A Breath of Fresh Technology » business and finance

Solid Gold iPhone

geek mom — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:35:56 +0000

Who says gold is only for jewelry? Stuart Hughes, a UK-based company specializing in luxury gadgets, has come up with a 24 carat solid gold iPhone 4.

This lovely and very beautiful gadget is worth over $20,000 dollars and comes with a wallet made from ostrich foot that will surely keep this very expensive gadget safely.

This 32gb iPhone can be used with any mobile phone provider. Now, this is something gold that I would love to have.

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Google Will Continue to Operate in China

geek mom — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:13:16 +0000

According to official data, China, being the world’s largest internet network, has a total of 400 million web users. That is why Google reversed its earlier decision that they would no longer bow to government censors and will just shut down their Chinese search engine.

A few months prior to the grant of renewal of its license, Google and the Chinese government had been waging war of words relative to the issues of internet freedom and the strict internet censorship of China which was dubbed as the “Great Firewall of China”.

The word war is now over and Google finally got their license to operate in China renewed. That’s good news to all Chinese web users.

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3D Technology on Digital Still Cameras

geek mom — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:02:49 +0000

3D Technology is now on every gadget in our homes… we have 3D television, 3D ready players and even our TV programs here in the Philippines uses 3D technology in their noon time shows!

It did not come as a surprise anymore when Sony unveiled their latest in 3D technology… two Sony Cybershot Digital Still Cameras that are not just beautiful but very powerful. The Sony DSC-TX9 and DSC-WX5 are the world’s smallest digital cameras that can capture 3D images in just a single lens.

Isn’t that cool? I am so dying to see these new gadgets up close.

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Health and Life Investments

geek mom — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:52:25 +0000

Today, investment for the future are not concentrated only on tangible investments such as money in the bank, real property, businesses, jewelries, and the like. Investments can also be in the form of life and preneed insurance and plans.

In the early years, people, especially Filipinos, are cynical about insurances, especially health and death related insurance. In the 80s, education insurance or educational plans became popular. It also plummeted downhill when educational insurance companies such as CAP just stopped providing benefits to its beneficiaries. It declared bankruptcy and left its plan holders wrecked.

Today, life insurances are again on the rise. Health, death and burial insurance are now a must to have. These insurance are investments but not for the plan holder. These investments are to ensure that if anything happens to him/he, the family need not worry about the finances for medication, funeral etc.

If you need a life insurance quote to know whether you can afford one or not for you or your family, go to lifeinsuranceagency.com.

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Yahoo and Microsoft to Partner Against Google

geek mom — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:15:27 +0000

In an effort to overthrown the reigning supremacy of Google over the Internet, Yahoo and Microsoft finally forged a long-time rumored partnership.

It was confirmed that an alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo which courtship and negotiations took about seven months before being final.

According to Yahoo News, “Microsoft first approached Yahoo about working together in late 2006 and again in 2007. In 2008, Microsoft launched a hostile bid to buy Yahoo in its entirety, only to withdraw the $47.5 billion offer in exasperation.”

Google dominates the Internet search market through placement of advertisements when people search for certain terms. Through the partnership, Microsoft hopes to strike a 10-year deal with Yahoo to “provide more muscle” against Google’s domination.

Statistics from the Internet research firm comScore Inc. shows that Google processes two-thirds of the world’s search requests, next to it is Yahoo with 7.4 percent and China’s Baidu.com at 7 percent. Microsoft processes only 3.2 percent.

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Facebook to Use Paypal for Ads Payment

geek mom — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:35:44 +0000

In a few weeks, the most popular online social network in the World, Facebook, will be using Ebay Incorporated’s online payment tool Paypal. This online payment service will be used by Facebook to allow its advertisers pay for advertising space in their site.

The usual mode of payment for online advertising is through credit cards but Paypal told Facebook it would be easier for small international companies to buy ads using them instead of the latter. I would affirm this as I’ve been using Paypal for years now both for accepting payments and for payment of online goods and services. Paypal for Facebook may also be used to buy Facebook Credits by users which they may use to purchase virtual goods on the site, like gifts or items in games.

With this business partnership between Paypal and Facebook, the research firm eMarketer foresee ad spending on the site to reach $605 million this year. If you do not have a Paypal account yet, register for Free here.

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A Glimpse at Potential iPad’s Rival

geek mom — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:06:38 +0000

Even before iPad was launched in the Philippines, techy and geek Pinoys already planned of acquiring this pricey and newest tablet from the well-known company Apple.

However, there seem to a lot of negative reviews about this supposed to be “coolest and most fancy gadget” which is a successor of the popular iPod. Take a look at our previous article and review about iPad here. A tablet computer is indeed another welcome invention for computer and internet all over the globe and this makes the anticipation for iPad’s features quite a bummer.

Don’t despair though. Rob Enderle of TechNewsWorld.com reviewed and showcased the potential of another PC tablet that has the potential of “crushing the iPad.” Price-wise, iPad is looked as a good-looking Mac-based overpriced tablet and would fall deep in comparison with the new PC tablet from Panasonic.
The new Panasonic’s Toughbook H1 Mobile Clinical Assistant is Window-based and said to be “highly customer-focused” and even more vertically integrated (at least with PCs) than Apple. Toughbook is not exactly easy on the pocket but its name speak for itself, it is described as Enderle “as solid as a rock.” While iPad is targeting techy computer users who love net surfing and entertainment, Toughbook H1 is targeting emergency response professionals. Enderle said: ‘you may not use it to read a book, but someone else may use it to save your life.”

If you want the read the full article by Enderle on Tougbook, click here.

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Business Boost with Online Payment Services

geek mom — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:28:21 +0000

Online businesses are fast becoming the trend in the United States. In the Philippines, the industry is also growing at a fast rate as many Pinoy entrepreneurs see the internet as a profitable arena for business ventures especially when targeting a small market segment.

A friend of mine who started his business selling camping and mountaineering equipment and accessories started small. He put up a website for some bags and tents which became popular overtime to mountaineering enthusiasts. Last year, he decided to expand his business by delivering overseas and using online payment services for his transactions to target more customers paying via credit cards or via electronic payment schemes such as Paypal and Xoom.

For my brother-in-law who’s just starting his business and using the internet for marketing and promotions, my online entrepreneur friend advised him to also invest in the technology of using online payment services which according to him, improved his business big time.

The internet is a good venue for doing businesses, especially in the Philippines where online businesses remains tax-free. This is probably the best time to start planning online entrepreneurship to take advantage of the friendly business climate on the web. Just remember to always think of ways of improving your business as it reaches more clientele and gain popularity.

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Philippines

Help Save the Earth by Shopping Green

geek mom — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:41:01 +0000

Being a self-confessed shopping addict, I was totally struck by an article about Green shopping which I incidentally stumbled upon during one of my “online window shopping” activities. Since my time was too hectic to do even the things I love like shopping, I’ve turned to the internet to window shop.

I was surprised when I read about the idea of green shopping which really caught my interest. By reading the coined word, I immediately got the idea that this type of shopping would allow me to do something good for the environment while doing my shopping round.s. Very ideal right?

According to buy.com, a popular online shopping site,a study by the Carnegie Mellon University’s Green Design Institute proved that “shopping online consumes less energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent compared to shopping at traditional retail stores.” Here’s a diagram to show you a better picture of this:

Â While buying from the traditional retail stores or going to the malls would require burning gas or fuel if you’ll travel using your car or vehicle, buying online would reduce energy. Online shopping sites like buy.com use distribution channel that saves carbon dioxide emission in delivering products to the consumers compared to the regular cycle of consumers driving to and from the malls or department stores.Â Here is an illustration to show you:

In the past, I used to shop online because I don’t have the time.Â After learning about the principle of green shopping, I now have an environmental reason to do my shopping online. What about you?

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The Cost of Losing a Laptop

geek mom — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:37:52 +0000

If you lose a laptop, are you just counting the lost according to it’s price when you bought it? Are you not going to count the cost of the files and private information stolen together with it?

A study by the Ponemon Institute in the US which was sponsored by the chip magnate Intel discovered that companies business secrets are taking at risks when a laptop computer is lost or stolen. This means that businesses will be losing a lot of money by losing laptops which accounts for stolen or lost data, intellectual property, replacement, lost work time and legal expenses. The lost of a laptop by executives or what is called as “power users” in the United States is calculated amounting to an average of more than 49,000 dollars or a staggering 2.2M in pesos.

The study divulged that more and more employees are being turned into “mobile users” which put corporations’ sensitive and confidential information at great risk. Corporate data and other significant information are stored in the computers. Laptops are usually lost in taxis, rental cars, hotels, airports, pubs or restaurants, and conference centers.

The study by the institute is the first one conducted to estimate the full cost of a lost or stolen laptop computer by analyzing 138 cases of organizations in the United States which experienced laptops loss or theft in the past 12 months.

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