Shane's Blog

Journal 15 April 26, 2009

2009-04-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/04/10/i_robot____and_gardener_mit_droids_tend_plants/

The article for this week’s current event blog comes from MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A group of undergraduate students have created a robot that has the capability of watering, harvesting and pollinating several cherry tomato plants. These robots have the ability to water each individual plant, as well as pick tomatoes when they are ripe. IT knows when to water the plant because there are numerous sensors in the soil that can tell the computer network when it is necessary to provide water or fertilizer. The robot is able to recognize a ripe tomato by using a web camera, and pick it with the right amount of pressure as not to harm or kill the plant. The process behind picking a tomato from the plant is far more difficult for a robot than a human. The robot must have the right touch, as to not hurt the plant, and know when to pick the ripe tomato. I think this topic and these articles are key stepping stone towards the future. I believe that robotics are going to play a huge part in our future, and this is one of the first innovations that may lead to bigger and better things for the field and the world as a whole. The article states that the agricultural industry is large and growing exponentially and is becoming an integral part to our society. This little advancement in robotics could possibly lead to more ideas and bigger robots to help grow and harvest crops. There have been a ton of movies and books about robots and their various roles in our future, but this brings all of these fantasy stories closer to reality. People have all of these ideas about robots and how in the future they will be able to do everything that humans do not possess the urge to do. Maybe everyone will have something like the robotic maid in the television series The Jetsons. I am very impressed to see that undergraduate students, who are just the same age as I am, are coming up with these little pieces of technology that may become a base for bigger and better robots to further our society.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30109901/

Journal 14, April 19, 2009

2009-04-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/helping-parents-snoop-on-kids-iphone-habits/

Probably the newest most innovative piece of technology on the market is any iPod product. I, myself, have an iPod Touch and love using it every day, and one of the main reasons is because it picks up WiFi internet and allows for wireless internet use. As an adult, I have enough discretion and internet sense to know what web sites I should visit and which ones I should not. These abilities are shared by most adults who regularly use the internet, but many children do not know what is good and what is bad on the internet. Since both the iPhone and the iPod touch are internet compatible, and more and more children own them, then there needs to be a way to monitor and block access to these inappropriate web sites that children can but shouldn’t visit while using their iPod products. This is where the app store comes in with iTunes. The article that I found talks about different apps that allow for parents to limit what their children can go to on the internet, and some apps even track where the child tries to go. The first app is Mobicip, which is free. It is basically an internet that the parents can put locks on certain websites. There are more apps that are not quite as cheap as Mobicip, but have more ways to limit and monitor children. One of these more efficient monitoring tools is called iWonder Surf, and its big difference is that it allows for parents to pick which web sites can be blocked or unblocked, and costs just under fifteen dollars. The other is Safe Eyes Mobile, which allows the access to the internet to be controlled and it also emails or alerts the child’s parents when the child is trying to access the blocked sites. The significance of these apps, and this article, is to show that even though technology is progressing and children are being exposed to more and more these days, that there are people out there who still are trying to let kids be kids and not be exposed to too much too early in their lives.

http://www.mobicip.com/online_safety/content_filtering

Journal 13, April 12

2009-04-12T12:21:00.001-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29972476/

How cool would it be to walk out to your car, get in and just tell it where you want to go and it would automatically drive you there. Kind of like an autopilot. There is no technology in the near future that will be able to do this but Honda Motor Co. has developed a way to read patterns of electric currents on a person's scalp as well as changes in cerebral blood flow when a person thinks about four simple movements, moving the right hand, moving the left hand, running and eating. This is a small but necessary step in working towards a car that can drive without the help of a human. Honda showed a video of an employee wearing the helmet thought about raising his right hand and in a few seconds the programmed robot raised his right arm. Honda did not do a live performance because they thought that an audience would cause a distraction and the experiment would not work. Another key problem they are facing is brain patterns differ greatly among individuals, and so about two to three hours of studying them in advance are needed for the technology to work. Yasuhisa Arai, executive at Honda Research Institute Japan Co., stated “I’m talking about dreams today, practical are still way in the future.” Honda has made robotics a centerpiece of its image. “Our products are for people to use. It is important for us to understand human behavior," he said. "We think this is the ultimate in making machines move”, Arai told reporters. This is astonishing to me to think that we are able to just think about moving our hand or running and our brain signals can be transmitted to a robot that will do what we are thinking. I can think of this being a series advantage in some aspects of our lives but also making us, humans, even more lazy and reliant on technology.

https://unccmail.uncc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29900077/
This article is talking about scientists using brain signals and the flow of blood to power electrical devices such as cell phone batteries, iPods and other small devices. It seems that more and more people are trying to figure out how to get away from using batteries and other pollutant items and replace them with things that are produced through our bodies or even using our bodies to run devices.

Journal 12, April 5, 2009http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dont-text-and-drive-play-it-safe-name-a-designated-texter/

2009-04-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

There are way too many incidents involving cars and alcohol. Drinking and driving is probably the number one cause of accidents that kill. What many don’t realize is that text messaging and driving is also a big concern when it comes to accidents. Lawyers in the New York Legislature are trying to pass laws that prohibit text messaging while driving a vehicle. The same state legislature as well as other states has already passed laws forbidding drivers from using hand held cell phones. There is a method to the madness. If you think about, it can not be safe to have your head down with your fingers moving across your cell phone instead of your eyes on the road with your hands on the wheel. In a recent survey done by the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company one in five drivers said that they do in fact text message while they are driving. That number increases to one in three that text and drive. Of the states that have in fact passed laws banning test messaging while driving, none are really cracking down on the issue. Other than a small fine of maybe $100, the states are doing nothing to enforce these new laws.
I think this is great that the states are finally coming to there senses when it comes to cell phones. I will admit that I do use my cell phone when I am in the car but I try to refrain from text messaging while driving. Text messaging takes more away from one’s focus on driving more than talking on a cell phone. As one of the articles says, ‘For most people driving in a car is the most dangerous thing they do all day. So why not focus on being safe and not worry about text messaging.’ I’m happy these laws are being passed, hopefully they can be enforced and they will make our roads safer.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090328/tc_pcworld/policechiefshowswhytextingdrivingdontmix

Journal # 10, March 22, 2009

2009-03-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/technomix/it-car-plane-no-its-terrafugia-transition-bit-both

Do you remember the television show The Jetsons? They all drove around in flying cars and sidewalks that were conveyor belts. Well, we are not quite to the point of conveyor belts replacing sidewalks, but we have finally developed a flying car. It’s called the Terrafugia Transition and on March 5th even though it only managed to stay airborne for 37 seconds, it became the first car in flight. It might not look quite as cool as the flying automobiles from the Jetsons but it will do the same thing, fly. The car actually transforms into a plane within 30 seconds. The cabin includes fold away controls for steering the plane. Because of its looks many people are calling it the roadable aircraft instead of the flying car. The car aspect of the car uses roughly 30 miles per gallon to run the engine that not only controls the front wheels of the car but also the same engine controls the pusher-propeller. In the air it can reach up to 115 miles per hour and can travel up to a range of 450 miles. One of the great things about the “roadable aircraft” is that it is small enough to fit into a regular sized garage and the doors on the vehicle actually resemble normal car doors. This is only a prototype but it is already a monumental advance in technology. Terrafugia has said that they already have 40 orders placed for these new high tech cars/airplanes. They will be sold for roughly $150,000 and will begin to be made next year.
I think this probably one of the coolest things I have heard. Everyone thinks the future is going to have flying cars. Well this is the future. This is a great advancement in the automobile and aircraft industry. This is also good because its kind of eco-friendly with the airplane engine using unleaded gas instead of aviation fuel. I think we are in the future right now and this is one step closer to everyone having these flying cars or “roadable aircrafts”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5944201.ece

Journal 9, March 15 2009

2009-03-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96SPMP00.htm

Sirius XM Radio is the only satellite radio company in the United States. But now the only satellite radio company is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company recently barely avoidied filing for bankruptcy last month and now the radio company is trying to sell directly to the customers. The only way the company used to make money was through new car sales and now that concept is down 10 percent. The company is now trying to stream its radio to iPhones, iPods and the iPod touch. This gives subscribers a new way to access the satellite radio and it also lets knew customers sign up for the radio without having to buy a new radio that supports the radio system. There are plans that Sirius radio is trying to work out a deal with certain T.V. companies, one of which is DirecTV, where the satellite radio is included in T.V. packages. Sirius satellite radio faced up to $1 billion in debt at the beginning of 2009 that the company could not repay. So the company allowed the company Liberty to give them a loan with 15 percent interest and gave the Liberty company 40 percent stake in Sirius. The company is expected to make roughly $300 million this upcoming year. One expert thinks that this will be a turnaround year for Sirius. On Thursday, shares of Sirius rose from 3 cents to 19 cents.
I recently just purchased a car in November and in this car one of the premiums was to have Sirius satellite radio. I can see that the only way the company made money was if cars that were sold had the radio in them. I would not purchase Sirius in my car because their just is no need for two styles of radio in your car. I think that Sirius radio has the right idea trying to sell subscriptions to iPods and other things so they can listen to the radio through their mp3 players. It’s a great marketing scheme but I just don’t think that Sirius will last much longer.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2006/09/71711?currentPage=all

Journal #8, March 8, 2009

2009-03-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chanceme9-2009mar09,0,1741864.story?page=2

It’s a day you’ll remember for the rest of your life. It’s the day you get accepted to college. Will it be Stanford, or Berkeley or even MIT? But students spend up to a year waiting and waiting to hear back from these universities to see if they have been accepted. Students have created a way to communicate with other students to determine if they have a good shot at being accepted into the school of their choice. These websites such as mychance.com and collegeconfidential.com are websites where students post their grad point average, SAT scores, and any other credentials that colleges look at. Other hopeful students can look at your credentials and can respond to you on what your chances are on being accepted to the universities you have applied to. Some say that the biggest downfalls of these websites are that the responders rely too heavily on the numbers, test scores and grade point average. There are numerous occasion were people who are responding back to other hopeful applicants become to harsh. Some responders come back with replies such as “You have a better chance of being struck by a meteorite than getting in, unless you have some ridiculous hook”. A hook is a special way to get in, for example ethnicity. Karl Bunday, a volunteer moderator on collegeconfidential.com , says "The ethnicity thing is a big firebomb”. But many students think this is a very good stress reliever in the process of waiting for the letter from the school with their acceptance or rejection.
I think this is a great way for hopeful students to actually see what pthers thin their chances are of getting into the school of their choice. This is also a great way to relieve some stress for the hopefuls. I wish I would have known about these websites during my application process. This would have made my life a whole lot easier. I think that college officials will eventually go on these sites and put their input in on these future students. This is a great way for students to not only relieve some stress but also to see what their odds are at being accepted.

http://www.hundredsofheads.com/31-569-1.Article/College-Confidential--Who-Can-Say-What-to-Whom--When-----and-Why-

Journal #7, March 1

2009-03-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/09/digitalbiz.mobileapps/index.html

Who put out the better applications? Is it Google or Apple? Facebook, Twitter, iBeer, iFish, these are all examples of these new applications for cell phones. The battle to control the world of mobile applications has been narrowed down to two competitors. Apple has made the iPhone one of the most desirable cell phones in the world. Apple has come to work with certain companies to help produce the most desirable applications. One of which is ScrollMotion and its Iceberg Reader application. They are trying to make the iPhone accessible to an e-book reading device. The applications that are being made by Apple are only accessible through the iPhone and iTouch. Thus making the need for these products even more.
Many experts consider Apple to be in the lead in this competition for the application world but ever since Google has come out with there operating system, Android, in 2007, it has been sneaking into the competition with Apple. Google’s philosophy when it comes to this process is “Provide the best and most extensive service you possibly can and people will love it... and then monetize it.” The more people that have Android, the more effective it is. The Android system is set to run on upcoming phones and with several networks.
But in the long run, who will eventually be the winner? Many experts think that the iPhone will not be able to keep up with all the new models that come out from the computer based phones. The world is becoming a mobile world. Everyone can carry their computer in their pocket. I agree with the experts; I think that the eventual winner of this war will be Google. The iPhone is cool and was really the first of its kind but Apple is not willing to make these applications accessible to anything but the iPhone or iTouch. This will in the end come back to hurt them. With the new computer based phones out their the war for applications will eventually end and I think the winner will be Google and its Android operating system will be the victor.

http://www.ameinfo.com/184846.html
http://news.cnet.com/most-iphone-applications-gathering-dust/

Journal #16, Feb 22

2009-02-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/technology/hempel_facebook.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009021910

There are over 175 million of us. I am talking about the mass amount of people who have a Facebook account. Facebook is taking over our lives. Facebook, which was originally intended for college students (18-25), is now predominantly used by people older than the average college student. It has grown tremendously even in the last year. How big is Facebook in fact? Well Microsoft just purchased 1.6% stake of the company for $240 million. This gives Facebook an actual value of $15 billion. Mark Zuckerberg’s original concept was for it to be an online version of the relationships we have in real everyday life. If you log on to Facebook just to check one thing, you end up surfing around looking at pictures of someone who was in your high school graduating class. The average user spends roughly 169 minutes per month surfing around the website. It just like in real life when you see one of your friends, you end up talking for hours on end. Facebook is just an online version of bumping into friends and keeping in touch. But now Zuckerberg's big plan has come into action. He wants to turn Facebook into the world’s standardized communication and marketing platform. President Obama used Facebook as way of marketing himself to the younger voters in the United States. With Facebook having a lot of members this was a pretty smart marketing tool.
I am one of the 15 million Facebook users who check and or update their Facebook daily. I will admit it; Facebook is taking over our lives. There are advertisements and all types of other marketing tools on the website now. It’s the best way to communicate with people you don’t see everyday. I think that within the next few years the amount of users will almost double. It is growing that fast. And every age is using it too. Everyone from my aunt to my 14 year old sister has an account. It’s not just for college students anymore. As Mark Zuckerberg puts it, Facebook will be a standardized way of communication and marketing.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/20/markets/thebuzz/?postversion=2009022012

Journal #5, Feb 15

2009-02-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_08/b4120000087240.htm?chan=technology_tech+maven+page+-+new_this+week%27s+column

If you have ever been sitting in an airport or in a coffee shop and you want to pull your computer out to check some information online? But by the time your computer boots up and is ready for use, it is time to board your plane or leave. I know it has happened to me plenty of times. It is just such a hassle to have to wait five to ten minutes to use your computer. Every laptop user has been through this process. Every system is bad but Windows is the worst. Now there are several ways to improve this setup process. One is called “Hyperspace”. It was developed by Phoenix Technologies to help the start up process. What Hyperspace does is it boots a version of Linux that allows you to access the internet through Wi-Fi, wired or broadband connection. You can not use any Windows programs other than Firefox web browser. Not even Microsoft Outlook. There are two versions of Hyperspace, Hyperspace Hybrid and Hyperspace Dual. Hyperspace Hybrid allows you to use Windows and Hybrid at the same time. Windows would be in sleep mode of course. Dual only allows you to use one or the other. It is just one step closer to making a faster computer.
It is about time computer companies try and help with this situation. I spend more time booting up my computer than the actual time I spend working on it. I don’t know if this is the way to do it. It cost way too much money for this product. Plus you don’t even get to use the programs on your computer from Windows. Every time I get on my computer I use certain programs from Windows, so this product maybe a great problem solver to some but to others it is not that great. Eventually I think all computers initial startup will be really fast and all programs will be able to be accessed. This is just a step in the right direction toward that goal.

Journal #4, Feb 8

2009-02-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/04/facebook.anniversary/index.html#cnnSTCText

If you were to walk on to a college campus today you would find that almost every single student would have a Facebook account. Facebook was created by 19 year old Harvard University student, Mark Zuckerberg, in his dorm room in 2004. He says he created a website where people could express the ideas and thoughts to help bring about change. Within the first 24 hours of the websites creation, more than 1,000 of Zuckerberg’s fellow Harvard students had joined the online social network. Within the first full month of Facebook more than half of Harvard’s campus had a Facebook page. Now more than 15 million users worldwide update their statuses daily. Facebook has become an epidemic throughout the globe. Zuckerberg said that Facebook has given people a safer and trusted environment online where they can interact and be more comfortable about expressing themselves. This website was a large part in helping President Barack Obama reach out and connect with younger, registered voters. Many companies and politicians are now looking to Facebook for the chance to advertise. Now Facebook is billion dollar conglomerate that is worldwide. And Zuckerberg, he is doing well too. He was just named to the 2008 World’s Most 100 Influential People list. Facebook today is worth roughly $15 billion dollars.
I am a proud user of Facebook. All my friends and even some have my family members have Facebook pages. It is still growing; more and more people are logging on and participating in this new epidemic. It just amazing how a 19 year old college student has transformed a small project to communicate with friends into a worldwide social networking system. Some things that Mr. Zuckerberg said, I just don’t agree with. For example, when he said it was a safer and trusted online environment. I have seen articles of people hacking and posing as someone else on Facebook. I heard that a man’s Facebook status was changed to say that he was stuck in Europe with no money to get home. So friends wired him money, but the man didn’t know anything about this and someone received the friend’s money. So although I am a proud user of Facebook and glad it is available but I wouldn’t put certain things on my Facebook. Facebook is still a growing conglomerate and will continue until the next big social networking system.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/05/facebook.impostors/index.html

Journal #3, Feb 1

2009-02-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090131/ap_on_hi_te/tec_nosy_ads

Every time I got to the mall, I notice that there are so many advertisements all over the mall. But I don’t pay attention to most of them because some of those advertisements don’t apply to what I am interested in. Now there are advertisements that have small cameras in the screen. These cameras can look at the person looking at the advertisement and change accordingly. For example, a video screen might show some razors for a man who is looking at the advertisement or make up ads for the women. This program doesn’t change according to an individuals likings but to the persons overall appearance. One company’s senior vice president went out on a limb and said that he thinks there will be a lot of movement towards this style of advertising in the top 10 markets. The way this camera program works is there is a camera or sensor in or near the screen that identifies the shapes and colors and facial features of a person. Then the system will compare that face to a variety of faces in a database and rule if it is male or female. Experts say that identifying the consumer’s gender is easy compared to their age. It is the same principles of a camera that now can focus on a face automatically.
This is a wonderful idea to try and make the advertisements as personal as possible. Coming from my experiences, I don’t even pay attention to certain advertisements because they don’t apply to me and what I want. Having these advertisements that change according to the person is a break through in the marketing world. But I have to think that these new video screens can’t be cheap and not every mall or shopping center can afford to purchase. These new advertisements are the stepping stone towards the new world of personal marketing strategies.

http://www.physorg.com/news152544159.html

Journal #2, Jan 25

2009-01-24T12:37:00.000-08:00

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/wikipedia-may-restrict-publics-ability-to-change-entries/?ref=technology&apage=1#comments

The online website wikipedia.com is one of the top 10 web sites on the Internet. Wikipedia is known as the website of everything. On Wikipedia you can add or change information about someone or something. It’s like an encyclopedia where everyone can add their input of the facts. But now administrators of the website are putting a lock on who is allowed to put their input on to the website because there have been several incidents of “vandalism”. One example was when a couple of “vandals” incorrectly reported that Senator Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd had died. Now Wikipedia executives are trying to implement a new system call Flagged Revisions. This new system would only allow registered, reliable users to add their writings to the viewing of the general public. The Flagged Revisions system has been used by the German Wikipedia since May as a test case. According to Wikipedia creator, Jimmy Wales, “This nonsense would have been 100% prevented by Flagged Revisions”.
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia first and foremost. It is not a platform for vandals and persons seeking self promotion. As a user of Wikipedia, I have always thought that all the material on the website was true. Now that I know that there are people out their falsifying information on the website, it kind of puts it in perspective that some of the information I used might have been not true. I think that the Wikipedia administrators are doing their best to try to help stop and correct all of these erroneous pieces of information that people put on the website. The Flagged Revision is a small step to fixing the problem. If only the registered and reliable users are allowed to add their part to the articles then there should be no problem about false information. Anything that will make the truth come out in the articles is going to be a benefit to everyone

Journal #1, Jan 18.

2009-01-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/technology/internet/17video.html?ref=technology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxee
Everyone that has cable television knows that there are certain channels that you do not watch. Cable does not give you the option to just pay for the channels you watch. But there is a new service called Boxee that gives you just that. Boxee is open source software, where anyone can add or modify the program, which allows access to the Internet and music sites and brings it to a large monitor or television. Boxee allows your PC hard drive to connect to your television and give the user access to all the photos, videos, music on their hard drive through their TV. It also allows the user to access television shows and other types of entertainment from websites. Boxee gathers all the entertainment in to an organized directory to choose from by using the directional arrows on your remote. Boxee only works on Linux and Mac computers as well as the Apple TV. The Boxee Company is currently working on a version that is compatible with Windows PC’s.
I think the Boxee software is a revolutionary idea. Why pay for all the channels you do not watch on cable when you could have a program where you can access not only your television shows but everything on hard drive from music to photos. This is a new way to watch television and surf the Internet without even moving form your seat. But I also think there are many downfalls to this program. I personally do not have an Apple TV so this software would not work with my television. They would have to find a way to have this program be accessible through other televisions and computers. I have a feeling that all the cable companies can not be to happy with this new idea. Either way Boxee is becoming a new wave of television watching and in my opinion regarded as one of the great technology breakthroughs of the 2000’s.