Court fines AT&T for data speed throttling

In a decision that is already having an impact on the industry, the FCC won in court against AT&T for throttling data charges on plans that were termed “unlimited data”. While AT&T has plans to appeal the $100 million dollar fine, Sprint has already announced that it will end the practice for its customers that are on contract plans that include unlimited data. This is a milestone decision in the push towards regulations to preserve net neutrality. Carriers will continue to fight against throttling restrictions, but the wording of the advertising may have to change across the industry.

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What happened to unlimited?

Back in the heyday of no contract phones the biggest difference between their service and the major carriers were that they offered monthly packages based around unlimited phone, text and data access. This was quickly copied by the contract companies and the struggle began for market share. The problem was that with so many people adopting Internet capable phones, offering them unlimited data access began to be an issue. While insiders say there is a point at which the sheer volume of traffic will slow down speeds naturally, carriers were looking at other impacts. The data packages for cell phones were designed to allow people to check the news, weather and emails. With the rise of the smartphone and feature phone, people are playing games, watching movies and shopping. That not only is a massive increase on bandwidth use, but it shows how much time and money are willing to spend online. For major carriers, this represented a lost potential for income.

Throttling unlimited accounts

The backdoor solution was to place a data cap on unlimited accounts. While many carriers were upfront about this with their customers – at least in placing the cap notice in the terms and conditions – others like AT&T served their customers no notice of the action. This is why they were fined. When consumers found out that their unlimited accounts were capped they were understandably angry. Activists raised the concern of control of access to the Internet being placed in the hands of companies who also rely on advertisers for their income. Net Neutrality is the move to define access to the Internet as a basic right, and that throttling access speeds sets up a form of discrimination that will close off access.

The other battle rising

Another practice that major telecommunications companies are pushing for is what they term preferential speed. This is almost a code word for throttling data speeds on certain customers. The definition of this cap wouldn\’t be triggered by bandwidth usage, but it would identify certain sites as having full speed access. The sites, coincidentally, coincide with the major advertisers behind the communication company\’s funding.

4 old school technologies we wish we still had

This is the age of the tablet and mobile device, and they do make a lot of things easier – but there are some old school technologies we long for to come back. They had some advantages over the modern day devices that just may give some designer somewhere an idea. Here are 4 of the old school technologies we at Transparent Solutions (Top Vancouver IT Companies) wish we still had.

#1.Devices with multiple ear-phone jacks

Most devices that are designed to play music files now come with a sharing option, but they don’t come with multiple ear jacks. Some of the old Sony Walkman and analog recorders had this feature and it made life much easier. If the reason you are listening isn’t to dance, there are some benefits to being that close – and being able to privately plug in. It reduces the number of devices brought out in a meeting, which can reduce the number of distractions too. It also allows for users to know that what they are hearing is exactly what the other is hearing too.

#2. Calculator watches

Calculator watches were one of Casio’s big claims to fame in the 80s. Sure, we may have calculator apps on phones but they can be a process to use. The advantage of the calculator watch is it put a fully featured calculator on your wrist with real buttons that was easy to use. You didn’t have to flip through screens to get to it.

#3. Beepers

Beepers make the list because they do something that no mobile phone on the market does today, let you stay connected and screen your calls without a major disruption. The beauty of the beeper is that it was small, and could be passed around. That made it perfect for offices with on-call responsibilities and onsite ones too. Using the company phone is just too cumbersome, and expensive.

#4. Pocket-TVs

Pocket TVs? It all comes down to a dedicated gadget. Being able to pull a pocket TV out to watch the game was perfect. Unlike watching it on a mobile phone, you didn’t have to pay for extra streaming (just batteries), and best of all – no one could call through or text you in the middle and interrupt what you were watching. The life of the batteries also makes it still a winner compared to the battery draw of watching on a mobile device.

Which Social networks do you need to be on?

There are so many different social media networks that it can be hard to know which ones you need to be on to really promote your site. There are a lot of different platform apps that promise to help you manage multiple accounts so you can be on all of them, but that may not be a worthwhile solution. The nature of how social media networks allow you to interact with prospects and customers has evolved, you need to evolve to in how you approach using these networks or it can lower your clout with your audience.

Why being on all of them doesn’t work

When social media networks first started getting popular, the tactic was to open an account on all of them. Gurus advised that the profiles should be consistent, but that it was imperative to have a showing on as many of the networks as possible. Now, decades later, there are hundreds of social media networks. Being on all of them is impractical; it can also hurt how you are perceived by your true demographic audience. If you are trying to target a specific group, stay on the networks they are on and you will be more effective.

How to find out where your audience really is

To find out where your audience really is, don’t guess according to the stats provided by the networks – look to your keyword analysis. They are going to show you were traffic came from and this will include the social networks. Good keyword analysis will also look for mentions. You not only want to be on the ones where you have been mentioned, but you want to make sure you are responding to the mentions. This builds your reputation within that community.

Do you stay away from the rest completely?

Just because your main audience may not be on a certain social network doesn’t mean you should avoid it altogether, it does mean that you have to prioritize your efforts. If you are looking to generate demand in a new demographic range, make that a concentrated effort – but not at the expense of your most important demographic. It is always a good idea to have a “feeler” account to see what you can find out about tapping a new market. Treat them with the same respect as your usual prospects; just don’t spend as much time there until it is called for.

What is Technophobia and What Causes it?

Though it may be hard for you to believe, there are still people in the world who have the chance but refuse to learn how to use a computer. The weird part is that many of these people are music composers, writers, journalists, and publishers- which could benefit from using a computer. This phenomenon is referred to as technophobia.

These technophobes have many reasons why they don’t use computers. The main reason is that they haven’t been convinced that computers are useful. Therefore, since they have not been truly informed of the potential of computers, they feel there’s no reason to jump on the bandwagon. In some cases, a technophobe will become a computer user, when and if someone takes the time to show them the benefits of computer usage. However, until that happens, most of them stay in what we consider the “Dark Ages” of the technological era.

Most people do understand that their lives would be so much easier if they’d learn computers, but are slow to learn due to a variety of factors including laziness and just plain stubbornness. For these people, taking time to learn something new is time-consuming and cumbersome. These people will often make excuses for not having a computer such as not having the money to purchase one, or not having the space for one. Once they overcome their own inertia and put forth at least a little effort, these individuals will be able to learn technology fairly easily. In some cases, these people are forced to learn so that they can advance in their chosen profession.

On the other hand, some people refuse to learn because they had some sort of negative experience in their first dealings with computers. First impressions are very important and when the first impression is a bad one, it creates a mental block or even a phobia that will keep them from even considering learning about computers in the future. Often, this is due to poor training. The person training them may have pushed all the right buttons for them, but they never learned to do it on their own. It’s very common for these individuals to become very frustrated and give up or develop a negative attitude towards computers and technology. Once this negative attitude has been formed, it’s hard to change their minds.

Many companies now do business with computers online, to a great extent – according to Gustin Quon, who provide the world with leading SEO services. The best results are achieved by these leading Winnipeg SEO professionals.

Finally, a small percentage of people not only refuse to learn, but they are actively resistant to learning about computers and technology in general. In some cases, these people are referred to as “Modern Day Luddites” and their motives are typically political. The reasons for their resistance vary. In some cases, they are radical environmentalists who think computers are there to cause damage and destruction to the environment. On the other hand, some of these individuals oppose capitalism and therefore hate these large computer companies and resist in order to make a political statement. Still, others wish live in a Paleolithic utopia, where everyone gives up on industry and technology and we all return to nature. These people are not likely to change their minds.

Most individuals simply need to get over their natural resistance to change and begin to understand the benefits of technology. It can be helpful for these individuals to sit down with someone that will be patient with them and tutor them on the computer. Once they get over their technophobia and begin to understand the benefits of technology, most of them will seek out information on their own accord.

Financial Planners Provide Quality Assistance to Those Who Want to Obtain Financial Goals

There is nothing worse than feeling like your accumulating debts will keep you from ever achieving your real financial goals. While it can be a struggle to live on a tight budget, studies have shown that in many cases, individuals end up in debt as a result of the financial decisions they have made. By not knowing the proper techniques for wealth management, they make impulse decisions that can get them in a lot of trouble later. Though you can’t beat yourself up over the past, a financial planner handling autopac insurance Winnipeg can help you to clean up your debt and secure a brighter financial future.

Creating Goals

A good Financial Advisor will start by helping you to create goals for the future. Your goals could be anything from investing in some stock to purchasing a new home and having three children. These goals will then be broken down into finances so that you are aware of how much you need to obtain your goals. (Talk to Tom Waitt, Financial Advisor). Get an Advisor for Financial success.

Assessing Your Income and Spending Habits

Next, a financial advisor or planner should assess your current income as well as your spending habits to get an idea of where they can cut some of the spending. By viewing pay stubs, receipts, bank statements, and other financial information, an advisor can determine where you’re going wrong and help you to stop the impulse decision making.

Create a Budget

Financial Advisor Phil Herner is the one to go to in Winnipeg for Financial advisor Winnipeg advice. Now having the financial truth in front of you, a financial planner will come up with a realistic budget that includes room for saving towards your goals and getting out of debt. While it might be hard to stick to the budget in the beginning, the advisor has various tools and resources that can help the process to run smoother. For instance, setting up automatic savings plans for your bank accounts, and creating an allowance for each expense.

These three steps are the start of learning better wealth management practices and getting closer to your dreams. A financial planner isn’t only for those who are well off, they can do a great service to those who simply need a little guidance in managing the money they have and learning to live comfortably with it.

Which Social networks do you need to be on?

There are so many different social media networks that it can be hard to know which ones you need to be on to really promote your site. There are a lot of different platform apps that promise to help you manage multiple accounts so you can be on all of them, but that may not be a worthwhile solution. The nature of how social media networks allow you to interact with prospects and customers has evolved, you need to evolve to in how you approach using these networks or it can lower your clout with your audience.

Why being on all of them doesn’t work

When social media networks first started getting popular, the tactic was to open an account on all of them. Gurus advised that the profiles should be consistent, but that it was imperative to have a showing on as many of the networks as possible. Now, decades later, there are hundreds of social media networks. Being on all of them is impractical; it can also hurt how you are perceived by your true demographic audience. If you are trying to target a specific group, stay on the networks they are on and you will be more effective.

How to find out where your audience really is

To find out where your audience really is, don’t guess according to the stats provided by the networks – look to your keyword analysis. They are going to show you were traffic came from and this will include the social networks. Good keyword analysis will also look for mentions. You not only want to be on the ones where you have been mentioned, but you want to make sure you are responding to the mentions. This builds your reputation within that community.

Do you stay away from the rest completely?

Just because your main audience may not be on a certain social network doesn’t mean you should avoid it altogether, it does mean that you have to prioritize your efforts. If you are looking to generate demand in a new demographic range, make that a concentrated effort – but not at the expense of your most important demographic. It is always a good idea to have a “feeler” account to see what you can find out about tapping a new market. Treat them with the same respect as your usual prospects; just don’t spend as much time there until it is called for.

5 Common Sense Blogging Tips (nobody knows)

A blog remains one of the best ways to get and keep traffic on the Internet. There are a lot of fancy guides with some neat tricks, but here are 5 common sense blogging tips everyone seems to forget to do.

Tip #1 – Check out someone else’s before you sign up

Before you sign up for an account, find someone else’s blog on the site and look at it from as many different devices as you can. There is a huge difference between a site that is “mobile friendly” and one that offers “responsive themes.” Learn what the differences look like in reality.

Tip #2 – Come up with a schedule

Consistency and reliability are everything in the blogging world. Don’t commit to a blog schedule that you can’t keep, and don’t blog willy-nilly. Do your homework to find out when your audience is online and then post according to when they will be there to read it.

Tip #3 – Get three posts ahead

Always have three posts stored away that are evergreen. This will help you stick to your schedule no matter what happens around it. If you do need to use an evergreen post in a pinch, make sure it is replaced as soon as possible. You want to keep your reputation for reliability at all costs.

Tip #4 – Know your media

You need to know what type of media you are going to include in your posts ahead of time. Photos are great but create a template for how you will credit them and build a library. Video can be good, depending on who you are the audience is and how they are reading your blog. Same with music – you also want to make sure that your blog can handle a device not being able to handle your media too.

Tip #5 – Don’t post to social media until there is something to read

Once you start your blog, don’t post on social media until you have a series of blog posts to read. You want people to be encountering a portfolio when they first arrive. If they come and only see one post, you will have missed an opportunity. Better to wait until you have at least 5 or 8 solid posts on your blog before you start linking individual posts to social media accounts. Don’t do it all at once, on your 9th post, start posting about that post and let the first 5 or 8 be discovered.

First Alibaba, then Weibo?

The long awaited IPO from Alibaba was even more successful, and impressive, than industry analysts predicted. It has made everyone wonder what Chinese platform will be next to cross over to a public offering. Many eyes are looking towards Weibo, and there are reasons why that may or may not work. Before you get too far along in your wishful thinking, it’s important to understand why the Alibaba IPO got so big in the first place.

Why did the Alibaba IPO get so big?

Alibaba is more than the Chinese version of Amazon; it is a completely expanded view of direct fulfillment. While you can come onto Alibaba and shop in a manner similar to Amazon for individual orders; you can also order in bulk direct from suppliers and manufacturers in a way that no other platform has made possible. Since most items in the US are manufactured in the East, this all but cuts out the middleman. Alibaba can provide a powerful engine for startups that need product, but typically can’t afford their own private label or find short stock.

Can Weibo be far behind?

The next major Chinese network to watch is Weibo, which is their version of Twitter. Already, major Western companies have moved onto the platform and are creating a presence there – so will it be the next big IPO? There is a lot about Weibo that would make it much harder to bring to a public offering than Alibaba presented. One of the issues is the constant struggle between censors and users that reaches heights that the West is not accustom to seeing. The Weibo “human flesh search engine” is also another issue that could make it be a complicated IPO to get off the ground successfully.

What chance do the competitors have?

What about the other contenders to challenge Amazon and Twitter? Honestly, there are few that can command the language specific audience as a Chinese platform that can rival what already exists in English. These are the two major demographics of Internet users that would make an IPO interesting. Competition from the West would do well to concentrate on the shipping and processing side. Fulfilment is the only area where Alibaba can lag behind when it comes to delivering on the promise of their IPO. A smart startup could step in as a major postal and customs broker with great success.

Types of Support Available for IT Users

There are many forms of IT support, and while some of them are good for all situations, others are best reserved for specific types of technology. Commercial hardware support, for example, may need to be provided by a live technician who visits the customer’s company to replace things like hard drives or memory. On the other hand, several methods of contact will work for answering questions or providing walk-throughs for software operations.

One unique type of support comes in the form of managed it services. With managed services, certain types of support are covered under a single price. A managed web server company, for example, may include automated server monitoring, backup and recovery, replacement of failing hardware, and even necessary security updates. These services are usually included in the base price of a managed server, which makes such servers more expensive to lease than those that aren’t managed. However, investing in the management saves customers from having to find their own IT personnel to handle such issues.

In other cases, managed services are offered as separate packages, like from Transparent Solutions, offering Vancouver IT support, and Burnaby it services. This is often the case with software. In this scenario, software is sold as a standalone item, but IT support packages are also available. Often, individuals and small companies will just buy the software, while larger ones will add in a support package. Larger companies are more likely to buy support because their operations will be too severely disrupted if they have to stop their other tasks to figure out what’s wrong with a program.

Standard support services, such as the answering of questions, are usually included in the base price of software without any extra fees. These services usually provide a method of contact such as a support ticket system, phone number, or live chat. Simple questions can be answered quickly, while complex ones may take a while to figure out. A few companies, however, reserve even basic contact for people who pay for support. Everyone else gets a forum, static knowledge base or FAQ, or a combination of the two. The knowledge base is likely the least helpful form of support of all, so many companies that used to have only that have resumed offering methods of direct contact as well.

The Transformation Of I.T With The Advent Of Cloud Technology

For quite a long time in the Information Technology sector, data has always been preferentially stored in computer hard drives. Its predominance in the technological arena is basically because it makes it easy and fast to access data. However, a marvelous technological breakthrough was realized with the invention of cloud technology; this is a system that makes it possible for data and programs to be stored and accessed over the internet.

Cloud technology has various revolutionary tenets that are vital, more convenient and much more secure than local computing. It would be imprudent to turn a blind eye on the hybrid cloud while discussing the technical and salient concepts regarding cloud technology. The hybrid cloud is a computing environment that amalgamates the use of both private cloud and public cloud by allowing the transfer of data between the two.

Advantages of Using a Secure Hybrid Cloud

  • A secure hybrid cloud enhances pliability and suppleness of business as it creates a wide database for storing data.
  • The transfer of data via hybrid cloud alleviates capital expenses as very minimal quantum hardware is required.
  • It is particularly suitable for a dynamic and nascent field of business in which a gargantuan amount of data is generated.
  • It is able to perform distinct functions within the same organization.

Ensuring you have a secure Hybrid Cloud

A secure hybrid cloud is ascertained in a myriad of ways:

  1. IT Disaster Recovery

This is a collection of procedures, policies, and steps designed to enable the recovery of technological assets following the occurrence of natural or human-induced disasters. A disaster recovery plan comes in handy in the mitigation of hazards in such circumstances.

  1. DDoS Protection

This is a combination of techniques that are meant to resist the impact of Distributed Denial of Service attacks on network attached to the internet by protecting the target. Such attacks are often executed against websites using a misconfigured network. The most proficient way of curbing such attacks is to properly configure your network equipment. Preventing the concentration of DDoS on a single target also ascertains security.

Another salient aspect of Information Technology is Web Hosting Services. This is an internet host service that allows both individuals and organization to make their websites accessible via the World Wide Web. On the same breath, it is of judicious significance to underscore other noteworthy tech concepts such as:

  • Hybrid Cloud hosting: a model that allows organizations to provision dedicated servers, storage and shared cloud servers on the same network.
  • Managed hosting: an IT provisioning model in which a service provider proffers servers and hardware to a client which remains under the management of the provider.

Cloud technology is a revolutionary element that has taken the Information tech sector by storm. It has scaled the heights of popularity in respect of its convenience in and propriety to carrying out business of different types as well as sky-rocketing business productivity by reducing storage costs.