WGST's "The Sully Show" for 4/17/15 - Surviving Tax Day and the Tech News of the Week

Rick and Sully survived tax day... here are some tech stats about April 15 and "Tax Day"

Have a listen:

listen to ‘My Segment on "The Sully Show" on 640 am WGSt for 4/17/15’ on audioBoom

 

-   According to the IRS, over 100 million taxpayers filed their individual federal tax returns electronically in 2014.

- In 2014, about 29 million Americans used TurboTax tax software to file their taxes and preparation times averaged under 1 hr.

- Watch out for scams, identity theft -  if you're a victim:
    File a report with the local police
    File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission here
    Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a "fraud alert" on your credit cards, records
        Equifax
        Experian
        TransUnion
    Close any accounts opened without your permission or tampered with
    Call the IRS
    Complete the IRS form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit
    Continue to pay taxes and file tax returns, even by paper

 
Tech news..

1. Vizio's latest 4K TVs start at $600

Good news for folks looking to buy a 4K television.

Vizio is rolling out its 2015 line of Ultra HD screens. The company's new M-Series sets (above) tout full LED backlighting, speedy 802.11ac WiFi and a six-core processor starting at $600 for a 43-inch model -- not bad considering that even regular HDTVs cost more just a couple of years ago

 


2.  World's Oldest Stone Tools Discovered In Kenya

Researchers say they have found the oldest tools made by human ancestors—stone flakes dated to 3.3 million years ago. That's 700,000 years older than the oldest-known tools to date, suggesting that our ancestors were crafting tools several hundred thousand years before our genus Homo arrived on the scene. If correct, the new evidence could confirm disputed claims for very early tool use.

 

3. 50 years of Moore's law - celebrated this week...

Moore’s Law turns 50 this coming week — making this an opportune time to revisit Gordon Moore’s classic prediction.

"Moore's law" is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years.

Can Moore's Law stay relevant?
The prediction has proven to be accurate, in part because the law now is used in the semiconductor industry to guide long-term planning and to set targets for research and development.