Fire-Wired Blog

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com One of the biggest shames is when a high value product fails to reach the revenue necessary to sustain itself. It happens all the time with newspapers, bars, musical groups, films, and of course web services. Over the last year the internet has seen a rash of popular sites shuttered due to low earnings; the film news and analysis site The Dissolve and the ESPN pop culture property Grantland. As shocking and unexpected as those shutdowns were for fans, it will be nothing compared to when Twitter shuts down. In all fairness, Twitter would have to perfectly thread the needle of disaster to cause a complete shutdown, but it's near impossible to overcome the fact that 2015 was a terrible year for Twitter. The publicly traded social network saw its user growth grind to a virtual halt, it toyed with the prospect of ditching its iconic 140-character limit, and after luring it's founder back with the title of lifetime CEO, four top...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com If there is one industry that embraces technology blindly, it is the food world. From kitchen gadgets, appliances and accessories that seem to do practically anything and the Internet seemingly half-filled with food blogs and recipes, tech is everywhere. Even some restaurants are so connected that you can order and pay for your meal via your phone. Still, like every other industry, there will eventually come a time when technology crosses the line. That time may have just passed with Resy, an app gives users the ability to pay for a reservation.tech As long as there’s been the hospitality industry, there’s been the concept of the “greased palm” — i.e. paying someone to get expedited or preferential treatment. In the restaurant world, that means slipping the matradee $20 to move up the wait list. While not generally a situation Iowa diners experience, waitlists and impossible reservations are commonplace. In major cities, Resy ...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com Tech generally comes in two flavors: useful and exciting. Microsoft Word? Useful. Microsoft’s XBox One? Exciting. But of course, just like a soft-serve machine mixes chocolate and vanilla to create delicious twist ice cream, some tech mixes the common flavors. Streaming media, social networking and text messaging are easy examples of the tech flavor twist, but others are not as easy to identify. Case in point: Google Translate.tech As any foreign language student can testify, Google Translate is a godsend. With Translate converting text across 90 different languages, virtually anyone needing a quick translation can make use of the service. More than just text, users can actually speak into the website or app and it will transcribe the audio into the foreign language of choice. Most important of all, Google Translate is excellent at properly converting syntax (something many other translation services have failed at miserably)....

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com Over the last year and a half American eardrums have been beset by an unending sound, Taylor Swift’s massively successful album “1989.” The record has spawn 6 culture shaking singles each with YouTube videos views well into the hundreds of millions. There is little question that Swift is the biggest pop star on the planet. But when you discover that up to 2015 summer the album had only sold five million copies in the U.S. something seems off. In a country of 319 million people it seems odd that the biggest album of the last few years is sitting in less than .01% of American homes. The popular-versus-omnipresent phenomena is not uncommon and in technology there is no company currently feeling it worse than GoPro. In October 2014 –when Taylor Swift’s 1989 hit shelves– the coolest company in action cameras was the darling of wall street. Its stock was worth nearly four times its initial public offering and traders were ecstatic a...

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 Driving along interstate 80 in Altoona it is impossible to miss the three giant Facebook data centers being erected. Most people's initial reaction to these warehouse is something along the lines of  “Wow those are huge,” or “That’s a lot of kitten and baby photos.” Eventually after the awe fades away, and you realizes those buildings are going to be there forever. If the zombie apocalypse happens and humanity is wiped out, those data centers will still be there as an eternal eye sore commemorating our obsession with sharing every thought that comes through our heads. But while the physical buildings may last forever, the company they represent most likely will not. Facebook disappearing is an odd thought to be sure, but not entirely unheard of. Would you believe the very company that invented and patented the cellular phone no longer exists? While you search the corners of your brain for who this possibly could be just t...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com If there is one thing brick and mortar retail has over online shopping it is the hands-on, trial-run experience of being able to try something out before making a purchase. You can try on an outfit, listen to a whole album and rent a film or videogame before you purchase it. Online shopping has never really had an answer to the test run. For electronic media such as movies and music, it’s an easy transaction that delivers immediate enjoyment. But for tangible products, there is a lot of risk. You buy a shirt online, it gets delivered, but it is the wrong size, the color wasn’t what you were expecting, and now you are faced with the zero-fun task of returning an online purchase. While in-person shopping definitely still holds this advantage, it seems some online retailers have come up with a suitable workaround. What if instead of purchasing physical goods online, you could have a trial period? Such is the case with the rising ...