Recommended piece at Wired for those of you into the newest when it comes to smartphone technology - Sony’s Newest Android Phone Is a High Dose of Can-Do. I admit I have phone envy at times when I compare the phone I have with the phones some of my family members have. When I entered a new contract with AT&T for them, they all got new phones, I’m on an older plan with Verizon and the free phones/upgrades were not quite as great. My older phone was actually nicer in many ways than the one I’m currently stuck with.
The slogan on more than a few signs outside of Google’s headquarters held by protesters - As this Wired article, points out.
Google better look out, it’s awakened the wrath of the Raging Grannies…
About a hundred net neutrality activists left their laptops at home Friday afternoon to gather at Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters to protest the search giant’s perceived betrayal of the movement for federal internet openness rules.
The protest group’s ranks included eager young activists, long-time technologists, first-time protesters and the ever-present Raging Grannies, who led anti-Google sing-alongs set to classic Americana songs.
One song according to CNETto the tune of “Clementine:
Can the chickens in the henhouse all be guarded by the fox?
Every farmer knows it won’t do and the henhouse needs a lock
So when Google says “just trust us” we all know it’s just a stall
The FCC must do its duty and protect access for all
Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling FCC
Keep computers safe from foxes,
Equal access is the key.
Recommended Newsweek article on the creator of the Blackberry (link) that many of my friends are addicted too - hence the popular nickname — “Crackberry” — Mike Lazaridis is not resting on his laurels, this is just the beginning:
Still, the company’s largest hurdle may come in the form of competition. Certainly, RIM has carved a deep customer base for itself, but Apple’s iPhone as well as Google’s Android OS are determined to cut into its market share, particularly in the business sector. To a degree, they already have. According to Hugues De La Vergne, principal analyst at Gartner, the Blackberry went from being the dominant smart-phone vendor for Verizon Wireless a year ago to playing a distant second to Android today. Then there’s the growth of other devices, like tablets, that promise to include wireless e-mail—the very heart of RIM’s services. Read the rest of this entry »
In 2007 about 40% of American families owned digital cameras — three years later it’s being reported that over half of American families own a digital camera. Add to that the number of people that have cameras on their cell phones and it’s easy to see how the ability to share photos using social media like twitter, facebook and myspace have increased in popularity and sharing family moments as well as at times news moments.
Personally we had a bad experience with buying an electronic text book last year, it was only able to be downloaded on one computer which meant if the computer crashed or was stolen? You were out of luck. However, according to Wired - colleges and universities are considering the iPad since it may be a cheaper way to provide textbooks - (link):
Though an iPad starts at $499 and can cost as much as $829 for the top-end model, there is potential for cost savings, as well. The university has already identified one class where the textbook in ePub format costs $100 less than the dead-tree version. With a typical class load of five courses, it could be possible to completely offset the cost of a device like an iPad in textbook savings alone. (At least, this is true if you’re comparing the iPad against a stack of brand new textbooks; the savings may disappear if used books are brought into the comparison.)
Not just because you are a congressperson as this Wired article points out but because not everyone who’s trying to get into your wifi is going to have a public relations motivation for doing so…
A representative for Consumer Watchdog — a group largely funded by legal fees, the Rose Foundation, Streisand Foundation, Tides Foundation and others — parked outside Harman’s and other lawmakers’ Washington-area residences to determine whether they had unsecured Wi-Fi networks that might have been sniffed by Google as part of the internet giant’s Street View and Google Maps program.
The group wants the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which Harman is also a member, to haul Google executives before it, so they can publicly explain why, for three years, Google was downloading data packets from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in neighborhoods in dozens of countries. Google has repeatedly said it didn’t realize it was storing snippets of payload data on unsecured Wi-Fi networks, until German privacy authorities began questioning what data Google was collecting.
You hear about plagiarism more in the world of journalism, but according to this Nature article it’s a big problem when it comes to Science publications. Hence action is being taken by some of the major publishing firms.
In the process, editors and publishers must remember that plagiarism comes in many varieties and degrees of severity, and that responses should be proportionate. For example, past studies suggest that self-plagiarism, in which a researcher copies his or her own words from a published paper, is far more common than plagiarism of the work of others. Arguably, self-plagiarism can sometimes be justified, as when a researcher is bringing similar ideas before readers of journals in a different field. All plagiarism can also involve honest errors or mitigating circumstances, such as a scientist with a poor command of English paraphrasing some sentences of the introduction from similar work.
Such examples underscore that plagiarism-detection software is an aid to, not a substitute for, human judgement. One rule of thumb used by Nature journals and others in considering an article’s degree of similarity to past articles — in particular, for small amounts of self-plagiarism in review articles — is whether the paper is otherwise of sufficient originality and interest.
Clever marketing utilizes our curious nature. As an example if I tell you to click here and I don’t tell you what it’s about, a good number of you will be driven by curiosity to click. It’s a great marketing tool, but it’s also how hackers and others with less honorable intentions get you to help them. My advice? Go ahead and click but don’t download if it’s a trusted source. If it’s not? Don’t do either…
Those of you with phones that access the internet will be interested in this one - Wired reports about YouTube’s upgrade to their mobile site. Sounds like some of the loading and lagging issues for mobile users may be over:
The mobile version of Google’s video-sharing website received an upgrade Thursday. The new m.youtube.com has a bunch of new features, including high-quality video playback in the browser using HTML5.
Surf to YouTube’s mobile site with any modern mobile with a browser that supports HTML5’s
The old site on an iPhone used to launch the YouTube native app, taking you out of the browser. In fact, the first time you visit the site on an iPhone, you’ll be prompted to “install” a bookmark on your home screen. This is likely a step to move people away from the YouTube iPhone app and toward the web-based app.
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz are the guys behind the famous video of a Mentos-and-Diet Coke, Bellagio-style fountain, which they estimate has been seen by more than 120 million people. Four years later, they’re back with a rocket car powered by nothing but Mentos and Coke Zero. The video, which debuted this week, shows the duo’s efforts to set a land-speed and distance record for a vehicle powered by nothing but erupting, minty, fizzy soda.
The video was directed by Rob Cohen (director of The Fast and the Furious). Two dimensions not enough? There’s even a 3-D rocket car video you can watch on YouTube, if you have a pair of red-and-cyan 3-D glasses.
I’ve focused on this before, and pointed out that anyone who believes that information posted on the internet on a non-secure site where you allow other people to openly access it will never ever ever ever be “private” but the whole Facebook privacy drama is continuing since Facebook has tried to simply the “privacy” aspect once again. This Wired article is a recommended read.
Even with the new changes? If you don’t want someone to know something, don’t be silly enough to trust your friends won’t screen shot it, or that no one else will be able to access it…
Since my April 16 rant, I read this post this morning from Wired on The Facebook Privacy wars that are going on right now. I was surprised in reading the comments how angry some people are about something that to me, is simple logic. Facebook isn’t your bank or your credit card company so expecting privacy from a free social network service seems a bit…unrealistic. For those that are not happy about the changes Facebook made? No one is forcing them to use it.
Ever been in a store and have to wait forever for your purchase because you need a receipt yet the old archaic printer they are using doesn’t want to cooperate? You either wait or end up leaving without a receipt hoping that you won’t need to return the item. Sure businesses want to keep their expenses down when it comes to overhead and machinery but it’s not that expensive to purchase a new epson receipt printer, as one example, that can easily make sure your customers walk out not only happy but with a receipt…
After being cooped up in the house all winter long, one nice thing about the warmer spring days is being able to work outside. It’s not warm enough today but earlier in the week I was able to do my political blogging from my back deck. Thanks to the neat little netbook that I have and the cordless mouse, a small table, a comfortable chair with outdoor cushions and I can get a tan while working…
As someone who has not yet kicked the complete habit, the idea of trying the electric cigarettes is an appealing one. I had signed up to do a review of one particular brand, it was supposedly shipped but never received. We’ve had problems in the past with packages being sent not making it our house. Which makes me wonder if whoever got it, tried it and liked it. So for now? It’s one of those, “may be cool” products.
At first I thought the below video was some type of a joke, realizing that there are a lot of people who believe the world is going to end on December 2012. Then I discovered in checking out the website that this appears to be for real:
You and your loved ones are invited to survive the next earth devastating catastrophe, terrorist or nuclear attack. Vivos is the life assurance solution for your family, to survive for up to one year in an autonomous, hardened and nuclear blast proof, underground shelter. We invite you to join us and a community of 200 people, as a co-owner of the Vivos survival shelter complex closest to your home area from our planned network of 20 shelters. Where else would you go with just a few days’ notice?
You cannot predict, but you can prepare for the immediate future and beyond.
Apparently you have to apply for membership and if they think you are worthy of saving then they’ll let you buy in, no price range is mentioned. According to the clock on their website, we have 985 days to live…
One of the things I’ve noticed about social networking, especially Facebook is there are times when someone posts something as far as a problem or a concern and friends can provide instant help/advice/feedback and even resources. The other day a friend who had recently lost their job was concerned about health care insurance, specifically being able to get help with prescription medications. In a very short time period, friends helped with links to prescription assistance programs, NC short term health insurance websites, and social service agencies in her area. Upon the advice of her friends, she spoke to her doctor about her concerns and was eligible for an assistance program through the drug manufacturer. We each have areas we are more knowledgeable in, social networking can give us the chance to share that…
Growing up, when you heard the term “POS” it typically was referencing a car, a junker car that drove, yes, a piece of (I’m sure you can fill that in). It wasn’t until a few years ago that I learned that POS systems meant “point of sale” systems instead of the POS term from my early years. Though I admit I still smile every time I see those three letters, and from time to time, I actually get to tell someone what they mean in the business/retail world.
The Web search giant, along with Intel and Sony, would integrate applications like Twitter and the Picasa photo site onto TV screens, according to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Both reports attributed news of the project, said to be in its early stages, to unnamed sources. Google did not return a message from CNN seeking comment.
Google would open its Android smartphone operating system to developers to use for the television project, according to the reports.
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