Article Review: Giant Robot in Japan

Summary

Japanese manufacturer, Sakakibara Kikai, created a giant robot for kids. The robot could walk and move it's arms at the kid's control. You can just hop into the controller seat and you're ready to drive your robot. It's over 6 feet tall. It's named Cyclops. This robot is the follow up of the robot called "Landwalker". Landwalker is 11 feet tall and is made for adults. The Landwalker can fire nerf balls from it's air cannons. Landwalker is gasoline powered, while Cyclops requires battery. Cyclops doesn't have a price yet, but based on the previous kid robot released last year which costs $20,000, Cyclops will probably have a similar price.

                                          Cyclops                                                                  Landwalker

Main Concept

• Technology - Technology is required to create these robots and make them efficiently working. Robot's have been in books and television, but real ones are expensive and hard to make.
• Trend - The robot might trend for a while but no one cant be sure if it'll catch on and be long lasting.
• Entertainment - Nowadays people are creating so much with the help of technology. Most of the times it's done for entertainment. It's not a necessity and doesn't facilitate living.

Advantages

• Japanese kids will have new toys to play with. It'll be a while before they get bored of their own transporting robot.
• The robot is a pretty cool thing to have. It'll help the kid make more friends since they could take turns and bond over a toy they can share.

Disadvantages

• The robot will probably become a trend and those kids who can't afford it will be look down on as "uncool".
• The robot isn't of much use aside from entertainment. It's not necessary and may be a waste of money for some since eventually kids will put away their toys after being bored with it.

Questions

1. Will the robot become a thing every kid has or will it just be trending for a few weeks?
2. Is buying or having the robot really worth as much as it cause?

Source:
Knapp, Alex. "In Japan, You Can Buy Your Kid A Giant Robot For $20,000." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2013/04/24/in-japan-you-can-buy-your-kid-a-mech-for-20000/>.

Earth Day Poster

I created this Earth Day poster using Photoshop. First we find the information in a group then arranged and designed it individually. I enjoyed doing this poster because I can use my creativity to try out functions in Photoshop and see what fits in. I spent a lot of time and effort designing because I'm not really good at using Photoshop. I've seen some amazing designs by my friend at my old school. I was inspired by him to try to make my work look elegant and inviting. I felt I did a pretty good job and it's definitely rewarding to see my finished product.

Article Review: Clothes From the Future

Summary

Developed
E-textile - worn by soldiers to help doctors find the exact location of the bullet wounds.
Heatex - waterproof and windproof jacket that generates heat to the controlled temperature.
Bioman Fabric - Monitors heart rate, skin temperature, and respiration rate and send information to smart phone app.
Superomniphobic Coating - The fabric will never get wet because water can't penetrate it. It's stain and  bacteria free and has resistant corrosive acid.

Future Waiting Development
Fitnessshirt - A shirt that monitors heart rate, breathing, and posture
Smart Bra - Sports bra that can monitor cell mutation (breast cancer) in the breast before they are discovered by mammogram.
Smart E-pants - Pants that stimulate muscles in the butt to prevent sour.
Sensoria Fitness Socks - Socks that monitor weight distribution (in the feet) and form of feet while in use (standing, walking, running).

Ideas
Augment Smart Phone App - Can control and show 3D video models out from shirts.
Virtual Fitting Rooms - Can detect clothing size and and find matching items and have a screen for viewing the shopper in a particular clothing.

Main Concepts

• Recycling - It'll be harder to recycle e-textiles since it's a combination of electronics and fabric.
• Electronics - Electronics is now everywhere in our lives, and in the future it's even going to be in our clothes.
• Creative - These e-textile clothing are creative ideas, but it's trend depends on it's real usability.

Advantages

• It can protect the soldiers from the cold at night or detect locations of bullets to help them or spare their lives even.
• These clothing items will create better health because it monitors the well being of our body.

Disadvantages

• Just imagine how much money has to be spent in creating it and how much it'll cost the buyer. Thus, it's not accessible to everyone.
• Some aren't very useful to people who aren't soldiers compared to the cost and it's not necessary to  have. It's just something fun and creative.

Questions

1. How much will it cost once it's out in the market?
2. Is it really worth it to buy these cool futuristic clothes?

Source:

Danny. "Vizual Archive." Vizual Archive. Shirtworks, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://vizualarchive.com/2013/computerized-clothing-future-fabrics/?asid=c228f21b>.

The Facebook Home

Summary

Usually you access your phone first then go to the social network app. Facebook Home
is an app that makes users start off with Facebook and then go through a launcher to access other functions on your phone. They said their goal is to put people first. Facebook is trying to convert the model to fit the smaller screen.

Main Concept

• Social Network - Social networks, like Facebook, help people connect together and they find ways to make usage easier.
• Business - Facebook's goal is to increase their business and to make people open Facebook more
• Creativity - Facebook is creative in getting people to access Facebook easier. Thus benefiting them too.

Advantages

• For people who are "Facebook addicts", Facebook Home is a very desirable app because they can access Facebook even easier and faster.
• Facebook can profit more and increase their popularity and benefit a lot from this app.

Disadvantages

• Facebook Home will make people even more addicted to Facebook, spending more time on Facebook and not doing what we should be doing.
• Facebook Home can make us waste more time. Instead of making a phone call or accessing other functions in the phone, we spend time glancing through Facebook first.

Questions

1. Is the Facebook Home really a necessary or good app to have on your phone considering that it'll make you waste so much more time?
2. Will Facebook Home become a popular thing or will it just be a quick trend that dies away quickly?

Source:

Etherington, Darrell. "The App Is Not Enough: Why We Might See More Companies Try Mobile Land Grabs After Facebook Home." TechCrunch RSS. AOL Inc., 07 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2013. <http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/07/the-app-is-not-enough-why-we-might-see-more-companies-try-mobile-land-grabs-after-facebook-home/>.

Article Review: Happy April Fools from Google!

Summary

Every year, Google puts up jokes on April Fools. Well didn't we all expect this from Google? This is this year's joke roundup. Firstly the Google Maps Treasure Mode. You can find hidden treasure chest belonging to infamous pirates from 2D hand drawn landmarks. The amp contains many symbols which makes it look more like a real map.

The next joke is the shutting down of YouTube  Google claimed to have been running an 8 year competition for the best video on YouTube. On April 1st at midnight, YouTube is shutting down and to be relaunched many years later with just the winning video. Google blog posted that they will be announcing nominees for the contest for 12 hours each day for the next two years. Google managed to get many YouTubers to participate in this prank. This would sure scare people who is always on the Internet.

Next joke Google put up is the Google Nose. Just as the name says, it's literally a nose! It allows you to smell the smell of the thing you are searching for. It is said to have Street Sense vehicles, Android Ambient Odor Detector, SMELLCD (TM) 1.8+. There is a blue try button that would  It would be fun if we could really try it out.
Fourth one is the Emotion+ in the Google+. You can click on the Emotion button and it'll decide and add what emotion everyone is showing.

The fifth one is the Blue Gmail. Everything in Gmail is blue!
The next one is International Space Station Control Room in the Google Analytics.
Personalising your house is one of the things you can do on April Fools. You can even change the season.

Main Concept

• Creativity - Google is very creative in making these jokes. Other companies wouldn't waste time doing this.
• Relaxation - Google's ideas and gadgets is constantly giving people relaxation from their work or a laugh. It just brightens up everybody's day. The Google employees also had fun making it.
• Festival - Google has it's ways of celebrating April Fools which is a festival.

Advantage

• Google makes everyone jolly to see these creative ideas and jokes.
• Simple jokes Google makes could make many more people spend more time on Google. Thus they gain from it too.
• Google workers get a chance to express their creativity.

Disadvantage

• People wastes time playing with the Google Map hunting for treasure when their goal is for looking stuff up and searching for queries.
• Some people might actually get fooled by YouTube closing down video and blog post. (But that's the fun of it)

Questions

1. How much time did Google spend on making this year's April Fools project?
2. Will they get more profit from it than the time they spent?

Sources:

Protalinski, Emil. "Round Up: All of Google's Jokes for April Fools 2013." TNW Network All Stories RSS. The Next Web, Inc., 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. <http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/03/31/round-up-all-of-googles-jokes-for-april-fools-2013-from-google-maps-treasure-hunting-to-youtube-closing/>.

Article Review: Google Glasses

Summary

Google Glasses is the next big thing in technology. It's a computer with a camera. It records everything you see and hear. The price is going to be really high because it's new technology to between $1000 to $1500. There are some interesting questions a comic focused on, such as will people feel uncomfortable if they are being recorded every time they speak to someone with Google Glasses.

Main Concept

• Technology - Google Glasses show an improvement of technology each day. In the past, computers are a room big. Now only a pair of glasses can be nearly like a computer itself.
• Human Ingenuity - Human ingenuity and creativity made creating the Google Glasses possible. The human mind is very fascinating in the way it works. Imagination is endless and limitless. It takes cleverness to actually make the Glasses.
• Facility - The Google Glasses will facilitate everyday life. Newer technology is made to help make life easier for us.

Advantages

• Once it's released, Google Glasses will become a trendy thing. Having it will make you up-to-date with today's technology and will be considered cool.
• It will make life easier and safer for you in a way. It'll record every conservation you had and people wouldn't want to mess with you.

Disadvantages

• The high prices makes it not affordable for people who aren't rich. Not everyone could afford it. So we'll have to wait for the price to drop.
• Even though it increase our security because people wouldn't want to be recorded if they bully you, but you will be more prone to robbery. Google Glasses are just expensive glasses. They are easy to take off of you. Thieves might steal them from you.

Questions

1. Are the Google Glasses really useful? What are the functions of Google Glasses that makes it a must-have thing?
2. Will Google Glasses become popular and used by many or will it just be a trend that quickly dies away?

Sources:

Haslam, Oliver. "Humor: The Truth About Google Glasses | Redmond Pie." Redmond Pie RSS. Redmond Pie, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.redmondpie.com/humor-the-truth-about-google-glasses/>.

Article Review: Stats on the Internet

Summary

In one second
- 1,633 tweets published on Twitter
- 2.8 million emails are sent
- 333 tumblr posts are made
In one minute
- 694,445 searches on Google
- 600 videos are uploaded into Youtube, which equals over 25 hours of videos
- 320 new twitter accounts are made
In one hour
- 10.5 million pictures uploaded to Facebook
-780,000 apps being downloaded on iPhone
- 4,200 new domains are resgistered
In one day
- 2.4 billion Internet users, which equals to 1/3 of the population of the world
- 98 years worth of Youtube videos uploaded
- 172 million people visit Facebook
- the world spends 133,333 years online

Main Concepts

• Time - In a short amount of time, so much changes in the Internet and is constantly changing every second.
• Value - So many people spend so much time on the Internet and time looses it's value from being constantly wasted in the Internet.
• Statistics - Statistics helps us look from a bigger point of view than just as a user.

Advantages

• Reading this article will help us learn the value of time. We would often waste our days on the Internet. By seeing the stats, we reflect on ourselves as one of the billion users posting on Facebook, or wasting time on Youtube.
• The article amuses it's readers because i is easy to read (Infographic).

Disadvantages

• This shows that people spend too much time on the Internet.

Questions

1. Do we really need to spend that much time on the Internet? Is the time we spend just for working or for playing too? If for playing, why don't we spend some time offline.
2. Does the Internet makes us value our time lesser, by spending and wasting away countless hours?

Sources: Bennett, Shea. "What Happens On The Internet Every Second, Minute, Hour And Day? [INFOGRAPHIC]." - AllTwitter. Mediabistro, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

Article Review: Tackk

Summary

There are so many tools available for creating presentation, such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Voicethread, etc. There is a new tool called Tackk. The editor on the right side allows you to customize how the section looks. You can add heading, information, and medias. When you're done, you will be given a URL that links to your presentation. You can give this URL to others and they can access your presentation right away. You can select whether to let others be able to edit it or not (view only). Trail expires in 7 days. If you create an account, it'll never expire. You have to be 13 and older to have an account.

Main Concept

• Creativity - All presentation tools are made to make presentations more creative and interesting.
• Advancement - Tackk and other tools shows the advancement in technology. New tools are being created to facilitate and make presentations fun.
• Presenting - Tackk and other tools are finding new ways to present information (not just powerpoint). They are trying to make the presentation attractive and easy to understand.

Strength

• There is no need to email it or use a thumb drive to send your powerpoint to others.
• Your group member can edit it and you can see the changes without transferring it through email or thumb drive all over again.

Weakness

• Children under the age of 13 should be able to make an account in Tackk too.
• Tackk is just like the other tools used to present; it's too similar to be that much help.

Questions

1. What are some other creative ways to present aside from making a fancy powerpoint presentation?
2. What can you suggest Tackk to include in their list of functions available?

Article Review: 6 Apps to Facilitate Mornings

Summary

1. Alarm Clock Extreme
The alarm clock will slowly increase the volume until you wake up.
There is a large snooze button that makes you solve math problems to dismiss the alarm.
The snooze button can be set to decrease after each alarm.

2. Sunrise
The app links Facebook, Google Calendar, LinkedIn, Eventbrite together.
It combines events and birthdays you have for that day.

3. Sworkit
Workouts that range from 5-60 mins.
You can select the style and it would randomize the exercise for you.

4. TED
Listen to TED talks from educators, scientists, researchers, etc for about 20 min to start your day.

5. Guide
Read news to us from the web by a robotic voice. We can listen in the morning while showering or making breakfast.

6. Spotify
You can make your own song playlist or subscribe to other's.

Major Concepts

• Technology - technology has gone so far to combine every functions of gadgets into just a smart phone.
• Human Ingenuity - People have to use creativity in order to come up with these apps.
• Advancement - Over time, technology improves and advances.

Strength

• TED talks are a good place to learn more and become more worldly.
• Guide app can help save time. We could listen to the news and finish preparing ourselves for work, school, or the day.

Weakness

• Alarm Clock Extreme isn't the best app in there. It's annoying. It should be later on in the list, not the first one.
• The pictures should be smaller. So it's easier to read.

Questions

1. How is having the Spotify app more useful than just using iTunes to create playlists?
2. Is Sunrise app useful for teenagers who dont have much event to attend to too?

Source:

Drell, Lauren. "6 Apps That Make Mornings More Manageable." Mashable. Mashable, Inc., 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2013/02/13/morning-apps/>.

Article Review: Securing Yourself From Hackers

Top 20 Passwords

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
11. Nicole
12. Daniel
13. babygirl
14. monkey
15. Jessica
16. Lovely
17. michael
18. Ashley
19. 654321
20. Qwerty

Most common length is 6 characters.

Write your password down so you wouldn't forget it.

Strong Passwords

• minimum of 8 characters
• include upper case, lower case, numbers, and symbols
• take a sentence and use the first letter of every word then add numbers, symbols, and complexity
• don't use personal information
• don't use dictionary words
• don't use a sequence on the keyboard

Major Concepts

• Security - By using easy passwords, hackers can quickly crack your password and invade your privacy.
• Creativity - You should be creative in making a password so that only you can relate to it and it'll be hard to figure out. Think out of the box!
• Internet - You should have security on the internet. On the internet, people can find out about your information and even where you live or currently are. They can extract more information if they have your password.

Strength

• The arrangement makes readers want to read it.
• It's short and precise.
• Contain charts which helps convey the idea to the audience.

Weakness

• The first list contain an extra password (21 passwords instead of 20) not on the second one.
• There are some grammatical errors.
• The first list of passwords should be in numbered list not bullet list.

Questions

1. Why is there some names on the list? Are those names more frequently used than others?
2. Is the information presented on this website reliable and trustworthy since it says there that the source is unknown?

Source:

"Top 20 Worst Passwords That Can Hack Your Private Accounts?" All Infographics. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013.

Article Review: Anonymous DDoS Petition

Summary

Anonymous petitioned the White House asking the government to accept DDoS (distributed denial of service) as a valid form of protest on Jan 7. DDoS is the practice where the website becomes offline because it is overloaded with requests. DDoS is a civil disobedient tactic or even a way of hacking since government and military websites could be destroyed by DDoS. The petition wants anybody jailed for DDoS to be released. The document need 25,000 signatures (having already 2,700 signatures) by Feb 6 to get a response from the White House.

Major Concepts

• Persistence - The members of Anonymous is persistent in getting the White House to accept their petition. They are willing to get so many signatures in their document.
• Technology - Anonymous is using DDoS to petition instead of sending a normal petition letter. Technology is getting more advance everyday.
• Law - Anonymous wants DDoS to be a valid form of protest and people not to be jailed for it. They want the law to be changed.

Strength

• Author isn't biased in the article since he didn't inclue his opinion. This is good because articles should give news and inform people about facts. A proper news article should not include opinions.
• Author used lots of details and also managed to keep it short and precise. This is good since it's fast paced (not wasting the reader's time), yet contain lots of information, and is straight to the point.

Weakness

• Author makes it hard to understand on the first time reading the article. Must re-read 2 times to get it. So the audience might lose interest.
• Author uses some hard vocabulary that readers may not understand. ex: expunged This causes the reader to have a harder time understanding the article as a whole.

Questions

1. Why do they want the government to accept DDoS as a valid form of protest so badly?
2. Are there another currently being jailed for DDoS?

Source: 

Jauregui, Andres. "Anonymous DDoS Petition: Group Calls On White House To Recognize Distributed Denial Of Service As Protest." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/12/anonymous-ddos-petition-white-house_n_2463009.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003>.

Article Review: Papermache Online Research

Summary

         Academia wants to use the internet for educational purposes because many bad or incorrect information is available. Los Angeles wants to start up Papermache.cc, Inc., a site that allows university students to share their graded paperwork and start discussions. It's founder, Benjamin Fenigsohn, has been working on this site for over a year. A funding campaign to raise money for the finishing touches 36 hours before his beta launch. He tries to make it "easier not to cheat than to cheat", since the reason why students cheat is because it's easier.

Main Concepts

• Academics Importance - Papermache.cc is made solely for the purposes of academics assistance. This network is being build because academics is important.
• Social Networks - Social networks is a popular way to connect with people from all around the world. Benjamin Fenigsohn realised that and thats why he created Papermache.cc. He wanted to make a medium where students all over the world can communicate to each other and help each other.
• Human Ingenuity - Benjamin Fenigsohn used human ingenuity and creativity to link education with entertainment (social networks). He made education more enjoyable and help more accessable

Strengths

• One of the author's strengths is that he focused on the problem and then introduced a solution for it. He didn't just state the news about Papermache right away. He made it interesting for the readers to read.
• By quoting, the author makes his point much more clearer. It's easier to understand the authors motives and perspective.
• I like how the author says "easier not to cheat than to cheat" since it got me thinking over it. It's true and simple but we tend to look over it at times.

Problems

• The author should make it shorter so that more people would be interested in it. Since some people dont have much time, they would want to read quickly and get the main ideas of the article. This article was of medium length but it could still be a bit shorter. The author could get to the point quicker.
• Some readers might have a problem with the vocabulary. Sometimes high vocabulary is used in the article. For me, I don't really have a problem with that since I can refer to the rest of the sentence for clues and I know almost all of it.

Questions

• How is Papermache more efficient that facebook or other social networks that are already made popular ? A discussion page can be made there instead.
• Will Papermache be successful; will it become popularly used by the targeted audience, university students?

Source:

Fenigsohn, Benjamin. "EdTech Startup Papermache Aims To Inspire Better Online Research." Edudemic. N.p., 13 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. <http://edudemic.com/2013/01/papermache-research-tool/>.

My first post

Hi, I'm Prim.