Mar 24, 2013 | Computer technology, networking, News, Wireless
Apple acquires WifiSlam for $20 million dollars. What is WifiSlam? Glad you asked. They develop ways for mobile apps to detect where the user is, particularly in indoor locations.
I almost forgot…WifiSlam’s founders were former disgruntled Google interns.?Both sides are being hushed about this transaction. Apple execs say they do buy companies occasionally. But when it came to Wifislam, Apple had no comment, neither did the company they bought out. However, this deal is being done at a time Apple is desperate to improve it’s mapping skills, especially compared to Google. Last year, Apple attempted to launch it’s mapping app, and they fell so hard on their faces that CEO Tim Cook felt apologized to customers everywhere. Have you tried that joke of an app? According to Apple map, Berlin is in Anartica and the Statue of Liberty isn’t where we think ?it is. I’m sure Google had a field day with this one. Google already offers indoor mapping, and they know where Berlin and the Statue of Liberty are.
Do you think this purchase is a good idea? I understand the reason. When it comes to mapping, Google is king, and Apple wants a piece of that pie. They definitely have to do better than they did last time. They seemed to have gotten someone who knows what they’re doing. But should WifiSlam have held out for more money? I mean $20 million dollars to Apple is like $20 to you and me. Will this deal work? Should Apple just forget about mapping all together and just concentrate on what they do best?
Mar 23, 2013 | internet, News
The next time you go on Ebay or Amazon, some of your purchase may go to your state capitol. The US Senate voted convincingly, 75 yea, 24 no, to give states more authority to collect taxes off purchases made out of state online.
Not only are the Feds strapped for cash, most states are too. I read somewhere around $20 Billion in?state sales?taxes go uncollected by Internet transactions. In many states, online purchasers are ‘supposed’ to pay?a sales tax when they click purchase. Whether it happens or not, that’s another story. ??When the national debt is 17 trillion, 20 billion doesn’t sound like much. But when you bring it to state and local?economies, that is a fortune!
Here is the most startling part of these potential levies: Both parties sponsor this! Two of the main sponsors are Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Twenty-six Republicans and 49 Democrats supported the?state tax measure.?Maybe we can all get along. Their argument is that levies will give retail stores and small and local business an advantage. But opponents say it will entice more big businesses to go overseas, where sales taxes can’t be enforced. Those opponents have one point: More outsourcing is the last thing our economy needs right now.
What is your argument? I think state levies are a good ides. Not only can it help local businesses, that state revenue can improve our schools, create jobs and erase some of our state deficit. Then again, the naysayers have a point. I’m sure there are many in corporate America that’s just looking for an excuse to send more jobs overseas. But I say the good outweighs the bad. What do you say?
Mar 22, 2013 | Entertainment, General
Yesterday, I reported on Google’s billionth monthly user. So it got me thinking: What are some of my most memorable You Tube Moments? I’m basing these on impact, coverage and my bias opinion.?Let the debate begin!
10. Ted Williams😕 This homeless man was discovered and his voice can melt butter! Since his discovery, he became an American sensation. His struggle with drugs/alcohol touched the hearts of millions.
9. Baby Talk: Check out the deep conversation between these two twin?babies. They make more sense than Congress these days.
8. Bullied Bus Monitor: For several years, the savagery of school bullying has made headlines. This video?brought the cruelty to our very conscious, and hopefully, brought shame?and repentance to the teasers.
7. Michael ‘Kramer’ Richard’s Meltdown: In Nov. 2006, this Seinfeld star was heckled wile performing?and went on a racist rant, using the n word several times and talked of lynching.?It one of the earliest episodes of celebrity bad behavior caught on You Tube.
6. Joplin, MO Tornado: These brave souls?survived an F-5?tornado while huddled in a?fridge at the back of a gas station. The audio is guaranteed to give anyone goose bumps.
5. Sweet Georgia Brown: This woman survived a house fire, and gave us the most popular phrase since ‘Dynamite’! We got time for that!
4. Justin Beiber Discovered😕 He was an obscure teenager singing and playing the drums, putting up his talents on this social medium. Producers, including Usher, saw these videos and?by 2010, he’s one of the greatest teen idols of this generation, if not all time.
3. 4 Year Old Cries Over Election: Out of the mouths of babes. By Oct. 2012, most Americans were sick of the fighting, the negative ads?the arguing, just the contempt this election brought out. This girl spoke for all of us!
2. Middle East Revolutions: In 2009, Iranian president Ahmadinejad won an election against moderate and?reformer Hossein Mousavi. Many Iranians protested what they considered?a crooked election. Their government tried to hush the protest, but You Tube made their voices be heard. Before long, You Tube and other social media exposed other revolutions in that region.
1. PSY Gangnam Style: This was the first video to get a billion hits. It created the biggest (and if you ask me, the most annoying) dance craze since Macarena. In 2012, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing it. And You Tube was the main medium to launch the sensation. What’s next?
Mar 21, 2013 | Entertainment, internet, News
According to Google, You Tube now has one billion users on a monthly basis. And if international census takers are right, the Earth’s population stands out at over seven billion. Yep, 15% of the world’s population use Google monthly, if not daily. No wonder why people are flocking to it.
It’s become a part of our daily culture. Sweet Georgia Brown’s “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That” has become the quote of the age. We’ve learned dances like Gangham Style and Harlem Shake.? Don’t have the money or backing to make a movie? Just throw it up on You Tube, and who knows, a major producer might see it. It’s given a voice to the voiceless,?like the uprisings in the?Middle East .? It’s exposed our bad?behavior. Remember the case of the elderly bus monitor bullied by junior high students??And don’t party too hard. Your actions might get caught on You Tube for all the media and ?world to see. Just ask New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
What next then? You Tube still has work to do. It’s still censored in much of China. It’s trying to expand to the Middle East, like the very conservative Saudi Arabia. It’s not the first social media site to reach a billion. As of today’s posting, Facebook has 1.06 billion regulars, more than what You Tube has.
What’s your favorite use for You Tube? It’s my favorite source to get news. Don’t look at me like that; over 70% of Americans don’t trust mainstream media. I’m addicted to old commercials and I thank them for bringing those back. Surely you’ve seen those cute videos like babies talking and pets interacting? What’s your You Tube guilty pleasure?
Mar 20, 2013 | News, Security
Earlier today (keep in mind the Koreas are 13 hours ahead of the US east coast), South Korea was a victim of a?major cyber attack. The biggest victims were two major S. Korean banks, three major S. Korean TV stations and LG Uplas, an Internet service provider. Much of the country literally had to be shut down.
Immediately, N. Korea is the main culprit. They were believed to be behind two major cyber attacks in 2009 and 2011. Both targeted S. Korea government, media and banking. You need all of those institutions just to carry out daily life. Look at this last attack. At the banks, people didn’t have access to their own money. Journalists said they couldn’t get important stories on the air. And a time of increasing tensions, media is critical. And we all know where law and order is broken down, that just gives the enemy an open chance to strike. And we all use the Internet to do just about anything these days.?When all these systems are broken down, chaos usually follows. Thank goodness it didn’t this time.
Why do I even report on the Koreas? What does this have to do with us in the good old USA? In the last several weeks, N. Korea has turned the rhetoric up against?America just like with their neighbors. And now they’re suspected of cyber attacking S. Korea? Think about how easy it would be to start conflicts, riots and chaos if?all systems are shut down. The scary part is how easy it is to shut an entire nation down. If N.?Korea allegedly?did this to?S. Korea,?what’s next? Don’t ever think America is too high and mighty that this can’t happen to us. Another reason I address this: Is?to ask what can we do to prevent a major cyber attack?
Mar 19, 2013 | Entertainment, General
Most of you know about the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic that was?scheduled to come out in April,?but will be released later due to marketing issues. ?You know Aston Kutcher portrays the role of Jobs in this movie. How many of are looking more forward to seeing iSteve?
That’s right: A comedy website called Funny or Die is bringing us a web spoof of the Apple founder and CEO called iSteve. It will be released in April 15 only on the Funny or Die website. It’s over an hour long, the longest production they’ve ever had. It’s a very humorous take based on light research. In?iSteve, Jobs?will be portrayed by? Justin Long, who starred in the 2004 Ben Stiller comedy hit Dodgeball. Funny or Die has brought us hilarious stuff before. Have you seen Zero Dark Thirty? The plot is as follows: Navy SEALS try to lure Bin Laden out with a puppy and pizza! If they’re brave enough to tackle?an issue?that sensitive, you know iSteve is going to be good.
If I had to choose between iSteve and Ashton Kutcher’s movie, I’d watch iSteve. I doubt I’ll even watch the ‘real’ biopic. I know there are some who will say this spoof is blasphemous. I say lighten up! Most of us already know about Steve Jobs and his many contributions to society. Most of us already know Jobs wasn’t perfect, to put it mildly! Plus, we all need to laugh in this day and age. And isn’t spoof a great form of flattery? Saturday Night Live has been doing it for almost 40 years. What would you rather see: a lighthearted online comedy or some tearjerker focused on Steve Jobs’ not so notable deeds?
Mar 18, 2013 | Computer technology, News
Yesterday, I reported Apple launched an ad campaign glorifying their product and criticizing their competitors. Samsung is releasing their new smartphone, and Apple is going on the attack. Now, Blackberry is two months into it’s launch of the Q10 and Z10, and they are sticking their ground.
According to Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins, the Z10 will have over 100,000 apps by the end of this week, including apps from big names, like Netflix and Instagram. Mr. Heins even took the high road, complimenting Apple on their touch device innovation, and praising their success. But Mr. Heins couldn’t help it; he had to take a small jab at them. He hinted this innovation is over 5 years old and could easily be replaced. Most smartphone critics love the Q10 and z10 technically, but want to see more apps. That’s where deals, like the one Blackberry is trying to make with Instagram and Netflix, come in.
The tale of two powerhouse technological companies. Blackberry is trying to improve it’s weaknesses. Apple is exposing everyone else’s. Blackberry’s CEO threw in some compliments for Apple. Apple only threw judgment for it’s competitors. ?Mr. Heins knows this is a critical time for Blackberry, and he’s focused on his company. Apple stocks have been falling for months, and they’re focused on other people’s. Do you see a pattern here? If company B works to better it’s product, and company A works to destroy their neighbors’ who do you think will win?
Mar 17, 2013 | Computer technology, networking, News
So Samsung is about to release Galaxy S4 Launch. Apple is about to launch something too: a praise of their company and an attack on Samsung and every Apple competitor out there!
Apple’s marketing vice-president Phil Schiller, in front of the world, openly criticized and scorned Android. He…ahem…reminded people the majority of malware attacks occurred on Droid devices. He accused Android for running on old operating systems. Of course, Apple is responsible for all their systems. I’m sorry, but is Mr. Schiller marketing a product or running for office? You’d never know it with these attack ads.
Meanwhile, Apple has a website telling consumers why they’re so lovely, well, compared to their competitors. You know it’s going to be bad when?the headline says, “There’s?Apple. And then there’s everything else.”?According to this site, Apple is the only trusted source for entertainment. They remind us only iPhone has Siri. They even claim Apple is the best, no, make that the only company that have the right people to talk to.
Look, I have an Apple device myself and it works great, and their customer service has been great. So why do this, when a competitor is about to release their product? Are they that fearful of Galaxy S4 success they have to resort to these childish ads? Couldn’t Apple be using this time and energy to concentrate on their products instead of condemning someone else’s? Do you really think Steve Jobs would have approved of this?
Mar 16, 2013 | email, News
In this era of constant merges, like US Airways acquiring American Airlines, another one has happened. I’m not that happy about this one.?The app Mailbox, which helps me organize my email, is merging into Dropbox, an app that makes sharing pictures and files?easier. I like both these apps, so why am?I?not?happy?
It’s my fear that this merging is going to ruin the quality of both?Dropbox and Mailbox. I guess Dropbox has that power; this young company is worth $4?billion dollars, has 100 million users, and only 250 employees, most of whom look under 35. But according to Mailbox’s website, in just a?month’s time,??they’ve grown to process about 60 million emails…a day! I know what some of you are going to say…One company organizes email. The other one brings documents, files?and pictures anywhere. This should be a great merger, right?
Not so fast. Dropbox is going to have to drop approximately $100 million dollars in cash and assets to make this merger happen. This money could have been spent making Dropbox, the Dropbox they already have, better. It’s going to take a while for these companies to feel each other out. In this fast pace technological ‘get it done yesterday’ world, people need their emails and docs organized now. And I wonder how many jobs will be lost because of this merger, everybody’s tight lipped on that one. They’re always casualties to mergers. Am I being too paranoid about this? Is this really a good thing and I don’t see it? Am I wrong about this?
Mar 15, 2013 | Computer technology, News, Wireless
When Microsoft released the Surface Tablet, they had high hopes. Despite over 1.5 million copies sold, Microsoft execs are still?hitting the panic button.
Don’t let the number 1,500,000 fool you. More than twice that amount were ordered. Plus, compare that to the nearly 23 million iPads that were sold in the last 2012 quarter, and the 128 million tablets shipped around the world. It’s clear Microsoft has some work to do. They first released their surface tablets in late October, in hopes to cash in holiday sales. Economists say holiday shopping was at the highest since before the 2008 recession. It seems the Microsoft tablet didn’t feel that boom. The iPad and other tablets sure did.
You may think Microsoft has so much going on, especially with Windows 8, that they can afford to take a hit. They can’t, not with this. PC sales dropped for the first time ever in 2012, and more of the same is expected in 2013. Meanwhile, the tablet market is expected to have another record breaking year. ?One expert said that by the 2020s, the PC will be about as obsolete as the VCR and the CD player are today. Look at your local coffee house. Everybody has a laptop, tablet, or iPad now.
So Microsoft needs to get on the ball. One thing their surface tablets need is more apps. How are you going to sale something with only a fraction of apps that Apple offers??Then again,?Microsoft just came out?with the surface tablet in October ’12. Can they turn sales around? Or?has the almighty Microsoft finally met it’s match?
