I was reading the comments on this exploit story on AppleInsider. I loved lkrupp’s comment (below). The first paragraph might just be the best and simplest explanation for how to avoid virus and malware problems. (if you use Windows then you’ll need to substitute Microsoft approved or the likes for App Store). Several of the other comments are laced with common sense. “So the danger is not that someone outside can get into your machine: the danger is that anyone who has physical access to your machine can take it over.” The second paragraph is just a nice description of … Continue reading “Hacking is a business model”; some simple advice from an expert

This quote from Rana Foroohar on CNN this weekend makes one stop and think. A similar comment related to Connecticut (similar GDP to Greece) effectively bailing out any of the smaller southern US states every year. Why Greece Matters for Everyone It’s not that the economy of Greece itself matters so much–China creates a new Greece every six weeks–it’s that a Greek exit from the Eurozone calls into question the entire European experiment. Its easy to understate the importance of small economic areas, but they matter immensely within their geographic and economic context within which they belong no matter what … Continue reading Greece is important and so is Alabama

This interview with Thomas Piketty by Die Ziet is a landmark. As the interview rightly points out this 700+ page best seller has not been read beyond probably Page 26 by most of the purchasers. This is obvious to me by the book reviews. However this interview has two main aspects of interest: it highlights some economic history, history meaning anything previous to the last quarter, and that in which most folks have no interest. This stuff is not in the history books. Economic history is boring and unless you read Niall Ferguson, Thomas Piketty, or Kenneth Rogoff will not … Continue reading Piketty brings academic pragmatism to Greece debate

The whole music streaming thing is becoming one of the the next big things. There are lots of apps out there and when Apple announced Apple Music it seemed clear they could leap above the fray. This piece at recode exemplifies what has bothered me. Simplicity. In Battle of Streaming Music Services, Simplicity Is the Killer Feature In the battle of the streaming music services, when most of them can claim the same number of tracks, offline listening, a multi-platform approach and some basic cloud services, the standout feature might just be the least sexy: Simplicity. Of course there is … Continue reading Music and how we listen to it

Toronto is on the verge of a major step backwards as 2 days of court hearings on the City request to shut down Uber finishes. The judge is practically telegraphing a negative result by indicating this will surely go to Appeal, although Uber note they may not bother. Court hearing into City of Toronto’s request to shut down all of Uber’s operations wraps up after two days of arguments Continue reading City of Toronto asks court to shut down Uber

I’m watching Google I/O and some interesting developments. Watching on Apple TV and nothing blew up so far. Biggest item of note.  Mobile is not a section of the conference.  Mobile is the conference with Android front and centre.  There is much voicing between comparisons on iOS and Android and I’ll avoid that  here are some real differentiators from Google Some notes: Android pay- super simple especially when tied to fingerprint recognition. This outs pressure on hardware manufacturers to get on with this feature. type c USB support for Android sleep mode that provides long battery usage Watches – even … Continue reading Google I/O