The Digital Revolution

Snapshot of three digital devices: two TV control devices and a wireless phone. All are examples of how our societies have been influenced by the digital revolution. Reality has been coded and transformed into “zeros” and “ones” in an upward spiral of digital information. Is this the Babel Tower of our times? Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

If you look around, it’s highly likely there is a digital device nearby.  Most of the time it’s a cellphone, tablet or laptop.  We are suffering from information indigestion, yet we crave for more.  Billions of digital content is flowing on a 24/7 basis on the web.  In fact, there are some people who live more in cyberspace than in their real homes.

The World Wide Web, The Web or The Cloud is covering us like a gargantuan blanket nurturing us with a zillion quantity of information.  Yep, the digital revolution has taken our societies by storm and the trend is most likely to continue until something else emerges and we plunge into another brand new era.

In a 1984 novel dubbed, “Neuromancer“, William Gibson used the term “cyberspace” and the word struck a cultural nerve.  Even as we speak, we are immersed in this ethereal cyberspace, together with billions of other human beings in almost every corner of the globe.

Gibson himself coined the term “cyberspace” in his novelette “Burning Chrome”, published in 1982 by Omni magazine. However, it was only through its use in Neuromancer that the term cyberspace gained enough recognition to become the de facto term for the World Wide Web during the 1990s. The part of Neuromancer usually cited in this respect is:

“The matrix has its roots in primitive arcade games. … Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts. … A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding.”

See you next time in cyberspace.  I’m sure we will be there. Good Day.

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Major Web Browsers Worldwide Usage – May 2013

Fresh statistics have been released into the wild by Net Applications for May 2013.  Net Applications’ statistics are based on the activity of about 160 million visitors per month to Web sites using its services.

These are the latest figures on the performance of the behemoths of the Internet as far as web browsing is concerned.

1. Internet Explorer: 55.99 – 55.81 = 0.18 percent
2. Firefox:  20.63 – 20.30= 0.33 percent
3. Chrome:  15.74 – 16.35 = 0.61 percent
4. Safari:  5.46 – 5.38 = 0.08 percent
5. Opera:  1.77 – 1.73 = 0.04 percent
6. Others:  0.41 – 0.42 = 0.01 percent

COMMENTS:

Analyzing the newly-minted statistics, the only loser last month was Google Chrome.  It slid backwards a walloping 0.33 percent which was unexpected—at least for me it was.  They have been tweaking their browser with some interesting goodies like the voice-activated address bar similar to Apple’s Siri, witty extensions, and a much faster performance.  But that is not alluring the people out there.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox are the real winners.  I’m glad Firefox has found it’s way and is proceeding forward.  I understand some Chinese companies are on the drawing table designing mobile phones using Mozilla’s Firefox as their default browser.  That’s raising some eyebrows.  Good.

Apple Safari is doing okay and Norwegian Opera is clawing a bit forward, but nothing to brag about.  At least it is gaining some global market share which is not bad at all.

See you all next month with new statistics fresh out of the oven from Net Applications.  Good Day.

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Major Web Browsers Worldwide Usage – April 2013

Fresh statistics have been released into the wild by Net Applications for April 2013.  Net Applications’ statistics are based on the activity of about 160 million visitors per month to Web sites using its services.

These are the latest figures on the performance of the behemoths of the Internet as far as web browsing is concerned.

1. Internet Explorer: 55.81 – 55.83 = 0.02 percent
2. Firefox:  20.30 – 20.21 = 0.09 percent
3. Chrome:  16.35 – 16.45 = 0.10 percent
4. Safari:  5.38 – 5.31 = 0.07 percent
5. Opera:  1.73 – 1.74 = 0.01 percent
6. Others:  0.42 – 0.48 = 0.06 percent

COMMENTS:

Last month things were pretty quiet in the browsers’ arena.  Just about every one of the players held their ground with the exception of Chrome who lost 0.10 points and Safari who won 0.07.  Firefox is keeping a steady trend upwards which is good news for me; being a devoted Firefox user.

Opera is frozen in deep ice.  Nothing they do seems to work to get their engine in motion.  For a moment I thought Google was going to gobble it up, but at the end of day nothing happened.  One thing I can say about Opera—they are persistent people.  No matter what, they keep struggling forward.  I like that.  As the saying goes, “persistence makes perfection”.  I hope it works for them in the long haul.

See you next month, and in the meantime, have fun and live your life the best you can.  Good Day.

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Major Web Browsers Worldwide Usage – March 2013

Fresh statistics have been released into the wild by Net Applications for March 2013.  Net Applications’ statistics are based on the activity of about 160 million visitors per month to Web sites using its services.

These are the latest figures on the performance of the behemoths of the Internet as far as web browsing is concerned.

1. Internet Explorer: 55.83 – 55.82 = 0.01 percent
2. Firefox:  20.21 – 20.12 = 0.09 percent
3. Chrome:  16.45 – 16.27 = 0.18 percent
4. Safari:  5.31 – 5.42 = 0.11 percent
5. Opera:  1.74 – 1.82 = 0.08 percent
6. Others:  0.46 – 0.54 = 0.08 percent

COMMENTS:

On the desktop, Internet Explorer saw no meaningful change, at 55.83 percent for the month compared to 55.82 last month. Firefox and Chrome both edged up a little, gaining 0.09 and 0.18 points for shares of 20.21 and 16.45 percent respectively. Safari and Opera both nudged downward, losing 0.11 and 0.08 points to drop to 5.31 and 1.74 percent respectively.

Interesting to see how Apple Safari is loosing ground while Google Chrome has made a considerable turnaround.  Never a dull moment in the technological world. Good Day.

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Major Web Browsers Worldwide Usage – February 2013

Fresh statistics have been released into the wild by Net Applications for February 2013.  Net Applications’ statistics are based on the activity of about 160 million visitors per month to Web sites using its services.

These are the latest figures on the performance of the behemoths of the Internet as far as web browsing is concerned.

1. Internet Explorer: 55.82 – 55.14 = 0.68 percent
2. Firefox:  20.12 – 19.94 = 0.18 percent
3. Chrome:  16.27 – 17.48 = 1.21 percent
4. Safari:  5.42 – 5.24 = 0.18 percent
5. Opera:  1.82 – 1.75 = 0.07 percent
6. Others:  0.54 – 0.45 = 0.09 percent

COMMENTS:

There was a great surprise from Net Applications’ numbers.  All the players received a green score except, Chrome which slid backwards a walloping 1.21 percent.  Even though Google has broken the $800.00 per share landmark, and making all the right decisions, users are not taking the bait.  Microsoft Internet Explorer did very well advancing forward 0.68 percent.

Mozilla’s Firefox  continues to hold its ground.  It edged forward 0.18 increasing its distance from a sliding Chrome.  So far it has shown its resiliency holding a solid second place despite the ferocious attacks from Google’s camp.

Google Chrome was the only loser last month.  It’s the only player who won a red medal which is a bad sign.  Losing 1.21 percentage points in 30 days is a bad omen.  I’m sure they are seriously discussing what can be done to allure more users into its camp.  It was doing well, until the word spread out that Google was taking a look at the private surfing information of Chrome users.  An invasion of privacy is something people will not accept.

Apple Safari gained 0.18 percentage points in February.  The unexpected acceptance of the mini iPad tablet worldwide is indisputable and this success will positively affect the spread of Safari.  This means more users of Safari and a better a market share place in the future.

Norwegian Opera is struggling to keep its hard-earned global market share.  It moved forward 0.07 which is admirable, considering that they are fighting against formidable adversaries..  It’s not a big secret that the real action is in the mobile and tablets industry where it’s a serious contender.  Good Day.

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Mozilla Firefox Upgrades to Version 19.0

In an effort to improve the security of its flagship browser—Firefox—Mozilla has gone ahead and launched version 19.0 yesterday morning.

The update is somewhat modest on new features, but it does include a built-in PDF viewer, which will eliminate the need for third-party plugins (unless you’d prefer said plugins for aesthetic reasons or for some additional functionality). The PDF viewer incorporated in the browser uses PDF.js, a JavaScript library that converts PDF files into HTML5. Users only need to upgrade their Firefox browser and open a PDF to take advantage of it.

Mozilla also fixed two bugs that slowed Firefox’s launch time. Now, when the user clicks the Firefox icon, it should result in a box immediately, rather than forcing the user to wait for the page to load—and click again and again as the user sees nothing, only to have eight pages open a minute later.  My experience regarding this feature, is that the browser is the same as before.  I haven’t experienced any increase in speed.  I own and old HP desktop system with2GB RAM and a cable modem connection with a broadband of 7 MB, which is quite fast.  However, Firefox is still as fast as it was before the launch.  That’s okay with me, I’m not that demanding in speed.  My computing needs are quite modest.

According to TechCrunch, Mozilla also released an update to its Firefox for Android browser, lowering the minimum CPU requirements to 600MHz. Now, Firefox will “run on over 15 million devices, including the LG Optimus One, T-Mobile myTouch 3G slide, HTC Wildfire S and ZTE R750.”

Being the Internet a very dangerous place to be, I would strongly encourage you to update your Firefox browser as soon as possible.  It’s not as safe to surf the Web as it used to be, not even for Apple users and you probably know.  Chinese hackers were able to compromise several Apple computers recently.  Nobody is safe from these evil guys nowadays.  Good Day.

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Major Web Browsers Worldwide Usage – January 2013

Fresh statistics have been released into the wild by Net Applications for January 2013.  Net Applications’ statistics are based on the activity of about 160 million visitors per month to Web sites using its services.

These are the latest figures on the performance of the behemoths of the Internet as far as web browsing is concerned.

1. Internet Explorer: 55.14 – 54.77 = 0.37 percent
2. Firefox:  19.94 – 19.82 = 0.12 percent
3. Chrome:  17.48 – 18.04 = 0.56 percent
4. Safari:  5.24 – 5.24 = 0.00 percent
5. Opera:  1.75 – 1.71 = 0.04 percent
6. Others:  0.45 – 0.42 = 0.03 percent

COMMENTS:

Every month I’m curious to see how the Masters of the Universe performed the previous months.  Some months are unexpected surprises, others are more of the same.  Microsoft Internet Explorer’s boat is still sailing full speed ahead.  Its compass has been fixed and the direction is North, propelled by a fierce commercial blitzkrieg promoting Windows 8, Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Office 2013.   Last month Internet Explorer plunged forward 0.37 percentage points—from 54.77 to 55.14—compared with 53.83 points ten months ago.  Over the years, Microsoft have proved to its competitors that they know how to hold their ground.  The numbers are speaking loud and clear.  Microsoft wants to stay in the game…and if possible—win!

Mozilla’s Firefox is fighting tooth and nail to keep its fragile second place.  In January 2013, Firefox staved off the rivals with a walloping 0.12 percentage point gain. After dropping market share for several months, they have been able to put their house in order and are clawing back to a strong second place closely followed by strong competitor Google Chrome.  The red-hot competition between these two behemoths is fascinating to watch.

Google Chrome dipped dramatically last month from 18.04 to 17.48 percent.  That’s a scary drop of 0.56 percent which is huge if you ask me. Google has made three big bets on the future of computing; Chrome (browser), Google Apps (cloud), and Android (mobile). The trends are pretty clear. All the exciting new applications are running in the browser, with application code in the cloud, and the cell phone as the platform….2010 was the year that enterprises of all sizes started their transition to Gmail and Google Apps, and took their first steps towards the vision of the future.  That future might be blurred if Chrome continues to fall behind.  February will be interesting to watch.  I’ll keep you posted.

Apple Safari froze last month.  It didn’t move an inch.  Wall Street is not very happy either.  For some reason, Apple’s shares are dropping in value.  I understand an Apple share is selling for $453.62 which is difficult to understand when they could be had for $702.10 on September 19, 2012.  I wonder what ever happened to Apple’s mojo and the magic of its extraordinary products.

Norwegian Opera remained relatively stagnant in January.  It moved forward a meager 0.04.  The real action is in the mobile and gadgets industry where it’s a serious contender.  I’m sure they are looking closely at the computing tablets market as well.    Good Day.

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Mozilla is Dead Serious About Crushing Malware

Credit: Mozilla Corporation

In an effort to prevent “drive-by exploitations,” upcoming versions of Firefox will have Java, Adobe Reader and Silverlight disabled by default, according to a recent Mozilla Security blog. All other third-party plugins except Flash will also be disabled, requiring users to enable them using the so-called click to play feature introduced last year. All that is to prevent “poorly designed” Firefox plugins from crashing or recent headline-grabbing exploits involving the likes of Java, with Adobe’s Flash player being the one exception that works out of the box—though versions longer of tooth than 10.3 won’t see daylight without your say-so.

This is music to my ears, because Mozilla Firefox is my default browser.  As a precautionary move I have installed Google Chrome and Norwegian Opera as a backup, but am not crazy about their performance.  Any step to crush slack codes is good news for me.  Good Day.

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How to Remove Region Blocks and Enjoy the Web With Hola Unblocker

Credit: Mozilla Organization

For a long times I had problem watching news clips, videos, TV episodes, movies, and other Internet content because they were restricted to Panama due to royalty issues.  For example, I have a Netflix subscription to stream movies and documentaries in English with Spanish subtitles which is good, I’m not complaining.  However, the U.S. version has a wider variety of movies and documentaries and its database includes newer movies.  The problem was, I was blocked from this richer content.  The same was true with Pandora, Hulu and other sites.

Yesterday, in a serendipitous event, I found out there was a way to unblock the restrictions and access these elusive web sites using a Firefox or Chrome extension.  Hola Unblocker Web Proxy version 1.0.113 is a browser extension that removes region locks and allows you to watch BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and more regardless of where you live. It doesn’t require any set up and works right out of the box.

The Hola Unblocker guys have found a few ways to circumvent region-locking, including, changing your DNS server, VPN, and easy to use services like Tunnelbear. Hola Unblocker makes the whole process even easier. Just install the extension, and Hola Unblocker does the rest. You don’t need to reboot or change any setting in your browser. Currently, Hola supports Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, BBC iPlayer, iTV Player, CBS, and Fox.

If you enjoy websites like Pandora, ABC, CBS, NBC, Hulu, Netflix, just to name a few, but find it impossible to do so, no problem, the U.S. Cavalry is on the way.  I’m now enjoying a series dubbed, “Commander in Chief” starring Geena Davis as president Mackenzie Allen, the first female president in U.S. history, available in HD through Netflix.  Using Hulu, I also found another interesting show called, “Shark Tank”, about entrepreneurs seeking growth capital from shrewd investors.  The show is absolutely fascinating plus you learn a lot about investing in small but growing enterprises.

Pandora worked flawlessly as well, although I did notice miniscules interruptions, even though I have a generous Internet bandwidth of 7 Mbps from Cable Onda.  This doesn’t worry me, since I have other American Internet radio stations with similar musical contents.  However, it’s good news to open up new territory that was once banned in this part of the world.

If you miss your favorite TV programs from the United States and are currently living abroad, I fully recommend this Firefox/Chrome add on.  After using it, you will wonder how you ever lived so many years without it.  Good Day.

Source:  Hola!—Access blocked content from any country in the world.

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How It Feels To Become a Millionaire

Today is one of the happiest days of my life.  I got out of bed this morning and dashed to my home office and checked my computer screen.  I knew there was something special waiting for me.  Very special indeed.  Today Lingua Franca reached the landmark of 1,000,088 page views.  This remarkable task was accomplished in five years and eleven days to be exact.  I’m feeling so happy, I’m jumping out of my skin.  Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), in the film Wall Street, replied to the receptionist at work while he was coming in one morning this way:

—“How are you today, Bud?”

—I’m feeling fine, if I felt any better it would be a sin!”

After blogging for about eight years, I finally reached the Finish Line and entered into the one million page hits territory.  It’s difficult to describe what this means to me for several reasons.  First, I’m not a writer.  Second, I’m not a photographer.  And third, I’m not a native English-speaking person.  However, with all these limitations. I became a millionaire.  I’m absolutely feeling over the moon today, January 11, 2013.

Never did I ever dream that a country boy from a banana plantation in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, would start a blog in English and reach out and touch thousands and thousands of people around the world and accumulating one million page hits in the process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are several names I would like to acknowledge who helped me make this dream come true. Don Ray, the author of Chiriqui Chatter in David, gave me the idea of opening a blogging account and write about events that happened  in Panama City.  His blog posts were full of useful information, and his photographs of David added pizazz to his work.   After reading his blog, I knew I had a task to carry out.

Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio also contributed considerably to my work.  He impressed me with gorgeous photographs of animals and flowers taken in his backyard.  His pictures were so well taken, that it induced me to buy a camera and learn how to take pictures and insert them in my blog.  That’s how I got involved in photography.  Abe is a consummate and professional photographer and a dedicated blogger as well.

Linda, Jim and Nena, Hilda, Richard, Marjorie and Jaime encouraged me to keep on going with their continued comments.  I appreciate their dedicating part of their valuable time reading and commenting on Lingua Franca.  And last but certainly not least, I am grateful to the thousands and thousands of people around the world who have read Lingua Franca for over five years.  I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement and support.  Reaching this goal was only possible because of you.

GLOBAL COVERAGE

 According to the elves of WordPress, Lingua Franca is mostly read from citizens of the following countries since February 25, 2012; (Figures are expressed in Page Views)

1. United States:  110,480
2. Panama:  19,444
3. United Kingdom:  17,605
4. Canada:  12,435
5. India:  9,287
6. Australia:  7,332
7. Philippines:  5,143
8. Germany:  2,566
9. Malaysia:  2,036
10. Brazil:  1,974

As you can see, the leading page hits originated from countries of the American Continent (40 percent), Europe (20 percent) and Asia (40 percent).

Lingua Franca was read in almost every country in the world with the exception of eight countries in Africa and two countries in Asia.  With these exception, the whole globe was covered by the blog.  Kindly click here to view the countries covered by Lingua Franca.  It’s impressive how far a blog can reach out using today’s technology.

STATISTICS

Below are the Lingua Franca’s page views provided by WordPress for the last five years:

1. 2008:  67,131
2. 2009:  193,340
3. 2010:  245,319
4. 2011:  218,395
5. 2012:  268,154

The average page hit per day in 2012 was 733, which in my opinion, is amazing.

Yep, today is one of the happiest days in my life.  I feel like a million bucks thanks to you my dear readers.  All of this was accomplished because you made it happen by taking the time to read Lingua Franca.  I am most grateful for your support.  What else can I say?  I’m still in a state of shock.

Today I’ll take it easy and assimilate the news together with my wife.  I feel as if I’m walking on water.  Thank you so much and Good Day.

Suggested Reading:  Lingua Franca’s Annual Report 2012

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