Fire-Wired Blog

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com There is truly no better time of year to give or get a gift than right now. No matter if you’re Christian, Jewish, celebrate Kwanzaa or simply indulge in the spirit of the season, it seems most people embrace the giving spirit that comes with December. Chances are you already have all your gifts purchased, wrapped and ready to set under the tree. You’ve bought your kids some toys, your dog a squeaky toy, and you’re all excited for your spouse to rip open his or her gift of a shiny new tech gadget. Well, not to go all Grinch on you, but a huge swath of the hot tech gadgets on the market are pointless and simply bad gifts. Take a moment to look at your smart phone, the wondrous piece of technology most of us gift ourselves every two years (when our cellular service provider ends). Your smart phone is a camera, a computer, a health tracker, a gaming station, an entertainment gateway, a backup storage device, a universal remote, an...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com What makes America so great? Without hesitation, you should have answered, “the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.” The Declaration states that each and every American is afforded the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution institutes the right to bear arms, protection from illegal search and seizure, the right to a trial by jury, and among many other rights, the right to freedom of speech. With few exceptions, the First Amendment allows Americans to be as truthful and tactless as they wish, free from governmental or legal entanglement… that is, however, until you say something threatening on the Internet. Visit the comment section of nearly any article online and you will likely discover some of the most vile, hateful speech imaginable. Almost any site where a user can be anonymous — such as Twitter or YouTube — is littered with filth, threats and slander. Sites such as Facebook a...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com In 1963, when Andy Williams recorded “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” he must have immediately recognized it was an instant holiday classic. What he couldn’t have known is, starting the day after Thanksgiving, his voice would come to fill every elevator, mall and superstore until the end of time. While I have never personally partaken in the shopping free-for-all that is Black Friday, I’ve always gotten a chuckle from the thought of Williams’ voice joyously ringing from Target’s PA system as enraged mothers battle over Nintendo DSs and My Little Pony figurines. Thankfully, for those of us who have zero desire to camp out in front of Best Buy in late November, there is the Internet, and three days after Black Friday comes Cyber Monday. While Black Friday sales figures have started to decline over the last decade, Cyber Monday has grown by leaps and bounds. According to IBM, Cyber Monday 2014 sales grew by 8.5 percent ...