May 21, 2013 | Entertainment, News
Since 2005, Xbox has been the leader in gaming and has caused gaming revolution after revolution. Remember how amazed you were Xbox 360 came out? Prepared to be amazed again, several times over!
Earlier today, in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft played show-and-tell to the gaming world with it’s latest creation, Xbox One. It will be out later this year. They didn’t give a date, but?my bet is October or November, just in time for the holiday shopping season (what a coincidence!). And they had something to show!
In one console, you can control your games, movies, music, sports, even Skype. You can do this through your voice. While the outside looked sleek, and the controller looked the same, I was more impressed with what could be delivered. My favorite part of the demo was when he changed the channel using his voice; there will be no more struggling to find a remote. Then there were the new games. What jumped at me were the four?EA games: FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14 and Sports UFC. They’re using players every move and their human intelligence to create these masterpieces. We don’t know when these games will be out. But I’m just guessing Santa and company will have lots of overtime this year, if you know what I mean.
There are aspects that concern me. The smart match is supposed to eliminate lobby time, but I’m not so sure, especially if you have different people coming in the lobby. And while I do like DVR and other aspects you can use for bragging rights and improvements, I’m not sold on Smart Glass. I’ll see it when these devices do connect for my amusement.
So, for Microsoft and Xbox’s?sake, I hope?they can deliver on their promises. I’ve been disappointed by Xbox?before. And there are some aspects I’m not sold on. There have been times when the advertisements have been good,?but the product was another story. And what about pricing? I?do hope they can make?Xbox one affordable and the plans that come with it. So when the release date?comes, will you be in the long overnight lines, pushing people down, and fighting for the last Xbox One?
May 20, 2013 | networking, News
Well, what I reported on Saturday has happened. It’s so big even mainstream media has covered it. Yahoo has purchased Tumblr for 1.1 billion dollars.
Yahoo has already integrated their blog into the Tumblr blog. Tumblr CEO David Carp is obviously excited, but due to the F-bombs in his statement, I won’t detail how excited. Because of this deal, Yahoo is expected to grow 20 percent in traffic and Yahoo’s audience is expected to grow by 50%. Tumblr is one of the fastest growing social media sites today, and that’s especially true on a mobile scale. More than half of Tumblr’s users get their fix on a device, not a PC or Mac. Plus, remember what a young audience this social media has.
On the surface, this looks like a great transition. Yahoo wants to reach a young audience. Tumblr wants to reach a big audience. They agreed to help each other sale ads, which I’m sure will do well. Needless to say, both sides are excited. But all of this is best case scenario. What’s the worst? You know censorship issues are going to come to play; look at Carp’s response to this deal. How are Meyer and Carp going to get along? If this deal fails in the long term, hundreds of employees and millions of users will be affected. So do you think this is a good merger?
May 19, 2013 | Computer technology, Wireless
I’ve you’ve followed my blog as of late, you know I’ve covered Google glass several times. But there’s one incident about this phenomenon that really disturbed me. What if you’re using the bathroom?wearing Google Glasses?
That’s what happened at a Google conference. To take a picture with this wearable Internet device, all one has to do is wink their eye. This particular person pondered this as he went to the urinal,?and several other men were there?still wearing their glasses! As he got out, he noticed thousands wearing these things from the bar to the lobby, claiming Google Glass was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
This opens up a new can of worms, especially for privacy advocates. When the?smartphone got popular in the late?2000s, when you could take pictures anywhere, that was shocking enough. Now with Google glass, all someone has to do to is wink to take a picture. Yes, this could be used for good, but it could used for such evil. I can see some wicked genius now trying to catch someone in the act by using this device. It’s getting so bad now you can’t do anything without some camera or device watching you, and having your business spread all over the world, literally! But this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, right? What side of the debate are you on?
May 18, 2013 | networking, News
Yahoo might do it again. In a year that has seen great growth and comeback for them, there is a plan for Yahoo to purchase Tumblr. Tomorrow, there’s a meeting to debate buying Tumblr for over a billion dollars in cash.
This hip youth-oriented blog site has been under Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s eye for weeks. At first, the talk started with just investing. Now, it’s turning into outright takeover. This is an attempt for Yahoo to reach the youth audience. As of April 2013, Tumblr has over 107 million blogs, more than 50 million blog posts, and about 37 million members. Tumblr claims it made $13 million dollars in revenue last year. So yes, I can see why Yahoo is salivating. But this is by far the biggest purchase Yahoo has ever attempted. What is the deal goes downhill? What if they buy Tumblr than it fails? They’re out of a billion dollars and have nothing to show for it.
This is one of the reasons I’m against this purchase. Yes, I’ve been singing the praises of Yahoo lately, but not this time. Tumblr is doing fairly well by itself. Obviously, so is Yahoo. Why do this? Call me a sucker for small business, but I don’t like it when companies merge like this, unless it’s an absolute necessity. I see no necessity here. In America, there’s free market enterprise. When you have large companies swallowing up successful smaller ones, that kills the free in free market. Then there is the censorship issue. If Yahoo buys Tumblr, whose to stop them from restricting?what bloggers say? The freedom of self-expression is what makes Tumblr successful. ??Is this potential buyout a good thing or the worst mistake Yahoo has ever made?
May 17, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Last week, I gave you the top 10 tech savvy nations on Earth today. Now, I give you the 10 top tech savvy cities in the US.
10. Raleigh/Durham, NC: This growing metropolis is the home to the??Research Triangle Park, a major high-tech development center. It’s the largest research park in the world.?It’s a major hub of Intel and Verizon. It also has the top universities in the country, and I don’t just mean ACC basketball.
9. Washington, DC: It’s home to many tech giants like Zantech IT and OBXtech. Government tech jobs are plenty. Plus, the city has the highest college graduate rate in the country. In today’s market, that should be a clue right there.
8. New York, NY: In the city that never stops, sleeps or slumbers, you better have the latest tech gadget. However, it’s only #8 because of their average Wi-Fi coverage.
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: It’s the headquarters of Best Buy and Target. These twin cities are tech start-up factories! It was one of the first cities to go wireless.
6. San Diego, CA: In this west coast paradise, biotech and telecomm companies are as plentiful as sunshine and perfect weather. Here’s a hint; the San Diego Chargers play in the Qualcomm Stadium.
5. Austin, TX: Forbes magazine called it the best innovative city in America. It’s the hometown of Dell. Get wireless coverage almost anywhere: It’s said their convention center holds 7,000 online connections!
4. San Francisco, CA: While not literally in the Silicon Valley, it can credit Craigslist, Digg, Live Journal, Instagram, Twitter and Advent Software as it’s tech babies. It boasts Mac World and iWorld festivals annually. Wi-Fi in San Fran isn’t a privilege or luxury, it’s a necessity for economic and social survival.
3. Boston-Cambridge, MA: It’s the home of MIT and Harvard, that’s enough right there. But this metropolis cranks out biotech and software firms and environmental tech innovation faster then Faneuil Hall cranks out chowda! Not only that but Boston is the home of yours truly and Geek Choice Computer Repair!
2. Seattle, WA: You know a city with this many coffee houses better be tech savvy. In 1979, a company called Microsoft was moved here, and hundred of tech spawns, spin-offs and start-ups still remain here. Amazon’s headquarters are here. As you can imagine, the wireless coverage is no joke!
1. San Jose/Silicon Valley, CA: This is the home of the technology revolution. As early as 1971, greater San Jose was dubbed Silicon Valley because of it’s innovations. Since then, they’ve been non-stop: Adobe, Apple, Cisco, eBay, Google, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, Western Digital, Yahoo and Netflix to name a few. If this area didn’t exist, we’d still be groovin’ like it’s 1971, and that’s hardly an exaggeration!
If you feel your favorite city or town has been left out, write back and let me know why.
May 16, 2013 | internet, networking, News
Here are some historic company rivalries for you: Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonalds vs. Burger King, All State vs. State Farm, Exxon Mobile vs. BP. Can we add Google vs. Microsoft to this list?
This isn’t the first time Google and Microsoft have butted heads, and it probably won’t be the last. One time, Google sued the US gov’t for not recognizing it’s bid for a cloud email system. Google probably wouldn’t have sued if a contract hadn’t had gone to Microsoft first. Now they found something else to fight about. Google is now asking…no…make that demanding Microsoft take You Tube off their Windows phone app list.
This time the root is advertising. Google claims the You Tube app’s lack of ads is in violation of the You Tube API. They also claim Microsoft created the app without Google’s consent or knowledge, and did so to deliberately cut into their profits. The lack of ads also hurts the advertisers. This is going to cut off a great source, thus increase competition and prices elsewhere, causing harm to the system itself. Google CEO Larry Page hardly?held back about his feelings for Microsoft : “…we struggle with people like Microsoft.”
Will this rivalry ever end? I doubt it. There’s been some collaboration, like Google’s talk support and Microsoft’s webmail service coming together.?Hey, sometimes we have to work with people we don’t?like. But I have a?feeling this dispute is?going to trump this attempt. So I close by asking, can they both get along?
May 15, 2013 | Malware, Security
Over the past year or so, mobile malware has become an epidemic. Not only that, it’s getting more sophisticated, harder to diagnose and harder to eradicate. But it seems like Google?Androids are attracting malware like nobody’s business.
According to F-Secure labs, the number of threats have skyrocketed so far in 2013. But this year, Android’s malware percentage is?91 percent, up from 79% in 2012. That means of all the mobile device brands, Droids account for 91% of all malware issues. Meanwhile, none were found in Apple or Blackberry; the other nine percent were found in Symbian. Of the malware found in Android mobile, 3/4 of it was made to hack into financial info (debit and credit cards, bank accounts, 401Ks) and take people’s money.
But wait…there’s more. There are suppliers that sale malware to other scammers that specifically target Droids. They convince users to give permission to update data, like Adobe Flash. When the user is hooked, the malware or spyware intercepts and exploits the users banking habits. Why doesn’t Apple have this problem? Because there, 3rd parties can’t get permission to wreck stuff up. With Apple, apps are restricted to what personal info can be accessed. With Androids, anything goes.
In my writings, I try to be unbiased as possible. But it’s hard to be unbiased when reports like this come out. I’m not exactly saying not to buy Androids. But as a consumer, I’m thinking twice before getting my next smartphone. I don’t think I’ll support Droids until at least something is done about this malware issue, and what it can lead to. What can Android do to reduce this malware epidemic?
May 14, 2013 | Entertainment, internet
Gone are the days where Twitter was simply ?a place to send 140 word messages. Now, you can listen to music and watch photos and videos. And if sports cable TV giant ESPN has it’s way, you’ll be able to do even more.
Today ESPN will flaunt their relationship with Twitter to advertisers at an event. You see this on ESPN Sportscenter, when fans and pro athletes broadcast their tweets. Now they want to show highlights of major sports on Twitter. Don’t expect to see children’s diving though. These major sports will include the 2014 World Cup, the big 4 sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey) and the X Games. I didn’t know X Games were that popular, but I guess they are. ESPN’s goal is to sell? Twitter space to advertisers before the highlight; picture an ad coming on before a You Tube video. According to ESPN exec Eric Johnson, the goal is to push content wherever the fans are.
Twitter is growing up. Five years ago, few of us ever heard of Twitter. Today, it’s the fastest growing social media site of them all. ESPN and other media are taking note, so are advertisers. Plus, like I said in a previous blog, why spend so much on a TV show? A Twitter ad will reach more people. Which team will deliver a sports moment for you to tweet?
May 13, 2013 | General
Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs are the supermen of computer technology. Gates and Jobs, heard it a thousand times. Their contributions have changed humanity and the world forever. Sometimes, it’s kind of hard to picture them as human. I didn’t, until I watched an episode of 60 Minutes Overtime.
There, I saw testimony of how these two rivals were really close.??They’ve always had?tremendous respect for each other.?According to Gates, they grew up in the same time and had child like ambitions to build major corporations. But when Gates reminisces on his visit?to?a dying Jobs, that’s when?it got really deep. Gates even?got emotional when he told the tale.?The?Microsoft founder mentioned Jobs looking forward to?this new?boat, even though he realized?he won’t be around to?use it.
Dare I say, this put these two?men in a different?light.?I can far better relate to this?Bill Gates than the one whose?worth is $66+ billion dollars. And this Jobs?is more human than the one I read about in his biography. ?There’s a lesson to be learned here. Yes, Jobs and Gates have been very successful. But let’s not put them on a God like pedestal. Let me take it closer to?home: Is there anybody, whether famous?or personal, who you’re putting on an?imaginary pedestal?
May 12, 2013 | internet, networking
Later this week, Google is holding a conference for the ages. I’m no fortune teller, so I can’t predict what they’re going to say. But here are a few expectations, and they are high!
One is a new updates for their Android system. There’s a lot of talk of?the 5.0 Key Lime, but don’t get your hopes up, at least not this year. Some are expecting?Google’s version?of the 7-Inch Nexus tablet to come out,?and there’s talk of an 11 inch tablet. We could even see Google and Motorola’s first major collaboration. Changes in?Google maps can?also be expected. And you know Google Glass is going to be a topic, if not the main event.
Well, I have mixed reactions about this conference. Obviously, Google?has made a huge difference in all our lives. Those Google maps?sure do a?better job than those paper maps. And which would you rather use for research, Google search engine or an encyclopedia? And these changes in?these online powerhouses can be for good. Note I said?can be.?I’ve read a lot?about Google putting projects off. That can increase expectations, or that can?just turn?consumers off. Remember the Boy Who Cried Wolf, and when the wolf did come people didn’t care anymore because?of the previous false alarms? Learn that?lesson Google. And the maps…Google has lead the world in quality mapping. If?they change that, what if it turns into Apple maps? And don’t even get me started on this Google glass thing. But what?do you think??Will Google’s expectations be blessings or curses?
