Amazon has definitely changed the publishing game. You can whip out Kindle in a public place and nobody knows if you’re reading the Bible or 50 Shades of Grey. But what about the author, or self-publisher?
Amazon proposes a new method of payment to it’s authors. Instead of paying authors by how many books are sold, there’s talk of paying authors by how many pages are read. They keep track of how many pages are put on the screen long enough to be read. Starting in July 2015, Amazon will start the payroll system based on pages read. This new order is for books published through Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Online Lending Library. Both programs, which run from $9.99 a month to $99 a year, already have a combined 800,000 books in their arsenals. This announcement is catered to self-publishers and distributes through Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon claims to make these changes because paying the same amount for books based on length won’t provide enough alignment between reader and writer. To put it in street terms, Amazon thinks they’re bridging the gap between the short books and big books by paying per page read.
I’m weary of this new program. I don’t that it’s fair that a 20 page novelette written in a matter of days gets the same equal pay than a 300 page novel written in years. And this could open the door for many shortcuts. What if someone wants to make the font bigger? And how much is paid per page read? And I guess the author had better make every page count. I’ve read books where I could skip pages, sometimes even a whole chapter, and still get the best out of the book. I guess authors with Kindle Direct can’t play that game anymore. But that’s my point. Will this new pay-per-page plan improve the quality of self-published books?
In the wake of last week’s severe cyber breach of a federal agency, US President Barack Obama called for aggressive improvement and bolstering of all government cyber defenses.
A probe is pointing to blatant signs of Chinese involvement. President Obama himself didn’t exactly accuse the Chinese government of leading the hacking, but one could feel the tension. The tension is already there thanks to territory disputes over the South China Sea. The President vows to block those who break into system at the G7 Summit, a summit where top nations discuss global threats and tensions. US officials say the reason intruders hacked the Office of Personal Management wasn’t for typical financial gains. These motives were allegedly even more sinister. The motives include recruiting spies and getting weapon and industrial secrets. Beijing continues to insists it had nothing to do with this security breach. But President Obama admits significant venerability in our old US computer systems. He urged US Congress to pass laws strengthening cyber-security. President Obama said at the summit, “In the case of state actors, they’re probing for intelligence or in some cases trying to bring down systems in pursuit of their various foreign policy objectives.” Again, he didn’t name names or nations, but I think they’re plenty of elephants in the room.
And China isn’t the only elephant. Look at the tension between China and the US, over jobs, over economies, and now over the South China Sea. But Russia has also been known for hacking into US government facilities. In recent years, relations between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been colder than ice. They’ve argued over everything from Ukraine to Iran. Remember the whole North Korea hacking scandal over the Franco/Rogen movie The Interview? If they’re willing to commit a hack attack over a movie, then what about when real issues come up? Is it just me, or is the world becoming a more dangerous place? Now do you understand why we need to strengthen our cyber defenses to maximum security by any means possible?
Do you use Samsung Wallet? Did you get their email notification? It not, let me spoil it for you: Samsung Wallet will be discontinued after June 30, 2015. This is the transition from Samsung Wallet to Samsung Pay.
Samsung Wallet was a service that allowed Samsung customers to store coupons, plane tickets, and mobile apps, among other services. Samsung hooked up with companies like Walgreens, American Express, and United Airlines to make Samsung Wallet a reality. This was a deliberate move to compete with Apple Passbook. But now, the attention shifts to Samsung Pay, which will compete with Apple Pay. Like it’s competitor, Samsung Pay will combine mobile payments with credit card readers. Samsung smartphone owners can pay with their phone, just like Apple device owners can use Apple Pay for the same reason. Samsung Pay could make it’s debut in the US and South Korea as early as September 2015. How appropriate: That’s around the same time Samsung’s latest devices, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge is expected to be released all around the world. Timelines are unconfirmed, so these debuts could come earlier or later. But I predict a soon showdown between Apple and Samsung over mobile pay services. Who has the advantage?
Although Samsung offers no explanation for the stoppage of Samsung Wallet, even a fifth grader can see the strategy. After the June 30 deadline, no coupons on Samsung Wallet will be any good. Any tickets and reservations will be accessible only through existing partner apps. So come July, Samsung Wallet will be as good as Windows XP?. So the stage is being set. The competition between Samsung and Apple is intensifying. Some experts say Samsung Pay hast the edge because it’s compatible with older store check-out terminals. Only time and the future will tell. Who will win the mobile pay wars?
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!
We know Jeff Bezos as the CEO of Amazon. We know him for innovations like Kindle, and his lavish, exclusive retreats. But do you know Jeff Bezos as a space man?
He owns a rocket company called Blue Origin. Never heard of it? Most people haven’t. Yesterday, they launched a rocket called Blue Shepard from Blue Origin headquarters in Texas. This company is in the business of private space flight, as in sending regular people into space. Though Bezos talked about the launch earlier this month, not many expected it this soon. The flight must have been a huge success. Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson assures operations are ready for commercial use. From the looks of things, the debut date might be closer than anyone expects. Jeff Bezos himself boasted passengers will have a great journey and smooth return on a space flight. He does admit there were hydraulic issues during decent, and revisions are already being made. The spaceship tested can fly 62 miles above land. It can hold three people. It can’t make a full orbit around the planet, but will do more tests like this before putting humans on board.
That’s a smart move itself. Before you send people into space, make sure your ship is perfect. There is little if any room for error. Neither Blue Origin nor Bezos want tragedy on their hands. My advice to them is test, test, and test some more. Hydraulics ?is just one stumbling block. There’s competition. Virgin Galactic is the first to launch private space airline service. From what I‘m reading, Virgin Galactic seems more organized than Blue Origin. Zero Gravity Corporation offers space flights for as little as $5,000 (Virgin Galactic flights cost $200,000). There’s talk of NASA building colonies on the moon and Mars. So after safety concerns are answered, that’s just the beginning. How will Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin fly in the private spaceship race?
It’s been a busy week in the technological world, and in the world in general. Earlier this week, we learned that even the police get hacked!
That’s what happened in the town of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, about 25 miles north northwest of Boston. Tewksbury PD’s computer systems were stopped cold and local law enforcement officials were forced to negotiate a ransom with cyber criminals. They even had to pay that ransom before things got back to normal. The attack was subtle and gradual, beginning on a weekeknd. Before too long, the hack dominated much of the system. ?It became incredibly difficult for dispatchers, police officers, firefighters and fire stations to communicate with each other. At first, they sought help from a FBI computer specialist, but not even the specialist could even break the code. Even a police department near a major metropolitan area was forced to cave in. The ransom paid was $500 using Bitcoin. Bitcoin is popular with hackers, ID thieves and other cyber criminals because it’s nearly impossible to follow the money with Bitcoin, or follow the dirty deeds. Thankfully, no information was compromised. But the hackers who caused this haven’t been found. I doubt they ever will be.
Some are already griping that their tax dollars went to pay off cyber criminals. But let’s give credit to Tewksbury, MA Police Dept. They did everything they possibly could to avoid even paying this ransom. But in the end, the hackers’ viruses proved so strong they were left with no other choice. And they were forced to do it on the hackers’ terms, through Bitcoin. That’s the scary part. I knew cyber criminals are getting smarter, stronger, and bolder than ever before. The fact they’re using a controversial, but legit company to help cover their tracks is even scarier. If cyber criminals can bully the police force into paying a ransom, what hope is there for the rest of us?
