Fading Mobile

I sure hope I am not slipping in my blogging. Work has been busy so i guess i have an excuse.

I was looking at the new windows 8 phones that are coming out, but then I was wondering if it might be a little too late for the windows mobile OS. The iOS and android operating systems have taken off so much over the past few years that I think that by the end of 2013, you wont see any new windows mobile devices.

As most of you know, the windows mobile OS was the first mobile OS on the market. The issue was people were trying to get their devices smaller and the windows mobile devices required a larger screen and a stylus to function. Most IT and tech folks realized the power of the mobile OS, but most people did not like the OS's GUI as it was too much like the desktop version of windows. The iOS changed the perspective by coming out with a mobile OS that was truly built for the mobile device. The buttons and on screen keyboard enabled the human finger to replace the stylus and showed people the power of mobile devices with larger screens.

In the recent year the windows mobile OS has changed the way it works to allow the removal of a precision stylus to operate the GUI, but iOS and android have been on the market for years now and are so far ahead that windows mobile may not be able to catch up.

We shale see if my prediction of 2013 will come true...

Dangers of the Internet

It has been a few days since I have posted out here.
I was reading online about a new virus/malware that is hitting the android os hard. I think the main issue out there is how much people trust third party apps/websites. Obviously if you download apk files from known sources it wont be an issue and since the list of known good sources is short (google market, amazon market, and apps you have developed) then the spread of this think should be short lived. But we know people don't do that.
I have been in the tech business for a few years and in that time I have found that when people get desperate to download an app for free (that's normally not) they don't care where it comes from. All they do is google for the app and as soon as they find a download site, they start clicking. Obviously, this is not safe and the best way to get your device infected. If an app requires you to pay for it, then pay for it. Its way to easy for someone to create an apk file, make it look like a wanted/popular app, and post it out on the web.
On another note, when there are a huge number of devices getting infected with a virus that already has had a fix released, it also proves that people don't have an app scanning program. Its not hard to get one and some of the good ones are free (lookout). The Internet is a very wonderful resource, but you have to protect your device against the part of that resource that wants to harm it.

UPDATE: Seems like lookout is saying that the virus is bogus. Symantec may not know what a virus on Android is

Cable Unplugged

Today a major ISP had an issue with a network router. This caused a packet routing issue that slowed traffic down. I affected a number of businesses in my area. It did not bring anyone's network to a stop, but it did slow the networks down. When an ISP has issues it can effect the entire Internet.
Back during the inauguration of Obama, the entire Internet came to a crawl and almost stopped. Almost every ISP stopped taking tech support calls till after the streaming event was over. It was the first major event that showed that if enough people try and access one feed or event it can cause issues. The power of the internet is amazing and can be very fragile. Even in its fragile state it has provided man with the fastest way to spread information.
With all this said, what we need to keep in mind that even though our network is slow because of people trying to access a streaming event. The Internet is still spreading information.

Data Everywhere, But Not Enough to Share

Mobile data use is on the rise and in a big way. The data requirement for the US alone is expected to rise by 1800% in the year 2012. Now I think its mainly caused by the massive use of the iPhone, as they tend to use more data than android devices. I don't know the cause of this but its a little off topic.

Before the introduction of the iPhone and Android devices the need for data on mobile devices was able to run on the similar back plane that phone companies did testing and maintenance with. This is mainly because devices were getting smaller and smaller as people wanted to fit their mobile phones into their pockets or smaller so the devices did not need high bandwidth. Only IT staff or mobile sales forces required the larger blackberry and windows mobile devices. Once Apple released its first iPhone that had the ability to be slimmer, more resilient to damage, a good quality touch screen, and a need for higher bandwidth. This started the climb back into larger screens to the point that now we have large 10.1 inch tablets that are run off a touch screen for its HID. The larger devices with more apps will drive the need for massive amounts of data.

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, & T-Mobile have realized that they could be in a tight spot. They are selling smart phones like crazy and are activating more deices than they can support. AT&T was the company to handle the iPhone first and their data network has shown the most stress. With dropped calls and loss of data connections, they made a bold move to try and purchase T-Mobile. The plan was to take the T-Mobile network and use it solely for data. This would have worked, except the federal government stopped the sale.

The bottom line is the expanding mobile technology may not have a network to run on except you home's wi-fi.

The SOPA Effect

With the SOPA bill shelved it brings attention to the effect the Internet has on the "real world". I was amazed at the almost instant result the strike had on congress and the main steam media. Many people did not even know that there was an actual rally of people outside capitol hill.

This outcome has opened up a whole new way to effect a government. Now I know that the Internet has had impacts before of the government, but not so quick or as massive. The strike essentially shut down a bill that has been worked on for months in a matter of hours and only a small percentage of websites participating. I do understand that google had a partial strike and wikipedia had a full strike, so that's two major sites, but its still a small amount.

What would have happened if there was a bill that was designed to allow a new health care bill and we had an 80% shutdown of the entire Internet to protest the bill. I am not sure that we could complete certain amounts of work done. I use Google on a regular basis at work to find answers to questions and search forums for feed back on new products. The strike would keep me from completing these tasks. I am certain that the way people use the Google engine it would stop many things from happening. It may be as simple as having a few 404 errors to change the path of a major bill in the US senate.

Thats some major food for thought.

Getting Started

Hey everyone, my name is Tom or Tomcom05 (TC05 for short). Getting this thing started is exciting, but enough with that and onto the good stuff!

The reason I am here on blogger posting is because I LOVE technology. I have been in the technology business since 2005, shortly after I graduated high school. I know quite a bit about technology and would like to share whats going on in the world of tech.

Since this is my first post, I will go over a little about what I will be sharing with the world and it all about tech news. The technology world is constantly changing, its like our knowledge of the universe. Just when you think we have found all there is to know about it, we find a new corner to explore. That's what I find the most interesting about technology, there is always something new! So, I hope to blog about the new exciting things up and coming or expanding technology's.

I tend to enjoy PC and Android more, so you may find that here more often. (sorry MAC users)

Anyway, I am out for now, but hope to see you back here soon.