A comment on online privacy

Tech Crunch

       


      Once in a while I see an article on tech crunch that makes me feel like leaving a reply to give people other perspectives than the already have. This article Selling Digital Fear was well written i must admit and honestly  Josh makes some good arguments in his article and i agree. But I saw on comment that made me pause and think about his point and i decided to leave a reply


       I don't have his permission to post his comment on my blog but in summery he felt that people should be more worried about the government spending lot of money to spy on citizens and rather shouldn't be worried about tech companies requiring their data in order to function.




So I left this reply.


        Seems like you don't really get the problem with online privacy. The Government doesn't need to work hard on spying on you anymore they just ask your social networks to give all needed information on you as a matter of national security very simple. Companies like Facebook make their work so much easier. Think about it, if you feel people should be worried about their government spying on them then you should be worried about Facebook having all that information available. Secondly the government is not the one that runs America. It is the big and wealthy corporations (big tech companies included) that pay lobbyist to set the agenda for the nation. You cant deny it, its the big corps that rule and they know all about you. I agree with everything that Josh says but privacy concerns for users are bigger than that.

Your thoughts.

Today's Bit of Wisdom

“A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”

Confucius

       I once heard a motivational speaker say this in another form. He said 

“its a good idea to over deliver”, 

     and that is what I will like to dwell on. Its not strange to here people talk about things they know they cannot do, fearing that being honest will cause them to loose that contract or that job. The world is filled with a lot of people lying about who they are and desperately trying to keep up appearances. I am sure you have come across such people and if you haven't probably you are the one I am talking about.

       As much as people would like to defend such behavior, over delivering is a better way to go about life. As much as possible think about doing more than what you said you were going to do. There are times where it helps to reach for goals that are bigger than you and we can talk about that in another blog post but using that strategy 24/7 will certainly set you back. As much as possible when you are working with people especially in any kind of business it is better to set a realistic target and then plan towards doing better than the target you set. This strategy will win you more friends, customers and certainly more business. Why? Because people would tend to trust you more and more.

     I don't think I have to go any further in convincing you to integrate this in your overall strategy for succeeding life.  




image by Salvatore Vuono

The Nokia Lumia 900 [windows phone]

Nokia Lumia 900  
- image from  nokia.com

The Nokia Lumia 900 will be launched soon and really soon. I was thinking to myself that I might just take sometime to announce it on my blog just in-case some people have not heard about it.

I am not going to lie to you but I have not used it personally but I cant wait to get my hands on it.

So far the reviews on this phone have been very positive and most people in the industry think this would be the one to finally give windows phone the push that it needs to enter the Smart Phone OS market.

Features

• Operating System: Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
• Memory: 14.5 GB
• Camera resolution: 8 megapixels
• Display Resolution: 800 x 480 pixels
• Display Resistance: Scratch Resistant Gorilla Glass
• Video: 720p video
• Integration with Xbox

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango to me is a really interesting OS that is definitely different in every way from the competition. Microsoft did a good job with it and I think they have a winning formula with this Mango release. The Lumia 900 comes with everything that you would need in a smart phone and the price of $99.99 is worth having a look at.

With windows phone's share of the market being insignificant and RIM's (Research In Motion: the makers of Black Berry) share falling to rivals like Android and iOS, this should definitely be the phone that changes the game for Windows Phone. In my opinion, a lot of the success of Windows Phone and Microsoft up coming Windows 8 depends on this phone. If Lumia 900 is successful then I think windows would now have the right kind of hardware manufacturer that would be able to showcase the beauty of the new Windows ecosystem that Microsoft is building.

If you are still one of those who think that Microsoft's windows phone SUCKS, then I think you should try this this phone. At $99.99 there is no reason why you shouldn't try this.

For a more Detailed Review Check CNet

Today's Bit of Wisdom

“Adopt the pace of Nature: Her secret is patience.”

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

      Patience is like wine, it gets better with time. In today's fast paced world of instant gratification, it is difficult to tell someone to have patient when making decisions but I have come to realize that in life the decisions that matter the most, are those that require patience to reap the best results. If you are a value investor you would know this. Making decisions that only take into account the short term future usually end in disaster. You must have patience if you really want the most out of life. 

       So, slow it down, take sometime to reflect on what your long term future should look like then make your decisions. Like wine, the results of good decisions get better with time and you will need patience to get the best out of life. 

Nothing really important comes fast, it will always require time and patience.  

image by Salvatore Vuono

Rick Santorum Might Give In Soon [The Republican Race for the Presidential Nominee]

I usually wouldn't go ahead and make a prediction about the presidential race but its obvious by now that Mitt Romney will be the most likely person to run against Barack Obama in November. Yesterday Mitt Romney went a step closer to achieving the inevitable by securing victories in Wisconsin, Washington D.C. and Maryland. . Rick Santorum couldn't even win in his so called Strong Hold of Wisconsin.

   This race has dragged on for months and a lot of people have either told Rick Santorum to give up the race so the party could concentrate on taking on Barack Obama or giving their endorsement to Mitt Romney in an attempt to end the Race soon enough. On the issue of the race taking too long I don't think is that bad for the republican party it only creates a better candidate in my opinion at least I can agree on this issue with Rick Santorum who is still determined not to give up the fight.

   But this is the point in the race where I think Rick Santorum gives up and Mitt Romney is declared the presidential Candidate for the republican party. He said he wouldn't give until the Mitt Romney had reached the amount of delegates required to be declared winner. But I really believe that he would throw in the towel this time around. It seems a little pointless to go on at this point. Rick Santorum has fought hard and its time he gives the nod to Mitt Romney.

   So that's my prediction, this week Rick Santorum throws in the towel. I know what you might be thinking that Rick Santorum still has a chance to reach the 1,144 delegates. It sounds possible but I think the pressure is mounting on Santorum and soon he would give in, maybe not this week but soon. Romney now has 646 delegates and Santorum has 272. Its still a long way to go and Santorum might just be fancying his chances of overtaking Mitt Romney. That is highly unlikely and it would take a major slip up by Mitt Romney to put Santorum in pole position.

    What do you think about the Republican race for the Presidential Nominee. Will Santorum bow to pressure or will he continue the fight until the end?

Today's Bit of Wisdom

“You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you are not smiling in a regular basis, try another choice.”

By Steven D. Woodhull

I really don't have to do any further explanations here. Its just self explanatory.

Simply, if you are not happy with your life you have a choice to keep yourself in that state or a choice to change it. There is always a choice and that is a truth that you shouldn't forget. There is always a possibility and an opportunity to change your current state, its up to you to make the choice to keep on looking for a better state than your current one.

Your life right now is your choice. To put it clearly your life is based on your choices. Its all in your hands and you have the power to choose what you want.

image by Salvatore Vuono

Already Dead(2007) [Movie Review]

My thoughts

I loved this movie a lot. Action packed with all the explosions you want in a movie. It however of the highest quality you would want. But it was still fun to watch. Any one who loves action movies and is not really interested in seeing big named actors will love it. I am not saying that Til Schweiger is not a big name actor but when you watch it you will understand. The story is one of betrayal and deceit, and the loss of a son that drives a man to to do anything to kill his sons killer.

My rating would be 5 out of 10 mainly for its entertainment value but in-terms of the content not really up there but it was worth watching. It didn't go above five because its not the sort of movie that you think of watching again(just my point of view).