Showing 1 - 5 of 5
The internet grows darker
Life, James Hein, Published on 08/05/2019
» Social media has reached danger levels of influence and like anything powerful it can be used for positive or negative purposes. In countries like China you can say as many good things about the government on social media as you like but anything negative typically triggers a rapid response. The US and UK has its own sets of problems, with a tug-of-war between liberals and conservatives over the truth, with each side seeking to banish the other from social media. Self-defined open, inclusive and balanced social media platforms like Twitter are removing accounts on one side of politics in countries before elections, effectively meddling in elections.
Best to avoid FB's Onavo Protect VPN
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/02/2018
» If you use Facebook, you may have seen an option in the Settings menu under Protect to download the Onavo Protect app for Android and the iPhone. Don't. It is basically an app that allows Facebook to spy on you, even more than it already does. The app is a Virtual Private Network or VPN. In simplest terms this will encrypt and route all your network traffic through a server in addition to the one your ISP provides. This allows you to appear to be somewhere else, so you can watch, say, local content there for free and it will stop most agencies from spying on what you might be doing.
Protect your photographs from spies
Life, James Hein, Published on 21/05/2014
» Beware the Cloud, or at least Google+. I took a picture with my phone recently, something I don’t do all that often, and happened to visit Google+ soon after. The first thing I saw was the photo I’d just taken. This was the first time I discovered that any photos I take are by default sent immediately to my Google+ area. You would think this was a setting in the Android G+ app but it is instead in the Photos apps. Google’s default push is to fully open up everything you do to Google, so be careful what setting you have and how you use your camera. To be fair the photo was in a “protected” area but we all know how well that kind of protection remains in the open-to-the-world-plus-their-dog environment we live in.
News in the mobile world
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/11/2013
» Apple has outperformed the financial projections of Wall Street moneymen but income is still down. Earlier in the year, things were not looking so good but Apple had a strong finish on the back of the sale of their latest products and claimed that 340 million iPhones were sold. They also sold 14.1 million iPads last quarter and more than 4.6 million iMacs.
Tablet nears saturation point
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/08/2013
» Is the PC dying? I don't believe so. I look at how people are using tablets and, for the most part, they have mostly put bigger screens on a phone so that the children can play games and save the battery life of the parent's smartphone. Yes, I have seen some very specific instances of a tablet being used in government departments, specialist offices and medical facilities. But as far as general business use goes, there hasn't been so much. For commuters, the tablet is an alternative to a book, chessboard, Sudoku pad or movie player. People look a bit silly using it as a camera, however, and typing without a keyboard is not all that good. Bottom line: I think that we are close to market saturation with the tablet and close alternatives; and the notebook is still the most viable option for business people. (I forgot to mention browsing, that works fairly well if you have a decent wireless connection and don't have to type too much.)