More PWC citizens for the sex offenders registry

MoonHowler

 

Every once in a while I just have to be cruel.  But take a look at these toads.  Do any of us want our children associating with these creeps in any way?

Operation-Suspects-300x233

According to Bristowbeat.com:

A joint proactive operation between April and May 2015, targeting individuals soliciting minors for sexual acts online, concluded with the arrest of seven individuals, one from Gainesville.

This operation, conducted by members of the Northern Virginia/DC Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including detectives from the Prince William County and Manassas City Police Departments, was not in response to any specific incident and did not involve actual children.

“Undercover detectives used an undisclosed online site and posed as underage juvenile females,” police spokesperson Officer Jonathan Perok said. “As a result of the investigation, multiple men contacted the undercover detectives and, during the course of communications, solicited sexual acts.”

Perok said these conversations took place through electronic means over the course of multiple days.

“In each of the incidents, the suspect made arrangements to meet the undercover detective at a public location in Prince William County,” he said. “Once there, members of the task force arrested the individual without incident.

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iphone 6 and iwatch: Are you ready?

MoonHowler

September 9 is a huge day! The iphone 6 will be announced tomorrow at 1 pm here (10 am Pacific time). Apple fans are also hoping the promised iwatch will also be announced.

Do you plan on upgrading? I am an apple fan but I collect stocks and ipads. I am an android user when it comes to phones. (sleeker, more flexibility, swyping and a larger screen)

Tomorrow is also Harvest Moon. I plan to go out with family and friends to my favorite Asian restaurant, just for good luck. Its just one of those ritualistic things I like to do. Harvest moon is also a good time to welcome my favorite season.

Apple iphone 5: Fired up, ready to buy?

MoonHowler

Is everyone fired up, ready to go?  Change that to ready to buy.  APPLE’s long awaited  event will be tomorrow, September 12.  Perfectly choreographed, the powers-that-be at Apple will entice the faithful and hold them on tenterhooks while they introduce  new products, to… just one more thing…Steve Job’s signature expression.

Apple aficionados expect the iphone 5 to be unveiled.  There is a slight chance that the mini ipad will be introduced.  Or…Tim Cook could fool us all.

Size still counts.  Important questions will be about screen size, battery life and what you can watch on it.   Perhaps there will be new features we haven’t thought of.  Jobs defined what we want.  He made us want things we did not know existed.

The event begins at 10 am Pacific time.  Meanwhile, investors were jittery and the stock closed around $2 less, down to $660 a share.  that is not untypical for APPLE stock.

Are you planning on buying the new iphone 5 regardless of what it has?  I think I might have to take the plunge but not right away.

I think if I were a betting woman, I would bet on one more thing….a new companion ipad.

 

 

E-books or Print- books?

MoonHowler

Everyone seems to have an e-reader.  The only adult I know who doesn’t have one is that resident techno-tard over here, Mr. Howler.  So how popular are e-readers and with whom? 

Kids don’t seem all that interested in them.  Schools don’t allow them here in the county (Leave your electronics at home) and often the books kids are forced to read aren’t available on Kindle, Nook or Ipad.  There is also the idea of a specific publisher for student books.  God forbid that anyone reading The Crucible isn’t reading the ‘designated copy.’   Being on the same page takes on a new dimension in schools.  Little kids love e-readers but most people aren’t going to go out and get a 6 year old their own ipad as an e-reader.

That leaves adults.  Who really likes the e-reader and whose habits has it changed?  Who really likes holding a real book and turning its pages so much that they will not use an e-reader?  I have heard several people flat out refuse to go with an e-reader just because they love touching a real book and turning its pages.  Someone even told me they would miss the smell. 

Commuters and travelers seem to love e-books more.  E-readers fit right in a purse, briefcase or backpack and weigh far less than most books.  You can even take more than one book along for the ride without weighing yourself down.  The convenience of unlimited books in something weighing less than a pound is just nirvana for a  week at the beach or someone who is trying to pack light. 

What are some advantages of e-books that you just can’t get from a real book?  E-books have adjustable print size.  This attribute is critical to someone like me who gets tired eyes and who has presbyopia.  The longer the day gets, the larger the print is needed.  Many folks also love the instant gratification part of e-reading.  For someone like me, I get too much accumulated that hasn’t been read.  I used to do that with real books also though. 

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Fire!!!! The new Amazon Kindle Fire

MoonHowler

Amazon released a fleet of new Kindles today.  The reader is now $79, and the new Cadillac of the line is the Kindle Fire for $199.  It isn’t quite an ipad but it appears to be a pretty impressive device.  It is a reader, a web surfer, has its own email client, it has Flash, brings in thousands of Netflix and TV shows, performs other miracles.  It is 7 inches and weighs in around 14 oz. 

Techies don’t expect it to give the ipad much competition.  However, Nook and the rest of the readers out there need to hold on to their wares because the Kindle Fire will be out Novemeber 15.  It does not have 3G but what do you want for $199?   Jeff Bezos announced the new productsWednesday and made it sound like something everyone wanted.  Kindle’s prices are looking good,  I might have to trade in my old ancient dinosaur Kindle on one of these new babies. I always said I would resist, but then again, I haven’t met a new gaget I didn’t like.  On the other hand, the new iphone 5 is being announced next week.   That is where the real dilemma will be.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will have swype or something similar. 

Features, Advantages Benefits of Kindle Fire

Are you being tempted by a Kindle?  Can a person justify a new Kindle Fire if they already have an ipad, a Kindle 2 and a Droid x phone?

 

Another new prejudice–redheaded sperm donors

MoonHowler

It’s official.  The latest prejudice is now red headed sperm donors.  No one wants red headed off-spring it appears.

According to the Washington Post (and lots of other ‘accordings’):

According to The Telegraph, by way of Gawker, the world’s largest sperm donor bank has revealed that, despite Christina Hendricksstar turn at the Emmys, it has begun turning down red-headed sperm donors.

Ole Schou, Cryos’s director, told the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet :

“There are too many redheads in relation to demand. I do not think you chose a redhead, unless the partner — for example, the sterile male — has red hair, or because the lone woman has a preference for redheads. And that’s perhaps not so many, especially in the latter case.”

Cryos serves clients all over the world, so their findings of bias is international.

There is one place where little red heads are wanted and that is Ireland.  Should we be surprised?   Red hair and freckles are always welcome on the Emerald Isle.   Meanwhile, there is no crime in excluding certain attributes from sperm banks.   Prospective parents can always express a preference and it isn’t red heads! 

Ethical questions will always plague medical technologies.  Are there any taboos that parents should not get to select?

 

An American iconoclast passes the mantle

MoonHowler

 

 We all knew this day would come.  We dreaded it.  Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has decided to step down immediately.  Steve Jobs is an American iconoclast and culture changer.   He  and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer  in Jobs’  parents’ garagen in 1976. 

It has been one wild ride, through the end of the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, into the 21st century, from that big clunky Apple II to the sleek and sexy ipad and iphones.  He became an arbiter of our tastes.  He had vision.  He saw things that we didn’t even know existed.  He made us want things yet unseen.

Jobs has  been ill.  He has has a rare form of pancreatic cancer as well as a liver transplant.  His health is very fragile and he announced he can no longer handle the job.  He will serve as chairman of  the board of directors of Apple.   Jobs stated:

“I hereby resign as CEO of Apple,” he wrote. “I would like to serve, if the board sees fit, as chairman of the board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. 

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.”

Steve

  

The tech industry  reacted violently over the Jobs’ abrupt resignation and Apple stock (aapl) dropped instantly,  over $17 a share in overnight trading.  The question now becomes whether or not Jobs is so integral to the company that his absence creates a weak link or has his genius set up a business paradigm that can weather his absence from the helm.  Only time will tell.  Meanwhile, expect some tech and industrial aftershock.  

 An authorized biography will come out in November.  

For a brief, picture biography of Jobs’ career see USAToday.

Introduction to McIntosh in 1984.   Jobs’ introduction of new products always became a world class event.

 

 

It’s official! Ipad trumps big oil

MoonHowler

It’s official now.  Ipad trumps big oil.  Here’s the story from the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Its lineup of sleek phones, computers and iPods, irresistible to customers even in tough economic times, propelled it to the No. 1 position by market value Wednesday, surpassing Exxon Mobil. Apple’s stock on the open market is now worth more than any other company’s.

Apple’s stock fell for the day, but Exxon’s fell more. Apple finished with a market value of $337 billion, beating Exxon’s $331 billion. A single share of Apple stock now costs $363.

Apple occupies a rarefied spot once held by General Electric and Apple’s own rival Microsoft. Exxon had held the top spot since 2005.

The power shift is a substantial milestone for Apple, which has enjoyed a triumphant comeback since the 1990s, when it struggled to stay afloat before its co-founder Steve Jobs returned to take the helm.

But it’s not just the comeback. Gleacher & Co. analyst Brian Marshall says Apple is giving investors something that has never been seen before. Apple’s numbers are huge, with $30 billion in revenue in the latest quarter, for example. Yet Marshall said the 35-year-old company is “growing like a startup.”

“Even in 2008 and 2009 Apple grew like a weed and the world was coming to an end,” Marshall said.

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Enough Weiner, Let’s try Jobs, Steve Jobs that is….

MoonHowler

 

The Daily Beast:

Paul Sakuma / AP Photo

Steve Jobs officially launched Apple’s new free iCloud service on Monday, which will replace its $99 a year MobileMe document-sharing plan. “We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud,” Jobs said at Apple’s World Wide Development Conference in San Francisco. The iCloud will store music and other documents on large digital servers instead of your own hard drives, and users can connect to the network anywhere they have internet access.

Now this sounds neat!  Free cloud space.  What is it supposed to do?  Inquiring minds want to know.  More importantly, will it jump-start the Apple stocks that have been laggards lately?

Today’s the iday for the Verizon iphone

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost.com:

Will Google’s Android operating system suffer from Verizon’s recent iPhone acquirement?

AT&T’s exclusive-until-now agreement with Apple has meant that tech-hungry Verizon loyalists turned en masse to Android and Blackberry devices to cater to their smartphone needs. Recent figures have shown Android making rapid gains in market share in the past six months, mainly at the expense of Blackberry.

The pricing and specs of Android smartphones are comparable with the iPhone, but the battle between their respective fans often seems to have more to do with subjective factors and personal preference than actual technical superiority. Both phones perform similar functions involving music, wireless internet access, and applications, though proponents of either will gladly nitpick about the specifics.

Many suspect that the addition of the iPhone to Verizon’s roster will steer new buyers and upgrade-eligible customers away from the Android. Some believe that the Verizon iPhone may steal away around two million Android phone sales in the coming year.

So, how many folks have been unwilling to give up their Verizon wireless to get an iphone?  I was one of those people.  Now I am not sure I even want one.  I think I am at the point where I want my phone to make phone calls.  I also like the slide out querty keyboards.  Iphone doesn’t have one.  Will Verizon iphone hurt the Droids and the blackberries?  Is the iphone just a small ipad that makes phone calls?   What can an iphone do that an ipad can’t do?  I can only think of 2 things:  make phone calls and take pictures. 

So tonight’s the night.  Orders for the new verizon iphone start being taken at 3 am for existing customers.   Who will be taking the plunge?

 

Rumors and Secrets! Save the Day February 3

MoonHowler

Shhhhh!  Rumor has it that Verizon will announce January 11th that they will begin selling the iphone on February 3.  The rumor is unconfirmed and is built on deduction rather than anything else.  This date would be just in time for Valentines Day (or a late Ground Hog Day’s present).

The mystery also involves LTE 4G.  Will Verizon iphone be part of the 4G network or will it be 3G?    Prognosticators are betting on 3G for the business community.  From Jim Aimonetti @  cnet.com:

Were Apple to limit the Verizon iPhone to LTE customers, it would minimize market penetration and lose out on most of Verizon’s subscriber base. Until 4G is more prevalent, Apple will most likely stick to CDMA-based versions of the iPhone. I wouldn’t expect an LTE version until 2012 at the earliest.
How many people will be switching from AT&T to Verizon?  Who has waited for iphone to come to Verizon? [M-H raises her hand.]  Does a person really need an iphone and an ipad?
Read more at Crave blog

 

Nook vs Kindle: What it is and what it ain’t

MoonHowler

There has been great controversy on the blog over the various strengths and weaknesses of the 2 most popular e-readers: Nook and Kindle.  Kindle was the first major e-reader and it is Amazon’s baby.  Nook, of course, is the Barnes and Noble version. 

The main difference in Kindle and Nook Color is Kindle is e-ink.  E-ink can be read outside without the blindness associated with glare and it is easier on the eyes, especially compared to the LCD screen of Color Nook.  Kindle also has more titles and the books are somewhat less expensive.  Both Kindle and Nook can be used on the Ipad and on a regular computer.

 

The Nook

 

 

And now the Kindle:

 

There is a comparison chart on CNET for Kindle and Nook.  Scroll down when you get to the page. 

Additionally, there is an excellent video on Nook in the Washington Post.  I can’t get it to embed.  (iframes issue)

The ipad has not been compared.  There is  no comparison.  An ipad will serve as an e-reader.  I am aware of ibooks, Kindle and Nook.  It may have apps for other e-readers also.  An ipad is much heavier, larger, and most importantly, costs at a minimum, twice as much.  If all you want is a reader, don’t get an ipad.  Now if you want a really neat device…well…that’s another post for another day.