So You Want a Verizon iPhone…
March 8, 2011 by Nate Traiser · Leave a Comment
You may remember our announcement in January rejoicing with the rest of America that Verizon now carries the iPhone! Well it turns out that the nation’s largest carrier might have nailed their own foot to the floor. In 2008, Verizon accepted the contingencies that were attached to the wireless spectrum offered by the FCC in which they spent $4.7BIL. Their plan was to continue building out their 4G network, but here’s where the nail comes into play. This spectrum must be used with “open access.” This mean that the carrier is required to allow the use of any hardware or software on the mobile device. Our dear friends at Google requested that the 700Mhz spectrum remain open access as to not hamper business. Google was in the bidding war with Verizon. Their plan was to create an open network that would allow a consumer to buy any phone that met open standards with no interference by a carrier. Verizon fought this but did not win. While Verizon did win the bidding war, Google’s open access request was also honored. This decision eliminates the use of the iPhone which is clearly locked down by Apple’s design and which runs applications only approved by Apple.
In the meantime, Verizon continues to offer its LTE network (a form of 4G) that currently only supports Android phones. While AT&T had their exclusive contract with Apple, this network move allowed Verizon to buddy up with Google. So while the two giants have differing opinions on what “open access” means, Verizon users will have to get their iPhones without 4G for the foreseeable future. Apple is known for maintaining control over their products. So don’t expect them to change their hardware just for Verizon until they can figure out their 4G network issues.
TIP: Opt out of all tracking cookies
February 24, 2011 by Dominik Toepfer · Leave a Comment
While it’s no secret that Greystone employees love their baked goods, we draw the line when it comes to a more obnoxious type of cookie – the online tracking variety.
But wouldn’t you know it, tracking cookie companies – as a gesture of good faith – allow you to opt out of their tracking services. Tracking cookies are used by online advertisers to track your online activity between different websites so they can better sell you to their clients. While this won’t prevent you from receiving web ads, the network from which you opted out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your Web preferences and usage patterns, nor will they be tracking your online activity. Just head on over to this link and opt out of the companies you don’t want to track you.
*Photo source.
Spring Cleaning: Computer monitors and keyboards
February 22, 2011 by Jamie Stanislav · Leave a Comment
Photo Credit*
Spring is upon us and, if you’re like me, the bug to begin cleaning has you itching to rejuvenate your office. After cleaning off your desk, organizing files and general office pick up, you may be left with a dusty, smudged computer monitor and keyboard from the long winter months. It’s recommended that the average user should clean their equipment twice a year, but where to start?
Can you hear me now?
February 17, 2011 by Matthew Lindahl · 1 Comment
Traditional, bulky cell tower
Alcatel-Lucent has developed a new technology to hopefully get rid of those unsightly cell towers scattered across the country-side and in the middle of cities. They’re using a technology which significantly reduces the size of current cell towers.
They are set to introduce their “lightRadio cube” at the Mobile World Congress, which started Monday, February 14th of this year. The new device is about the size and shape of a Rubik’s cube, and can be put in any location there’s a power and network source. This could mean we would see them on the side of buildings, in buildings, and even in your house once the technology is proven. This could definitely change the way coverage is applied today, in addition to adding speed to wireless networks as a whole.
There are a few hurdles still left to overcome, with price being the greatest one. But, if more companies and more carriers start to use this new technology, it’s only a matter of time before cost is no longer an issue. Other companies have already started to develop similar ideas which use the existing broadband Internet infrastructure to connect homes to cellular companies’ networks, by way of an additional wireless router or even USB connections.
This technology could provide rural communities or buildings typically notorious for less than optimal coverage, with the high-quality coverage you would expect in an urban setting. Another benefit is the power consumption of the cell phone itself. When there are multiple cell phones trying to communicate with a tower, or the distance between the phone and tower is too great, the cell phone must extend its power consumption to compensate and be “heard.”
Personal Blocklist: the answer to your search engine filtering dreams.
February 15, 2011 by Scott Kerr · Leave a Comment
Ever get tired of the same poor-quality sites coming up for your search engine queries? As effective as Google usually is, it hasn’t always been successful in stopping search spam from content farms. Enter the Personal Blocklist. This extension for Google Chrome allows you to block specific websites from displaying in search results.
While you can instantly enjoy the benefits of blocking any site you choose, when you do so, the URL of the site in question is sent to Google for analysis. Time will tell whether or not this information will be incorporated into their search algorithms in the future to produce higher quality results but it is a step in the right direction.
Would you survive a national internet outage?
February 10, 2011 by David Brown · Leave a Comment
When the Egyptian Government shut off the internet in an effort to prevent further protests, the US and the rest of the world took part in a unified thought – “What if our government shut down our internet?” Some experts say that it’s not possible. Still others say that it could very easily happen in the right circumstances. Debating aside, it’s important to be prepared so that you don’t lose communication friends and family. Already thinking about such a crisis, this writer posted a great link with some ways to keep in touch if the internet were to go down on a national level. Check it out here.
Bing: A cheap Google imitation
February 8, 2011 by Dominik Toepfer · Leave a Comment
I knew there was a reason I didn’t like Bing and it’s because they cheat. Here is a great write up of how Bing was caught steal search results from Google by creating fake searches and results.
Well beyond the human eye.
February 3, 2011 by Byron Williams · Leave a Comment
Photo compliments of nasaimages.org
While today’s blog article isn’t exactly tech-related, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share something mind-blowing that I read lately. A recent discovery by the famed Hubble Space Telescope has led researchers to believe that they have found the most distant gallery to date! How far you ask? Try somewhere in the neighborhood of 13.2BIL light-years away! That’s right, b-i-l-l-i-o-n!
What was puzzling to me at first was that the Hubble Space Telescope is capable of detecting light from as far away as 480MIL years. So how did it see a galaxy over a billion years away? Astonishingly, the Hubble is capable of seeing back into time (Unfortunately, they are still unable to bring back your favorite mix tape from the 80’s). In actuality, we are not actually seeing these objects in real time; rather we are just seeing the light given off by them. This concept can be made clearer by visiting NASA’s website or one of their many Flickr pages.
For much more detailed information about seeing through time, also referred to as measuring a galaxy’s “redshift,” go to Wikipedia and geek out to your heart’s desire!
Advice for those of you with Blackberries and/or Apples…
February 1, 2011 by Byron Williams · Leave a Comment
Google: Under New Management
January 27, 2011 by Matthew Lindahl · Leave a Comment
Sergey Brin and Larry Page together founded the behemoth we all know as Google back in 1997. After pressure from Venture Capitalists years ago, Eric Schmidt was named CEO as a move to bring leadership to the vast company. Fast forward to today.
Even though Google had the largest Q4 profits of their 12-year history this past quarter, they have decided to bring one of the founders back into the CEO role. Eric Schmidt will still continue to play a key role at Google as the Executive Chairman, but Larry Page, 37, will be returning to his throne.
This change in structuring won’t take effect until April of 2011, with Larry Page wanting to return to the startup-business mentality. I’m sure he will hit the ground running, and we as bystanders can only dream about what new, great, and useful things will come out of the walls of Google, Inc., with Larry Page at the helm.
