Fire-Wired Blog

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com Can anyone truly prepare for a crisis? One can purchase insurance, open a rainy day savings account or plan an escape route in case of a fire. But being prepared for a crisis, in a way, changes the very definition of the word. For instance, imagine reaching for your phone and not only being locked out from using it, but the screen is showing someone making huge purchases, controlling your device remotely. Being hacked is the most modern digital crisis imaginable. Sure, you have a passcode on your phone or virus protection software on your computer, but if either fails, you will likely find yourself helpless to whims of whatever has impinged on your digital liberties. The Urbandale hack Doug Stillwell, superintendent of the Urbandale School District, knows the feeling all too well. Doug Stillwell, superintendent of the Urbandale School District Around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2014 — approximately the time most...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com The parallels between tech companies and historical empires that have risen to soaring heights only to one day crumble to ruins is disturbingly similar. While Microsoft, Apple and IBM have somehow thrived for decades, they’ve marched by the graves of giants such as BlackBerry, Polaroid and Zenith. Similar to those fallen nations, the fall of those companies was a long, painful process that many saw coming. Such is the current story of Sony. Few companies have squandered their multifaceted fortune such as Sony. From the 1970s to the 1990s Sony was one of the top dogs in home entertainment systems, audio and video recording, disk storage and more. Today the Japanese multinational conglomerate has expanded to include cinematic cameras, video game systems, computers and least well-known here in the States, insurance. The problem with all of these separate endeavors is none of them own a respective market, and altogether, none of...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com For gamers everywhere, Christmas has come early — the long-awaited next generation of gaming units has finally hit store shelves. Within 10 days of each other, both Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s XBox One hit the market this past month and together opened up the console gaming world to a new echelon of button-mashing entertainment. While Playstation and XBox loyalists spend the coming weeks embroiled in heated arguments over whose platform is superior, let me save you from becoming collateral damage. Neither the Playstation 4 nor the XBox One is worthy of your time or money. There’s no denying the unbelievable player experience, realistic graphics, processing power, back catalogue of games or gamer mindshare that Sony and Microsoft have to work with. The trouble lies in the world these two platforms find themselves in — the mobile gaming and wireless world. The rising tide of mobile gaming is undeniable. More than on...

This article was first published by dmcityview.com Gadgets and summer are two terms that generally do not go together. People are outside swimming, hiking, playing soccer and, despite what the tech giants would like us to believe, it’s hard to incorporate a smartphone or tablet into those activities. But there is one gadget that not only fits but allows users to relive those experiences with vivid detail — action cameras. Most people have already seen these little wonders and probably don’t know what to make of them. That weird guy with the aparatus strapped to his forehead? That’s his action camera. That Subaru driving down I-235 with a device mounted on the hood? That another action camera (also that was me). While everyday users are starting to adopt these gadgets, over the last few years action cameras have completely revolutionized the way thrill-seekers film and share their adventures. Through the use of high-powered, compact cameras, mountain bikers, skydivers and other adve...