Practical Technology

for practical people.

May 21, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

I, robot owner

We’re used to robots — in their place. Think of a car factory; the image that comes to mind is probably not the assembly line of yore, but instead pivoting robot arms doing mind-numbingly repetitive tasks with great precision. But other than vacuum cleaners and the odd robotic pet, robots are mostly absent from our daily lives. Are we ready for that to change, with robots sharing our highways and homes? We’d better be, because they’re coming.

On May 7, Nevada became the first state to issue a license for self-driven cars. These Google-developed cars are also known as autonomous vehicles, but make no mistake: They are robots.

I, robot owner. More >

May 21, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Chrome beats Internet Explorer in global Web browser race

The last time Internet Explorer (IE) wasn’t the top Web browser in the world, late 1998, Bill Clinton was president; France was the World Cup champion; Netscape was IE’s top rival; and, oh yes, Google was founded. One anti-monopoly lawsuit, which was largely based on Microsoft’s illegal tactics against Netscape, and not quite fourteen years later, IE has finally been knocked off as king of the browser mountain by Google’s Chrome Web browser.

According to StatCounter, Chrome passed Internet Explorer during the week of May 13th. StatCounter’s stats are based on a sample of 15 billion page views in the company’s network and they show that Chrome is continuing to gradually pull away from IE.

Today, Chrome has taken first place with 32.76 percent share, while IE dipped to 31.94 percent. Chrome has been slowly moving up on IE for years now. The first time Chrome moved past IE, for even a day, only came on March 18th.

Chrome beats Internet Explorer in global Web browser race. More >

May 20, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Waiting on the Real Apple TV

You may have noticed that when I talk about TV over the Internet, I haven’t been talking about Google TV or the like. Instead, I’ve been focusing on “media extenders” like the Apple TV, Roku, and the various Internet-equipped Blu-Ray DVD players. The main reason is the elephant in the room: “When will Apple announce an iTunes-empowered TV, aka a “real” Apple TV. We still don’t know when, of indeed if, Apple will make its move, but the possibilty, probablity, has everyone waiting to see what happens next in Internet TV.

Oh sure, the Leichtman Research Group claims that Americans report that 38% of homes already have an Internet connected television (PDF Link), but only 4% of them say that their Internet TVs are actually hooked up. Yeah, right.

I think most people still don’t have a clue about to get the Internet and their televisions in sync. Today, people who watch TV via the Internet are like me: Electronics fans and network savvy geeks. The current generation of Internet TVs is part of the reason why that’s so. None of them are all that user friendly.

Waiting on the Real Apple TV. More >

May 20, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Five ways to avoid Windows 8

Some people are still sure Windows 8 is going to be the cat’s meow. I’m sure Windows 8 and its Metro interface will be more like a cat’s yowl of pain. The more I look at Metro, the more I’m sure that Microsoft’s new desktop will flop as badly as the Facebook IPO.

It’s not just me. Business analysts, who could care less about technology but care a lot about what customers think, are saying things like “Windows 8 will prove to be a disappointment.”

Windows users who were already unhappy about having to learn Metro, which doesn’t work or look a thing like Vista and Windows 7’s Aero interface never mind XP’s familiar appearance, are finding out there’s more trouble ahead for them. Windows 8 will cost more at launch to upgrade to from Windows 7. DVD playback and media-center functionality will now be an extra-price option.

Oh as for Metro-friendly applications, here’s what Matthew Baxter-Reynolds, an independent software development consultant, speaker, author, and trainer and all around Windows guru who’s writing the book “Programming Windows 8 Apps with C#” had to say: “does Metro actually work? In my opinion: No.”

I don’t care if your most prized possession is an autographed copy of Bill Gates’ The Road Ahead, you have got to be wary of moving to Windows 8. So what can you do to avoid, or at least delay, the day you have to start using it?

Five ways to avoid Windows 8. More >

May 18, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Stick a fork in the Facebook IPO, it’s done

I told you so. I told anyone who would listen yesterday that investing in Facebook’s IPO would be foolish and I was right. Facebook closed its high-excitement IPO day at $38.37 a share… mere pocket change over its initial price.

On Thursday, Facebook had priced its shares at $38, giving itself a valuation of $104 billion, and raising $18.41 billion. Too bad the market didn’t believe that valuation. Oh sure it may look like Facebook, which was to have gone public at 9:30 AM Eastern Time, but actually only started trading on the Nasdaq under the “FB” tickerat 11:00 AM EST, but the stock actually would have dived like the Titanic if it wasn’t for the the company’s 33 underwriters buying up shares to keep it afloat and above water at just over the $38 offering price,

Bullish, would-be buyers had predicted that at the end Facebook’s first day as a public company that the stock would be selling at $54 a share. So much for that pipe-dream.

Stick a fork in the Facebook IPO, it’s done. More >

May 17, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Don’t be a Facebook IPO idiot

First, I am not a stock market maven. I don’t own a single share of any technology stock. So, when I say only an idiot would buy into Facebook’s $104-billion IPO tomorrow keep that in mind. On the other hand, I’ve been covering technology and the business of technology for closing in on 30-years and when something starts to smell as badly as the Facebook IPO does, I think I can tell when a stinker is a stinker. And, folks, Facebook smells to the high heavens.

First, take a long hard look at the Facebook IPO’s S1. One of the things I’ve learned along my way is how to read SEC reports. The risk factors in Facebook’s S1 both in dependence and growth are downright scary.

It’s a long, long list, but one that really caught my attention was number 22: 22.”Our CEO has control over key decision making as a result of his control of a majority of our voting stock.” That means Mark “Mr. Hoodie” Zuckerberg is going to large and in charge of Facebook. No stockholders, no board can stop him from doing whatever he wants with Facebook.

Don’t be a Facebook IPO idiot. More >