So you want to know all things Apple. Well, we’re approaching your favorite time of year. It’s time for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2017. Let’s see what they have to offer.
The conference will start Monday, June 5 in San Jose, California. Furthermore, The Verge will cover it. So one thing we can expect is them covering software: iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. We can also expect them to update their iOS 11. They might introduce their OLED phone. This ‘dark mode’ could save battery life by turning pixels off. Then there are the iPad features, especially with the iPad Pro. There’s a lot of talk about their new ‘drag and drop’ system.
So now, let’s talk hardware. We all know how popular voice technology is, like Amazon Echo and Google Home. We can expect Apple’s Siri to have the main event. But nobody really knows what plans Apple has for Siri. But many expect a better virtual surround sound. Siri should play a big part in HomeKit, that’s Apple’s home smart system. However, I hope you’re not a fan of MacBook Air. I say that because their under $1,000 will probably have no update. In fact, it looks like they are going to let the MacBook Air die out.
That is a shame. Because let’s face it, Apple’s products aren’t exactly cost friendly. And now they’re just going to let this one go. Here in our Boston computer service shop, we treated some MacBook Air laptops. But I want to see what they do with Siri. Competition in the voice command area is fierce. Apple needs to bring their A game in this area. Well, Apple needs to bring their A game in all areas. As we can expect, there will be some surprises. What do you think of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2017? What would you like to see discussed?
Yesterday, President Donald Trump pulled America out of the Paris climate accord. Many believe this will weaken America’s fight against climate change. Also, many believe this will isolate us from the rest of the world. But this may isolate Silicon Valley, too. Because Silicon Valley blasts Trump on Climate change.
Even before the meeting, Silicon Valley leaders wrote a letter. They urged Trump to stay in the Paris Agreement. Companies who signed this letter included Apple, Facebook, Google/Android, and Microsoft, and dozens more tech giants. Then Elon Musk and Tim Cook tried to reach out to the White House. So when Trump pulled America out of the Paris Agreement, Silicon Valley blasts Trump on climate change.
The results came in fast and furious. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, tweeted disappointment in Trump’s decision. He vowed to increase efforts to fight climate change. So did Google leader Sundar Pichai. He tweeted Google will keep fighting for a cleaner future. But the longer and most colorful backlash came from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerbug and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey. Dorsey called it a ‘shortsighted move’. Zuckerberg said this move put our children at risk. He also said fighting climate change is a global community effort. In fact, I haven’t heard one Silicon Valley leader who supported President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris agreement.
Computer repair and IT support and politics really are going hand in hand. Most of Silicon Valley leaders were weary of Trump from the very beginning. But after his election, they were going to work out their differences. And for a while, I had hope the White House and Silicon Valley could get along. But now, those hopes are dwindling. The sides are drifting apart again. That’s what worries me about this decision. It’s not the climate change, but it’s the global tensions that it could cause. The last thing we need is me against the world. Don’t we already have enough of that?
We’ve been in computer repair for over twenty years now. We’ve seen a lot of things. But we see a disturbing but more frequent trend. That trend is airlines shutting down because of computer problems. Saturday, it happened again. British Airways shut down because of IT failure.
They say one power supply failure crashed all check-in and operation systems. London Heathrow and Gatewick, British Airways’ biggest hubs, shut down. So try to imagine the chaos. Heathrow’s Terminal 5’s lines stretched outside. The IT failure cancelled hundreds of flights. In fact, all BA flights to and from the hub airports had to be cancelled. Then, even today, BA cancelled 36 ?flights involving the two hubs. This clean up effort will be slow, to say the least.
But back to the chaos. British Airways shelled out thousands of dollars on food, hotels, and ground travel to displaced customers. Still, thousands of stranded travelers had to sleep on airport floors. Even today, Heathrow Terminal 5 filled with angst and tempers. People who booked today can only hope and pray their travel plans are still in tact. Yesterday’s British Airways shut down lasted for hours. It was late evening before any BA flight got back up in air. But for many people, it was already too late. They don’t expect this to be a cyber attack. This was just an honest mistake.
But that brings me to my next point. British Airways shut down because of IT failure. But what if a hacker, cyber terrorist, or any psychopath wanted to shut down major airlines? This incident just proves it would be really easy to do. Apparently, just shut down one power supply. I don’t know about you, but this scares me to death! And British Airways is one of the most respected airlines in the world! This left thousands of people stranded, hurt and confused on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. If this can happen to British Airways, is there any hope for the rest of us?
Most of you know of the horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester, England on Monday, May 22. A suicide bomber killed 22 people, many of them children and teenagers, while attending a pop concert. At a G7 Summit British Prime Minister Theresa May talked about online extremism. So let’s see how this British Prime Minister fights extremism, or plans to.
We also know terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility. May talked about ISIS’ online influence. She also said they were moving from the battlefield to the Internet. Then she called on social media sites to target and eliminate extreme content. Consequently, counter-terrorism was the main theme of this G7 Summit, which took place in Italy. Theresa May talked about other methods of fighting terrorism and extremism.
She called the summit a great step. But she wants to do more. She wants terrorist material gone from the Internet. She said Internet and IT support companies have a responsibility to shut these extreme influences down. Not only to shut them down, but to report them to authorities. She acknowledged Manchester and other recent attacks in her native Great Britain. Prime Minister May exposed foreign fighters going to Syria then coming back to the UK. Could online extremism influence them? Also, she claimed to get rid of ‘hate preachers’ from her country.
Some may call Mrs. May’s talk ‘right-wing’. But she makes valid points. It’s no secret ISIS and other terrorist groups use social media as a recruiting tool. They’ll throw ice cream parties and put them on You Tube and say, “Look at the good we’re doing”. Then they’ll target lonely, bullied, disenfranchised kids and promise them better. They even target lonely women and ask them to become ‘jihadi brides’, and pay their way to the Middle East. This is real talk. So these are the depths these terror and extreme groups will sink to. The British Prime Minister is right about something else. All of us in IT support have a responsibility to do what we can to stop them from doing this. But what do we do?
SoftBank is an IT support and telecommunications powerhouse. Their headquarters are in Tokyo, Japan. But they made history again. Because they teamed up with an unlikely ally to create a mega fund. SoftBank and Saudi Arabia Create a tech monster.
Hence, this monster is the world’s biggest technology fund. They call it Vision Fund. ?The fund will start with $93 billion. Also, Japan and Saudi Arabia hope this fund challenges Silicon Valley investors. We will see. How is Saudia Arabia in this? Because the Saudi prince is the main investor. Not only that, but tech giants Apple and Qualcomm take part. So is US President Donald Trump. SoftBank promised President Trump this deal would give the US 50,000 jobs.
Keep in mind this happens while Trump visits the Saudi Royal Family. So why did Saudi prince Mohammad bin Salman invest in this? Because he wants his nation to be a powerhouse in technology, not just oil. So why did SoftBank CEO Mr. Son create this deal? He dreams to have a tech powerhouse outside of Japan. This deal was months in the making. In fact, there was so much infighting they didn’t think this deal would happen at all. But it did. SoftBank and Saudi Arabia created a tech monster.
But what does this have to do with the rest of us in computer repair, or other tech aspect? Well, if this SoftBank and Saudi Arabia deal does create all these jobs, then things will definitely look up. Here in the US, we need all the jobs we can get. Furthermore, we need all the tech jobs we can get. But I’m skeptical. How many times have we heard this before? So I’ll believe it when the jobs come over here. What about Silicon Valley. This SoftBank and Saudi Arabia deal will give them competition. Maybe that’s what they need in California: a wake up call. What do you think of this SoftBank and Saudi Arabia potential tech monster?
Most of us know the headlines by now. So most know the tensions between the US and North Korea, as well as with other nations. Consequently, many ask, “What will become of this?” One hacktivist group says these tensions could have catastrophic results. Hacking group Anonymous warns of World War Three.
Anonymous put out a video telling people to prepare for WW3. They also say signs of war on the Korean peninsula are looming. The video is on You Tube. In fact, it’s around six minutes long and it’s been up for several days now. As usual, the Anonymous newscaster disguised his/her voice. They also wore the Guy Fawkes masks. They don’t call them Anonymous for nothing.
But back to their warnings of WW3. They pointed out military movements the US, Japan and South Korea made. They also claim President Donald Trump tested several ballistic missiles last week. Of course, we all know about North Korea’s nuclear tests as of late. Then Anonymous said China urged it’s people in North Korea to get out ASAP. Furthermore, Anonymous claims Australia is now involved. In fact, they’re looking for strategies involving the Indian Ocean. Hacking group Anonymous warns there will be severe world consequences if World War 3 really breaks out.
So what does this have to do with computer repair, or anything technology? Well, hacking group Anonymous told us things mainstream media wouldn’t, or couldn’t. Some of it was wrong. But some of it was right. I’m not saying I’m a big Anonymous fan. But when they issue a dire report like this, maybe we should at least listen. We can agree to disagree, but we should at least listen. Like them or not, they have made a big impact on the world in recent years. Obviously, I hope these warnings don’t come to anything. I don’t want this disaster anymore than you do. Remember what Einstein taught us, “I don’t know with what weapons WW3 will be fought. But they will fight WW4 with sticks and stones.” I think that’s why Anonymous put this report out. What do you think of hacking group Anonymous’ latest video?
