Sunday, July 31, 2011

Technology for the travelers

I just recently bought an iPhone for my business. I am always out in the streets and need access to maps, bank accounts and anything else I can think of on the go. Take for instance I am on my iPhone right now blogging. It has helped me so much and I have only had it for less than a week. I can now accept credit cards, check my accounts, find out where my customers are and keep my website up to date.
I was watching GAC which is a country music station and they have what they call a GAC minute. They show you what's going on with certain artists. They interviewed chuck wills and he talked about how technology has helped him on the road. He is on the road over 100 days out of the year. So when he gets home everything is the same because it is all synced up. It makes the tour bus feel like home and makes home feel like he never left. It has helped people stay close and get closer.
Travelers have enjoyed the advances with technology that helped them feel more at home even in a hotel room. If you have forgotten to turn off your lights at home or want to check up on your kids you can look at them or turn off your lights from the palm of your smartphone.
I personally have enjoyed every piece of technology. Can't wait to see what else technology can help the on the go people of this world out with next!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Big brother....over protected?

As I am sitting in my room listening to the video about Big brother I am astounded and it even got the attention of my boyfriend to stop playing video games. So I knew it was something big if it got him to stop playing Call of Duty Black Ops. We sat there for an hour and a half saying in unison "Are you kidding me?" "How do you get away with that?"
 When it got to the part of the Acxiom and they have every single transaction you have ever made and then they can sell it to the companies! They know when you had a baby, when your income goes up or down, practically whenever you sneeze they have it documented! All this information is all a click away. I went to the Acxiom website and they was a simple button on the homepage that said "Buy Data." I almost wanted to see what they had on me but figured if I wanted to know my transactions I could check my bank statement for free. http://www.acxiom.com/Pages/Home.aspx
When the gentleman on the video who got his phone records stolen, Ryan I believe his name was, said it perfectly when he said the laws aren't keeping up with the technology. Everyday people are finding ways around the justice system to justify that what they are doing is perfectly legal. Personally I would think that having someones permission on every single detail of their life would be ethically right and illegal in every way to not ask.
Sorry i keep jumping all over the place but there was just so much its hard to cover. At the end when the CEO of citywatch has his employees chipped I don't know how you don't question his thinking behind it and what if someone said no? Did they not get to keep their job? Yeah it looked pretty cool but still so weird and down right creepy. If someone told me that I would have to have a chip implanted in me or my child I will fight til the end to say no. Its just not right to have that much information on a person and your fingertips. I thought our four fathers didn't want our government to come to this. Isn't this why we fight for freedom?

Just my rant......

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Q&A

Q-In your opinion, how is Facebook and Google+ different or the same?

A-Well from the rumor mill they seem similar. Google seems to be on the more sophisicated side though. It is invite only as of now and testing it out. They came out with video chat and Facebook counterattacked and launched their video chat. I think they launched it quicker than what they wanted but they needed to so they wouldn't lose users. http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/facebook-video-conferencing-will-businesses-like

Q-How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake MySpace?

A- Facebook has over 750 million users. They have accumulated so many because it started off exclusive. Only college kids. I remember when my brother had one and I asked if I could make one and he said no becuase I wasn't old enough. Human nature is when someone tells you to not do something you are going to. It made me when want to join even more! Facebook had more to offer than Myspace. It didn't have all the "ghetto" labels that Myspace did. It seems like myspace was for music. you can't change your background or make a dumb name like "lovely lady" as your display name. I mean I guess you could but it doesnt seem to happen.
Q-Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook?

A- I don't think Google+ will. I think it might give users something new to see but they will stick to Facebook. It has so many advertisers and media behind it I don't see it slowing down for a while. But like everything is technology its here today adn gone tomorrow. As long as Facebook keeps innovating I don't see it having a problem at all.

Q-Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Do you think this obsession is warranted?A-I think there is an obession with Facebook because secretly everyone is a stalker. My boyfriend and I have talkked about this before. Its not to check out or keep up with friends. Maybe for some but its to see what people are doing and how you can be better than them. Girls would be the prime suspect to this. Girls will see what girl is talking to the guy that she likes or is with and will poost status's about them. Or will write on the guys wall to see that he is taken or they hung out to get other girls jealous. Personally I find it silly. I have never done that or even thought about doing it. It is almost being able to have access to anyone and everything as long as you know there name. Its really scary once you start to think about it.

Q-What was your perspective of the film overall?

A-I thought the film was great. I knew that Facebook was in the courts for something but didn't know the details. Im sure like every movies some of it was fabricated but I believe it was good acting. I liked the main actor in his movies. I find him sarcastic and witty the way most young people are.

Social Network

When I first started joining social networks of course I thought it was just a fad. Myspace came and I figured it would be the same thing for Facebook. On the contrary Facebook is still going strong and becoming more powerful. It has more traffic on there than Google. Advertisers want to be on Facebook at any costs.

We watched The Social Network in class and towards the end one of the lawyers asked Mark Zuckerberg what he was doing and he said, "Checking Bolivia." As to she replied, "They don't have paved roads but they have Facebook." That got me thinking how can countries like Bolivia not be able to pave the roads but their social media is up to date? That alone shows the power of the Internet. Personally I have Facebook open in a tab while I am posting this blog. While my boyfriend plays video games for hours I will be right next to him on facebook telling him what everyone is updating. Some people have addictionss and I guess young people addiction has become Facebook or any social media.
With Google plus on its way its going to be a battle to the very end. I already asked for an invite to Google plus to see the hype so I can't wait til I can open it and check it out.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/12/google-users-10-million-chart/

Class on 7-6

Well its been awhile since I have blogged. Been quite crazy in my house lately but I'm still keeping up with technology...or at least what I can handle. Last class we went over how a computer operates and how it has progressed since 10 years back. Now we have multiprocessors which now is 7 old computers in 1!
We all remember back in the day when dial up was the BIG thing. You sat and waited for what seemed like a lifetime just to get on the internet and check your email. It was a luxury to have internet and nowadays it is a necessity. We wouldn't know what to do or how to handle our lives if it wasn't for these technological advances that have been made in the past few years. It its astonishing!

Another topic we brought up was apple v samsung. Who patened the touch screen first? The majority would think apple. They are still litigating it. I would think apple as well seeing as they have made the ipod touch, iphone, and ipad. They made the touch screen main stream. I just recently read on techcrunch.com that apples lawyers used to be samsung lawyers!! I bet that was awkward. The link to the article is below.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/12/apples-lawyers-used-to-be-samsungs-and-samsung-doesnt-like-it/

Friday, July 1, 2011

RFID...Good? or out of control?

When I took this class I honestly didn't know what to expect. I ijust figured we would learn more about computers and that it. But we are learning how much techcnology hass helped us and will continue to improve.

We learned about the RFID tags. Which, in simple terms, is a identification card. People put them in their pets incase they get lost they can track them right back to the owner. They donnt need to be in sight to get a reading either.  They can be read through the human body!

When Mr.Porter said that they are thinking of putting them in children I was shocked. That has to be inhumane! I am thankful for techcnology because it has made life easier but thats just taking it to a whole new level. I wouldn't want my child to have that. But like everything it has its pros and cons. Pros: If your child gets lost, has to be taken in an ambulance all the info is there. It just seems like too much to risk. I wouldn't want the government to have that much control.

I don't know if anyone has been watching Falling Skies on TNT but it is about aliens coming to earth and taking children as slaves and putting harnesses on them. It seems like the RFID tag can become that if we don't be careful.

http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/RFID/what_is_rfid.asp

Google just can't compete

In class we talked about Google+. It seems to be Facebook's clone. Google keeps trying to get in the social media but still can't compete. Some bloggers believe that it looks good while others seem to be skeptical.

Personally I see google as a search engine and thats it. I didn't know they had Google voice, ewallet, or anything else. I don't know if other people feel that way but its hard to see it any other way. I use Google to an extreme amount. I am glad that I now know of all of its different technological accessories it has. I think with them trying to be a Social Network just wont work.

A guy in the class (sorry I dont remember your name) got to see it and even he said it looks just like facebook except you can video chat. People have skype for that.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/06/28/google.plus.reaction/index.html?iref=allsearch