iPad 3: The Tech Fire Perspective
Both the first and second generations iPads proved to the tech world that Apple still knows what we want, even before we knew we wanted it. At first it was subject to extreme criticism, initially the biggest being the name itself. However, there’s no question that in the two years this amazing product has been out for, it’s absolutely changed the way we interact with, consume, and even create all types of media.
Despite it having almost identical features to the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad proved that simply having the same user experience and touch interface on a bigger screen truly did make all the difference in the world. More room to touch, more room to interact, more room to play, type, etc..the list is endless. Bigger is certainly better here.
Facebook’s IPO Maybe the Largest in Tech History
The largest social networking site in the world, Facebook became one step closer to becoming a publicly traded company. Founded in 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard, the website now has over 850 million monthly active users.
Zuckerberg, who passed off offers from Yahoo for 1 billion and Microsoft for 15 billion, can look back at his decisions to pass up such large sums of money, and see how good of a choice he has made. Some say the IPO could raise around 5 to 10 billion dollars, while the market capitalization (total value of the tradable shares) could reach anywhere between 75 and 100 billion dollars. With Zuck owning around 28% percent of Facebook, you can do the math.
Perspective on SOPA & PIPA
SOPA and PIPA. The two ugly step-sisters of our dear friend Internet Freedom. They have caused a ruckus in Capitol Hill, and throughout the country over recent months, and earlier today, were put into timeout.
The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act were both gloriously postponed early Friday. Senate majority leader and bill proponent Harry Reid called off a scheduled vote for these two bills, after weeks of staunch opposition from online enterprises and concerned citizens.
While people are happy, and rightfully so that this bill has been halted, there is no question that some of the issues outlined in the bills are immediate problems.
Internet piracy is a rampant, and measures need to be taken to curb it. The Hollywood executives that propelled these bills into the spotlight simply wanted to stop the malicious downloading of copyrighted material, and with good reason. Offshore Internet companies have been milking music, movie, and book content for all they’re worth, illegally acquiring online material with no end in sight.
Update On SOPA
I was reading this new post on Tom’s Hardware, a site I frequently go to for tech news, which I subsequently post here, and found this article. I’m going to quote it verbatim, because I really could not convey the information better myself.
“SOPA’s biggest supporter claims the legislation will not censor the internet. Really.”
“On Wednesday, Reuters reported that some members of Congress had switched sides to oppose the anti-piracy legislation. The news arrived while “protests blanketed the Internet” as websites visually displayed their stance against SOPA and PIPA whether it was a simple link to anti-SOPA material, or a complete website blackout. Even one game developer launched a non-profit organization to protest against the ESA which in turn supports the legislation instead of the wishes of the enlisted “artists” and “content providers” it supposedly protects.
All the while, several sponsors of the legislation, including Senators Roy Blunt, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch and John Boozman and Marco Rubio, announced their withdrawal of support for the legislation. Reports indicated that their sudden turn was due to pressure stemming from critics of the bill. But some of them openly blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for rushing the Senate version of the bill (PIPA, or the Protect IP Act). Blunt said the legislation is “deeply flawed,” while both Rubio and Boozman cited “unintended consequences” that could stem from the proposed law. Still, all those that formerly opposed the legislation said they still supported taking action against online piracy.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) & What it All Means
There major buzz around the internet this month is the new bill called the, “Stop Online Piracy Act” which will go through the House of Representatives next month. If passed, the bill would basically allow Internet Service Providers to block certain domains if they are hosting content that infringes copyright. This fight is a huge deal, a war waging between everyday businesses, website owners, and users with the entertainment industry and big media companies, and even worse The GOVERNMENT.
The bills goal is to stop online piracy and to protect copyrights but, to what and who’s expense. The line is a thin line to be crossed, with seems to no middle ground being able to be reached.
Can you shut down a website for hosting or people uploading illegal content? The fight is targeted at foreign websites who specifically steal online content and profit from it. A lot of opponents say this won’t come without consequences though. Can you shut down sites like YouTube, which its users post infringing copyright material?
Google Reportedly Working On Android-Based Wearable Technology
Have you ever looked at a product, be it online or at the store, and wanted to know if it was available for less, or perhaps wanted to know about similar products? All of this may be a reality in the future, as tech and web giant Google is working on a pair of Android-based thick-rimmed glasses, similar to those worn by many celebrities.
The concept of these new optics entails not glass, but LED or AMOLED displays integrated into the frames, and would be able to communicate directly with the cloud via IP. They are also not directly tied to Android, which means that if you are an iPhone, Windows Phone 7, or Blackberry user, you’d still be able to take advantage of this radically game-changing technology.
Users would interact with the glasses via buttons on the arms of the frame. If the glasses are wirelessly paired with a smartphone, they will connect to the Internet via the phone’s data service/Wi-fi. And since they’re a Google product at their core, you’d be accessing their search engine, the most powerful in the world.
Call of Duty, Cloud Gaming, and What It All Means
According to an article from New Rising Media, Treyarch, developer of the Call of Duty series, posted job openings on their website soliciting help to work on the next installment of the hit video game series.
The recent November release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 broke all previous sales records by accumulating $775 million in the first five days of the game’s release. Some believe the video game developer will be taking the battlefield to space due to the fact Activision has registered domain names like “Call of Duty: Future Warfare” and “Space Warfare” in the past.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed the release of a new installment in 2012 in a letter accompanying the financial quarterly report, according to an article on Gamespot.
Be that as it may, the question you should be asking yourself isn’t “When will I be playing it?” but rather “What am I going to be playing it on?”
Microsoft Updates Xbox 360 With New “Metro” Interface
Change has come to the the Xbox 360! That is…in the form of a UI update. The interface that most gamers had been using was known as the NXE or New Xbox Experience. Well, out with the old, and in with the even-newer!
For the uninitiated, this new experience is known as Metro, and has been built around the Kinect, Microsoft’s revolutionary motion-controller, capable of extremely high-accuracy motion detection from the user. The new menu system has undoubtedly been re-designed to fit the likes of the non-gamer, further proving that Microsoft aims to bring its console, as well as ease-of-use, to more than just gamers. The new design takes on a modern, indeed very “Metro” look; simplicity+power at its core.
Navigation is now literally as simple as waving your hand naturally in front of your screen, in order to take you wherever you want to go. The same goes for voice-activated search; say “Bing” or “Xbox”, followed by what you’re looking for…and whoosh, you’re there! Xbox information and other media news is displayed first thing as you boot up your system, as well as music, social applications, and even Bing search, from Microsoft.
