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COLUMBUS, OH – January 28, 2011. 

But did you know that GPS information embedded in that picture can show people where you live?

“It could be a way to stalk someone to find out where they live or work,” said Samantha Rufo, President of nxtConcepts.

It’s called geotagging, where the GPS in your smartphone attaches your longitude and latitude along with other info about your picture. Many smartphones automatically geotag photos.

An example of where geotagging went wrong happened with Adam Savage, host of The Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters. Savage inadvertently revealed where he lived when he posted a picture from his iPhone of his car at his home.

“There is no delete button on the web,” said Rufo.

But there are ways to turn off your location in your smartphone if you want to post to the web. You can look in your cell phone manual or “take your phone back wherever you got it, and say help me or the best one is to talk to a 12-year-old. I’m sure they will be able to figure it out for you,” Rufo said laughing.

The website http://icanstalku.com/  has step-by-step instructions on how to turn off the geotagging in most popular smartphones.

Sending pictures to location-based social-networking sites can have many benefits.

“People can actually connect with friends and family when they have so little time and they wouldn’t be doing it otherwise,” said Rufo.

Plus, many businesses offer incentives when you check-in on a location-based site using the Geotagging on your smartphone.

“Using these types of things helps people to connect and that’s what’s awesome about social media and which ever one you chose and Geotagging just makes it easier,” Rufo said.

Just make sure you’re only sharing the information you want to share.

By Rick Reitzel

NBC4I

Brazil – January 13, 2010.  The starting phase of any missionary project is the most difficult.  Launching into the unknown is fraught with risk factors that make the success possibility of the new endeavor much like a Pandora box.  Not even years of experience exempt long term missionaries from occasional failure. 

But that does not inhibit a committed missionary from stepping into the troubled waters of trial and error.  As frontline warriors, we know (more than anyone else) that time is short and that every moment of time must be maximized.  Let’s go for it!

This brings us to a new effort set in motion by four young Brazilian Apostolics.  Undaunted by the tremendous financial investment a regular radio program incurs, along with the obscure ratings game that could quench the dream at birth, they saw opportunity in another world: virtual internet radio. 

Stepping past the established medium of AM/FM radio, they are successfully producing a regular apostolic podcast called “Panelajovem.blogspot.com” in the Portuguese language, focused toward a huge generation of unsaved youth (over 35% of Brazil is under the age of 18!). 

Excitement fills the improvised studio as the four struggle with the learning curve of the (not so) new technology.  Then, with creative insight, they mix hit gospel songs with “live” interviews of other exciting Jesus followers.  Finally, the latest edition of the program is ready to be uploaded. “On the air”!

The PanelaJovem project takes on an extra aura of expanded challenge when considering the fact that the Brazilian government is aggressively installing free Wifi access in remote areas and distant states. Now couple that with another government program offering net-computers to junior high students at wholesale cost, you have the beginning of a successful blockbuster project. 

And, to add more glitter to the idea, don’t forget that the Portuguese language is also spoken in parts of Europe and Africa.  So, with the expanding reach of internet, the world becomes smaller and the challenge becomes greater. 

All that is needed to ignite the world revival is a spark of anointed effort.  Who knows, PanelaJovem may be that spark.  Help us fan it!

John Bradley Lambeth

There have been announcements from a few other manufacturers about new tablet-like computers, such as Microsoft and Samsung, but none of them have gotten anywhere near the amount of ink as the as-yet-invisible Apple iTablet, or iSlate, or whatever the current batch of rumors is calling it. That has some people asking if everyone else is just abandoning this playing field to Apple. That might not actually be the most important question to ask, though it is interesting.

The most important question may be whether or not there is really a tablet computer market to dominate. These sort of devices have been tried before, of course, and never really gotten very far. Then again, those previous devices were very nerd-like and not at all sexy. They were comparatively bulky and heavy and they did not do much. The fact is, pretty much everything that they were able to do can be done today by a fairly basic (non-smart) cell phone. It’s going to take a lot more to sell a tablet in 2010. The form factor is going to be a little odd (about 10” diagonal, at least), making it difficult to carry around for some people, even if there were no other barriers.

But the thought of a tablet a la the iPhone or the iPod Touch is a bit of a different story. Razor thin, sexy in the extreme, with all of the qualities of those other Apple devices except the phone (which should be included, with Bluetooth headset, to make the package complete). Everyone wants to carry just one device, not several. The world is inching closer to a real personal computer in a very small space, and the Apple tablet could be the next step up from the iPhone in that department.

With improvements in small processors and flash memory, we are very nearly into the realm of a real PC that will fit in your pocket. There is still the problem of input, which Apple is expected to solve with a touchscreen and that of output, which Apple is expected to solve with a bit more display real estate and better resolution. Those factors will make the tablet bigger, and all of that in one tiny sexy device will insure that there is a marketplace. And, yes, everyone but Apple may be missing it, at least for now.

via iTablet | iSlate Acessories

One thing this gives Google – a much needed soft phone on the desktop for users to make calls through Google Voice. And integration with Google Talk is likely as well, which will let users of that service access the normal telephone system for inbound and outbound calls.

All in all this pits Google Voice nicely against Skype, which was also looking to buy the company.

From the blog post:

Today we’re pleased to announce we’ve acquired Gizmo5, a company that provides Internet-based calling software for mobile phones and computers. While we don’t have any specific features to announce right now, Gizmo5’s engineers will be joining the Google Voice team to continue improving the Google Voice and Gizmo5 experience. Current Gizmo5 users will still be able to use the service, though we will be suspending new signups for the time being, and existing users will no longer be able to sign up for a call-in number.

We’ve acquired a number of small companies over the past five years, and the people and technology that have come to Google from other places have contributed in many ways, large and small, to all kinds of Google products. Since the GrandCentral team joined Google in 2007, they’ve done incredible things with Google’s technology and resources to launch and improve Google Voice.

We welcome the Gizmo5 team to Google and look forward to working together to bringing more useful features to Google Voice.

These are just rumors at this point, but when a rumor is both pervasive and tenacious there is usually a reason. That gives AT&T some reason to be concerned. Without iPhone exclusivity, what does AT&T bring to the table that would entice customers to switch to, or stick with the wireless provider?

AT&T has found itself under both customer and regulatory scrutiny for a variety of issues from inadequate service to questionable business practices. Users have complained about network speed, the lack of MMS messaging (which AT&T eventually added), the lack of data tethering for the iPhone (although the device itself is technically capable). AT&T has also drawn the attention of the FTC and the FCC regarding device exclusivity and other exclusionary practices.

The move to a ‘world-mode’ version of the iPhone would be good news for Apple. Analysts have already suggested that Apple could double iPhone sales by dropping the exclusivity with AT&T, and the world-mode device could also enable Apple to save manufacturing costs by allowing it to manufacture just one version that serves all markets. Of course, the recent iPhone launch in China has been a bit tepid so there are no guarantees.

The news is also potentially great news for rival wireless provider Verizon. Verizon has been aggressively attacking the iPhone with recent marketing campaigns for the new Motorola Droid, but it has also been very clear that it is still open to welcoming the iPhone to its portfolio of devices. With an iPhone available from Verizon the whole Droid vs. iPhone battle becomes a win-win for Verizon because whichever you choose you could get it from Verizon.

AT&T does have devices that aren’t iPhones. No, really. I know. I am an AT&T customer and I gave up my iPhone for alternate hardware. AT&T was a tough competitor before the iPhone and it seems fair to assume the company won’t just fold its tent and fade away when it loses iPhone exclusivity.

There are rumors of AT&T also embracing the Google Android platform in the near future, and AT&T has generally offered the most compelling Windows Mobile devices like the HTC Tilt and the HTC Pure. I don’t know if coming late to the Android party, or even adding a device as exciting as the upcoming HTC HD2 (which may or may not even come to AT&T) can replace iPhone exclusivity though.

Without the iPhone exclusivity, AT&T’s only real strategic advantage right now is rollover minutes. But, rollover minutes lose relevance when all major carriers now offering some form of unlimited minutes to a select calling circle, and some form of unlimited minutes between mobile devices, and the rising popularity of calling plans with unlimited minutes to begin with.

Verizon and Sprint are working on implementing 4G networks, and AT&T is filing lawsuits because it doesn’t want to look bad for having such sparse 3G coverage. Rumors of iPhone exclusivity ending have circulated for awhile. Hopefully its been enough of a warning that AT&T is working on a Plan B that involves more than adding an Android device and trying to get injunctions against clever marketing campaigns.
Tony Bradley @ PC World