Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pesticide
April Fools' day is tomorrow. Keep an eye on your PCs! A nasty computer virus is supposedly on the rampage, and this virus is capable of compromising personal information on household computers. The bug is known as Conficker, and while awareness on this bug is already high, I want to let anyone who happens to see this blog know that it might very well be an issue. Fortunately, there are ways to defend yourself from the bug. The ways here are just a few methods. Be safe, protect your computers!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
"Put your phones away! If I catch you texting, I have to confiscate them until the end of class!"
This statement might as well be added into teachers' and professors' syllabus on the first day of class. Kids have phones these days, and when they can't talk on them, they text one another on them. More and more kids and teens are becoming proficient in "txt speek", and some educators are naturally becoming concerned for the future generations English skills.
However, a recent study conducted by Coventry University indicates that texting could have positive effects on childrens' English development because of increased exposure to words and language. Apparently, the stories in the media regarding the harm texting has on kids' English skills are based on selected anecdotes.
This statement might as well be added into teachers' and professors' syllabus on the first day of class. Kids have phones these days, and when they can't talk on them, they text one another on them. More and more kids and teens are becoming proficient in "txt speek", and some educators are naturally becoming concerned for the future generations English skills.
However, a recent study conducted by Coventry University indicates that texting could have positive effects on childrens' English development because of increased exposure to words and language. Apparently, the stories in the media regarding the harm texting has on kids' English skills are based on selected anecdotes.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Only SOME of the Screens have gone Black...
Tomorrow is the original day foretold by the television and the government when the analog signals would cease to fly from television stations. However, the government funded coupons designed to make getting the all-important digital converter box even easier quickly ran out! As if convenient department stores weren't easy enough to shop in.
The government pushed back the cessation of analog signal to early June in an effort to further prepare the nation, but some screens may still go black; up to one-third of the television stations have indicated their desire to make the swap as originally planned.
No one knows how many viewers' screens might go black, and the stations have mixed feelings about the delay. Only time can tell what results may come.
The government pushed back the cessation of analog signal to early June in an effort to further prepare the nation, but some screens may still go black; up to one-third of the television stations have indicated their desire to make the swap as originally planned.
No one knows how many viewers' screens might go black, and the stations have mixed feelings about the delay. Only time can tell what results may come.
Monday, February 9, 2009
What to watch...
Television has been around for decades. The first T.V.s were designed to inform the world of breaking news and important information. The machines graduated from black and white to color, and then from electric tubes to flat LCD screens. Now they've moved on from being televisions altogether, and have become computers. Web services like Hulu draw viewers away from the television box and plop them in front of their computer screens. Does this have any effect on network ratings?
Television networks and their affiliates generate revenue by selling advertisement space during the commercial breaks between shows. The television shows are created, essentially, to draw in the audience so that they might see the advertisements between shows and during the shows' intermissions. If a show fails to draw viewers, then the advertisers make less money because of lower customer awareness. So, what sort of effects do web television have on network television? Hulu offers commercial free viewing of some of America's favorite television shows, like The Office and Heroes. If people were to stop watching network television altogether and switch to watching television online, what would happen to the television networks?
Television networks and their affiliates generate revenue by selling advertisement space during the commercial breaks between shows. The television shows are created, essentially, to draw in the audience so that they might see the advertisements between shows and during the shows' intermissions. If a show fails to draw viewers, then the advertisers make less money because of lower customer awareness. So, what sort of effects do web television have on network television? Hulu offers commercial free viewing of some of America's favorite television shows, like The Office and Heroes. If people were to stop watching network television altogether and switch to watching television online, what would happen to the television networks?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Identity Crisis
My mother asks me from time to time, "Who are you? Do you like yourself?" Usually, I'm able to answer without much difficulty, but her questions always make me wonder afterwards. I'm an individual. How well do I represent the whole; the whole being young people from ages 18 to 25?
Identity is inarguably important. A secure sense of self-relevance is imperative in all social, professional, and spiritual things, and I wonder just how many young people have no idea how to answer my mother's questions.
Technology, of course, has molded this generation's identity forming process. A few decades ago, identities were formed in various ways. What do you do for a living? What do you believe in? Which political party do you favor? What school do you attend? Such things are still relevant, but the internet has been tossed into the mix.
MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, and infinite other online communities have become a haven for young people; a haven from the outside world, where young people can create images for themselves that may or may not be entirely honest. PBS did a documentary on the secret lives of the youth, and while some of the stories may be a little extreme, I wonder if this, also, is a representation of potential identity crisis afflicting the upcoming generations.
Identity is inarguably important. A secure sense of self-relevance is imperative in all social, professional, and spiritual things, and I wonder just how many young people have no idea how to answer my mother's questions.
Technology, of course, has molded this generation's identity forming process. A few decades ago, identities were formed in various ways. What do you do for a living? What do you believe in? Which political party do you favor? What school do you attend? Such things are still relevant, but the internet has been tossed into the mix.
MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, and infinite other online communities have become a haven for young people; a haven from the outside world, where young people can create images for themselves that may or may not be entirely honest. PBS did a documentary on the secret lives of the youth, and while some of the stories may be a little extreme, I wonder if this, also, is a representation of potential identity crisis afflicting the upcoming generations.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Screens Would Go Black
February 17 of 2009 could be a day marked in the history books as the Dawn of the Digital Age of Television. The original plan of Congress was to cease all analog television signals and convert the nation's T.V. stations to digital. Of course, not everyone has a television that can receive digital signals, and very few wish to buy a new television because of the plans of the government. In order to reach neutral ground, the digital converter box was introduced. This box, as most know, is designed to allow older model televisions to receive and interpret digital signals. The box runs around $50, and is purchasable at most Walmarts and Targets, as well as various other electronic stores.
However! Congress is seeking to push back the historical transfer date!
Apparently, there are still twenty million people without digital converters. I've spoken to a few people I have classes with at university, and I've heard some stories that indicate the boxes could be pretty hard to come by, at times. Is this because the devices are under-produced? Or are people buying multiple boxes for multiple T.V.s? I guess another pressing question might be: Will we be ready on the new projected conversion date? Only time will tell.
However! Congress is seeking to push back the historical transfer date!
Apparently, there are still twenty million people without digital converters. I've spoken to a few people I have classes with at university, and I've heard some stories that indicate the boxes could be pretty hard to come by, at times. Is this because the devices are under-produced? Or are people buying multiple boxes for multiple T.V.s? I guess another pressing question might be: Will we be ready on the new projected conversion date? Only time will tell.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Beginning
"...technology means... magic. It's basically anything that's really cool that you don't know how it works, and when it breaks, you have to get a new one."
Such was the utterance of Strong Bad, of Strong Bad E-mail #143.
Technology drives our entertainment, our communications, our schools and even our lives. I've decided to take a personal look at some of today's technology, including common, recognizable items, and some of the cutting edge super tech that might not even hit the shelves during my lifetime. The doors are open, and the sky is the limit.
I'll also take some time to examine the impact technology has on our everyday lives, but considering the 'first timer' nature of this particular post, I'll take up that torch in a couple days.
For now, I'm going to take a look at a popular new service that even my father has taken a liking to: Netflix! As most are aware, Netflix is a movie and video game rental service. You pay a monthly fee, and choose up to three titles at any given time. The real kicker is you don't have to send the titles back at any particular time; you send it in when you please, and with no late fees! When you send in a title, you are then able to choose another.
Needless to say, this is putting a real challenge before prominent movie rental houses like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. I can recall a Hollywood Video going out of business just down the street within the last year. Netflix is still on the rise, even to such a degree that customer awareness spending is down a considerable percent.
Such was the utterance of Strong Bad, of Strong Bad E-mail #143.
Technology drives our entertainment, our communications, our schools and even our lives. I've decided to take a personal look at some of today's technology, including common, recognizable items, and some of the cutting edge super tech that might not even hit the shelves during my lifetime. The doors are open, and the sky is the limit.
I'll also take some time to examine the impact technology has on our everyday lives, but considering the 'first timer' nature of this particular post, I'll take up that torch in a couple days.
For now, I'm going to take a look at a popular new service that even my father has taken a liking to: Netflix! As most are aware, Netflix is a movie and video game rental service. You pay a monthly fee, and choose up to three titles at any given time. The real kicker is you don't have to send the titles back at any particular time; you send it in when you please, and with no late fees! When you send in a title, you are then able to choose another.
Needless to say, this is putting a real challenge before prominent movie rental houses like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. I can recall a Hollywood Video going out of business just down the street within the last year. Netflix is still on the rise, even to such a degree that customer awareness spending is down a considerable percent.
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