Why has no one come up with a Zumocast Alternative
Love the Zumocast app, tag line – Stream your media, it’s your personal cloud. It lets you treat your computers as a remote storage for your IOS device.
I use it all the time to look for files on my pc, then easily transfer them to my IOS device, if it is something Zumocast does not recognize, gives you the option to open in any app that recognizes the file type.
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Amazon defers Sales Tax for Another Year
Image via Wikipedia
Till September 2012 Amazon has the opportunity to lobby congress to avoid sales taxes for online purchases.
First, I purchase allot of things online and many times the purchase decision has come down to online due to it being cheaper overall. Like many Americans every penny spent is important and the less I spend the better.
But also like most Americans I benefit from taxes in many way and I also work in traditional retail where I loose sales due to the fact that they can purchase the exact same thing online with no tax and free shipping makes, it very hard to compete. My company must charge sales taxes on their online sales since they have a physical presence in the state. Makes it very hard to compete with behemoths like Amazon, and in my opinion anti-capitalistic since the playing field is not level and fair.
A couple of thoughts:
- digital products should be tax free (not a tangible product)
- shipping should be figured into tax rate, and should affect it, if free shipping, taxes should match state taxes
- or make it simple, do a flat tax
Why should shipping affect taxes? It is an extra expense that affects the transaction, and to keep everything fair should be taken into account.
If nothing else happens, I think some kind of simple flat tax should be enabled, would most likely still be cheaper to purchase online, but would generate revenue based on were the orders are coming from.
AppleTV, Apps, and Family Hub
In previous post talked about AppleTV with ability to run apps, becoming an amazing console gaming machine.
I also mentioned it could become a family hub.
What I meant by that is imagine coming home and quickly looking at a globally synced calendar showing all the family members schedules. Location tracking (password activated and protected of course). Allowing parents to validate where their kids are at, or that their spouse is stuck in traffic.
If the AppleTV could be updated to run apps imagine home and family specific apps.
App to control the Tivo. App to setup date night. Shopping lists. Meal planning. I am surely only anticipating the bare minimum of what could be possible. I am sure the folks at Apple can do much more and much better.
Add a webcam and motion detection app and you have a Kinect style gaming and technology opportunity. Add large external drive and you have a DVR. A external DVD or Blu-Ray drive and you have a even more options and opportunities. Maybe on the line of the old laser disk systems. An app to access data off the drive (a super encyclopedia), proprietary information for the government or business. Make it a burner and you have the ability to use it to master custom DVD/Blu-Ray disks…take home movies to another level using media from home pc, iOS devices, internet to make really powerful media. Use GarageBand app and master your own CD.
Using technology to help connect us in our very busy lives is worthy goal, and the true promise of technology. I can’t wait to see what is around the next corner. The changes in my lifetime so far are mind boggling.
