Happy Turkey Day!

It seems that another Thanksgiving is upon us, and do you have any idea what that means? If you guessed a long weekend and plenty of leftovers, you’re right! So let’s start off the Turkey day with a new blog post!
I’d like to take this chance (because I haven’t posted since the news came out) to congratulate all of the employees of Google for getting a 10% raise. Now I know that every one of you that just read that sentence were imagining me using a LOT of sarcasm. Don’t. I am genuinely happy for Google’s employees. Why wouldn’t I be? I am a loyal Google-ite and I want to continue to see quality products produced by this team. Google made a lot of money this year, as they do every year, and their employees worked hard, so Google does the right thing by showing their appreciation for a job well done by providing raises. I’m just jealous that I don’t work for Google, or at least a company that shares the same values.

Now, the (former) employee that leaked the raise intel has been fired for doing so and I really feel bad for this guy. Yes, it was an inter-office memo from Eric Schmidt for Google employees only and leaking that memo was incredibly stupid, but firing him for it? Seems a bit harsh. Well..... if he was a quality employee, it seems harsh. If his superiors were just waiting for a good reason to fire him due to poor work, then that’s another thing. I don’t know anything about the guy, well except the fact that he is now unemployed. Happy holidays! I hear Facebook is hiring.

I mean really, is anyone genuinely mad at Google for giving raises this year? Am I mad at Google? How can I be? I don’t work there. People take offense to things that in no way affect their lives. What is wrong with us?

People aren’t very smart.

And if that offends you, then it’s most likely you that I’m referring to. You see, the internet has been buzzing lately with all this talk about privacy on the web, and how much information do you really have floating out there for anyone to see. There is a very simple answer to that question, and I know what it is. The amount of personal information about you that is floating out in cyberspace is the exact same amount as the information that YOU put there in the first place. Now, I know some of you are shaking your heads in disbelief but let’s just think about this. The most common information about you would be what? Your contact information. Name, address, phone numbers, etc. Do you have an email address? Then odds are, you have voluntarily given that information to the internet. Many websites that you have signed up with have required that you put in some personal information. Date of birth, gender, etc.  Almost all of the information that can be found about you online has been put there by……you. So who is to blame here? Is it the search engine that points people to what they are searching for? Or is it your fault for supplying the info in the first place?

Good idea? We’ll find out in 8 years.

Google has recently announced they have secretly been working on cars that drive themselves. Although Google is the first to admit that this is not a replacement for the driver, but more of another tool to be used… like cruise control. I think this is a fantastic idea, but sadly, even an optimistic view puts the mainstream use of it at least 8 years in the future. Dangit, I wanted to drive and text NOW! Seriously, this is a great idea and I hope it gets implemented into the cars of tomorrow.

I am part cyborg.

Not that that is a bad thing, but it’s something that I just realized. You see, our internet just went out (thanks Comcast, you truly are ‘comcastic’). I can only compare it to the 50’s and 60’s when everything was run on electricity, and if the power went out, your life was at a standstill until it returned. Sure I could go outside, or get in my car and go somewhere, but it is currently 11 o’clock on a Sunday night. The only reason I can blog is I can save a copy of this post locally on my laptop (YAY technology). So the thing about me being part cyborg isn’t a physical thing, but more of a mental one. Along with no internet, we have no TV. I can live without one, but if I go without both for too long, I start having withdrawal symptoms. Usually I can use my smartphone to go online, check email, and send texts whenever I am not near a computer, but it just so happens that my cell phone died earlier today. I have no idea what happened to it, but I will be visiting my nearest Verizon store at some point tomorrow to find out if they can fix it. I say “fix it” only because I can’t afford to get the Droid 2 yet, and my contract isn’t close enough to allow me to purchase it at the discounted price.
I think normal people would probably go to bed, or find a good book to read (as I see Jenna has done), but not me! No sir! I bring my laptop to bed, and while she is perfectly content to read her book, I am clacking away at my keyboard and talking about what happens when I am no longer connected to the virtual world and must live in the real one.

Blackberry's Playbook. What about the smartphones?

So Blackberry just made a rather large announcement introducing their newest product, the Blackberry Playbook. I don't have any official specs on it, but it looks to be around 7x5 inches and 9.77mm thick, according to the video feed. It has a 1080p non-proprietary HDMI port, supports Flash 10.1 (which was a very clear shot at Apple's iPad) as well as front & rear cameras.

Is this where we are heading now? Handheld tablets instead of smartphones? Would you rather carry around a bigger screen that can do a bit more than your current smartphone? I'm not so sure I would. I like having a phone that can fit in my pocket. Don't get me wrong, I love technology, and I'm always excited to see it moving forward, but do we really need tablet PC's? I'm know that in the years to come I will end up eating my words, but I don't see the appeal for them. I'm sure, 10 years ago, someone said they didn't understand the why you would want to get your email on your phone because you already got it on your computer. At least back then, getting email on your phone was a huge technological leap forward since you are no longer tethered to a computer. What are the benefits of a tablet? Sure, you can pair up the Playbook with your Blackberry phone, but now you have to carry around two devices. Who wants to do that? Sure, it has an HDMI port, which is great, but there are many other devices out there that already work with HD video so why should you shell out more cash for Blackberry's tablet? Call me crazy, but I just don't get it.

For those of you that have trouble remembering all your passwords (or those that use the same password for all your sites... you know who you are) take a look at LastPass.com. It's a password memory bank, and it works on all major Operating Systems and browsers. I've been using it as a Chrome extension for a couple weeks and am really enjoying it so far. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

*UPDATE*
The kind folks over at Crackberry.com have posted their review, along with specs and a video. Follow this link to go read it.