Technology & Business
Real world test and review of the Bose QuietComfort 15 (QC15)
Having spent a good chunk of my time in airplanes, I am always looking for the next great invention that will make my travelling life a little easier or more pleasant. Noise reducing headphones and In Ear Monitors fit into the second category by reducing the annoyance of that crying child in the next row or the constant annoying low hum of the airplanes engines. I have a tried a tone of different earphones that I will be reviewing in future write-ups but this one is dedicated to the Bose QuietComfort 15 earphones.
Jelly bean safest version of Android yet
Ars Technica is reporting that Google’s new mobile Operating System, Jelly Bean, is the safest version of the Android OS thus far. This new version is the first time Google has implemented address space layout randomization protection which randomizes memory allocations for library, stack, heap and OS data structures. Combine ASLR with data execution prevention and this protects users from memory corruption exploitations. Apple IOS has had these features implemented ASLR and DEP for at leat 16 months. Apple also uses code signing to prevent unauthorized code from running.
Is Google killing SEO and organic search rankings?
Ask 10 people how Google makes the bulk of its money and you can be forgiven for thinking they are in the software business. The reality is the majority of Google’s golden egg comes from paid advertising and research from the online advertising consulting company WordStream shows a worrying trend: Google is flooding organic search with sponsored results. This finding is highlighted when you start looking at the statistics Wordstream highlights. 64.6% of high value commercial search term traffic is directed to sponsored links, compared to 35.
Microsoft Windows 8 will be released October 26 2012
Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, finally announced that The next major version of the Windows operating system will be released on October 26 2012. Read More
Samsung accuses LG employees of theft
The Associated Press is reporting that 11 people have been charged with Intellectual Property theft from Samsung related to its advanced OLED TV technology from Samsung. 6 of those people have been identified as LG employees. LG has officially denied these claims but Samsung is sticking to its guns and claiming “systematically stole its display technology and poached Samsung employees.” A good reminder to business managers to evaluate their Intellectual Property protection systems and risk management frameworks.
Rogers offers incredibly attractive 6GB Plan
Summer data plan promos are nothing new but this new one from Rogers is unique and interesting. The new temporary summer plan includes 6GB of monthly data, 200 minutes of local calling, unlimiting text messaging, free evening calling and Unlimited Canada-wide MY10 calling. This plan includes access to Rogers' LTE network. It is impossible to build this plan a la carte. The next closes self-built plan would cost over $73. This deal expires August 8th so check it out now.
Test Microsoft Office 2013 Now for free
Microsoft announced Office 2013 last week which will be touch optimized, have added functionality and of course be cloud connected. Some of the coolest new features are: Touch optimization : using Office 2013 via touch is as natural as using the traditional keyboard and mouse. All of your standard gestures are supported. Stylus support: Office 2013 now has built in stylus support which means you can now jot down digital ink notes and send them or have Office convert your written notes to text.
New York City Payphones getting a new lease on life
Payphones of yesteryear get a new lease on life in New York city as WI-FI hotspots. This interesting program is starting with 10 locations but the hope is to expand it to 12000 locations in all 5 city boroughs. Since they are using standard WIFI, each access point will cover about 100 feet and will be an incredibly useful feature for tourists. This effort is being spearheaded by the mayor Bloomberg as part of his NYC Digital Initiative. Current locations
Long term testing and review of ZAGGsmartbuds
My last review of Zagg was for their InvisibleShield screen protector here. I loved the product but hated the hyper inflated cost of shipping on the replacements. Today I will be reviewing their ZAGGsmarbud earphones. I have been testing these for the last 6 months and wanted to share my opinion. For the record, I purchased these myself for this opinion is completely unbiased. Packaging The earphones come in a triangular easy to open box. Within this pyramid, you find the earphones, a small zippered carry pouch and 5 eartips.
Retailers may not accept scanned receipts
2 years ago, I was tired of reshuffling papers and made the move to go paperless. This means that almost all paper is somehow converted to a digital image and stored in Evernote and/or TheBrain. I scan them using my flatbed document scanner or Scanner Pro on the iPhone. Why did I go paperless? It is cleaner and helped de-clutter my work area. It also makes information much easier to find year later when I actually need it (aka searchability).