Wed
16
Nov
2011

What Technology Wants

Technology, contends journalist Kevin Kelly, has a life of its own, describing how technology advances independently of humans. He introduced the term “technium”, a term that embodies the sum of all technologies, the society and culture of tools, and the self-reinforcing system of creating them.

At some point of evolution, our system of technology tools and machines and ideas became so dense in feedback loops and complex interactions that it .. began to exercise some autonomy.

At first, the notion of technological independence is hard to grasp. we are taught to think of technology first as a pile of hardware and secondly as inert stuff that is wholly dependent on us humans. In this view, technology is only what we make. Without us, it ceases to be. Technology does only what we want. And that’s what I believed, too… But the more I looked at the whole system of technological invention, the more powerful and self-generating I realized it was.

There are many fans, as well as many foes, of future technology who strongly disagree with the idea that the technicum is in any way autonomous. They adhere to the creed that technology does only what we permit it to do. In this view, notions of technological autonomy are just wishful thinking on our part.

But I now embrace a contrary view: that after 10,000 years of slow evolution and 200 years of incredible intricate exfoliation, the technium is maturing into its own thing. Its sustaining network of self-reinforcing processes and parts has given it a noticeable measure of autonomy. It may have once been as simple as an old computer program, merely parroting what we told it, but now it is more like a very complex organism that often follows its own urges.

Read more about this in this technology book:
What Technology Wants, by Kelly Viking, 2010

By admin | Posted in Information Technology, Technology Advances | Tagged , | Comments (0)
Wed
19
Oct
2011

Mobile Commerce To Change Mobile Marketing

In this changing age of technology, companies need to continuously adapt their online strategies and tailor their shopping channels for the evolving digital consumer. With the iPhone offered by most major mobile carriers and the proliferation of other smart phones in the market,Mobile Browsing it is not surprising that a number of consumers already rely on their phones instead of their computers as their primary means of accessing the Internet. According to a recent consumer survey by Rockbridge, half (47%) of online consumers own a smart phone with web access and a fourth (23%) prefer to use their phone instead of a computer to go online “always” or “most of the time”. Only 2% of smart phone consumers never use their phone to go online.

Mobile Browsing, Internet browsing on smartphone

Consumers are doing more than just browsing or watching videos while on the mobile internet; they are using their device as a shopping aide. The vast majority of smart phone consumers have used their phone to search for better deals while in a store (82%) or to visit a store’s website while in their store (72%). Over half (58%) have received a coupon on their phone after sending a text message and half (50%) used a coupon that was stored on their phone. Two-thirds (64%) have paid for a product or service on their phone.

In the future, smart phone consumers plan to increase some mobile activities when internet shopping. They will be more likely to store items such as coupons on their phones so that they can be used at stores or other businesses (50% do this currently, with 77% planning to in the future). Four-in-ten (38%) have used a mobile ticket (e.g., a movie or sporting event) stored on their phone and another 21% plan to in the future. Consumers will also be more likely to scan a barcode with their phone (56% vs. 70% in the future).

Some mobile internet shopping activities have reached their saturation point and appear to be ebbing, possibly because the previous experience was not satisfying or because consumers do not see a need for it. Notably, consumers will be less likely to use their phones while in the store to search for better online deals or to visit the store’s website. Interestingly, the likelihood of consumers paying for a product or service on their phone will also decrease, from 64% currently to only 56% in the future. This will present some challenges to companies to make these activities more relevant and easier to accomplish on a mobile device.

The most common item currently purchased on smart phones consists of apps from the provider’s app store, but more than a quarter have recently purchased something tangible, such as a new pair of shoes, which might have traditionally been bought online or in the store. (See Figure 3). Many of those who purchased something other than an app or phone content using their phone chose this method because it was more convenient (46%) or because they were not around a computer (27%). Since phones are used mainly when it is a matter of convenience, marketers should expect purchases to be made by the same customers in both mobile and stationary channels.

Many consumers have avoided purchasing on their mobile phones. One of the reasons is a diminished ability to see products in greater detail (28%); therefore, zoom features on mobile sites may be useful in motivating consumers to purchase. Some also have concerns about the privacy of their personal information (22%), so companies may need to consider modifying and updating methods used during Web 1.0 to reassure consumers that their information is protected.

M-commerce provides consumers more flexibility when accessing the internet and they are taking advantage of it now and plan to do so in the future. Mobile consumers are delving into new activities while avoiding others, and marketers will need to continue to innovate and provide user-friendly shopping experiences to attract these savvy consumers.

Rockbridge, a custom market research firm that specializes in technology and research, surveyed 257 smartphone owners from a national online panel. The results were weighted to match the demographic representation in Census. The margin of error on the findings reported here is +- 6%.

By Sara Farbry, Senior Research Director

By admin | Posted in Digital Advertising, Mobile Commerce | Comments (0)
Tue
20
Sep
2011

Solid State Drives To Replace Hard Drives

How broadcasters survive and thrive in future markets will depend not only on their ability to create, aggregate and brand unique digital content, but also on how effective they are in making strategic decisions about where and how their content is stored. In today’s connected economy, it will be crucial to be able to quickly repackage and deploy content to new markets.

The required business and creative decisions will need to be managed by an integrated set of ASPs supporting micro-payments, advertising and subscription models. If a content owner can’t perform these creative and business functions economically and rapidly, the competition will.

What is Next?

Look first for SSD accelerators initially to be added to larger storage systems. This will allow users to realistically increase application speeds by a factor of three, and increase burst Web apps acceleration rates by 40 times.

In the second stage of the storage revolution, SSDs will be added to notebooks,allowing them to run fasterand provide longer battery life. Initially, SSD-equipped PCs will cost more and, therefore appeal to a small subset of the notebook market, but prices will drop.

Consumer SSD-equipped PCs will cost more and, therefore appeal to a small subset of PC market, but prices will drop.

Consumer SSDs have actually been used in high end laptops since 2007. Unfortunately, technology market acceptance has been slow because of poorly designed notebooks. In many cases, mediocre SSDs were simply dropped into motherboards, which had been designed for hard discs. In nearly all commercial notebooks snipped up to the beginning of 2011, notebook chipsets wasted most of the theoretical speed advantagesof SSDs. It will require several more products generations of notebooks before the real advantages of SSDs will become obvious to users.

In 2015-2019 we will see an entirely new class of SSDs. I call this product class bulk storage, and these SSDs will replace hard discs in the data center. They will offer higher storage density than HDs, lower operating costs and faster performance. Internally, these SSDs will have different architectures, which will be optimized for low power consumption, data healing and long operating life rather than just low speed.

In many ways the software architecture of tomorrow’s bulk storage SSD rack will more resemble that of tape libraries. Instead of a robot mechanism grabbing a tape catridge, some sections of the SSD will simply be powered down and then powered up only when the information is needed. Another key factor in this scenario – the atomic data interchange between the bulk SSD and its neighbour, the auxiliary acceleration SSD (which sits on the SAN) – will by today’s standards be a huge chunk of data. This data will sit 2 levels away from the main acceleration SSDs and appear as a DAS connection to the applications.

In tomorrow’s data-driven content factory, storage will be regarded as a profit center and not an overhead. The ability to redeploy content quickly along with micro accounting will create new revenue opportunities for content owners. This will include the ability to manufacture (customize) the new content through software agents to prepopulate anticipated user demands and fully embrace any content, anywhere at any time business model.

Going forward, storage architectures will remain just as complicated as they have always been, with several classes of SSDs being optimized for different roles. A key difference, however, will be that the only spinning devices in the storage cabinets will be the cooling fans.

By admin | Posted in Data Storage, Technology News | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Wed
3
Aug
2011

Beware: Cybercrime and Online Scams

Last year more than 74 million people in United States were victims of some form of cybercrime, which resulted in $32 billion in direct financial losses. Every second 14 adults worldwide are victimized by online fraudsters, which is more than 1 million people every day.

While Americans may have gotten used to cybercrime during the past year, after large-scale data breaches at Citibank, Sony and Epsilon, the problem may still be worse than people think.

Global cybercrime has claimed 431 million adult victims in the past year, according to the report of antivirus software manufacturer Norton, and this cost countries $114 billion in direct financial losses. That figure jumps to $388 billion when you factor in the value that victims place on the time they spent recouping the losses.

Examples of cybercrime include emailed viruses and malware (still the most prevalent offense with 54% of respondents saying they have experienced this type of fraud), online scams (11%) and phising messages (10%), which attempt to obtain personal information through deceptive links in emails. The figures are based on surveys of 19,636 people in 24 countries.

Many types of online scams have become more prevalent partially due to growing popularity of smartphones, which offer another digital platform for fraudsters to exploit.

Norton cites in its report that, when looking at global estimates, cybercrime costs world governments more than the marijuana, cocaine and heroin black markets combined. Based on stats from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, those illicit trades cost $141.1 billion, $85 billion and $61 billion, respectively, for a total of $288 billion.

We did some digging and found that cybercrime losses more than surpass some countries’ entire GDP, such as Iceland ($11.82 billion), Malta ($10.41 billion) and Barbados ($6.23 billion). It also dwarves productivity losses due to insomnia ($63.2 billion), long-term care obligations ($33.6 billion) and March Madness ($1.8 billion), though having that money back would do little to solve the country’s astronomical debt problem.

By admin | Posted in Cybersecurity, Internet Safety Tips, Technology News | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
Fri
15
Jul
2011

Safety Tips For Surfing in Wireless Hot Spots

It is convenient to surf the Web and read latest technology news, order local food delivery or check movie theater times in Hampton using your your laptop, your smart phone or other mobile device from your favorite hot spot. However, it is wise to remember that logging onto Wi Fi networks can be risky. Federal Trade Commission warns the users that new hacking tools are making it easier for people to steal user names, passwords, credit card numbers, electronic mail and other personal information.

Better Business Bureau recommends that wireless network users exercise caution when surfing in wireless hot spots. Here are some safety tips that will allow you be worry-free:

  • Don’t use a wireless network if it doesn’t require a unique password. Networks that don’t, or that have generic passwords available to many users, are very vulnerable to hacking.
  • Be sure that the website you are using is encrypted. Look for “https” at the beginning of the Web address, which indicates that your browser and the computer on the other end are both encrypting the information.
  • If you are using a computer, make sure that you have file sharing turned off and a firewall installed.
  • Although point to point encryption used by online banking and many online shopping carts is generally considered safe, use hot spots only for casual Web browsing and for sending and receiving information that is not sensitive.
  • Avoid typing passwords and other personal information into public computers, which could have “key logger” software for recording keystrokes.
  • Don’t remain logged onto wireless hot spots. Log off after every use, and don’t leave your mobile device unattended.
  • Make sure home wireless routers are secured by a password, preferably using Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) instead of Wireless Equivalent privacy (WEP). Read the router manual for more details.

    • Make use of these safety tips when using wireless networks, whether you are are ordering pizza delivery, ordering wristbands for events or checking local movie times, and your personal information will be secure.

    By admin | Posted in Internet Safety Tips | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
    Tue
    24
    May
    2011

    Wildlife Photography Tips

    The opportunity to see and photograph wildlife at close quarters on foot is a definite asset of traveling to African photo safari and living in wildlife lodges. It is a great treat to see superb startlings and other gorgeous birds hopping around practically at arm’s length. If you are interested in watching the animals’ behavior and photograph wildlife, you want to get close enough to see and hear clearly, but not so close that you disturb them.

    With binoculars, you can see anything bigger than a hare perfectly well from at least 100 yard. However, to get close-up pictures of anything smaller than a rhino, even with a 400-mm telephoto lens, you need to get closer than 100 yd. In fact, you can get and even stay within 100 yd of most wildlife without causing alarm if the animals are habituated to vehicles or to pedestrians.

    Up to a point, the more cars animals see, the less they mind them. Animals are more approachable in places where they are exposed to the most vehicles. However, the process can go too far when there is a constant concession of vehicles that actually interferes with the animals’ normal routine. To make it worse, animals may undergo stress without any obvious outward signs. Since it is not obvious when animals are disturbed, give them the benefit of doubt and avoid crowding them.

    Driving at speed straight toward the animal is not the way to make an approach. A slow, indirect approach is least disturbing. With animals that are blase about cars, you can move right to the desired location. Shy ones may have to be approached in stages, stopping if they act nervous or begin moving away.

    Early morning and late afternoon appear to be the peak activity times for most animals. The transition from dark to light and light to dark – the most clearly defined events in the 24-hour cycle – triggers all kinds of action. Nocturn species are still active as the diurnal animals leave their night refuges and resting places to begin foraging.

    During the heat of the day there is relatively little activity; many animals avoid overheating and water loss by resting, preferably in the shade. Watching animals coming to water is always interesting and vastly entertaining when elephants are involved, and sometimes dramatic when lions and crocodiles seize the opportunity to ambush prey when danger is least expected.

    Most Tanzanian safari and African safari travel parks have rules about night driving. Otherwise, night would be one of the most rewarding times for viewing wildlife and some wildlife photography.

    You may have a chance to take some great pictures if you stop and watch the animals you meet.

    By admin | Posted in Photography Tips | Comments (0)
    Wed
    20
    Apr
    2011

    How To Hire a Tax Preparer

    Not all good tax preparers or accountants are CPAs, but it is crucial to find a tax specialist who is competent and knowledgeable. Here are some tips on how to hire a tax consultant:

    1. WHO? It is important to ask around. Ask for recommendations from Chamber of commerce friends, professional associates, church members or small business owners in the community. Local Crown Financial Ministries instructor may also give advice or a referral to a good tax specialist in the area.
    2. WHAT? what experience do they have with individual tax returns or with small business tax law (if there is a home-based business involved)? Is he or she a CPA? If som is the license current? Do the non-CPAs maintain their own DBA and small business licenses?
    3. Another WHAT? question to consider is : What is a fair price? It could cost anywhere from $150 to $500 for a family return, which would include preparation, Schedule C, state taxes and advice on all other kind of tax issues.
    4. WHEN? Don’t go to a seasonal tax specialist (who does it only during tax time); pick a tax consultant who does taxes all year round. while some of these tax specialists do a good job,many others are only nominally trained and disappear after April 15. it is hard to find a good seasonal tax preparer with a proven track record without a referral.
    5. WHERE? A good tax preparation company can be found using Best Bureau resource online. Here, the family can research the potential accounting office. Is there’s a home based business involved, go to the local SBA office (Small Business Association) to get advice on finding a local CPA or tax adviser.
    6. HOW? A lot can be determined through a personal interview. If they don’t talk on the phone, or the answers are vague, they won’t give references or report how many small business clients they have – then find another tax preparation company. It is reasonable to expect a tax professional to help reduce tax liability; know how much to invest in Roth IRA, traditional IRA or SEP IRA; restructure a small business; advise on contract labor employees and home office deductions; and help with other changes to make tax deductions. Expect your tax adviser to answer specific questions. Tax preparers are being paid to know why they put in that number and what it means.

    By admin | Posted in Financial Planning | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)
    Tue
    22
    Mar
    2011

    Web Load Testing Improves Web Performance

    You have tried this and that and just about everything, and your bounce rates are sky rocketing. If you cannot figure out where the problem exists, try web load test to check the web performance of your pages. Here’s what you can try to decrease bounce rates and increase conversion:

    Perform a Web Load Test

    Clear your cache and try to access your page. Does it take more than a few seconds? If so, you can rest assured that your website performance levels are what is causing your poor customer experience. You may not have noticed from your home or work computer because you visit your site often, and your web browser has cached the content for easy access. When put under the stress of a new user, your servers might struggle to provide them with all of your content.

    Try Performance Testing Program

    A good way to get a look at your site is to use a load test, much like the battery of your car needs to be tested to see if it can handle the pressures of everyday use. A high-quality performance testing program can tell you whether your site is performing up to current standards, and can often let you know the source of the issues.

    For a quick web performance testing experiment, try the following. Create a new page for your website with only a few words of plain text to display, and log out of your content management system, clearing your cache again. Now, try navigating directly to that blank page. If even a page this light takes a long time to load, your problem exists within your servers themselves. If you outsource your hosting services, contact customer support and report the problem. If you host in-house, make sure your webmaster is alerted to the issue and working on it as soon as possible.

    However, if you had no problems loading a page like this, then it is the overall weight of your web pages that is causing the issue. If it exists on every page, you might want to look into your header and footers, which are often laden with images or flash animation that can often bog-down your web load time.

    By admin | Posted in Website Performance | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)
    Tue
    15
    Feb
    2011

    Digital Display Software for Display Advertising

    Something most of us don’t think of is the process involved in putting together a newspaper. There are the ads, the editorials, the classifieds, the photos, there are hundreds of details to consider. You wouldn’t want to see an ad for a funeral home next to the supermarket coupons, for instance. Once the content is decided on, it has to be printed out and cut and pasted together, corrections made, proofs approved, etc. Here is where the digital age has really benefitted the newspaper business.

    Digital display software is designed to make display advertising easier to input, less costly to produce and easier to edit and correct. It also allows a paper to offer their clients more avenues for their advertising. You can see the same ad in the paper, on the website and across any websites affiliated with the paper, such as blogs or auction sites.  With the image in a digital file, it is also a simple thing to place it (or not) in the next day’s paper, the Sunday edition, not on Thursday, etc.

    Also, with classified advertising software, the prep work is reduced exponentially. No more cutting, paste-ups, scotch tape, etc.  A client can also really zero in on the customers they want to reach, as well. It allows a more focused approach to your ad copy if you know your audience will consist of so many qualified customers. So, although some would say it means less eyes actually look at the ad, (for instance, I don’t follow sports so I almost never see those ads), those that do are more highly qualified than ever.

    Newspaper web order entry is a software based platform for allowing customers to arrange and pay for their own classifieds and display ads from any internet connected computer. These programs offer a large array of  including calendars for setting dates for ads to run, customer databases with detailed information so clients can be notified of special issues or opportunities, more chances to upsell customers by bringing up other venues available for their advertising including wider networks, customers billing history, credit lines, etc.

    In fact, digital age newspapers – newspaper in their digital version – are superior in many ways to the printed versions; we aren’t using up paper resources, ink, fuel for delivery, corrections are immediate, resizing and reformatting are fast and simple, it requires less staff and it can even be more profitable. There is really only one thing I can think of where the printed version is definitely superior: you can’t train a puppy with a digital newspaper!

    By admin | Posted in Digital Advertising | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
    Thu
    20
    Jan
    2011

    New Old Marketing Idea: Video Production

    In the era of technology progress, electronic gadgets and innovations, the number of different ways of communication is continuously growing. And so do the ways of marketing products and services. Business owners are constantly looking for innovative ways of reaching out and advertising what they have to offer. Internet marketing, which is often outsourced to an seo services company, social media, link building and finally video production – they all are the latest trends in the field of marketing.

    Corporate video might be considered as one of the traditional marketing; however it has retained its popularity among the top marketing trends in our days of digital era. There are good reasons for it: video production is a quick and attractive way to convey the message to potential customers with limited attention span that seem to be always pressed for time. When done professionally by a video production company, it becomes a valuable tool in advertising the company’s products and services.

    A short video can be uploaded to a company’s website, adding to the professional look of the latter. It can also be distributed with the help of social media networks and YouTube. Sharing options allow sending video as attachment, or through a link, which makes it even easier.

    Outsourcing the services to a professional video production company might be a good idea. You don’t need to rent a studio or worry about the video production equipment, which is quite expensive, all will be done on time and with due quality. Video production companies often have a pool of actors to choose from, in case you need them. The staff has experience in audio and video production and can give you tips and advice on how to make your advertising campaign serve the purpose.

    Whether you need brand image building, financial presentation, product overview or persuasive customer testimonial, consider creating a professional video to communicate the message. Try it, and will be pleasantly surprised by the results of your marketing campaign.

    By admin | Posted in Marketing Ideas | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)