Category Archives: Technology

UPDATE: GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: U.S. SOPA & Protect IP Acts – Censorship of the Internet

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Note: This is an update to an earlier post that can be found here.
 
If you hadn’t heard already, tomorrow Wikipedia (as well as Reddit and other websites) will be going “black” to protest the SOPA and PIPA acts. These websites will be effectively be taken offline. See more about this: English Wikipedia Anti-SOPA Blackout
 
Google will also be protesting SOPA tomorrow on its home page. More information here. I’m very curious to see if they will change their logo!
 
From the ALA Washington Office:  PIPA, SOPA and OPEN Act Quick Reference Guide
 
Also, the Obama Administration has come out in a recent announcement against SOPA.
 
Interesting to note – you may not had heard about SOPA and PIPA in US mainstream media or on the US broadcast networks, as many of these organizations are in support of these acts. For a review, please see the infographic below.
 
Stay informed!
 

GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Google Search [You Disappoint Me]

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I wanted to bring to your attention the continuing demise of the quality of Google Search. This is just not my own opinion but the opinion of some others as well, as illustrated in the articles below. So I am advising you to be more critical using Google Search for your information needs. Why am I emailing you about this? It is our responsibility, as information workers, to be critical of the resources we use for ourselves and our clients and not always assume resources relied upon for years continue to be effective.
Google Search is swinging away from a pure search algorithm (which hasn’t been that great lately anyways due to Google’s “freshening” up their algorithm), to the inclusion of social results related to the topic searched on (Google+). That’s what that +1 means at the end of some of the search results links – Google integrating Google+ results into Google Search.  The Google+ tagline is “Google+: real life sharing, rethought for the web.
“What I dislike about Search plus Your World isn’t that Google has more deeply integrated social data on its search results pages. It’s that the search engine has gone overboard with Google+ in a way that makes me feel like I’m being force-fed a new social network. It’s too much, too soon.”
June 1, 2011 – Eric Schmidt: Google wants to get so smart it can answer your questions without having to link you elsewhere [original statement of intent for the future of Google Search]
January 12, 2012 – Google’s Search Update Could Warrant an FTC Probe [due to potential inclusion of personal information from Google+ in search results]
January 13, 2012 – Google+ Search Controversy Grows
How to Turn Off Google’s Personalized Search Results [I think if you have a Google+ account, which I don’t. I tried this procedure but I had no “personalized results” option in my settings.]
Great State of Search blog post: The Unexpected Backlash of Google Plus Your World.
Obviously, I don’t approve of the new changes but I’d love to hear your comments or even a differing opinion!

GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Top Technology Trends of 2011 Infographic

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Ok, I LOVE infographics in case you haven’t already figured this out. I like to mix these in between the more text-heavy emails.
 
Here is the original post. I am doubtful group buying will continue its popularity in 2012. Although there are other group buying companies, the largest one, Groupon, is having difficulty growing and there are rumours about its poor/infringing accounting and advertising practices.
 
I’m looking forward to Internet TV in 2012…hope to see the rumoured Apple iTV sometime this year – fingers crossed. 🙂
 
Enjoy!