Is Wikipedia Really Free?

Wikipedia has always been on the receiving end from analysts about their fundraising. Every once in awhile you will go onto their site and find an 'urgent appeal' from founder Jimmy Wales, or one of the staff members. They will ask for donations to help keep the content free, though the choice to give money is always in the hands of the user.

This has sparked a bit of debate on whether or not you can really define Wikipedia as being 'free'. But it all comes down to what that freedom really entails, and what the alternative would be if they were to stop asking for donations.

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5 Reasons Why Apple Is Successful

Many of us on TekSocial are huge Apple fans. That goes without saying. With the recent resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO, I think it is a good time to have a look back on why Apple is so successful, and will continue being so. First off, I'd just like to say these are my opinions on how Apple has become so successful, and I'm happy for you all to post your comments on how you feel about the reasons, and add any that you feel are neccesary.

Note, These are no specific order.

1. Experience - Apple has been in the technology industry for 35 Years! That gives them the edge on newer industrys, as they have that kind of knowledge of the technology market, and know what consumers want. (Now don't get me wrong, Apple has made a couple of mistakes in the past, but nobody is perfect)

2. Innovation - When innovation comes to mind, we all think 'futuristic' am I right? Well that is exactly what Apple are, they produce products that nobody would have ever thought of for another 10, 20 years.

3. Constant change - Now when I say constant change, what I mean is that Apple changes their own competitors market by themselves. Apple has a very positive history of being able to 'innovate' new products into the market, which then puts their competitors on the back foot, as they are years behind them.

4. Marketing - Myself & friends are always talking about the latest ways that Apple has found to advertise their products, most notably their TV commercials. Apple has potentially the best marketing experts in the world working on how to promote their product. Most notably, I remember the first iPad commercial, at the perfect time at Superbowl half time break.

5. Creativity - This is very much like Innovation, but the two together are basically what make Apple what it is today. Apple creates/innovates new products, so well, again their competitors find it hard to keep up with them. And with competitors that are behind them, Apple is always going to be on top.

I understand guys that this is really 4 reasons, as 2 of them are pretty much the same thing, but these I feel are the main reasons Apple is so successful in todays business.

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iPhone Now Supports Visa's Wireless Pay System

 

Earlier this week I wrote an article about Square, a way to accept credit card payments on the go. Well this article is about how to spend money, not make money. DeviceFidelity's has created a case for the iPhone called “In2Pay”, which plugs into your iPhone and allows you to wirelessly pay for credit card purchases using this and Visa’s PayWave System. This PayWave system is currently available at over 32,000 retail locations. This system works using a preloaded microSD card in the case that has all of Visa’s contactless payment applications built in, so you can wave your iPhone over a Visa reader at a grocery store counter and automatically pay for your purchase.

Twitter

Twitter is falling?

Hey guys, obviously you know about the social networking giant Twitter. You might not know that it hasn't found a true business model to stick to for as long as they are live. Should they become a web only, phone only, both, or do something else. The Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said "I will not put ads on our homepage." Unfortunately if Twitter wants to stay alive and make money, ads may be the only option. 

For Apple news, headlines, and rumors follow: http://twitter.com/AppleTechRumors on twitter!