5 Technologies Your Smartphone Was Meant to kill but Hasn't

Link to article: http://blogs.nokia.com/nseries/2011/03/21/5-technologies-your-smartphone-was-meant-to-kill-but-hasnt/

Almost everyone, especially the younger generations, own a smartphone or an iphone, and obviously it was going to replace some of the old technology that existed before smartphones were created.
This article listed five things, however, I disagreed with a few of them.

For example, replacing PC's? Really? A smartphone is going to replace a PC? I acknowledge that the smartphone is highly convenient to have around especially when one goes out and away from their computers and it's smaller than a laptop. However, I do not feel that it would actually kill off the PC because personally, I would rather have a 42inch monitor screen than stare at the tiny screen in the palm of my hand. Also, you cannot really multi-task on a smartphone. For example, watching a video while surfing on the Internet. Smartphones automatically go full-screen when playing a video, and even if we could have separate windows, it'd be painfully small to watch.

The article said that the smartphone was to kill off "calling with the phone". As much as people love to text, I do not think that it will ever take over the oral communication. Some people like talking on the phone, and hearing each other's voices. At times, calling is actually more convenient than sending a text.

I do not think that the smartphone is killing off anything; I actually think the smartphone is merely "improving" what we already have.

12 Signs that you are a computerholic?

Somebody that I follow on Twitter tweeted this out just a few moments ago, and I thought that it was pretty funny and amusing.

Here's the link: http://www.oddee.com/item_97684.aspx


Like the title have said, these are the 12 signs that will hint the fact that you are indeed a computerholic.
However, as I was scrolling down the pictures, I feel that some of these examples are a bit exaggerated. For example, number 6, where you would take your bathroom to your computer, or number 12, where you would ask to be buried under a computer gravestone. I hope that these two pictures are not serious, and that it was just to be funny.

However, the rest of the list seems possible, and some even applies to me.

You work in your computer even when you are sick: This to me doesn't seem to be a big deal, especially with the world today where almost everything revolves around a computer and the internet. Even if it's not a laptop, people would still surf around the web on their phones, or their iphones.

You have several computers, and you use them at the same time: Again, in the modern world, many people own more than one computer. I, myself, own two and I too use them at the same time. I use my laptop to download things so I can watch them on my desktop, which I also use for work.

You create your own DIY Portable Computer: Ummmm.. I don't know how old this picture is, but we have Laptops now.. so I don't think we need to create our own.

You sleep at work and your office looks like this: So a bed under your desk? Well My computer is next to my bed and I consider my Den and my room to be my office...so...?

Your family and friends need to send you an email if they want to talk to you: Well most of my friends are across the country from me, as well as my family. But then I would still message my friends, but not when they are in the same room as me. That's a bit extreme. If I can talk to someone in person, I will.

So these are the few that applies to me.. Does that mean I'm a Computerholic? or am I normal, based on the time I am in now.

Tsunami and Earthquake Hitting Japan

When the natural disasters happened in Japan, people automatically knew right away; especially if they go online on sites such as Twitter and Tumblr.

Even without reading or watching the news, I knew what was going on. There were trends and hashtags such as #prayforjapan or #prayforasia or even #prayforworld.

Many of us phoned friends and relatives that are in Japan, while some of us wait for them to tweet out a status. Since I did not have my friend's number, I had to wait for her to update her Facebook status saying she was fine, even though the place was shaking really hard.

It's amazing how fast the internet can connect us. We have clips during the tsunami and earthquake flying around on the web.People are raising awareness through Twitter and Tumblr; they are also being informed of the various organizations that are looking for donations to help Japan. We don't have to watch TV and we will still be part of the loop.

Google also has created a "person-finder" where it will help find those who are still missing.
Hopefully the Internet can exceed our expectations and find these missing people more effectively and faster than before.

Bullying and Abuse on Facebook Solved?

According to a short article by BBC News, Facebook has allowed their users who are being bullied or abused online to report their problems to their friends. There is an option where the users can "get help from a trusted friend".  They have included this function because they believe that by taking down the harassing comments will not necessarily solve this problem. Facebook has been "slow to respond to concerns about online safety", and they never revealed the number of staff who handles complaints about Bullying or abuse.So they included this option to improve it's safety.

Would this really help anti-Bullying? Would the ones being bullied really use this option? I understand that it is easier to message people about your problems than talking to them in person. If one usually keeps everything to himself, would he really ask for help even if it's a "trusted friend"?

I'm not saying that this is a bad idea, because I know change won't happen overnight, and this is a good start.
The strange thing is, I tried finding this option on Facebook, and I can't find it.  The article also didn't tell us where it was located.

03/08/2011

So today during lecture, there was a presentation on Gaming.
And since I love to game myself, this topic definitely appealed to me.

What interested me was the fact that gaming was used by the military to recruit kids or young teens. It was discussed in class how some of the teens actually believe the army would be as exciting or as fun as it would be in a game like Call of Duty. However, obviously in reality, it is quite the opposite.

I don't like the idea of using video games to train because it is definitely different than being in action in real life. The argument ab55out guns as well. Just because someone might be extremely good with shooting and aiming on a game, might not necessarily be that great with a real gun. I find it strange that people think it's the same thing, when clearly it isn't. The game controllers aren't as heavy as the real guns nor will it recoil as hard when you shoot. The game controller might shake a bit because of the vibrating function built-in, but it won't budge as much as a real gun would. If one were not to hold the real gun properly, one can seriously injure oneself.


There was also an incident, which I don't really remember when it happened, but a kid, no more than 9 years old, decided to steal his grandmother's car and drive it down the road, hitting other cars as he goes. When his grandmother called the cops and found him, they asked the boy why he would do that. He said he wanted to be like Grand Theft Auto, the game.
Personally, the Grand Theft Auto Series are my absolute favourite game, so I understand how the kid thinks it's cool and exciting to copy what you can do in the game. However, I thought it was a bit dumb since just because the cops are slow and doesn't see to be smart enough to catch you in the game, doesn't mean, you can escape that easily in real life.

The official Website for GTA: http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto/

I think that the youth during the recent years are more aware that the virtual world is not real compared to the youth when video games first got popular.

And even though video games now have games where you can exercise both physically and mentally or even learn a new skill (eg. learn a new language). But because the older generation wasn't born in this virtual time, they think that gaming is a bad and useless thing.

Blog Assignment #2

With all the technology and digital devices in the world, it is obvious that people, especially the younger generations are going to adapt it into their lifestyle. Of course, it may not be simple for everyone, for example, the “digital immigrants” who were not born within the digital times, but they are still learning and trying to cope with it.

Our generation is developing the skills and knowledge for said invention. We are constantly “multi-tasking” in the stuff we do now. We can be talking on the phone, while texting, watching TV and working on homework at the exact same time. Sure, we are capable of doing such tasks at the same time, but are we able to do as well as we would if we were to concentrate on one thing at a time? 

For example, even at this moment, I am writing my blog, while figuring out another school assignment, and being on a forum, Facebook, Twitter AND Tumblr. It’s not that I’m not working or finishing my assignments, it’s just that it’s taking me longer than I have to on them. If I were not on Facebook orTwitter etc, I could probably finish or do twice as many things because I’m concentrating. People say that they can multi-task, but it is not necessarily a good thing. Because we are not focusing on one thing at a time, we rarely do a good job; actually we usually do a very bad job even though we tend to say otherwise.

I feel like in a way, the interfaces are the ones controlling me because if I were to spend a few hours even, away from my computer, I feel like I am missing out on a lot of things. It also true however, that I am actually missing out, because when I come home and go on the sites, I would have to backtrack a lot to be caught up to date. As much as I love to say that I'm in control of what I do, and of the sites I am on, truthfully, it is the other way around. The interface, the technology, are the ones controlling us. We simply feel uneasy and insecure without it.

Blog Assignment #1

One of the biggest sensations in the internet world today is Twitter. What is Twitter? Twitter is “Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting.”  (Twitter.com) The information we share to the world are called Tweets, which only allows us to have 140 characters per “Tweet”.  

What is so appealing about Twitter? One is capable of giving any kind of information, be it in text, image or even video. One can share to the whole world with just a tweet.  It is extremely popular because it is very convenient to use, and also very easy to learn. Even for “non-tech. saavy” people, Twitter is actually quite straightforward. Whatever you want to say, just type it in the box located at the top of your page, and voila! You have tweeted!

Yes, it is definitely a good way to spread news to friends and family, however they are not the only ones that can access this information. Privacy is an issue that can be questioned. When a tweet, video or picture gets sent out into the internet world, it will automatically leave an “electronic trace.” (Sherry Turkle) Even if this information is deleted off the twitter page, it does not fully disappear off the face of the earth. People are still capable of retrieving said information.

I think it is pretty scary to know that whatever I write, and delete, people are still able to dig it back up. Who knows what can be used against me? Sadly many of the younger generations do not really care much about giving out personal information. Some others, such as college students, ignore the fact that they might be violating the privacy which in turn, increased surveillance from the government.

When people are “tweeting”, they usually tweet about what they are doing; what is happening in their lives. When we tweet, we do not think it is such a big deal. And because we can now literally tweet from anywhere, because there is now a function called “Twitter on the go” where we can tweet straight from our mobile phones, or smartphones, it is now easier for people to track down our location. And we do not really think about who is reading our tweets, but anyone around the WORLD can read our tweets. The web has connected people from all over the world at all times. The web is now part of our everyday social lives.

Although personal information can be leaked out, sometimes it might not be real information. When people think of role-playing, people usually associate chat rooms, or role-playing games such as the avatar game, “Second life”.  However, some of the people role-play through Twitter as well.

People can pretend to be another character from a movie, show, or animation that they saw, or they can create a character entirely on their own. They can pretend to be everything they wanted to be but cannot. Through the web, because it is not face-to-face with someone; no one knows who you really are or what you really look like. Therefore, people can express themselves more easily, without feeling embarrassed or feel like they’re getting judged all the time. 

Because of this privacy issue, we are more conscious about what we post online, and more aware about who will read such information; especially since there is also a function called Tweet Location, where it shares the location where you tweeted from to the others. Other people can now know where you currently are without even having to ask you. We can also “privatize” our tweets where it only allows the followers whom you have accepted to read. But is it really private? People, such as the government or even hackers, can still get these information.  It’s amazing how nothing can truly be private in the cyber world.