Google Passes Apple In Mutual Fund Holdings

Google (GOOG), creator of the popular Android platform and operator of the worlds largest Web-search Engine, has recently overtaken Apple Inc. (AAPL) to become the most owned stock managed US Mutual Fund according to Citigroup Inc.

At the time of this article, Google's shares are trading at 25 times profit compared to Apple who is selling at less than 10 times compared to profit. This has become the widest margin between the two tech giants since June 2005 prior to the companies entrance into the mobile communication industry.

It seems that Apple is losing steam with company earnings slowing, increased competition from the likes of Google and Samsung, and saturation of the smartphone industry. Hopefully Apple can change investors minds with possible products such as the iWatch and Apple Television Set.

Google however seems to have plenty of room for growth. Having a 67% markets share in the online search industry, 70% Android market share, and revenue from ads via smartphones, tablets, and the web makes Google very attractive to investors.

Source: Bloomberg

How To Get Unknown Album Artwork In iTunes

Many people who use iTunes for listening to their music get there music from many sources. Of course you can buy all of your music right in iTunes, but lets be honest here, most people get their music from other sources. Whether they rip them from CD's, buy them from other sites, or pirate them (I strongly discourage this), it sometimes creates small issues.

One of the biggest problems with getting music from alternative sources is that it sometimes does not come with the album artwork. This might not be much of an issue for most people but I like to keep everything neatly organized. So here is a simple way you can get to artwork for songs missing the them.

Instagram Can Sell Your Photos Without Permission

Monday, Instagram announced that they will be assuming the right to sell your photos without your permission. This new policy is set to take effect on January 16, unless users delete their Instagram account before hand. 

The news has brought many users into a furry. To give advertisers our information without our consent is already pushing it, but selling our photos for profit crosses the line. According to Instagram, they do not even have to give users a share of the profit. This is not only an abuse of our rights to privacy but this is clearly being done out of greed. It would be different if Instagram was taking the route of Google, which only use consumer information to better their services, but they are not! They are exploiting us to push shareholder profit. 

Seeing that Instagram was acquired a few months ago by Facebook, we should have seen this coming. Facebook makes huge profits off our personal information, and we give it to them free of charge. They are already charging us to have our statuses visible to everyone that follow/friends us, so it's obvious that they would sell our pictures too. One thing that is clear is that they care about nothing but profit. 

But where are the riots? You would think that people would be in an uproar about this news, but they are not. Is it that people do not realize how much they are being exploited? Is it because people don't care? Or is it because people are unaware? Whatever the reason, I will not be taken advantage of. Come January 15, I will be closing my Instagram account. 

Sources: CNET

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Fear Of Change: Technology's Biggest Hurdle

Since I can remember, I have always been the type that has accepted change, even when it was at rapid paces. For others, change is seen as one of the most horrid things in life. The thought of doing something slightly different intimidates them, but why?

Most people are what I like to call "Tendency Locked." They have the need to keep things the same once they have been adapted. For example, my grandfather has always taken baths. He once came to visit me at my apartment and asked if he could take a bath there. Instead of using the shower, he insisted upon taking a bath. I told him how much more convenient taking and shower was but my granddad was determined to keep things the same. This type of thought process affects everything in life. It even affects technology.

Just like my granddad did not want to change how he bathed, there are people who do not want to change how they use technology. How many of you have witnessed a minor change in something on the computer, such as the home page to a web browser, only to have the person using it freak out. My dad has been using msn.com as his home page to his web browser for years. One day, I decided to change the home page to Google and my dad panicked. He actually thought that the computer was broken or that it had a virus on it. He did not even know how to get to another website after this small change. Now grant it that my dad is not very computer savvy but still, the change was so minuscule. He immediately had me to change it back.

Slow adaption to change has made the evolution of technology slow outside of 2007 (This was the release of the first iPhone). Companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Google are releasing products that are minor upgrades of the last generation. There are probably a thousand Android phones out there that do the exact same thing. They might have a slightly better camera and faster processor, but that is it. For me, that is a huge issue as I like to see new things. I am one of those types who adjust fast to something new, but I am in the minority.

Most people want things to change slowly. This is one point where Apple has excelled far past the rest. Consumers love to use Apple products because they are all the same. if you are an expert at using a iPhone, then you will probably be an expert at using an iPad. Everything functions the same. Also, when Apple releases updates to its IOS platform, users do not have to worry about radical changes. Everything is still pretty much the same. If you are a geek, then this irritates the living hell out of you, but we are only 1% of the population. The other 99% does not want things to change rapidly, especially older adults.

It may be that we as humanity are really not as smart as we think we are. Resistance to change has slowed down the evolution of our society. Until we began to accept change, we will see only small shifts towards progress. Hopefully Windows 8 can give us a push in the right direction.


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Google Map's Does Little To Persuade IOS 6 Adoption

Despite reports that many iPhone users were not adopting to IOS 6 due to the complete failure of Apple Maps, research done by Chitika has found that only 0.2% of iPhone users have upgraded to IOS 6 since the release of Google Maps in the App Store on 12/13.

It was believed that many users were holding back from upgrading because they needed the accuracy of Google Maps but these claims are simply unfounded. The release of Google’s Maps has done little to persuade people to upgrade. This is not a surprise though as there are already many alternatives to the Apple Maps.

Most users are choosing not to upgrade simply because IOS 6 really does not offer them anything. It still has the same old boring interface with minor things no one cares about. Simply trying to upgrade can be a major hassle on some users, especially those who are not using iCloud. The biggest hurdle might be the lack of an untethered jailbreak. Giving up all those tweaks and apps to only gain minor upgrades is not worth it to many in the jailbreak community. It might also be that many people do not know about the release of Google Maps, as its release was a quiet one.

No matter the reason for IOS 6’s slow adoption, we finally have Google Map’s back!


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