Listen, we all like to party. Heck, yesterday was May the 4th and we here at Computer Geeks went nuts. But today is Cinco De Mayo, a day littered with Corona’s and many many drunk encounters. So we’ve decided to hand out some advice to those of you really looking to go nuts today. Your electronics are EXPENSIVE, and one day of partying shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg. So before you decide to pop open that first cerveza, and smoosh your little lime wedge to the bottom, take our advice: Hide your electronics! Here are a list of potential drunk disasters that await those who do not heed our advice…
1. Beer Spill on your $1800 MacBook
I wish I could tell you that this is not common, but it is all too common. People drink near their laptops, people drink near their VERY EXPENSIVE laptops. All it takes is a spill of 1oz of beer on the keyboard of a MAC and your computer is toast. If you find yourself in this situation (because you didn’t listen) you will need to do a few things to save it.
1. Flip it upside-down
2. Power it off immediately
3. Wait 48 hours to let it dry
4. Call a professional to clean it out (800) 433-5435
2. Cell Phone Disaster
There are few things that drunk people do really well, but one of them is dropping their phone. Whether it is in the toilet or on the pavement, you’re in trouble. iPhone 6 plus broken screen is $450 to fix, and if you drop it in the toilet the phone replacement will be double that. Don’t use your phone in the bathroom, and don’t play with it outside, it is your best bet to keep that expensive little toy in your pocket safe. If you wreck your phone, check out our repair page
3. Go Party at someone else’s house
I mean it, you don’t need to host this gathering. Host Thanksgiving dinner, or Christmas, but for God’s sake, don’t host a party for a day full of drinking Corona’s. You know that 60 inch TV you love so much? It only takes 1 moron to crash into it, to ruin it FOREVER. Your tablets that are lying around become frisbees, or just unfortunate objects people sit on and crush. Go destroy a friend’s house, and take away the risk.
So go out, have fun, drink a few cervezas for us, but keep your electronics at home where they are safe. And if you do happen to have an accident, give us a call or send us a message and we will come to the rescue!
Today, Facebook releases a new tool to their ever increasing arsenal, adding to their video power. This tool is free VOIP video calling.
This is what Facebook Messenger is launching over WiFi and cellular connections. This new service is available on all Apple and Android mobile devices. It’s available in 18 countries, including the US, Canada and Mexico. It’s expected to expand to other nations soon. With this feature, two people, even with older, cheaper smartphone devices, can talk to each other anywhere in the world. Facebook has been partners with Skype since 2011, but now continues to craft it’s own video empire. The potential audience is already there. There are 1.44 billion Facebook accounts globally. Forty-one percent of those accounts, 600 million, have access to Facebook Messenger, thus having access to this VOIP feature. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg predicts a day when VOIP will make phone calls look obsolete (like the smartphone and iPod has made the Walkman and Discman obsolete). He wants to be at the forefront of this change. All one has to do is tap the camera icon on Messenger’s top right corner and wait for your recipient to respond. It starts selfie style, but can be manipulated to other angles.
This time, the first 18 nations getting this app will be literally global, from United Kingdom to Oman to Nigeria to Laos to Uruguay. This may not sound like much, but how often do new smartphones and apps go to the wealthiest nations, while others often have to wait months? This is brilliant on Facebook’s part. Now we’ll see if people can keep in touch between New York and Lagos, or Canada and Uruguay with this app. If free VOIP can work in these circumstances, I‘m convinced it can work literally all over the world. But do you really see a day where VOIP will replace telephone calls?
It’s a battle that many people in this country and globally are fighting: the battle of weight loss and weight control. Look at how much people spend a year on this issue. There’s a new app that claims to motivate you to shed and keep off the pounds. It’s called Visualize You.
The Visualize You app calculates what you would look like if you had lost a certain number of pounds. It’s available on all Apple and Android based products. And it’s a free app. Here’s how it works: First, you take or upload a picture of yourself. Then enter your current height and weight. Then enter your target weight. Using 3-D technology, this app presents a future picture of you when (or if, let’s be realistic) you reach that target weight. But from all the demonstrations I see, you can only see your face in this app. Health and fitness experts are praising the app, claiming it will help people reach their weight loss goal. Dr. Holly Wyatt, an Associate Professor at University of Colorado’s Health and Wellness Center, says, “The app offers individuals a clear-cut end goal for weight loss and provides [users] with an important tool to activate and achieve a successful program.”
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with Dr. Wyatt’s assessment. The only good thing about Visualize You is that it’s free. It only shows the person’s face. From the pictures I’ve seen, people’s faces look only slightly different before and after the weight loss. If they wanted to inspire people, why not just take a picture of the entire body, or at least waist up, and show the target picture. Now that would inspire more people toward their weight loss goal, especially in problem areas. I’ve never heard anyone say the face was a problem area. Even with that, not too many people would be inspired with a picture of themselves on the wall. If you want a successful weight loss app, just stick to the more traditional ones. Does the Visualize You app help you visualize?
It’s no secret Android has had malware problems. At this time last year, a scathing report said most of mobile malware is on Android mobile products. Google is combating malware and it looks like Google is winning.
According to Android‘s own State of the Union report, the malware rate fell by 50% over the course of 2014. The article claiming 97% of all mobile malware is on Android came put in March 2014. According to Google, only one percent of Android devices had harmful apps installed in 2014. This State of the Union is 44 pages long. It doesn’t just talk about malware problems. This report tackled things from ransomware to SMS abuse. They expect to continue do more research on harmful glitches and bugs. This is part of Google’s war on malware wherever it exists, from Android devices to Chrome. Last week alone, Google cut out around 200 harmful extensions in their web browser, making web surfing easier for nearly 14 million people who struggled otherwise. But the report didn’t talk about the high risk Android Jellybean phone. There’s still controversy about the lack of a venerability patch, but some Android leaders say that was the best course of action for protection.
If this report is accurate, then it sounds like Android is making tremendous progress in reducing their malware threat. I’m guessing that March 2014 article was a wake up call. I was a little skeptical of getting a Droid phone, but then I remember the majority of malware issues came from Asian and Pacific nations. But there are still things you can do to prevent a malware attack, no matter what your favorite smartphone brand is. Get good antivirus protection. Today’s it’s simple to get and very essential. Watch the apps you subscribe to. If it looks suspicious, stay away from it. I can think of some websites to steer clear from. How well do you think the malware problem has improved?
What was your favorite Nintendo game from back in the day? Or are you a current Nintendo fan now, who is on the lookout for the next new game? Both of you could be in luck.
Thanks to a deal between Nintendo and a Japanese mobile gaming company called DeNA, both these possibilities could become a reality, although Nintendo says new games will be the primary target. All Nintendo IP addresses will be eligible, and don’t expect to be flooded with a slew of games. They’re taking the selective quality approach rather than the mass quantity approach. Ever hear of DeNA? Few people outside of Asia have. It’s a social gaming platform for desktop and mobile computers based in Tokyo, Japan. This is part of the reason why Nintendo President Satoru Iwata loves this alliance. He believes that mobile games can be the jump-off point that gets more consumers more dedicated to the Nintendo brand. And DeNA has the tools and means to bring such mobile games. This friendship between Nintendo and DeNA is about five years old. If everything goes to plan, you could see Nintendo games, new and possibly old, on your smartphone devices before 2015 is over.
Between 1985-1995, Nintendo was the premier name in home video gaming. When they came out with Game Boy, one could say they even came up with modern day portable gaming. But since the emergence of Playstation and Xbox, the Nintendo franchise has been slipping, economically, creatively and otherwise. The Nintendo Wii has kept the franchise relevant and somewhat competitive, but hardly in the conversation. Could this push for Nintendo mobile gaming bring their numbers up? And if so, what games would you like to see offered? Would you rather see new games along with this new technology? Or would you rather see classics like Super Mario Brothers, Zelda and Double Dragon? How about both?
Uber is one of the fastest growing, most popular, yet controversial apps around today. Uber just got a good ally on their quest for greatness…or infamy.
Uber acquired DeCarta, a location and search app based out of San Jose, CA. DeCarta focuses on mapping, local searches, and turn-by-term navigation. One Uber spokesperson says DeCarta will help them improve services that are dependent on maps. This acquisition is also newsworthy because Uber rarely, if ever, makes mergers. This is coming from a rising company that’s found in 45 nations. This company is making other global deals too, like partnering with Starwood Hotels (Sheraton, Le Meridien ?and other high end hotels). They’re offering preferred guests points toward free hotels stays for using Uber. Unlike many mergers, DeCarta won’t have to change…that much. Thirty of forty employees will keep their DeCarta jobs. They can still keeps their name and Uber will be using their mapping system internally.
This is going to be great for Uber, especially for their drivers. They can get to their specific locations faster and easier with this acquisition. It’s good for the customer too. No customer wants to waste time and money going in circles over a lost location. DeCarta has the tools to prevent customers from enduring waste of cash, tardiness and flat out humiliation. So this is a smart acquisition on Uber’s part. I also must give props to DeCarta for keeping layoffs and shake ups to a minimum. I’ve read about so many mergers in which half the employees were laid off and the acquired company was virtually forgotten about by the next year. I find it amazing, and inspiring, this is the first company purchase they made, at least to my knowledge. Will this be a successful merger? Will there be more in the future? For all my Uber haters, are you rooting against these possibilities?
