Apr 13, 2013 | Entertainment, internet, networking
Do you have the new Twitter music app yet? Twitter is launching a?new and uncomplicated?music app this weekend. Too bad you have to be a celebrity to have it now. You’ll have to wait until next week at least.
As of this weekend, it’s being introduced at the Coachella festival. This app has a ‘suggested’ tab for song recommendations, ‘now playing’ tab to link songs listened to by your followers, ‘popular’, for the most trending songs, and ’emerging’ to promote rising artist or help get your name out there if you’re a struggling artist. Ryan Seacrest is already tweeting good things about it. But that’s just one tweet from one man. There are some saying they absolutely hate the app.
And that’s the gamble here. Should you really release an app or anything else to celebrities before releasing it to the general public? I have mixed feelings about that. I understand why Twitter is doing it. If Ryan Seacrest and other famous people like it, they’re banking you will too. But what if they hate it, and I’m guessing some do. What if the haters tweet about how awful this app is? I’m sure people will avoid the app if that happens. And that’s the double-edged sword.?What will the next A-lister say about the upcoming Twitter music app?
Apr 12, 2013 | Computer technology, General
The other day, I reported on the smartphone teen market. That got me reminiscing on top technological commercials.
10. Dude, You’re Getting a Dell:??In the early 2000s, nothing said?teen commercialism like a stoner like kid encouraging your?parent to get a Dell. The ads stopped when?Ben Curtis, the commercial star,?was arrested for marijuana possession.
9. Coleco Vision😕 In the early 1980s, the video arcade was the place to be. There were home video games before, but Coleco Vision commercials really made the arcade come home. I think this started the home?video game craze.
8. Boost Mobile: Think cell phones are for the kids? This commercial proves that theory wrong. Very wrong.
7. Apple Hal Commercial: Ah, only Apple Macintosh saved us from Y2K chaos! (wink wink)
6. Catherine Zeta-Jones’s T-Mobile Commercials: A gorgeous movie star?with a?sexy British accents?promotes?this cell phone?company, putting it on the map. Darn you, Michael Douglas!
5. America Online Commercials: Remember them? These ads taught us about a new medium, launching America into the Internet age. Looking back, they’re kind of cheesy. But in the mid ’90s, they fascinated us!
4. Go Daddy: I know they’re racy and push the envelop, but that’s exactly why they make this list. Remember their last Super Bowl ad?
3. I Pod-I Tunes Commercial:?While not that great in quantity, these dancing cartoons got us to get those I-Tune cards, didn’t they? It was no coincidence these cartoon figures were on the I-Tunes cards.
2. Macintosh 1984: No explanation needed.
1. First Cell Phone Commercial: Centel 1989’s commercial gets this spot for historic reasons. It was the first to show us people could connect anywhere with this radical technology. It’s not so radical now.
Apr 11, 2013 | Computer technology, News
Our world gets smaller and smaller. So do our computer devices. A few years ago, a 7-inch tablet seemed impossible. Now, Microsoft is planning just that.
This year, Microsoft is developing it’s next batch of Surface tablets, including a 7-inch version of it. It’s expected to go into? mass production in the months to come. According to researches, half of all tablets shipped in Q4 2012 were under 8 inches. Since Surface’s launch last year, sales have been below average. Plus, the competitors are getting smaller. The 7.9 iPad Mini was introduced last year. Google’s 7-inch Nexus should be coming to a shelf near you anytime now.
Plus, Microsoft is hurting. They have a $75 billion dollar empire?to protect. Not only is the competition hitting them, but the hurt is internal. In the first few months of 2013, sales of desktops and laptops fell by over 10%. Keep in mind these are Microsoft’s strengths. Windows 8 isn’t having a successful run. Many people I’ve talked to?say this new software left them dazed and confused. Maybe that’s why they’re cutting the prices, and urging more tablets and touch screen devices to compliment Windows 8.
I don’t know if this is innovation or desperation on Microsoft’s part.?They’re building future smartphones, too. Personally, I hope Microsoft hits?a home run with this 7 Inch Tablet. It sounds like they need to. Seems like this tablet is what’s needed to bring Window 8 into a positive light. When?Microsoft brings out the?7?Inch Tablet, will you be in line to buy?
Apr 10, 2013 | Computer technology, networking, News
Wow, have things changed! I’m going to date myself here a little: in high school, I was fortunate to have a pager. In college, we still used land lines in dorms. Those days are gone: Nearly half of US teens own an iPhone. That doesn’t include the competitors.
According to a survey, 91 percent of teens want to buy a smartphone; that’s up five percentage point from last spring. Of these stats, Apple seems to be in a commanding lead. Fifty nine percent want an Apple device, compared to twenty percent from Android device. The third most popular choice: They don’t care, just as long as they have a smartphone! Oh, and just six months ago, just 40% of teens had an iPhone, so that stat has increased 8% in a short time period. Tablets are getting popular too. Over half of teens own one now, up from 44 percent last year. And?17% plan on buying one in the near future. Of those, two-thirds plan to buy I-Pads.
So why do I bring this up? One statistic suggests there are more teenagers today than when baby boomers were teens back in the 1960s and ’70s. So they possess a lot of economic power! Plus, when a young?consumer develops a bond with a certain company, that bond often goes on for life. So it looks like Apple gets this concept, and will have customers for life. It seems like Blackberry needs to get on the ball. Plus, technology is only going to increase, so these companies are doing what they can now to hook the younger generation. Where do you think this market will go?
Apr 9, 2013 | Entertainment, internet, News
Online music service?Spotify?has done well for itself.??Since it’s launch in 2008, Spotify has acquired 24 million users and 6 million subscribers. But why stop there? Starting tonight Spotify is taking over You Tube.
Today, they’re starting a one day takeover of You Tube’s homepage. The plot is to follow this band called Phoenix for a day, through a 18 minute documentary that will come in pieces. For example, in the morning, you’ll see a couple of minutes. I just watched this band travel through Portland, and that video lasted 85 seconds. There will be more to come as the day progress, and the whole documentary will be seen by the day’s end.
Spotify hopes you ‘follow’ Phoenix, as in use the Spotify follow feature to see what your friends are listening to. Personally, I think it’s a much smarter ad move than spending tens of million in?TV ads, like they did when they featured commercials during the?NBC talent show?The Voice. ?This You Tube campaign: $400,000. So obviously, the Phoenix campaign makes more economic sense. I think it makes more common sense too. Yes, The Voice has a huge following. Yes, it’s one of the most popular TV shows today. But it’s only on a few months of the year, and even then, only one hour a night. You Tube is there 24 hours a day, they’re are always people on the site. I hope this ad campaign work. I wonder where Phoenix is going next.
Apr 8, 2013 | networking, News
On Mashable.com, there are articles about technology and space topics, like the Hubble Telescope. But these aren’t blogs or journalistic stories. These articles are being paid for and sponsored by Snapdragon.
Welcome to the next trend in advertising. There have been around 2,000 articles on Google Glasses popping up everywhere. It’s not known whether these are journalistic articles?written bought and?paid for by Google. Many speculate the latter. This brand of marketing has been called everything from branded content to native advertising. They look, sound and read like unbiased articles, but they are anything but.
They can’t even calculate how much money is being spent on sponsored content. Even well noted publications from Huffington Post to Business Insider are using this marketing tool. In fact, Huffington collaborated a sponsored content deal with household product giant Johnson & Johnson. Publishers love this marketing scheme because of the abundance of ad space and to them, it’s easier to make money than with traditional advertising.
But is it ethical? When I read an article, I expect it to come from an unbiased source. Do you remember these things called newspapers? There, an actual journalist writes and publishes the story. ?But with sponsored content, any major company can write what it wants, give it to a publisher they’re in cahoots with, and that passes as journalism. That’s my concern here. And what about?mom-and-pop businesses that have to compete with the Johnson & Johnsons and the Snapdragons?of America for space? If?sponsored content just has to be the wave of the future, they need to?come up with a fair system so every business can get?it’s?chance. But I don’t even think this is possible. What would you rather read: An independent story or a corporate based article with subliminal messages to buy their product?
Apr 7, 2013 | Computer technology, networking, News
Are you ready? It’s almost Facebook phone time! April 12 is their big day, and now they’re pushing this monstrosity by any means necessary, from ads to Facebook?itself.
It’s using it’s own?site,?like page?and ?suggested posting. They’re using layout pages and stories meant to touch the heart. One such posting claims, “Your friends are waiting inside your phone.” That might work on kids from grades K-2, but to use that line on a tech savvy generation and tech savvy public? Another says to put your friends first, as if you can’t do that on a desktop, laptop, smartphone or iPod/iPad app. Did you see?Facebook’s spoof commercial of the 1980 comedic movie Airplane? I liked the creativity, but I doubt cats running through an airplane and half naked people in the overhead bin are going to make me run purchase the HTC First.
To their credit, Facebook is doing some things right. This commercial debuted during the Final Four, a huge draw for Americans. They’ll probably have that commercial on Monday night during the Louisville vs. Michigan championship game. They’ve announced software, Facebook Home, that will be complimentary for Android phones. The cost of the HTC First will start as low as $99. I don’t know what hoops you’ll have to jump through to get a price that low, but I’m sure they’ll be plenty.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Facebook and I’m a borderline Facebook addict. I’ve reunited with hundreds through this social medium. I’m thankful every day for this social medium. ?I just don’t thing this phone is a good idea. Why make people pay for something with one device they can get for free everywhere else?
Apr 6, 2013 | Entertainment, News
Hulu, a place you can keep up with all your favorite movies and TV shows online, is apparently for sale. Former News Corp?president Peter Chernin has offered $500 million for the social streaming service.
Since March, Hulu’s owners, News Corporation and Walt Disney, have contemplated merging.?If the merge happened, where would that leave Hulu? Enter Peter Chernin, a former Hulu board member. He left the social medium in 2009 to form his own group, which has holdings in film, TV, online radio and high tech companies. So on paper, that would make him a great candidate.?He’s??someone who has?been with the medium and continues?to be active in media. Of course,?nobody’s saying anything: not Hulu, not Disney, not Mr. Chernin’s people.
It always irks and scares me when big media corporations ‘merge’ like what’s trying to happen here. Keep in mind Hulu made $700 million last year. I guess $700 million dollars isn’t enough for them. When these mergers happen, small independent media are bullied and squeezed out even more than they already are. However, if Chernin does buy it out, hopefully he won’t tighten the grip on what can and can’t be seen on this social medium. That’s my other fear. Look at what happened to news when corporate America put it’s grip on that: we know more about?Justin Beiber ?than we do about Syria. Do you think this potential deal is good or bad for Hulu and for social media at large?
Apr 5, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Two days ago, I reported on a little known machine named Dynabook. That got me thinking about other little known technological breakthroughs, or maybe you do know. Anyway, here we go:
10. Dynabook: This device, thought of in the early 1970s, was to have been the first hand held computer device. In some ways, it paved the way for devices we enjoy today. Just don’t tell Alan Kay that.
9. DynaTAC Phone: In 1973, Martin Cooper made the very first cell phone call to Bell Labs, also trying to build a cell phone. Need I say more.
8. The First Floppy Disk: Most people?under 21 don’t know what a floppy disk is. In 1970, IBM came up with a 100KB disk to store, hold and trade data. As the decades continued, floppy disk got smaller and smaller and magically turned into hard drives.
7. The First Hard Drive : Can you believe the hard drive was invented before the floppy disk was? In 1956, IBM invents the RAMAC 305,?for $10,000. It was over the size of a refrigerator and held 5MB of data.
6. The First Video Game Console: Before Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, even Atari, there was Magnavox Odyssey. In the 1970s, this console sold 330,000 units and had 27 different games to choose from.
5. Telstar: Telstar is the first communication satellite, launched in 1962. That year, President John F. Kennedy had a press conference that can be seen in Europe. If there was no Telstar, there would be no Skype.
4. First?Windows System: In 1983, Bill Gates reveled an operating?system that was guaranteed to?create a multitasking environment.?And?30 years later…
3. World’s First MP3 Player: In 1998, the Saehan’s MPMan sold in Asia. A few months later, the Eiger Labs MPMan sold in the US. Let the battle with record companies and recording artist begin! And begin they did!
2. The First PC: It wasn’t Apple, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Commodore, or Xerox. It wasn’t invented in the 1970s. It was the Berkeley Enterprises Simon, in the 1950s! It was the first take home computer, to be used as a think tank. It only sold 400 machines during that decade, but paved the way for future home computers.
1. Internet: Believe it or not, it didn’t come out in the 1990s. As early as the 1960s, programming and linking between computer systems in existence were coming together. Now, we can’t picture life without the Internet.
If I missed any, let me hear from you!
Apr 4, 2013 | Entertainment, General, networking
Surely you have written, said or recorded things as a teenager you later regretted. There was that diary or that yearbook?you dug up. There was that experiment where you tied rockets to yourself?trying to fly. Oh, then there was the gangsta rap song you recorded. Better not let your spouse/significant other hear that one. Now we may have?Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg’s adolescence playing out.
Word on the web is there’s an Angelfire page, created back in 1999, that belongs to Mark Zuckerburg.?Assuming this page?was really his:?Even at 15, he shows his online smarts. On one page, he created this Java app called ‘The Web’. Mark’s app drew people together and connected people all over the Internet. Sounds a lot like Facebook today, doesn’t it? Through a favorite list page, we learned of his teen personality. His favorite food was quesadillas. He must have been a pro wrestling fan. He says the best quote is ‘Suck It’, a popular saying by the great WWE?clique of that time, D-Generation X. I’m guessing he was an Eminem fan. On the about me page, he jokes his name is Slim Shady.
You know, it’s fun to see how big time celebrities and business people start out. One thing I love to see on You Tube is celebrities on commercials before they make it big. Here we get to see one of the greatest minds of our time?in development. I mean, he even draws on Angelfire?and writing?with different colors. So are these things embarrassing? Maybe so. Is this really young Zuckerburg’s page? I’ll let you decide.
