Computer science education is no longer a luxury for the rich, super intelligent nerds and geeks. It’s a necessity for all Americans if we even want to compete and survive in this new and ever changing world.
That’s where The Computer Science for All Initiative comes in. President Barack Obama pledges $4 billion in funding to make computer science education a top priority. The money will be delivered over a three year period. This initiative comes with commitments from tech companies and leaders to increase computer science training and job preparation for underrepresented groups. During his State of the Union address,? President Obama emphasized how our economy was changing, and we need computer science to keep up. And statistics back him up on that claim. During this 2015-16 school year, only 28% of public schools offer CS courses like coding. Only 28 states allow CS courses to count toward high school graduation. And if things don’t change, then by 2020, there will be over one million computer technology jobs with no qualified Americans to fill them. I don’t mean to sound xenophobic or prejudice, but if our American youth can’t fill these jobs, guess who will?
I can already hear the naysayers. “Whose going to flip the four billion dollar bill?” “We’re in a $19 trillion deficit!” I understand the concern. That’s why I’m thankful for companies like Google, Facebook, Salesforce, and Qualcomm, and Apple stepping up and doing their part. Other corporations are giving generous grants as well. And don’t even get me started on the woeful lack of women and minorities in the tech field. That needs to be included in this initiative. I’ve seen stats on US kids’ rank in science compared to the rest of the industrialized world. It isn’t good. American jobs are on the line. American futures on the line. American souls are on the line here. Would you rather pay a few billion dollars now, or pay with mass unemployment and despair later?
When you think of smartwatch companies, who comes to mind: Apple? Samsung? Lenovo? Fitbit? There is a competitor that will keep the smartwatch race interesting. That company is Timex.
The classic watchmaker is coming out with the Timex Metropolitan. On the surface, it looks like an old school, stylish Timex watch. It has the hour, minute, and second hand. Then there is the red hand and the 0-100 compartment between the 3 and 6 hours. That is what measures the number of steps taken or distance walked. You decide which one it says with the press of the top button. But you will need the Timex Metropolitan app on your smartphone or device. Put the watch into sync mode by holding the watch’s upper button until the arrow points to Bluetooth symbol. Tap the sync button on the app. Then tap the sync watch button. The app monitors your steps, burned calories and miles traveled by foot. Instead of setting it up through a phone, you set this smartwatch up through a knob on the watch.? It has an 18 month batter life, glows in the dark, and waterproof, assuming you don’t swim deeper than 100 feet. The Timex Metropolitan will cost you around $130, plus shipping.
Okay, so this isn’t Fitbit. But Timex isn’t trying to be. Some may complain it doesn’t have all the cool features smartwatches are known for, like sleep monitoring. But I think Timex Metropolitan is a good buy. Not a great buy because the price could be a little lower. But this is a genius combination of old-school style and 2010s smart technology. Not everybody is hip to the Lenovo’s and iWatch’s. Not everyone runs to the latest and greatest big tech thing. Just ask Google Glass. Some people like the classic look and the simple way of doing things. Timex Metropolitan combines the two.? Would you buy a Timex Metropolitan?
At the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama delivered a message of optimism. The good people at GoPro must be going, “What economic comeback? Why didn’t we get the memo?”
The camera manufacturing company announced it’s laying off 7% of it’s work force. GoPro specializes in small digital cameras favorable for capturing extreme sports as they happen. But yesterday, the only extreme action was the low numbers. Their Q4 2015 numbers revenue numbers were around $75 million below expected figures. Their overall 2015 revenue numbers did even worse. GoPro sales fell off. Perhaps the most telling tale is in their stock prices. In a 24-hour period, they fell 24%, from $14.61 a share to $11.06 a share. And the slide hit one of their main suppliers too. Ambarella fell over 9% in pre-trading. One company spokesperson blames the downturn on mediocre sales from GoPro’s retailers, especially in the first half of the Q4 2015. Apparently, the Christmas shopping season numbers weren’t high enough to make up for the balance. The flop of Hero4 in October made matters worse. GoPro also struggles to attract their small cameras beyond the extreme sports crowd, which is over 95% of the buying public. And there’s little rest for the weary. Instead of saving money, these layoffs will cost GoPro an additional 5+ million dollars.
They’re a couple of lessons to learn here. One flop can really hurt a business. It sounds like 2015 overall wasn’t a good year, then comes the Hero4 fiasco, which made matters worse. I understand that in any business, just as in forms of entertainment, a form of demographic or core audience is important. But don’t make that core audience your only consumers. It’s better to branch out to the general population sooner than later. I’ve used GoPro cameras, but not for extreme sports. These are neat little cameras. My thoughts go out to the ones who are about to lose their jobs because of this misfortune. Can GoPro make a comeback?
Were you able to attend the CES conference in Las Vegas? It’s the largest tech conference in North America. Over 3,000 booths were represented, unveiling their inventions, hopes and dreams for 2016. Much of the anticipation dealt with expected tech trends for 2016. What are these trends?
Anybody over age 25 probably watched TV on the big, bulky color TVs (I’m too young to remember the black and white TV era). By the mid 2000s, consumers were switching to HDTV. Now, they want us to switch to HDR TV. ?Promoters swear by the color quality. Streaming companies like Netflix already promise to produce shows in HDR. But will retailers, and more importantly, consumers, be so quick to jump on the bandwagon? It took years for HDTV to be the standard. Then there’s VR, virtual reality goggles. These virtual reality headsets were a hit with the CES crowd. A few months from now, you can get an Oculus Rift for $500-$1,000. Can’t wait that long? You can get a Samsung Gear VR for as little as $100, or even a Google Cardboard for as little as $25. Wearable technology made a splash, and I’m not talking just talking about smart watches and fitness monitors. There are shoes that track the number of steps you’ve taken, and your motions. There’s even a belt that tells you when you’re gaining weight.
Some of these are good new trends. Some, like that weight gain belt, are very creepy. Other creepy trends include Google Glass, interactive mirror, a camera inside the refrigerator, and apps where you can spy on your spouse/mate. I bring this up because there comes a time where we have to decide whether to make the technology or let the technology make us. And I’m a little concerned with these virtual reality goggles as well. What if VR becomes so addictive, people can’t deal with RR; that’s real reality? What technology trends are you looking forward to this year?
Well, we start off 2016 talking about one of the biggest concerns in 2015: keeping your computer system secure. Microsoft pledges to help.
On December 30 (last year), Microsoft announced to Outlook email consumers they will warn users when their email is being targeted by hackers. They didn’t just mean targeted by cyber criminals. They meant targeted by government and government agencies as well. Microsoft vows to take extra steps in warning of ‘state-sponsored’ attacks because those attacks are often more sophisticated. Around two weeks ago, Microsoft was chastised for not telling hacking victims of an attack aimed at China’s Tibetan and Uighur populations. Although former Microsoft employees confirmed the Chinese government was behind the email attack, Microsoft kept it secret. They already offer security alerts, but don’t tell you suspects. Now, they’re ready to name names, and in some cases, name nations. In recent years, Hotmail attacks (now called Outlook) targeted Chinese diplomats, media, human and environmental rights activists, and others on the Chinese governments’ naught list. They will warn you when you’ve been targeted before you might get compromised. The Microsoft announcement also includes suggestions for keeping your email safe. These suggestions include changing your password, two step verification and an up-to-date anti-virus program.
The turbulent world stage has crossed into the email stage. Don’t think for a minute China is the only country wrestling with this. There’s no telling which agencies are looking at our emails here at home. Notice how the Chinese government allegedly attacks activist, minority groups, renegade politicians, and anyone else who is a threat to their power and world order. What’s new? I’m glad Microsoft is stepping up it’s security against such action. I’m glad they’re naming names and nations. Maybe they’ll think twice before hacking. My question is: What took Microsoft so long?
We here at Computer Geeks want to wish you all a Happy New Year. May 2016 be your best year yet.
You may have heard of the crypto locker virus. This virus came about late last year and has affected thousands of people and businesses. One of the business types that has been infected is the law. Police offices, lawyers and the bunch have been hit hard by this infection.
Back in December, Computer Geeks was featured in a news report from WBZ news to talk about the experience that people have with this virus. Computer Geeks is focused on not only removing the virus, but saving your data. Typically people infected with this virus have a one percent success rate of recovering their data and even paying the ransom may not guarantee you get your files back. Because of this, Computer Geeks recommends a data backup solution. This solution can be as easy as an external hard drive that you back up to on a scheduled basis or going up into the cloud and using a source like Carbonite to back your data up securely.
Computer Geeks IT support for law firms has been helping many lawyers not only to protect their data but also prevent infections such as the crypto locker virus. Computer Geeks also recommends a brand new product that we offer through Carbonite. This new appliance is set up to give you onsite data backup and cloud storage for redundancy of your files.
Please note that most people don’t think about how valuable their information is until it’s lost. This isn’t just for consumers, but businesses as well. Putting the focus on IT support for law firms, think about how tragic it would be if you lost your case files, client data and other vital information. Now that you’ve taken a minute to think about it, isn’t it worth contacting Computer Geeks to find out how you can protect that data with just a simple phone call?
