La Piazza

Bilbao is not only home to our company, Panda Security, but also to many other technological leading companies such as Sher.pa.

Sher.pa is a different way of search, a revolution in voice searching and the Spanish Siri challenger for Android. A Siri challenger from Bilbao sounds almost like science fiction to me, but it can’t can be more true! Sherpa is taking voice-enabled user interfaces to the next level. A natural language Android app compatible on Android, but eventually will work for iOS.

The app uses what’s called a “MultiKnowledge” system that sifts relevant information from different sources to provide the user with the right particulars. As a result unlike Siri, that is dependent on search engines, Sherpa delivers specific answers and eliminates the need to actually tap the “Search the web” button which is pretty  more convenient.

By linking together your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles, you can update your status across each social network. You can send messages directly to Facebook by talking. You can ask Sherpa to show all your mentions on Twitter, set calendar appointments, turn the volume on your phone up or down. Moreover, Sherpa can play music of your choice through varying streaming services because it has access to a database of about 4 million music files.

Another interesting feature of  Sherpa is its ability to enter into transactions. You can ask Sherpa to transfer money from your PayPal account to someone in your contacts without having to type in an email address. And best of all, Sherpa is incredibly fast.

Well, the “Sherpas” have organized in Bilbao what is already considered to be “the international mobile technologies event of the year”. With speakers as renowned as, Martin Varsavsky, Founder of Jazztel and CEO of Fon; Mitchell Baker, President of Mozilla or John Sculley, ex CEO of Apple. The event will bring together CEOs, key experts and decision makers discussing and debating “the next generation of user interfaces, mobile search, voice search, interaction and user experience”.

And all this is going to happen in Bilbao, which as they say in their website,  is “One of the most developed regions in the world” (from Wikipedia), awarded the “World City Prize” (Nobel prize of the cities) Winner in 2010. Our city is part of one of the most innovative European regions.

So this post just intents to be a tribute both to our hometown and to such great entrepreneurs as Xabier Uribe-Etxebarria. People like him have made the growth of the city possible.

See you all at the Sherpa Summit!

The internet is just part of life but sometimes it is not so obvious who you are talking to. We need to make sure our children are staying safe because there are some evil people out there, looking for vulnerable, innocent people…

And always remember that boys are just as vulnerable as girls.

As a complement to our last post, we want to show you this self explanatory video by the U.K. CEOP . It lasts about 10 minutes but it is well worth watching it.

Published by Ana Etxebarria, 31st May 2012

Perhaps the perfect children’s bedtime book, Goodnight Moon is a short poem of goodnight wishes from a young rabbit preparing for his own slumber:

“Goodnight room. Goodnight moon.
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.
Goodnight light, and the red balloon,
Goodnight bears, goodnight chairs,
Goodnight kittens, goodnight mittens,
Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks…”

It is an American classic that has been told by parents to their children for more than 60 years ago. But… lately the story has changed, a bit

Goodnight iPad is a witty parody picture book for the gadget-crazy kid in all of us.

GoodnightIPad

Where Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 story ends with the peaceful wish, “Goodnight stars, Goodnight air, Goodnight noises everywhere”, Milgrim’s (Ann Droyd’s), instead bids goodnight to a host of modern technological appliances. “Goodnight remotes and Netflix streams, Androids, apps and glowing screens,” he writes, ending, “Goodnight MacBook Air, goodnight gadgets everywhere.”

As the authors say, “Goodnight iPad is a gentle reminder to power down at the end of the day. It will make you smile, and it will also help you wrest yourself away from your gadgets and put yourself — and your machines — to sleep. Don’t worry, though. Your gadgets will be waiting for you, fully charged, in the morning.”

Luckily one character understands the need for calm. While bidding goodnight to each gadget, the mother rabbit pulls them one by one from her reluctant bunnies (and husband) and throws them out the window. She then settles in bed next to a cat and reads “Goodnight Moon”. Check out the video and enjoy!

Published by Ana Etxebarria

A couple of weekends ago, my family endured a six-hour car trip, and even though our car is not equipped with a DVD player it was made more bearable when I passed our iPads to our children. Despite being 5 and 6 years old respectively, they have already figured out how to play with them and look up videos on YouTube, so that kept them busy for a good while.

Later on, however, I found out that they hadn’t been playing or watching videos but rather taking videos! Much of it consisted of the back of my head and the conversation I was having with her father, nothing more, really. We had said nothing inappropriate, though my husband and I thought the kids were concentrated on their video games.

Those recordings made me think of two recent YouTube parenting episodes. The first was a much-publicized video showing a man, a judge by trade, beating his daughter. The victimized kid posted it to expose the abuse and prevent her sister from going through the same nightmare. It led to public condemnation of the father, who was placed under a temporary restraining order banning him from visiting his younger daughter.

The second was a cute video showing a dog responding to a toddler’s temper tantrum. Viewers can hear the mother laughing as she records the interaction. Here’s the clip:

Whereas the angry response to the first video was justified, some of the responses to the second were too harsh in my opinion.

The mother wrote a blog response that told of her shock at both the popularity of the video and, later, at the tone and content of many of the anonymous comments, including one that condemned her for doing ”nothing” as her baby cried.

Here is an excerpt from her letter:

“First I was angry – clearly this person didn’t have kids or they would know that coddling your child isn’t the answer to stopping every tantrum a 2-year-old has. I’ll let this roll off my shoulders… wait…  people think I’m a bad mom after watching this? Hold the Internet presses. We’re shutting down. No more video. No shows, no news reports. What if social services calls and says I’m raising my child incorrectly? Can I possibly defend myself?”

And the question is precisely that: Can she? Should she have to?

In the first example above, the video depicted abuse. It’s a good thing abusive parents have something to worry about but, should the rest of us be on guard, too?

More and more YouTube is part of our lives as parents. We are uploading many of the videos and soon, our children will be publicizing our daily lives, complete with our debatable parenting methods and mistakes.

What if my daughter secretly taped my bad mood this morning and emailed it around? Or, what about what I consider happy moments, such as my two children racing each other down the block? I might record that and send it to their grandparents, but if the video was passed on to YouTube, other people could anonymously criticize me for letting them run and shout. Would I have been so relaxed if I thought there was an audience?

Does the electronic age mean we should always consider ourselves parenting in public as if we were in some kind of “Truman Show” or Big Brother? If so, will that make us better parents?

Posted by Ana Etxebarria

According to a recent survey conducted in the US, children spend twice as much time watching TV as reading books… This adds a little bit more controversy to the already complex issue of kids and new technologies. Common Sense Media has published a study revealing that kids are using electronic media to an amazing extent.

According to the report:

• A whopping 40% of kids 2-4 years and over 50% of 5-8 year-olds have used a smartphone, tablet, or video iPod.
• Over 50% of children ages 0 to 8 have access to a mobile device.
• More than a quarter of children this age have ever used one of these newer mobile devices, including 10% of 0- to 1- year-olds, 39% of 2- to 4-year-olds, and 52% of 5- to 8-year-olds.
• Children under 2 spend twice as much time watching TV or DVDs as they do reading books.

To be honest with you I don’t find this surprising at all. If my own family had been subject to the study, the results would have been pretty much the same.

In addition, this study comes amid huge controversy over a recent recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics reminding parents with small children that they should not be allowing their little ones to watch TV or other screens. They even go as far as suggesting that parents should not watch TV while their kids are around.

However, in view of the study, it seems pretty complicated to convince parents to stop their children from watching TV or playing with an iPad. Or maybe we are focusing on the wrong question, especially when we witness behavior like this from a popular YouTube video of a baby ‘reading’ a magazine the only way she knows how:

The AAP has admitted that 90% of parents of children under 2 years old already allow some screen time, and Common Sense’s report suggests that most parents are rather permissive with electronic media for all age groups. Maybe it’s time to admit that the question is no longer if media should be allowed, but how much and what kind.

APP researchers found behavioral differences between kids who watched fast-paced cartoons with those who watched a slow-paced one, and discovered that only those who watched the frenetic show seemed to be adversely affected. It seems clear that neither the cartoon in question -“SpongeBob SquarePants”- nor any other programs, games or applications are intrinsically bad, although they can be negative if used inadequately. It is a question of common sense more than anything else, but it seems that many parents are unable to apply it and understand what is age-appropriate. And since the “experts” tend to look down on all screen time, it is difficult to know which shows and apps are best.

It’s now pretty clear that screen time is part of our kids’ lives at every age. For you not to understand that would be swimming against the tide. However, it is also true that many of us parents may need more guidance on how much media and what kind is best for the intellectual and cognitive development of our children.

How much screen time is allowed in your house? What sorts of programs and games are allowed?

Posted by Leyre, 27 th July 2011

Let us wish you a Happy summer by reminding you that, besides your skin, it is important to protect your data

Take a look a this video which shows how to download and install the
latest Panda 2012 products.

As you know from previous posts, our YouTube Tech Support Channel contains video tutorials explaining how to use our antivirus products.

Today, we would like to present a new video which will guide you through the Panda 2012 Antivirus activation process.

http://www.youtube.com/AntivirusSupportUSA/v/g2fh6xiI9y8?hl=es&fs=1

What do you think? Leave your comments on YouTube, because your opinion will help us to improve!

We advise you to subscribe to the Support channel to find out about the latest videos!

Finally, let us remind you that you can find the answer to any queries you might have about your product in the articles posted on the Panda Security support website, or contact our expert technicians in the Tech Support forum.

Published by Blanca Carton, February 2011

As you know from previous posts, our YouTube Tech Support Channel contains video tutorials explaining how to use our antivirus products.

The videos we have posted so far are as follows:

• How to install your antivirus product

• How to download the latest product version

• How to activate your antivirus product

We finish this series with the video How to register your antivirus product.

This video will guide you through the registration process that will let you enjoy exclusive services like access to the latest product versions and special discounts when purchasing your license.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/AntivirusSupportUSA/v/sIXxN2-5duQ?hl;w=425&h=344]

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I would like to conclude by thanking you on behalf of the entire team that collaborated to create these videos. We have seen views increase day by day and there is no better reward for us.

They have been up on YouTube just for a month and they are already very popular, check these figures out:

Subscribe to our Tech Support Channel on YouTube and keep up to date on our latest videos. Send us your comments!

Published by Leyre Velasco, January 2011

The saga continues.. After presenting the Support video on how to activate 2011 products, today we would like to show you the new TechSupport video on how to carry out the download process.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqc79NpN2M&w=425&h=344]

This video, just like the other Support videos, are accessible both from the Support website as well as from the YouTube.