My Top Prediction For 2011 - Death of the Internet

Image via Wikipedia

Happy New Year! As with most blogs and podcasts, it is time for some new year predictions:

1) Net Neutrality will be the biggest story of 2011. With sites like Netflix and Youtube gaining popularity, more people will be ready to cut their cable services and stick with their broadband Internet connection to deliver their entertainment content. The problem is broadband services are controlled by the same people who give us regular cable, and that service is far too profitable for the cable companies to give up.

The problem of Net Neutrality is a far larger one than anyone could imagine. This problem alone could wipe out the Internet as we know it. Basically the problem has to do with the cost of distribution, according the the economics of the Internet it costs more to deliver content to more people. This is not the old days where a station would broadcast a signal and all the antennas within range would watch the show. Now to watch a show on the Internet bits need to move along a pipe which is metered on mobile devices, but not on home connections. This would all change according to new Net Neutrality guidelines developed by the cable companies.

Imagine having to pay per page you view. Pay $.05 for that Youtube video, or $.02 for the sports article. At the end of the month your paying for every page view which could amount to much more than the normal monthly subscription cost. Within a month or two people will notice the change in their bill and wonder what is going on and begin to make changes to their Internet usage immediately sites like Facebook will suffer massive user declines and Youtube will become a ghost town.

At first people will get upset and try to do something about this outrage. Companies like Google will continue with their effort to provide broadband to the masses, and new opportunities will be there for companies that can give the people what they want. 2011 will be a pivotal year for Net Neutrality as profits remain stagnate and economic recovery is still far off on the horizon. In the end it will be the cable companies that will win to keep their share of the pie leaving the rest of us wondering if we will ever have our cake and eat it too.

Don't get me wrong, I believe an open Internet is what our world needs most for communication and innovation, but at this point I don't see any way out of this mess.

A Wii Christmas, A Notebook Computer And A Camera

Santa arrived Christmas morning with a Wii for my son. Based on reviews I wasn't sure if this console would be a good fit for him, but he took to it quickly. We were playing tennis and had a great time, my 3-year old daughter even got into the mix. I think the negative reviews I read about the Wii came from serious gamers frustrated with the Wii's graphics.








The other big gift for my son was an Acer Notebook computer. Sites like Starfall make the Internet an educational tool for my 6-year old son to learn to read. So far I'm impressed with the battery life, my son is able to use the computer for 6 hours before needing to be recharged. There are simply no complaints as long as the user realized this computer is good for surfing the Internet and working on some Word documents. The small screen size makes it frustrating to work with images and excel files.








The third geek gift for my son was a Crayola digital camera. It's durable and simple to use, all he has to do is turn it on and start shooting. He is getting a kick out of taking photos of the family, maybe he'll turn into a photo bug like his Geek Dad.

I'm not expecting much int the terms of image quality or composition, but I am excited to see what images come out of the little camera.

The World's Coolest 450 Slide Document

Here it is. All I have to say is WOW! I found this video on Mashable. I'm a fan of Google Docs, but I had no idea you could do something like this. Apparently the entire animation was created by the free Doc service in about 3 days.

Mark Z - Person of the Year

This week Mark Zuckerberg was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine. I am both excited and disappointed by this choice. On one level I am happy to see the mainstream media embrace the tech world, I think it help validates the industry and helps lift it from fun website to a global brand.

On the other side I wish Time would choose a better ambassador instead of Mark. I find his company to be unscrupulous with the way they sell user data to third parties, praying the the users who think they are contributing their content to a walled garden. If you are among the foolish that think what you write on Facebook is protected, then you need to visit Your Open Book.org. Just type something generic like, "I hate my boss" and you'll have a long list of people who write nasty things about their boss on Facebook.

Here is a short list of influencial tech people I would choose over Mark Z:

1) Steve Jobs - The iPad was one of the top products of the year. As CEO of Apple Steve's legacy is more secure than ever.

2) Eric Schmidt - Google's CEO is controversial, but their stand-off with China and other significant tech creations are changing the world in a positive way.

3) Jeff Bezos - I'm a huge Amazon fan and I think they're just getting better. The Kindle is a big hit that looks to change book publishing forever.

Flying High With A Canon 7D

As an amateur photographer I'm always looking for a new angle, and no angle is more unique than an arial photograph. I recently became interested in aerial photography when I saw a Youtube video showing a Canon 7D strapped to a model helicopter. The footage shot on the camera was video which made it even more impressive.

I started to research the cost of such a toy...uh,  tool for taking aerial shots. It turns out these helicopters can cost thousands of dollars! They also take some practice to become proficient, especially if you're going to trust is with your $1,600 camera + $1,000 lens. I guess I'll have to stay on the ground for now. If you have any experience with this type of photography please write me an email and share, I think this stuff is really cool.

Related articles

• Kite Aerial Photography Helps NGO Engineers (livescience.com)

Groupon, Hotpot, and Google - A Killer Trilogy

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Google and Groupon are getting a lot of press about the upcoming purchase. Some reports highlight the $5.3 billion price tag Google is about to pay, others are talking about what Google plans to do with the aquisition.

Here is a short description about Groupon




I like th idea of a Groupon: get enough people (Group) before the coupon becomes active. This way businesses only pay for results and potential customers spread the word about Groupon and the local business using Twitter, Facebook, and email in order to meet the quota needed to activate the coupon.

I am personally excited about this acquisition. I'll be interested to see how Google is able to integrate Groupon with Google Hotpot, another attempt to review and share local businesses. I hope Google is able to pioneer a new method of online commerce and marketing that small business owners can understand and make use of.

Related articles

• Creative Joke: Groupon for Groupon (mymodernmet.com)

So Happy About Angry Birds

Angry Birds was the first iPhone game I could play for more than 5 minutes without getting bored. Soon I found myself cursing when one tiny pig was left over, or getting lost for several minutes as I plotted how I was going to launch another bird into the air. It's no doubt Angry Birds is a global hit, the question is what's next?

Last month Rovio released a sequel called "Angry Brids Halloween", now the company is back with "Angry Birds Christmas". Gameplay is the same as the other versions only now it has an updated Christmas theme. I've only seen screenshots, but it looks like fun. I read this version will be a free upgrade from the Halloween game.

The only frustrating part of the game for me was understanding how to earn 3 stars on a level. I tried to look it up, but was unable to find a credible resource. If you know how the game determines the amount of stars to award please let me know.

Angry Birds Everywhere

This great game is not just for the iPhone anymore. I read the game will be on the XBOX, PS3, and the Android  marketplace. In fact the Android version is free and ad supported. I'd be curious to know which model brings them more money, the paid app or the free one. I'm sure numbers will be reported next quarter.

Now it's the Pigs' turn

I heard Rovio is working on another sequel taken from the Pigs' point of view. Here is a funny video about the   upcoming game. Please be advised the birds use strong language.