The Internet is abuzz with discussions about the dangers of smart phones and driving these days. There’s Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s VirginiaTech Transportation Institute’s (that’s a mouthful) recent “New Data Provides Insight Into Cell Phone Use and Driving Distraction” study (http://www.vtti.vt.edu/PDF/7-22-09-VTTI-Press_Release_Cell_phones_and_Driver_Distraction.pdf) as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study from way back in 2003 that was only recently fully released (http://blogs.consumerreports.org/files/status-summary.pdf) thanks to some investigative reporting by The New York Times.

 

There was no need for secrecy on the NHTSA’s part—there really isn’t any reason for the big hoopla about any such study. It’s all common sense, really. But that doesn’t stop so many people from doing it anyway.

 

The Basic Facts

 

So according to the NHTSA’s 6-year-old study, driving while using a cell phone increases the risk of having a crash—even if it’s hands-free. Granted, hands-free is less dangerous than traditional cell phones (particularly if you can voice dial in lieu of dialing by hand), but I’ve heard people claim that hands-free isn’t dangerous at all because, as they state casually, “What’s the difference between that and talking to a passenger in your car?”

 

Well, unless your passenger is totally oblivious, he or she can see the traffic around you and knows when to stop talking if you’re making a risky turn or approaching a dangerous intersection. A passenger can point out things you might not have noticed, like a wild dog running on the loose or a group of kids playing dangerously close to the road. Chances are you’ll feel more obligated to concentrate on and continue a phone conversation (since the person you’re talking to may be confused if you stop talking to pay better attention to your surroundings) than one you’re having casually with a passenger, particularly if you’re on the phone for business.

 

There are those basic facts and then there’s the fact that phones have become more developed since 2003. Let’s take texting for example. The number of text messages Americans sent in a year doubled between 2001 and 2004 from 250 billion to 500 billion and doubled yet again through 2008—to one trillion! Obviously, more people are texting now than they were in 2003.

 

And guess what? The VirginiaTech study found that while talking on a cell phone while driving increases your risk of a crash by 1.3 and dialing a cell phone increases your risk by 2.8, texting on your cell phone increases your risk of getting into an accident by 23.2. Another (closed road) experiment by Car and Driver magazine found texting while driving to be more dangerous than driving drunk! This kind of data makes sense… You’re not even looking at the road when you’re texting!

 

Smart Phones Make It Way, Way Worse

 

And now we’ve the world in our palms. Smart phones bring the Internet to us wherever we go, making it easy to not only text, but send e-mails, surf the Internet, and play games. We’ve got apps for things we didn’t even know we needed apps for. There are apps to make sure we’re always available when someone wants to get a hold of us. But when we’re driving, we shouldn’t be available.

 

And don’t tell me you can’t do without them, either. People actually existed in a time before rampant cell phones (including a good amount of us who have a smartphone surgically attached to our hip at the moment!). They drove to work and worried about traffic. Business was still conducted. People were still friends without having to say hello every minute of the day.

 

We’ve gotten too used to being reachable at all times. In fact, there’s a psychological condition called “reachability” that’s developed due to excess cell phone use that experts say is just as addictive as nicotine. But come on, people. Driving is never extremely safe to begin with. You need all of your wits about you, you need to drive defensively, and you need to be ever alert.

 

I promise you whatever it is you’re using a cell phone for, it can wait. If it can’t, there’s such a thing as pulling over or sitting in a restaurant or parking lot. Look into taking the bus or train and work and type away on your smart phones as you please. Just don’t put you, your loved ones, and the rest of us on the road in danger because you feel addicted to your smart phone. If you feel that addicted that you can’t stand turning it off while driving, please admit your problem and seek help!

Safety driving, smartphones

Just recently I covered Bing.com and said that “I don’t think Google has to count its numbered days just yet.” So has my opinion changed since Microsoft recently announced its partnership with Yahoo? Yes and no.

 

It’s About Time

 

A Microsoft/Yahoo partnership was about as surprising as the ending of the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie after the big mouth in the cubicle next to yours just has to tell you how it ends. It wasn’t so much a question of if it would happen, but when… Well, there were a few false starts that made more than a few wonder if the “when” would ever happen. But most of us figured that both sides had the business savvy to know it had to happen, that it was just a matter of ironing out the details—the greenback kind of details.

 

Okay, so it wasn’t as simple as all that. Frustrated Yahoo shareholders, a threat of a “hostile takeover” by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, a rebuttal by Yahoo that they were going to partner with Google instead, Yahoo basically saying “Sure, we’ll partner with you, but not until you ask nicely—and stop ‘undervaluing’ our brand by offering a mere $45 billion,” stockholders kicking former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to the curb (or just into another office)… There was a lot of drama leading up to this decision.

 

Maybe the merger decision finally went through because they decided to focus on combining one single service, the place where it makes the most sense: search engines.

 

Hope for Bing?

 

So why does the search engine merger make so much sense? Because Microsoft certainly doesn’t need help with much else and Yahoo seems keen to keep some of its independence. Google blows its competition out of the water when it comes to the global search engine market share. After Baidu, a Chinese search engine, Yahoo trails next after Google with Bing behind that.

 

Although the search engine merger makes sense, I still don’t think it spells search engine success for either company. Shareholders seem to think the same. The merger was announced to a total lack of fanfare by the stock market, as Yahoo’s stock dropped 12% the day after the deal was announced—60% less than it was when Microsoft and Yahoo were talking merger last year. Why? Because Google dominates 78.5% of the search engine market share globally and Yahoo and Bing combined get just a little over 10%.

 

No matter what Yahoo and Microsoft concoct for the new, advanced, united Bing, I doubt many Google users are going to care. Short of Google growing lax in development and function, very few things are going to entice the Googler to leave their comfortable home and change the way they search for things. Google’s already way ahead of the game—and it’s always innovating to make itself indispensable to its users in as many ways as possible, as the many Google iPhone apps will attest.

 

Bottom line is, I don’t think this merger spells doom for (or even warrants a second glance from) Google anytime soon—but it’s the best the two companies can hope for. For the extent of the 10-year deal between the two companies, Yahoo can spend less time on innovation (leave that to Microsoft, who’s happy to tinker with this or that) and Microsoft can grab a hold of Yahoo’s audience and ad revenue.

 

The more advanced the competition is, the better the market becomes, and we, the consumers, win. You can’t complain with that!

Tech News microsoft, search engine, yahoo

If you read my last blog, you may have noticed a throwaway line at the end that talks about how while Google strives to get even close to Microsoft when it comes to Internet browser market share, the situation is completely reversed when it comes to search engine market share. Google’s sitting on a pretty 73.9% of the search engine market share, up 25% from where it was just three years ago. Microsoft on the other hand is not even in second place and has struggled with 6-9% of the market share for a while.

 

So Microsoft launches Bing.com… And nothing changes. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Compete.com estimates that without including Bing, Microsoft (through MSN, etc.) had only about 6.5% of the search engine market share in June of this year and with Bing.com, it had about 9.1%. (Including Bing.com in the numbers also knocked Google down a peg—from 73.9% to 72.7%.)

 

But with Google sitting pretty at around 72-74% of the market share, a few percentages’ worth of increase in a single-digit competitor doesn’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Then again, it could be a sign of change to come in the future. Just don’t hold your breath just yet! Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of Bing.com and decide whether it really has a shot of capturing more of the search engine market share.

 

Pros

 

·         It’s the hot new buzz. Bing just launched in early June to a flurry of television and Internet ad campaigns. Meant to replace MSN Search, Live Search, and all those other incarnations of Microsoft’s attempt to get into the search engine market, Bing uses the newest Microsoft developments in search engine technology.

·         It’s pretty? Perhaps not much of a pro, but the frequently changing background image on the bing.com homepage does make for an attractive search engine. (Although you can switch it off if it bothers you.)

·         It’s connected with Windows and Internet Explorer. Just as past Microsoft search engines have been the default search engines on Internet Explorer in the past, Bing.com is sure to continue this trend in the future. More people use Internet Explorer than all the other browsers combined and some people may not care enough to change the default search engine. This is sure to give Bing a boost.

·         It’s smart… sort of. That “newest Microsoft development in search engine technology” is supposed to be a quote “decision engine” unquote. This decision engine works nicely in a number of ways:

·         Sectioned search results. Bing divides search results into sections like wallpapers, images, map, shopping, fansites, weather, etc. This can be helpful when you’re looking for information on say, something like a computer ram and you don’t want to be bombarded with links to a hundred places at which to buy one for the best price. Google already does this but admittedly not quite as well—Google has got more sponsored links to show you, you see.

·         Less clutter. With fewer “sponsored links,” Bing doesn’t have to overload you with an additional 10 or so links on the first page that may or may not relate to your search engine term. The effect is that Bing is a more simplistic, less “look at me!” type of search engine, without links competing for your attention. But… They do still have sponsored links that appear sometimes.

·         Optional page preview. I really liked this one. Hover your mouse to the right of any search result and you get a paragraph or two preview from the site as well as a list of (possibly) related links that appear on the page that might interest you as well. You can decide whether or not to check out a page without even seeing it.

 

Cons

 

·         “Decision engine” decides for you. While all of us may appreciate a little less clutter on our search engine pages, we’re so used to it being in Google, our brains have learned to tune out those sponsored links, anyway. What really gets me is that the “decision engine” decides for you—great when you’re in a hurry, but you can’t always rely on its smarts. Maybe you want to see a store that sells an item even if you’re just looking for information on it. Bing may weed out the fluff, but they also weed out sites that may have been an interest to me.

·         Links to dead sites. Not sure how Bing “decided” this, but I’ve gotten a number of links to sites that no longer exist through Bing that did not appear in Google search.

·         Odd term-related choices. This is not to say that Google is perfect, but putting a search term into both search engines, it seemed to me like Bing brought up more unrelated choices—or choices that really weren’t about the search term, even if it was briefly mentioned.

 

Seeing the list of cons versus the list of pros, you’d think that Bing really was the wave of the future, but I don’t know. The cons were a pretty big black mark in my book. Plus I’m so used to Google and Bing’s offerings aren’t quite impressive enough to convert me to use Bing and only Bing—but I like that it’s out there.

 

Rumor is that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the reasons behind the name choice (besides that annoying “bing” ringing sound we hear in the commercials, of course): to match Google. In other words, Microsoft wants us to start saying, “Bing that for me, will you?” in lieu of the old “Google that for me.”

 

Rather than worry about getting a new definition for a word into the English dictionary, Bing first needs to worry about doing something so incredible that it really becomes an everyday part of our lives like Google. You have to give them props for trying with their “smart decision engine,” but frankly, I don’t think Google has to count its numbered days just yet.

 

Tech News bing.com, Google, microsoft, search engine

When you turn on your computer each morning, what’s the first thing you click? The Internet Explorer little blue “e” with a golden ring icon, Firefox’s floating fire… uh, fox… around a globe, or the Google Chrome four-color ball that’s reminiscent of the old SIMON electronic game? What about at work? Does the company you work for share your love for a particular Internet browser or do they force you to work with one you would never use at home? Do you even care what browser you use?

 

You may have a favorite browser or you may not, but the online community certainly cares to know what you’re using. What’s basically an inconsequential act on your part—a click here and you’re off surfing the web, without giving your browser a second thought—is a competitive do-or-die market for the companies that offer you those free browsers. Internet browsers are, for example, yet another battleground for Microsoft and Google to go at it. So let’s take a look at the two Internet browsers from these companies and what their latest incarnations have to offer.

 

Internet Explorer 8

 

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is a staple on any Windows-run personal computer. (Being a product of the same company that produces Windows no doubt inevitably helps.) It takes a person who really cares about what their browsers have to offer to take the trouble of removing IE from their computer and installing another browser—and for most people, IE works just fine.

 

The latest offering, Internet Explorer 8, comes after a decade of IE on the Internet. Seven previous versions have given Microsoft plenty of time to work out the kinks, add the features that users want, and take away the features that users could care less about. After this many experimentations, this Frankenstein of an Internet browser should be just about perfect.

 

Well… I guess not. If the disastrous Windows Vista is any indication, Microsoft can’t hit it out of the ballpark with every product. Analysts love IE8’s beefed up security and extra navigational options, but they are panning the browser’s speed, or lack thereof, I should say. Not that IE8 is a turtle, but there are faster options out there.

 

Some users also complain of compatibility issues with code and then there’s the fact that viruses, Trojans, and scams target IE because well, if you’re the king of the castle, you’re likely to be the target of most attacks. New features like “anti-clickjacking” that help stop an innocent Internet surfer from clicking on a malicious program disguised as a normal link are great for improved security, but IE8 is still the primary target for all those hackers determined to ruin your day.

 

Google Chrome

 

It’s unfair to really compare Google Chrome with IE8 when Chrome just launched last fall and IE has 10 years of experience, but it’s worth taking a look at what Google has to offer us. Chrome already is gaining buzz among analysts and computer enthusiasts, so I thought I’d share a few of those compliments with you.

 

Chrome has incredibly fast speed on its side, something that IE can just never quite attain. It’s got its own task manager, which computer geeks appreciate, and it lets you move tabs around to separate windows if your browser gets too cluttered.

 

Google probably bided its time and looked at what works and what doesn’t work in all of its competitors. For example, Opera had the thumbnail bookmark start page idea first and Safari came up with the extra privacy that popping up a window that isn’t archived in the history or bookmark page allows. Chrome is a true Frankenstein and so far it doesn’t appear to be suffering from any major issues. However, there are a few known bugs that need to be worked out, like failing to load apps and videos.

 

Bottom Line

 

Google may dominate the search engine corner of the Internet with about 72-74% of the market share (Microsoft, with around 6-9%, is trying to eat a chunk of that with is new search engine, Bing, but we’re not holding our breath quite yet), but it’s not going to even touch Microsoft’s numbers when it comes to Internet browsers—I don’t care what kind of heavy artillery Google Chrome manages to pull out.

 

Currently Microsoft’s Internet Explorer once has about 65.5% of the browser market share and Google Chrome has… a whopping 1.8%. Yeah, not eighteen percent, one-point-eight percent. Granted, Internet Explorer is not entirely invulnerable. Back at the turn of the millennium, IE dominated the browser market share with about 95% and just six years later, it’s lost almost 30% to its competitors—that’s nothing to sneeze at.

 

Currently, though, Mozilla’s Firefox (22.51% browser market share) and Apple’s Safari (8.43%) are quite a bit ahead of Google Chrome when it comes to the opponent who might topple IE. But Google’s got some special features—I hope they keep the battle up! When there are more options, consumers win. We’ll just sit back and watch the fireworks, reaping the spoils of the battle.

Tech News firefox, Google, google chrome, internet browsers, internet explorer, microsoft, safari

Do you have your head in the clouds? If you don’t, you’re bound to be dealing with quite a headache. The old way of running a business with computers is too complex. You know those old movies, where computers took up entire rooms? If you think about it, with the space we have to devote to servers—as in the physical computing servers—we’re not that far removed from those days.

 

In the traditional model, any business that wants an app (customized software) for their company has to find the space to store the servers needed for computing power. It has to hire a team of IT specialists to set up and maintain the software—and setting up a custom app is a task that can easily take weeks. When there’s a problem, the company’s IT people scramble to try and fix it, but in the meantime, all of the company’s business slows down or halts all together. If the company ever wants to upgrade even part of the software, it risks messing up everything else that’s tied into that app. All of this costs loads of money to start up and maintain.

 

And what does that mean for the small business? Small companies simply don’t have the resources to run customized apps for their businesses. They have no choice but to use simple software straight-from-the-package. If they encounter problems—they’re out of luck.

 

These problems are exactly why cloud computing is taking off. The term “cloud computing” comes from the somewhat confusing diagrams that chart a cloud computing network’s services, clientele, and partners, which are all connected through the Internet. But you can forget that cloud-like chart—all you need to know is what cloud computing can do for your business and why it’s on the rise!

 

Cloud computing cuts out the company-run servers and the IT staff entirely. That means that the costs of running and setting up servers are out of the picture, too. Instead, companies are able to run customizable software apps, websites, and more through a third party, which shares its resources with other companies and individuals. Plus, it can be set up to work in days!

 

So you have to share resources? How does your company get customized service? What about security? These haven’t been big issues with cloud computing networks. A full-time staff much larger than you could afford works to keep all of the clientele’s apps up and running. If you have a problem, help is only a phone call away. When there’s an upgrade that can make your service more reliable, the cloud computing network takes care of the upgrade for you.

 

Cloud computing networks are either public or private. Private cloud computing networks offer their services to a select number of clients, usually businesses, while public cloud computing networks are available to anyone over the Internet. While some services (like web-based e-mail) may be free, cloud computing companies make their money by charging their clientele according to the services provided.

 

What does this mean for your company? The cost of going through a  cloud computing network for your business server needs is much less than procuring and running servers and a team of IT professionals on your own. You are charged for the capacity of computing power you need and use—which is easily expanded if it becomes necessary. You may hear cloud computing called “utility computing” because of this pay-as-you-go model.

 

In this tough economy, companies have to cut back wherever they can, but they don’t want to sacrifice efficiency or quality. After all, apps are the software on which a company runs! With cloud computing, companies get better service for less money—an all around win-win!

IT cloud computing, IT, software