Motorola Razr 3 Is Getting A Makeover

We have what may be our first glimpse at what appears to be a testing model of the third generation Motorola Razr according to a pair of leaked photographs from Evan Blass via 91Mobiles. On the rear  side of the rebooted smartphone, codenamed Maven, they have two improved cameras:  a 13MP sensor for macro and ultra-wide pictures, and a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor.

One of another ways this one is different than previous version, is that the device's "chin," or the lip that extended outward in prior generations, appears to have vanished in the image of the device entirely closed. When closed, it flips close like the classic forming a  more square shape, which differs from both recent remakes and the device's original design.

The fingerprint sensor has also been relocated to the power button, which appears to be on the device's side, according to Blass. The fingerprint sensor was initially located on the chin of the 2019 Razr, but was moved to the rear of the handset for the 5G-enabled Razr released in 2020. Dieter Bohn, the former executive editor of The Verge, described the positioning on the back of the handset as a "awkward spot to reach," while putting it on the chin prompted him to use two hands to open the phone.

The Razr 3 is said to have an FHD+ inner folding display and a hole-punch 32MP selfie camera, according to Blass. (An image of the device's inside screen may be found at 91Mobiles.) Motorola is expected to offer two versions of the device: a normal version with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system-on-a-chip (SoC) and a "Plus" version with an updated, but as-yet-unknown, chip. It'll have up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, according to expected  specs.

Motorola appears to be preparing to compete with Samsung's flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 3, with its boxier form and two camera sensors. The first two Razr reboots weren't exactly stellar - the 2019 model had a $1,499 price tag and a number of problems, including a bumpy screen, a squeaky hinge, and a poor camera. Motorola's second generation wasn't any better, and the addition of 5G didn't make the $1,399 price tag seem justified.

The third generation Razr is expected to ship in China in July or August, according to a statement made by a Lenovo executive in December (Lenovo purchased the mobile brand in 2014). Outside of China, no release date has been announced sadly.

How do you feel about the more modern reboot of the classic Razr?

Pay for Gucci's Luxury with Crypto

Bougie may have become a lot cooler and more modern, or at least luxury house Gucci is! 

Gucci, which is owned by Kering  brands in France, has announced that they will become the latest company to accept virtual currency. The Italian luxury brand, will begin taking cryptocurrency payments at certain locations of its American based stores.

Customers will be able to pay using a plethora of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, a so-called "meme" cryptocurrency that was founded as a joke, will also be surprisingly  accepted, according to the company.

The service will be available later this month at some of the company's major locations, including Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles and Wooster Street in New York.

Customers who pay with cryptocurrencies at stores will receive an email with a QR (aka: Quick Response) code to use with a digital asset wallet, which is a mobile financial transaction app. QR codes, or rapid response codes, are black and white squares that can be read by mobile phones and have been increasingly popular since the outbreak began.

The policy will be adopted  and added to all of brand's North American stores in the near future, according to the company. However, no ETA was given on when they plan to roll it out nationwide.

Gucci is the most recent and possibly highest end brand to announce that it will start accepting cryptocurrency payments. They are joining Microsoft, AT&T, and Starbucks being among the world's most well-known companies that now accept digital currencies.

How do you feel about cryptocurrencies being accepted by luxury retailers now?  It is an interesting twist for a company that has been around for a long time now. They seem eager to stay on the trends to stay current. Who knows, maybe they will announce luxury NFTs in the future?! 

Is History To Blame Call of Duty: Vanguard's Failure?

History is still boring, or at least that is what Activision Blizzard is implying when it comes to why Call of Duty: Vanguard isn't selling as well as they had hoped. 

They blamed the dismal performance on the lackluster reaction to 2021's Call of Duty: Vanguard after its most recent earnings failed projections by $300 million. The game's narrative was a time-hopping, globe-trotting jumble that followed a special operations task force as it attempted to foil secret Nazi conspiracies near the end of WWII.

Here is what they wrote regarding the slump in sales during their annual report from April 30th:

"While Call of Duty remains one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time, our 2021 premium release didn’t meet our expectations, we believe primarily due to our own execution, The game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some of our community and we didn’t deliver as much innovation in the premium game as we would have liked."

Their usual fan base does not agree 100% with that statement. Many players thought the plot was too short, seasonal content was not released on schedule, or  it's Zombie setting was not widely accepted well.  Others also complain that they release a new game of this franchise every year and people get bored with a franchise that never allows for growth. You pair those issues with a world wide pandemic and personal issues going public, you can see where this game release turned messy. 

It should be noted that the game was still a best-seller, just not to the extent that Activision would have hoped for. To win them back, the publisher is promising "the most ambitious strategy in Call of Duty history" in the form of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2, a reboot of a sequel to a spin-off, at least until the anticipated $69 billion agreement with Microsoft closes. Activision is counting on a "return to the Modern Warfare setting, which delivered our most successful Call of Duty release ever" to boost sales.

Meta Partnered with Coursera for Professional Certificates

 Meta ceased requiring job searchers to have a four-year university or college degree to apply for select opportunities last year in an effort to fill excellent openings. The company said at the time that it believed the decision would show companies that a post-secondary degree isn't the only method for someone to obtain the skills they need to be a valued member of their workforce. Following up on that announcement, the business has announced a collaboration with Coursera, an online learning platform, to provide five new software engineering professional credentials.

The programs, according to Meta, are suitable for those wishing to get the essential skills to land an entry-level employment in the IT industry. It is not necessary to have prior industrial experience or even a college diploma to enroll in the courses. The new courses cover everything from front-end development to Android and iOS app development, with the latter providing an intensive introduction to JavaScript, React, Swift, and UI Kit. Two of the programs start on June 30th, and the remaining three start on July 31st — though you may pre-register for all of them now.

The classes come at a time when IT businesses like Meta are having difficulty filling positions in the United States. There were over one million empty IT positions in the United States even before the pandemic. The labor shortfall is expected to worsen in the future years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's difficult to determine how much more professional qualifications will help fix the problem, but Meta is certainly doing everything it can to address its own talent deficit.

What courses are you interested in by Meta and Coursera, and will you be taking any of them?

Build Your Own Mini Marshall Stack with New Bluetooth Speakers

Marshall has added two additional Bluetooth speakers to its portable speaker lineup, with one being an update on an older model with a few new capabilities. The company's first ultra-compact portable, the Willen, is joined by the Emberton II, which improves on the prior model in a few respects. Both are now compatible with the Marshall Bluetooth app, which was previously unavailable on any of their portable speaker models before. 

It was also unavoidable that the corporation would introduce a feature known as Stack Mode, a nod to "Marshall stacks". This just brings them up to date with the rest of the speaker industry, allowing you to wirelessly share your music with other speakers, in this case they will need to be a Willen or Emberton II speaker in order to share. It's also worth noting that Marshall has extended the Emberton II's battery life from 20 to 30 hours on a single charge when played at a modest volume level.

If you are wondering how well they perform, Marshall speakers give a fantastic warm tone with meaty bass and powerful highs in general. However, you cannot expect the same performance from these as you can with a larger speaker such as Tufton.

For the updated Emberton II, you can also expect a firmware update and EQ tweaks that are available in an app. The Willen is designed for those who are on a budget and may be just wishing to try out a Marshall speaker system. 

Both speakers include Bluetooth 5.1, an IP67 weatherproof rating, and are Stack mode compatible, which requires a triple press of the Bluetooth button to host and a double push on secondary speakers to join or disconnect.

Emberton II  (sold at $169.99) will be released on May 10th and the Willen ($119.99) on June 2nd. 

Are you excited for these 2 new releases from Marshall?

Instagram Cracking Down on Tiktok Reposts

 Instagram doesn't want to be a highlight reel of your favorite Tiktok videos. The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has announced changes that he says will help to credit the original content creators, as well as encouraging users to create their own unique content for the gram. 

Their parent company Meta (who also owns Facebook) is trying to make both platforms more creator friendly, rather than staying social with your friends. Hence why you are seeing newer items being added to try to pull creators into their services with reels and shopping tools. However, that hasn't stopped people from trying to turn them into a knockoff version or mirror to Tiktok. So how are they going to respond? By burying it from the rankings and to further hide the copied content from view.

Don't fret just yet though, as Instagram is saying that it will take a learning curve to see what they considered as new, fresh content vs stolen. Here is what Adam has shared thus far.

📣 New Features 📣

We’ve added new ways to tag and improved ranking:

- Product Tags
- Enhanced Tags
- Ranking for originality

Creators are so important to the future of Instagram, and we want to make sure that they are successful and get all the credit they deserve. pic.twitter.com/PP7Qa10oJr

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) April 20, 2022

What are your thoughts and do you think this is a better direction for Instagram to move towards?

Password Security Tips for World Password Day 2022

 It may seem like every year you hear of a crazy new holiday or themed day, well today may be no different than that to you. Today marks World Password Day, a day where we try to raise Internet awareness on cyber security and how you can protect yourself from being hacked. So in honor of today, I decided it is time to share some tips to help you all in making sure that you are as secure as you can be.

1. Never Reuse Passwords

This one should be considered common sense, but we all do get our lazy sides going and sometimes it is easier just to reuse the same one or a variation of it again and again. This should be a huge no, as if that account gets hacked, you can bet your Xbox S or Playstation 5 that those hackers will attempt to use that password to gain access to other accounts.

2. Use a Phrase or 10+ Characters

The longer the password, the hard to crack it - or at least that is what this one is all about. Yes, it does make it harder on you, but at the same time it makes it harder for a hacker and that is a good thing! You can also use a password manager to store these passwords for you, and many of them do offer a password generator that can help you to create a longer, random password if you don't want to use a phrase. This can also be helpful where they cannot use AIs to crack into a random password, as the longer it is, the longer it takes to crack.

3. Don't Share Accounts

I can promise this is not sponsored by Netflix, but sharing accounts and passwords can be a security concern. Most services and websites should do better by allowing everyone who is sharing a service to create their own login, but alas, that doesn't appear to be a concern to them. Perhaps we can remind them of this security liability on World Password Day?

4. 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)

As we approach to a more digital age, 2FA is a growing and popular option for many. It makes it harder for those to gain access to your account as most want to send you a random, generated code to your phone where you can see it and then enter it. It can feel like a real pain, but it can be a good thing as well especially for accounts that may house personal information.

What are some of your tips regarding password security? Is this the first time you have heard of World Password Day?

Can Someone Please Explain What NFTs Are?

These days, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) appear to be everywhere. These digital assets, which range from art and music to tacos, are selling like toilet paper back in 2020 pandemic height. But many people are confused on what they are and why they are hyped up so much. So here we are going to take a look at what they are.

An NFT is digital asset that involves real-world elements like as art, music, fashion, and films. They're bought and traded online, often using cryptocurrency, and they're usually encoded with the same software as many other cryptos are.

Despite the fact that they've been there since 2014, NFTs are gaining popularity currently as a popular means to buy and sell digital artwork or memes. The market alone for NFTs was approximately worth $41 billion in 2021, which is closing in on the whole value of the entire global fine art industry.

Much like the fine art industry, NFTs are also one-of-a-kind, or at the very least one of a very small run, and contain unique identifying codes which acts as proof of ownership

The kicker is typically that these individual images can be viewed for free on the internet by anyone. So why are individuals prepared to spend millions of dollars on something they could easily screenshot or download for free?

It has become more of a modern day digital status symbol. That is because an NFT entitles the purchaser to claim ownership of the original item. The "digital bragging rights" are  seen as almost as valuable as the item itself for collectors.

This is unlike most other digital products, which seem to almost always have an unlimited quantity. If a certain asset is in demand, cutting down the supply should theoretically increase its value (or at least that is the idea). Because of their perceived high value, these are built on the blockchain like crypto to help keep them safe and secure. Their purchase records are kept on a ledger that is public as well, again like their precursor. They are commonly using the same blockchain as Ethereum, though other crypto blockchains can be used.

Here are a few examples on what can be turned into an NFT:

• GIFs of graphic art
• Highlights from sporting events and videos
• Collectibles
• Skins for video games and virtual avatars
• Sneakers by a designer
• Music
• Tweets

They are often viewed and considered as a collectors item, only digital instead of tangible. Each NFT can only have one single owner at a time, but they can be traded or sold among each other as the owners see fit. However, unlike typical collectors items, the original creator of the NFT can strike a claim on future sales if someone re-sells it to a different owner. Thus generating royalties for the future, which they can keep for themselves or use to raise cash for a charity. Companies like Taco Bell have used them as a way to raise funds for a charity that they support, so not everyone is trying to get rich off of these.

In order to start your veryown NFT collection, you'll need to acquire the following items:

You will be required to have digital wallet that can hold both NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Depending on what currencies your NFT provider takes, you'll probably need to buy some cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ether. A lot of different crypto providers now allow you to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card, like Robinhood, eToro, or Paypal. After that, you'll be able to transfer it from the exchange to your preferred wallet and can start using it to buy your desired NFT. Just be careful of which provider you purchase from, as sometimes you will come across impersonators who are trying to make a quick buck. So be sure to always check your research before making a purchase.

 Now that you know who or what they are NFTs, are they worth the money—or the hype? Some analysts believe they, like the dot-com mania and Beanie Babies, are about to burst. Others feel that NFTs are here to revolutionize the investment market. Since they are newish, it is hard to say what the future will hold for them. Unlike some things, they don't really hold much value as they are only worth what others deem they are by what they are willing to pay for them. 

Be warned that capital gains taxes apply to NFTs, just like they do when you sell stocks at a profit. Because they're considered as a collectible, they may or may not qualify for the lower long-term capital gains rates that stocks do. They may even be taxed at a higher collectibles rate, the IRS still hasn't decided what NFTs are for tax purposes. Keep in mind also that the cryptocurrencies you used to buy the NFT may be taxed if their value has increased since you last purchased them, so you should advise  with a tax specialist before buying into NFTs for portfolio.

How do you feel about NFTs and are they something you wish to invest into in the future?

Clean Your Dirty Earbuds!

When you consider the germs, viruses, grime, and other filth that cover our electronics, it can make your stomach turn. Especially when you consider that they may not wiped down as often as doors, or other common surfaces that you encounter on the daily. Just think about your TV, tablet, game consoles, or even cell phone can all get just plan nasty with how often we use them in the day to day. But what about your earbuds?

Earbuds have a very high level of unpleasantness when compared to your other devices. Dirt and skin particles, earwax, grease, and sweat are all collected by them. They're like portable Petri dishes, which is just plain nasty. 

Fortunately, wiping it all away isn't difficult. Grab a microfiber cloth first and get it slightly damp. Gently wipe your cord and each earbud without touching your speaker, which could be damaged if it gets wet from you cleaning it. Alternatively, you can also buy wipes and use those if you wish instead for cleanliness; just again make sure to avoid the speaker part within it.

For any harder scuffs, you can use a regular pencil eraser.

To get around the speaker, try to avoid sharps objects like toothpicks. They can cause damage to the speaker, so you should try to use something more flexiable and soft like a flossing stick. Once you loosen any of the grime, wipe away with a dry cloth. 

Like with anything electronic, never place them in running or sitting water; you should also avoid using chemicals or wire brushes. 

After you clean them to your satisfaction, charge them up once you are 100% positive that they are indeed dry. Now you can enjoy what feels and looks like brand new earbuds once again.

Do you have any tips on how to clean your earbuds or electronics?

Google May Allow You To Vanish from Search Engine

 Google is adding phone numbers and email addresses to the list of personal information that you can request to be deleted from the search engine.

They finally have announced that they are modifying their policy to allow consumers to have more control over their personal information, by allowing you to request it to be removed from search results.

Contact information, such as a phone number, email address, or physical location, is now included in the revised policies, as well as information that could enhance the risk of identity theft, such as log-in credentials.

Google's policy lead, Michelle Change released this statement: 

"The availability of personal contact information online can be jarring — and it can be used in harmful ways, including for unwanted direct contact or even physical harm...And people have given us feedback that they would like the ability to remove this type of information from Search in some cases."

While this is a step in the right direction, you as a user must manually submit the request. Even then, Google claims to have the right to make the final call if they will or will not remove. So sadly, you will still not have total control over your personal details.

What do you think about Google allowing users to request to remove their details from the search engine?

Google Announces Cyber Threat in Chrome

If you use Google Chrome as your web browser, please be aware that your data may be at risk of being stolen.

Google published an alert informing billions of Chrome browser users that they may have been successfully targeted by hackers, listing 30 security issues, seven of which were classified as "High" risk.

According to the company's announcement, an update will be released in the coming days to solve the bugs that leave you at risk, which affect Windows, macOS, and Linux users.

It's unknown who is responsible of the hacking, or whether any users' privacy was jeopardized.

Further attack data are presently being withheld by Google "until the bulk of customers have been updated with a patch," according to the company.

They will keep limits in place if the flaw is in a third-party library that other projects rely on but haven't resolved yet, the business added.

Users of Chrome can manually upgrade their browsers via the settings menu, although the browsers will update automatically in a few days. Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the browser and scroll down to locate options.

The Return of Miss Virtual Reality?

It has been around 12 years since I last posted on this blog, and a lot has happened between the last time that I posted here and now.  Some of the things that has changed has been that I am no longer currently freelance writing and no longer hosting my own Wordpress website. I hope to get back to that, but to say that when I stepped away from here that I was in a good mental space would be a lie. Life became extremely difficult at that point and it was really a matter of survival as I was over extending myself. However, that is in the past and things did get better. Now I am wanting to revisit this and perhaps touch on tech topics, as well as document my path in finding new ways to make money online. It seem to fit this site, as well as it was one of the ways that this blog came to be in the first place.

So, you may be wondering why am I seeking to return and document this? I have a passion for teaching and helping others to make a living online. Plus a lot has changed in the online money making world since I last left you all. So I figured it might be a good idea to revisit some of this and share what I learn along the way, along with hopefully some tech-y related items. 

If you want to join along, please feel free to comment below and we can see where this path takes us next.