Yet another reminder that free apps aren't really free.
A handful of popular iPhone apps were discovered to have embedded code that collected your location data, and in some cases, data related to your WiFi network and device for the purpose of selling it to marketing companies.
Smart TVs, dishwashers, laundry machines, toasters, coffee makers and homes. Today, we are closer to the "future" that previous generations dreamed of than ever before, the culmination of this innovation being the "Internet of Things". The IoT is a massive network of devices that are connected to the internet, ranging anywhere from printers, wearable devices such as FitBits, security cameras, and more.
The past year has been something of a disaster for the modern consumer. Starting with the MONUMENTAL Equifax breach that started in March of 2017 and was not disclosed until 6 months after the fact, to the more recent-yet-equally-terrifying Cambridge Analytica scandal.
When you think of the origins of Silicon Valley and the computer technology industry's explosion, you think of the same 3 companies: Google, Microsoft, Apple. Similarly, the founders of those three companies have ascended to a sort of legendary status in the mind of the public.
From the monolithic and devastating Equifax breach, to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that happened only a few months ago, few of us truly realize that “free” platforms aren’t free. Rather, they allow you to use their services at the cost of unregulated, unchecked, undisclosed collection of your PII (personally identifiable information). They then sell your data to large firms who will use it to market products or services to you that they think you are likely to purchase.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon on July 5th, 1994 as an online book retailer. Today, Amazon has a market presence in retail, cloud services, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, all while pulling in nearly $200 billion in revenue annually. Never in modern history have we seen a company expand as rapidly and effectively as Amazon.
We’ve all heard it before: “I don’t want to use the <insert name of newfangled technology here>. I have <insert physical substitute here>, and that’s all I need.” Technology does, admittedly, move at a pace that even the youngest and most engaged tech enthusiasts have difficulty tracking at times, resulting in many older individuals neglecting or even downright refusing to create accounts online for any variety of reasons.
Imagine that you’re heading into work with a serious case of the Mondays. Sleepy, irritable, and, seeing as it’s the middle of August, unbelievably busy. You sit down, log into your computer with a cup of coffee, and begin sifting through hundreds of emails from over the weekend.
