Power of The Internet: Redefining Fame

Since so many people have access to the internet and our ability to post anything on it in addition to being able to video conference over internet phones, fame has become to be redefined. Before, it was the owners of the media that controlled and decided who was going to be famous and somehow that made you special. Though, that idea is slightly over my head aside from the fact that you would be making massive amounts of money. If they wanted to make talentless dream boys famous, they did. Now fame is something we do -- we the audience, we the people on the Web. This is an interesting shift in the entertainment industry but what I think it is lacking is quality content. Take the video by Rebecca Black, Friday, for example. I am just dumbfounded how it was able to go so viral and get so many hits. Is it because it was so horrible? What are your thoughts about the way the internet is shaping the music and entertainment industry?

Charging Your Phone

With all the phone services that you can run and use on your smartphone, which is more of a computer than a phone anyway, the battery life gets very short. The problem with this is that it is a hassle trying to find an outlet or a USB port all the time. A solution is the K-Tor Pocket Socket — a hand-cranked generator with a simple design. It pushes out 120 volts at about 10 watts, which is plenty for an iPad and more than enough for any cellphone. For it to work, you’ll have to turn the crank at least twice per second, but that isn't terribly fast. And good news, southpaws: It can be operated equally well left- or right-handed. It provides a standard wall-outlet-style connection, so any device plugs into it. You could keep cranking to charge a gadget more, but it won't go any faster than plugging into a regular wall outlet. At $50, it's a good insurance policy to keep your gadgets running. If you are constantly using your phone, this is something that is worth getting. Look on the bright side, you'll get a workout while charging your phone and it is pretty green, for all you tree huggers out there.

Apple Disclosing Labor Findings in China

Li explained that Apple is one of the few OEMs that discloses its factory audit reports to the public and he lauded the company's honesty in disclosing serious vendor violations like child labor or safety violations to the public. Indeed, a quick read of Apple's 2012 Supplier Responsibility Report reveals such potentially embarrassing facts as:

•  Involuntary Labor: Apple discovered 17 facilities that required their workers to pay excessive recruitment fees, effectively forcing them to work off these debts as indentured servants. The company says it terminated business with one repeat offender and required the rest to reimburse workers for any fees that exceeded Apple's limits, a total of $3.3 million.

• Underage Labor: Auditors discovered 19 cases of underage workers at five facilities in 2011, though 13 of those were workers who had either left or aged since their hires. Apple says it required its suppliers to "support the young workers' return to school."
• Lack of Protective Gear: The company found 58 facilities where workers either lacked the proper protective gear, weren't using the gear, or didn't know how to use the gear. Apple says it required the facilities to educate the workers and supervisors about the importance of protective gear.
• Poor Emergency Preparedness: 99 facilities were in some form of non-compliance with fire prevention standards.
• Too Many Hours: 93 facilities had more than 50-percent of their workers exceeding the 60-hour weekly limit on work time. Apple hired a consultant to help suppliers manage their workers' time better.
• Explosions: This wasn't much of a disclosure, since explosions at two Apple plants were public knowledge before the report, but the company said it has changed its rules about working with toxic dust, the source of the fires.

By comparison, HP's detailed audit-findings page, which does not yet include information from 2011, only shows a vague percentage of worldwide suppliers who were in conformance with standards categories like "child labor avoidance" and "freely chosen employment," without providing specific numbers of violations and remedies taken. Dell provides a list of its top suppliers and lists the labor standards it follows, including international conventions like the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC), but doesn't show a list of specific violations it has uncovered. Ironcially, Apple appears to be less concerned about factory conditions than its competitors, because of the company's unwillingness to talk with advocacy groups like China Labor Watch and Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior. Li said Dell and HP responded to his group's reports about working conditions in their factories, but Apple ignored them. Do you know where your phone service devices are coming from and what types of practices that company upholds? If you are not satisfied, there are ways to get involved, from calling toll free numbers to sending emails to signing petitions. What are your thoughts about Apple and these reports?

Connected Cars

As we spend more time with apps on smartphones, automakers are betting we’ll want to do the same in our cars. So they are providing Internet-connected systems labeled "infotainment" or "telematics" that essentially turn LCD screens in the dashboard into remote controls for apps. More than 10 automakers offer such systems today or plan to by next year, in brands including Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, MINI, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Other apps bolster the navigation system. Bing and Google search apps, for example, supplement the built-in point-of-interest (POI) database by enabling drivers to search for other locations using whatever keywords they want. Yelp and OpenTable apps help drivers find hotels or make a reservation at a restaurant, and send the results to the navigation system to provide directions.   Toyotas use Bing and OpenTable while BMW and soon Mercedes-Benz feature Google and Yelp. There are also phone services and social media included in some of them. Personally, I would not want anyone to be searching something on Google while trying to drive. Some people do not know how to drive as it is.

The Greatest Innovator of All Time

Who would you say is the greatest innovator of all time? What are the criteria that you measure it by? How much of history do they have to change in order to be up on the list? Even the Apple generation doesn't favor Steve Jobs over the most iconic inventor in U.S. history. Young Americans overwhelmingly chose Thomas Edison as the "greatest innovator of all time" in a new MIT survey. That doesn't mean Jobs lacks for fans in the wake of his death last year. The man who relentlessly drove Apple to create the iPhone and iPad received 24 percent of the vote among some 1,010 Americans ages 16 to 25 who participated in the survey. But a whopping 54 percent voted for Thomas Edison, who was credited with the first practical light bulb, the phonograph for recording sound, the movie camera and other marvels of the modern age. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first practical telephone which laid the ground for all other phone services, came in third with 10 percent. He was followed by scientist Marie Curie, famed for her pioneering work on radioactivity, and Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder and CEO of Facebook.

Phone Stacking

Have you heard the latest thing people are doing with their phones? It is not some super gadget or a dumb hipster craze, it is having the audacity to put their phone services, emails, and internet fax on hold and pay attention to who they are with. It still continues to amazes me that people will make plans to get together and when they finally see each other, they are still checking their phones. Maybe if they look up from that glowing screen once in a while, we might actually get somewhere as a society. If you are eating out with friends or family, you have to place the phone in the middle of the table as you place your order. Then if any of the devices start ringing, you cannot answer but if you cannot resist the temptation, you are responsible for the whole bill. Now I am sure that no one is going to be jumping for paying for their friends' lunch when the fridge at home is half bare so this seems to be a great incentive to actually spend time with the people around you. Hopefully, over time it will become a habit and more of a ritual that we will come to appreciate. What are your thoughts?