Amazon unveils... your future.

Article first published as Amazon Unveils... Your Future. on Technorati.

The 28th day of September, 2011.
From this moment on, the playing field of E-Readers has changed. Not only has the technology evolved and matured, ready for "prime time"as they say, but now... the price point is right for everyone.

Today, Amazon unveiled four brand new devices to their product lineup, just in time for everyone to drool over and get their orders in before the Holiday season.

The "all new Kindle" ($79), Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, and the Kindle Fire ($199). The Kindle with the physical Keyboard, and Kindle X with Keyboard, are still available.
In a wonderfully stated open letter tastefully displayed on their website, C.E.O Jeff Bezos stated:

"Dear Customer,

There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp.

We are excited to announce four new products: the all-new Kindle for only $79, two new touch Kindles – Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G – for $99 and $149, and a new class of Kindle – Kindle Fire – a beautiful full color Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, web browsing and more, for only $199.

These are high-end products – the best Kindles we’ve ever made. Kindle and Kindle Touch have the most-advanced E Ink display technology available, and the 3G Kindle Touch adds free 3G wireless – no monthly fees and no annual contracts. Kindle Fire brings everything we’ve been working on at Amazon for 15 years together into a single, fully-integrated experience for customers – instant access to Amazon’s massive selection of digital content, a vibrant color IPS touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle, a 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, a state-of-the-art dual core processor, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, and an ultra-fast mobile browser – Amazon Silk – available exclusively on Kindle Fire.

We are building premium products and offering them at non-premium prices.

Thank you for being a customer,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO"


While most of the other tech reviewers and websites are talking rampantly about the (admittedly lust worthy) Kindle Fire, comparing it along side the Apple iPad, I think it's interesting, and important, to take a detailed look at the $79 entry level "All New Kindle" device. Why? Because at $79, this is the real game changer. This is the one that is most likely to end up in stockings this season, not only for adults, but children as well. Getting children to read is a major hurdle for most parents. At this price point, it just might be the magic device.


While I am personally not crazy about the new slate grayish color scheme, (I preferred the dark charcoal of the existing Kindles), the all-new Kindle is 30% lighter (weighs less than 6 ounces), has an 18% smaller body, while keeping the same 6" screen size, so it can easily fit in your pocket or purse, and features the most advanced E Ink display that reads like paper, as the Amazon website details.

The most elegant feature of a physical book is that it disappears while you're reading. Immersed in the author's world and ideas, you don't notice a book's glue, the stitching, or ink. Our top design objective is to make Kindle disappear — just like a physical book — so you can get lost in your reading, not the technology.

Kindle is easy to hold and read. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle's page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages from any position.

Kindle has an easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. No on-screen fingerprints, and unlike a laptop, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as long as you like, and Kindle automatically detects nearby Wi-Fi networks at school, home, or your favorite café.

Latest Generation E Ink: Kindle uses E Ink Pearl – the latest generation of E Ink technology available – to deliver clear, crisp text you can read without eye strain. Electronic ink uses actual ink particles to create crisp, print-like text similar to what you see in a physical book. Kindle uses proprietary, hand-built fonts to take advantage of the special characteristics of the ink to make letters appear clear and sharp.

Reads Like Real Paper, Even in Bright Sunlight Because Kindle's electronic display uses E Ink, it looks and reads like real paper. Kindle's screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting, so you can read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.

Reading on Kindle is amazing. Adjustable Text Sizes, Font Choices Kindle has eight adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference. You can increase the text size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably. Kindle also has three font styles to choose from – all optimized and hand-tuned to provide the best reading experience.
 
Kindle uses hand-built, custom fonts and font-hinting to make words and letters more crisp, clear, and natural-looking. Font hints are instructions, written as code, that control points on a font character's line, improving legibility at small font sizes where few pixels are available. Hinting is a mix of aesthetic judgments and complicated technical strategies.
 
Kindle now has faster page turns. By fine-tuning Kindle's proprietary waveform, the series of electronic pulses that move black and white electronic ink particles to achieve an optimal display of images and text, and Kindle supports the display of non-Latin characters, so you can read books and documents in the translation that's right for you. Kindle displays Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters, in addition to Latin and Greek scripts.

Full Image Zoom: Images and photos display crisply on Kindle and can be zoomed to the full size of the screen.

Rotate Between Portrait and Landscape Mode: Switch between portrait and landscape orientation to read maps, graphs and tables more easily.

Real Page Numbers! Easily reference and cite passages or read alongside others in a book club or class with real page numbers. Using the computing fabric of Amazon Web Services, Amazon created algorithms that match specific text in a Kindle book to the corresponding text in a print book, to identify the correct, “real” page number to display. Real page numbers are available on tens of thousands of our most popular Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions. Page numbers are displayed when you push the menu button.

I am very interested to know your comments about the new Kindle series. Please comment below, and share with post with your friends!

Thanks For The Memory - Digital Amnesia

Article first published as Thanks For The Memory - Digital Amnesia on Technorati.

The WORST thing you can do is back up your data, and think you're safe. I am continually shocked at the true lack of protection the average person has for their information. Yes, I am talking about YOU, sitting there right now and reading this. You are >.< this close to losing all your important information... and it isn't YOUR fault!

If you are like most individuals, you are quite concerned with making sure you don't suffer a hard drive failure and lose all your data. Photos, music, videos, contacts, files, documents, email, the way data is multiplying exponentially, you have a lot to worry about.

You do some research on data security and backing up your hard drive, read all the advertisements, ask the "experts" at a popular local electronics store, and you are lulled into a false sense of security when you are advised to buy one of the USB external hard drives from popular manufacturers like Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, Hitachi, etc, and breathe a sigh of relief. All your precious files that compose your digital life are safely tucked away. I mean, it SAYS on the package it keeps your data safe.

NOT. They are only marginally safer than they were in your computer. A study by Carnegie Mellon University shows that hard drive failure rates are much higher than manufacturers let you know. There is a wide body of academic evidence among true industry experts that show how fragile a hard drive is, and relying on just one is total folly. A single external hard drive should be considered, at best, a temporary "work / hold" drive, not your safety net you were convinced of by the salesman who sold it to you.

ANY "expert" that sells you an external USB hard drive and tells you that it will fully protect your data is absolutely lying to you in your face. The knife in your back is delayed. You feel it when your data is lost... while the "expert" made his sales quota. Why?

Inside that external hard drive, is a single hard drive...which itself can fail, crash, get stolen in a burglary, destroyed in a fire, flood, earthquake, etc... with ALL your information. 

Poof. Is that a chance you really want to take? I will repeat myself here: The WORST thing you can do is back up your data, (on a single drive solution) and think you're safe. So what DO you do?

If you are truly serious about protecting your data, there are two very simple, elegant steps to guarantee 100% protection from data loss.

#1. Buy a Drobo. drobo.com It works with Windows / Mac / Unix
What the heck is a drobo? Ask your local tech "expert" and watch his eyes glaze over. A drobo is a DATA ROBOT, simply an external hard drive with multiple drives, without you having to do ANY configuration. Literally plug and play, it does all the work for you automatically, IF one drive fails, it automatically protects your data on the other drives, you can change a defective/failed drive on the fly without using any tools except your thumb, and without losing a single byte of data. It will automatically rebuild the new replacement drive. Don't let anyone uninformed tell you this is just a standard raid solution. This is unlike anything else available. It's raid, with brains, elegant, sleek, hands free, configuration free.

This option guarantees you 100% immunity from losing anything due to hard drive failures. That still leaves natural disasters, theft, flood, fire, etc. This brings us to:

#2. Cloud storage. For example, DropBox. This guarantees your data can't be drowned, burnt, stolen, blown, or any other nightmare scenario you can think of. Your data is available from any computer you go to, it can be shared, it is platform independant, working with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Mobile devices.

This is one instance in your life when you SHOULD be thinking INSIDE THE BOX, utilizing both Drobo and DropBox to guarantee you peace of mind, and true data safety: and yes, I am being extremely hard on salesmen, because I am tired of seeing people get hurt and lose everything due to misinformation and someone trying to make a quick sale. I want people to understand how easy it is to protect themselves before something happens.


I enjoy reading your comments and feedback.

New Reconnaissance Recruits - better call S.W.A.T.

Article first published as New Reconnaissance Recruits - better call S.W.A.T. on Technorati.

The Terminator, one of the most recognizable icons in the world, and a perfect example of what a CYBORG is: According to Wikipedia, "living tissue wrapped around a mechanical or artificial (e.g electronic,mechanic, or robotic parts.)

The stuff of science fiction? Think again. You just might be seeing one sooner than you think, in the form of a cyborg bug... a "CYBUG". 
For decades, research into robotics and miniaturization have impressive, if not miraculous. Robots build the cars we drive, however getting robotic parts down to the size of an insect, and being functional, have hit quite a few obstacles.

Since 2006, the U.S. DARPA, (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), has invested over $12 Million into research. The fruits of their investment? CyBug cockroaches at Texas A&M, Horned beetles at University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley, and Moths at an MIT led team, along with another project at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research.

Instead of trying to miniaturize robotics, and then control it, they decided to use what Mother Nature has already designed. Insects, one of the most populous life forms on earth, their bodies a design that has successfully survived through the eons to the modern day.

The concept is actually quite simple. The hard shell of an insect is an exoskeleton, already a miniature marvel of evolution. Body, legs, wings, everything you would want a robot to have.

Scientific researchers implant a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) circuit into the insect while still in the pupae stage of life. As the insect matures, grows, molts, the body tissue grows around the implanted circuitry, literally fusing the insect body with the implant, which is able to control leg and flight muscles, and nervous system processes.

This means that you can be THE FLY ON THE WALL. Surveillance, intelligence gathering, recon, all are applications for this technology.

At first, only Governments with deep pockets to fund this research will have access to it, but imagine a future where people can hire a private detective to spy on their cheating spouses with CyBugs.

What do YOU think about this? I would love to hear your comments below!

Ebay: A Lose/lose/lose sitution.

Article first published as Ebay: A Lose/Lose/Lose Situation on Technorati.

Ebay. The ingenious concept that allows anyone who wants to sell something to not only a national but an international pool of potential buyers. The Ebay success stories of sellers making six figure yearly income just staying at home selling on Ebay have been touted far and wide.  At one time it was great, however if you listen, you will hear lots of grumblings how Ebay has raised their fees over the years, and if you do a simple google search, you will find a plethora of reasons why sellers feel Ebay is really harming them. Among them:

* Illegitimate feedback
If a buyer gives you a negtive feedback for no reason, you can’t remove it. There goes your entire reputation and sometimes your entire business.

* Annoying rules
For example in the last 12 hours of an auction you can’t change images. A potential buyer emailed a seller to notify they had put the wrong picture on the auction page.  There was no bid but because there were only 10 hours left, the seller couldn’t change the picture, and what do you know, no sale.

* Bogus buyers
No more negative feedback for bogus buyers, meaning that buyers who don’t pay for their winning bids cannot be penalized by the seller. This too destroys the entire feedback system.

* Fees
Ebay’s sale commission is a good chunk plus you have to pay for every listing detail practically. Subtitle: $.50, picture: $.25, bold title: $1, etc.

* PayPal
If you use PayPal, which is very handy for eBay selling, you’re going to be ripped off. They continually take more and more commissions. Plus eBay owns PayPal so you are charged 3 times, listing, commission and PayPal!

* Refunds
Someone can buy your item using PayPal, receive the item, and then lie and say that it was not shipped. PayPal will then refund them the entire purchase amount. 

* Shipping
Everything relies on shipping. The postal service once lost a small expensive package that was sold; the buyer had not paid for insurance. So the seller had to wait for weeks to find out what happened, and then reimburse the item from their pocket.
 
* Terrible customer service
If you have a problem with a sale or purchase, you have to go through bots and finally days later receive a humans actual help.
 
Ebay also has a dark side no one wants to talk about. I am going to relay a situation to give an example. Follow along, and feel the tension grow...
Imagine you buy something for $450.00, your needs suddenly change, and you no longer need the item. It is in perfect new condition, but you can't return it where you bought it, so you think, "OK, I will list it on Ebay". Sure... simple enough.

You post it on Ebay for a 7 day standard auction, listing the item at $200.00. The listing ends with a winning bid, the buyer sends you an email saying they need it shipped to Nigeria. A little surprised, you inform the buyer that there will be extra shipping that you hadn't anticipated.

You then receive an email from the buyer stating they have sent you payment via "PayPal" and they are in a hurry for you to send the item immediately. Logging into your Paypal, you find there has been no payment made to your account. When you question the buyer, they never respond, and the phone number listed as a contact for the buyer is disconnected. The buyer isn't buying or sending you money.

Not only aren't you making a sale, Ebay has already charged you $20.00 as a FINAL VALUE FEE on the item that you never got paid for, and you haven't shipped yet. TO get this refunded due to a non paying bidder, you must file a claim with Ebay, and per their policy Per, you then have to wait 4 days past the end of the auction before Ebay will allow you to file a non paying bidder claim. Ebay sends the buyer another notice to pay, and you have to wait another 4 days for the buyer to respond. (8 days total after the end of the auction.)

15 days after you first posted the item, ebay finally gives you a FINAL VALUE CREDIT.

Because it is 8 days after the end of the auction, other bidders have moved on, thinking they lost the auction to the winning bidder, so you can't make an offer to any of them, so you decide to re-list the item, optimistic the second time around will bring a solid transaction.

Rinse and repeat. The same thing. A different bidder wins the auction, but this time,
there is no response to emails, and the phone number listed is an area code 809-XXX-XXXX. This is a variant of the 809 Area Code Scam.

You now have to wait another 8 days to get your final value fee refunded.

30 days since you first posted the listing, 2 non sales, disheartened, you reluctantly re-list your item yet again for the third time. Another 7 day auction listing results in a winning bid. This time, there is no response, and no sale.

This is an actual situation, not a fabricated example. 15 + 15 + 15 = 45 Days have passed, 3 failed auction transactions in a row. What's wrong with this picture?

EBAY POLICIES...geared against sellers, letting an undesirable element run rampant on their system. There isn't any real protection for a buyer, in fact, the buyers are protected. A single buyer can bid and NOT PAY on 3 separate occasions before they are banned from Ebay.

What Ebay SHOULD do:

#1. A winning bidder should pay within 24 hours of the end of the auction, or at least contact the seller within 24 hours to confirm they are going to pay.

#2. If a winning bidder doesn't pay, that would be an instant 30 day ban. If they do it again, permanent ban.


#3. When an auction ends, all bidders are put on standby notice for 24 hours till the willing bidder pays. If they don't pay, #2 applies, PLUS the next highest bidder is offered the item. This would prevent a lost sale due to runner-ups going elsewhere to buy.


#4. Lower the ebay listing and final value fees. It's an automated website for Pete's sake, lower your prices, more people will sell and more buyers will come. Between Ebay fees, and PayPal fees (also owned by Ebay) they are getting approx 11% of your total sale price.

Have YOU had a bad experience with Ebay? Leave your story and comments, I would love to hear what you have to say!

Desperate Houseplants Tweet For Help!

Article first published as Desperate Houseplants Tweet For Help! on Technorati.

Everyone, their brother, and their dog are on Twitter. The latest Twitter stats, say they have 106 Million user accounts, with 300,000 joining every day, with 180 Million unique daily visitors. Now, just when you thought it was safe to go out, the next revolution in social networking has landed.

There is no longer any need to stay home and talk to your plants.
Now your houseplants can tweet you.

An ingenious electronic device (sku: KIT-10334) from SparkFun, offers a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates to your mobile phone.

When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know. Forget RSS feeds, Pffft. This is an S.O.S. feed! Plus, it sends its thanks when you show it love. Now when is the last time your cat thanked you?

It comes as a kit, so you can hone your soldering skills, (or teach someone else), while you build an essential line of communication between you and your houseplant, so you can bond and have a dedicated relationship!


It comes with everything you need to get your plant tweeting in no time, pre-programmed, but you can customize it with your own messages. The only thing you need to provide is a plant, network connection (and ethernet cable), and a power outlet. Unfortunately, it will set you back $99.95... per device.

If you are like most people, you have several house plants. This enters the territory of serious ethical dilemmas, as you will have to decide which is your favorite plant of all, among the little cries from all the other plants that come to the realization that you don't love them as much. :P


Comments? Leave them below and be sure to share this with your friends.