FRS Pros Blog

Does the U.S. Constitution allow the American government to access the electronic devices of its citizens? According to FBI Director James Comey’s statements at Symantec’s Annual Government Symposium, it certainly does.

Memes are deeply rooted into today’s online culture. Thanks to the Internet, even the most absurd things can quickly gain popularity through social media and online forums. While they might seem silly and pointless, it would be foolish to dismiss them as wastes of time; especially considering how popular they are. If you are looking for a creative way to get your name and brand out there, why not try using memes?

Sharing your Netflix password with a friend so they too can enjoy a vast catalogue of movies seems harmless enough. However, due to a recent ruling by judges of the Ninth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, this common action is now a federal crime.

When you think of a computer, you think of a machine that makes your life easier. You can look up events, check facts, record data, and so much more. However, the first computer might be something extraordinarily unexpected; a submerged treasure off the coast of Greece called the Antikythera mechanism, which was used to predict and track astronomical events, like the movement of the planets or the occurrence of eclipses.

Smartphone technology is currently experiencing cool innovations. Plus, there are some crazy reasons behind what these devices can and can’t do that you may not have known about. Check out these four cool smartphone factoids from List25.

When you think about the stock market, one vibrant image that comes to mind is the chaotic trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, with traders climbing over each other and barking orders. Today, the NYSE trading floor is much more subdued, a testimony to just how much technology has changed the financial marketplace.

Wall Street, BC (Before Computers)
Even before the advent of the computer, Wall Street was well known for utilizing technology. The ticker tape is a shining example; a fascinating device which gave a real-time and continuous printout on the performance of the market.

When combined with a nearby telephone, these two technologies gave the average Joe the ability to buy and sell securities on a whim. This helped pave the way for near-instantaneous trading, which was largely responsible for the dynamic growth experienced by the stock market during the twentieth century.

Make Way for the Computers
Later, the quotation board was adopted, retiring the iconic ticker tape machines. In the 1980s, modern computing tactics took front and center, thanks to the introduction of the Quotron. With this technology, brokerage houses gained the power to instantaneously manage large hedge funds by quickly reacting to market fluctuations.

The Internet Changes Everything
When the Internet revolution hit, using computers connected over a network wasn’t something new to Wall Street. In fact, as early as the 1970s brokerages had been using Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) to make their own computer systems more efficient. However, before computer networking could significantly change the operations of a behemoth institution like Wall Street, significant capital first needed to be invested in order to build the infrastructure--a longtime task that was actually funded by significant technology investments being poured into the stock market.

With the rise of the Internet came online brokerages such as ETrade and Ameritrade. However, the major influence of such online tools which gave individual players unparalleled control over their investments is only part of the story. In 1994, two economists, William Christie and Paul Schultz, published a paper titled, “Why do NASDAQ Market Makers Avoid Odd-Eighth Quotes?” where they outlined a deliberate anomaly where market makers were manipulating the spread (the difference between the buy and sell prices of NASDAQ securities) to secure these individuals a higher profit margin. You may recall this event leading to a full-scale investigation and subsequent rule changes by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect the smaller investors that made use of these online trading services. Eventually, even the traditional brokerages such as Charles Schwab and TD Waterhouse offered online trading that could be accessed by anyone.

Like with every good bubble, the crazy market growth fueled by Internet technologies (with frenzied spending seen particularly in 1999 and 2000) eventually popped. It took a few long years for the EU and US markets to rebound from the pop of the dot com bubble, but confidence in the markets was eventually restored, thanks to a realization that the Internet was much more than a fad and could be effectively utilized by companies to boost their sales base.

Online Trading at High Speed
No longer faced with the limitations of dial-up modems, today’s Internet speeds make it possible for investors to execute trades in incredibly short intervals--millions of times faster than what can be made by human decision making. This has led to the phenomena of quantitative trading, which uses complex algorithms to do trades so fast that a half a cent here and a half a cent there can lead to millions of dollars changing hands over millions of trades.

However, this technological development helped contribute to another major dip in the market, the housing collapse of 2008. Since then, several strategies and regulations have been implemented in an effort to keep tabs on this fast-paced market.Today, regulators heavily rely on automated systems in an effort to keep investors, traders, brokers, and everyone else involved in quantitative trading honest.

Despite the best efforts of regulators, they still find themselves in a reactive position to wild market fluctuations that are fueled by high-speed trading technologies. This was especially evident on May 6, 2010 in what was known as the “Flash Crash.” Wikipedia gives an account of this fateful day, “The Flash Crash, was a United States trillion-dollar stock market crash, which started at 2:32 p.m. EDT and lasted for approximately 36 minutes. Stock indexes, such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite, collapsed and rebounded very rapidly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest intraday point drop (from the opening) up to that point, plunging 998.5 points (about 9%), most within minutes, only to recover a large part of the loss. It was also the second-largest intraday point swing (difference between intraday high and intraday low) up to that point, at 1,010.14 points. The prices of stocks, stock index futures, options and exchange-traded fund (ETFs) were volatile, thus trading volume spiked. A CFTC 2014 report described it as one of the most turbulent periods in the history of financial markets.”

On the upside, the market rebounded almost as fast as it fell, finishing down only three points. It took regulators over four months to determine the cause of this “hiccup,” which stemmed from an algorithm being triggered by a very large sale of stock, along with the same-day announcement that Greece was bankrupt. Protections have since been put into place, but it just goes to show how volatile technology makes today’s financial markets when millions of trades are being made every minute.

What’s your opinion of all of these crazy changes experienced by the stock market (and perhaps your portfolio) due to the introduction of new technologies? Does it make you more cautious to invest or emboldened to take greater risks?

Additionally, how does the story of technology changing the financial markets relate to how technology has changed your own business model over the years? Has it made you faster, more automated, and more effective? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

In a recent poll by WSJ/NBC comparing tech companies to US presidential candidates, Google came out on top with 67 percent of respondents having a positive opinion of the company. Compare this to Apple’s 54 percent, and 43 percent going to the highest-rated candidate. Perhaps Apple and the politicians can take a cue from Google and make use of Easter eggs, because who doesn’t love Easter eggs?

Of course, we’re not talking about the colored eggs hidden in the yard every spring. No, we’re referring to the fun surprises Google has added to their search engine. By entering a specific search query into Google.com, you’ll encounter a Google Easter egg. Over the years, Google’s hidden a few dozen Easter eggs. Here’s how to access FRS Pros’s 10 favorite eggs!

Type “Atari breakout” and click Images
This will turn all of the searchable images into a playable game of the classic video game Super Breakout. Be sure to turn on your speakers to enjoy the nostalgic sound effects.

Type “Askew”
This clever Easter egg will tilt your search results just enough to be noticeable. Don’t worry, after you leave the page your screen will be back to normal.

Type “Festivus”
“Festivus for the rest of us!” Festivus is a made up holiday originating from the television show Seinfeld. By searching for “Festivus,” you’ll find out exactly what the holiday is all about, while being treated to a traditional Festivus pole located on the left side of your screen.

Type “Google in 1998”
Computer users with fond memories of the 90s will appreciate this one. This Easter egg will provide you with a fascinating glimpse of what Google looked like--almost 20 years ago!

Type “Zerg rush”
Players of the popular video game StarCraft and “n00bs” alike will appreciate this egg. Essentially, this search causes Google’s letters to attack the search results, and the only way you can stop them is to frantically click each one until they disappear. However, characteristic of the game’s Zerg rush, doing so will only cause more Zerg-like letters to appear, until you’re overwhelmed and your precious search results are destroyed. Also, notice the handy-dandy score counter on the right side.

Type “flip a coin,” or “roll a die”
Google will display an animated die or coin that will provide a random result with each search. If you don’t have an actual coin or die on you, this is a great alternative.

Type “[actor’s name] Bacon Number”
The Bacon number here relates to the classic game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” not the sweet meat. In the game, you’re supposed to figure out how many films separate an actor from another movie with Kevin Bacon in it. Although, we think that automating the game like this kind of takes the fun out of it.

Type “fun facts”
Feeling curious? This egg will provide you with a random fact card. As a bonus, this is an easy way to play a game of trivia with your friends.

Type “The answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything” (no punctuation)
Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will of course know the answer to this.

Type “Google Pacman”
In yet another nod to video games, Google made a playable game of Pac-Man as a doodle in 2010 to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary--a doodle responsible for costing the US economy $120 million in lost productivity, or 5 million wasted work hours, upon its release. Thankfully, Google decided to keep the game up. Good news for bored office workers, not so much for the economy.

These are our top 10 favorite Google Easter eggs, there are actually many more to be found. Can you think of one or two eggs that we didn’t go over? Share them with us in the comments!

Bonus egg: “Do a barrel roll!”

Do you remember the days where you didn’t have the the Internet? Remember going to the library to research information, or using a phone book to find contact information for an important contact? These are only a few ways that the Internet has changed society.

How private are your emails and other digital communications? Can the government go through your digital files without you knowing about it? As you may have suspected, they can, thanks to a loophole in an outdated law--a loophole that U.S. lawmakers are trying to close.

What if we asked you to throw your expensive smartphone high up into the air, just for the fun of it? You’d probably tell us to take a hike. However, thousands of phones get tossed into the air and put at great risk every day, thanks to an app designed for just such a purpose. In our opinion, this may be the greatest (and most devious) technology prank of all time.

The Internet is a fantastic tool that has ushered in an era of productivity and connectivity that we could only previously have dreamed of. Unfortunately, like every great tool, it can be used for darker, malicious purposes. In the Internet’s case, it’s used for anonymous illegal activity, like drug trafficking or selling data on the black market.