BlogStories

The Slow Death of the PC?

Craig N. — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:21:55 +0000

Dell drops over $2.00 a share after earnings call...

Michael Dell says "touch screen products will certainly cost more" and "Corporations are still adopting Windows 7 so we don’t think there’s going to be a massive adoption of Windows 8 by corporations.."

Don't look for earning to increase this year. Dell will be playing catch with Apple and trying to find a way to keep SMB's and corporate customers happy. While Microsoft wants to push everyone to Windows 8. PC makers are having a hard time evolving to the new trends in how the average user now interacts with technology on a day-to-day basis. Most users check emails, check Facebook, and cruise the web. For those activities you did not need a a traditional computer. Most average users are willing to switch mobile computing devices that in general offer an a better user experience, instance on, over ten hours of active work time, lightweight, and mobile connectivity.

Links:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/dell-struggles-as-corporate-post-pc-era-looms-is-windows-8-the-savior/77779?tag=nl.e539

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:DELL

iOS 5

Craig N. — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:02:30 +0000

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating was released to the public this last week. So far there have mixed reports of issues in the upgrade process. I was able to upgrade both my iPad 1st generation and iPhone 3G with little effort. The improved notification center, spilt keyboard, find my iPhone integration, as well as the twitter integration have improved the overall experience of my devices. iCloud is a great addition as well. Giving users the ability the backup their device without a computer. Keep in mind that this review is based on just the first few days of usage.

National Debt 2011

Craig N. — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:14:47 +0000

I normally avoid getting publicly involved in political events, but the current situation in Washington has pushed me into writing my representatives at the federal level. I've always tried to be first person to listen to both sides of a discussion. I also strongly believe that everyone should exercise their right to vote. Now I am strongly urging everyone to get involved with the current situation, read at least two different sources- one that you agree with and one that you normally would not. Between these sources form your own opinion and write your representatives.

Links
http://www.house.gov/
http://senate.gov/

iOS 4.x Tracking

Craig N. — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:50:59 +0000

Earlier today it was reported by a security research firm that all iOS 4 devices have been recording their GPS locations in a database which is located on the device. I'll post more information once I've had a chance to review the firm's data and have read more information about the issue.

Google Pick Kansas City, KS

Craig N. — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:23:52 +0000

Kansas City, KS chosen by Google for real high speed network. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/technology/bs-bz-google-fiber-kansas-city-20110330,0,6905419.story

iPhone Alarm Issues

Craig N. — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:55:27 +0000

It appears that some iPhone user's are not updating their iOS software when a new version is released. Last week prior to the iPad 2 hitting stores Apple released a updated iOS for the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad. In this release of the operating system they have fixed issue with switching to and from daylight saving time. The issues did not affect the displayed clock on the devices, but caused issues with reoccurring alarms. Last week I performed the update on my iPhone 3GS, but did not get around to updating my wife's iPhone 4. This morning her phone went off an hour early, while mine went off at the correct time.

iPhone 4 iOS 4.1

iPhone 3GS iOS 4.3

Earthquake Assistance for Japan

Craig N. — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:05:33 +0000

American Red Cross
1-800-RED-CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999

Salvation Army
1-800-SAL-ARMY or JAPAN to 80888

Android, the bot network playing field?

Craig N. — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 04:22:51 +0000

Google's app store recently pulled more then 50 app for containing malware. So far Google has forcibly uninstalled any of the apps from Android devices, but they do have capability to do so. The following question remains, is the mobile Android operating system the new battle ground for bot network attacks? Bear in mind that each and every Android phone has it's own public IP Address. This means that if a phone has been comprised by malicious software (yes, apps are software) it could and most likely will be used as a platform for attacking other computer or network systems. While Google's main goal with the Android operating system is to generate more advertising revenue, it needs to keep in mind the ramifications of not maintaining a secure platform. This means not only pulling known malicious software from the app store, but also removing it from the install base on the mobile devices.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12633923
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9212598/Google_yanks_over_50_infected_apps_from_Android_Market?taxonomyId=17
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/android-malware/

Apple Announces the iPad2

Craig N. — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:16:54 +0000

Today we saw apple announce the second generation of the iPad. And to many people's surprise Steve Job showed up to present the news. Most the speculation about the new version has been found to be true. The new device will have two cameras, front and back facing. It will also be a little lighter and thinner that the first generation. It will also use apple's new A5 dual core processor. The iPad2 will ship in the U.S. starting on March 11.

iPhone Alarm Issues

Craig N. — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:14:10 +0000

I've noticed that since the beginning of the new year that none of my alarms have gone off. It's a good thing that I didn't have to be anywhere important this weekend. I've asked family and friends to check the status of their alarms and they are reporting the same issues.

Update:
There are quite a few tech news stories about this running around the Internet. Oddly enough none of them are stating that the issue appears to have started on December 31th and not New Years day. All these stories are also reporting that issue does not affect repeating alarms, but on Friday none of my repeating alarms went off. According the majority of the news stories Apple is aware of the issue and that issue will self correct on January 3rd.

Links:
http://www.gizmocrunch.com/rumors/4584-new-year-iphone-android-alarm-sms-bug
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/31/psa-iphone-alarms-not-working-come-new-years-day-2011/