There will be a lot of tributes to the genius who was Steve Jobs over the next few days. And they will be most deserved.
He made Apple Computers- and the PC industry what it is today. Then he remade it.
We can thank him for PC’s, iPods, iPads and so much more.
Here is a great video, that I first saw at MotherJones.com, of him introducing the Mac for the first time back in 1984.
This is where it all began….
Filed under Technology, Uncategorized
To me, this seems like just another way to limit access to information…
This is so wrong…
Unlimited Internet is the norm in most other countries…
Just another way for the telecom’s to make more money….
They are as bad as the Oil Companies…
The practice of capping Internet bandwidth and selling it as a metered commodity has fully taken hold, to the point where 56 percent of U.S. internet connections are now on plans that restrict how much information users can access before triggering additional fees.
For an Internet landscape that’s been accustomed to unlimited access to information the world over, this represents a sea-change for many broadband subscribers. And to at least two prominent Washington, D.C. advocacy groups, it’s cause for immense concern.
That’s why the directors of Public Knowledge and New America’s Open Technology Initiative — two Washington tech policy groups — have written to the Federal Communications Commission to request they investigate the potential for these practices encouraging anti-competitive activities.
“These caps, which are now a fact of life for 56% of all broadband users, can perniciously undermine each of the goals set out by the Commission in the National Broadband Plan while at the same time stifling the competition and innovation that has established itself as the sine qua non of the internet economy,” they wrote.
More: With 56% of American Internet connections now capped, advocates ask FCC for probe | The Raw Story.
Filed under Entertainment, Technology
It’s all going digital….
I’m starting to suspect there may have been previous civilizations we will never know about because all their records were digital and disappeared into the air…
In any event, this is why I’m selling off our DVD’s on eBay while someone still wants them…
Of course, I have to keep a couple of hundred I can’t bear to part with…
The Financial Times has some troubling news for Hollywood: “Sales of new DVDs have collapsed, falling 20 percent [below the year-ag quarter] and presenting a significant challenge for Hollywood film studios, according to figures released on Monday.”
The drop is attributed to consumers favoring streaming online, buying a digital copy on iTunes or watching them through subscription services like NetFlix.
via Sales Of DVD, Blu-ray Plummet, Causing Consternation In Hollywood : The Two-Way : NPR.
Filed under Movies, Technology, Uncategorized
Interesting article for some folks who, like me, will soon be transitioning to working from home after years in a Corporate office environment…
Working at home gets a bad rap. People don’t help when they use air quotes when talking about “working” at home, like they’re really watching TV all day. If you do this, please stop. It doesn’t help the millions of us who do work at home and do a damn fine job of it.
It’s true some managers don’t believe their people really work when they are at home, but the research shows the other extreme: people overwork. Ironically, in the digital age, many remote workers report they can’t shut off. They may feel a need to prove they’re actually working when they are home; they might even work more than they would at the office because they feel a need to overcompensate and thank their employer for “letting” them work from home.
Research from Northeastern University finds role transitions are especially challenging for people who work at home. Humans like to compartmentalize: We put work in one domain, and family in another. When you work at home, you will be in your home environment and you will face distraction during the day. A dirty kitchen, lonely cat, sick kid or leaky faucet can be your ruin if you let it. Working at home takes discipline and a keen sense of purpose.
Filed under Technology
Interesting article, but I don’t go along with the overall premise…
I think e-readers have the potential to equalize and expand the reading public…
I keep reading, at some point in the near future, Amazon may give away Kindles for free. Sounds crazy, but Kindle users read more books and it could drive the e-book market further along and make this a profitable move…
Plus, the younger generation seems much more likely to respond to technology than to “paper” books…
Being able to download a book from the airwaves only seems to increase availability. And Amazon has a lot of classics for free.
And I love my Kindle….
I’ve always been a big reader, but now I read even more…
TOKYO (Reuters) – The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a “reading divide” as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.
At particular threat are African-American communities where many students are already falling behind their majority peers in terms of literacy, said award-winning writer Marita Golden — and this despite the growing ranks of noted African-American writers, such as Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.
“My biggest concern is that the technology will continue to widen the gap,” she told Reuters. “It won’t just be the digital divide but also a reading divide if reading becomes an activity that’s now dependent on technology.
“If reading becomes dependent on technology that must be purchased, then I think we may see the literacy divide persist and even widen.”
Years of discussion on the future of books amid the sweeping technological changes, along with a desire to make sure black writers were included in that discussion, prompted Golden to pull together her recent book, “The Word,” in which African-American writers talk about how reading shaped their lives for the better.
Edward P. Jones, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Known World,” said he felt that “reading and writing are the foundations for becoming a better person and having a better life.” Others said how reading about lives like their own helped validate their experiences and give them confidence.
In this sense technology, such as e-readers, can be both a blessing and a curse in terms of literacy, Golden said, with some readers who might have been intimidated by the number of pages in a traditional book eagerly reading on an e-reader.
In addition, with the U.S. African-American community owning more mobile phones and BlackBerries than the white community, potential exists to tap into a broad market, she added.
“But the problem is that you can either download games or download books, and we don’t know what people are going to download,” she said.
Despite undergoing some struggles with the idea of the new technology, Golden said that the need to emphasize the basics remains more important than ever.
via Technological changes may lead to “reading divide” | The Raw Story.
Filed under Books, Education, Entertainment
Lost in the 21st Century 