Let’s start something.

What is the power of the Internet to you? This is just the first step in building a conversation around the future of the Internet.

We hope you’ll join in by sharing your own story. Complete the sentence, “The Internet is the power to…” and share it using the tag #OurWeb.

“The Internet is the power to _________.”

Share, watch, learn, teach, be informed, news, build, make friends, collaborate, video, streaming, watch, complain, music, praise, complement, express, listen, create, sell, buy, pictures, video, podcast, vcast, vlog, post, download, upload, cloud, innovation. I could go on...........

For me, it's just a way of life. Think about it. What would you do if there was no internet today? Life would not be as simple as it is today. If I lost internet tomorrow, I don't know what I would do? I would be like loosing electricity. You just can't live without it. I feel that I've learned more on the internet than I did in school. Mind you there was no internet when I was in school. It's like having the whole world in your pocket (smart phones) or at your convenience almost anywhere via computers!


Now there are new ways to connect to the internet. You can now interact using your TV. Using products like Google TV. Also known as "Smart TV". You could use the Logitech Revue or the Sony Google TV. Newer product coming out later this year from the likes of LG and others. 


Also Tablets Seem to be moving on up as well. They say that in a few years that tablets will replace laptops as the majority. I don't think laptops will go away as business's depend on them too much. At least for now. 

What of Instagram?

When Instagram first came out for Iphone two years ago it became a huge hit. It changed how Iphone users could share filtered pictures with everyone and friends. Android users were just left out. We all knew it would eventually come to the Android platform but was just a matter of time. Personally I did not think it would take over two years. 

Once it did come out for Android, I was ecstatic! I use to see my friends using it and loved to see there post from Instagram.  Now I have my chance in showing off my own pictures. Haven't had the app for two weeks and then what happens? Facebook bought it for 1 billion dollars. That's right, 1 BILLION!

At first I was disappointed that Facebook got it. First thing that came to mind was "great, Facebook buys Instagram and now the app will go down hill". I'm not the only one. I saw thousands of post stating about the same thing. 

Facebook has said they would leave the app as it is and won't interfere with how it operates. What? Your telling me they spent 1 billion for an app that is less than two years old and they won't miss with it? Why spend that type of money then?

Well like most users that put there input in Facebook buying Instagram, they think it's for the user base. You would be foolish to believe otherwise. Over 30 million users and that was before it came to Android. Just the first week alone on Google Play acquired over 1 million new users and it's still climbing at a rapid pace. 

Well I personally can't wait to see what happens to Instagram in the future. I personally now too worried about it as there has been other apps on Android that did the same if not better. Before Instagram I was using Lightbox. I was doing just fine on that platform. It does the same thing as Instagram but not with as many people on it. But that doesn't matter when I was sharing with my friends. Therefore the other millions don't matter so much. I don't view the popular post that much. I have fun just keeping up with my friends on Lightbox. 

Well that is my spiel on Instagram. What are your thoughts? How do you feel about Instagram on Android? More importantly what are your thoughts on Facebook buying out Instagram? Please, leave your comments below. I would love to know.

Blogger is my New Home!

Choice?

Well it's been nearly 2 weeks since I've come to Blogger from Posterous. I also stated that I would be trying out Tumblr to see which platform I would choose. I opened new blogs on Blogger, Tumblr and WordPress. Yep I added WordPress. Turns out I was just frustrated with how Tumblr works. To make things even worse I thought I would give WordPress a try and to my dismay, well it was even a more disappointing adventure. I won't go into detail as to why I don't like them. But, I will say they were confusing. I did give them a lengthy try to be fair. I never did try to import my Posterous blog to Tumblr but WordPress did have a easy to use importer. I had to try it three times before it worked so I wouldn't say it was easy. Just frustrating. I also ended up with a lot of double post. But that was easily fixed in editing. 

The only thing I'm upset about Blogger is I can't post to a page I want on the fly (via Android for me). I have to actually log onto a computer and go into editing on that particular page in order to do what I want. I see in the forums that has been a huge request from everyone for quite some time to edit with a smart phone or Ipad or Android device. I Don't understand why they don't fix this. None the less that is the only thing that bothers me the most on their platform. I'm very happy with using Blogger.

So here I am on Blogger to stay. I am very happy with my choice and I hope this helps anyone else that has been looking for a blogging platform. I hope you all enjoy my post from time to time. 

View from work

Thought I would share this view from work as I went to lunch.

What is your Browser of Choice?

This is a short history of the browsers I've used from past to present. 

My next topic is browsers. Have changed quite a bit in the last few years. When I started using a computer Windows was only Ver 3.1. The internet wasn't no where near what it is today. Just looking back I can't believe just how far we've actually come. Even with the SOPA and PIPA almost passing, it was a scary time. You can say I saw my internet flash before my eyes!

I've worked my way up from Netscape to Explorer. Only because at the time and to make a long story short, Netscape was sued out of existence by none other than Microsoft. AOL tried to revive it with huge amounts of money (4 billion dollars), with AOL with no success. Microsoft's Internet Explorer stole the stage and had a much larger backing. Netscape was the first browser to use the internet. If you ask me, I think Netscape WAS the birth of the internet as it changed how the internet worked. The internet was nothing but a black hole with no direction till the first browser came to pass, Netscape.

I used Explorer for years. There was no competition. Finally a new open source group emerged. Out of this community came Firefox.  The browser was created to combat the software bloat of the Mozilla Suite, SeaMonkey. November 29 2005, Firefox 1.5 came to be. With its faster browsing experience and soon after, the use of add-ons. It became my browser of choice. Firefox soon turn the page in the history books. Now up too version 11. With plans all the way up to ver. 14. This was my browser for over three years. It wasn't long though till a new browser come along.

Google Chrome is a freeware web browser developed by Google. I first heard of this browser listening to a podcast from Leo Laporte "The Tech Guy" show. The browser was first publicly released for Microsoft Windows (XP and later versions) on September 2, 2008 in 43 languages, officially as a beta version. First release was 0.2.149. Then shortly after in January 2009 it was reported Google was to release versions for Mac OS X and Linux developer previews ver. 5.0. Today we are now up to ver. 17.0.963. With plans up too 19.0.1061.

So as of today my preferred browser experience is Google Chrome. I will be the first to admit that I love the Google ecosystem. Not saying that is the reason for my choice but felt Chrome was faster and did what I wanted better than the other browsers at my disposal. One other note I should mention is, I have also tried the other browsers in my poll. They just simply did not meet my expectations or needs. I guess what it all comes down to for browser choice is you. How it serves your needs. I would still love to hear your comments on the subject. Please take the time to take my poll off the the left and leave a comment below if you wish.

A little humor

I wouldn't of believed this if I didn't see it with my own eyes. I'll never complain about my own vehicle ever again!

Thoughts on Windows 8

I've been looking at all the reviews on Windows 8 that have been floating around on the web this weekend. Most reviews I've read have been negative for the most part. It's hard for me to form an opinion on a product that hasn't come out yet and is still in beta.

I've been using it for two weeks now and all I'm getting out of it is frustrations. Due to the fact I'm using a laptop with a mouse. I do see the potential of Widows 8 on a tablet even a touch screen computer. I've also read where it's even worse on a desktop. But alas, most people do not have a touch screen computer. I think for good reason. Could you be working on a touch screen all day without feeling it in your arms at the end of the day? I would think that would just lead to something worse than carpal tunnel syndrome.

Back to the subject of desktop computing, I hope they are not done with how to implement desktops that still use keyboards and mouse. So far it's been a disappointing journey. Below is an example of what normal everyday people will face when having to buy a new computer that comes with Windows 8. I feel this will drive people to Apple. Even with their high cost.

Noticed that I haven't talked about the new Metro Style? The reason for this is because I'm giving them the chance to make this right. If they can get keyboard and mouse integrated without harming the flow between the desktop and the new Metro Style. This will be the make or brake or Windows 8

This is NOT a full review of any kind. I have left a lot open to see if I will get any feed back. I don't just want to write about products and do reviews, I want to interact with people to come up with better solutions or ideas. I think this makes for a great conversation. Please leave a comment below or comment on a subject you would like me to talk about.