Web Privacy – Is it Possible?

http://toastmeetsjam.com/living/how-to-pack-for-your-summer-vacation/ I read an article last week about Internet privacy that got me thinking. I started thinking and realized I knew minimal about law. So I forwarded it to my friend, Henry Elster, at The Elster Law Office. He read it and wrote this insightful blog post about privacy and the Internet.

After reading his post, I realized it confirmed a lot of the issues I see with people and how they use the Internet. A simple interpretation of Henry’s post says this: http://garrygolden.com/tag/fuelcells/ Nothing is private on the Internet and the government does not have the power to change this. This lack of privacy is because the government can’t tell private corporations what to do. Google can track your emails to target you with advertisment. Facebook can do the same. They can do whatever they want as long as you check that box when signing up for an account (that no one reads).

We could get into an economic discussion about how consumer demand is a way to attack this lack of privacy. If consumers would simply stop using sites that invade their privacy and demand more privacy, it could cause sites to be forced to offer this. Will this ever happen? Doubtful. People want their facebook pages. People want to search Google. People may complain about privacy, but clearly (from traffic numbers) what they complain about is not neccessarily what they want.

So what do we do? We can’t just stop using Facebook and Google. I think the key is realizing this lack of privacy. Realize the Internet is a very public place. Treat it like work or church or any social place where you restrict how much you let people know about yourself. Don’t brag about how drunk you got the night before to your friends on Facebook. Don’t get in fickle arguments that could look like a political faux pa. Be smart.

Realize you are being watched on the Internet. Keep your thoughts that could incriminate you at home.

Apple claims trademark infringement against Amazon for using the phrase “App Store”

I have been tweeting all morning about an article I read about Amazon’s new “Android App Store”. The blip towards the bottom is what got me going.

“Another obstacle Amazon will face is a lawsuit Apple filed March 18, which claims that Amazon is improperly using the term “App Store,” which Apple says it has trademarked.”

This quote got me thinking about Economics. I was an Economics and Math major in college. I am always thinking about Economic fairness. This lawsuit filed by Apple has everything to do with the opposite. They want to gain a competitive advantage in the market for apps by saying they coined the word “App Store”. Here are my thoughts on the validity of that lawsuit.

They can’t trademark the word “App” because that has been established as an abbrevation for the word application long before computers. People were sending in “Job Apps” and “College Apps” for as long as the word “Application” has been around. It is human nature to abbreviate a word so easy to abbreviate. We all know they didn’t invent the word “Store”. But apparently they invented the combination of the two words.

That is a joke in my opinion. An “App” is a product. A store is a place to sell a product. This would be like saying the first store to sell shoes and use the word “Shoe Store” should be allowed to trademark it. After all, shoes are the product they are selling in the store.

This discussion can get political but really think about what is fair. Economics teaches us that competition is good for the market place. Monopolies or businesses that are near monopoly status are bad. Competition is good because when the market is competitive it leads to a diverse offering of products and fair prices. Apples attempt at trademarking the phrase “App Store” is all an attempt to gain a seemingly bogus competitive advantage. You can’t get mad at them for doing it, but it isn’t fair to us, the consumer.

So taking away competition from the market is bad. Apple regulates their “App Store” in case you didn’t know. I know stories of frustrations with Apple in regards to apps. Stories involing some apps being approved and some not being approved or taking way longer to be approved that were coded the exact same way. Do we really want our phone apps coming from one place? And to add to that a place that regulates?

I’d like to add that I love Mac OSX and use Apple devices as a computer, mp3 player and phone. They still have the best quality and just need to keep focusing on that. Not pointless, waste of money lawsuits.

iPad 2 – Never Buy a First Generation Apple Product!!

Every year there is a new version of an apple product. That may not be a fact I am citing, but it might as well be. Currently, look at the iPhone, iPad, iTouch, iBook… even the operating systems are new every year for their computers.

This is Apples business plan. It is pretty obvious. The iPad 2 was announced early this week. In comparison to the iPad 1 it sounds epic, mainly because of just one feature: The front and rear cameras. This is perfect for Face Time. Video Conferencing will take off even more. I am planning on purchasing one just for that convience. That and being able to demo sites well to my customers at out of office meetings (which the iPad 1 accomplished).

That being said, do you know what is going to be better than the iPad 2? The iPad 3. Do you know what will be better than the iPhone 4 (that seems like it just came out)? The iPhone 5. Apple succeeds in using this business strategy because they are so far ahead of the competition when it comes to developing these devices. The Kindle and Android based readers all sound lame now that we know about the iPad 2 and its one of a kind features.

Basic economic principles tell Apple stockholders to beware since in the long run competition tends to catch up to the leader of the pack. Also, beware since their marketing strategy revolves around a person (Steve Jobs), who will eventually be dead since everyone dies. Well I guess by that logic Disney should be doing terrible.

Anyways, this should indicate to never buy a first generation Apple product. It is always lightyears behind the second generation product. I have an iPhone 3G in my pocket. It is terrible. This is because I have friends with iPhone 4s to play with. I notice how the battery actually works, the speed is quick, and it has a beautiful resolution, always making me feel terrible about my phone. My advice: Wait a year before purchasing anything from Apple, it will always get better.

How do I have fun on a computer again?

From an addicting computer game to discovering new music on the web, I was hooked from day one of installing an old version of “Sim City” on my dad’s desktop PC. As a kid, everything seemed so much fun on the computer, and I just couldn’t log off.

But recently, I’ve had some issues. Even as of a year ago, I was using computers for recreation, addicted to how the Internet helped fuel my hobbies like music, sports and films. Now my use of the Internet is different.

Ever since I dove into this web stuff, the way I use a computer has evolved. A couple months ago, my friend showed me a leak of the new Kanye West album, one of my favorite artists (not person – even though I don’t know him so who am I to judge?), and while listening I thought, “I need to get this.” But now, my priorities are totally different, and my mind wanders to web design every time I’m on a computer.

I both hate and love this. I did pick up the new Kanye album, but not nearly as quickly as I would have. Instead, I used that time to make php files, spreadsheets, and websites.

I wonder to myself: Does this mean I am not having fun anymore? I think the answer is not an absolute one. I’d probably be having more fun playing computer games and downloading music, but I find a different type of fun from web design projects. Each project is full of tiny problems, and I love problem solving. There is that satisfaction of coming up with the right solution.

I guess this is similar to the satisfaction one would receive from getting their World of Warcraft character up to level 80 or from having the new Kanye leak to show off to your friends. In my case, the satisfaction and fun from making a website outweighs the satisfaction and fun of having the new Kanye album. It is like my own personal Internet utility function if you are an economics nerd like I am.

So am I having fun? Sure, why not? Fun can come in many different forms. It is finding the forms that work for you that matters.