There is another tech merger to report. Internet service provider CenturyLink purchases Level 3. Level 3 is also an ISP and telecommunications provider.? What does this mean?
As a result, this merger means competition for AT&T. After AT&T’s merger, they really need competition right now. But how much will this cost CenturyLink? Consequently, this will cost them $34 billion in cash and stocks. This deal will also pay off all debts. Furthermore, this deal equips CenturyLink to handle heavy, heavy online traffic. That’s critical for their business customers.
Level 3 stocks soar. At 1 pm Thursday, their stocks stayed around $47. The last time I checked the ticker, Level 3 stock was above $56 a share. Over the past decade, both spent billions on acquisitions of other corporations. Such corporations include Quest, Global Crossing and TW Telecom Inc. And another thing…Level 3’s clients include Netflix and Google. So CenturyLink will get some very important clientele. In addition to that, CenturyLink gets $10 billion in tax credits. Who doesn’t like tax credits? But all the news isn’t good. While Level 3’s stock soars, CenturyLink stock declines. At 4 pm Friday, CenturyLink stocks held at $30.39 a share. As of 11am Monday, October 31, stocks struggle to make $26.70 a share.
This tells me several things. This tells me the company being bought out actually holds the cards. It’s usually the other way around. Usually, the company doing the buying has most of the power. But here, it’s the other way around. Notice it’s Level 3, not CenturyLink, that has the big clients, like Netflix and Google. Then, notice it’s Level 3’s stock that’s going up. Let’s face it…CenturyLink needs Level 3 way more than CenturyLink needs Level 3. But I am happy this is going to give AT&T the competition we consumers deserve. That’s the glory of a free market enterprise system. Competition keeps corporations in check. It keeps people accountable. I’m not a big merger fan, but I am happy about this one. What do you think of CenturyLink purchasing Level 3?
Tech media giant David Bunnell passed away last Tuesday. He was 69 years old. Bunnell’s wife said he died as a result of pancreatic cancer. Many call him the father of tech media, and for good reason.
His father was a journalist in Nebraska. As a teenager, Bunnell worked for his father’s newspaper. David Bunnell came of age in the 1960s, a decade dedicated to change. And he gladly took part in that change. He marched against housing discrimination and protested the war in Vietnam. While teaching at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, he gave food to those occupying Wounded Knee during the standoff in 1973. So this is a legacy dedicated to change and justice.
In 1976, he started the Computer Notes newsletter. In addition, that same year, he directed the?World Altair Convention. That was the first convention for PC users. Also, he helped Microsoft with their first ad. In the late 1970s, he got inspiration to put a personal computer magazine together. Even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs contributed. It took a few years. But in 1982, PC Magazine was first released to the public. The magazine flew off the shelves. Advertisements came easy. But Bunnell hardly reaped the benefits. The publisher refused to give him an ownership status. Furthermore, PC Magazine was sold without his knowledge or approval. Bunnell and his loyal staff left the magazine.
But in 1984, Bunnell founded Macworld. It’s first release was January 24, 1984. That’s the same day the Mac came out. The magazine taught users how to use the Mac. Bunnell also helped launch PC World. Despite his successes, he never stopped fighting for justice and equality. In 1986, he championed LGBT rights, way before it was popular to do so. In 1987, he challenged and called out racial inequality in the tech industry, way before most ever did. For the rest of his life, Bunnell was committed to social justice. One thing he did was give free MacBooks to underprivileged college students.
Here’s another cool story I read about Bunnell. At his home church, instead of the usual staff in the kitchen, he and top professionals gave the staff a rest and took over. Most noteworthy, they served meals to panhandlers in their city, building relationships and offering hope. This is the legacy of a real man. Baseball great Jackie Robinson once said, “A man’s life is measured by the impact it had on other lives.” David Bunnell understood that. While others obsess over money and power, he chose to make a difference. He chose to stand for something, to make the world a better place. Don’t you think more people in the tech community should follow David Bunnell’s example?
Therefore, US government agencies banned the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone from all aircraft. Agencies include DOT (Department of Transportation) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). So this includes all individuals, passengers as well as flight crew. Furthermore, the Feds ban such smartphones for carry-on and checked bags. Don’t bother carrying it in your pocket either. That is illegal. In addition, even shipping these phones is illegal. The ban goes into effect On October 15, 2016.
Most noteworthy are the consequences of flying a Galaxy Note 7. If airport staff see you with a Galaxy Note 7, you will be denied boarding. Yes, even if you did pay $1,200 for a first class ticket. Also, if you try to check a Galaxy Note 7 in a bag, authorities warn you could increase the risk of explosion. Doing so could result in stiff fines and criminal prosecution. Also, authorities urge Galaxy Note 7 owners to contact Samsung. Samsung customers are urged to trade in their phone, or get a refund. In other words, do whatever it takes to get rid of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Some may call this move ‘big brother’ or invasive. I call this move, “Better safe than dead”. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 crisis is weeks old now. What I’m saying is this: Ladies and Gentlemen, rid yourself of this phone. It’s not getting any better. Samsung gives you every opportunity to do so. You can get a new phone. You can get a refund. Samsung even quit selling the Samsung Note 7. There are plenty of smartphones that do everything the Note 7 does. But they won’t blow up in your face, literally. Is this the final nail in Note 7’s coffin? Will Samsung ever recover?
Google prepares for major fall event today, October 4. Google plays show and tell with it’s goodies, for your viewing and buying pleasure. Let’s see what the Google Pixel event in San Francisco has to offer.
The main events are Pixel and Pixel XL. These will replace Google’s Nexus smartphone system. The Pixel has a 5-inch sreen. Pixel XL will have a 5.5 inch screen. Both include the Snapdragon 821 processor, 4 GB of Ram, 12-megapixel cameras, and fingerprint scanners. Phone maker HTC will manufacture them. The costs should start around $650. But Google will offer financing.
The rest of the items aren’t exactly mid-cards. Google Home will promote revolutionary device Google Home. With this home device, you can ask for today’s weather or turn the lights on. It will play your playlists. Google Home plays your videos on your TV. It boasts of the bass that Amazon Echo allegedly lacks. Speaking of which, it’s already stiff competition for Amazon’s Echo. It will sell for $129. That’s $50 less than the full-size Echo. Chromecast Ultra’s expected to be introduced and go on sale for $69. Look for a Google Wi-fi router to be introduced for around $129. Of course, expect surprises. Google Pixel event in San Francisco will start at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific today, October 4, 2016.
Here is a disclaimer. These are just expectations. So if Google announces something totally different, don’t blame us. I want surprises in this conference. It makes things interesting. You know, the holiday shopping season is fairly close. You don’t want to hear that. But it’s close. So having the conference in October is good strategy. Some of these products and services look good. Others I can do without. After the conference come the cliffhangers. Will Pixel and Pixel XL outsell Apple iPhone 7? Will Google Home be too much competition for Amazon Echo? How well will a Google Wi-fi router sell? Will there be any surprises?
A Yahoo mass data breach hits millions of Yahoo accounts. This happened in August, about a month ago. So why am I talking about it now?
Because they’re just getting around to confirming the breach. This is according to a recode.net article. Various sources said the breach hit over 200 million accounts. Last month Yahoo claimed to be investigating the matter. The hackers themselves claimed to be infecting and selling the accounts online. Here’s more irony. A well known cyber criminal named Peace has claimed responsibility. Peace claimed he sold the combined 200 million Yahoo accounts for only $1,800. This includes usernames, easily encrypted passwords, other people’s emails, and account holders’ personal information.
The confirmation of this hacking will be announced in the days to come. This comes at a time when Yahoo looks for buyers, like Verizon. Yahoo could be sold for as much as 4.8 billion dollars. But this hack could scare new investors and buyers to death. I’m almost certain this massive hack will drive the price down. But Yahoo and Verizon continue to negotiate a merger. However, this is another blow to Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer’s already turbulent resume. They had such high hopes Meyer could turn Yahoo around. But this hack is just another bad end to what has been a very sorry episode.
This episode includes being overpowered by Google and other search engines. Then came controversy over time off after birth. Don’t forget the mass exodus of Yahoo leaders who couldn’t deal with it anymore. Now they deal with a massive hacker attack. Let’s talk about these criminals. A crook calling him/herself Peace is selling your information, and mine, for only $1,800. That sounds like a good amount of money at first. But they’re selling 200 million accounts. That breaks down to 90 cents per 2,000 accounts. That’s how little you’re worth to these cyber criminals. That’s how little your security is worth to these cyber criminals. So I’ll put Yahoo, Verizon and the rest on notice. How much is our online security worth to them?
North Korea is the most isolated nation on Earth. With dictator Kim Jong Un testing nuclear weapons, North Korea is one of the most dangerous. Somehow, North Korea accidentally confirmed what most of the world already knows. North Korea’s Internet lack is revealed.
Someone in Pyongyang (North Korea’s capital and largest city) leaked access to all the websites on their government’s servers. We find out there are only 28 website domains. That’s right; there are only 28 websites available for North Korea’s 25 million people. Early Tuesday morning North Korean time, their main server containing all 28 ‘k.p.’ sites, was tampered with. This allowed websites to be exposed. The cat is not only out of the bag, but running all around the world. A researcher named Matthew Bryant accessed domain names and file data. Bryant transferred his new found information on Github.com, a website dedicated to software builders. Some North Korean websites can’t be uploaded. Some are very slow to upload. But it’s more than enough expose the secret online world on North Korea, well, what little online world they have. Not only that, Reddit put up all 28 North Korean websites. They include a flight booking website, a state run news agency, a cooking site, education sites, elderly charity sites, even a friendship network.
This should give a peak into North Korea’s lifestyle. But it doesn’t. You see, most of the North Korean people have no website access at all. In North Korea, only government officials, military personnel, and the super rich have the ‘luxury’ of the Internet. But even those who do have online access have very little of it. Let’s face it, many of us Americans look at 28 sites in one day. That’s all they have to choose from. I pity the person who leaked this information out. I’ve read articles where Kim Jong Un had people killed just for sleeping during his speeches. He’s had family members tortured, then killed for the same entertainment we get going to a concert or sporting event. Can you imagine what’s going to happen to whoever leaked this super secret information? And here’s another question: Did he/she/they accidentally leak it? Or was it deliberately done?
