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Personalized Politics

By Shelly Palmer | September 22, 2019

We have entered the age of personalized politics, and it is very important for us to understand what that means. In practice, there are as many candidates in the 2020 presidential race as there are voters with online access in the United States. Every candidate is a customized persona created specifically for us by a complex set of algorithms that very few people fully understand. This means we are all test subjects in an unprecedented sociopolitical experiment that, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me.

Zuck On The Hill

By Shelly Palmer | September 20, 2019

Mr. Zuckerberg went to Washington yesterday for private meetings with the President and several lawmakers. The meetings were private and Mr. Zuckerberg did not answer questions about specifics. However, according to the WSJ, Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) challenged Facebook’s CEO saying, “Prove that you’re serious… sell WhatsApp, and sell Instagram.” There is only hearsay […]

Roku Shares Get Hammered — There’s a reason (or two)

By Shelly Palmer | September 19, 2019

Roku shares closed down almost 14% on Wednesday and analysts are divided as to which new entry to the market pushed the shares off a cliff. Some say it was Facebook’s announcement that it was entering the streaming business with the reintroduction of its Portal device and associated services. Others say it was Comcast’s announcement […]

Amazon bets users will pay up for high-definition music streaming

By Shelly Palmer | September 18, 2019

Amazon announced a new services called Amazon Music HD. It will offer more than 50 million songs at CD quality and millions more tracks at even better than CD quality as part of a new tier to its streaming music service and cost $14.99/mo, or $12.99/mo for Prime members. Before you jump on this “incredible” […]

Your new iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G, but you shouldn’t care

By Shelly Palmer | September 17, 2019

You won’t see 5G on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro or any Apple iPhone until at least 2020. CNET reports that it’s because Apple and Qualcomm were too busy suing each other to get it done. While that may have had something to do with it, the most obvious reason is far more simple — […]

Motorola is making Android TVs too

By Shelly Palmer | September 16, 2019

It’s becoming a trend for smartphone brands to release TVs, as OnePlus, Xiaomi and now Motorola are doing it. OnePlus is due to unveil its own Smart TV this month, so Motorola effectively beat it to the punch. With all the hoopla around Apple TV+ (the service), I think it’s important to remember that Google’s […]

Online Dating in a World of Deepfakes

By Shelly Palmer | September 15, 2019

Facebook is getting into the dating game. Deepfakes are getting better and better. Put them both together and they present a potential reality as sinister as it is deceitful. Imagine online dating in a world replete with deepfakes.

Another high-flying, heavily funded AR headset startup is shutting down

By Shelly Palmer | September 13, 2019

Enterprise-grade AR headset builder, Daqri is getting ready to close its doors. The 10-year-old company has raised mored than $275 million and was concentrating on industrial applications for the nascent technology. “You can always tell who the pioneers are. They’re the ones with the arrows in their backs.” — Anonymous Politically Incorrect Person AR (Augmented […]

California Bill Makes App-Based Companies Treat Workers as Employees

By Shelly Palmer | September 12, 2019

California legislators approved a landmark bill on Tuesday that requires companies like Uber and Lyft to treat contract workers as employees, a move that could reshape the gig economy and that adds fuel to a yearslong debate over whether the nature of work has become too insecure. You can argue this two ways: 1) workers […]

In Defense of Apple — No, Really!

By Shelly Palmer | September 11, 2019

In case you missed it, Apple announced its new iPhone 11 line of smartphones yesterday. Here’s everything we know about the new devices and services featured in the press conference. I have been in an abusive relationship with Apple since the mid 80s. They keep torturing me and I keep buying their products. From the […]