Netizen

Friday, January 23, 2015

Data As Exhaust Fume

English: Dhoopkutty used to fume sandal powder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is so much data that is being generated and collected and not used for anything at all, data right now can safely be called exhaust fume. Some is being used, but most is not.

Just being able to map all that is being collected, let alone making sense of it, is an industry in itself.

Being able to map and then make intelligent use of -- now that is a big one. And hence the term Big Data.

Big Data use that does not compromise privacy will go a long way. Think of it as excellent customer service. Half the time they don't even ask what you want, they already know.

Monday, January 19, 2015

WiGig

English: WiGig Alliance Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I say, bring it on.

A Speedy Wireless Protocol Is Coming to Many Gadgets

The maximum speed of a wireless channel using the current 60 gigahertz protocol is seven gigabits per second (in perfect conditions). That compares to the 433 megabits per second possible via a single channel made using the most advanced Wi-Fi protocol in use today, which transmits at five megahertz. Most Wi-Fi networks use less advanced technology that operates even slower. ...... Whereas Wi-Fi devices blast their signal in all directions, WiGig ones use an array of tens of tiny antennas to point a beam toward the device they are connecting to. ..... WiGig technology will make it possible to transfer a full-length HD movie in just three minutes. ...... The 60-gigahertz signals also have some disadvantages compared to Wi-Fi. They are blocked by walls, ceilings, and floors (although they can be picked up after bouncing off obstructions). This means they can generally only be used between devices in the same room. ..... the frequency can provide high-speed links at distances of 100 meters or more outdoors ...... worked with Google to test it as a way to replace some cables inside large data centers. They also found that a 60-gigahertz device can use its beam like a radar signal to detect the position and size of nearby object .....“Tens of gigabits per second will definitely happen within the next couple of years”

Google Wave, Google Glass, Bitcoin, And Dot Com, Not Kim DotCom

This is an icon for social networking website. This is part of Open Icon Library's webpage icon package. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I remember being very excited about Google Wave, and it petered out. Google Glass I was not excited about. I mean, I wanted it, but on other people's noses. I just want a smartphone with three times more battery juice. Make that five. Bitcoin seems to be having a hard time. But I will not compare it to Google Wave, certainly not to Google Glass.

It is like the Internet went out of fashion in the late 1990s. But it came roaring back a few years later. I think the current slump in the Bitcoin concept is like that. And I hope the slump is not that deep, and it does not last as long. I hope people steer out of the slump fast. Because the basic concept is nothing short of revolutionary. It is sound.

Price Slump Tests Bitcoin’s Self-Correcting Economics

A Bitcoin is currently worth just over $200, down about one-third from where it began January. It peaked at more than $1,000 late in 2013. ..... Andresen says he wouldn’t be concerned even if half of miners suddenly gave up. “The result would just be one month where the average transaction took 20 minutes to confirm instead of 10 minutes,” he says. “For Bitcoin users that would be a minor nuisance not a major disaster.” ...... “The system is self-tuning and self-optimizing

Friday, January 09, 2015

Sky Room

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Are Google's Best Days Behind It?

Wi-Fi Signal logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love Google like some people love Apple. I have also said before Google is going to be the first trillion dollar company in history. But to get there they need fundamental businesses.

The driverless car could be one such business. Not an almost driverless car, but a completely driverless car. If they can do that, they will have added something as fundamental as search to their hat. And that would be big business.

Another part is connectivity, the business of taking more people online. I was yelling years ago that Twitter should make it possible for people to search through all tweets. I have been yelling that Google should be in a big hurry to take more people online, take all people online. Because Google is better positioned than anyone else to make money off of that. And Google has been moving oh so slowly there. They should be able to say, we are taking all seven billion plus people online, and here, we are willing to spend 50 billion dollars to that end. But no, they have been dragging their feet on this.

And it's not just people in poor countries. Right here in America they are not moving fast enough on Gigabit broadband, and on getting into the TV spectrum of taking WiFi to the masses. People using free or supercheap WiFi is good for Google. But they are moving so slow.

Some of the top stories today ask this question: Are Google's best days behind it? I don't think so, but Google needs to make some moves fast.