Social media has reached danger levels of influence and like anything powerful it can be used for positive or negative purposes. In countries like China you can say as many good things about the government on social media as you like but anything negative typically triggers a rapid response. The US and UK has its own sets of problems, with a tug-of-war between liberals and conservatives over the truth, with each side seeking to banish the other from social media. Self-defined open, inclusive and balanced social media platforms like Twitter are removing accounts on one side of politics in countries before elections, effectively meddling in elections.
This kind of thing occurs right down to the smallest levels. A café can be targeted by the Twitterati because they don't like something on a menu. A convention centre can be harassed with a deluge of social media posts because they allowed an enemy to speak in front of an audience.
For a positive example, planning for a trip can be made a lot easier by using reports from previous travellers. At the same time, it should always be remembered that these reports are being written by people with different tastes and outlooks. Your experience may vary.
Where social media ends up remains to be seen. It could end up with divided services catering to different groups. Bad behaviour should result in social media platforms losing any advantages granted to unbiased services, but this doesn't always happen. Organisations like the European Union have started this process so where it all ends up across the planet remains to be seen.
With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and other 5G phones it is time to dispel a few 5G rumours. The first is that China is the bad guy and is using 5G to spy on everyone. China is certainly pushing to be a player in the 5G world and they have been caught, like many other nations, spying, resulting in the US banning some of their products. The UK and Germany are not as certain as the US on this issue. China can certainly produce good quality, less expensive products than the US, but since 5G is not readily available and is still a changing standard I rate this as a low risk issue for now and more of a rumour than proven fact at this time. What it has done is raise awareness of 5G but perhaps a bit too early in the cycle.
The term "race to 5G" is a marketing tool. Remember, 5G is an evolving standard in an open marketplace. How can there be a race? Nor is 5G ready to go full speed ahead. Korea did some tests and bits didn't work so well. Elsewhere tests are planned but nothing beyond a small area and scale. Don't be fooled by 5GE, this is a marketing term for 4G+ and comes from AT&T in the US. Every new update is touted to be the answer to all internet speed problems. Just like all the other times, it isn't. It won't beat a good wired connection but could eventually provide a solution to the abysmal NBN implementation found in Australia. 5G is a wireless technology and as such it has a limited range and poor ability to pass through walls. Wires solve this issue easily. 5G will be built on the backbone of other technologies like fibre optic cables and will only be seen in city landscapes. Wires will still be required for many country locations where high speed is required. So, don't buy a phone just because it has 5G in the model name or supports the technology. I'm probably going to get one because of the other new technology and because I happen to be inside a small test area. There is no reason to spend extra money for something you cannot use.
On the subject of 5G phones, Oppo has a new model due out soon. It was recently demoed in Switzerland where the first commercial 5G network was turned on. The new Reno flagship model is a challenger to the Huawei P30 Pro, at least in the camera quality department. It comes with a 6.6-inch display, 8GB of RAM and a 4,065mAh battery. A rising attachment houses the front and rear flash, the speaker and front camera and it will retail for around US$1,000 (32,000 baht). How well it will do in the market is anyone's guess but Oppo is currently in the top four worldwide.
For anyone who still cares, Microsoft Paint is not going away and will be included in the May 2019 update. Why? My best guess is nostalgia because it's not the best free Windows drawing program available these days.
James Hein is an IT professional of over 30 years' standing. You can contact him at jclhein@gmail.com.
