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Rules For Computer And Online Safety 2019
These are the rules for computer and online safety in 2019. You can download a copy here.
Only your vigilance will protect you against bad guys. You will be safe if you are cautious. Stop and think before you click on links, before you call unfamiliar phone numbers, before you install programs, and before you fill in passwords. […] continued
Read moreIt’s Not Just Your Computer – Everything Is Too Hard To Use (And It’s Not Your Fault)
I wrote an article a few years ago about how difficult it is for non-tech people to manage the fiddly bits required to run a Windows computer. It’s one of the things that drove the transition from computers to phone and tablets.
An interesting thing is happening today. The explosion of devices, products and services is causing just as much confusion and frustration in the world of mobile devices. […] continued
Read moreThe End Of New Product Announcements
In the last two months, there have been major announcements of new products by every computer and phone manufacturer on the planet. You don’t know about any of them, do you?
On September 12, Apple put on its annual presentation of new iPhones for hundreds of tech journalists, with the same showmanship that it has relied on since the days when Steve Jobs would take the stage in his black turtleneck and wow the faithful. […] continued
Read moreThe Samsung Ecosystem: When Technology Is Driven By Jealousy
Samsung is a global electronics company with hundreds of thousands of employees. It is the world’s largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and chipmaker by revenue. Samsung sells more smartphones than any other manufacturer by a large margin.
(You think Apple is number two in smartphone sales, and you’re a bit surprised it’s not number one, right? […] continued
Read moreThe Apple Ecosystem: Life Behind The Greatest Wall
Apple is a company that sells premium smartphones with very high profit margins. Its incentives are all tied to profits from selling iPhones.
The other products, the iPads and Macs and the rest, are all swell businesses that generate lovely profits. They help reward Apple faithful and lock in users. Make no mistake, though: in 2018, Apple’s single-minded goal is to increase iPhone sales. […] continued
Read moreAll Your Loyalties Are Belong To Us: How Technology Companies Lure Us Into Walled Gardens
Five giant technology companies have set up walled gardens full of shiny devices and enticing services. All of us live in their gardens. We’re not completely locked in. We move from one walled garden to another, but each company hopes to keep you within its garden by making its services and devices work better if you stay in its embrace. […] continued
Read moreYour Neighbor Is Not Calling You: 3.4 Billion Reasons Not To Answer The Phone
It’s not your imagination. Your cell phone is ringing off the hook with automated spam calls – 3.4 billion robocalls in April alone, a 35% increase from the previous year.
Advances in call technology make it easier for the bad guys to make higher volumes of calls. VOIP calls can be placed inexpensively from anywhere in the world. […] continued
Read moreCould Microsoft Have Kept Windows Relevant?
We have arrived at a point where Microsoft no longer has a Windows division. To a generation of computer users, Windows was the product that defined Microsoft and defined our own relationship to technology. Now that defining product is a legacy, used by many but beloved by few.
In this article: Could Microsoft have done anything differently? […] continued
Read moreRules For Computer And Online Safety 2018
These are the rules for computer and online safety in 2018. You can download a copy here.
You will be safe if you are cautious. Stop and think before you click on links, before you call unfamiliar phone numbers, before you install programs, and before you fill in passwords. Only your vigilance will protect you against bad guys. […] continued
Read moreThe 2017 Bruceb News Year In Review
A year ago I wrote this prediction: “The word of the year for 2017 is “chaos.” Write it down, seal it in an envelope, open it up a year from now and see if I got it right.”
I think I get full marks. (Although Dictionary.com chose “complicit” as the word of the year, which has a certain snarky charm.)
We are in a transitional time in technology, with a handful of very large companies – Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft – accumulating power and wealth and dominating the landscape. […] continued
Read moreWhy The iPhone X Will Make Apple A Trillion Dollars
Apple will almost certainly become the first company in the world with a market capitalization of one trillion dollars, perhaps within the next year or two. The new iPhone X will help take it over that threshold. Apple continues to to exceed all expectations and to defy all naysayers.
Back in ancient times – about three months ago – it was easy to believe that Apple was about to stumble. […] continued
Read moreApple’s Security Disaster And What It Means For A Golden Key
On Tuesday, the word spread that Apple’s latest release of its operating system for Mac computers, MacOS High Sierra, had a terrible, dangerous problem. Anyone could sit down at any Mac computer and in seconds log in to an administrator account, with full permission to install programs, change passwords, read files – to do anything to the computer. […] continued
Read moreGoogle Bets That Artificial Intelligence Will Make You Buy Its New Devices
Today Google introduced eight new devices that will be released this fall – phones, home assistants, a laptop, a virtual reality headset, and more. It’s the most diverse new product lineup from a technology company in recent memory. Apple just announced three new phones, Amazon just announced a slew of new variations on the Echo, but Google outdid both of them for sheer quantity and variety. […] continued
Read moreNew Premium Phones: Samsung Galaxy S8, Google Pixel 2
Previously:
The Latest Smartphone Trends
New Premium Phones: Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8 & 8 Plus
With the announcement of the upcoming iPhone X, Apple opened the door to phones that cost a thousand dollars or more. Samsung and Google have each increased prices on the new models of their premium phones, hoping to capture profits like Apple from customers who are not particularly sensitive to price but will pay for better (and more expensive) screens, extra features, and the cachet that comes from carrying the latest and greatest. […] continued
Read moreNew Premium Phones: Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8 & 8 Plus
It’s new phone season! Here’s the view from 10,000 feet of the premium phones from Apple, Samsung, and Google.
The manufacturers spent the last few years making our phones bigger and improving the cameras. They’re about as big now as anyone reasonably wants, and the cameras of the best phones are arguably already better than most people need for casual snapshots. […] continued
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