In class wed. the topic of Netflix was brought up where is going to be a huge price increase by 60% which has made existing netflix members very upset. They are so upset that they threaten to unsubscribe to the company and use Redbox or the other online website Hulu. The price for both streaming and DVD rentals will increase from $10 to $16 dollars. The price increase is suppose to raise the revenue for the company and the company is aware that people will cancel but they believe the ones who do cancel will be the people that have the lower priced service so it will be like trimming the weeds. Netflix doesn't really care about losing customers because they know people will be mad about that price increase however not be mad enough to cancel there subscription. However I am always on youtube and I notice you can also rent movies maybe google will come up with a more long term rental service that will compete with Netflix and cause more competition. Also I know there are also rental services from apple where you can stream anywhere from your apple devices. Or if you are like me I try to find the cheapest alternative and find it for free online which they are free websites to watch shows and movies. People should consider there are more better overlooked movie rental alternatives which offers EVERY genre of movies and are not as strike and listens to the customers needs which I think netflix lacks its care for its subscribers. We will see what happens to netflix future with the price increase.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/netflix-prices-idUSN1E76C12G20110713
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/netflix-price-subscription-plan_n_895779.html
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Code War
In an article in Bloomberg magazine I came across the article "The Code War" which I found very interesting because I though cyber terrorism was new but in fact its not. In my last blog I wrote about the Internet kill switch. Not familiar with cyber terrorism this article list all the attacks that have happen in the past. According to the article cyber attacks were kept quiet and when an attack happen people tend not to talk about it. One example of an attack is a famous one called the Stuxnet warm. it was reported by a blogger Brian Krebs it targeted programmable logic controllers. Stuxnet was designed to harm only one kind controllers processing uranium fuel at the nuclear facility in Iran. They suspect the worm was slipped in a thumb drive on a Windows PC. Once the worm was in the computer it disabled alarms and fed fake log reports that set back Iran's nuclear program for months. Because of that it prevented the use of tanks and missiles on the plant. So it is important not to use a flash drive because it can carry a virse
Cyber weapons continues to evolve and even though the Stuxnet worm seemed to be helpful however the most enticing targets in this cyber war would be civilians example there electrical grids, food distribution systems, and essential infrastructure that runs on computers. That would really have an huge impact on city or country if there was no power and people were starving.
Instead of bombs and weapons there are new ways to cause mass destruction to a country without bombing it. And since the growing number of hackers the possibles are endless of what the next cyber attack will be and the power will go to the highest bidder. I can understand why its a big deal that the U.S. government to find ways to protect our country from a catastrophe.
Cyber weapons continues to evolve and even though the Stuxnet worm seemed to be helpful however the most enticing targets in this cyber war would be civilians example there electrical grids, food distribution systems, and essential infrastructure that runs on computers. That would really have an huge impact on city or country if there was no power and people were starving.
Instead of bombs and weapons there are new ways to cause mass destruction to a country without bombing it. And since the growing number of hackers the possibles are endless of what the next cyber attack will be and the power will go to the highest bidder. I can understand why its a big deal that the U.S. government to find ways to protect our country from a catastrophe.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Inernet Kill Switch Engaged
During Mondays class the idea of an Internet kill switch came up as a topic. I have never heard of the idea of such of a think or the situation in Egypt were all the Internet was shut down and it got people in a uproar that there government would do that that there were protesters and I'm pretty sure they were furious. One has to think how important the Internet is in everyday life. We use it for our business, to communicate, operate things. My Internet had went out Monday and I didn't get online til Tuesday night thanks to a friend who helped fix my computer. Anyway I was going crazy trying to get it working because I rely on the Internet to do my homework, research, and read the news I was super stressed out and I can imagine how more pissed off people in Egypt were.
In the article the idea of the Kill Switch would give the president power to shut down the Internet if it were breached. "Declaration of a national cyber emergency". I'm caught in between the middle that I don't know if it would be a good thing or bad thing. The good thing would be if there was a terrorist cyber attack like in the movie Die Hard (don't remember which one) were the terrorist had entire control of the airport and communication and the good guys were helpless as they watched the terrorist caused a plane to crash. I didn't think an cyber attack would be real that something similar could happen to the U.S. for example having control of banks, power plants, Hoover Dam. So if the president had the power to stop it before anyone would get hurt I would say go for the bill. However on the other hand with that much power there could be abuse even though we hope for the best intention who isn't to say the situation in Egypt wont happen again on American soil. The government already has a lot of power over us as seen in big brother big corporation video now we would give up our right of the Internet to the government that's a tough choice. http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20029282-281.html
In the article the idea of the Kill Switch would give the president power to shut down the Internet if it were breached. "Declaration of a national cyber emergency". I'm caught in between the middle that I don't know if it would be a good thing or bad thing. The good thing would be if there was a terrorist cyber attack like in the movie Die Hard (don't remember which one) were the terrorist had entire control of the airport and communication and the good guys were helpless as they watched the terrorist caused a plane to crash. I didn't think an cyber attack would be real that something similar could happen to the U.S. for example having control of banks, power plants, Hoover Dam. So if the president had the power to stop it before anyone would get hurt I would say go for the bill. However on the other hand with that much power there could be abuse even though we hope for the best intention who isn't to say the situation in Egypt wont happen again on American soil. The government already has a lot of power over us as seen in big brother big corporation video now we would give up our right of the Internet to the government that's a tough choice. http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20029282-281.html
No move over paid, skeleton, moody Supermodels
About a few post ago I wrote about how robots are may replace human care to the elderly and in the hospitals however I never knew it would replace Runway models. Its weird to imagine a robot walking down the runway instead of a human being. With my experience with fashion models locally some are really nice to work with while others can be a real rude and stuck up and think they are the greatest looking thing on Earth. Anyway to have robots to replace models we wouldn't have to put up with bad attitudes. However makes me wonder if a robot can mimic a certain idea one is going for. For example for the 2011 UIW Cutting Edge Fashion Show my clothing designs were for young women, very fun with a romantic feel to it. Before I told the models before they went out to have a confident, playful look that "I am young, beautiful, and full of life" which most of them did except that really 'B**chy one who complained a lot and did even show up for fittings, only brought one pair of shoes, no bra so she looked flat. That's why I think robots wouldn't be such a bad idea. In addition I read all the time of girls have certain body measurements and height to make it in the business and I saw on National Geographics were a girl was under 100 pounds and was a walking skeleton it was sad that girls have to go to extremes just to keep their job and the sad part was she was only 28 when she died.
Ive read an article about robot models and it still looks like a clone trooper but it moves, talks, and has facial expression which is impressive its only a matter of time before they fix all the kinks in the robots were we wont be able to tell the difference unless the robot would run out power on the runway and stop. I'm impressed with all the wonders of Japanese technology. http://news.cnet.com/japans-latest-supermodel-a-robot/
Ive read an article about robot models and it still looks like a clone trooper but it moves, talks, and has facial expression which is impressive its only a matter of time before they fix all the kinks in the robots were we wont be able to tell the difference unless the robot would run out power on the runway and stop. I'm impressed with all the wonders of Japanese technology. http://news.cnet.com/japans-latest-supermodel-a-robot/
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Whats that coming over the hill? is it a monster? No just Big Brother.
I have finished watching Big Brother Big Business video for my information system class and I have to say its very interesting and scary at the same time. I never really thought of being monitored what traffic that is on my computer. However what can I do about it limit my Internet, cell phone use, and not buy on the Internet. :/ I should live relocate in the woods and live off the fat of the land. OMG I would die without my Ipod. lol
I have heard of the black box years ago I don't remember what I was watching maybe 20/20 but I believe these parents were letting their daughter drive the car and though the black box monitored her all the places she was going they didn't tell her however were justifying in the program that its a way to make sure she is safe and if anything would happen to her they could locate her. I don't think its not a bad idea to do that however its human nature to abuse things so we would have to make sure that doesn't happen.
The other thing that I realized watching Big brother is the woman who had to problem of mistaken Identity and it cost her a job position. Its scary that a BIG slip up could happen like that I would be furious however its not uncommon like the representative of the company states. A few years back my grandpa was having trouble being harassed by debt collectors saying he owned money to Sears and other companies that he hasn't paid. Well it turned out that someone else had almost the exact same name as him "Eulalio" however their name was spelled "Eulalia" in my opinion that is a big difference just because it had and "A" and its a female name however it took a year and a lot of hassle just to clear it up so he doesn't shop at Sears anymore. I think that's what happen to him a careless mistake on the company's part keeping the record.
I could keep writing about the whole video however it would be like another big space so I'll conclude I agree the laws have not caught up with technology and we the people are victims of invasion of privacy unless you can keep hackers from taking my information or selling it to companies I'm going to start limiting my Internet usage and google and be careful of what I put on the Internet.
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1193494033
Rethink Work
I thought it was interesting that the way the interviewees see the future of work is way different than it was in the past that studying should be focused on engineering. I believe that is true that the world is changing and there is a demand for engineers and computer savey people. Maybe we should guide the generation into degrees that are in demand.
Billy Mays here with another fantastic product!" that's what I think of when I hear that companies are going on the outside to find innovative ideas from people. If you ever seen the show "Pitchmen" on T.V. it about pitchmen Billy Mays looks for the next inventor and pitches his idea for people to buy it. Companies are the Pitchmen now and that's a good thing because someone can have a great idea but they don't know how to get it out and having companies reach out to people its easier for the inventor to get recognition for an idea that can help society. Innovation comes from the outside now.
I like the ideas of alternate transporations on railways because it would be less pain in the butt than going though check points in airports. Ive been on the train in Dallas and it was a very pleasent expirence it was sleek looking and the the interior was clean and it was a double decker and very roomy if I lived in Dallas and wanted to travel to Forth Worth I would use the train and thats what me and my dad used to do when we wanted to travel certain places. So for the idea of transportation he has a point you have to design a train to fit the persons need because we as Americans are individualist and like our own space so it cant be like an traditional train or box like. I hope the U.S. has a railway that would link to country it would be cheaper to travel and faster than any car.
I have heard of the black box years ago I don't remember what I was watching maybe 20/20 but I believe these parents were letting their daughter drive the car and though the black box monitored her all the places she was going they didn't tell her however were justifying in the program that its a way to make sure she is safe and if anything would happen to her they could locate her. I don't think its not a bad idea to do that however its human nature to abuse things so we would have to make sure that doesn't happen.
The other thing that I realized watching Big brother is the woman who had to problem of mistaken Identity and it cost her a job position. Its scary that a BIG slip up could happen like that I would be furious however its not uncommon like the representative of the company states. A few years back my grandpa was having trouble being harassed by debt collectors saying he owned money to Sears and other companies that he hasn't paid. Well it turned out that someone else had almost the exact same name as him "Eulalio" however their name was spelled "Eulalia" in my opinion that is a big difference just because it had and "A" and its a female name however it took a year and a lot of hassle just to clear it up so he doesn't shop at Sears anymore. I think that's what happen to him a careless mistake on the company's part keeping the record.
I could keep writing about the whole video however it would be like another big space so I'll conclude I agree the laws have not caught up with technology and we the people are victims of invasion of privacy unless you can keep hackers from taking my information or selling it to companies I'm going to start limiting my Internet usage and google and be careful of what I put on the Internet.
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1193494033
Rethink Work
I thought it was interesting that the way the interviewees see the future of work is way different than it was in the past that studying should be focused on engineering. I believe that is true that the world is changing and there is a demand for engineers and computer savey people. Maybe we should guide the generation into degrees that are in demand.
Billy Mays here with another fantastic product!" that's what I think of when I hear that companies are going on the outside to find innovative ideas from people. If you ever seen the show "Pitchmen" on T.V. it about pitchmen Billy Mays looks for the next inventor and pitches his idea for people to buy it. Companies are the Pitchmen now and that's a good thing because someone can have a great idea but they don't know how to get it out and having companies reach out to people its easier for the inventor to get recognition for an idea that can help society. Innovation comes from the outside now.
I like the ideas of alternate transporations on railways because it would be less pain in the butt than going though check points in airports. Ive been on the train in Dallas and it was a very pleasent expirence it was sleek looking and the the interior was clean and it was a double decker and very roomy if I lived in Dallas and wanted to travel to Forth Worth I would use the train and thats what me and my dad used to do when we wanted to travel certain places. So for the idea of transportation he has a point you have to design a train to fit the persons need because we as Americans are individualist and like our own space so it cant be like an traditional train or box like. I hope the U.S. has a railway that would link to country it would be cheaper to travel and faster than any car.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The One Social Network to Rule them all!!
1. how is Facebook and Google+ different or the same?
I just finished reading an interesting article about Google + feature that seems similar to Facebook but is different at the same time it is "Circles". Oh course Facebook has a feature similar that you can put your family tree, best friends, co-workers, etc. However with Google + you can put your friends in one circle, your family in another, people you met at parties and they are not aware of it or can see it. The cool feature is you can post photos in these circles just for those particular people such as family trip photos, or school event or if you were being a party animal you can put it in the party circle were only they can see and no one else maybe that's a good thing if you don't want your family or boss to know a crazy lifestyle. http://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/features/article_620a59a4-a2c0-11e0-b3fd-001cc4c002e0.html
2. How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake MySpace?
According to Facebook statistics there are more than 750 million active users, that 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day. I think its so many because its an easy to use social network its neat and clean and you are the captain of your ship which I mean you can control what you want people to see and not see. Being honest Facebook is way better than myspace because when I used myspace it was messy and I remember having to add wallpapers, that all my information and links were put in the same page it was very cluttered unlike Facebook it has an information page, wall (where you can post your status/thoughts. In addition Myspace seems more for teenagers and Facebook seems for adults.
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
3. Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook?
I don't think right now there will be a social network to overthrow Facebook because of how big it is and how many people use it. Google + is starting out right now and even though it is a top dog in other fields owning youtube, awesome search engine, and great features that make life easier it better come up with an idea that will blow Facebook out of the water that would revolutionize the social networks. However it is also good competition for Facebook that maybe they would improve themselves to be better.
4. Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Do you think this obsession is warranted?
I think Facebook is so addicting because you can know what your friends are doing by what they type or reconnect with them with a poke. In addition you can comment yourself of what your doing and have friends put there responds as well like "where should I go to eat for lunch?" and they can put there opinion. I think because we live in the age of the technology we don't communicate on the phone anymore if we make plans we can text or set up a party event on our facebook and have conformation of who's going or not. I don't know if the obsession can be warranted because all obsession is bad and one thing shouldn't consume your life however I personally find it convenient because I can be outgoing though the Internet because I'm not in person and since no one can see me I feel very confident when I type and I think a lot of people feel the same way. In that case I try to limit myself of Facebook use until something ticks me off like wrestling and I can discuss with people what they think as well.
5. What was your perspective of the film overall?
I always heard how good the movie was from critics and people but I always dragged my feet to see it since I heard it was a long movie and for a long time I was anti-social network. Anyway I thought the film was really interesting how smart the young man could come up with such a good idea. However I think even though he was so smart he still made some bad choices like screwing his best friend over and believing that the Napster guy was so brilliant that he overlooked his faults and criminal activities that when he actually got in trouble reality sunk in that he wasn't as wonderful as he thought. I did like a comment that a student made in class that she was impressed that for the facebook guy to be very socially awkward that he had a good idea and was able to become successful. I like that statement because I'm very shy and get nervous talking in front of groups that it gives me hope that though technology maybe I could come up with something that will be successful that it will overlook my shyness.
I just finished reading an interesting article about Google + feature that seems similar to Facebook but is different at the same time it is "Circles". Oh course Facebook has a feature similar that you can put your family tree, best friends, co-workers, etc. However with Google + you can put your friends in one circle, your family in another, people you met at parties and they are not aware of it or can see it. The cool feature is you can post photos in these circles just for those particular people such as family trip photos, or school event or if you were being a party animal you can put it in the party circle were only they can see and no one else maybe that's a good thing if you don't want your family or boss to know a crazy lifestyle. http://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/features/article_620a59a4-a2c0-11e0-b3fd-001cc4c002e0.html
2. How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake MySpace?
According to Facebook statistics there are more than 750 million active users, that 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day. I think its so many because its an easy to use social network its neat and clean and you are the captain of your ship which I mean you can control what you want people to see and not see. Being honest Facebook is way better than myspace because when I used myspace it was messy and I remember having to add wallpapers, that all my information and links were put in the same page it was very cluttered unlike Facebook it has an information page, wall (where you can post your status/thoughts. In addition Myspace seems more for teenagers and Facebook seems for adults.
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
3. Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook?
I don't think right now there will be a social network to overthrow Facebook because of how big it is and how many people use it. Google + is starting out right now and even though it is a top dog in other fields owning youtube, awesome search engine, and great features that make life easier it better come up with an idea that will blow Facebook out of the water that would revolutionize the social networks. However it is also good competition for Facebook that maybe they would improve themselves to be better.
4. Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Do you think this obsession is warranted?
I think Facebook is so addicting because you can know what your friends are doing by what they type or reconnect with them with a poke. In addition you can comment yourself of what your doing and have friends put there responds as well like "where should I go to eat for lunch?" and they can put there opinion. I think because we live in the age of the technology we don't communicate on the phone anymore if we make plans we can text or set up a party event on our facebook and have conformation of who's going or not. I don't know if the obsession can be warranted because all obsession is bad and one thing shouldn't consume your life however I personally find it convenient because I can be outgoing though the Internet because I'm not in person and since no one can see me I feel very confident when I type and I think a lot of people feel the same way. In that case I try to limit myself of Facebook use until something ticks me off like wrestling and I can discuss with people what they think as well.
5. What was your perspective of the film overall?
I always heard how good the movie was from critics and people but I always dragged my feet to see it since I heard it was a long movie and for a long time I was anti-social network. Anyway I thought the film was really interesting how smart the young man could come up with such a good idea. However I think even though he was so smart he still made some bad choices like screwing his best friend over and believing that the Napster guy was so brilliant that he overlooked his faults and criminal activities that when he actually got in trouble reality sunk in that he wasn't as wonderful as he thought. I did like a comment that a student made in class that she was impressed that for the facebook guy to be very socially awkward that he had a good idea and was able to become successful. I like that statement because I'm very shy and get nervous talking in front of groups that it gives me hope that though technology maybe I could come up with something that will be successful that it will overlook my shyness.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Dropbox you Saved my Life
In class wed. we discussed about storage saving space on the Internet. The only one to my knowledge was skydrive where it was apart of UIW and I didn't really think to much of it till now. I guess I should of started using it when I was aware of it because I have a lot of documents on my computer that are taking to much space and its so simple I can send the file straight from Microsoft word to skydrive without even opening up skydive (it has a save as to skydrive feature).
In addition we talked about dropbox which I'm still trying to get the hang of lol. I download it to my computer and I have the option to make my files private or public if I want to share them. This is awesome because I sometimes don't like always like to work on my main computer at home sometimes I float around the house with my laptop or school and always forget my flashdrive. Most of the time this happens I have to print something I always have to email it to myself so I can print but with the dropbox I can pull it up quick.
Furthermore I was talking to my mom yesterday and she was working on Microsoft word writing letters for her work (she works for the government as a civil servant) and asked me to email her doc to her work email. boo I hate always doing that because sometimes from my email her gov email blocks it and I usually get wake up calls at 6 in the morning to try to resend them. Anyway from that side note... I asked her if they use flashdrives at her work and she told me no because they can carry verses. Well then were do you save then?.. she told me just to their hard drives. I continued telling my mom what if something was to happen and all the information was lost. She didn't really have an answer. I suggested maybe they should use dropbox because if anything were to happen all the information will be safe in the could. I wish I knew about it sooner my computer gave out a year ago and a lot of pictures and word documents that were important to me got wiped out. Now with dropbox I don't ever have to worry anymore. Hurray
In addition we talked about dropbox which I'm still trying to get the hang of lol. I download it to my computer and I have the option to make my files private or public if I want to share them. This is awesome because I sometimes don't like always like to work on my main computer at home sometimes I float around the house with my laptop or school and always forget my flashdrive. Most of the time this happens I have to print something I always have to email it to myself so I can print but with the dropbox I can pull it up quick.
Furthermore I was talking to my mom yesterday and she was working on Microsoft word writing letters for her work (she works for the government as a civil servant) and asked me to email her doc to her work email. boo I hate always doing that because sometimes from my email her gov email blocks it and I usually get wake up calls at 6 in the morning to try to resend them. Anyway from that side note... I asked her if they use flashdrives at her work and she told me no because they can carry verses. Well then were do you save then?.. she told me just to their hard drives. I continued telling my mom what if something was to happen and all the information was lost. She didn't really have an answer. I suggested maybe they should use dropbox because if anything were to happen all the information will be safe in the could. I wish I knew about it sooner my computer gave out a year ago and a lot of pictures and word documents that were important to me got wiped out. Now with dropbox I don't ever have to worry anymore. Hurray
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