Tech news for today 8-25-2010
Posted by: David
Watch the video for thoughts and info
Link 1: Inescapable Technology Is Beating Up Our Brains
Link 2: What's Apple Announcing at Their Music-Related September 1 Event?
Link 3: Stephen Colbert's Internet Privacy Smackdown
Foursquare and Facebook : Why you should develop apps for facebook
Posted by: David
Facebook is now offering a check-in service similar to Foursquare
Facebook started offering a similar service to that of Foursquare today. If you are not familiar, Foursquare uses your location and allows you to "check-in" at places in order to share them through social media.
Foursquare was catching on like wildfire. It was developed nicely, is sharp and smart at the same time. However, Foursquare will now start to rethink business strategy as Facebook has started offering its check-in service.
The real problem is Foursquare's inability to plan for this day. They make an application that can easily be replicated, specially with a company with the resources like Facebook. While Foursquare was unique and innovative yesterday, it is just another social networking tool that Facebook decided it could do better.
This is the reason you shouldn't develop applications for social networking. IF YOU DEVELOP APPS FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING, THE NETWORKING SITE CAN DO IT TOO. Just because you wrote some nice code that is unique when you publish it, doesn't mean that companies like Facebook and Twitter with tons of resources can't emulate it within a few weeks (or less).
Strangely, it appears as if social networking games might be the safest bet for developing on social networking sites. The difference here is that people get attached to their game. Take Farmville and Mafia Wars for example, the both encourage hours of gameplay to make progress and require interaction with friends to advance in the game at certain points. People will be less willing to give up the hours they have spent on a game where they feel like they have earned something, as opposed to using an application that just shares information such as Foursquare.
It doesn't look good for Foursquare, but they may yet stand a chance. Badges that users could gain from Foursquare might retain some of their users. Otherwise, it looks like Foursquare should try to cash in right now, unless they have a card up their sleeve, or an ace in the hole. It might just be time for Foursquare to check-out.
Graduate School: Blog Focus
Posted by: David
The blog is changing focus
The mission of my blog will remain the same. Educate others, while providing a reference for myself. I am going to continue working on some hands on stuff quite a bit, but with graduate school fast approaching I also want to start practicing some of what I learn, or showing off what I learn.
What can you expect?
More information than just technology. I am going to start covering my classes, and what I am learning - despite the immediate relationships to technology. For example, I want to post a small guide on preparing for, and enrolling in graduate school soon.
What am I doing?
I am enrolled at a regional college and will be studying for my Masters of Science in Information Systems. I am working full time as well as a Network Support Specialist with a very wide variety of duties (far more than just help desk). My work has volunteered to offer some assistance with tuition so hopefully this will help jump start my career.
I will be doing the thesis option, as I have always had a small thought about possibly obtaining a Doctorate. I use the research to keep myself busy at home. I like to play video games, but I hate myself when I know I could be doing things to better myself and others. Working on the graduate degree will surely keep me focused.
I am ready to begin!
Is my vision of the WebTV of the future here already?
Posted by: David
A new device called MetaMirror could be the future of WebTV
I posted about my future for WebTV being qoute
- Be connected with the web - obviously
- Be integrated with the web, allow controls via a web interface
- Not interrupt your TV shows to use the web
- Allow you to search the web for things you see, or are related to what you see on the screen
This seems to be almost exactly what MetaMirror is going to try to accomplish.
MetaMirror describes its software :
The product is a software platform which runs on a secondary device of the users choice, displaying this contextual content over a mirror of the television broadcast. By bringing together live television, real-time contextual information and an intuitive user interface, Meta Mirror is positioned to update television from uni-directional broadcast to two-way interaction.
While the software will obviously face challenges now, it is clearly going to be the wave of the future for WebTV, MetaMirror is only getting the quick jump they needed to.
Images and qoutes courtesy of http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/metamirror_notions_vision_for_the_near_future_of_tv__17118.asp
Dameware host actively refusing connection fix
Posted by: David
The issue?
You can't connect to a client using dameware because it is actively refusing your request.
Resolution
Go into the device manager and delete the dameware mirror driver which is listed with the display drivers.
If that does not work consult dameware support to make sure you don't have a network issue causing the issue.
When to pull out of dying technology?
Posted by: David
When is it appropriate to give up on a technology that is still being used?
The answer obviously can vary, but it is important to choose a certain way to look at things in this situation. For this writing I will consider looking at when to stop dealing with a technology from the consumer standpoint. It is pretty simple for Company's to decide to change their technology (Not enough ROI? Ok, lets do something else).
What is there that will replace what you have?
You don't necessarily need to be an early adopter to recognize a new technology that will surely catch fire. Pay attention to websites that pride themselves on being the first on addressing new technology. (Gizmodo and Engadget are fairly adept at this). You will never be certain what technology will catch fire next and become the new standard, but being aware of it could certainly help. Staying up to date with the latest in technology news will allow to be aware of any new ways of doing what you currently do.
Ok, so you've seen something that can replace something you already own in the future - how do you know when to quit investing in your current setup and move into the newest technology. Here are a few keys to consider.
- Make sure the new thing offers considerable benefits - there is no reason to move horizontally with your technology
- Make sure the new thing will work as intended - you don't want to invest in a new technology that isn't polished enough to work to where it does the functions it was intended to.
- Make sure the new thing will become a standard - ever bought an HD DVD player? If you have I bet you feel rather foolish.
There is no way to tell if a new technology will catch on and last for a while, because newer technology is already being worked on to replace it. Let's take an example.
Example: Blu-ray media
Blu-ray media offers the ability to offer High Def movies in a physical format. Many, but not all people will consider HD quality a substantial benefit, and it also has already proven to work as intended, and also it has beaten out HD DVD to become the standard high capacity portable disc media for movies. So, why would we consider dumping blu-ray already? I mean I just bought my first PS3 last year, I can't afford to buy more equipment to watch my movies!
Well, there are already efforts to develop more advanced lasers to store more media on a disc than even a blu-ray. These new media discs could possibly contain an entire collection of movies in HD. Well, if that is the case you would probably be tempted to go ahead and buy this new laser disc reader/player as soon as possible right? Well, no. You should definitely wait until that technology becomes a standard for the industry.
Things are different in today's world though. You don't have to choose between CD, or cassette. Now you can choose to listen to your music in a variety of ways digitally, and we are just stepping into the world of streaming movies. While this isn't directly in line with the past progression of technology of playing movies (VHS->DVD->Blu-ray on physical media), it takes a step to the side and will start a new progression of technology.
Part of knowing when to quit using a technology is to know when it is becoming obsolete. Blu-ray is by no means obsolete yet, but very well could become replaced by most homes with streaming movies soon. With such improved bandwidth availability to most homes, it will become easier and easier to view your movies using a completely different technology.
Personally, I think in 3 years most people will be watching HD quality movies through streaming services such as Netflix. Blu-ray will still be a great choice for watching movies on the go, such as our current portable DVD players. As cell phone coverage and capability increases though and data becomes more available wirelessly there will be less and less a need for physical media. Eventually we will all be able to watch our movie collection from anywhere in the world.
The WebTV of the future
Posted by: David
GoogleTV is going to be cool, but what should WebTV be?
What WebTV should do:
- Be connected with the web - obviously
- Be integrated with the web, allow controls via a web interface
- Not interrupt your TV shows to use the web
- Allow you to search the web for things you see, or are related to what you see on the screen
How can WebTV offer everything?
A great idea would be to introduce touch screen tablets, probably based on an android platform that would allow you to sync your tv broadcast to your tablet. The tablet would have all of the controls for the WebTV, and unless you asked for your tablet to show the interface on the TV, the user interface would only show on the tablet. Want to watch a video from the web? Search for it using your tablet, while your show is still playing in the background, and then select that web video to play, and then choose the control to show your tablet on the television (with full HD/3D support of course).
The closest thing we have to a device that I am describing right now is probably the iPad.
Imagine using your iPad to control your TV. That is the future of WebTV.
Your touch tablet is your remote control for your TV. It is also your web portal, without interupting your TV show, but if you want, you can view something on your tablet on your TV.
Great, now you can view your shows on either your TV or tablet. Search on the web with either your tablet or TV without interrupting one or the other, but what about searching for images that you select on the screen?
A solution for this would be to possibly take a screenshot, and have it cropped to a certain size around the area you touched and have that submitted to the growing image searches. This technology could also search the images you submit for possible keywords that you might also be considering searching when you search by touching the screen. Say you were to touch search an actors face weapon in your favorite action movie. When that image gets submitted to the image search engine, it could also suggest keywords based on the image that you could also search, such as weapon, war, gun, 9mm, etc.
Integrating further with the signal the TV receives, or a cable box the search could also give you details about the show as it plays. Think of pop up video, but with your TV show - every TV show, only if you want.
Some other added benefits of using a tablet for your remote and WebTV experience:
- Easier to use than an old fashioned remote when using the web
- Offers a very familiar interface, your WebTV is just an app on your tablet that syncs with your TV
- Doesn't have to be integrated into the TV components - just get a projection box that works with your tablet app
- It wouldn't be something you would have to deal with. If you just want to watch TV, just watch TV, you don't need to worry about the web
- Easily upgradable. Since it is just software based on your tablet, it shouldn't be hard to save your settings to a new tablet, or just update the software.
- Most importantly, if it was just a piece of software on an android tablet, you could possibly customize your interface and even be offered 3rd party apps that you can use for WebTV!
The future... sounds pretty sweet.
Network Security with new technologies could endanger more than just data
Posted by: David
Secure technologies can save, and make lives easier - but what happens when a hacker takes control of this technology?
If a hacker were determined enough (as many are) they could find a way to take control of just about any device. What is to stop a hacker from taking control of your car with OnStar? Instead of just hacking the OnStar database and taking your information, they could hack the controls with OnStar and take your life.
You like that feature where OnStar can unlock your car? It is pretty convenient when you lock yourself out. It has helped a lot of people. However, if someone were to have the ability to control and view all of the information about your car without your permission they could not only find your car, with its GPS, but unlock the doors, start the engine and disable the OnStar abilities.
Even worse, if you were someone important and your death is of value to someone, say another country, another gang or just your sworn enemy, they could gain control of your car and manipulate it while you are driving it. It would be really inconvenient if your engine suddenly shut off when you were heading toward then turn that rides along the cliff's edge.
It's not just cars, and it isn't just now
Cars are just one of the possible technologies that can be exploited and made dangerous. It seems too obvious, and it has been done before in movies, but Robots could possibly be hacked too. It might not be reasonable to do now, but what about when we get a robot in every home? Why hire a hitman when you could just hire a hacker to take over someone's robot.and kill them in their sleep.
Another possibility would be your home. The smart grid is coming, and you are starting to gather more controls with your house. A hacker could conceivably take control of your house from the internet and take control of your utilities. I know it doesn't sound dangerous but think about your gas oven, or gas furnace or water heater. If a hacker was to kill your pilot light on your furnace and turn on all of your gas appliances, thus filling your house with gas they could flip the pilot light on and destroy your house in a fiery explosion.
The technology is advancing, but just with crime the hackers or criminals seem to always be one step ahead of those in who prevent security issues. If it wasn't for these criminals we probably wouldn't find some security issues. However as these technologies start gaining more and more power in our lives, the more power these hackers can have. For now you have just hackers stealing your information, but in the future, or even now, a hacker could take your life.
GoToMeeting thoughts
Posted by: David
Why use go to meeting?
- Cut your costs. No longer do you need to go out and do training, or invite people to your buildings to train them on your software. Simply host a webinar and invite all of the attendees to watch and listen from their comfort. No more travel fees! Sometimes you can't avoid travel, but there isn't much a great power point couldn't help with.
- Remote tools. If you need to support some helpless person who you have more trouble than ever with in giving remote assistance, gotomeeting is really simple. You don't need their IP, or hostname, just make sure they can read their e-mail, and send them an e-mail invitation. Change the presenter to them so you can see their screen and request control of their machine to start working on it.
- Simple. Even some of your more simple minded employees or customers can figure out how to use it. If they can't figure it out the first time, the help and manual for gotomeeting provides a great resource tool to get it. If you don't get gotomeeting, you don't get much. Sorry.
Some problems
- When things go wrong, they really go wrong. Hosting a webinar? Easy enough right? Well, not if you change the conference phone number without alerting half of your attendees. Make sure you keep all stakeholders informed on what is going on when you are hosting webinars, specially if they are more important than most.
- Requires a software download. The hardest part about getting a helpless remote user help is walking them through the install. If someone is completely helpless, then you know how hard it can be to walk them through installing something. This can be a bear, but if you are dealing with someone who knows how to use their computer, it should only take a minute or two (depending on connection).
- Chaotic. Get 70 people on your webinar with a teleconference. You sure are saving a lot of money, but you know how people can be. They refuse to mute their phone and you can hear them talking in the background. You can mute them from your gotomeeting, but whenever someone joins you need to keep reminding them or mute everyone. At time it can definetly be inconvenient.
Overall Thoughts
Gotomeeting is good software. It was excellent software to organize your web meeting, and with the use of a conference line can get confusing at time, but offers power that you use to only dream about. It cuts your travel costs a ton. Move that money in your budget to give you employees new monitors and ergonomic keyboards so they can be more comfortable working.
As long as you keep everyone informed, and are willing to help people who aren't familiar with computer gotomeeting can be very helpful. It is when you start having issues that things can get very bad very fast. Chaotic was a good word for it. Once things get bed they tend to stay bad for a while. Things get disorganized quickly. Game plan before you start, and be prepared for anything. If you are prepared, gotomeeting can be a great asset, otherwise it can be a complete hassle.
Before you start using gotomeeting corporate wide, make sure you have people who are familiar with using the software to be able to give some support. You should do this with all software really. However with something as important as web meetings with Chief Officers, it is particularly important you have someone on staff who knows how to lend a hand if something were to go wrong.
Another great Firefox add on: Extra Bookmark Rows
Posted by: David
So, you want more rows for your bookmarks?
There is an add on for that if you are a firefox user (and why wouldn't you be?). This add on when installed will automatically create another row for your bookmarks whenever you run out of room on your current bookmark row. This comes in handy when you don't want to fool with organizing your bookmarks in the bookmarks drop down menu.
If your lazy, like most people - this add on is for you.
If you want to keep your complex organizational system for your bookmarks in the drop down menu, don't worry about it.
How do you get it?
Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6937
From there just click on + Add to Firefox, and it will download and install for you.
When it is done installing it will ask for you to restart Firefox, go ahead and do that so you can start using your now extended bookmark rows!