Posts Tagged ‘FTC’

1914 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is formed to regulate business in the US. President Wilson issued this to “Trust bust”. The FTC is controlled by a 5 member panel that serve in 7 year terms. They govern all fair trade practices.

Companies like Microsoft and IBM have been under the microscope with the FTC and the FCC.

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Other items in the Day in Tech History:

• 414’s testimony
• Kentucky shuts down 141 gambling domains
• Iomega Zip across america

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• Big Apple Rockin day
  • Steve Jobs on organ donation
  • New iPods
  • RHAPSODY!
  • iPhone & iPod ramping up games?
    • Madden10
  • Motorola just announced – Android on Cliq
    • Android gets Facebook, Pandora
  • Palm Pixi
• Googleopoly?
  • Books under fire
  • Google helping newspapers
  • EU and FTC toying at antitrust issues
• Wordpress 2.8.4
  • Major hack attack over the weekend.
  • Wordpress.com OK, but hosted should be at 2.8.4
  • Plugins that can help
    • AskApache
    • Hash Checker
    • Akismet
    • Disable Core Updates
• Windows 7 Attack
  • Conficker like worm
  • No fix
  • Vista and Windows 7
• Is 3D a new wave or a Fad?
  • CES – 3D
  • New HD3D sets
  • 3D takes more brain process
  • 3D Live production truck – Supershooter 3D.

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I Can Walk, talk and chew gum at the same time. I can pat my head and rub my belly. Heck, I could even do all five things at the same time and still listen to music. That is multitasking.

The question is: Is it changing the way a think and can I fix it?

A study from Stanford University came out this week that told us we might not be that great a multitasker. It is also suggested multitaskers are not focused. They polled 100 students in where they gave them one of three tests. In one test, they told them to focus on the red rectangle and tell them where it was. The “Heavy” Multitaskers – Those that do 5-6 things at once – did not do that well in the task. They did even worse on the other tests.

It got me to thinking; Are we really not good multitaskers?

I started picking apart this study. The one glaring issue is that the group polled 100 students. I am always amazed on how someone publishes a poll, then says it’s a small group in one demographic. So I beckon you to this question:  Could  100 – 30 plusers  be better at heavily multitasking than students? What about 50+?

Students usually mean under 30, and we have no idea how many males or females were in this study. Which ones were the “Light” and which were the “Heavy” multitaskers?  Further, I am guessing they were all Stamford students. How do we know that New York or Chicago students can’t multitask better?

Then again, maybe Multi-tasking is a learned method.

I remember in the 90’s, Kevin Trudeau put out this program called “Mega Memory”. Now let’s Put aside Kevin Trudeaus’ felony history and dealings with the FTC over his business ventures – In this case, not being able to fulfill the guarantee that you would have “Picture perfect” memory. With that aside, this program still had some validity.

Basically, he was teaching you to turn your brain into a filing cabinet. Organize the thoughts in your head by doing some “mental exercises”. In one exercise, he told you to picture a bedroom. Choose five items and repeat the names. Every morning, you mentally see these five items. These will be items you put mental notes on or in – therefore, you have created an organization to your thoughts. I started thinking:

If you can organize your brain to remember stuff? Can you organize to multi – task?

Multi-tasking for a computer is easy – but it does have limitation. We have circumvented some of those limitations by making faster processors and multi-core technologies so you don’t constantly max the same area of the processor for long periods of time. That is how newer processors can put out less heat and lower power.

Apply that to multi-tasking. Here are a few “Suggestions” to maybe work on how to multi-task. Before we do that, I would like you to take 3 deep breaths. Breathe in.. hold it…. Slowly Exhale. Again – And one more time.

1. Set time to focus on one thing and one thing only.

I set some time aside to do this. This is not sleep time and it’s not “Think about everything in the world” time. I have a task at hand and I do it – like writing this article. This task sometimes may be listening to other podcasts, writing a journal or blog, you can do a crossword puzzle or Sudoku, you can calculate pi – as long as it’s one task. By the way – I discourage the use of music in the background of that task. If you need noise, turn on a fan, mp3 of running water or waves. Nothing that can disturb your focus.

2. Schedule work – rest times

I remember a study years ago where they suggested teachers should organize the hour that they teach the subject. It was suggested that the teacher talk for about 25 minutes. They then stop and give you 5 minutes to decompress. No notes, no nothing – just mental catch-up.

Now let’s apply that to any item of work. 25 minutes, with a 5 minute decompress. Stand up, walk around, get a cup of coffee or soda. Sit back down, take 3 deep breaths and start up again.

3. Breathing

By the way, taking 3 deep breaths is important. There are known connections with breathing and stress. Further, you get more oxygen to your brain – Think of it like your heat sink to your processor.

4. Can eating / drinking right help?

I don’t want to become your family doctor, or even play that roll on TV. But studies say eating right and at least drinking lots of water can help you out.  Don’t worry, it’s something I have to work on, too. I just had a frozen pizza and Mountain Dew for lunch.

5. If you feel out of control, you probably are.

Multi – tasking is not a race. Therefore, if you are feeling stressed, even after the 3 deep breaths, then you should probably ease off on one of the tasks. Maybe come back to it in 5 minutes. Get a stride going where you can pick it back up.

6. Mental Imagery

I suggest you apply the method I talked about earlier in a different way. Think of 5 things that don’t change in your life – Your car, your house, your garage – whatever it is, mentally visualize those 5 things. Once a day – preferably in the morning – close your eyes, take 3 deep breaths and visualize those items. Take a few seconds to mentally move around the item you are picturing. For instance, if your car is one, notice the tires. Are the doors locked? What’s in the back seat? If you visualize the kitchen, where is the silverware drawer? Where is the fridge? What’s in the fridge?

Bottom line is that we have come into an age where multi-tasking is a norm, but we never really take a class on how to do it well. Some people are natural at it. Others may need a little direction. That’s ok though – I really believe that multi-tasking is a learned thing. Just like riding a bike.

By the way, the mega memory did help – I can do a decent job in remembering a persons’ name and I applied some of the techniques of his “Human Calculator” that he touted back in the 90’s to actually be able to solve mathematical problems in my head. I guess it’s all about learning how to do it.

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I love my iPhone. The 3GS has finally got the touch screen right. I can use it without feeling like I am fumbling or fat fingering keys. While the advances are nice, I still have to wonder how Apple can get away with some of the things they do to make me use their stuff. Rejecting competing applications and not giving users a choice to remove apps, all seems to be a recipe for non-competitiveness. Will they continue to get away with it, or will the FTC and EU finally step in? Well if they do, these should be 5 questions they should ask.

Skype. iBoobs. MyShoe. Obama Trampoline. Google Voice. What do these apps have in common? They were banned by the Apple application store. Some of them need to be, but others have no reason.

Ninjawords was an application that had a very hard time to get into the store. The reason why : the dictionary does contain questionable words – Including swear words. It finally was resolved and the application was approved, but who knew the dictionary could cause such a controversy.

Some have had it with the iPhone. Proprietary system in a walled garden makes those who like to play feel imprisoned. Co-founder Steven Frank of the website Panic was one of them. He put out this statement:

I’ve reached a point where I can no longer just sit back and watch this. The iPhone ecosystem is toxic, and I can’t participate any more until it is fixed. As people have told me so many times: It’s Apple’s ballgame, and Apple gets to make the rules, and if I don’t like it, I can leave. So, I don’t like it, and I’m leaving.

The Google Voice application seemed to be the boiling point in the controversy. The biggest reason was because there was a possibility that AT&T wanted the app rejected. Whether that was true or not may never be discovered. If it was really true, then someone like the European Union or FTC should step in.

Now the FCC stepped in on the Google Voice issue. However, the FCC is about protecting rights on a communications level. The FTC protects consumer’s rights, or as the FTC puts it on their website:

-          seeks out and challenges anticompetitive conduct in the marketplace, including monopolization and agreements between competitors;

There are many ways that Apple is wading into murky water. If someone posed the right questions, you would have to inquire if they are making it tougher to compete on their platform – no differently than when Microsoft was accused back in the late 90’s. Therefore, we pose these questions – to think about – for Apple on the iPhone:

1. Why Safari and not another browser?

This is a quote from Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, who created and is CEO of Opera, an alternative web browser:

“Mr. von Tetzchner said that Opera’s engineers have developed a version of Opera Mini that can run on an Apple iPhone, but Apple won’t let the company release it because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser.”

If that is the case, then why do we have more than one version of the following applications? Cyclops, pic2shop and redlaser are some barcode scanning apps. Tweetdeck can run your Twitter account. Twitter Pro, Tweetie and TwiterFon are some other applications. Shazam and MusicID both identify music and artists.

Personally, I would rather see and use Firefox on the iPhone than Safari. I know that some Google fanatics would rather use Chrome. Won’t mention IE – Does anyone use that browser? Oh well, those that do would use IE6 anyway….

You might be fidgeting in your seat about using another browser – you like Safari and that is well and good. But look at it this way – Safari comes out with an update that causes a Carpet Bomb or similar issue. The only option you have is to wait for the patch to come out. In the smartphone market, iPhone has 84% of all sales in the last quarter.  With banking applications now being written, that is a lot of data you don’t want to have exposed to the public.

The EU should really look into this point. After all, they made Microsoft give people an option to uninstall IE on their Windows OS. How is this any different for Apple?

1. Why iPhone Mail and not another?

iPhone mail is not as great as I would like it to be. Sure, it can connect to Outlook and Exchange, as well as webmail clients like Google and Yahoo.  Still, it would be great to have the mail, calendar, notes and contacts merged together.  One button to rule them all.

Yet we have to suffer through the iPhone mail. Good thing it’s just a “snapshot” of your actual mail client.  I can still keep it on my servers to deal with at a later time.

1. How come the device can only sync to one computer?

I have a Desktop and a Laptop. I cannot natively set up iTunes to Sync with more than one device. If I do, the phone will delete items I have on it to put what is on the other machine.

There is a “hack” that can be done to fix this. Basically, you fool one iTunes to think it’s on the other computer. It works OK, however, if I set one to not sync music, the setting will move over to the other. There may be another “hack” to fix that – It’s still a hack though.

What is more disturbing? iTunes can easily delete your files – mainly music – but Apple should not have any control to the content on your phone. It’s no different than when Amazon retracted 1984 and Animal Farm from peoples’ Kindles. Even purchased music can get removed from the phone. At least you can get it back by syncing with the other machine I suppose.

There are other 3^rd party applications I can use for sync. Nonetheless, why should I have to use something that is not supported to function properly? When I had the Windows Mobile Phone, the ActiveSync feature would let me set up profiles on different machines. Then I could connect to more than one machine without fear of data loss.

1. Tonight there’s gonna be a Jailbreak.

I am not a fan of any phone that has to be tied to a certain network. At least the worry of “Bricking” the phone is not as much an issue as it was back in the v.1 days. Still – Apple could easily turn a phone into a useless device if they so choose to by a simple update.

In all fairness, the jailbreak issue needs to be addressed on all phones. If I buy a phone for $200-400, then don’t like the service – I cannot return the phone after 30 days. I want the phone on another plan – but can’t get that phone from that other service. That, in turn, keeps me stuck with a phone and waste of money.

So I HAVE to buy into a certain plan. I cannot choose to not have the data plan, for example. I  only have 2 options from AT&T – 450 or 900 minutes. It would have been nice to get a 700 minute plan and keep at the prices I was at with the old phone. Instead I will most likely have a ton of “Rollover” minutes. Minutes that expire if I change plans or “Default” on a payment. Nonetheless, I guess it’s just a good thing I don’t have to select a business plan – they have to pay more.  And yes, the minutes are more of an AT&T issue than Apple, but is the Data plan that way, too?

1. How is it that iTunes can multi-task and another application cannot?

This is the biggest issue I believe. 3^rd party iPhone applications can’t run in the background, yet programs like iTunes can.  And when it comes to smartphones, you just assume they can multi-task. Once again, my WinMo phone could.

I use Stitcher, a push application. While it will continue to play when the phone locks, it will not let me do something simple like check email or SMS.  I then have to restart the app to continue functionality.

I will play devils’ advocate for a second – with a 3^rd party app, a malware program could then easily run in the background without you knowing it. With this way the problem can keep a program from accessing your phone data. Yet, Apple should give some “trusted” applications the ability to become multi-task. They could even create a certification program to justify who gets to make apps that run in the background. Yet I still have to close Stitcher to check my mail, then open it back up.

There are other issues as well, but I think that these 5 are what needs to be addressed. I would expect that if Apples’ rumored “Social Media App” comes to fruition, there may be question as to the other social networks and the Apps that run. Especially if Apple’s social media application doesn’t give a warning about possible adult content.

I am not ready to give up my phone just yet – after all, I JUST got it. However, I am seeing and hearing other people talk about trying out the new Palm Pre, the Android and other smartphones that are not Apple. Even others work feverishly on jailbreaking the iPhone so you can get your desired functionality. But that comes with a price – no warranty support after a jailbreak. So I guess I’ll live in the walled garden – for now.

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You might remember the products. You might remember the hype. Then, you are tooling down highway 41 years later and all of a sudden you think to yourself – “Hey, whatever happened to…”

Failed ideas. Maybe it was a great idea, but wasn’t made right, or design errors brought it down. Maybe it was just a bad product. Well, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see if we cannot repeat these errors again.

Oh yeah, why 16? Well because we could.

The Computer Watch: Whether it was the Ruputer, the MSN Direct ‘Smart’ Watches, the Timex Data Link Watch or another gadget watch – BTW – I remember having a “Transformers watch”. It was awesome!

Still, the Dick Tracey style communication watches, the “Computer on a wrist”, never really hit it off. I even remember a watch that gave you directions. You would put in the paper tape and turn a little dial to indicate where you are and where you are going.

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Flu – WiFi issues – Colin – Mountain Dew – Voicemail – Last of CES VideoIf you like the CES Coverage, please support the site. Use Pod125 at GoDaddy.com

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New look on site, Shovelling snow, need new computer – this one’s too noisey.

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News:
Transistor to turn 60 – Gizmodo
CompUSA to Close – WSJ
ISP Ads? – Techdirt
Service Pack Blocker Kit – PC World
Office2007SP1 – ActiveNetwork
Commodore64 Still Loved – CNN.com
VoIP on iPod Touch? – TUAW

On the Geek:

Cheaper Solar Cells?
Top 10 Games of the Year
Try a Phone Before you Buy
LCD Glut
AMD Quad Core Problems

Phishing 2.0 – PCWorld
NSFW Trademark? – Wired
AT&T 40 Gbps – BusinessWeek
Hard Drive Won’t Share MP3 – Wired
Lost in DRM – BBC
OGG! – PC Pro
FTC nails AdultFriendFinder – NetworkWorld

Geeks Remembered:

Anita Rowland
Marc Orchant
James Kim 1 Year Later

Saving Face(book) – CNNMoney
Response to “Saying No” – ComputerWorld
Advertising on your Phone – InfoWorld
Get Paid to YouTube – Wired
File Sharing Not So Bad – Techdirt
Ask.com AskEraser – New York Times

Caught the Eye:

R2D2 Translator
Sarah Connor Chronicles Pilot
GIANT SPIDER ATTACKS!
Atomic Clocks at Home
25 Cool Keyboards

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (30.3MB)

Google made a bold announcement this last week that Spammers are starting to throw in the towel. They claim Gmail has seen a decline in SPAM throughout the year. They claim that spam has plateaued and will continue this trend til it begins to decline in the years to come. 

Is it true? Are spammers giving up the fight? Or are they just taking a retreat to regroup? Maybe they are just getting smarter by making their SPAM legal…..

Lets start with the good stuff. What Spam is out there now. Well, the most favorite one in my book is the “I am a Lawyer and you (either) A) won the lottery B) Lost a wealthy long lost relative C) Have a client in a foreign country that needs your help”. No matter how hard email filters try, I always seem to get that email. Read the rest of this entry »