Foul Tech Sours

In a recent article by Gregg Keizer, a blogger for Computerworld, there was a discussion about why apple needs a $700 MacBook Air . The idea behind this is that several of Apple's competitors have already taken this step, therefore, to maintain it's profits the company should look to sell cheaper models. Although this would not necessarily be a "dumb move" on the company's part, I do not feel like it would be a necessary one. Every company, especially the top competitors in the technology sector, has their benefits, competitive strategies, and trade-offs. For as long as Macintosh (formerly McIntosh - like the apple) and Microsoft computers have existed, it has been a constant battle about which machines and devices are superior. Both Apple and Microsoft, since their start in the 1970's to 1980's, have been forerunners for the industry for hardware and operating systems, and overall leaders in innovation and technology. Both companies have continued to ex...

In a previous post titled " Gaps In the Fourth Amendment -- Exploited? ", I shared with you an assignment I did for my security class. The assignment briefly discusses electronic privacy and how the Federal Government takes advantage of loop holes within laws that are put in place to protect the privacy of American citizens. NSA's MUSCULAR has been in the news for a while now, and I believe it is a prime example of government exploitation of flaws in privacy laws. In case you do not know what MUSCULAR is, as far as we know it is a project that enables NSA and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to copy "entire data flows across fiber-optic cables that carry information among the data centers of the Silicon Valley giants" ( http://www.washingtonpost.com ). This means that millions of records from internal networks belonging to large companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are sent back to data warehouses at NSA HQ. At the time of ...

In one of my previous blog posts, Android: The New Home for Facebook , we learned that the company Facebook planned to host a media/press event on April 4th. Distributing invitations that only said "Come see our new home on Android", this stirred up several resources and Facebook fanatics.  People (again) got amped up about the possibility of a Facebook phone. That time has come and gone, and Facebook unveiled it's "new home" on the Android OS. While is it not a cell phone, it is a major leap in Facebook's mobile capability. If you own an iPhone, an older Android phone, or Blackberry, I am sure you know the feeling of frustration that is stemmed from the limited capability of the Facebook mobile app. The new launcher (called Facebook Home) is a home screen application that will sit on top of, not replace, the Android OS. It is designed to work with apps already installed on your device, and also features a family of associated applications. The goal of the...

In case you missed it, here is a quick run down of a few April Fools jokes and ideas made by our favorite (and least favorite) companies. Shibasphere A comedic take on hands-free video games consoles such as the Xbox 360 Kinect. With the motto "No hands. No Wires. No limits" I thought this was a legitimate device until I watched the associated video. Google Nose Google actually had a few pranks that they pulled on us today.  One that really stood out was Google Nose. This probably actually had some people going, but common sense says that you can't just go smelling things through your monitor (not yet anyway). When you click on the beta link, it redirects you to a search such as used napkin  and instructs you to lean in as close as you can and press enter to smell the aroma. There are also several other "scents" such a maple syrup, cookie dough, casino, and even frying onion. Try typing any of those things into google to smell the aroma. Google Maps Trea...

With the recent release of Windows 8, there has been both positive and negative feedback. While personally, I have found no major functionality differences between Windows 8 and the latter (Windows 7), I think that it is exciting the Windows is making a move towards a more mobile-friendly operating system. If you have seen or heard about the new Windows 8, it is clear that this operating system was created for mobility.  This OS was designed for phones, tablets, and hybrids.  Not that you can't use it on your desktop or laptop computer but, an upgrade to Windows 8 on any machine that is not or cannot be mobile is a waste of time. Unfortunately, though being the creators of this new, metro operating system, Microsoft is not seen as a large competitor in the mobile world especially when it comes to tablets.  I'm sure several of us had a Windows phone at some point (I've had the Motorola Q and the Samsung Omnia). My concern is not that Microsoft cannot compete in the wor...

Okay. I was going to wait until tomorrow to talk about this, but I just HAD to express myself after coming across several articles and pictures about Google, this Project Glass nonsense, and the selection process.  As many of you may have already heard, after inviting 8,000 people to their "Explorer Program", they ended up having to disqualify several of the invitees.  Both parties, Google and the applicants, are at fault here. First, it is the fault of the applicants for not looking for further information concerning the terms of the application process. These idiots simply saw that they could tweet and post to Google+ using the hash tag #ifihadglass and began tapping away at their keyboards and phones.  Many of the applicants failed to realize that this is NOT a free trial or give away, and were surprised when they learned that they would be expected to pay full price ($1,500 from what I've read) for the "Glass" product. But how can you blame google for ch...

Although this is an exciting new technology that I'm sure EVERYBODY is looking forward to, I would have to say that people shouldn't be so quick to jump on the bandwagon. The technology I am referring to is goggle's newest concoction called "Glass". I'm sure you’ve read about it, heard about it, whatever. I remember even seeing a YouTube video about it a while back. Like most new technologies, I am pretty skeptical about a few things. The first being that I am blind as hell. I already wear corrective vision. What happens if I decide one day that I want to wear my glasses as opposed to contacts? Will I just have to avoid my Google glass that day? I need answers. Second, how convenient is it to always have something blocking your view? I assume not all the functions are as transparent as they would need to be in order to remain functional throughout the day. Can I look and do ANYTHING at the same time? Sure, this functionality is great for taking pictures an...