Free I-Phones in Japan

The article i chose this week is from CNNmoney.com and discusses how I-phones are now free with the signing of a 2 year contract in Japan. The article talks about how Softbank Mobile, a cellular provider in Japan, is reducing monthly fees for the I-phone less than a month after it's debut in Japan.
I agree that Softbank should decrease it's price, especially if the product isn't selling, in order to make any kind of profit. If the Japan is not interested in the I-phone because of different reasons, maybe a cut in price will help them to like it more.
Some reasons why people in Japan dislike the I-phone ranged from one thing to the other. One reason was that it's too difficult to put cute emotion faces in on it, which is popular in Japan. Another was that women in Japan often have very long fingernails and using the phone is too difficult. One more is that the I-phone lacks the "FeliCa" option which is a type of electronic debit card used in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Some feel it's not that technologically advanced compared to alot of the things that Japan has.
Overall, the I-phone doesn't fit some individuals' lifestyles. I think this is a very significant point because the West (i.e. USA) sometimes just assumes that everything we do and feel here applies in all areas of the world. It's a very arrogant thing and although the I-phone is very useful in our busy "on the go" world, it may not work everywhere else. Once this is understood, I believe that maybe Apple could go back to the drawing board in order to make a different version of the I-phone that is more tailored to Japan's needs. If they want it to succeed in Japan, they'll have to do more than cut down the price i think. It has to be an instrument that is valuable and useful to the people of Japan.

The Lost City of Atlantis...Found by Google Ocean?

The above photo is from The Sun and the article I chose for this weeks post is from The Daily Mail.

Google Ocean, a feature on Google Earth, has been the subject of many conversations today. A British aeronautical engineer who was using the program reportedly found a"man made aerial map" under the ocean near the coast of Africa. It consists of many circuits and roadways and is about the size of Wales.

The lost city of Atlantis was first described by Greek philosopher Plato in 355 B.C. as a highly sophisticated city that sank into the ocean around 9600 B.C. The city had a diverse culture and even had hot and cold running water.

Representatives from Google state that it is not Atlantis and that it is a flaw/blemish in the program used to map the ocean and earth but others believe that this is a cover-up.

I'm not sure if i agree with this or not. I would really like to believe that Atlantis had been found by our advanced technology but along with technology still comes various flaws. I think it's a toss-up right now that requires even more technology in order to evaluate it.

I think this is significant because if we possess programs that are able to view these kinds of things from miles away, we have truly crossed a threshold into a new realm of technology. Google earth has also been able to view a sniper walking around in Pakistan and supposed andriods of the u.s. army. I'm not sure if this is true but imagine the possiblities if these statements were correct. Talk about an invasion of privacy...but that's the kind of problems that technology creates. Technology brings about the good and the bad but the way that individuals use it is what makes it valuable.

Daily Lane Closures Due to Zombies, Sign Hackers Play Some Pranks

In Collinsville, Illinois, Hamilton County in Indiana, and Austin, Texas....officials are not amused. Several electronic road signs have been hacked into and re-worded with phrases such as "Daily Lane Closures Due to Zombies", "Raptors Ahead---Caution", and "Nazi Zombies!! Run!!". While some may find these phrases funny, the fact is that the phrases have replaced important warnings such as "Slow Down, Construction Workers Ahead" and "Caution, Guardrails Being Replaced Ahead". Officials are concerned about accidents being caused due to "funny" signs that catch drivers off guard. They suspect that the hackers are actually cutting the padlocks on the back of the electronic signs and re-programming the message at night. If the hackers are caught, they face misdemeanor charges and fines that range from $250 to $5000. (See the article for yourself here.)

I agree with the officials on this one. Construction workers lead most of the dangerous jobs in our society and for tech-savvy kids to use their knowledge of computers and basic technology to manipulate technology that has been created for safety is astounding. Yes, it may be funny...but what's that saying your mom always said? "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." This applies in this situation.

I felt this story was significant because every city has construction workers and while they are often seen as "blue collar" the men and women of construction work are the toughest i know. It's not an easy job, it requires endurance of the weather elements, and dangerous work out on highways, railways, and pipelines. They work with large, dangerous machinery and on top of all of this, they must deal with the traffic skills of the general public. The signs are essential to the safety of a construction worker. I used to work at Lowes and in my 3 years of work there, i met many hardworking men and women who had spent their lives doing this hard work. It is unacceptable to think that some rich, disobeying teen feels like it'd be funny to mess with the signs that provide safety to people just like those i got to know in my time at Lowes.

This story of hacking also relates to me because my brother in law is in construction and because of family ties to him, i hate to think of the devastation his injury or death would cause on my family...especially if it was due to this "funny" reason.

Overall, this article was striking. It's so easy to think of all the wonderful things technology has done for the human race such as keeping friends/family who live hundreds of miles away in touch with ease, providing information about literally anything, and providing convenience in the form of online banking, college courses, and job searching (to name only a few)...yet sometimes we fail to see the bad that technology has brought as well, such as identity theft, online predators, and knowledge about anything (bomb building, personal info, etc.) What is also striking is the fact that children younger and younger are becoming totally fluent in technology. I remember in 6Th grade starting typing classes and thinking how stupid they were...now i watch my 9 year old niece show me things on youtube. Along with that fluency in technology comes the immaturity in the age of those who are learning the technology. I assume these problems with "pesky kids/hackers" will continue to grow as time goes on.

Mashup Example

For our class activity, i chose the following as an example of a mashup. It is a combination of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me", Bob Dylan's "Workingman's Blues #2", Aphrodite's Child's "Rain and Tears", Blues Traveler's "Hook" & Fredrik Kempe.

Take a look and click on the link on the Mashup Town webpage.

Norwegian Recycling

Technology Usage Broken Down by Country Shows Surprising Percentages

In the article titled "UK Housewives Rule in Online Time" off of the BBC news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7789494.stm) , the percentages shown seem surprising.

The survey, consisting of 27,000 web users in 16 different countries placed China at the very top of their list. China's percentage of leisure time spent on the computer was 44% which is nearly three times that of a web user in Denmark.

The survey also broke respondents into age categories with an average of all countries' users under 25 spending 36% of their time online. On average, China's under 25 users spend 50%.

Along with the age category, results were also broken down by occupation and focused on the UK which showed that students spend 39% of their time online which is more than those who are unemployed at 32%...yet was less than what UK housewives spend on the Internet.

Along with these findings, the U.S. spends 30% of it's leisure time on the Internet and in response to the second question, which was "Have you ever met in person a person who you first met online?". The answer from the U.S. was a meager 56% that said yes. Compared to Germany, France, and Sweden's 75% that said yes, it was surprising that only 56% of Americans had done so. China's answer was even lower at 40%.

Overall, each country answered in it's own way and after looking at the findings carefully, i can start to understand why the results came out the way they did. First of all, the volume of people survey was not really a huge amount considering how many people live in just the U.S. and China alone. The U.S. answer of 56% could be more like 75% had more American's been surveyed. Second of all, the social and political conditions in any given country would affect the findings of this study given that not all people own computers or have regular computer access everyday. There are many different factors that could prove this study of technology not so accurate and therefore, I'm not sure i completely agree with it.

I do feel that this study is significant because it puts things into perspective for everyone, no matter what country you are from. Technology has really changed everything from economies, politics, and education to health care, communication, and relationships...the real question is if it's all for the good of everyone.

I can relate to this study just in thinking about how much time i spend on a computer. I use it for homework, research, a way of contacting old friends and family, and i even use it at work. There are not many places that you can go nowadays that doesn't have a computer of some sort. I remember being in 6Th grade and being forced to take a typing class. I remember thinking how stupid it was...now I'm so grateful that they forced it on us. The younger generations are becoming more and more technological everyday. As i watch my 7 year old niece play games on her computer, it all seems a little surreal. When i was her age, i was being old fashioned and playing with Barbies and My Little Ponies...so much has changed just in the last few years. It just reminds people that things never stay the same for too long and because of these strides in technology, we are able to live the lives we live.

Digital Dogs

Who thought it would come to this? The picture on your left is featured on http://hubpages.com/hub/High-Tech-Gadgets-Dog-Lovers and is a "pet cell phone"(bottom picture). The device enables dog owners to actually call their dog and talk to it on speakerphone. Now, for those of us that don't talk to their dogs, it also has a "call owner" button and a GPS tracker just in case your lovable pooch decides to have an adventure. As extreme as the phone part seems, i think i would definetly consider the other features for my dog. (top picture).

Other items included on the webpage were similar to the cell phone except one was exclusively a GPS tracker, one was a PDA to use to organize your dogs appointments and important phone numbers (groomer, vet, etc), and the last one, my personal favorite was the "doggy doorbell". As goofy as this idea sounds, it's pretty smart. Some dogs don't really let you know when they need to go out but training combined with this device make it easier for them to give you a heads up. The device is a wireless remote that sets off a doorbell chime when the dog steps on it, letting you know that they need to go for a walk.

Although these devices may be a little too far fetched for people who don't own dogs, I can see fellow dog owners who are completly obsessed with their pets rushing out to buy these items. I think they're significant because there are alot of people devoted to the well being of their pets and especially since many people now work long hours and aren't home as much as they'd like to be, it's important for them to stay organized with their pets' care. (for example, the pet PDA device) Due to how busy people have become, any device, whether it be for a dog or human, that is going to create conveinence is going to be beneficial.

The link below is an interesting youtube video showing a pug using the doggy doorbell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=975pBcPGTew

Laptops for Those Who Have Less

In regards to the article, "One Laptop Per Child: Then What?", many issues were addressed. There were two sides featured within the article which gave the reader a chance to see both pros and cons of the laptop program. This program, which gives out free computers to children in third world countries in Africa mostly, aims to educate the children who are severly disadvantaged in our world. A noble cause yet is it technologically unequal?

I agree with many things in the article. I believe that every child should be given a chance to thrive and succeed. Yet, because of the way these children have been raised, socialized, and educated thus far, throwing an odd contraption into things and claiming that "this is your future, you must learn it" seems slightly arrogant of technology and doesn't take into consideration the long term affects of a child who will learn these skills in order to gain employment as an adult. The child will learn quickly, as many children do, and as the child matures into an adult, what jobs will be available for him or her? In a region devasted by so much economic decay, technology is a nice and cheery thought but it really means one of two things; the individual will realize that they have no where to use these skills and leave the country in search of applicable jobs elsewhere adding to the original economic decay of the country or the individual will have spent all this time trying to learn the ways of the computer only to realize that he or she really doesn't get it. These two examples i just named were mentioned in the article as happening in Peru. These are issues that are not only predicted, they are actively happening.

I also disagree with the fact that if the computer breaks or is in need of repair, the family has to pay for the repair. Many of these families simply cannot afford to fix them so the generous gift bestowed upon them becomes a piece of junk causing disappointment to those who created the computer and those who were destined to use it.

This article was significant because it addresses the huge divide between the "haves and have-nots", a age-long battle. Everyone should have equal access to technology yet because of the extreme divides between societies, cultures, and countries, that access is going to be harder to provide to everyone. This laptop initiative is a valiant attempt to "close the gap" but there are still major issues to address in order for it to work and unfortunetly, addressing issues costs money. All that one can hope is that this is a step in the right direction.

This article is directly relatable to me due to the fact that I am fortunate enough to be reasonably well educated in technology yet that is part of the problem. I know for a fact that there are 21 yr olds out there that have no idea how to use a computer, although they may not be in the U.S. That constant divide, which occurs in all genres of life, is what creates prejudice and misunderstandings among cultures. I believe that everyone needs to get on the same page yet the question is how? Chances are, technology is a good start but there needs to be some new developements in society as well.