iPhone and iTouch Apps- Not so innocent after all

Recently located within Apple's Application store, a program located within the iPhone and iTouch, there is an application for download called Baby Shaker in which the user can shake their device and "kill" a picture of a baby boy or girl. The death is noted by distinct red "X's" which appear over the child's eyes after he/she is terminated.

It has recently been deleted due to its controversy and link to child abuse; misconduct.



http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/22/feel-like-shaking-a-baby-to-death-theres-an-app-for-that/

GigaMedia Limited: An Overseas Gaming Giant?

Interesting article regarding Asian online gaming Giant GigaMedia Limited. The discussion of this stock relates to the informative presentation that we heard regarding WOW or World Of Warcraft. One of the facts presented in the article is the fact that "Asian game revenues were expected to grow 30% sequentially in the first quarter." The article discusses the huge profits made by online gaming companies.

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/gigamedia+limited+gigm+flop+or+royal+flush/dailycontrarian.aspx?newsid=92571#92571

Peer Teaching - Adobe Photoshop

Good Photoshop CS3 Toolbox Reference Guide:

http://www.tutorialkit.com/tutorials/Photoshop-CS3-Toolbox-Quick-Reference-64369.html


Adobe Website that offers 30-Day Trial Downloads of its products:

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/

Never underestimate the power of a /b Tard

4Chan's - Moot, known in real life as Chris Poole, just won Time Magazine's most influential person.
Lets just say he gets by with a little help from his friends.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/04/the-most-influential-person-on-the-planet-is-christopher-poole.html

The Twunning Man

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/04/tweet-a-thon/

To spice up the race a little bit and I guess to get a little more enjoyment out of running (b/c that is not enjoyable if you ask me) a group of marathon runners decided to document their whole race by tweeting their progress during it.

Adding search power to public data

If you have ever wondered how well off your county is as compared to the United States as a whole, then you will be interested in this new feature of Google. If you type in unemployment rate or population and a county after a space and you will see the most recent estimates for that county. This feature allows people to see how well (or not) their county is as compared to the country as a whole!


http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/adding-search-power-to-public-data.html

Convert a MacBook for Clouding

http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/200-my-new-macbook-cloud-dream-come-true-963


Most computer graphics and artist prefer their macs over pc's. Apple was pitched the opportunity to make money on selling a Mac with clouding capabilites. However, Steve Jobs was out of the office that day. And as information sharing goes, the information was shared. The information on how to capitalize on convering your mac or pc into a cloud notebook is free to the masses with no guarantees.

Why You Should Take Your Company Mobile

This weeks blog post is very interesting, it shows use how to save money by not investing in all these fancy computers to put in your office and how to get the same amount of production out of a laptop or other mobile services. It states how is cost effective and you get the same production out of all these mobile services. Mobile organization works best, and this blog shows us how this is possible.

http://www.bmighty.com/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216400528

4chan Hacks Time's Top 100 List

We all know that hackers are all over the internet, but most of the time we talk about them with a negative connotation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that hackers are “good,” but sometimes they’re just playful. For instance, Time’s third annual poll of the world’s most influential person was topped by moot A.K.A. Christopher Poole, founder of the legendary memebreeding forum 4chan.

Now, I’m not saying that moot doesn’t deserve to be on this list, 4chan can easily be said to be one of the many influential sites on the Internet. However, this is obviously an elaborate hack done by 4chan users.






Blog Post: It’s Official (and Hacked): 4chan Founder Sweeps Time’s Top 100 List

Google Profiles soon to appear in Google Search?

Just recently Google has made it possible for people's names to pop up during search results, displaying links to their google profiles. In an effort to be more socially networking, Google is extending its arms in hopes of linking people together in a social network, via their blogging profiles.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/21/google-profiles-finally-have-a-big-purpose-appearing-in-google-search-queries/

HAVE SOME FUN ON YOUR iPhone!

I think it's time to change up the posts and talk about another fun new feature/application on the iPhone! I am excited about this and I hope any of you with an iPhone are too!

CHECK IT OUT!

The Song has been Sung

http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/04/pirate-bay-four-appeal-final-result-could-be-years-away.html

The Pirates Bay folks have been found guilty - but have begun their appeals process which apparently takes a very long time. Everything stays as is while we wait for the outcome. This is going to be a lot funnier if there is a replacement technology that increases piracy way beyond BitTorrent and Pirates Bay.

There is a great line in the article though - "Every moment companies spend thinking about how to protect what is already lost, rather than how to innovate into what might be gained, is a moment spent hastening their own demise. "

Yo ho, Yo Ho . . . . .

Apple to possibly merge it's iPhone with Verizon

Verizon's 4G Network might need to make way for the Apple iPhone in the very near future

This idea definitely has its ups & downs, but first off, owning an iPhone restricts you to exclusively use only the AT&T service. I think Apple should only provide the iPhone, not the service provider. Providers should be able to be chosen by the users of the phone. Verizon appears to always have the leading edge on technology, but in the long run competition between carriers could possibly be a good thing. Perhaps lower costs & better quality? I think many people hold back on the iPhone because of it's pricey rates, but it might be a smart idea for Apple to start branching out...

The health of the Oracle Corporation

Interesting article about the overall health of the Oracle Corporation with the columnist stating "quality businesses (like oracle) usually have compelling brands and/or a discernible competitive advantage, in order to "insulate" [themselves] during a weak economy like the one we face today. An interesting article which mentions the fact that despite the weak economy technology focused companies with competitive advantages can still capture and control a substantial market share.


http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/oracle+corporation+orcl+bear-market+beauty+or+just+an+illusion/dailycontrarian.aspx?newsid=92449#92449

Carrot on a Stick, in Web 2.0 Terms....

So one of the big Web 2.0 terms is social marketing - with so many websites giving out similar information how do you go about getting the word out about your own website? For example, have you heard about www.theanimalrescuesite.com - no? Well many people haven't heard about it. It's a website where you can go and click on a button, and for every click, the sponsors of the website donate some food to certain animal sheltering organizations across the nation. They don't ask for your email, just for you to visit the site daily, and click to give. Well over the past year they have struggled to get the clicks, so they have a new idea. Bribery! When has it not worked? What they've done is started a contest that animal shelters and rescues participate in, by trying to get the most votes. People can vote once once daily, but in order to vote, they have to click the button that donates the food as well. The prize for the group with the most votes over all is $20,000 and each state has a weekly winner as well, winning $1000 for most votes in the state. It may be a carrot on a stick, but it's quite effective!
And of course, if you'd like to vote for a good group I have to put in a plug :) You can vote daily by visiting www.theanimalrescuesite.com and click the "click to give" button. It will take you to a new page that thanks you, and you will see a banner about "Voting in the SHelter Challenge" click on it, and search for "Lost Dog" in VA, and Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation will show up, and you can vote :)

Some Things Don't Change...

One of the biggest things about web 2.0 is the ability to share everything - from the basics of cooking a pie to how much money you make a year. Facebook has become a verb, and we can't imagine what we would do without our cell phones and email. Recently I went to a conference, and in one of the works shops was about how animal organizations can use Web 2.0 to their advantage. One of the speakers kept referring to a guide she had made for people, and assured everyone she would email it out to everyone that wanted it. Looking at her blog, it appears that it has turned instead into one of those reminders that sometimes we rely too heavily on technology; her hard drive had what is referred to as a "dismal failure" and the file was lost. While it used to be losing a piece of paper that would throw us off for the day, that too has been replaced, by hard drive failures and spyware.

If You're Waiting on the Beginner's Guide to Social Media Report...

Cloud Camp

http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/dave-nielsen-takes-cloud-camp-118

William Hurley SME on Clould Computing does a Q&A with Dave Nielson regarding cloud computing. Touches on how if developed what that changes over the years and what coming. They highlight how this has taken off to include "CloudCamp" This month in Austin, TX. The article also links to the cloudcamp site.

http://www.cloudcamp.com/
April 13, 2009
Dave Nielsen takes the cloud to camp
Want to stay up on the latest trends in cloud computing? Maybe it's time to go to camp

Search for "Me" on Google

Google knows that many people have Googled their own names and their friends' to see what kind of information they can find on that person. Google understands that some of the information might not be wanted by the person to show up in search results. As a result, Google has added a Google profile results area at the bottom of the U.S. name-query search pages. The results offer abbreviated results from the user' Google profile. Google has also made it much easier for someone to find someone on Facebook or MySpace by placing those results on the search page as well. Create your own by searching for your name and following the on-screen instruction.

Google Profiles


http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/search-for-me-on-google.html

YouTube Symphony Orchestra

"over 90 musicians from around the world -- including a Spanish guitarist, a Dutch harpist and a Lithuanian birbyne player — have gathered in New York City in preparation for tonight's historic YouTube Symphony Orchestra performance at Carnegie Hall."

I thought you all might find this post pretty interesting because we just had our Peer Teaching presentation about YouTube. I think it is fascinating that so many people can be united through just one site!

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/youtube-symphony-orchestra-from-idea-to.html

Make Your Business Web Site Social

The Blog post for this week is very interesting because it relates to topics we have focused on earlier in the semester such as social networking. This blog helps familiarize people with various social networking sites such as twitter and facebook in which you can integrate with you business websites. Reasons for including these social networking sites is to gain more customers by advertising and spreading your company name online without paying to much money. Which is always key for small business that are just starting up.

http://www.bmighty.com/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216500974

New Media Strategies for Fund-Raising (Watch out, future Alumni and Alumnae!)

The Chronicle of Higher Education is running a story on the attempts of Blue State Digital, the consultancy that built the highly successful new media strategy for the Barack Obama's presidential campaign is now courting universities in an attempt, as their higher education specialist put it, to raise much more money from alums under 40 ------>

CVS joins Google RX Network

I think I got a little behind on the blog posts over Spring Break so I decided to post a few to catch up!!

With the Google RX Network, millions can access their medical records online. I thought this was interesting because the blog post mentions how easy it is to get a hold of bank transactions, cell phone bills, etc. online, but not medical records. Until now that is! Hopefully this will make life easier for several people!

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/cvs-joins-google-health-rx-network.html

5 years of Gmail!

Five years ago, G-mail was launched and it provided it's users with a gig of space. Before Gmail, most webmail accounts could only store about 5 megabytes of mail. Even though 5 years is not a very long time in the grand scheme of things, we have gotten so used to having larger, more efficent electronic forms of media that 5 years is definitely something to celebrate.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/5-years-of-gmail.html

Social Media Sites for College Students

This blog was pretty interesting, it lists the top 10 “Must-Try Social Media Sites for College Students.”

1. Cramster
   Whether you’re having trouble with a math problem, need answers to textbook questions, need study help, or are just looking for resources to learn more, Cramster is the site for you.
2. InternshipRating.com
   This site offers you reviews from students that have already been through internships and know how valuable they are.
3. Zimride
   Whether you’re looking for an economical way to get to class every day, need some company while driving, or just trying to help save the earth one rideshare at a time, this is the service for you.
4. Box.net
   This is a great tool for individual students or for groups and organizations. The site’s interface is very simple and straightforward. Just upload any files that you need and access them from any computer, anywhere.
5. Twitter
   We should all know what Twitter is now, but it's also a great place to connect with people, either friends, acquaintances, clasmates, celebrities or strangers.
6. Remember the Milk
   A neat to-do list application. Just click “add task” and you can choose a title, a due date, location, website, tags and task duration. It will also tell you how many times you’ve postponed each task so you can track your procrastination!
7. Gradefund
   Doesn't everyone want to get paid for good grades? With Gradefund, you can sign up, get sponers (family and friends) and have them pay for your good grades. That is...if they want to. :)
8. Evernote
   A cool tool that allows you to capture information and access it later, from any computer. You can clip a webpage, a business card, a picture, class notes, quotes from a book, a voice recording or whatever else you might need to find later.
9. Zumeo
   Online job search/online resume site
10. CampusBooks
    Since we all know that the campus books store charges way too much for textbooks, which most of us don't really want and possibly never even open up until finals, CampusBooks is a great alternative, allowing students to trade, sell and buy books from other strudents.

Blog Post: 10 Must-Try Social Media Sites for College Students

Viewings for next week

Here are the links to Laurence Lessig's presentation on the freedom (or not) of culture:
Part 1




Part 2




Part 3



Part 4

Why We Still Need Our iPod

I liked this blog entry because this blogger brought up a good point - he still "needs" or uses his iPod. The iPhone was created to be the "everything in one" device, but there are just something about being able to have different appliances to accomplish different things. I know that I have an iPhone and still use my iPod for many of the reasons explained in this blog. Check it out! 

Crunchtime on the Crunchpad

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/04/leaked-photos-w.html

This article show's the creation of Michael Arrington's Crunchpad. It looks like it is going to compete with netbooks and could possibly build into something much more. Based on the price tag and the overall specs of the Crunchpad, it doesn't seem like it would be capable of doing many tasks, but since Arrington is leaving his idea "available under an open source license," one of the other big companies (i.e. Apple) should step in and build on this creation.

Virtual Scuba Diving with Google Earth? Great Lakes?

Google Earth Has now made it possible, through using the "flight simulator" function, to explore bodies of water below the surface. A sort of virtual deep sea diving, Google Earth allows anyone to be able to view the beauty and the wonders of the waterworld. Just recently, Google Earth has made it possible to explore the 5 Great Lakes!!!!

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/14/dive-into-the-five-great-lakes-with-google-earth/

Send a Video Message with Google Latitude

Google Latitude is a program that you can put on your iphone that lets all of your friends where you currently are. Google has now added a feature where people can now send video messages of where they are at now to their friends and family who currently use Google Latitude. This creates a wonderful way to bring your friends and family to you even if you are on the opposite side of the Earth. To bad, I do not have a phone like that! :-)

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/send-video-message-with-google-latitude.html

Students is investigated

Computer Science Student Targeted for Criminal Investigations

This article was just to funny not to write about.  A Boston College, Computer Science student, has suffered as a victim to the Massachusetts court.   Recently the Massachusetts investigators entered the student’s dorm room with an invalid search warrant.  They confiscated all electronic equipment including computers, iPod, cell phone, ect.  The basis for the search warrant was there was an email sent from his dorm room that said another student was gay.  There was illicit behavior on the student’s part, because he was always seen with laptop computers, which he didn’t owe.  The student told the investigators he was a Computer Science major and was fixing the computers for other students. For one of the students’ suspicious activities, this is what the investigators have to say, “[the] student uses two different operating systems, including one that is not the "regular B.C. operating system" but instead has "a black screen with white font which he uses prompt commands on."

Guess its time to get an HD PC Monitor?

So it turns out that more and more people are switching off their TV's for using their computers. Analyists suggest that next year will be the year that watching media (Television programming) over the internet will surpass those watching it on a television set.


http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/04/the-box-or-the-net-more-people-choosing-pcs-over-tvs-.html

Demand for fiber optics shrinking due to economic downturn?

Within the market Blogs for Schaeffers this week there is a blog post that discusses Corning Incorporated a major glass maker that also provids optic fiber to the telecommunications industry and emissions control systems to the automotive industry, remain under intense pressure amid this severe economic slowdown. Very interesting!

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/all+clear+on+corning+/dailycontrarian.aspx?newsid=92270#92270

10 Tips For Running A Risky Business

Cyndee Sugra started up her digital design and marketing firm last year during the dot com crash. Her company hit sales of 8 million dollars. The blog for this week shows us ten ways in which we can keep a risky business running and successful just like in Cyndees case. I really like this because it makes the reader really think, for example one of the steps is asking yourself whats the worst that can really happen?

A very interesting read for all!


http://www.bmighty.com/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216500184

Tweets Worth Reading

When we discussed Twitter in class Ron found a great site with funny and memorable tweets. This week the blog I’m following has a posted the 10 more extraordinary tweets. This of course includes marriage proposals, tweeting from the womb, tweeting from mars and the Egyptian arrest case. If you don’t have time to look at this blog, I really would suggest visiting the Besttweets.com.

Blog Post: 10 Most Extraordinary Twitter Updates

Some Products That Are Created Are Just Kinda Weird

So a Japanese company has developed a computer mouse with a built in fan, as well as a place for LED messages. It was created for those users who use their mouse a lot. The mouse will keep your hand cool and help eliminate sweaty palms. An LED message (of your choice) is displayed when you move your hand off of where the fan is. The lights are attached to the fan and are displayed in a dot-matrix form.

http://technabob.com/blog/2009/04/06/led-message-mouse-light-up-fan-mouse/

Another product created is a USB hub that looks like a cat. It provides users with 4 extra port holes. They have named it Neko. It's a creative idea that many cat lovers should love.

http://technabob.com/blog/2009/04/05/neko-usb-hub-cat/

Yahoo's Recent Rally!

The article talks about how shares of YHOO have been struggling since late-2004. The only excitement by investors is the on-again-off-again hopes that Microsoft (MSFT) will buy out Yahoo stock. Only time will tell if we will see Yahoo gain any advances in stock price in the coming months.

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/option+skews+-+relatively+heavy+call+activity+on+alcoa+inc+yahoo+inc+and+cisco+systems+inc/trading_floor_blog.aspx??single=true&blogid=92300

Windows XP

Windows XP not being supported by Microsoft

As of April 14^th, 2009 Microsoft will no longer be supporting Windows XP Operating system with mainstream support.  This means there will no longer over the phone support calls, no regular security fixes, and there will not be any bug updates.  Of course as a customer you can pay for the extended warrantee program and Microsoft can create new “non-security fixes”. 

 

The seven-year-old operating system, makes up for over 63 percent of all Internet operated computers.  The new Microsoft operating system Visa, only accounts for 24 percent of Internet operated computers.  In ordered to stay “covered” by Microsoft customers have the option to upgrade to Vista or Windows 7 (which has not been released yet). 

Google Becomes More Local

Google has taken into effect when people search for restaurants and other places like dentists, they sometimes use very simple searches. For example, instead of searching “restaurants in Fairfax, Virginia” they might just type restaurants. Google is making their search easier by automatically using their IP address to try and locate where they are. Google might not know the exact location of a person, but they can easily find out what geographical location the person is from.



http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/google-becomes-more-local.html

Petfinder.com

This may not be a usual posting, but currently I am attending a conference in Las Vegas on Animal Care, so of course there are plenty of people trying to sell you thing at this expo. One of the things that was interesting was hearing the founder of Petfinder.com speak. Petfinder is an animal shelters greatest resource in that you can post your animals, and anyone searching for an animal can type in search terms for an animal such as age and breed and size as well as zip code. It was interesting hearing the founder talk, as the spoke about how it all started in 1995, and part of the reason it was so successful was because while it started out being an idea for a certain state, shelters around the nation heard about it, and the demand grew for it to become national. It goes to show that word of mouth, and customer demand creates a different market, or can change a market completely.

Is A Good Privacy Policy Also Good Business?

A good privacy policy is a way of gaining more customers. This blog shows the examples of how when customers are guranteed a good privacy policy then they tend to come back for more business. While some companies tend to think that with these extended privacy policies that it will cost their company more money, but eventually what they dont realize is that in the end revenue actually goes up because customers know that they will be safe with this insurance policy.


http://www.bmighty.com/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216402755

URL Shortners

It always bothered me when I wanted to share a url online but had to paste a link that was over a hundred characters long.  It’s incontinent and sometimes hard on the eyes.  I didn’t know what URL shorteners were until Professor Smith used them in class for out reading assignments and then was exposed to them again when I copy and pasted a link into Twitter, and it was automatically converted into a tinyurl. 

5 Reasons Why URL Shorteners Are Useful:

1. They make links more manageable
   
2. They can track and compile click data
   
3. They can be transformed into social media services
   
4. They can provide users useful features
   
5. They promote sharing
   

 Blog Post: 5 Reasons Why URL Shorteners Are Useful

Google Street Car - Public or Private Debate

The google street car is making its way through the UK, but not without some controversy.

The subsequent story is one experience of the car - http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6022902.ece

And the following blog post seems to sum up the internet opinion on the matter.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/04/why-the-villagers-who-sent-the-google-street-view-car-packing-are-nimbys-gone-mad.html

What do you think? Is this type of info private or public? A picture from the street of your home? Does it give too much to criminals looking to scope out their next target? Or are these self righteous gits overreacting?

Did Yahoo! Give fareChase a Fair Chance?

Interesting Blog post about the health of the online travel industry. Apparently Yahoo! owned a website called fareChase which was attempting to compete with better known names in the cheap online travel market, however due to the current economic situation fareChase has been shut down. Interesting article that relates to the health of the online economy!

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/did+yahoo!+yhoo+give+farechase+a+fair+chance/dailycontrarian.aspx?newsid=92068#92068

MySpace Teams with CitySearch to Launch Local Business Portal

MySpace has teamed up with business directory Citysearch to create a socially-oriented search portal within the MySpace community. The result is a new section called MySpace Local. This new directory is not yet available, but will be launched in beta later on this week.

Citysearch is bringing its database to the table, while MySpace is going to be “socializing” the whole affair. In doing so, businesses will be able to connect with each other, and users will be able to connect with businesses. MySpace Local will over listing pages for small businesses, which will cover three categories at launch: Restaurants, Bars and Nightife. On each listing page, users will be able to rate, review and share media for each business. Users will also be able to add the business to their profile, share a business listing with friends, and add it to their bookmarks.

Blog Source

How To Make Your Own iPhone Application

I think this is very Web 2.0 - users helping users create a more powerful platform. This is a new application (although you can find tutorials online) that helps others learn how to create their very own iPhone application. Although I am not interested in creating my own application, I think the fact that apple has allowed anyone and everyone a shot at creating and being apart of their applications is great. I mean, some people are even making a lot of money! Check it out!

Google, at your service.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/google-at-your-service.html

This post tells about how Google is releasing a program called "Google Services for Websites." They provide tools that make it much easier for people to create their own websites, reserving spaces for addresses such as www.[yournamehere].com.

I found this interesting because I know I would need all the help I can get when creating a webpage of my own!.

Twitter useful?!? Shocking!

http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2009/03/twitchiker-makes-it-to-the-other-side-of-the-world-in-30-days.html

This is a story of a journalist who traveled around the world with nothing more than the generosity of twits.

Twitter is getting more and more popular due to its simplicity - a counter-culture to the facebook phenomenon of "social everything", its simple design is half-google, half-myspace (admit it, there are seriously stupid users out there), seems to be paying off. It certainly paid off for the journalist in this story and even wound up helping charity in the process.