Maya Reports

Our way of keeping you in the loop. You can thank us later.

August 24, 2010 • 11:19 PM 0

DEA is now hiring…

…Ebonics translators (?!?). Can I just mention that Firefox just added a red squiggly line when I typed “Ebonics” with a lowercase “e”.

Right, so I digress.

…the agency [Drug Enforcement Administration] is serious about needing nine people to translate conversations picked up on wiretaps during investigations, Special Agent Michael Sanders said Tuesday. A solicitation was sent to contractors as part of a request to companies to provide hundreds of translators in 114 languages.

Pretty incredible (and not in a good way) that Ebonics is being considered a language rather than slang.

Filed under: Business, Random, DEA hiring, DEA hiring Ebonics translators, Drug Enforcement Administration, Ebonics

August 16, 2010 • 8:37 AM 1

You know you’ve been spoiled by technology if…

…any of these 21 warning signs speak to you. They certainly made me laugh.

A few of my favorites:

I must admit, I do this often –

6. You can’t attend a meeting or go to dinner without hiding your BlackBerry under the table and secretly responding to e-mail. Worse, you don’t even care that other people wonder what the heck your thumbs are doing down there.

Haha. If only…

10. Somebody cuts you off in traffic, and you immediately search your steering wheel for the ‘Thumbs-Down’ button. The good news: Even when you’re short on thumbs, you still have two middle fingers.

The rest of the signs are really funny. I recommend you check them out!

Filed under: Business, Random, Tech, 21 Signs You've Been Spoiled Rotten By Technology, gadgets, internet, wifi

August 16, 2010 • 7:15 AM 0

If you want to roll like a billionaire, ditch your cell phone

A few months ago, while at a convention for work, my iPhone was stolen. My immediate reaction was shock and despair. My phone contained my whole life, it was an extension of me. Surprisingly though, after I accepted the fact that my phone was gone…I actually felt fine, great even. Suddenly I was in control…. If I needed to get a hold of someone, it was under my terms. If someone needed a question answered via text or email, they’d have to wait.

Not having a cell phone is a way of getting the world to run on your time. A lot of powerful people are already on to this. Warren Buffett doesn’t use one. Nor does Mikhail Prokhorov, the 45-year-old Russian billionaire who owns the New Jersey Nets. Tavis Smiley doesn’t own one, either.

While it was an interesting experience, to be without a phone…as soon as I returned home from my trip, I decided to buy another iPhone.

Who was I kidding?

Filed under: Business, Tech, billionaires, iPhone, Luddite, no cell phone, Warren Buffet

August 10, 2010 • 8:30 AM 0

If they pick em (online ads), they will watch (so they hope).

Next month (September), in an attempt to make online ads less irritating, sites like like: MSNBC, Yahoo & Hulu, will let the consumer choose the ads they want to view.

The new ad-selecting tool is called ASq and may step up development of the $3.1 billion global video ads market, already online advertising’s fastest-growing segment. While it may not end unwelcome commercials for car insurance or weight-loss pills, it may help websites command higher rates while letting marketers attract more eyeballs and improve consumer targeting.

I’m anticipating a bunch of “superbowl” worthy online video ads…bring on the creative.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Tech, World, $3.1 billion global video ads market, ASq, creative, Hulu, MSNBC, online video ads, superbowl, Yahoo!

August 10, 2010 • 8:00 AM 1

Plastic Island, an interesting solution to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

First, a little background.

Did you know that the North Pacific Gyre (gyre = a large system of rotating ocean currents), located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is amassing so much debris, that it’s called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Due to the rotating currents, the debris will never reach land.

Scientists believe that the amount of garbage spanning the area of this gyre equals anywhere from the size of Texas to the size of all 50 States. In numbers, some estimate the area to hold 225 million pounds of plastic waste.

Right, so where am I going with this?

(Cue music)

Recycled Island. The idea (from The Netherlands), is to recycle all of the existing debris, and construct a sustainable habitat/island.

It’s really a cool idea. I hope it’s feasible.

Filed under: Business, Green, World, 225 million pounds of plastic waste, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, North Pacific Gyre, Plastic Island, plastic waste, recycled island, WHIM

August 7, 2010 • 2:16 PM 1

If you’re a big brand, and haven’t registered your .co extension…you may be outta luck

To keep up with the influx of individuals and/or companies registering new URLs, or the lack of options for smaller businesses…. allow me to introduce you the newest web domain: .co

If the extension seems a bit familiar, it was once used as the country domain of Colombia. Now, it has officially become an alternative to dot-com.

The issue here has to do with cybersquatting. I myself, was unsure of the term, so here’s a definition:

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Although

Many companies—especially those with recognizable brands—were quick to reserve their own .co sites during a “sunrise” period before they became available to the general public on July 20.

A lot of really large companies, ignored the debut, and are now sort of in between a rock and a hard place. They can either ignore the fact that someone has purchased a domain name with their trademarked brand, or they can contact the individual and try to get it back.

Gannett.co and GeneralDynamics.co are now in the hands of David Stone of Warrenton, Virginia.-based Assurance Agency Inc. Redskins.co and WashingtonCapitals.co also belong to registrants who have nothing to do with the sports teams.

I guess time will tell…

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Random, Tech, World, .co, .co domain registration, .co extension, cybersquatters, dot-com, dot-com alternative, redskins.co

August 7, 2010 • 1:10 PM 0

Say goodbye to pencil sharpeners

To be honest, I’m not sure I remember the last time I used a pencil sharpener, or a pencil..for that matter.

This September, just in time for company’s yearly budget meetings… Sharpie (yes, the maker of those awesome little permanent markers), is going to debut their newest product – Liquid Pencil.

The pressurized liquid graphite was especially designed to write on paper and is erasable for up to three days, after which it becomes more permanent.

I’m usually not a sucker for new random products, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to go buy a Liquid Pencil next month.