Kevin Mason's Blog

Article: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Facebook+fails+stop+bots+accessing+personal+information+study/5666344/story.html

Facebook has had its fair share of security bugs in the past. So much so that it has been dramatically trying to fix bug after bug. After the launch of another “foolproof” system, researchers at the University of British Columbia decided to put it to the test. And what do you know, the were able to use a “bot” (fake, computerized profile) to access hundreds of random people’s information. Phone numbers, emails, addresses, and other personal information is all at their fingertips. Oops.

But is it all Facebook’s fault? First off, in order for the “bot” to become friends with these people, the users had to accept it as a friend. And who would just randomly add someone on Facebook that you don’t know? As well, the users would have chosen to display all of their personal information on Facebook. Didn’t our parents always say “what goes up on the internet, stays on the internet; so be careful!” ? It seems to me that there is a lack of awareness of internet “precautions”, so to say. Anything on the internet is accessable, including personal information. Though Facebook may need to continue developing a stronger security system, internet users also need to be aware that there is a risk to displaying personal information.

Afterall, how many times have you stubbled upon a website that said “Congratulations! You’re the millionth visitor! Click here for $1,000,000 now!” Did you click on it? Most likely not. But did you click accept when John Doe added you? Absolutely. Woops.

Article: http://business.financialpost.com/2011/10/27/microsoft-rim-predict-the-future/

Technology has been rapidly evolving since the beginning of computers, and continues to grow faster and faster each year. If we think about 10 years ago, there were no iPhones, no 64GB flashdrives, computers were slow, there was no FaceTime or Skype, and the idea of a completely touch screen phone was impossible. And now, all of these “impossible dreams” have come true. And two of the leading IT Companies are predicting that technology will reach even farther levels.

Below are links to two videos; one from Microsoft and one from Blackberry. These are their predictions of the future only 5-10 years from now. Please watch these videos before continuing on with this blog post…

Microsoft ; Blackberry

Now can you believe that technology will move that fast within 10 years? It’s mind boggling! The future is looking very bright for IT companies. The companies that begin to develop these products will become the next Microsoft or Blackberry or Apple (assuming that these companies won’t produce it first). IT will become one of the biggest and most powerful industries in the world (not that it isn’t becoming that already).

Whoever develops this new technology will have to come up with it fast. Companies (potentially new and current) will be battling to develop this technology. If the corporations like Microsoft want to get ahead of the game, they will have to use their investments and develop this product before anyone else. It can show customers that they were the first to develop the product. Just like Apple with the iPod and iPhone, and Microsoft with the first personalized computer software.

After 9 years in the desert, the US is pulling out of Iraq. President Obama stated on Friday that the last American soldier will be crossing the Iraq boarder at the end of this year. The Iraq-American War is almost over.

But what does this mean for the US? First off, the US has been a War Economic Country since the dawn of time. They produce all of their war products in their own factories in the US; creating employment, production, and supporting the domestic economy. If there’s no war, the industry stops. If the industry stops, there’s higher unemployment, causing the economy to fall.

The question now, is who will the US declare war against now? With a falling economy, they’re going to have to keep their economy relatively stable. Will they go back to the Middle East area? The Mediterranean? I have a feeling that it won’t take long before we find out that Obama is declairing war against some other country for another warhead issue. Only time will tell.

Article: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/21/remaining-u-s-troops-to-pull-out-of-iraq-reports/

RIM’s founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis sent out a video
apology about the BlackBerry Blackout on Thursday, stating that RIM has done its
best to fix the problem, and is working on making sure it doesn’t happen again.
With an audience of 70 million BlackBerry users, Larazridis only asks for the
consumer’s trust in the once reputable business. But for some, it’s going to be
difficult to go back to a company where for 4 days customers couldn’t receive emails, texts, or phone calls.

For years, RIM has been known for its’ reliability. After the recent blackout, many people have begun questioning if they are able to
maintain this reputation. After brand positioning itself as the most reliable
tech company, it was a shock to find that BlackBerry users lost all
communication for such a long period of time. This major technical glitch has
caused many people to switch from BlackBerry to Apple’s iPhone or Google’s
Android phones.

RIM will face huge draw backs throughout the year. It will
have to do some major changes in order to reclaim its’ title. With numerous
business people connected through the BlackBerry server, they’re going to have
to think of something creative to make sure they gain the trust back from
businesses.

Article: http://business.financialpost.com/2011/10/13/rim-seeks-forgiveness/

Harry Potter has become a household name across the world since its first book – The Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s) Stone – was released in 1998. Since then, the Harry Potter franchise has been a huge success. Now that the series is coming to an end with the final DVD/Blu-ray release of the final Harry Potter movie, what will happen to the magic? Darren Zackus talks more about that in his article “The Magic of the Name – Will the Harry Potter marketing machine survive now that the books and films are done?”.

There are so many die-hard Harry Potter fans out there, the franchise couldn’t just die off. However, with the upcoming release of “The Hunger Games” (said to be the next generation of Harry Potter), the magic of Hogwarts may begin to fade away. Much like the beloved “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Star Wars” series, Harry Potter will be ranked amongst the beloved classic novels/films of the generations. It would be expected that all three of these classic series would eventually hit the big screen again decades down the road: much like how King Kong, Superman, Batman, and other previous classics decades ago have become a huge success now.

The franchise will just have to wait for a new generation to introduce the magical world of wizardry. Though the Potter excitement may die down over the years, and you may not religously watch Harry Potter movies twice a week or read the series 10 times over, the magic will still live on.

Just after the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, Steve Jobs lost his battle with cancer.

The beloved innovator, founder, and technological genius has left us more than we could have imagined. Revolutionizing technology with his “i” products, his charisma had charmed us; transforming the adult world to “little kids in a candy shop” with every new product. But will the hype continue?

Since the disappointment of the iPhone 4S (not the hyped-up iPhone 5), the stocks have dramatically dropped from 422.77 on September 20th to 369.80 on October 7th (see Apple Stocks link at bottom). To top that, the death of Steve Jobs had created drama and lost hope for Apple – much like the passing of Jack Layton of the NDP. The question is, what will happen now?

Tim Cook may be able to lead Apple through the darkness, but it will be no where near the leadership of Jobs. Jobs had ability to create a relationship between the company and the consumer through his sales pitches; something Cook is not known for. If Apple wants to keep their status as the most innovative IT company in the world, they’re going to have to make a bold move with the upcoming iPad 3. They may be “number 1” in our minds, but Google’s Android phone is a close second. Hopefully Cook can maintain Apple’s reputation.

Article: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/111377.html

Apple Stocks: http://www.google.ca//finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1318121960174&chddm=5892&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=NASDAQ:AAPL&&fct=big

Tim Cook gets to strut his stuff with the upcoming release of another iPhone. Taking over in August, Cook has taken the role of CEO at Apple Inc. It’s a huge step taking over Jobs; his dedication to the company and persuasive personality has sold us every Apple product. Cook will be very different. He’s not known for being a product pitcher. It will be a very different approach towards Apple’s products.

In a way, Steve Jobs was the face of Apple. His face would be beside the iPod, iPhone, and iPad at every sales speech. His guest appearences would bring crowds of thousands. And his sales pitches transformed a simple want to a desireable need. Much like Jack Layton and the NDP, it will take a little while to get used to the transition.

However, I highly doubt this will cause any difference in the number of sales of another brilliant iPhone. The amount of hype and excitement that was built up after the release of the iPhone 4 last year is still lingering as Apple fans are counting down the days. Jobs has done an excellent job at keeping this excitement. Hopefully Cook will be able to fit in his shoes and continue the company’s success.

Story: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Canada+urged+back+string+charging+stations+electric+vehicles/5461299/story.html

For years, we have tried to become a “greener society” by finding a substitute for fossil fuels. And we have. The problem however, is it’s cost and accessibility. But Electic Mobility Canada may have just taken a step to solve the problem.

Though electric cars seem like a great idea, they are extremely expensive and no one wants to wait for a 12hour charge at home. Electric Mobility has come up with a solution: kick-start a $15million dollar, cross-country, green highway that will have around 100 rapid charging stations for electric vehicles. If the proposal goes through, people will be able to charge their car within 15min at the station instead of 12hours in their garage. This accessibility could revolutionize the way we think about “green”.

This will cause people to seriously consider buying more electric vehicles. With easier accessibility, and later more powerful electric cars, it will open up a new world for fuel efficiency. Afterall, cars are not becoming any more fuel efficient than the original Ford Model-T. Sure they may be fast and flashy, but judging how rapidly technology is evolving, the 300 horsepower electric engine will arrive faster than you think.

The government should take the risk of spending $15million to give it a try. What if Canada became the leader in a souly electric-powered movement?

Article: Has 9/11 Changed Business Ethics? (http://sustainablebusinessforum.com/craneandmatten/53995/has-911-changed-business-ethics)

The article states that 9/11 has changed the way of US business ethics by disrespecting and abusing the people through privacy, government spending, and enthic discrimination. Here they are in point form:

Privacy: – started looking at/into personal emails, phone conversations, financial records, tax statements, just to name a few

Gov’t Spending: – spent trillions of dollars towards war, taking funds out of health care, education, and other public services; leading to the 2008/09 deficit

Discrimination: – irrational assumptions that all middle-eastern people are terrorists; also tightens security on all foreigners (Indian, Asian, Middle-Eastern, etc) (ex “random boarder checks” & not hiring employees because of their ethnicity)                                  – US letting fewer foreigners in for Post-Secondary Education; Canada and UK receiving more intelligent international students because their US educational pursuits were shot down.

Yes 9/11 was a huge turning point. Yes it was extremely shocking and catastrophic. But the “homeland security” ordeal went too far. Sure you’re protecting the nation, but to go and discriminate others and say “its for the good of the war” is uncalled for, and simply unethical. We may have gotten past the segregation of African-Americans, but we still have racial issues/tensions to deal with. This is not healthy in both society, or the work force.

This is the first time I’ve used a blog. I’ve never had twitter or anything blog based at all. This should be interesting. I’m not too sure how a normal blog should be/look like, so I’ll just give it my best shot…

University!!! Glad I’m out of high school and beginning an amazing journey at UBC. It’s a little overwhelming still, but I’m starting accept this place as home. The biggest anxiety for me is the amount of work, and having to balance both work and social life. I’m sure once I get into a pattern it will go smoothly.

I’m excited to start Comm 101’s course. I’m not quite sure if I’m comfortable using a blog just yet, but I have a feeling I’ll get used to it eventually. The difficulty will be getting into the habit of using this blog at least once a week (and trying to find something intellectually stimulating to talk about). But we’ll see how it goes.