Parents today have all kinds of app to monitor their kids. There’s a driving app to monitor teen drivers. Then there’s the app to make sure they’re in school. But now, there is a Visa kids debit card: Good idea or big brother?
We can thank rising tech company Current. This card lets teenagers shop from their bank account and allowance. Also, this allows parents to fund their bank account through allowance. For instance, instead of giving the kid cash, you put the allowance money on this Visa kids debit card. Furthermore, through the app, parents can limit spending, track spending, even set up chores and show the pay for them.
But that’s not all. Parents can set up chores and review how good the work is before they pay the allowance. They can choose how much money they can spend per day. Parents can also block age restricted items, like alcohol, casinos, cigarettes, pornographic material, R-rated movies, M-rated video games. I like the Giving Wallet feature. It allows parent and child to support charities of their choice. It’s available on Apple and Android devices. You pay a subscription. Then, you pay $2 or $3 a month. Or you can pay $5 a month without a yearly subscription. So they’re going to get this money.
But is the Visa kids debit card a good thing? It can be. It can teach kids about how to manage money. Also, the card can stop a habit of overspending before it starts. That’s are good habits to have in life. So yes, this can be a good teaching tool. It can also bring families together. But like all technology, this can be abused. Somebody can use this just to spy on people. Others can use this to spy on what adults are doing. A jealous or abusive spouse/lover can use this against their spouse/partner. That’s just one example. Like all things IT service, or all things computer technology, this can be abused. But I ask you, Visa kids debit card: Good idea or big brother?
Why did many working class Americans elect Donald Trump in November 2016? Because he promised factory jobs would come back to the USA. But one NYU grad student says not so. He addressed American iPhone jobs and why Americans won’t see them.
So NYU student Dejian Zeng spent last summer working at an iPhone center at the Pentragon. That’s one of Apple’s biggest iPhone building places in China. Also, China’s Labor Watch Party helped organize this trip. Zeng worked 12 hour shifts at this iPhone factory. Furthermore, he worked Monday through Saturday. If my math is right’s that’s 72 hours a week. Zeng needed no resume, interview, or qualifications to get the job.
He just went there and stood in a long line. Then, they simply asked to see his ID and to recite the alphabet in English. They hired Zeng immediately. Then there’s the issue of pay. The average Chinese iPhone maker gets $450 a month. That salary will hardly take care of any American in 2017. Zeng also says if these jobs come to the USA, robots will work them. But Zeng says something that surprises me. Even Chinese workers are starting to get expensive. Because China is a fast rising economy and major world player. So to combat this, Apple is moving jobs to Vietnam, Bangladesh, and other Asian nations, where they can still keep the salaries low. This is why there won’t be American iPhone jobs anytime soon.
Zeng’s findings are disturbing, but not surprising. There was a time in the USA where anybody could walk in a manufacturing plant and just get a job. Now, you need a degree for everything. Also, it’s obvious Apple isn’t going to pay American workers their worth. It sounds like they don’t even want to pay Chinese workers their worth. I try to sympathize with Apple, but I can’t. I can’t because read how little it costs to make an iPhone. But if jobs do come back to America, you can bet iPhone prices will skyrocket. Not many Americans can, or will, ?pay that. And take it from our Boston computer service shop, often times it costs little to do a screen replacement. So in this cycle of cost and exploitation, where do we go from here?
The Samsung Galaxy 8 is coming out soon. This can be their redemption moment. But already, some complain about their flaws. However, at least they’re addressing it. Samsung flaws: Hey, they’re fixing it.
Let me make one thing clear. This is NOT a battery issue or a burning/fire issue. So don’t worry about these Samsung flaws burning you, not literally. In fact, the flaw here has to do with a screen color. There are complaints of a red hue. Hue is a property of color. In some instances, a hue is pure color, without tint, shade, or blending of other colors. So imagine going through your Samsung Galaxy 8 in a pure red screen, all the time. That’s what some customers are going through.
But what is Samsung doing about it? They’re putting features in the Samsung Galaxy 8. These features help correct the red hue. Furthermore, it seems some early users couldn’t control the color on their smartphone. This feature should be able to fully balance screen color to their liking. However, this complaint is nothing new. They know customers want to customize color settings on their phones. And they seem to be working hard to provide us the software to do so.
I hope they do the responsible thing and keep us up to date. First of all, I hope they do the responsible thing by listening to their customers. But I’m glad this is just a small issue compered to the one they had last year. But people want to control the color on their smartphone screen. If that’s what they want, Samusng needs to deliver. We in our Boston computer service shop can do screen replacements. But Samsung flaws like this are something they have to fix for themselves. This is more than just fixing color hues. This could be Sumsung’s moment of redemption. This could be their comeback moment. Will it happen for them?
Around 10 years ago, the tech world changed forever. That’s because in 2007, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone. Hence, since the iPhone and smartphone, our lives were never the same. But come fall 2017, Apple could give us the three iPhones to mark the anniversary.
That’s right. Usually, Apple gives us one new iPhone version every fall. But this year, they could give us three. That’s according to tech journalists and insiders. So two will be upgraded versions of existing iPhones. But the third a new, sleek, handset that could change the smartphone industry, again. Apple is already testing curvy glasses, new cameras and screens. And these are just for the phones they want to redesign.
Then there’s the third new phone. Sources say this screen will cover almost the whole phone’s front. Also, it will use organic lightning to better enhance colors. Furthermore, they want to reduce size by combining the home button into the screen. They’ll do this through software. They expect the three iPhones to run on a new operating system. They call that system iOS 11. We can also expect cameras to be radically different. They’re already testing dual lenses for the front camera alone.
It’s the iPhone 10th anniversary. Of course we should expect something big from Apple. Because this is Apple we’re talking about. But three phones in one time? That’s ambitious even for Apple. A lot is riding on this. Around two-thirds of Apple sales depend in the iPhone. However, keep in mind this is tech speculation. I guess we won’t know all the details until that Apple press conference. And even then, they’ll only tell us what they want us to know. And yes, we do make screen replacements if you need them (I know that’s a cheap plug. Oh well.). But would you buy any of the three iPhones? Can you believe it’s been ten years since they introduced the iPhone?
Here in our Boston computer service shop, we pride ourselves in watching the latest tech trends of today. But one trend even caught me by surprise. They call it the Clip. So it’s this new video editing app. Let’s talk about the Apple clip app frenzy.
Within just a few days, Apple Clip has a million downloads. They released it back on April 6, 2017. Then, they watched as downloads quickly approached the six digit range. But now, not even a week into it, it’s around a million. The app is free. Furthermore, if you love Snapchat and Instagram, you’ll probably love Apple Clip. With Clips, one can use sounds, filters, cartoons and emoji to spice up your video. Also, you can even animate your spoken word or written text.
Despite this Apple clip app frenzy, some still think these numbers are low. They’re not even in the top 20 Apple apps. In the days following it’s release, it reached as high as 28 on the list. But it also reached as low as 53. I’m not sure what the advertising strategy was here. But one Apple app executive said it failed to reach ‘the average user’. However, the Apple clip app frenzy shows no sign of slowing down.
It’s also very easy to use. The editing tools aren’t hard to manage. So to those freaking out about why Apple Clip only has a million downloads in one week: Calm down and chill out. Do you remember how long it took Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and other social media outlets to take off? It often took months, if not years! If I were an Apple app executive, I’d be happy with the million. Because those millions are going to tell other millions. And what about Apple Clip being in only 28th place? Do you know how many apps Apple has? Percentage wise, Apple Clip is doing pretty good. Plus, it’s a fun, friendly family app anybody can use. That counts for something. Will the Apple clip app frenzy continues? And are the naysayers freaking out over nothing?
Do you remember Nokia’s heyday of the late 1990s and early 2000s? I say this because Nokia’s dream might come back. Hence, meet the company HMD Global. They want to sell Nokia smartphones in the next decade. And lots of them. So Nokia’s dream may come true.
However, don’t expect the phones of yesteryear. At a press conference, Nokia leaders talked about a different kind of phone. This new phone will run clean and popular versions of Android technology. This includes vanilla Android, or something like it. Google’s involvement is critical. In fact, one leader says this is critical to making Nokia great again (no pun intended). But they hint about giving Nokia the kind of updates that will make the competition envy. I’ll believe Nokia’s dream when I see it.
However, Nokia executives may be onto something. They admit most smartphones don’t offer the latest versions of OS. Furthermore, they say this has to change. Could the new Nokia provide that change? They say they want to put the right kind of apps and systems in this new phone. This includes things like Google Assistant. The first new Nokia phones could go on sale as early as May or June 2016. But how will it go? And you know we got your back if you need a screen replacement on this new Nokia, right? I know, cheap plug, but what can you do?
Well, it depends on who you ask? Some in the IT service game say it’s about time. Others are skeptical. Some say Android/Google isn’t capable of running a pure OS system anymore. But I say let’s give it a try. However, there’s something nobody is talking about. That is the cost. How much will it cost to make Nokia’s dream come true. Will they go on the cheap and sell basic smartphones? Or will they go $700-$800 to compete with Apple 8 and Samsung Galaxy 8? Or will they do the smart thing and do both and cater to both markets? How much would you pay to see Nokia’s dream come true?
