You likely already saw this if you're a regular reader of the Sunday Comics - but I missed it last Sunday (5/23/10) and laughed so hard today when I did see it... the comic strip is 'Pearls Before Swine'. This particular panel presents a glimpse of the ever-growing interruptions and distractions for those of us who work a lot at our computer keyboards. I hope you enjoy it as well -- click the image to see it full-screen.
Thanks to artist Stephan Pastis who captured this slice of contemporary life!
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May 2010 posts
Facebook Adjusts (Simplifies) Privacy Controls
Facebook recently made some changes with the way users information was shared - not only with other Facebook users but also widely across the internet. What was disconcerting to many users and technology specialists was that these changes were difficult to manage and control - see my previous article here.
Since these new Privacy/Account Changes, Facebook has been under mounting pressure - even from the US Government - to address the situation. Today, Facebook creator and CEO Mark
Zuckerberg announced how they are modifying the situation ...You have sent us lots of feedback. We've listened carefully in order to figure out the best next steps. We recognize that we made a lot of changes, so we really wanted to take the time to understand your feedback and make sure we address your concerns. The number one thing we've heard is that there just needs to be a simpler way to control your information. We've always offered a lot of controls, but if you find them too hard to use then you won't feel like you have control. Unless you feel in control, then you won't be comfortable sharing and our service will be less useful for you. We agree we need to improve this. Today we're starting to roll out some changes that will make all of these controls a lot simpler. We've focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications.Simpler privacy controls gradually launching at www.facebook.com/privacy You can read the entire text of Mark
Zuckerberg in the official Facebook Blog : Making
Control Simple
Happy Birthday AOL
One of the internet pioneers celebrates a quarter century this week! AOL as we know it today - was launched originally known as Quantum
Computer Services and at it's hey-day had some 30-million member-users of it's internet service.... and I was one of them.
And then there were the free disks sent in the mail -- remember those? With the latest AOL upgrade came keenly designed sleeves in the mailbox with the CD of new AOL software with free 30-day accounts.
AOL has maintained it's presence but struggles to return to it's dominance in the internet marketplace. One of it's more popular functions - AOL IM (Instant Messenger) continues to be used by many. I remember the sounds of my 256-K modem as it dialed the internet connection number, and then the hopeful 'You've Got Mail' (male voice) to indicate I had new email! That became such an iconic part of contemporary society it was included in that Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie from 1998 titled 'You've Got Mail'. I recall the early days of AOL as I would view the service on my monochromatic (black & white) screen of my Mac Plus.
You Tube Celebrates 5 Years, 2 Billion Views Per Day!
It was five years ago this past week that YouTube’s founders launched the first beta version of YouTube (May 2005). And this past week YouTube also announced a landmark -- the web site has exceeded over two billion views a day... that's Billion with a 'B'! And that’s nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major U.S. television networks - combined. From the official YouTube Blog: "What started as a site for bedroom vloggers and viral videos has evolved into a global platform that supports HD and 3D, broadcasts entire sports seasons live to 200+ countries. We bring feature films from Hollywood studios and independent filmmakers to far-flung audiences. Activists document social unrest seeking to transform societies, and leading civic and political figures stream interviews to the world." In honor of their 5 year anniversary/birthday, YouTube has launched a special YouTube Channel - the YouTube Five Year Channel. You can record your own story and upload it to this channel, but what I like about this new space on YouTube is the 'curators' that YouTube has posted -- celebrities and noteworthy tech-citizens who share their favorite & most impact-ful YouTube videos And if you click the link to their 'five-year time-line' you see a cool graphic that represents their first 5-years, with embedded videos from throughout the past years (scroll all the way to the left and click on the early videos - there's even one called 'The Making of YouTube'
Information Technology can make you 'happier'
A newly released study from BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT (formerly known as British
Computer Society) suggests that access to technology can not only create opportunities for happiness but also that women and disadvantaged peoples benefit the most.
Here is some of the study findings:
...Access to information technology has a ‘statistically significant,
positive impact on life satisfaction’. ‘Put simply, people with IT access are more satisfied with life even
when taking account of income,’ said the study’s author, social
scientist Michael Willmott. ‘Our analysis suggests that IT has an enabling and empowering role in
people’s lives by increasing their sense of freedom and control, which
has a positive impact on well-being or happiness,’ he continued. Women and those on lower incomes or with fewer educational
qualifications benefit most from access to and use of IT and appear to
benefit more than those on higher incomes or with more qualifications. The study also suggests that women in developing nations benefit even
more than those in the developed world. You can read the full article as well as access the key findings on the BCS website here: Information Technology can make you
'happier'
5 Essential Facebook Privacy Tips
There has been considerable attention this past week given to the recent changes that Facebook has made with the Privacy Settings. If I was to over-simplify these changes I would summarize it down to Facebook does give you the options to adjust who sees what you post (and like, etc) but the default settings allow your info to show up all over the internet. Even your friends - by virtue of your association/connection with them - can inadvertently be sharing some of your information with developers, marketers, and others via the internet. But not to panic - there are some adjustments you can make and facts you can learn to manage your info on Facebook. The folks at Mashable ("the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and
Social Media news") has a great online article titled: 5 Essential Facebook Privacy Tips Author Adam Rosenberg shares the following 5 tidbits in a very read-able, useful article: Sharing personal information with friends is one thing, but it’s
important to be aware of the content you present to the world from
Facebook. A great way to check this is simply to log out of your
profile, refresh your browser, and then visit your Facebook page. If
you see something there that you don’t want available to the public, go
back in and make the change. Another option is to completely
remove your profile’s visibility outside of Facebook. To do this,
simply:
Here is one of the most important items (along with the easy to follow steps to manage the info):
Click Account
Click Privacy
Settings
Click Search
Uncheck
the Public Search Results option
This makes
your profile invisible to non-Facebook users.
To read the entire article, and protect your Facebook info - click here: 5 Essential Facebook Privacy Tips.
Dissenting Opinions on the Value and Future of 3D At The Movies
James Cameron, the Director of the recent 3D block-buster 'Avatar' says that "producers Should Embrace 3D"
Cameron says the lack of content is why more people aren't adopting
3D. You can read his interview at Electronichouse With a different opinion - Francis Ford Coppola said in an interview that 3D is ‘Tiresome’ Oscar-winning director says 3D does not enhance movies
and that 3D glasses will hurt technology's popularity. His interview appears as well on the Electronichouse website here: 3D Is Tiresome.
It will be curious what happens with 3D in the movie theaters in the next few years - as 3D creeps into our TVs at home and even home game systems!
Are You one of the 25% US Homes Who Only Have Cell Phone?
In a report published yesterday - one-quarter of US homes do not have ''land-line' telephone service, using cell phones to connect to the real world instead. In the article posted on MYCE.com the author, Jared Newman shares the following: The communications industry is adapting to the shift. Both Verizon
and AT&T
have said that landlines are moving toward extinction, and Verizon
Chairman and Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg even said has even said
that “Video is going to be the core product in the fixed-line business.” Cable companies, meanwhile, lure customers with so-called “triple
play” packages, where the cost of phone, Internet and television isn’t
significantly higher than Internet and TV alone. In some cases the triple
play is actually cheaper.
There appear to be some correlation between income/poverty and this choice (as the report suggests) but I know a couple of friends who have made this decision "if you've got an unlimited cell phone plan, and I don't have to worry about giving folks different phone numbers"
