsoft have already been working on this for years.
I don’t care who is working?on it, I see a lot of great potential in this. If these lenses can help fight diabetes, which around 380 million people are diagnosed with worldwide, then bring it on. If it helps bring some comfort to those who have to stick themselves daily in the name of health, bring it on. Personally, I hope this gets out of the research stage and into the action stage sooner than later. If it ever comes to that, I hope this technology is used and not abused like some technology is. If you or a loved one was in need of a service like smart contact lenses, would you use them?
Jan 16, 2014 | Wireless
Samsung is introducing yet another tablet to it’s already wide array of Galaxy tablets. This one is named the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite. Now this tablet is set up to compete against the smaller tablet market. It comes in with a 1024×600 pixel resolution which actually falls below its major competition the Nexus 7. It also comes with a 1.2 ghz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. So from the looks of it this is made for people an a budget who would still like to own an Android tablet. It also has a 2 megapixel camera and Android 4.2 operating system. With all of these underwhelming components and the fact that it doesn’t match up well against the direct competition of the Nexus 7 it better be priced below the Nexus 7. Although they may try to fall back on the name by using the Galaxy label.
There is no comments currently on where they will be pricing this device but my guess if they want to make sales they should price it at $179.99. This is just my speculation on my part but based on the specs of this device. Hopefully in the near future we will hear where Samsung decides to price and release this mediocre device.
Jan 9, 2014 | General, News
The times they are a changing and so is how we consume media. The WWE has also figured this out by launching the WWE network but here is the interesting part, you won’t be calling your local cable company or satellite provider to ask for this channel. Coming on February 24th, this will be the first network to launch with a 24/7 streaming service, live content, and an on-demand section with thousands of hours of wrestling fun.
One of the best things about this network is that it will give them all 12 of the WWE’s pay-per-views for just $9.99 a month. Which if purchased through your cable or satellite provider would cost you $675 for the year.
The best part about this service and why it is featured as an article on a computer site is that it will stream on all of your devices. That’s right, your Amazon Kindle Fire, Android devices including Samsung Galaxy devices, iOS devices such as the Apple iPad and iPhone, your Roku device, PS3 and PS4 gaming machines, Xbox One and a few select smart TV’s coming this summer.
All you have to do to subscribe is sign up for a WWE.com account although you will need to sign up for a six month commitment for the $9.99 a month which is still a great deal and protects the WWE from people just wanting to grab one pay-per-view for $9.99 and then cancel. The WWE Network is set to launch on the 24th of February and will be giving a limited time trial of one week to all who want to see what this channel is all about. The channel is going to be available in the US to start and going to other countries such as the UK and Canada in the late 2014/early 2015.
If you are having issues getting the WWE Network online in your home, give us at Geek Choice a call 800-433-5435 and we can get it done for you, IF YA SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OOOWWWW! What Geek Choice is Cookin….
Below my buddies at IGN break down the WWE fun!
Jan 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
In the mid 2Triple ’00s, a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerburg founded a website called Facebook out of a dormitory. It revolutionized what is today called social media. By the early 2010s, he was faced with another challenge.
He just took Facebook public on the New York Stock Exchange. But their stocks were sluggish at best. So he calls on top Facebook engineer and college mentor Andrew ‘Boz” Bosworth. They come up with ways to improve their woeful mobile ads, and other ways to generate revenue. One spreadsheet turned into 80 pages. This 80 page document made clear the only way to grow Facebook was to invest in mobile phone ads. Since then, their shares have about doubled. By August 2012, their stock was back at $38 a share (earlier that year, that number was in the teens and early 20s). As of Friday, January 3, 2014, Facebook’s stock was around $55 a share.
There are quite a few lessons here. First, a good CEO has to be able to listen to his mentors and his employees, and his consumers. I don’t care how big CEOs get, they should never get too prideful and swell-headed to think they know everything. Had Zuckerberg not listened to Bosworth and others on the FB corporate campus, their stocks would still probably be in the teens. Zuckerburg had a willingness to change. While you’ll rarely ever see him in a suit and tie, he was willing, and did change, the way his company advertised. And everyone benefited. He has good relations with his staff. So many CEOs segregate themselves in limos, executive suites, private jets, mansions and exotic vacation homes they don’t want to be bothered until all hades breaks loose. It’s probably too late then. But Zuckerberg keeps the communication lines open and friendly that when the team saw a need, they found a successful solution…together. What are some other lessons learned from this ad lesson?
Jan 5, 2014 | Malware
Be careful while on Yahoo. Reports claim malicious parties have hacked into two Yahoo advertising servers and infected them with malware. So far, the malware has hit hundreds of thousands of Yahoo users.
According to a Dutch computer security firm called Fox IT, the malware attacks have been going on since December 30, 2013, at the latest. One security advisor believes the malware distributers are hacking into existing ad networks and are exploiting weaknesses in Java. Since December 30, the malware units are believed to be delivered at around 300,000 per hour, with infections topping at 27,000 an hour. They don’t know who is responsible for these attacks, but it appears the motive is financial. A Yahoo spokesperson addressed the threat saying, “At Yahoo, we take the safety and privacy of our users seriously. We immediately removed [the malware] and will continue to monitor and block any ads being used for this activity.” In recent days, the malware activity has decreased significantly.
But recently, Java has been losing a lot of credibility, because of this and other episodes. It’s becoming a hacker’s paradise. Some experts say you should disable Java altogether. You should also take simple precautions to be safe. Change your passwords often and come up with difficult ones. Be careful about where you do online debit/credit card transactions. ?And if any ad anywhere sounds too good to be true, avoid it like the plague. What are some other ways you can keep your system malware proof?
