Aug 6, 2013 | General, News
And another newspaper sort of bites the dust, well, I doubt it will be like it was. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post, one of the nation’s most well known newspapers.
Bezos bought the paper from the Graham family, who ran the news leading?media conglomerate?for generations, for $250 million in cash. Bezos himself will own and run the Post; Amazon will have nothing to do with it. During the Grahams’ leadership, the Washington Post has been the leader in informing us about major national events, such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, Jonestown, 9/11 and most recently, the NSA surveillance unfolding.
But in the last 10 years or so, the Internet, smartphones and social media have made the good old American newspaper almost obsolete. Not even one of America’s most respected newspapers could escape this dilemma. That’s what led to their financial crisis. ?One article predicts that in 20 years, the newspaper will be dead. Nevertheless, when David Graham made the announcement to his staff, many were in shock, some even wept.
So why Bezos? ?The Grahams and Jeff Bezos had been friends for years. Bezos is a great entrepreneur. For example, Bezos started Amazon in his basement on a $300,000 loan from his parents. Now Amazon is worth over $25 billion dollars. Bezos also owns a piece of Pets.com. Since 2004, Amazon’s stock has quadrupled. In 2012,?Fortune named him Businessperson of the Year. He’s also looking to start ?a feature film production. I think these are good qualities for running a news entity like Washington Posts. Plus, you can see the respect Bezos has for the medium when he says, “The values of the Post do not need changing.” Though Amazon will have nothing to do with the purchase, I can see Bezos using Kindle and other Amazon products to boost Post revenue. Do you think Bezos and Washington Post is a good combination?
Aug 5, 2013 | networking
Ever wonder how Facebook gets so much revenue from advertisers and keeps it free for the rest of us? You can thank a strong marketing department for that. Now, leadership of that department is changing hands.
In September 2013, Facebook’s current marketing VP Eric Antonow will be stepping down, to pursue interest in his passions for better education. His replacement will be Gary Briggs, who will be Facebook’s first CMO, Chief Marketing Operator. Briggs has the experience. Upon Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility in May 2012, Briggs served as the CMO during that transition. Before that, he was a marketing VP at Google, helping services like Google Chrome get out to the public. Before that, Briggs served as marketing VP for Ebay and Pepsi. Briggs said about Facebook, ?”For more than a billion people, it’s their connection to the friends and things they care about most. …I can’t wait to get started”.
It sounds like a good move. First off, I have a lot of respect for Antonow. Anyone who leaves a lucrative position to fight the crisis of education is all right with me. Plus, they went with experience. The only thing I worry about is Briggs’ age and how he’s going to work with a younger crowd, but I think because of his age and experience, people working for Facebook will listen to him. Some criticize this move because he was ‘a guy who worked for Pepsi’. But in the last few years, he’s also worked for Google. How optimistic are you about Gary Briggs coming to Facebook?
Aug 4, 2013 | Entertainment, Security
Television has come a long way from the old black and white days. Today’s TV comes from things from online connection to cameras. Speaking of cameras, Samsung Smart TV corrected a huge wrong.
Due to a manufacture’s mistake, Samsung Smart TV has been forced to correct a huge wrong. A flaw let hackers get into any screen and turn on the TV and watch the TV remotely. That’s right, they can watch your TV without your control, knowledge or consent. They can use this to log onto your web accounts to get your information. Or worse, they can be watching your every move, even during your more intimate moments. Don’t worry, Samsung did fix the mistake. A security firm named iSEC Partners identified the issue and the makers combated it with proper software.
But this brings up bigger issues. How many more televisions have security flaws like this that weren’t caught? I read an article about how the Xbox One has a camera that can monitor someone at all times. Many of these TVs that connect online have little security, except for a password that often gives you more grief than it ever would a potential hacker. Until firms like iSEC Partners dive into the big issues, I think security issues like this will become more difficult to remedy. When you’re watching your favorite TV show tonight, who might your uninvited guest be?
Aug 3, 2013 | internet, networking
Ever hear of Rockmelt? Until the last couple of days, neither have I. It was meant to be a web browser for the social media age. You’ll have until August 31 to enjoy it.
Announced yesterday, Yahoo is acquiring Rockmelt for somewhere around $65 million dollars. Yahoo wants to use Rockmelt’s technologies, and it’s engineers, to better compete against Google and the other major players of the web browsing market. Word is Rockmelt is working ceaselessly on it’s mobile market and Yahoo wants to capitalize. Rockmelt was founded in the Silicon Valley in Nov. 2010 but with little success. Now, with their engineers and Yahoo’s buying power, they hope to create something big and beautiful.
Look, I appreciate what Yahoo is trying to do, but I think Marissa Meyer and her team is doing too much too fast. Since she took the CEO seat last year, Yahoo purchased at least 20 other small startups. The biggest was Tumblr?for a whopping billion?plus dollars. I think that’s too much for one year.?She should just take the purchases she already made and make them better. Once these acquirements get off the ground, then go and look for other companies. I know this is the rush-rush, should have been done yesterday 21st century business world. But?am I being too old fashioned by saying Yahoo should slow their role?
Aug 2, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment, General, Wireless
It’s August. I know, summer’s not over yet, but it is the back to school shopping season. I know many of you don’t want to hear that, but I’d like to help prepare you with some great gadgets for this upcoming academic year.
10. Laptop Lock: You’ll need this in the worse way. This won’t just protect you from theft, but what if someone hacks into your system and starts real problems?
9. Noise Cancelling Headphones: While your roommate and friends are blasting that so-called music, you’re going to want these.
8. Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse: It’s not your ordinary mouse. It’s sleek, wireless, fast, smooth, and runs longer than the Energizer bunny ever did.
7. Nintendo 3DS: I know the parents aren’t going to like this suggestion. But this portable gaming system and it’s Mario and Zelda themed games?are?huge stress relievers. And I can think of far worse relievers.
6. Dragon Software: I would bargain my soul to have software like this! You can talk into it and the dragon does your documents for you?! Kids today have it too good sometimes.
5. Netflix:?There’s a lot of crap on TV today. Some of it I wouldn’t recommend to a mosquito, much less a kid.?Thank goodness for Netflix!?Get all the movies, games and entertainment you want for far less than cable or satellite!
4. Amazon Kindle: Soon, textbooks will be on the endangered species list, especially on the college/university level. Plus, why do you want to carry 10 books around when you can carry them all on this device?
3. Samsung Galaxy S4:?There are so many things this device from heaven has that if I listed them all, it would take several pages.
2. ?Ipad: The LA school system is already handing out free ones to kids as an educational tool. One day, this device will be in every classroom in America. Mark my word!
1. Mac Book Pro: No more using a chalkboard! Using this Mac Book to teach history, math, writing and reading has almost become standard. Using Mac Book Pro for paper and project is the wave of the future.
Which device have I left out?
Aug 1, 2013 | Computer technology, networking, News
With Google Now, you can get info on everything from flight, nearby attractions, and?even when the next bus or subway is coming.?But now, Google?is making sure you can do even more.
They’re now attempting to get people to watch the news closest to them. They’re testing a local news card. Since Google now can help you find things in your local?area, they’re hoping that holds true in local?current events. But it’s not just about current events. One Google VP gives an account of finding out Miss Mexico visiting his son’s school; he?also?finds out about a stabbing in?his neighborhood.?Before you rush to get this card, please note it’s in?testing phase; they don’t?know when, or if, this is going to be released to the public. Plus, no major tech based corporation has been very successful with trying to conquer local news. Remember the doomed?NBC Every Block?
Can I get the elephant out of the room? I think Google is wasting their time with this local news venture. Google Now is doing very well. You can find out enough about what’s going on in your local world. For example, I found out through Google Now that my train was delayed, saving me a lot of frustration. Plus, I think people still like to stick to their local news affiliates and newspapers for their local stories. Please don’t take that from us! Do you think this Google Now news card is even worth testing?
Aug 1, 2013 | Dental IT
Here are the top 5 reasons you should consider changing to a cloud practice management software:
- Minimal upfront costs.? Many providers will offer you a monthly fee structure as the preferred method of payment and in many cases you would actually cost less than buying a program that you have to host yourself.
- The cloud program would handle updates of the software to their servers which relieves you of the task of updating your practice management software.
- Many of the cloud programs charge monthly based on what you use as far as features and that way you are not paying for features you really don?t use.
- Your hardware cost would be far less involved.? If you have a cloud program you don?t need as involved hardware which saves you more money upfront.
- The cloud would create a centralized database which makes it much easier for practices with multiple locations and would need simultaneous access to data.
What are your thoughts on our top 5 list reasons to buy a cloud practice management solution?? Do you agree with the points?? Did we miss something?? Let us know in the comments below.
Jul 31, 2013 | Computer technology, News, Security
Perhaps the story of the year is the NSA surveillance situation. We’ve learned the government is spying on our cell phones, emails and social media post. Now there’s a new revelation in this gift that keeps on giving.
The NSA now proudly reveals a program called XKeyscore. That is a wide-reaching intelligence development system for the Internet. According to reports, XKeyscore can be used to access many, many agency databases by simply giving a reason for the access. Another says it can cover nearly everything everybody does on the Internet ever! Some analysts say?XKeyScore can intercept all Internet activity. Some say it allows legal authorization to track any American without a search warrant. And apparently, this just didn’t start. As early as 2008, the NSA documents 300 terrorists were brought to justice thanks to XKeyScore.
But what about the rest of us? What about the rest of us who are just living our lives and obeying the law? Yes, you can use that old line, “If you’re not doing anything, then you don’t have anything to worry about.” Really? What is you say something in an email or social media post the authorities don’t like? What if you buy something online the authorities don’t like? And when they question you, what if you give them the wrong answer? Or worse yet, what if this system gets into the wrong hands? I just?read a disturbing story about hackers controlling someone’s?car behind a computer screen. What’s going to be next?
Jul 30, 2013 | internet, networking, Security
In the United Kingdom, a local activist campaigned to get Jane Austen on the British 10 pound bill. They say no good deed goes unpunished. This one sure didn’t.
This odyssey started when a woman named Caroline Criado-Perez led the fight to get the late 18th-early 19th century novelist and women’s rights activist on the 10 pound note. Not long after this became official (Austen’s face will be on the bill around 2017), Mrs. Criado-Perez started getting vile tweets. Many of these tweets threatened her with rape. This evil tweets increased to around 50 an hour! But what made it worse was Twitter’s slow response. She reported this abuse on Thursday, but according to her own testimony, it took until Monday to respond. Monday, police made an arrest in the case. Also, this case got so much attention a petition went around. This petition demanded Twitter add a ‘report abuse’ button for all potential cases; it got over 65,000 signatures.
I commend this petition and Caroline Criado-Perez for staying on top of Twitter in this. To their credit, Twitter has answered these cries. They promised to make a ‘report abuse’ button more available to all users. I hope they do this sooner than later. Think of all the bullying cases that have led to suicide?over?Twitter abuse. There have been celebrities like Sherri Shepard targeted by cowards hiding behind Twitter. They don’t have the guts to confront people to their faces with such evil. Shepard also reported this to the police. A more affective ‘report abuse’ button may not eliminate the problem all together, but it’s a start. What do you think can be done to combat such ugliness?
Jul 29, 2013 | Computer technology, News
A non-profit group called China Labor Watch calls out a Chinese contractor for a series of worker abuses. Apple has been using these contractors more often since depending less on Foxconn, their longtime distributor.
Abuses include failure to pay workers their wages, confiscating id cards so they can’t work, and poor conditions at factories owned by Pegatron. Before you jump on Apple, note they have high standards when it comes to treating?their laborers right. These alleged abuses go against?that?policy. Since 2007, they’ve had to audit 15 Pegatron factories. Pegatron executive Jason Cheng vows to “…correct any violations to Chinese labor laws and our own code of conduct.”?As Pegatron increase it’s work force to 70,000 (it was just 50,000 in March 2013), China Labor Watch reports Pegatron factories exceed the 60 hour a week maximum work cap, and hold pay checks for those who work within a short period of time.
What’s to make of this? First off, I’m glad we’re at least being told this treatment is wrong, and something is being done to combat it. But there is more to this work week violation. I read workers are asking for more than 60 hours a week to make up for the low wages. Here lies the problem. Maybe if salaries were raised so workers can support themselves with decency and dignity, they wouldn’t have to ask for extra hours. Plus, I think there’s a need for a culture change all around in that workplace. Yes, it’s starting at the top, but it needs to trickle down to middle and lower management. They’re the ones that deal with the workers and manage the factories on a daily basis. If they can come up to these higher standards, then you will truly see change. What do you think should be done to fight alleged labor abuse?
