And another newspaper sort of bites the dust, well, I doubt it will be like it was. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post, one of the nation’s most well known newspapers.
Bezos bought the paper from the Graham family, who ran the news leading?media conglomerate?for generations, for $250 million in cash. Bezos himself will own and run the Post; Amazon will have nothing to do with it. During the Grahams’ leadership, the Washington Post has been the leader in informing us about major national events, such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, Jonestown, 9/11 and most recently, the NSA surveillance unfolding.
But in the last 10 years or so, the Internet, smartphones and social media have made the good old American newspaper almost obsolete. Not even one of America’s most respected newspapers could escape this dilemma. That’s what led to their financial crisis. ?One article predicts that in 20 years, the newspaper will be dead. Nevertheless, when David Graham made the announcement to his staff, many were in shock, some even wept.
So why Bezos? ?The Grahams and Jeff Bezos had been friends for years. Bezos is a great entrepreneur. For example, Bezos started Amazon in his basement on a $300,000 loan from his parents. Now Amazon is worth over $25 billion dollars. Bezos also owns a piece of Pets.com. Since 2004, Amazon’s stock has quadrupled. In 2012,?Fortune named him Businessperson of the Year. He’s also looking to start ?a feature film production. I think these are good qualities for running a news entity like Washington Posts. Plus, you can see the respect Bezos has for the medium when he says, “The values of the Post do not need changing.” Though Amazon will have nothing to do with the purchase, I can see Bezos using Kindle and other Amazon products to boost Post revenue. Do you think Bezos and Washington Post is a good combination?
With Google Now, you can get info on everything from flight, nearby attractions, and?even when the next bus or subway is coming.?But now, Google?is making sure you can do even more.
They’re now attempting to get people to watch the news closest to them. They’re testing a local news card. Since Google now can help you find things in your local?area, they’re hoping that holds true in local?current events. But it’s not just about current events. One Google VP gives an account of finding out Miss Mexico visiting his son’s school; he?also?finds out about a stabbing in?his neighborhood.?Before you rush to get this card, please note it’s in?testing phase; they don’t?know when, or if, this is going to be released to the public. Plus, no major tech based corporation has been very successful with trying to conquer local news. Remember the doomed?NBC Every Block?
Can I get the elephant out of the room? I think Google is wasting their time with this local news venture. Google Now is doing very well. You can find out enough about what’s going on in your local world. For example, I found out through Google Now that my train was delayed, saving me a lot of frustration. Plus, I think people still like to stick to their local news affiliates and newspapers for their local stories. Please don’t take that from us! Do you think this Google Now news card is even worth testing?
Perhaps the story of the year is the NSA surveillance situation. We’ve learned the government is spying on our cell phones, emails and social media post. Now there’s a new revelation in this gift that keeps on giving.
The NSA now proudly reveals a program called XKeyscore. That is a wide-reaching intelligence development system for the Internet. According to reports, XKeyscore can be used to access many, many agency databases by simply giving a reason for the access. Another says it can cover nearly everything everybody does on the Internet ever! Some analysts say?XKeyScore can intercept all Internet activity. Some say it allows legal authorization to track any American without a search warrant. And apparently, this just didn’t start. As early as 2008, the NSA documents 300 terrorists were brought to justice thanks to XKeyScore.
But what about the rest of us? What about the rest of us who are just living our lives and obeying the law? Yes, you can use that old line, “If you’re not doing anything, then you don’t have anything to worry about.” Really? What is you say something in an email or social media post the authorities don’t like? What if you buy something online the authorities don’t like? And when they question you, what if you give them the wrong answer? Or worse yet, what if this system gets into the wrong hands? I just?read a disturbing story about hackers controlling someone’s?car behind a computer screen. What’s going to be next?
A non-profit group called China Labor Watch calls out a Chinese contractor for a series of worker abuses. Apple has been using these contractors more often since depending less on Foxconn, their longtime distributor.
Abuses include failure to pay workers their wages, confiscating id cards so they can’t work, and poor conditions at factories owned by Pegatron. Before you jump on Apple, note they have high standards when it comes to treating?their laborers right. These alleged abuses go against?that?policy. Since 2007, they’ve had to audit 15 Pegatron factories. Pegatron executive Jason Cheng vows to “…correct any violations to Chinese labor laws and our own code of conduct.”?As Pegatron increase it’s work force to 70,000 (it was just 50,000 in March 2013), China Labor Watch reports Pegatron factories exceed the 60 hour a week maximum work cap, and hold pay checks for those who work within a short period of time.
What’s to make of this? First off, I’m glad we’re at least being told this treatment is wrong, and something is being done to combat it. But there is more to this work week violation. I read workers are asking for more than 60 hours a week to make up for the low wages. Here lies the problem. Maybe if salaries were raised so workers can support themselves with decency and dignity, they wouldn’t have to ask for extra hours. Plus, I think there’s a need for a culture change all around in that workplace. Yes, it’s starting at the top, but it needs to trickle down to middle and lower management. They’re the ones that deal with the workers and manage the factories on a daily basis. If they can come up to these higher standards, then you will truly see change. What do you think should be done to fight alleged labor abuse?
We’ve heard and had it all, haven’t we? We heard of malware problems from one major company to the National Security Advisory spying on our devices. We thought the SIM card was safe, right? Well…
After years of research led by German cryptographer Karsten Nohl, software flaws have been found that can hit millions of SIM cards and can open up more cans of fraud and surveillance. He’ll?address this at a conference in a week or?two. ?Nohl and his team tested about 1,000 mobile phones of all types.?They found vulnerabilities caused by old security standards and bad configuration codes. These can let hackers infect the cards and?steal all?kinds of information, leading to fraud and theft. But thinking about?what we know?now, they don’t have to be hackers. I can see gov’t agencies using this to their advantage.
In this research, Nohl found only 25% of the phones?and SIM cards he tested can be hacked, and an eighth of the?cards could be really venerable. But that’s a half?billion mobile devices. Their biggest concern is Africa, where SIM card payments are so widespread,?and where?technology fraud is perhaps the most rampant. According to Nohl, companies are desperate to fight?hacking and fraud,?no matter where it lies.
So what’s to make of this? First of all, don’t freak out!?This is not fear mongering. I’m glad I came across this report because knowledge is power. The majority of the SIM cards?are okay. And now we know there is a threat, something can?be done. It appears cell phone companies are already getting the memo. If not, we can?do what we can to raise awareness on these issues. How concerned should we be about Nohl’s findings?
At a Microsoft Summit, Bill Gates didn’t limit his conversation just to Microsoft. He shared quite a bit of himself and what he thought of America and issues?education, science and the importance of giving.
Gates addressed the American crisis of education and where it stands. He pointed out we have the highest college drop-out rate of all first world nations. According to many articles, lower aspects of education aren’t doing much better. His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has raised over $470 million dollars for educational matters. Gates is a huge advocate for online courses, and wants to do more so online education can reach it’s full potential.
Gates was very optimistic about computer science, claiming we live in the golden age of that field.??He believes most of us aren’t using Microsoft to it’s full potential; but to him, that’s where the excitement comes in. He looks forward to seeing how smaller and smaller devices can bridge the gap between what humans and machines can do. This?can get pretty scary of where we can go, but that’s just me. About philanthropy, Gates says, “It’s a work in progress”. Keep in mind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world. He credits billionaires like Warren Buffet for helping his charity. He also knocks US giving down a notch. Gates said that rich Chinese are more giving because there are many first generation millionaires out there. In other words, new money in China is having a huge impact on the non-profit scene.
Now comes the so what factor. Why do I even talk about what Bill Gates think? Obviously, he’s one of the most powerful men in the world. If you use anything Microsoft, you can thank Bill Gates for that. Not only is he one of the great businessmen and innovators of all-time, he’s one of the great philanthropist of our time. Is it really making a difference? Well at least he’s trying, unlike some billionaires out there who do nothing, except when it makes them look good (they know who they are). So when Gates speaks, people listen. I guess my only question is: Is he speaking the right things?
