Category Archives: Technology

Business, International, Law Enforcement, Politics, Technology

GOOGLE TRYING TO COURT FUGITIVE EDWARD SNOWDEN

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imageMountain View, California –  Will 2014 prove to be a banner year for American fugitive Edward Snowden?  Mr. Snowden is now living in Russia, on the run from American charges of espionage and theft relating the National Security Agency top secret leaks.

First, The New York Times Editorial Board published an op-ed piece calling for an offer of clemency or plea bargain for Mr. Snowden, considering the value of his leaks and the N.S.A. abuse he has exposed.

Now, the country’s premier tech company Google is reportedly in secret negotiations with Snowden, offering him a hefty-paying position in Mountain View upon his return to the U.S.

The Adobo Chronicles has learned that Google has hit a snag and plateau in terms of the marketing of its much-ballyhooed product, the Google Glass.  “Obviously, we needed a recognizable and controversial face to model our product, and what could be a better choice than Snowden,” said Google CEO Larry Page.  “He’s also easy on the eyes, and the Google Glass fits perfectly on the well-defined contours of his face,” Page added.

Analysts, however,  suspect that having Mr. Snowden be the model for the Google Glass is just a front, and that Google’s real intention is to make Snowden the chief of its Internet Surveillance Department which would monitor any secret or unauthorized intrusion by the N.S.A. into Google’s data system.

Business, Technology

NEW YEAR, NEW START-UP

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imageCampbell, California – Google, be afraid. Be very afraid. The beginning of a new year signals the start of new things: new laws, new trends, new start-ups.

In an obscure garage right on the border of San Jose and Campbell, a new, fun, tech company has made its debut as of January 1. A brainchild of  two former Apple employees, Giggle made its initial bow, promising to stage a “David vs. Goliath” challenge to the Silicon Valley’s most successful tech company, Google.

Giggle’s maiden product is called iDream, a smart phone-activated eye mask, similar to those being handed out in the first-class sections of commercial airlines. It syncs with the smart phone, using an amazing app that lets the user experience his or her favorite television or movie character, and be that character for as long as the mask is in place.  For example, one can be Mary Poppins or Spiderman or  even Godzilla. Unlike real-life dreams, the iDream experience does not end abruptly.  Rather, it ends only when the user decides to take the mask off.

The young inventors (and investors) hope to have their initial product in the market by February 14. Many tech analysts are saying that the iDream is by far the biggest threat to  the Google Glass.

A television commercial introducing the iDream is set to begin airing in a few weeks, featuring Ann Hathaway reprising her tear and saliva-filled rendition of the song “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Misérables.

International, Technology, The Media

FACEBOOK TO BANISH ‘SELFIES’ BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2014

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imageMenlo Park, California- It doesn’t matter that “selfie” was chosen the 2013 word of the year by the Oxford Dictionaries.

On the eve of New Year’s, Facebook announced that begining January 1, it will banish all selfies from its social networking site because majority of its subscribers have expressed annoyance over the posting of self-shot photos.

Facebook has installed a selfie detection device that would delete said photos even before they are posted online. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking from his office at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, defended the decision by saying that “it is not that difficult to ask someone else to take one’s picture — your server at the restaurant, your fellow tourist at scenic spots, even your little brother or sister at home.” Zuckerberg also pointed out that  the “mirror image” you see in a selfie is just an illusion. “In the eyes of others seeing your selfie, you don’t look anywhere close compared to a photo of you taken by another person,” he added.

Other social networking sites like Pinterest and LinkedIn are reportedly also considering a similar ban.

The good news for selfie addicts is that the ban is not retroactive. This means that all selfies posted as of midnight on December 31, 2013, will forever live in infamy on the Internet.