It’s official, Google has purchased Waze

Waze, a social network based, mobile navigational app system has been garnering quite a bit of attention from suitors such as Facebook, Apple and Google. For some time, it was reported that Facebook was in serious negotiations to purchase it. Facebook’s enormous social networking capabilities coupled with Waze’s interactive navigational app could have squeezed Google’s lead in the mapping business, seriously harming its “Streetmap” app, into which it has invested quite a bit of money. Ultimately, though, Facebook’s purchase offer, plus its demand that Waze move from Israel, made Google the preferred partner and the deal was finalized.

Waze sealed a very good deal with Google. About $1 billion will be paid in cash, not stock, available immediately to the founders, investors and employees.

The Waze family

Waze is the dream of Ehud Shabtai, a software engineer and graduate of Tel Aviv University. The idea came to him that while drivers certainly benefit from GPS-generated navigational tools, the information received was static and not up-to-date with current developments on the ground. Together with co-founders Amir & Gili Shinar, Uri Levine and Arie Gillon, Shabtai took his concept of real-time, interactive navigational information and grew it into a unique app that is used by more than 50 million drivers in more than 100 countries.

The Waze technology

Today, just about everyone has a smart-phone. Waze is a free app that can be used on iPhone and Adroid devices. It is unique in that its users do not just download static, satellite generated navigation information, but they upload the most current road information, even gas prices and speed traps. Waze engineers, using satellite signals from users’ smart-phones, generate the most accurate maps and traffic information possible. Waze is the wave of the future in mobile mapping.

Getting to Today: the Eight Greatest Achievements in Web Browser History

Today we have a plethora of web browsers to retrieve, translate and present our online information to us. Whether it is Chrome, Explorer, Firefox, Opera or Safari – each unique in its appearance and features – we are spoiled for browsing options. But, it wasn’t always like this.

1) ARPANET, 1969
This was the earliest packet switching network, replacing circuit switching as the basis for data communications. ARPANET consisted of various university computers linked together, to create what, for twenty years, was the (only) Internet.
2) WorldWideWeb, 1991
The World Wide Web replaced ARPANET in 1990, and in 1991, its first browser was invented: the WorldWideWeb, later renamed Nexus. At the time of its invention, this was the only way to view the Internet.
3) Mosaic, 1993
The simplified and streamlined Mosaic, which was the first browser capable of displaying text and image together, quickly replaced its WorldWideWeb predecessor in terms of popularity. This freely-available browser spurred the Internet revolution of the 1990s.
4) Opera, 1994
While other browsers have disappeared, Opera has instead expanded to include an estimated 300 million global users to date. What sets Opera apart from its predecessors is its continuity.
5) Netscape Navigator 3, 1996
It was this third, user-friendly version of Netscape Navigator that really transformed the Internet’s popularity, becoming the go-to option for 75% of Internet surfers.
6) Internet Explorer 3, 1996
Consolidated with Windows and equipped with numerous trendy features, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer quickly became the preferred option, taking the overwhelming majority of the market share until 2010.
7) Firefox 1.0, 2004
As the first realistic “competition” to Internet Explorer, Firefox spurred today’s differentiated approach to browsing the Web.
8) Google Chrome, 2008
Although new to the market, Chrome may soon replace all of its predecessors in terms of features, trendiness and popularity. Simple, speedy and sporting countless innovative features, Google Chrome may very well represent the future of web browsing.

The Future of Online Anonymity

Stricter identity verification means greater advocacy for online user transparency 
The Perils of Online Anonymity: Real Person or Sham?
We can never be totally certain with whom we are interacting on the Web. Normally, we can't see others' faces, we can't see their IDs, and we don't even know if their name is real or a pseudonym. Social media sites and tools including Skype, Facebook, and economy sharing sites such as Ebay have presented an obstacle to online anonymity, an obstacle that seems to grow steadily stronger.

More Emphasis on Identity Verification
Identity verification is especially important to the success and proper functioning of economy sharing sites such as Amazon marketplace, Airbnb, Ebay, and so forth. Without the certainty of other users' identities, there is a greater possibility of scammers and a greater likelihood that users will not be too thrilled about engaging in any online transactions. Increased identity verification measures are critical to ensuring the success of economy sharing schemes. For example, Airbnb, an online service for booking and listing accommodations, has introduced offline identity verification. Users of Airbnb will now be required to upload identification documents and to verify their phone numbers. These offline measures are combined with online identity verification measures, including the analysis of users' LinkedIn and Facebook accounts, to confirm users' identities. Offline identity verification makes it harder for bad users or spammers to delete their accounts and create new ones (or new online identities). It is likely that if the combination of offline and online identity verification proves successful, it will be adopted by other economy sharing sites.

The Confusion over Online Anonymity
Is online anonymity a good or bad thing? It's hard to say, as it may prove beneficial in some cases and detrimental in others. If the idea of personal information about you being found on the Web makes you uncomfortable, you may be in favor of online anonymity. However, if you were to buy a product or service online, you would surely want to know the identity of the other party. Whether or not you support the notion of online anonymity or not, the growth of online transactions and interactions suggests identity verification will become an increasingly important factor.

Twitter News: What do music and Canada have in common?

No folks, “Twitter, The Musical” did NOT just open in Toronto. But a new office did!
Headed up by the newly appointed Kirstine Stewart, the newest Twitter branch is reportedly promising a little fun. Stewart, whose experience as a senior executive with the CBC earned her the top spot in the new office, is rumored to be bringing with her invaluable expertise in the world of creative media. 

Since 70% of Twitter users are living outside of the US, it makes sense that offices would be springing up in just those locations. But there is another factor at work here: Canadians are gaga over social media. According to Canada Business Review online, both Facebook and YouTube are showing a major percentage of use per population in – you guessed it – Canada. Twitter is not about to be outdone. Rumor has it that there have been some pretty nifty goings-on, such as the recent investment by Twitter in a company that is looking to pick up some clever tweets and reproduce them in dialogue to air on television. It sounds like a project that’s right up Kirstine Stewart’s alley.

But that’s not all that’s new at Twitter... We’ve got Twitter #music!!

A brand new app for music-loving tweeters, Twitter #music allows users to follow their favorite artists and pick up some of the favorites of their favorites. It offers four categories of suggestions for musical browsing: Popular, Emerging, Suggested or #NowPlaying. These charts can be accessed simply by logging on to Twitter. Unfortunately, the service is only available at this time in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. But at the rate that this social media favorite is growing, access to Twitter apps and services should soon become worldwide. So stay “tuned”...

The Better Bet, Bing or Google? New Study Published on Search Engine Safety

So, who gets the bragging rights, Google or Bing? The search engine that you use may have an impact on your safe surfing experience. A new study by AV-Test shows that Bing retrieves five times as many malicious websites as Google. So if Google is the clear winner, now what? Apparently, the answer is not all that much. We're talking about a tiny percentage of search returns. Sure, Bing can't claim Google's near immaculate rate of 0.00025 percent infected results. But search engines like Google and Bing typically process search requests on the order of billions per day. In other words, they are largely immune to your everyday malware virus - not that cautious surfing should throw common sense out the window!

Bing shouldn't sigh in relief just yet. They will need to close the gap with Google if they want the same customer loyalty and brand trustworthiness. Bing is moving in the right direction when it comes to making the user experience more fun and friendly. They just recently partnered with Pinterest to introduce a "pin it" feature to their image search. Smart move. Still, fun and friendly can't be at the expense of safety or the reputation of working to be the best in that department.

The next phase of Internet threats may not be so easy to detect. The proliferation of scams that target human error, not the code, is probably where the future of threat detection is heading. Security that can somehow guard against those annoying attempts to trick you into downloading trojans or accessing your password might be the next frontier. And here the bragging rights have yet to be decided.

How Often Do You Check Your Facebook?

Just when you thought you spent too much time on Facebook, a new report has found that unless you check your profile at least 14 times per day, you are actually BELOW average. Phew!

That is just one of the surprising facts found in a research report recently released by the market intelligence and advisory organization, IDC. The report looked at the habits of 7,446 Android and iPhone users in the United States between the ages of 18 and 44 – this age group accounts for almost 50% of all smartphone users – and asked them questions regarding their weekly usage.

Sleep. Wake up. Check Facebook.

Depending on your outlook, you’ll probably find the results either really depressing or they’ll only confirm what you probably already knew. For example, according to the report, it seems that 79% of smartphone users  grab their devices within a quarter of an hour of getting up!

A bigger majority (62%), don’t even wait that long, reaching for their smartphone almost immediately. Interestingly, among 18 to 24 year olds, these numbers increase again to 89% and 74% respectively. 

Facebook is the 3^rd Most Popular App

With the IDC report being funded by Facebook, it’s of little surprise that most of the questions are about the social networking site. Which is, incidentally, only the third most popular app on your smartphone behind email and its web browser.

That said, 70% of all smartphone users still visit Facebook regularly, with over 50% checking it daily.

The report went onto find that people spend about 30 minutes per day on Facebook in total, with most of that time spent checking their news feed, whilst the rest of the time is split between posting updates and messaging. Half of Facebook users spend time playing games on their smartphone a couple of times per day.

Google & the FBI Do More than Search and Sleuth, They Teach Data Privacy

Educational programs designed to teach safe surfing and internet security can come from unusual sources and in unexpected packages. Google's planned seminars on data privacy and the FBI's SOS (safe online surfing) program are cases in point. The first is more of a public service resulting from the recent verdict in Google's Wi-Spy debacle. The second is the FBI's attempt to start teaching safe surfing skills while young. The idea is that the next generation will surf smarter and perhaps stay away from cybercrime. 

Google ranks as unusual because Wi-Spy is the result of data gathering gone awry. Street View cars were used to access unprotected Wi-Fi networks, and so the serious charge of privacy violation. Google got off with a slap on the wrist in the form of a $7 million fine. It was then tasked with setting up seminars on internet security that it would upload to YouTube. Google also has to educate its own employees on network security and individual privacy. The key theme will surely be password protection.

The offender being ordered to teach about the crime may sound like weird logic. But Google makes for a great candidate, and who has more experience in web surfing? Not everyone is happy with this aspect of Google as a public service provider. Consumer Watchdog thinks that Google is obsessed with stuffing its "digital dossiers" with consumer data.

The FBI takes a kid-friendly approach safe surfing and internet security awareness. The SOSprogram has especially proven a hit with middle school students. This is because with its island adventure theme it’s as much as fun as it is educational. The fun part is in the form of online games and challenges, with schools from all over US vying for the top honor. The winner of the 2013 SOS title was a small school in St. Louis, St. Ambrose.