Posted January 06, 2016in Tech Talk
If you’ve lived in Iowa for at least one winter, you’re probably well-trained on what the end of the calendar means: Persistent frigid temperatures are coming with mountains of snow. After a day or two of complaining, most Iowans accept this seasonal norm and go about their wintery lives —
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Posted December 23, 2015in Tech Talk
In the mid 2000s, the journalism industry was abuzz about the prospect of citizen journalists — independent producers who would research topics and illuminate major concerns in the world. Activists and politically fueled blogs had already been up and running for some time, but the real interest sprouted from video
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Posted December 16, 2015in Tech Talk
One of the more awkward points in a relationship is when you realize you’ve outgrown someone. The worst is when you break up with a significant other or drop a friend that no longer fits your lifestyle. But that awkwardness is not exclusive to people. While some items pretty much
Read More →If you’re a fan of James Bond, you’ve probably noticed the last two films have relied heavily on the magic of computer hacking. Apparently “Q,” James Bond’s gadget guru, can do more than hide lasers in watch wristbands — he’s also a cyber security terrorist. In the film “Skyfall,” Q
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Posted December 02, 2015in Tech Talk
When the application development revolution hit, a few products were almost immediately available: games, calculators, web browsers, messaging apps, business software and organization tools. The odd thing is both iOS and Android had all the obvious applications satiated by third party developers, not by Apple or Google. Maybe the most
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Posted November 25, 2015in Tech Talk
Remember that period in the 1990s when it seemed like cars and trucks had fallen in love with steroids? SUV sales shot through the roof, and powerful cars regained their prominence all before gas prices climbed to unprecedented heights. Oddly enough, mobile technology took an almost completely opposite path. Cellphones
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Posted November 18, 2015in Tech Talk
One of the most confounding thoughts in the history of American business is the fact Coca-Cola could have bought Pepsi in the 1930s. The biggest soda maker in the world at one point could have ended its chief rival. Now, that’s not to say another company wouldn’t have surged up
Read More →One of the fastest ways in business to build your brand is by franchising. Restaurants, hotels, retail stores, hardware stores, car rental companies and so many others have built their fortunes on back of others hustling their wares. For a tech equivalent, look no further than Microsoft, the behemoth of
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Posted November 04, 2015in Tech Talk
A common Intro to Economics question asks, “Would you be OK with free phone service if, in exchange, your calls were interrupted with frequent commercial breaks?” At first, the student immediately is drawn to answer, “yes,” because the word “free” is so attractive. But is it truly free if you’re
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Posted October 28, 2015in Tech Talk
Why is it that almost anything deemed “classic” is an original? Remakes, spinoffs, “new and improved” — none of these iterations seem to grab the culture like the original. The original muscle cars of the ’60s and ’70s have basically been deified, while many of their updated, late model redesigns
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