Passwords: We're Doing it Wrong

The article I read quoted Winston Churchill who said, “democracy is the worst form of government ever tried — except for all the others.” The same could be said of computer passwords. They were fine, because it was the top option. However, most people use passwords that are not secure at all. Passwords like “password” or your name or birthday aren’t secure passwords.  The best thing we can do is two or three step authentication. Passwords are fine, but we need something more to be secure. Fingerprint readers, biometric scanners, facial recognition, and yubico keys are all good examples of security measures. Many computers come with a fingerprint reader but they are not popular with many brands because of the difficulty of setting up fingerprints that are accepted. The yubico key is a usb device that detects the electrical energy of your body when touching its surface, to prove that you are a human and not a software robot. We need to do a better job of protecting our online activity. What do you think is the best new technology for better security?

Yubico Key

Anti-Facebook

There is a social media network called Ello is receiving up to 31,000 requests to join per hour, according to its founder, Paul Budnitz. Budnitz originally designed the platform to be used for himself and about 90 other friends. On August 7th, the bike shop owner from Vermont, opened Ello to the public. The response has been incredible. 

The relatively new social media network has been dubbed the 'Anti-Facebook' due to its lack of advertisement. Budnitz was "flattered" by the creative nickname but insists that Facebook is not one of Ello's competitors. "We don't consider Facebook to be a competitor. We see it as an ad platform and we are a network," he explained.

"The traditional model of a free-to-use network has historically been the key to success", said James McQuivey, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester. "Over all the other social media experiences from Whatsapp to Instagram to Pinterest - the reason they work is because they're free," he told the BBC. Budnitz plans to eventually make money by selling features. "Like the app store, we're going to sell features for a few dollars," he said. Whether this is going to solidify itself in the social media world, its yet to be known. Thus far one thing is certain, 'Anti-Facebook' is creating quite a stir in the social media realm.

Anti-Facebook BBC Article 

The iPhone's lock button.... What do you think?

This is pretty specific, but I want to know what people think. The new iPhone has been a hot topic this month.  I’m sure you have already heard about all the new features but if you want a closer look, check out this 3d viewer of the iPhone 6. http://www.iphone6in3d.com

One feature that didn’t get much publicity, but is critical to the new design, is the placement of the lock button. In previous models the lock button has been on the top of the phone on the right side. The iPhone 6 and 6 plus have the lock button about ¾ of the way up the right side.

Personally, I like the new design. I think it fits perfectly, especially since the phones are larger. It would be cumbersome to reach up to lock the phone, especially on the iPhone 6 plus.

What do you think?

Picture This

Imagine this:
Step into a booth, put on a headset and step into the vacation of your dreams. Need a vacation? Feel like going to the beach, or maybe to New York city. Well Marriott has just the thing for you.

Last week Marriott hotel released a new vacation opportunity in eight cities on Marriott properties. The cities its offered in are New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco and will be available until November. This technology is equipped with 4D capabilities that according to Lucia Stoller, the director of social marketing for Marriott, makes it so you are "feeling the warn sun on their face, breeze in their hair, the rumble of the waves under food, and ocean spray on their face. They'll also smell lush palm trees, coconut oil and the salty ocean." This technology is equipped with the Oculus Rift DK2 virtual reality headset, wireless headphones and a suite of on-board 4D sensory elements. 

This Technology takes "a picture is worth a thousand words" to a whole new level. This by no means replaces travel, but there a many many uses for this technology. So step into a new world of technology and take a virtual getaway for a little bit to Hawaii, London, or one of the other locations offered by the new Marriott 4D experience.

Musical Revolution

On April 28th of this year iTunes will complete its eleventh birthday and what an eleven years its been. A simple concept of 99-cent singles completely rocked the music industry. Very few concepts have been able to accomplish as much as iTunes in such a small time frame. This simple concept came as a blessing to music lovers and served as a nuclear bomb for the music industry. Revenue was cut in half for the music industry since the birth of iTunes.

Apple orchestrated the perfect storm on the music industry. The iPod was already making quite a splash on the music scene and a runaway hit in it’s right. With such a good base to launch its product, iTunes was a clinical in complementing this one-two punch. One without the other would’ve stunted the growth of the monsters that we know so well today. The dynamic duo didn’t just revolutionize music sales, it simply destroyed it. 

Could music sales ever make a comeback? Most experts think not. Most artist have turned to touring, merchandise sales, and endorsement deals to make up the difference from the loss in revenue. Funny how the world turns. The ones that are in risk of losing its grip in today’s music market is Apple itself. Streaming music services like Spotify attempt to bring more stability to the a seemingly Apple dominated field. Can Apple maintain its superiority on music? It will depend on its ability to transition to the streaming subscription model. One thing is certain, the music industry will never be the same.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/25/technology/itunes-music-decline/ 

The Apple Take Over

With the new releases from Apple this week, there has been a lot of buzz about the new and continually advancing technology coming from Apple. Just this week they've released one of the biggest and most dramatic changes in technology since the original release of the iPhone. The tag phrase for this new iPhone 6 release is "bigger than bigger" which emphasizes the hugeness of this release . Included in the major software update is Apple Pay. A new card-less technology way to pay for thing through your Apple products including the new watch.

An article from wired.com suggests that the Apple takeover is upon us and that soon Apple and its products will soon rule our lives. Apple isn't just releasing individual products. All these individual products play into a bigger picture. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook the goal is "the Apple Experience." They aren't just releasing new iPhones, new IOS software, a revolutionary new watch, or whatever it might be. These are products with features that all work together. Apple is calling it their ecosystem

Do you have an iPhone? Is your laptop a Mac or maybe you use an iPad? Even if you don't own one of these things you probably know how to work one. Slowly, or maybe not so slowly Apple is working its way into each persons life, into each household, business, school or whatever it might be. Their goal is to create a computer for all. "The computer in the sky that connects to the computer in you pocket and on your wrist and in your car, your office, and your home," as the wired.com article puts it. Apple is creating products that can be used for everything with features that can be used in every way. Is the Apple takeover upon us? And if it is how long do you think it will take?

Phone/Tablet = Phablet

 The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were announced yesterday Sept. 9, 2014 at Apple’s event in Cupertino. We all expected a new iPhone or two, and many expected a watch as well. These new products will revolutionize what we expect from our technology. However, I find it interesting that the iPhone 6 plus has a 5.5” diagonal screen. In 2010, at a press conference with a Q and A session, Steve Jobs was asked a question about the iPhone 4 and its antenna issues. They person asking just wanted to know if there was anything they could’ve done to avoid the issue. Jobs took the question as an opportunity to separate Apple even further from other brands. He said that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” would help, but “no one’s going to buy that.”  Obviously opinions change and I’m sure if Jobs were alive today he would have a clever response. What do you think; are these "phablets" going to hold on and become the norm, or with the smaller iPhone 6 take the lead in sales?

Goal-line Technology in Soccer.

Throughout history one of the biggest dilemmas in soccer worldwide is the question of rather or not the ball has crossed the goal-line. Many goals have been disallowed that crossed the line and many goals have been granted that didn’t quite make it over the line. This has been a pressing issue for quite some time and there never seems to be a simple solution. Well as technology evolved through the years the solution became presented itself. 

The games being played in a tournament, perhaps like the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA Champion’s League, have many millions riding on it. With such large amounts of money being shelled out for advancing in these tournament it becomes imperative that the officials minimize any officiating mistakes. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is the governing body for soccer worldwide and they decided to take the goal-line issue out of the referee’s hands and rely on technology.

FIFA decided to place a micro chip in the ball, sensors in the goal posts, and a watch that receives all the information. The beauty of this process is that it is instant and virtually mistake free. The second that the entire ball has crossed the line the watch receives a signal from the sensors on the goal that has picked up the signals from the microchip in the ball alerting the referee that the ball has crossed. The whole process is instant and the center referee is the only one that receives any notification for he is the only one wearing this watch.

This past summer during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this technology was introduced to much success. It came to be used many times throughout the tournament and not once did it fail. It is now also in use in the major European leagues with plans of reaching out to the rest of the world in the near future. Just one more way that technology is making the difference in the world.