Why I don't trust Technology anymore

Technology has helped advance our civilization. It has helped us communicate, get to space and improved the quality of our everyday life. Our society has been able to reap the benefits of technological inventions for many years. Lately those benefits have come at a price.

In the past year we have bore witness to security breaches, credit card hacks, massive corporation leaks and even a DDoS to an entire country. Computer hackers have been able to work around machines for many years. There is even a list of the top 10 Hacker groups with their funky names. They have our information, our credit cards, and the ability to shut down large corporations and small country's. So why are we blindly handing out our personal information to websites and social mediums on the daily?

I'm not just speaking about Social networking sites like Facebook (although I am able to find out anything about you directly from that). I'm talking about Home mortgages, insurance, student loans and bank accounts. People pay and sign up for these. Now days we only deal with the companies online. Remember the JPMorgan Chase cyberattck? That's just one instance of security gone wrong.

As these things continue to happen and hackers get more courageous, you may find that one day you will have been theft-ed and your 'online' life taken over completely. If that happens, your 'real life' may become obsolete.

Cash. Stick to cash. Go to the bank in person and set up an account that is not connected to the internet. There are still ways to get around the internet. You have to avoid the marketing that persuades you to be online. Cash and landlines. Even if it makes it harder, you should always have both of these.

You never know when the world will be subject to a 'Fire Sale' and you will need a back up. Just keep it for the OnlineApocalypse next to your Zombie Survival kit.

How to Grow a Beard in 5 minutes!

Why I don't trust SnapChat's SnapCash

               Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy meet and basically form the company. Originally self-destructing photos. Then Self destructing videos. Facebook tried to copy them. Big Brands and social media marketers endorsed it as the next BIG thing (not to say that is wasn't isn't). Then they introduced Snapchat Stories (brillliant...seriously) and Zuckerberg thought he could throw his money around and buy it...to no avail. Then they suffered an attack that leaked 4.6 million users names and numbers.

Reading that back to myself and realizing that I inadvertently supported a conspiracy theory that Mark Zuckerberg was offended by Snapchat's declination, and created the malicious attack to get back at them....nah, it was probably just some kid who was upset about his girlfriend. <wait....

Now they have introduced SnapCash. A way to send money to each other through the app by entering your debit card information.

This is where I truly begin my article. I'll just give you the highlights now and you can read on for more info later: Snapchat has sketchy descriptions of how the service works, hacks, no care attitudes, lewd spammy advertising,  and low scores with the government. So why would I want them handling my money?

I know, I know...so has every other social network. Does that alleviate your trust in them though? 

First, let's talk about their data. Can your deleted data (you know: photos, videos, stories, texts) be retrieved? Yes. Snapchat is not any more secure than other 'Sharing' sites. Are they trying to curb the way we do social though? Yes, and it's a feature that is well received. Do you trust your monetary transactions to be completely secure? The correct answer should be 'No' with any facility that handles your transactions.

Next up are the Hacks. In 2013 SnapChat failed to patch an API vulnerability and was hacked by New Years Eve. 4.6 Million usernames and numbers were taken and it took a week for SnapChat to apologize and fix it. Then in 2014 over 100K images were stolen (from a 3rd party connector App...but nonetheless important to consider.) This event was called the 'Snappening.' Their lack of concern does not make me feel comfortable enough to hand out my Debit information. I feel like it's just another avenue to get ID theft-ed from a company that has previously procrastinated their fixes.

What about the Spam? Well Spam is always annoying but sometimes dangerous. In the popular 'Snap Spam' ordeal of 2012-13 spam was able to crash users phones or implant a virus. Viruses can corrupt data, log your keystrokes or access private information. Something I don't want happening when I'm sending or receiving money.

Finally there is the FTC Case that showed SnapChat collected user info in a way that ignored their own privacy policies. Here...just read about it here.

In conclusion I don't trust sending money through them. They aren't forthcoming, have delayed reactions to important hacks and spam, and are being watched by the FTC for the next 20 years because of privacy policy issues. Other networks have gone through similar issues but they have handled it with more immediate action (or their PR is amazing). Regardless of who has done what, you just need to look at SnapCash skeptically. There are so many ways to gain access to your personal information...why give them one more way through a social medium that has had issues with privacy in the past? This may go for sending money through any Online medium...

SnapChat has brilliant ideas and features. They grew faster than I have ever seen a social network grow. It may be too much too quickly. Until they get all their ducks in a row...they shouldn't be getting your Debit Card info. If you choose to go ahead there is one good thing about this; Square is the company that is holding your info. And they are much more secure and respectable than SnapChat. It's possible that they may get this right....but for the love of Pete....don't get all pissy when it happens to you. Because I told you to go ghost:

Google's Project ARA: a History and Updates.

Google is creating a modular phone. Don't know what that is? Think of your smartphone but with little detachable parts (like a camera, battery, processor, memory) that you can swap out for upgrades, bigger batteries, or a better camera. So you will never have to buy a new smartphone, just the parts.

This whole thing started with a concept called PhoneBloks:

Dave Hakkens (creator of Phone Bloks) held a meeting of peers from all over the tech industry. That's when Motorola (a Google company) came over and said, "Hey that's a great idea and we want to make it a reality." Motorola had already been working on something like this called 'Project Ara.' 

With Ara and Phonebloks working together they have developed and exciting new Smartphone concept. Everything they are doing is open to the public. As they advance the technology and get it ready for deployment we will all be able to see just how they created this.

Recent reports state that Ara may be available Q1 of 2015. 

Dave Hakkens did a follow up video about who is developing Project Ara at Google:

This concept is becoming a reality. It may revolutionize smartphones as we know them and save a little bit of the earth by decreasing electronic waste. If you are interested in learning more, visit the main site here. 

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UPDATE: New video from PhoneBloks. Dave Hakkens visits the team that is building Ara at NK Labs! Also: Google announced the 2nd Ara Development conference . The development team will organize two identical events. The first will be on January 14, 2015 and then repeated in Asia on January 21, 2015.

VIDEO HERE:

He also mentions (but no guarantee's ) that the cost of the entry level components will be around $50-$100. This is an amazing deal if they can get the components to work as similar to a Samsung or Apple smartphone. Not to mention the upgrades will be much cheaper over the years.


UPDATE Final Update?

Google's holding company Alphabet has officially suspended the project to concentrate on Hardware like Chromebooks and Nexus phones. However, if you are still interested in Modular Smartphone substitutes you can see:

Fairphone 2

Moto Z and Moto Z Force

New Social network Tsu is just like Facebook but pays you for your Posts

There is a new Social Networking site out there called #Tsu. There mantra is that you should reap the benefits of the material you create, advertise and share. Therefore, they pay you a percentage of what your posts generate. 

Unlike Facebook which keeps all the money you help them generate, they give you 45% of the ad revenue your posts create. They keep 10% and the remainder gets divided up among the users that you invited and vice versa.

So far, it's an 'Invite only' network. Each user gets a unique code that allows them to invite others (mine is in the image above- or http://tsu.co/Martigan110 ). You can use my invitation to sign up.

Yes you make money, but don't look at it like a way to earn hundreds quickly by following everyone and posting everywhere. You only get money from engagement. So treat it like you are a savvy social media marketer. Post interesting things, ask questions, honestly comment on others posts (if you find them interesting) and most of all....be an original version of yourself. People don't like SPAM they like originality and true character.

So if you would like to join a new network that pays for originality and good social etiquette...click this link here and type in  Martigan110 to sign up.

They still have some things to work out but once they do this will be a great network that gives you incentive to be REAL. In my opinion you should think of this like #Instagram

Thanks!

Electronic Make Up: The future of effects

Effects and CGI have come a long way over the years. We have come to a point I fain to believe myself. Recently released is a video from director Nobumichi Asai who uses a new projection technology called 'Omote' to project and manipulate simulated 'Makeup' on a live person.

Of course this has cinematic principles but I'd rather see this in a live acted performance and be blown away. I would even go as far as calling it magic if I didn't know about it beforehand.

Check out this video that showcases this amazing new technology.

Agent Smith to the lobby please.....

If you can't see it here is the link for Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/103425574


This is Tech Madness for sure....!

Wireless Ear-Buds that will Analyze, Communicate, and Rock your Ears off!

For some time now I have been searching for a Wireless Ear bud headset that can play music and make phone calls. The best I could find were the Plantronics BackBeat series, which are connected to each other by a neckband. There just isn't much of a market for them.

Until now.  'The Dash' from Bragi.com is the first multi-functional wireless ear bud head system. It has it's own storage, tracks your fitness performance, is water-proof (1m) and pairs via Bluetooth with your phone.

The only thing missing is availability. It's currently being funded on Kickstarter and will probably be available to the public by the beginning of 2015. If you want to check out the campaign and videos go to: kickstarter.com/projects/hellobragi/the-dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones

This is Wearable Tech for the future.



Article by: Dan Martigan Bowers

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Farewell Shirley Temple!

Shirley Temple was the original child star.
Her roles in Bright Eyes, Curly Top and Heidi melted our hearts.
Her engaging personality, and cute childish antics made her the most
famous person in the world for a time.
It was her young stardom that we remember the most,
but Shirley was soo much more than that.

She was a star that did not succumb to drinking, drugs, or scandal.
Her quiet lifestyle was accompanied with a proud servitude to her country.
She was at one time the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia
and the Chief of Protocol of the United States.

Shirley Temple was revered and respected.
She passed away Monday night at her home in Woodside, California.
She was 85 years old.

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10 Trends for Visual Social Media in 2014

     The shell of social media shows us that strong visuals and video are attracting people to our pages. They are the frilly peacock feathers that draw us in to the main attraction, which is original content. 2013 was a great year for visuals. That will only get 'beefed up' in 2014. With that being said, here are some of the forecasted Trends in visual for 2014.

1. Women of all shapes and ages. 

2. Hands on interaction: Families doing a project together, mom's cooking, dad's playing, etc.

3. Beards....Especially during 'Movember.'

4. Lens Flares: Did you see the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies?

5. Wearable Tech/machines : Watches, Google Glass, Robots, drones, androids...The Borg.

6. Sports: Fifa World Cup, the Winter Olympics, and Baseball. This will be a big Sports year.

7. Witches? That's right, Vampires have burnt up in the spotlight, witches are taking over. 

8. Art: of course this is always a big part of Visuals but this year think rough, hand-drawn sketches.

9. Helping: collaborate with others on a project or charity and tell us about it!

10. Instagram Food shots: Yup, still relevant....sigh.

     2014 will be populated by our senses; visual, mouthwatering, textured, adventurous, witchy sci-fi pics! I'm not saying you should copy these, just consider them a 'theme.' Give us your own perspective. Naturally, there will be more trends popping up (there always are) but these are projected to be very popular next year. Remember that when you are posting your content, it's the eye that attracts people to you. Happy posting! Boom!

By: Martigan


Images:
Trends: activeendurance.com
Spock: firstshowing.net
Maleficent: playmaileronline.com