Jul 10, 2013 | Computer technology, internet, networking
Remember Apple maps? That was probably the biggest flop in smartphone history. Now, Google wants to try their hand at a new map.
Google is introducing a new Google Maps app?coming to Android and Apple. Note they just released some Google Map design for Apple devices last year. I keep telling you tech based stuff you got last Christmas might be obsolete by this Christmas. If you’re a travel lover like I am, you?can explore hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, attractions, and other sites without even typing. I still find it creepy that my device knows what city I’m in.
There’s also a navigation app that gives you better routes in case of bad traffic. I know where I am, that will be extremely beneficial! There’s a review site where not only can you read reviews before you go, but you can post reviews after you go. Some people brag about Zagat, but I prefer to use more review sites, and not just take one as the gospel truth. Not only that, you can find discounts through this app. But Latitudes and check-ins will not be no longer be apart of this new app.
Well, it’s good to keep improving on what you have. And sometimes it’s good to leave well enough alone. But I’m trusting Google Maps to deliver the goods, based on their history and what I’ve seen of this already. There’s been times when I traveled and really depended on Google Maps get me out of some binds. What do you think of these new upcoming apps?
Jul 9, 2013 | Computer technology, internet
Did you know that women make up for only 20 percent of the software development force? Did you know fewer women are getting degrees in computer science than any time since the 1970s? That’s just one of the many reasons Melody Meckfessel stands out.
Melody Meckfessel has gone beyond just another woman engineer. She oversees the engineering team that puts programs together at Google. Meckfessel says of her team: “If these systems don’t work, Google doesn’t work.” Think about that. Though Google still majority male run, a woman?named Susan Wojcicki runs Google’s ad department, and she’s one of the most powerful women in the world. But back to Meckfessel. The team she oversees?does tasks from compiling software codes to testing tools. Like Mayer of Yahoo, colleagues say?she had a way of bringing the office together?during a time of office turbulence. They?praise Meckfessel for her people skills and getting this critical team on one?accord.
I have another reason to like Meckfessel. She’s not the stereotypical engineer or geek. I doubt you’ll see this mother of a 4-year-old locking herself in the basement playing dungeons and dragons. She’s also a wine maker in?Northern California’s Napa Valley region.?While?wine and software sound totally different, she?sees great similarities between her Google position and her Chardonnay Meskfessel creation. She says?wine and?software?take lots of experimentation. She says she won’t serve what she won’t drink herself, so she won’t allow any software that she won’t use herself.?So with motherhood, winery and software technology is there anything she can’t do?
Jul 8, 2013 | Computer technology, internet
Happy Birthday five-year-old! On July 8, 2008, the Apple App?Store was officially launched! Remember when the phrase ‘There’s an app for that’ was a pop culture?saying, kind of like Paris Hilton’s ‘That’s hot’ back in the early 2000s? Well, now there’s an app for everything; so?it’s a forgone conclusion there’s an app for that.
Speaking of which, Apple is celebrating by?making costly apps go free. Do you like games like Infinity Blade 2?or Where’s My Water? For a limited time, these are two of the games you can get for free. Okay, you’re not a game person. There’s a free app for you too. Do you like to add small text to those magnificent photos? Then the Over app is yours and free. Are you experimenting with the thing called cooking? There’s an app called How to Cook Everything. It has over 2,000 recipes and they can all be yours free of charge. Are you learning geography. Barefoot World Atlas?will help you with that. They’re other suddenly free apps at your disposal as well.
I must hand it to them. This is a great way to celebrate. If you think Infinity Blade is too violent, then give your kids the?Where’s My Water game? Okay, Where’s My Water might be a little preachy about the environment, but it’s still a fun game to play. And with that How to Cook Everything app, I can finally perfect my mac & cheese and be the hit of that next potluck or party. But the phrase ‘limited time only’ keeps hitting me. So what free app will you take advantage of?
Jul 7, 2013 | Computer technology, internet
What started at Web TV, now known ad MSN TV, will shut down on September 30. When you go to their website, all you get is this?ominous sign of what’s coming.
Web TV was created in 1996 by inventor and entrepreneur Steve Perlman. The next year,?Microsoft bought it for $425 million. It was renamed?MSN?TV in 2001.?Keep in mind when Web TV started, the Internet was still at it’s beginning. But in recent years, the number of users have dwindled. I think they still use the same hardware that was used back in the late ’90s. Eventually, there was an MSN TV 2 set up with greater features, but still fell on deaf eyes and ears. Apple CEO Tim Cook, whose behind Apple TV, admits Internet TV is still the same as it was 10-20 years ago.
And that’s the problem. Look at the smartphone market today. That phone you got last Christmas might be obsolete by this Christmas. Ten years ago, there was no Facebook, You Tube or Twitter. More people were going to the video store than using Netflix. Heck, 10 years ago, there were still mega record stores around because iPods were still in their infancy. I’m surprised it took Xbox this long to make an updated video system. But yet Internet TV is basically the same as it was in the late ’90s and early 2000s. What will it take for that to change?
Jul 6, 2013 | News, Security
This is playing out better than any daytime soap I ever grew up watching (yes, I am keeping my man card on that one!). For some time now, Eric Snowden has been held in the Moscow airport waiting for someone to grant him asylum. Now, it looks like some people have come to the rescue.
Latin American countries Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua offer asylum to the man who blew the whistle on the National Security Administration. This comes in the wake of the Bolivian president having his plane stopped. Rumors circulated Snowden was on board that plane, and the plane was forced to stop in Austria and Bolivian President Evo Morales?was searched. Obviously, Snowden wasn’t onboard. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro praised Snowden?for exposing the NSA”s surveillance on American citizens and European leaders. “He has told the truth, in the spirit of rebellion, about the US spying on the whole world,” Maduro stated in a public speech. Ecuador has also expressed support for Snowden.
I’m wondering why Central America is opening the welcome mat before anyone else. Maybe it’s because of that Bolivian plane incident. Maybe it’s the already icy relations between the US and Venezuela. Is this a way for these countries to show up the current administration? I wonder what the next twist will be. I wonder will he finally leave that airport. And how will the US respond?
Jul 5, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment, Uncategorized
Yesterday, I did an article on a little known inventor who died earlier this week. That got me thinking, what other tech heroes don’t we know about. I found 10 Tech Heroes I think we should all know, in no particular order.
10. Dr. Doug Engelbart: He invented the computer mouse, though he never made a dime and got little credit from it. He came up with the idea in the mid 20th century, decades ahead of his time.
9. Marty Cooper: In 1973, he made the first ever cellular phone call. The rest is history.
8. Tony Fadell: Around 2001, he had this crazy idea and Apple hired him as a consultant. That crazy idea turned into the iPod.
7. John Backus: This IBM scientist came up with the first computer programming language, FORTRAN. He was once diagnosed with a brain tumor, and designed his own head?plate.
6. James Gosling: As a Ph.D student, he wrote a microprocessor version on Unix. Eventually, that version turned into the first Java code.
5. Newark Mayor Cory Booker: In 2012, during Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Booker Tweeted to his constituents about power updates and where to get help. There’s no telling how many people he?saved.
4. Alan Kay: His Dynabook probably paved the way all the devices we hold near and dear, maybe a little too near and dear today.
3. Benjamin O’Keefe:?Once, Abecrombie & Fitch’s CEO said he only marketed to cool kids. O’Keefe used the?Internet and?social media to threaten a boycott, and Aberrombie’s execs met with the 18 year old and change begun.
2. Larry Ellison: In 1990, his Oracle company almost went kaput. Now, that company is the leader of many aspects of the software industry, and in comeback fashion, he’s the 3rd richest man in America.
1. People Like You: I know this sounds cheesy, but think about it. Unheard of people are making a positive difference in the tech world every day. Are you one of them?
Jul 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
How did the computer mouse get here? Who invented it? It’s an item so commonly used that most of us take for granted. The founder and inventor of the computer mouse passed away earlier this week.
His name was Dr. Douglas Engelbart. He died of kidney failure Tuesday at the age of 88. Dr. Douglas Englebart grew up in greater Portland, Oregon and served in World War II, spending some time in the Philippines. After the war, he graduated from Oregon State and worked for the Ames Research Center as an electronics technician. There, it came to him. In the early 1950s, at a time when computers literally took up a whole room, he pictured himself sitting at a desk sitting in front of a screen of a machine that organized all communication and input (sound familiar? it should.).
As the years went on, he wrote papers to convince others the computer will one day be more powerful, but a small device would be needed to run them. In 1964, he officially came up with the idea of a cursor rolling on a desk to control a computer. He drew the sketch and sent it to his superiors at SRI. In 1968, he shocked and awed computer scientists with this device at a conference in San Francisco. But it would take many years to catch on. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when Steve Jobs added the mouse to his Macintosh, is when Dr. Engelbart finally got the respect and recognition he deserved. In 2000, he won the National Medal of Technology,?jusr one of his?accolades.
I had no idea who Dr. Douglas Engelbart was until I started reading about him, which wasn’t until his death . At least he did live to see some recognition of his work. But it’s amazing how many people don’t get their proper respect until they’re no longer with us. The mouse literally changed the way we compute, and we compute daily. So Dr. Engelbart literally changed the world! Why didn’t we hear more about him when he was alive? It makes me wonder: What other technological heroes don’t we know about?
Jul 3, 2013 | Entertainment
Microsoft announced a November date for the release of the much anticipated Xbox One. In fact, only 21 countries will have the pleasure of forming long lines and possible fist fights for this gaming machine.
One country that didn’t make this list is Japan. According to Microsoft Japan President Yasuyuki Higuchi, Japan is in the 2nd tier of the Xbox release wave. Higuchi says it won’t be too long after the first tier of releases. So if you’re in Japan, expect your Xbox One sometime in 2014. Other countries like South Korea, Hong Kong and India won’t be seeing an Xbox One until late 2014. So whether Japan’s chance is coming earlier than their Asian counterparts remains to be seen.
At first, I was surprised that Japan wouldn’t get the first crack at the new Xbox. After all, isn’t this the nation that helped launch the home video game revolution in the first place? Apparently, Xbox isn’t very popular in Japan. But it’s sold some. I still feel this is a bad call on Microsoft’s part. Japan is one of the biggest markets in the world. India is one of the biggest markets in the world. Yes, I know many cultures don’t celebrate Christmas like we do. I can only hope they don’t fight, hoop and holler like over the last product like we do. But I’m confident if Xbox One is released simultaneously around the world, they’ll do much better. If American consumers are going to go nuts over Xbox?One this holiday season, shouldn’t other countries take part in?our misery and mayhem?
Jul 2, 2013 | General
It may be too early in the summer to report this. If they’re any kids reading, I apologize in advanced. But Apple is launching it’s 2013 back to school sale and season.
Apple’s Back to School Program runs from today (literally, July 2 today) until September 6. Top goodies include a $100 Apple based gift card…so long as you buy a Mac. You can get a $50 gift card…with the purchase of an iPad or iPhone, but this is for first time purchases only. These opportunities are available at Apple stores, Apple online stores, and Apple campus stores. They’re promoting many back to school accessories for and with these purchases. Oh yeah, in order to benefit for this after school program, you have to be a college student or a parent.
This is a start, but only a start. Though I hate to admit it, it’s good that they’re doing a back to school program this early. For goodness sake, they’re even talking about Christmas sales in July! Plus, in much of the country, colleges start in August. But that’s the only good thing about this back to school program. Apple could be more generous. First, high school students, and even jr. high students, could use this program. For their future, they need the highest quality technology to learn and grow. They’re using iPads in many public school systems. Plus, wouldn’t Apple make more money if they included more people? So they need to include at least the high school crowd in this. And they can do better than just a $100 and $50 gift card. Surely they can throw in some free accessories. Yes, the recession may be over on paper, but a lot of families are still struggling. I read an article saying 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Wouldn’t a few more freebies ease that burden? And wouldn’t a few more freebies build better consumer relations?
Jul 1, 2013 | News, Security
The Eric Snowden/NSA saga is the dubious gift that keeps on giving. First we find out they’re collecting info on our cell phones, smartphones, emails and social media posts. Now, we find our they’re doing the same to our European allies.
That’s right! Snowden’s documents just revealed the US government has tapped over a half billion phone calls, emails and text messages a month on our European allies. Apparently this started five years ago. And the main target is Germany. In Germany alone, an estimated 20 million phone calls and 10 million Internet transactions were monitored by the National Security Agency on a daily basis! Naturally, European leaders are disappointed and outraged. German authorities?say these acts rival that of the 20th century Cold War. France Prime Minister Laurent Fabius?calls this type of spying ?unacceptable, and demand answers. Luxembourg’s foreign minister calls this disgusting. There are calls for US Secretary of State John Kerry to come to EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium to explain these allegations.
What is this going to do to US-EU relations? These revelations come at a time a major trade pact worth billions of dollars is on the line. Could this hinder those talks, or at the very least, affect them? Germany, the main target, is also Europe’s financial leader. It has the 4th largest GDP in the world and an unemployment rate of 6.5%. Correct me if I’m wrong, that’s the lowest rate in the EU (Spain’s unemployment rate is in the 20s, for those who want to compare). I can only imagine this isn’t going to help European and American relationships much. Remember in 2003, how strained the continents were over going to Iraq? That may pale in comparison to this. I can imagine while some may halt their trip because of this. And what would these revelations do to the economy?
