You might remember I used to do a fun set of predictions on this blog. I would then take the previous year’s predictions and tally up my successes and failures. For some reason, I stopped doing that. It’s a shame because it allows for a great amount of introspection and foresight. Well, I’m back at it and I’m going to use this space to look back a bit, and then tell you what I think is coming for 2017.
By now you may have heard the Apple has announced new iterations of the Macbook Pro laptop line. These new models are causing a bit of a shitstorm for Apple on a number of fronts. The new laptop models include a touchbar, USB-C ports, a thinner design and various updated hardware parts. These changes have also removed important ports and functions under the guise of an “upgrade”. As a current Macbook model user, I have some thoughts about this.
Regularly, I read articles and blog posts, but I also see a good deal from people who represent my industry, namely the Computer Technical Service or MSP folks. What I’ve encountered, however, has me incredibly troubled. A number of folks online are purporting to represent us, when in fact they aren’t doing it well at all. This hit the tipping point when two of these people came together to make an insanely bad webcast, that I had to share it with you.
I don’t often blog about banking in Canada; Because, let’s face it, I don’t want to put you to sleep. But, as I was reading today’s news, I came across an interesting turnaround by one of Canada’s larger banks: TD Bank. They appear to have been on a downward spiral of greed and customer gouging (the likes of which I don’t think I’ve ever seen).
The most amazing side effect of being in the technology business is working with all sorts of technical people. Most often, they work for manufacturers or vendors; but they sometimes branch out and start their own businesses. After more than 16 years as a consultant, I’ve learned a few things and sometimes get to pass on my “straight talk” to others who do what I’ve been doing so long. I want to do more of this when I can.
This whole HTTPS and Google’s push to encrypt (or weaponize depending on your perspective) is back on people’s lips again. I’m a little late to the party of course, since I have been out of the country so many times in the last three months that blogging has been a distant thought. With all of this talk, I’m left to wonder if the uproar has any merit.
Just like medical journals, it seems like every new day brings some new report or another on the “state” of technology. Some reports are “nothing is secure, and you can never be secure”, while others take a more restrained “Apple owns everything” approach. I’m always sceptical when I hear of these things…
I’m always wary of “recent studies” (and the press surrounding them) because they really only exist to drive the public relations effort of one company by fueling the press for another. In these cases, everyone but the reader wins. When I first read of this RBC insurance study on distracted driving, I knew something wasn’t right. Then it hit me, their apparent conclusion was Canadians are basically ass*****.
Perhaps unexpectedly, new and novel legitimate services are being created that can also be used to display pirated content. The future of piracy may be a trojan horse in every legitimately used service.