The next worst tablet.

Looks can be decieving.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/dell-inspiron-duo/

Another Country that need a revolution?

Equatorial Guinea: for those of you that don't know, is in Africa with a population of about 660 thousand peoples, half the population of Phoenix , Arizona. Why do I think they need a revolution? Check this out; the coutry Dictator's son just ordered a luxury Yacht that is worth over 380 million US dollars ,while 70 % of the country population lives in extreme poverty.This amount of money is three times more than what the country spends anually on health and education for its impoverished people. The son of the president lives in a 30 million dollars Mansion in Malibu, California, with a fleet of cars and private planes. He is presently the Minister of Agriculture for his father's cabinet but spend most of his time in California living a larvished life style while his people are living wretchedly. We only know this because of technology, and countries like this ,need more access to technology to be able to see and hear what their leaders are doing with their money.Shame on him.......

PS3 Shipments Seized By Customs

If you have been following the tech news recently with respect to LG and Sony, basically LG is suing Sony for a few copyright infringments, and earlier this week due to LG's win in civil court, Customs has now seized all of the shipments going out of the country to Europe of Sony's beloved PS3.

source: Link

Xoom Already Rooted and Overclocked

So that didn't take long. The new and popular Motorola Xoom has been rooted in such a short time, it is no surprise someone has already over-clocked the processor. Faster than the Ipad now with its 1.5Ghz it blows away any competition.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/27/motorola-xoom-overclocked-to-1-5ghz-eats-quadrant-and-linpack-f/

HTC W7 Phone Image Leaked.

Thats right, the W7 Phone with a Verizon logo has been leaked and it would seem that being the first W7 Phone on the Verizon network, it should get a lot of popularity.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/28/htc-trophy-spotted-in-the-wild-sporting-verizon-logo/

the Motorola Xoom > ipad

So after watching this video, http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/02/24/t-tt-motorola-xoom-review.cnnmoney/ , My interest was definitely peaked to check out these new tablets in comparison to the iPad. This device not only has one but TWO yes TWO cameras. It will be accessible for travel on the go pictures as well as face interface pictures that are so trendy and a big hit. Yes this device also works on 4G will we will have to wait for the next ipad2 to get to 4G. The key are less hard and more touch, they have the awesome Honeycomb network and will be a better transition for Android users. CHECK IT OUT!

The Social Network

Though there was an extreme amount of hype for the movie "The Social Network" when awards season came around, it looks like it didn't do enough good. "The Social Network", a film portraying the origins of what we now call Facebook, received much praise before and after its release. However, though it did acquire numerous compliments, this movie failed to win Best Picture or Best Director tonight at the Academy Awards, getting beat out by the historical drama "The King's Speech". Even so, I really liked the movie personally and I recommend that if you haven't seen it, RedBox it, Netflix it, or illegally download it, whatever your style might be!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20037062-36.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks

Hangover 2

Hangover 2 is coming out soon. The first one was so good that it will be impossible for me to not watch the second one. I hope that Zach guy will be as funny in the sceond one as he was in the first. The first was so enjoyable for me that I have probably watched it over 10 times. Here's a link to the second one's trailer. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xXBjtAGIzE

Google Fights Back

Apparently there have been companies who have recently begun creating large amount of search-engine friendly webpages in order to get their products and advertisements more recognized. Basically they're spamming the internet and letting Google do what it does best, show us the most relevant and largest amount of information possible. However, it seems that Google has noticed these companies and what they are doing, and for this reason the massive search engine has decided to enact changes in their search algorithms in order to combat these "content farms". The question now remains, will this make navigating Google, and the internet as a whole, easier or more laborious?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20036431-36.html?tag=topStories3

USB ThunderBolt!!!!

It is coming soon Yes the future is among us. The USB 2.0 is now absolute in comparison to what is out there now. Instead of waiting a while for our pictures, videos, and HD data to transfer from our devices we will get a kick up in speed, well only if we buy through APPLE. Yes the new line of USBs that are called Thunderbolt are exclusively part of the new Macbook Pro line. These Thunderbolts are exactly as the name imply they have a speed that is 20 x better than the modern USB 2.0. This might be a minor change but it will change a process of minutes to seconds and attract attention.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/24/thunderbolt.intel.apple/index.html

cool website

social-media.alltop.com
This website shows top information and news regarding social media and social networking. Everything from how to create interesting blogs, to new websites and tools. i find it amazing that such a wide range of social media tools are available. It seems like it was yesterday that Myspace and Facbook took off and now there are whole new relms of social networking. Now there are sites soley for the organization of the social media sites. Incredible.

New iPad

The new iPad in 2011 does anything a computer can possibly imagine. Not only does it have a built in camera, It surfs the web, it multi tasks, it does applications, it has humungous screen, and you can even open PDF files.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703905404576164992829613466.html

Facebook

New York Times states the exact growth of Facebook. We all knew Facebook was and still is a big hit but this article clearly states the numbers of facebook's growth. Facebook is grown so much that there was even a movie made about it. enjoy the article.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html

Impacts of Social Media

This article was more of an eye-opener to me more than anything. The main question it asked was, are social network sites like Facebook and twitter making you feel closer to people or further away? It can bring is closer to people that are further away from us, allowing people to keep in touch more than they would be without the connection over the internet. However it can also move you further away from people you we are closer to.

I feel that it is again up to us to decide how much time we spend online using the recourses that have been given to us. Websites like facebook don't control us, we control them. They are tools that we can use to our own advantages. Social media can have a positive or negative impact on us depending on how we use it.

Original article:

http://mashable.com/2011/02/23/social-media-culture/

Togetherville

Recently, Disney purchased a social network website called Togetherville. It is another website similar to that of facebook, but is only for children ages 10 and below and incorporates parent and children interaction. This means that parents can easily control their child's accounts, watch what they post, and so on. It seems parents can even distribute a kind of virtual allowance to their children online.

I think its a good idea to start showing kids around that age how to interact and communicate online safely. Social media and online networking is no longer a fad, but something that is becoming a huge part of our life.

Sure it is sad to see parents giving their children allowances with virtual currency and gifts. I mean, whatever happened to parents taking their kids to the zoo, or Chuck E Cheese's?

Original link:
http://mashable.com/2011/02/24/disney-aquires-social-network-for-children/

Social Bookmarking

After the class on thursday I did a little research into social bookmarking. I came across a list of the top 15 most popular social bookmarking sites. I attached the file so if this was something you were interested in you can cheek out these sites. enjoy!

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-bookmarking-websites

New Under Armour Shirt

Under Armour has developed a shirt that measures things like an athlete's heart rate and acceleration. They only made a handful given out to certain NFL prospects, but this could make a huge difference to competitive sports. An organization would be able to pick athlete's based on exact measurements. In the future you may even see this in high school sports, which would change the way you prepare for try outs.

http://gizmodo.com/#!5769728/nfl-prospects-to-wear-smart-data-gathering-under-armour-shirt

A site for the average hacker?

There's a site created for the sole purpose of being hacked and teaching people how to tune their hacking skills in this new day of technology where hacking is becoming a common practice. It is a place meant for people to practice hacking websites, and even has a forum where fellow hackers can debate about their techniques for hacking.

http://www.hackthissite.org/

52 Interesting Facts about Social Media sites.

Social media sites are phenomal sources for all types of people. Anyone from someone who just wants to chat with their old friends to someone that is trying to be fround for their unique talents. I found a site that tells you some weird facts you might not know about popular social media sites. Such as did you know that the first video ever uploaded to Youtube was called "Me at the Zoo"? In April 2005. This site has many interesting facts about sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and more.

http://dannybrown.me/2010/07/03/cool-facts-about-social-media/

Facebook Waiting Room

 As it turns out, there's an app on facebook that lets you know when someone on your waiting list breaks up with their boy/girlfriend. This is really creepy, but it just shows what some people will do for information. I would suggest not having your relationship status on facebook if you don't want people to be able to use this app on you.

http://gizmodo.com/#!5770420/facebook-waiting-room-app-helps-you-break-up-couples

G4 only a myth?

According to CNNmoney, the obnoxious rip off commercials from t-mobile advertising the G4 network are advertising a myth. G4 as definied by the International Telecommunication Union is "as a network capable of download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps)". Too bad they are only achieving a tenth of the speed.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/01/technology/4g_myth/index.htm

Fashion Social Networking Site

Social networking is great for helping your name get known, for whatever you want to do (via youtube, twitter, etc). Aspiring models/photographers can sign up for this social networking site where you can pick the model/photographer for any photo shoot. Models can upload sample photos and what their interested in working. Photographs can look for models and determine who would be the best to work with, then it goes from there. This has helped a couple people get known for modeling.


http://www.modelmayhem.com/

Google's new formula

Google came up with a new algorithmic formula to stay ahead of the rest of the competition. They said the search formula change affects 11.8 percent of search queries, dropping low-quality websites in results while elevating high-quality websites with original content such as research, analysis, or in-depth reports. Google said that it has been working on the issue for more than a year and engineers spent several months crafting the algorithm change, which was implemented in the United States and will be rolled out elsewhere over time.


Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110226/tc_afp/usitinternetsoftwaregoogle

Blogging for bloggers

In the social media age, blogging and keeping up with the trends are super important. Mashable is listed as the top site for all the bloggers. It includes topics ranging from soical media all the way to business. Click on the topic and you can see the top trends for each topic and all the blogs written by all the members on the site.

Founded in 2005, Mashable is the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture. With more than 25 million monthly pageviews, Mashable is the most prolific news site reporting breaking web news, providing analysis of trends, reviewing new Web sites and services, and offering social media resources and guides. Mashable’s audience includes early adopters, social media enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, influencers, brands and corporations, marketing, PR and advertising agencies, Web 2.0 aficionados and technology journalists. Mashable is also popular with bloggers, Twitter and Facebook users.

check out http://mashable.com/about

StumbleUpon: Discover and share the web

I mentioned this in class on Thursday, but for those of you who weren't there or are interested in checking out this free tool for filtering and browsing the web, I will post it on here!

StumbleUpon is a free social media tool that allows you to "Stumble Upon" all sorts of user-categorized and tagged websites based on what interests you have submitted to the website as you sign up. When you first sign up, you are asked to select different categories that you are interested in. You can select up to 119 "Interests" out of the huge list of them.

Once your interests are inputted, it's as simple as clicking a button! The website's toolbar or the add-on to your browser if you so choose to install it has a button with the little green and blue "StumbleUpon" logo and it says "Stumble!" next to it. Just click it, and a website that has at least one tag in common with your Interests will show up for your viewing pleasure. Then, when you are done viewing the site, you may choose to click the button "I Like it", "I don't like it", or nothing. If you select "I like it" the site will record it and if you continue to like websites with the same tags, it will start to show you more websites with these tags in them. Also, it will see others who have similar likes as you do and start to show you pages that they have liked as well. Also, you may select the dislike button and the site will do the same thing, only inverse.

Another interesting feature is the ability to have friends that you "follow" on it. For example, a close friend of mine and I share websites via StumbleUpon pretty much daily. All you need to do is click the "Share" button and select the user's name or enter an email address and the website will be sent with a message if you so choose to include one. Also, you can select any user and choose to follow them. For example, if you find someone who seems to have very similar or interesting pages on their profile, you can follow them and it will show you websites that they have seen and liked. Also, if you select a user's profile, there is a small venn-diagram type visualization that will show you the percentage that you two are "alike" in your interests and what you have selected "I Like It" for or not.

Oh, and one last thing that is cool is that you can choose to "Stumble" (Yes, I use it as a verb) a single interest of yours. For example, if you are looking to laugh, you can simply select the "Humor" tab and click "Stumble" and it will only show you websites tagged with "humor." Also, there is a computer science option that I have used in the past to stumble for websites that are relevant to this course and to post those on this very blog!

It is a very useful tool to use for narrowing down the vast majority of websites on the internet and to try to find specifically what you want. I have been constantly informed on current events and all sorts of other internet meme's and such using this tool, and many times it has helped me in my classes! It is completely free, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try it out!

Check it out at: www.stumbleupon.com

How about powering your ipad or cellphone with you body!!

I found this article that covers an invention that, when strapped to your knee, it produces electrical power when u walk. It actually harnesses your kinetic motions to generate power. It's like the Matrix where machines are using our bodies to generate bioeletrical power. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. You simply attach the device to your knee and walk. It is that simple. It says that you could generate enough power in one day to power ten cellphones. Also there is a link to this article about new inventions in gaming. They mentioned this idea for a way to power up game controllers with heat generated from your hand while playing. Another great idea!
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1852747_1854195_1854172,00.html

http://www.gamesradar.com/f/inventions-that-would-make-gaming-better/a-20090305134210875033

Experience Being at the Oscars

Tomorrow night is the Oscars and many people will be watching television to see who the winners are. For $5, people will be able to see what what happens at the Governors Ball, an after party event and view celebrities as they stroll across the red carpet. Several 360-degree cameras will be streaming live and enable viewers to control the cameras with their mouse.

More info at:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2011-02-25-oscar-360_N.htm

Online American Idol Voting Through Facebook

For the fans of American Idol who are unable to vote through their phones, there will be a new way of voting. After Tuesday's episode of AI, a website designated for Facebook users will be available. According to CNN online, Facebook users will be allowed to vote up to 50 times from each account. It is anticipated that there will be more participation.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/02/24/american.idol.facebook/index.html

Nicolas Sarkozy's Facebook Profile.

French president ,Nicolas Sarkozy, facebook page was recently hacked , and someone posted on it that he will not be running for re-election .The president office responded by saying that the President Facebook security profile was bridged and that he will be running for re-election.This is a typical usage of the social media for a political motives accompanied by inadequate online security for our users.

Interesting tweet from the American Red Cross

Recently, the American Red Cross posted the following on Twitter: "Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head's Midas Touch beer… when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd". Apparently Gloria Huang, American Red Cross social media director meant to be posted on a personal twitter account but she accidentally posted it on the American Red Cross' Twitter account. The tweet was soon covered but surprisingly, instead of causing any damage to the American Red Cross' image. Following the tweet, Dogfish Head asked twitter followers to donate blood or money to the red cross which in turn many did!

Radiation? Cell phones? WHAT.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-to-changes-in-brain-activity/?hpw

Researchers have found that after being on cell phones, brain activity is altered, however it has not been determined if it is harmful or not.

“Unfortunately this particular study does not enlighten us in terms of whether this is detrimental or if it could even be beneficial,” Dr. Volkow said. “It just tells us that even though these are weak signals, the human brain is activated by them.”

Always wanted a deep sea adventure!? Buy a submarine, without the crew!

I know that I have always wanted to take an adventure underneath the sea, but the problem is I don't want to join the Navy. Well thanks to Raonhaje, there is now an EGO mini-submarine that floats on water and has a submersible capsule for passengers to see what is happening underneath the water. The vehicle cruises at less than five knots for four hours on a full battery charge. Sadly, there are no prices posted yet, but I assume not everyone will have the leisure of owning one. Make sure to watch the video posted within the link below!!



http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/22/tiny-ego-pseudo-submarine-for-the-super-rich-is-aptly-named/

Kissing? The future of game controllers?

A new controller was invented by Hye Yeon Nam, it is designed so that players of a bowling game are capable of direction and power for the ball's movement. The way this controller works is, "A customized headset is required for one of the participants, acting as the input receiver, while the other straps a magnet to his or her tongue and goes to town with some literal full motion controls. Thrust is added to the on-screen ball in accordance with how vigorously you move your tongue around"
I don't see this controller going very far in the future and in fact I'm surprised it was even created in the first place. Below is a link to a video so everyone can see how this controller works!

I would hate for someone to be offended by this, viewer discretion is advised!!

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/22/kiss-controller-lets-you-play-a-bowling-game-with-your-tongue/

The future of portable computers?

In 2020, a computer concept is to have Sony computers be worn on our wrists. Developed to be worn as a bracelet, this computer concept is constructed out of a flexible OLED touchscreen. Earmarked for the year 2020, features like a holographic projector (for screen), pull-out extra keyboard panels and social networking compatibility, make the concept plausible. Ten years from now is not too far away, so how many of you think we’d be buying such gadgets?

RADIATION FROM CELL PHONES AFFECTS THE WAY THE BRAIN PROCESSES SUGAR!

Well we all know that the brain is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation especially the radiation that is emitted through cell phones.
So to interest you all some more, there has been a recent study by Dr. Volkow, it was a paid government research study and here it what he said about cell phone radiation emission, "The human brain is sensitive to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones, but for the brain to be impacted the cell phone has to be close to the antenna. So keep your brain away from the antenna." There has many research studies about the wireless devices that it may be causes to cancer but of course that is just a prediction. It is also suggested to cause health problems like processing sugar in the body. Also it is not 100% safe either. So the article suggest a few options of "keeping your brain away from the antenna"

1.) Quit Talking On Your Cell Phone! - Try sending as many text messages as you can, avoiding talking long periods of time on the phone because it is not good for your brain.

2.) Wear Headphones When You Talk: wearing a headset or a bluetooth can cut cell phone radiation. The articles suggests it and quotes ". The only downsides to this are sociological: It looks weird if you're talking to yourself in public; and tech-savvy friends may judge you for wearing a Bluetooth earpiece".

3.) Buy A Phone That Emits Less: I thought this was really interesting, I had no idea a one phone could emit less compared to another.
"The U.S. Federal Communications Commission sets a radiation threshold that all cell phones sold here must fall below. Industry groups say this level is plenty strict, maybe even too strict. But others say consumers should be informed about how much radiation their phones emit and, if they want, they should be able to purchase a lower-radiation phone."

4.) Use Speaker Feature: This one is obvious but it is better when the cell phone is not close to brain but there is also alot of downfalls to this just because you have to be in private when using it.

5.) Limit Your Time When Talking On the Phone: Limit your time during conversations, the more time you talk the more radiation that is being emitted to your brain. So I know it sounds scary now but these topics are good to think about for now and the future since technology is changing so fast.

source: www.cnn.com

LIBYA INTERNET SHUTDOWN. THE NEXT EGYPT???

Libya’s internet shutdown
It has been confirmed by “Renesys Blog”, I am assuming a native Libyan, which the internet in Libya has been shut off. There have been democratic protests about the dictator ruling in Libya. “Renesys confirms that the 13 globally routed Libyan network prefixes were withdrawn at 23:18 GMT (Friday night, 1:18am Saturday local time), and Libya is off the Internet”. It is said to say that the Internet is down because of power outages but that doesn’t make sense because the electricity is still working, that is what some Libyans are saying as of now but really it is because of the angry protesters that are invading the streets. Google transparency report is a very useful tool because it shows the traffic of Libya from when it was turned off which was this last Friday.





Figure 1: “Shows Internet searches from Libya, which is controlled by anti-government demonstrators.” CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW

This information then suggests that Libya is trying to take control of their situation compared to what happened in Egypt. Libya is known for being invisible in politics and the public. "In a country where public dissent is rare, plans for Thursday's protests were being circulated by anonymous activists on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.” I think this is very interesting because Libya is a very hard country to get into say if you are an American, so I thought it was interesting how Libyans are on Facebook and Twitter. I think this Libya is the next area to look out for along with Iran for the next Egypt.

New Smart Phone App to keep Tack of Teens when they are out and About

A Tennessee grandfather has created an application for the andriod that allows you to track your kids when they are out of. If your kids are texting and driving the you will receive a text alert with a google map of where they are. Boundaries may also be set and you will also be notified when they go out of boundaries or they can receive an alert message letting them know that they need to call you because you are looking for them.

Could Computers Potentially Replace Doctors?

Watson, IBM's new super computer could potentially become a new great tool for physicians. For example, it could aid physicians in diagnosing patients. Physicians usually do not take the time to look up all the symptoms of a patient while Watson could look up all the symptoms of the patients and look at the patients history and with this information, make a diagnosis that is quite accurate. Watson is different than any other computer because it provides the best evidence up to the moment. I think that in order to better health care, technology and physicians should integrate, which is why a tool like Watson is great!

The price of facebook

I still wouldn't mind.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201010/poor-little-rich-genius

The new study to kill "Super Bugs"

Yes Bacteria like MRSA and Anthrax are very serious and are resistant to modern day antibiotics. But why is that some of these forms of Antibiotics affect the cells from the outside and eventually the bacteria becomes resitant. But this new protien is being made that is a essential part of the Bacteria's own genes that is more or less breacking the genetic make up of the bacteria.

So breaking the bacteria from the inside with its own genes and needed proteins. 
This is definitely a video to check out.


http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2011/01/27/dnt.feyerick.fighting.bugs.cnn

Bomb Sniffng Mice..?

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2011/02/21/nr.big.i.bomb.sniffing.mice.cnn

When it comes to security we are seeing tons more larger bulky machines in airports. Some like X-ray, convey-er-belts, scanners, and metal detectors. One of our detectors is slightly smaller and less metallic, yes they are MICE. These new mice are being taught to fear smells that are related to the make up of bombs. The mice are kept on linked to a computer that is fanning them the scents of the passengers of plains and when they smell a something that resembles a bomb they scamper into a compartment and a signal is sent to the computer. Well it is definitely more green but I don't know how well it will catch on in airports.

digits: How Much Did Social Media Matter in Egypt?

http://online.wsj.com/video/digits-how-much-did-social-media-matter-in-egypt/3B16C879-26B8-4415-AB21-7BA66901D9E8.html

New Intel Plant In AZ

Yes, at the meeting with Obama, and the CEO's of the major technology corporations Intel proudly announced to Obama that he would be building and investing into the economy a 5 billion dollar plant in Arizona building 14nm(nano-meters) chips of some sort. Think of how small that is, A penny is 20,000,000 nanometers wide. This will create many new jobs for the US. and construction should begin in 2013

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/19/intel-to-spend-5-billion-on-new-14nm-fab-in-arizona-creating-4/

Emotiv Headset Controls Car

The Emotiv headset we used to play the mini video games in class is now being put to the test with German engineers while driving a car. They took it for a very small controlled drive. It's very interesting and I suggest you take a look at the video below!.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDV_62QoHjY&feature=player_embedded

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/19/german-researchers-take-mind-controlled-car-for-a-carefully-cont/

Important Technologies to Social Media

This article talks about several of the key technologies that help make social networks. One of the important technologies that is mentioned is the optical pattern recognition, which I think is not very far off from where we are today. What this is, is a technology that can recognize people, items, places, and other things and then pull information on them. For instance, if you were to take a picture of a person it would link them to their Facebook page, if you took a picture of a restaurant it would show reviews about it, etc.

Other technologies and more on optical pattern recognition can be found below:

http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/social-media-future-tech/

Privacy with Social Networks

Recently, more and more people want to make sure that the information or images they share online are seen by select people. For instance, when someone sends a text message or any kind of message to a particular person, they want to make sure that they are the only ones that are going to be able to read it. However, most servers now track the information sent as well as the sender's name and the receiver's name. Microsoft is now working on a to send this information as encrypted data that can only be seen by the sender and receiver. It allows for a more secure social network but can also cause some harm. One thing to think about is people abusing this and doing someone that may be illegal, and keeping the police from accessing important information.

The article can be found below:

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/25640/page1/

"Thank God for Catfish"

I finally watched the movie Catfish after being told by several family members that it was a good movie. It was an ok movie in my opinion. As not to spoil the moive im just going to urge people to go watch it. It does have to do with Facebook in a way and makes a very good point of things that could are very possible.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catfish/

Iphone Application Helps Drivers Suffering from Road Rage!

There is a new Iphone application that allows drivers to complain about other drivers on their phone. The way this works is if you see a driver who cuts you off or does something wrong on the road yo can file a report or later write a written report.In order to do this, you record their license plate number on your phone and file it. The person you filed a report about will actually receive your complaint. In order for others to receive such complaints they must have this app as well. This app sounds like a great idea to relieve road rage but will this cause distractions for the complaining driver himself??

Online Abortion Poll

Although this is old, I feel that this type of news should be shared. Technology is definitely entwining with all of our daily lives. We let our friends know how we feel through status on facebooks, or tweeting. We've even relied on our social networks that we set up our phones so that we'll be able to update our status and comment our friends back where/when ever we are. Sometimes we'll even set our status to seek help from friends to help make a difficult decision. But how far should we go with our personal lives released online? This could had found out that they were pregnant and wasn't sure weather or not they should keep the baby. So what did the couple do? They created an online poll on weather or not they should get an abortion. Later on, it was revealed that this poll was a hoax. Despite being a hoax, the fact that they had put up a poll on line for abortion is just terrible.

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/109336629.html

Big Companies May Be Using Fake 'Persona' to Sway Online Opinion

"According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, [the use of persona] involves creating an army of sockpuppets (false web personalities), with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online."

Read more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/16/945768/-UPDATED:-The-HB-Gary-Email-That-Should-Concern-Us-All

Just like the arm band

I saw this thing and I thought about the arm band that we were shown on the first or second day of class. You can just point it at your skin and it will tell you if you're healthy. The scanner itself is very small and if you only have to use it once a day, probably not that big of a deal if you're worried about being healthy right?

http://gizmodo.com/#!5762119/this-star-trek+style-scanner-tells-if-youre-healthy-or-not

Ever heard of bebo?

Has anyone ever heard of Bebo? I met these girls in Mexico from the UK that made me sign up for it years ago. It's another social networking website, like facebook and myspace. I can't even remember the last time I logged on, but looking at it right now, it must still be very popular. I also just noticed that you can link it to your facebook or aim screen name (if anyone still uses aim).

http://www.bebo.com/

Tunisia, then Egypt, now Libya

People are taking action in Libya to try and denounce their goverment head Gadhafi. He is using military and mercenary might to try and silence the protests of his civilians, probably in fear and reaction to what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. His supporters opened fire on innocent and non violent protesters heading to a cemetery to bury other protesters killed late last week. This is the start of a possible revolution in the middle east. Gadhafi also is using blackout of the local internet and long distant phone calls to try and curb the protesters. Is it only a matter of time before Libya's Gadhafi bites the dust or will his authotarian use of power silence the protesters forever?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110220/ap_on_re_af/af_libya_protests

New Gadgets Aplenty - The Lomak

This is the Lomak (Light Operated Mouse and Keyboard), which is a hardware keyboard made for those who have difficulty using the standard mouse and keyboard setup. The device is meant to be used with a beam of light for the user to communicate with the computer. By confirming each key, only the correct selection is entered, therefore reducing errors and increasing input speed. It has a USB plug, it is lightweight, and it doesn't need software to run. This keyboard is another step forward for making online communication easier and easier for the world to access.

How one teacher's angry blog sparked a viral classroom debate

When high school English teacher Natalie Munroe had a bad day at school, she didn't just vent to her husband: she took it to her blog. Titled "Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?" and all but unknown to the world until earlier this month, Munroe's website served as a chronicle of her "utterly loathsome" students. In one post, she advises students to go get jobs with the trash company. In another, she calls them "rude, disengaged, lazy whiners." In yet another she doesn't mince words, proclaiming, "There's no other way to say this: I hate your kid." Now Munroe, who has been temporarily suspended from her position, finds herself in the middle of a swirling online debate — not over what she did, but over what she said about the sometimes harsh realities of the 21st century classroom.

While it's undoubtedly naive to believe in 2011 that a blog will remain anonymous — especially considering Munroe published the online musings using her first name, the initial of her last name and a photo of herself — her attorney, Steve Rovner, says legally she did nothing wrong to warrant suspension. Rovner says his client's school district does not have a policy in place that dictates what teachers can and cannot do online and Munroe did not name the school, nor her students, in her blog posts. Still, while Munroe maintains what she wrote was meant only to serve as amusement for herself, her husband and seven of her friends who read the site, in publishing the rants to a blog — rather than, say, via a mass e-mail to friends and family — she opened herself up to the chance that anyone outside her circle could find the posts.(See TIME's special feature "What Makes a School Great.")

Someone did. Though she never could have predicted the fallout from what she thought were private rants, the full ramifications hit home on Feb. 9 when she was suspended with pay from her job at Central Bucks East High School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Not long after, her face was plastered on the evening news. "I'm like anyone else in the world — when we encounter frustrations we come home, tell our family and friends about it," Munroe told TIME. "I wasn't fixating on these things, I wrote them down and moved on."

A few days after her suspension, Munroe again logged onto her blog to write a different kind of post, titled "Bloggate- Day 1: The Scandal Begins." (Though she removed all the old posts, this newer post is still available online.) In the post she laments her comments being taken out of context and says the positive things she said about her students in some posts were overlooked. But rather than wishing her plight would quickly fade from the spotlight, Munroe instead welcomed the discussion she thought her comments could spark. "There are serious problems with our education system today," she wrote. "If this 'scandal' opens the door for that conversation, so be it."

By the following week Munroe's story had caught the eye of producers at ABC's Good Morning America. Her appearance on the popular morning show on Wednesday quickly made her the subject of online postings on blogs and across Facebook. One Facebook group, labeled "I support Natalie Munroe," has garnered nearly 3,000 "likes," while an opposing group, called "Throw the Book at Natalie Munroe," has more than 500 "likes."(See 11 education activists for 2011.)

It's within these Facebook groups that the court of public opinion has weighed in on Munroe's situation. Her supporters — many of them teachers — tout the age-old mantra "Kids these days," and cheer Munroe for having the guts to publicly write things about today's "disrespectful" youth that most of them only dare mutter under their breath. One such commenter was Brian Nash, a fifth-grade teacher in West Point, Utah, who has been teaching for nine years. While Nash calls teaching "the absolute greatest job in the world," he says any teacher can relate to having a few students that drive them crazy. "I don't think there is anything wrong with calling kids out — I think they need it," he tells TIME. "There's this mentality that we can't say anything to kids, that we have to baby them, but I'm one of those tough-love kind of people."

But other teachers, like Amy Sterling Casil, an English teacher at a California community college, says that while she cuts K-12 teachers some slack for having to face things she doesn't have to in a college environment, Munroe's remarks were "immature and unprofessional." "It's not like I don't think things like this," she tells TIME. "I have a student right now that I could react that way about, but instead I'm working with that student to get him interested in the class rather than going on the Internet and venting."(Comment on this story.)

It seems the contention surrounding Munroe's comments boils down to a fundamental question: Just how much are teachers to blame for the problems plaguing the current education system? Some see in Munroe's comments a systematic rundown of the dire challenges facing America's overburdened teachers. Others see just the kind of attitude problem that can lead students astray. For her part, Munroe thinks teachers get a bad rap. "I don't think people realize how much work goes into being a teacher," Munroe says. "The perception is that everything is the teachers' fault, but teachers can only work within the system that is in place."

While Munroe's suspension is indefinite — in place until the school district decides whether to take her back or terminate her employment — her lawyer says he will likely be filing a lawsuit in the near future. "It's a First Amendment issue," Rovner says. "And it's an unresolved area of the law." And much like the impending legal battle, it's also uncertain as to when the online furor will die down. With an increasing number of national and now international publications picking up her story, it seems Munroe was right when she said the conversation had just begun.

See pictures of homeschoolers.

See pictures from inside a public boarding school.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2052123,00.html#ixzz1ERjwcN8K

10 ways to Multi-task better!! DONT GET INFORMATION OVERLOAD!

10 Ways to Multi-Task Better. And not get information overload!

1.) Say no as often as possible: “Say no to tasks that amount to busy work or don't advance a meaningful goal. Or simply don't respond when somebody asks”. For instance, I deleted my Facebook last summer when I got an engineering internship. I had to say NO to Facebook.

2.) Ask yourself, “Are you addicted?”!: Leave your laptop at home for once if your addicted, put your blackberry away in a meeting or in our case (class) to avoid be so attached to electronic devices.

3.)Turn Everything off: Shut down all your gizmos and make some alone time for yourself, you will feel better. For instance, top CEO request alone time from calls, emails and assistants before they start their day.

4.)Selectively Detach: this career article suggests to not maintain a communication hub but worry about doing the job right and getting it done. Meaning don’t answer every phone call, every email or text

5.)Digest good information, more slowly: spend time on information that matters. Don’t dwell on useless information instead devote yourself to information that is important. Think of the human body metabolism and digest system it is the same concept but in different terms.

6.)Exercise: Physical activity can declutter the brain. The machine below called the “walk station” allows not only to exercise but answer emails and multi-task. It says when you exercise and write emails it said to be the brain gets more bursts of creativity ideas!

7.) Don’t answer every email: Respond to only important emails, save the chatty and lols for another time. Or do a “Replay all” if it corresponds to your co-workers or friends.

8.)Say something Meaningful: It is to be said that busy people who manage their time well don’t read their emails, blogs, face book updates, instead they only spend their time on useful information. Leave out the professional with personal.

9.) Don’t rely on technology to simply your life: technology is envolving every second of the day and more and more new innovated ideas are waking up future inventors during the night. Don’t rely on technology: all the apps, programs, phones are suppose to simply your life, but since there is always a new coming out there is more learning to do. Instead, focus on your main goals in life and use “old fashion” way to get there, “prioritization”

10.) Remember Friendster: Ahh yeah for like a second I do! With all the social networks evolving on the internet there is always going to be a new one, even though Facebook is hot right now, it won’t be down the road because someone will always beat you to it no matter what. So instead of worrying about social networks and being socially connected remember before you do it that there is always something better coming out.

Obama Meets with Facebook and Apple Founders.

I found this article really exciting and intriguing! Obama is meeting with many computer icons like Mark Zuckerburg, the leader of Apple, Steve, Intel CEO, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt to create future innovators for the U.S. Obama wants to spend more on education “despite his call for the a five year freeze on government spending”. He wants the U.S to be more attracted to the work force and compete with the rest of the world. Obama is trying to create more innovated jobs for future generations in STEM (science, engineering, technology and math). I strongly support stem programs all around the U.S to help attract more minority students. As a minority student in computers I feel like there should be more students like me. Especially for students like me, where my parents didn’t go to college, to help motivate students and help derive success in the STEM fields.

AD spending on social networks

The eMarketer released a report predicting that advertaising across the globe on soical networks will reach 5.97 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. This figure represents a growth of 71.6% from social media ad spend in 2010, which will translate to 8.7% of total online ad spend this year. In the United States, marketers will spend in excess of $3 billion on social networks this year, which represents 10.8% of total digital ad spend.

eMarketer last predicted 2011 social ad spend in August 2011, at which time it predicted US ad spend was $1 billion less than the figures just released. Facebook, being the biggest social network in the world, is the primary driver behind the massive growth.
eMarketer is predicting that ad spend on Facebook will double this year to $4 billion worldwide and $2.19 billion in the US.

http://www.socialmediaportal.com/News/2011/01/Social-media-ad-spend-to-hit-6-billion-worldwide-in-2011.aspx

Prezi

Tired of making PowerPoint presentations? Tired of losing the file, forgetting your thumb drive on the way to class, and being pissed because you wish there was a way for a video to be posted in your presentation? Are you pissed and tired because of all of the reasons everyone hates PowerPoint?
I'm bad with PowerPoint and I always have been, but recently I caught wind of this new website called Prezi, it's a site where you can create your own presentation, and not only is it stored online which makes it infinitely easier to access and save and distribute (among say, a group over email), but the set up is fantastic. It's easy to learn, and the website presentation creator lets you insert Youtube videos and upload videos and pictures off your computer. And because it's online you can send it to everyone in your group (if you're making one for a group project) and everyone can be exposed to it before presenting day and learn their parts so that they're not staring at the screen, reading from the projection.
It's awesome, I highly recommend it using it.

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see | Video on TED.com

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see | Video on TED.com

Everloop: The Tween Version of Facebook?

A new social network site, Everloop, was recently launched. This new site is exclusively for tweens to post comments and even upload pictures. Signing up requires that a parent give consent and even goes as far as asking for a credit card number for increased security. Parents are able to monitor their child(ren)'s activity and control who their child connects with. With all the monitoring, I don't think that tweens will be interested in the website.

More info at:

http://techland.time.com/2011/02/16/everloop-the-facebook-for-tweens/

Mark Zuckerberg Facebook profile Hacked

Facebook founder,Mark Zuckerberg Facebook profile was hacked by an unknown assailant.This is sad that the founder of Facebook cannot even protect his own profile.Now , that being said,what happen to the rest of us on this social media outlet that are not dispose to the kind of security tools that he might have used but was unsuccessful in protecting his profile.So much for our online security.Cyber space has no security.

Technology and Health = NYC Iphone Condom App

The article "NYC launches iPhone condom-finder app" describes how today, it is important to respond to issues such as sexual health. In response to this issue, NYC has created an iphone application that locates a nearby place where they distribute free condoms. This app may increase the number of people who have protected sex in thus reducing the risk of acquiring an STD. I think that this app may be useful especially to teens who may not have money to purchase condoms. It is also helpful in reducing amount of teen pregnancies. What do you think?? Will this app cause an uproar from parents? Is this app essentially promoting sex?

"Life in 2020: Your smartphone will do your laundry"

The article "Life in 2020: Your smartphone will do your laundry", describes how in 2020, almost every appliance will have embedded connectivity. What this means is that almost every appliance and even your medicine bottles will have chips that allow them to connect to the internet and to connect with each other. This interconnectivity will allow your medicine bottle to email you or call you to remind you to take your medicine, when you leave your home and shut the door, the lights turn off and the shades go down, your phone will tell you to put a coat on, your car will tell you what route to take to work, reserve your parking and even order your cofee!! Sounds too good to be true right? Currently there are some issues that need to be resolved for this to be possible, but once they are, life will be sweet!!!

Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work | Video on TED.com

Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work | Video on TED.com

Watson Beats Human Competitors in Jeopardy Match!

Watson, a computer designed by IBM, won against two Jeopardy champions (Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter) in a two-game series of Jeopardy and winning a total of nearly $77,000. This is fascinating because it was usually correct, although it did stumble on a question. According to CNN online, this computer has been in development for several years and has the processing power of 2,800 computers.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/16/jeopardy.watson/index.html

4.3 Billion internet addresses...not enough!

According to The New York Times, anywhere from 12 to 18 months, the quota of 4.3 billion internet addresses will be filled. This number was set in 1977, and seemed enough at the time. (Though they new it would be growing.)

The article states, "I.P. addresses are the unique sequence of numbers assigned to each Web site, computer, game console or smartphone connected to the Internet. They are distinct from domain names, which identify Web sites, like nytimes.com.

“There are 4.3 billion addresses, and a lot of people have more than one,” said Leo Vegoda, manager of number resources at Icann. “And there are seven billion people on the planet. That’s a big mismatch.”

The rapid expansion of Internet adoption in Asia has sped things up even more."

Apparently they have everything under control, so there shouldn't be much to worry about. Unless of course, the solutions take longer than expected. Many different potential problems have been recorded on various websites.

arstechnica.com states, "Without access to more IP addresses, service providers are forced to have their customers share an address. For most types of communication, that's a workable solution, but it makes it much harder for two end-users to communicate directly, such as when making a VoIP call, video chatting, or transferring files directly using an instant messaging program, or through a peer-to-peer filesharing system."

For more information, visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/technology/15internet.html?_r=2&hp

and

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/river-of-ipv4-addresses-officially-runs-dry.ars

More Music News

Apparently Arcade Fire won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Unfortunately, I was working the night of the Grammy's and was not able to partake in the festivities of hearing the best artists, albums, and songs of the year. However, it seems that many people besides me were enjoying the Grammy's, that is until Arcade Fire won their award. Just afterwards, Who Is Arcade Fire exploded onto Twitter, most of the followers not knowing who the heck they were or why they had won such a prestigious award. I encourage you to look into it further. Here's the link that sparked my interest.

http://mashable.com/2011/02/14/who-is-arcade-fire/

A New Age in Music

Usually, a band or artist would be considered lucky if their music was discovered by a popular artists or recording company. Today, it is apparently available at the click of a button. With the help of Soundcloud, musicians and compilers are able to get their music out to the general public, with the only cost being their time and determination. Many important artists in the music industry are searching for the next best thing through sites such as Soundcloud, including 50 Cent. Apparently, he is supporting a contest to find the best song or compilation every week, the winner receiving a spot on the homepage of a specific website. Here's the link to read more on it!

http://mashable.com/2011/02/14/50-cent-soundcloud-ning/

Sharing the space

Earlier I was watching TV when I saw ads for the Android Tablet. I am so happy that technology like full screen touch devices are not being monopolized by one company like Apple. It is was exciting to hear that the Apple ipad came out but now that andriod tablet is out i am ecstatic to see what way each product will grow. Where will the tab or ipad succeed or fail and what advancements will we have to look forward to.

Hitman on FACEBOOK!

Wow i guess people will try to buy anything on the internet now these days. Apparently there was this teenager age 19 who posted on facebook that he wanted to hire someone quick in facebook to kill a girl he later tried to rape. His post went as following " I got 500 on a girls head who wants that bread? Hit me up anyway possible." Lucky the person he responded to the post and met up with him at a rendezvous spot was a police detective. It is really a scary thing to think about how much power and resources we have at the click of a mouse.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20031672-71.html#ixzz1DuibSxqJ

Goals for Social Media

Theres a website that studies the top 6 social media goals for 2011. It includes the top ways to succeed in the social media world in 2011. It focus on the internal and external strategy for you social media in the company. It graphs and analyzes the types of ways to determine if the program you create is successful in 2011. The website is http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/study-reveals-top-6-social-media-goals-for-2011/#

Phone App for the language gap

There's a phone application that's available for the Android that's called "Talk to Me." This application is for talking to your interesting Spanish/Italian/French new friend that doesn't know a bit of english and you haven't a clue how to speak a word of their language. It's an application that allows a voice entry (only available for english input, unfortunately) and the program will translate it into spanish, italian or french. The text portion of the program will translate over a dozen languages over text however. So definitely an interesting application to check out if you have an Android.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Several-interesting-applications-for-Android_id9927

A Japanese baby head helping out gathering information for human development.

A professor from Japan has started constructing a robot child that can replicate dozens of convincing child-like expressions. It can appear inquisitive, happy, surprised, upset and more. It can tilt its eyebrows and has a moving jaw. Now the robot isn't completely finished, but eventually the japanese-robot-boys head will belong to a complete robot body which this professor is hoping will be used to study the caregiver-child interactions/human development.
The whole article: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-02/affetto-disembodied-baby-head-takes-uncanny-valley-new-depths

Kinect's Next Big New Game?

Kinect is currently working on a game that will allow you to use your hands as pistols in the new game "The Gunstringer". Acting as a puppeteer, you will be able to control the skeletal looking character in a cowboy/western setting. The only issue that I have with this is giving this to young children. If I were a mother, the last thing I would want is my child using their fingers as a pistol pretending to shoot things. Studies have shown there is a direct correlation with viloence in video games and violence in real life. However, I think that in the right setting this game could bring a lot of fun to the little children around the world just wanting to be like the "cowboy/cowgirl" in the movies.

Link to trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42-CJjPSRE&feature=player_embedded

Thoughts?

Technology and Nature

Most people believe that due to all of the technological advances, people do not spend much time enjoying the outdoors as we used to. In contrast to this belief, an article that I just recently read, "Technology Meets The Great Outdoors", proves that technology can improve outdoor experiences. This article lists gadgets that are helpful and enhance your outdoor experience. The gadgets include a camcorder that is waterproof to a depth of five feet, making it okay to take while snorkeling, a radio with a built in flashlight that is solar powered so that you never have to worry about running out of batteries when camping, and my favorite one of all, a gadget that purifies two pints of water in just ninety seconds!!

Why Nokia Chose WP7 vs Android

With all the new OS info that is being thrown out in the media today : HP announcing their death of their OS, and now with Nokia, a major company decided to get rid of the old and in with the new. Out with the symbian OS and in with the new Windows Phone 7 Operating System, in the long run this may be a really good decision for Nokia, if Nokia chose Android, they have a lot to compete with, all the other phone brands out there its hard to stay on top of the list with all the Android devices.

Though with WP7 debut last year, Nokia may be their savior to their very unpopular OS. With Windows, they do not have to be another small bleep on the giant Google OS empire.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/13/nokia-hints-well-see-first-windows-phone-7-device-this-year/

Even Congressman Have Trouble Keeping a Clean Image on the Internet

Here is yet another example of how it is becoming rather vital to manage your image online. Congressman Christopher Lee has resigned from his congressional seat due to the fact that he was caught sending flirty emails with a women on craigslist. In addition he sent a shirtless picture of himself to the women, and lied about his marital status and age. I think that people should know by now, that if you are going to post or send somthing online, whether it be from email, social networking site, or a blog, it is likely that someone will be able to find it and may use it against you.

Console typer: the new way to to get more gaming time in!

I know that I found it a large nuisance when I'm playing a video game and I have to type a million things before I even start to play. Well thanks to Circboard this is a brand new way to type, that is close to typing on a keyboard. With this innovative way of typing gamers will have more time to play their games and less time trying to backspace and have proper punctuation. Check it out on the link posted below to see if you would be interested in their demo!



CIRCBOARD DEMO VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqs07wmly84

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/07/circboard-brings-fast-typing-to-console-controllers-video/

Make Your Phone Autonomous

Is your phone going off in the middle of the night? During work or class when it is supposed to be on silent? Well sure sometimes we forget to engage the silent feature and get completely embarrassed when your Harry Potter ringtone goes off. Yea happened in my class the other day.

Well This application called Llama, once set-up properly can identify where you are and turn on / off certain features of your phone such as ring volume, vibrate, or completely silent. And instead of using GPS which can destroy your phones battery life, it uses cell towers, something thats already on. So with my android phone, whenever I reach campus it turns to vibrate, whenever I reach my apartment back to loud, and after 11pm, silent till 6am.

Give it a try! Its Free!

Assassination of SIMs

Apple is currently working on the iphone that is one third smaller than the iphone 4. Bloomberg says that, "Apple is looking at laungching the 'chearper' model at $200 off contract, which would be the same as the 16 GB iphone 4 ON contract currently. Let's not understate the fact that $200 off contract is dirt cheap by modern smartphone standards, which means Apple would have to be using every scrap of its enormous economies of scale to pull that off." The 3.5 inch Retina Display would vanish entirely. Even though it is going one third the size it will still be a bit large for a "smaller" phone either way. Apple is also working on a "Universal SIM" that could potentially eliminate SIM cards altogether. It is however difficult to say if Apple is actively working on it or already has been shelved, as rumors that pass through the grapvine can get twisted.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/10/bloomberg-apple-working-on-cheaper-smaller-and-dual-mode-iph/?icid=engadget-iphone-url

Egypt

The Egypt protests would be more surprising to me if the government was different. It's more surprising that the people are protesting because conciquences are inevitable and desired progress would be dismal.

Confession on the Go?

There is now an application for you iPhone to help you remember your sins when you go to confession. Literally almost everything is becoming digital in today's world. This app was also cleared by the catholic church as being okay to use. The app might be helpful to the occasional visit to the confession booth.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/02/09/confession/index.html

More Smartphone Shipments Than PCs

I found an article on CNN that explains in 2009 and part of last year, there were more shipments of PCs than smartphones. Close to the end of 2010, however, Smartphone shipments exceeded PCs. Since the pass two years, shipments of smartphones has tripled, while PC shipments have increased by 45%. This doesn't mean that PCs will disappear because it is tedious to do certain tasks such as word processing on smartphones.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/09/technology/smartphones_eclipse_pcs/index.htm

The Peregrine

I know we kind of moved past this stuff, but I just happened across this glove. It says it was made with the intent to be used playing video games such as world of warcraft or Heroes of Newearth. However, with over 30 customizable touch points, you could use this glove to do anything. It is not limited to video games, as it plugs into your computer as a keyboard. The best part is that it is completely washable.
http://theperegrine.com/news/2010/sep/10/peregrine-featured-wall-street-journal/

Egypt's Revolution by Social Media

People are calling Egypt's revolution a revolution by social media. Egypt's government has controlled traditional media for years. With the help of social media Egypt's people finally had a free away to talking without the government getting involved. People are saying that this is why the Egypt Revolution came into play.
Here is an Article about "Egypt's Revolution by social media"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703786804576137980252177072.html

HP's TouchPad

Most of you may already be aware, but on Wednesday, HP revealed it's TouchPad. The TouchPad is similar to Apple's iPad, and it can display Web content encoded with Adobe Flash, which iPads won't do. The TouchPad (Wi-Fi version) is expected to be released by this summer and the 3G and 4G versions later. If you're wondering about the prices of the TouchPad, HP has not yet announced the price.

More info:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/09/technology/hp_webos_tablet/index.htm

People are too lazy to even watch TV? Grammy News:

That's what I got merely from the title. There will be live blogging from the Grammy awards and twitter updates to boot. However, the article isn't on this. The mention of twitter and live blogging is very nonchalant. Which means, obviously, that our generation is used to this--it's all become a habit to check the twitter and update the status, we don't think twice about it. It's just another way to communicate.

It makes me wonder how we survived in the 50's.

Article on the Grammy's:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/live-blogging-the-grammys/?hp

A fun little article on communication now and then:

http://www.chesapeakestyle.com/celebrate/jul04.html

Verrrry Inneresting.

Verrrry inneresting indeed. (aka interesting.)

Fun facts on social media I found via youtubing,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

Tips and Tricks for Staying off the Grid

I found an article where it tells you how to stay off the Grid. It helps you by giving you some easy steps to follow in not leaving a digital fingerprint. For some of us it is too late but for others it's still possible. If you feel uncomfortable about yourself being exposed to billions of people I would highly recomend this site and maybe some of its links as well. Its always better to be able to control your own self identity on the web then to let it flourish without your say so.


http://www.ehow.com/how_2165009_remain-anonymous-online.html

"Social Media Counter"

So I found this today and I thought it was interesting-- based on data found by a researcher that the article only describes at "Gary," a counter was made that shows a whole bunch of "real-time" numbers on social media and many other related users. I wish I could say I had more information on this sketchball "Gary" guy, but I can't find anything else on him or his research. I assume he took averages and based on these he has the counters going up, sort of like the birth/death statistic things. Someone doesn't ACTUALLY die every few seconds, it's just that over time it averages out to be one every few seconds.



http://www.techtified.com/2009/10/growth-of-social-media-in-real-time-hard-data/

All About Communication

Whenever you ask someone why they signed up for Facebook, or Myspace, how do they usually answer you? Most responses relate to them joining to talk with their friends, or to see what their friends have been up to. In this article, it states that communication matters much more than content to the users, and I believe there is some truth to that. However, without content, what can we use to communicate with. Content gives us something to talk about, and the commutation is what is creating the social network.

The article can be found below:

http://socialmediatoday.com/jkim/263825/its-not-about-content-its-all-about-communication?ref=pop-com

Use Social Media to improve your buisness!

If adversting and "getting the word out" isn't working? How about using Twitter? Twitter is great way of promoting your business. For instance, if you have customers that want to know what is going on with your business and how people are reviewing your customer service why not tweet about it so people can follow you? You can even post links of what people said about your business from other websites. For example, say you have a nice Italian bistro in Seattle and you want people to know, especially positive reviews, what they said about your restaurant, well they can follow your links and posts on Twitter. And guess what? It is free to use Twitter! Instead wasting money on advertisers in the newspaper you can save money and be a part of this new social media revolution! Twitter also is easy to use and not time consuming! So if you’re thinking about having your own business in the near future how about using Twitter or Facebook? In all, one business owner stated, "If you're not into social media social networking you will be out of business. I'm going to repeat that: You will be out of business if you don't tweet, use Facebook, and social media today."

Social Media aided a Revolt in Egpyt, Social Media Revolution!

Hello. I came across a CBS article that was posted 2 hours ago and it was talking about how much social media played a part in the Egpytian revolution of taking down President Hosni Mubarak. Social media played a huge part in this revolution, one protester stated,"It's a very good way for communication. It has no power or control from anyone." Yes, I agree with this statement because no one is controlling but you. Moreover, when the government shut off the internet and cell phones, the protesters only increased. Another protester said that the social media was their most powerful tool upon creating this revolution. I believe that social media was very successful in this revolution because of how fast information can be spread and uploaded. I think now in the future, if a country were to have another revolution or a civil war social media will be the first one in line to organize it. Egpyt I think showed an example to the world of how powerful social media can be.

Are you worth a Billion? Let alone 8 Billion!!

Well according to some experts you might not be but twitter is. In a recent article in the WSJ it reported that several companies have inquired in acquiring the social media site. The two main players are google and Facebook. Even though twitter reported losing money last year do to expansion and is only estimating revenue around the 200 million it still Seems to be fetching a high price. Some people believe (myself inculded) that this is just another clash with two behemoths in the social media world trying to keep the other one from gaining any edge. Well as of now no sale has happen nor does it look like there will be any time soon. This article makes me wonder if one day I too could get paid billions for something nobody needs but everybody wants.

So for today I will dream big and live poor!!!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703716904576134543029279426.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEADTop

The Social Network

With all this talk of social networking (and well, being in the class of course) I figured it useful to view the movie about Facebook that has taken over the interwebs. The Social Network. I never realized just how much work it was to...create a website. Hours of coding? Constant algorithms? I'm not one for math or technology, but I never actually thought, "Oh, hey, this website has millions upon millions of nonsensical hieroglyphics behind the screen I am currently looking at." I also realized how much we take for granted, such as the internet itself. We need information? We type it into Google. But how long did it take for the answer we sought to come up? How long did it take for that same website to be created? Facebook was created within two weeks and is constantly changing and updating, and to think that just one person was behind it is mind blowing. (Well..if you count the twins...three...and if you count his former best friend and Justin Timberlake [not playing himself] then...five. But even then, it was really only Mark Zuckerberg behind it all...so, back to one.)

Facebook has evolved into than just messaging friends and being plugged into their lives. It has become the home of a few social visualization tools, which we recently learned about.

Also, about the email decline, Facebook has updated its messaging system. Not everyone has it yet, but the new system is less "formal" and "e-mail-like." The new messaging system is almost like the IM system, except when someone goes offline, and you send an IM, it gets sent to their inbox. (It all looks the same.) They also got rid of having a subject. It's hard to explain but here is a link explaining everything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czw-dtTP6oU

Smart Phone vs PC

Recently I found an article relating to smartphones and PCs. It claims that smartphones have "conquered" PCs. I believe that this is because people now have a desire to access to the internet anywhere and anytime they want. It would allow for easy access to their e-mail, to Facebook, to check homework online, etc. They are also starting to become much more affordable for everyone to buy. PCs are still not too expensive, but on average one computer can last a person a couple of years before they find the need to upgrade. Now with the sudden burst of smartphones, people are making the switch over which most likely accounts for the dramatic growth in shipments for smartphones mentioned in the article.

What do you guys think? The article can be found below.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/09/technology/smartphones_eclipse_pcs/index.htm