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Do You Think End-to-End Encryption Should Be Banned?

End-to-end encryption continues to be a hot topic politically and with law enforcement. The law wants the option to search smartphones for evidence in an investigation. But the makers of popular smartphones bake protections into operating systems so that our data is kept safe, even from law enforcement. But not everyone thinks they should be able to be protected and believe a backdoor should be included on the devices for the purposes of law enforcement. The United States is considering banning end-to-end encryption for this reason. Do you think end-to-end encryption should be banned? Our Opinion … Read more

Will You Trust Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency, Libra?

It’s understandable why politicians talk about breaking up the big tech companies. They just keep expanding and getting into more and more areas. Google, Amazon, Apple: they all just keep broadening their scope, taking on more and more capabilities. Facebook is no different. They are expanding beyond being just a social network. They’re a messaging service and also have introduced a screened-communication tool, Portal. Moving past that, this week Facebook announced a new cryptocurrency, Libra, that will make its debut in 2020. Will you trust Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra? Our Opinion Ryan believes adopting Libra is going to depend solely on how stable it is… Read more

Would You Pay to Use a Browser?

This week we learned that Mozilla is planning on releasing a premium version of Firefox in the fall. This brings up many questions, as we are used to having many options for browsers, yet they’re all free. Are users going to opt to pay for Firefox? Is paying for a browser something everyone is willing to do? Would you pay for a browser? Our Opinion Damien reports he is already a Firefox user. But looking at the premium features Mozilla plans to include in their paid version of the browser, he said, “I doubt I will ever pay for it.” Along the same lines, Fabio… Read more

What Do You Find Easier Now that You Have a Smartphone?

At this point, smartphones are like appendages to us. It’s hard to even remember life without them. How did we possibly get along without being able to call people whenever the mood strikes or without having a camera in our pocket at all times? Undoubtedly they have made our lives much easier. What do you find easier now that you have a smartphone? Our Opinion Alex knows that communicating is obviously easier. “The idea of being inaccessible is quaint today, almost adorable.” He finds the idea of being inaccessible now to be a “matter of conscious disconnection,” rather than simply not having a telephone nearby…. Read more

If You Were Limited to One Mobile App, What Would It Be?

While we started the smartphone revolution hearing, “There’s an app for everything,” we no longer wonder about that interpretation. We know it to be true. We now rely on those apps that will take care of our every whim. But what if that whole world of apps was not open to us? If you were limited to just one mobile app, what would it be? Our Opinion Ryan considered all his favorites, such as the essential camera app, a proper email client, a music player, his bank app, and Feedly. But eventually, he settled on a web browser as his only app, as he can’t… Read more