techKnow by Chris Simmons

Time Capsule

2010-11-10T17:43:00.003-05:00

So ends my first foray into the intrawebs...check out the new website of chris Simmons

The End

2005-07-12T23:26:00.000-04:00

This thing has been dead for a while now. For some reason i'm still getting 10 hits a day for that post I did on Paris Hilton but thats about it. If you want to see what I'm up to check out my new moblog MoFoe.

The Blogosphere

2005-05-22T20:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a research project I conducted on the Blogosphere for my Corporate Strategy class. I published the "paper" as a Wiki because the adaptability of this format seemed appropriate. Check it out.

Microsoft Losing Browser War

2005-05-17T01:03:00.000-04:00

Microsoft's Internet Explorer continues to lose market share to the open source browser Mozilla Firefox. In the past year alone IE has lost 6% of the US browser market as it dropped below 90% total marketshare. People are finally realizing that the alternatives to Microsoft products usually better. If you use Firefox and like it, check out Apple's new OS release Tiger .

[Via CNN Money ]

bling that talks back

2005-05-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

Check out this scrolling LED belt buckle which features customizable messages up to 256 characters long...perfect for confessing your love to Kristin at the Balloon, or storing your address so you make it home after a long night on the town...

swimmin in it

2005-05-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share some exciting news: My Google Adsense account has finally broken the $10 barrier. That means that writing this blog for my marketing class has not been a complete waste of time. The numbers get even more impressive when you look a little deeper...I started this blog about 10 weeks ago so...(lemme get my calculator)...that's $1 a week of pure profit, wow. I think I could really have a future with this who blogging thing...

Alright this is where you come in. Screw SaveToby and GiveBoobs, if you really want to support a worthwhile cause you'll donate to an unemployed college student who desperately needs money to fuel the many costly habits one acquires over the course of his college career.

Donating to this noble fund is easy and requires 0 of your own dollars, just click on one of the Google Adsense banners in the right sidebar of my Blog. Right now there are ads for really cool stuff like mole traps and...yea mostly mole traps but thats besides the point. All that matters is you're giving money to someone in need. If you don't click will you really be able to sleep tonight?

Sun sets over the Valley

2005-05-10T03:42:00.000-04:00

Sun Microsystems announced this week that it will be outsourcing its research and design functions from the Silicon Valley in California, to several of its locations scattered across Asia. This move continues the company and industry trend of leaving the Valley (and western hemisphere in general) for the cheap labor available abroad.

Right now the uncertainty surrounding the long term health of US economy, and the rate at which American jobs are going offshore is pretty scary. I just wrote a huge paper for my Business Ethics class on the ethical implications of outsourcing so I'm interested in hearing some of your perspectives on the issue. I know it requires a little bit of thought but does anyone have any comments? Here are some resources which offer insight on both sides of the debate:

The Outsourcing Weblog

Center for American Progress: The Impact of Offshoring on the US Economy

The Brookings institute: Offshoring Service Jobs: Bane or Boon and What to Do?

One thing I do know is that I'm glad I didn't waste the past four years of college studying computer science or finance, only to have my job sent over to someone who is wiling to work for a tenth of my salary in Bangalore, India. By going into Marketing I'm making a long term bet that I will have greater earning potential and job security at least according to careerplanner.com which puts out a list of common jobs and the risk that each job will be outsourced. What do you think?

[Via Wired News ]

The New Spruce Goose

2005-05-09T19:50:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year National Geographic News reported that Airbus had announced plans for its 555 passenger Airbus A380 "superjumbo" passenger plane which sports a wing span as wide as a football field. Now the pics are finally up and the A380 looks pretty slick.

One of the things worth noting about the A380 is the fact that despite it being about 50% larger than a Boeing 747-400 the plane offers just 35% more seating. Some of this additional space will be seen in slightly (5 cm) wider seats. The way that the remainder of the space is used will be completely up to the individual airlines.

Virgin Atlantic has already announced plans to include gyms, casinos and even double beds on its fleet of six A380s. So now you'll have the option to arrive at your destination completely broke, but at least you wont be sleep deprived.

Branson had this to say to a French reporter "Since you have gaming and you have private double beds maybe there are two ways of getting lucky on a Virgin plane," well said Rich. Finally that lifelong dream of joining the mile high club seems somewhat more attainable.

I recently had the good fortune to spend 14 hours packed in like a sardine on a flight from LAX to Sydney. Despite my best efforts (which included a cocktail of sleeping pills and cheap wine) I was not able to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. By the time I get a chance to return to Australia I should have some more entertainment options on the marathon flight. This means both myself and the airline whom I am giving money will happy. Airbus claims to have sold 139 of these Howard Hughes size planes, could this be part of the solution to the ailing airline industry?

[Via Gridskipper]

Mouse Rat Trap

2005-05-03T03:13:00.000-04:00

My roommates and I are currently experiencing a a slight mouse problem. Not all that unusual for a house full of 5 college guys. While looking for traps we stumbled upon this: The Trapper T-Rex, the newest snap trap from Bell Labs is certainly not your fathers traditional mouse trap. In fact the Trapper T-Rex resembles a bear trap more closely than a mouse trap.

This trap doesn't waste time with friendly house mice, it takes out big, bad sewer rats, you know the ones that steal small children in the dead of night. If you wanna protect yourself from these disease infested rodents this trap is for you...it's not something you want to have laying around your house when you stumble to get a drink in the middle of the night, that is if you value your ~~toes~~ entire legs.

[ Via Pest Products ]

The Final Frontier

2005-04-29T17:08:00.000-04:00

Weblogs, Inc. made headlines (read: bloglines) this week when it became the first blog network to adopt advertisements in its feeds. As of this week Engadget, Autoblog, AdJab, Luxist and their many other Blogs all featured text based ads courtesy of Google Adsense.

The Blogosphere has been one of the largest proponents of RSS and Atom feed technology but ironically has suffered revenue loss as a result. When people subscribe to Blogs and view their feeds in Bloglines or other news aggregators they are less likely to visit the host blog and therefore don't click on advertisements displayed on these blogs. The inclusion of ads within XML feeds allows Bloggers to monetize the portion of their audience who rely on XML feeds for blog updates.

Next up: TiVo. Since last November the DVR company has been talking about plans to implement banner ads into the TiVo interface which will be displayed while a user fast-forwards. TiVo, which has been widely criticized by advertisers, hopes to tap into the advertising market with these banner ads. Stay tuned for more info...

Study: Email worse than Drug Use

2005-04-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

A study commissioned by Hewlett Packard concluded that employees who are distracted by email suffer a dramatic loss in their effectiveness at the workplace. People obsess over checking and responding to their email and lose focus on their real work. The study found that employees who were preoccupied with email suffered a 10 point loss to their IQ which is more than double the loss caused by smoking marijuana. That's right, a stoned worker is more reliable than one who is infatuated with his email account. Experts recommend that "Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working." Well if everyone just got high before work this whole email obsession wouldn't be an issue...right?

[Via CNN World ]

google services

2005-04-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

Google, brimming with capital after its IPO this past Fall, has been focusing on expanding its services beyond the search domain. Google Labs serves as a showcase for the companies works in progress, however, what you will find at Google Labs is not second rate, but some really powerful and interesting stuff. Here's a quick overview of two of the more polished services: Google Maps and Google SMS

Google recently made headlines when it expanded its map service to offer satellite images via Keyhole. Keyhole was purchased by Google about a year ago and specializes in streaming high quality, 3D, satellite imagery over the internet. The use of Keyhole's technology really makes Google maps stand apart from the competition. (Terra Server has offered outdated, black and white sattelite photos since 1998...but what else would you expect from a service powered by Microsoft?)

Check out Google maps if you have a chance. Explore your neighborhood from a birds eye view, or find the house you grew up in. If you get really into it and wanna go into stalker mode, the possibilities are endless...one guy claims to have found Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch

Below is a screen shot of the University of Delaware Campus as seen through Google Maps.

Here is the query for the shot below.

Google SMS is a free service which provides business and restaurant information, movie times, and weather, all via text message. All you have to do is send a text message to the number 46645 (GOOGL) with your query in the standard format. Check out the site for some more information on how to format queries...here is a printable reference sheet.

This service really comes in handy because you can get the same results you would by calling information, except its free (aside from any charges related to the test message itself). Also you have the phone number or whatever you requested stored on your cell phone for future reference.

Now a service like this is only as good as the information in its database, so I tried a sample query for restaurants in Newark, DE. I was surprised to receive a response less than a minute after I submitted my query. In addition, the information I received was correct, among the results were listings for Peace A Pizza and Cafe Gelato, both located right on main street in Newark, Delaware. Based on my experience I'd say Google SMS woks pretty well and will only get better, if you're in a bind and need some information quickly, check out Google SMS.

gb.com

2005-04-13T17:53:00.000-04:00

Not convinced saving Toby is a worthy cause? Why not "help a girl fill out her sweater?" Interestingly enough...this site precedes SaveToby.com by more than 2 years. Yea...thats pretty much all I have to say...This will be the last random website...I promise.

Note: The website is ok but there are a few explicit banner ads.

Verizon Wireless sued over moto v710

2005-04-11T03:47:00.000-04:00

A class action lawsuit filed by California based Kirtland and Packard LLP has recently gone national. Allegedly, Verizon Wireless mislead customers by marketing the Motorola v710 as Bluetooth capable. While the handset features some bluetooth capability, many of the most useful bluetooth features have been disabled by Verizon. The firm is seeking a full range of damages and restitution, which is available to anyone who purchased a v710 from Verizon Wireless with the intent of using it's bluetooth capabilities.

Its good to see consumers finally standing up to cell phone companies. The way the system works now, Verizon and other companies have no incentive to offer any level of customer service. With lengthly contracts and excessive termination penalties, most customers don't have the nerve to walk away from a cell phone contract. A lawsuit like this could get the ball rolling and force cell phone companies to increase the level of customer service they provide.

[via engadget]

a 50 thousand dollar rabbit?

2005-03-31T00:14:00.000-05:00

Check out: SaveToby.com, it's a pretty crazy site...apparently someone is holding "the cutest little bunny on the planet" hostage and threatening to butcher it if he doesn't recieve $50k by June 30th. Naturally, a lot of people are pretty upset about the ethical implications of this (he's actually doing nothing wrong from a LEGAL perspective)...Others love the site and are buying all sorts of t-shirts, mousepads and other junk. The interesting thing is that this guy says he's almost halfway to his 50 thousand dollar target and is even claiming to have a book deal in the works; however, he refuses to reveal his identity...so there is really no way of knowing how much money he has recieved or whether or not Toby is really in any danger.

[via Hot Points]

click click...boom

2005-03-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

A new website offering internet based hunting is causing public outcry and lawmakers are starting take action. Wisconsin Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, is proposing a bill which would ban online hunting in the state of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, several other states including Texas, where the website is based, have also moved to outlaw hunting over the internet. John Lockwood, founder of Live-Shot.com says he originally created the site for disabled hunters who would like to hunt but physically cannot. Currently the site only offers customers paper targets for practice, but live game is scheduled to come later next month.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding this site so I decided to check it out for myself...and from what I read, it seems to offer a pretty controlled hunting environment. The hunting takes place on a remote ranch somewhere near San Antonio, Texas. Ranch personnel are always present during a hunting session and have the ability to override the controls at any time. It seems like a good option for the those enthusiasts who are unable to make it out into the woods and even offers discounts for disabled hunters.

For more info check out this article

what a rip

2005-03-17T14:20:00.001-05:00

I just saw this ad for rip digital which offers to save you the "hassle" of ripping your cd collection and converts it to an Mp3 library for use on your your ipod. I don't get it, ripping cds onto your computer is not a difficult proccess. If you have a copy of itunes all you have to do is insert the cd and it automaticly downloads the disc info (artist/track name etc.) and your music is ready. Each cd takes no more than a few minutes. I could see a potential market for converting tapes or vinyl into Mp3 because this requires a little bit more work. This service seems like a waste of money to me...what do you think?

for all you google haters

2005-03-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

i opened up the mosaic section of the review this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find an article on gizoogle. as you may or may not have already guessed gizoogle is a search engine which provides results inspired (i guess you could say) by snoop dog lyrics. The site offers several pretty amusing variations on a traditional search engine; however, the one which is really worth trying out is the translation feature. Its pretty simple: you type in the URL of whatever site you want and gizoogle translates it into snoop speak. the translated sites tend to be a little explicit so if you are easily offended or simply lack a sense of humor then it's probably best if you don't check it out, otherwise...enjoy. feel free to post any particularly interesting sites you find.

Paris Hilton's Cell Phone Hacked

2005-02-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

paris hilton can't seem to keep her personal life out of the media...apparently someone hacked into her sidekick cell phone and stole her entire address book, inbox and unfortunately (for her)...all the pictures taken by the phones camera. now we all know how comfortable this classy young lady is infront of a camera so it's no surprise that that these pics have spread across the internet like crazy. but it's not just her pics...her phonebook had 500 entries including everyone from lindsay lohan to the olsen twins, even lil jon...yea. in the early hours after these numbers were leaked many celebrities were bombarded with phonecalls from fans and were forced to disconnect their lines. just to make sure I called several of these numbers...unfortunately lindsay lohan wasn't available to chat about her upcoming film Fashonistas which is curently in pre production...judging by the title it should be a good one. to be fair...paris had every right to have faith that her cell phone provider t-mobile would keep her personal info safe...she really didn't do anything wrong but I just have a hard time feeling sorry for her. she is a celebrity who doesn't really do anything. before the simple life her TV career consisted of weekly appearances on sleezy celebrity gossip shows like extra where she obviously was enjoying the attention...not that I ever watched...ok maybe once.

Here is the link to the news story at MSNBC

Update: 3/8/05

apparently the key to hacking paris hilton's cell phone was her pet chihuahua. t-mobile has a password security feature which allows a user to reset their password if they can answer one question correctly. users have a choice of several different questions and of course paris chose the one asking the name of her pet so all the "hacker" had to know was this and he could reset her password and gain access to her account...why she would choose this as her security question is beyond me..."tinkerbell" is every bit as famous as paris...while she has not yet ventured into amateur video like paris...she is a published author, well respected in many teeny bopper circles.

Here is a link to to a news story with more info

pop

2005-02-16T01:02:00.000-05:00

whats up...this is the first post on my new blog called techknow. first off...i hate techno music...alright glad i got that off my chest...second...this interface doesn't have spell check...anyway, this blog is an assignment for my marketing class and i have decided to use it to put my own spin on different tech based news...sorry to disappoint, but you wont find any post season coverage of the eagles or news about whats going on around campus...what you are likely to see here are posts about some of the finer things in life like ipods, digital cameras, satellite radio, apple, cell phones or anything else that interests me. check back in a few days for the first "real" post.