Are we off the hook?

Robots May Come to Aging Boomers' Rescue

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081118/hl_hsn/robotsmaycometoagingboomersrescue;_ylt=Ai0M3ya2oE6c2e373F7ULpqs0NUE

In this podcast i talked about how a new robot uBOT-5 will come in handy for the aging baby boomers. I got my sounds from Find Sounds and I fadded in each sound and amplified the first sound. The first sound my seem kind of random but it is supposed to be like a "good idea" or a "lightbulb sound" so hopefully you pick up on that. Enjoy.

Why would you ever want to remember the name of a song again...

Tracking the Internet Music

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/16/digitalbiz.musicid/index.html

This podcast is about how music recognition is going to be very much a reality, from cellular phones in the near future. In this podcast I faded in the orchestra sound and also faded in my speaking and faded out at the end. I got my orchestra sound from Find Sounds, which I also used the echo effect on. I hope you enjoy.

Online Anger is Out of Control...

#@*!!! Anonymous Anger Rampant on the Internet

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/03/angry.internet/index.html#cnnSTCText

This podcast is from cnn.com about how people are using the internet as a way to vent thier anger and how this is starting to get out of control. In this podcast I used a clapping clip at the end which i got from Find Sounds. Other than equalizing the podcast and normalizing it, I also faded in and out the clapping clip at the end and I also amplified it so it is easier to hear.

To listen to this podcast click on the word podcast above and follow the link to the next window. In that window click on the link that says Internet Anger Problems. This will start playing the podcast. Enjoy.

Are we getting are privacy back?

Internet Companies Embrace Human Rights Guidelines

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/INTERNET_HUMAN_RIGHTS

In this podcast I discussed the Human Rights that are being violated by many of the major internet companies out there.  The yelling sound that you hear was found at Find Sounds.  In order to make the yell fit in better and not be awkward or cut off my words I faded it in and out.  Another thing I did to make the yell fit in better was that I split the track where the yell is so that there is a little bit of pause before and after the yell.  

In order to open this podcast, click on the link above and then choose the Human Rights audio to listen. 

What If You Could Sleep Under The Stars...

The Designer Bringing Space Down to Earth.

This is a new podcast about the new technologies about bringing nature back to the industrialized population.  If you just click on the link and then on the pop up page follow the next link that is called Designer Bringing Space Down to Earth.

My First Web Site

This is my new web page about my travels.

The Places You Go

First Blog Post

Here is the first blog, we got the background sound from find sounds.com and we added a fade out effect and a wawa effect.  

First Podcast

Are Your Convorsations Being Listened In On?

Questions Arise on Skype Snooping

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/10/02/skype.eavesdropping.ap/index.html

The internet communication tool, Skype, has been a valuable resource for many people around the world. It allows its users to communicate for free and in a secure network, or so people thought. There have been rumors going around that Skype is not as secure as they promised they were. In many different places around the world it has been tapped and blocked for words like “democracy”. Not only abroad but there are rumors that they are working with the US government to give them eavesdropping rights as well. This is absolutely wrong, the main reason that I believe this is much worse that tapping our regular phone lines, is that Skype says that it is a secure network. They say that the messages, text and verbal, are encrypted on each end and cannot be tapped. Even the idea that there are rumors that this might not be true makes me nervous. I believe if they say it is secured than it should be secured. If it is not secured then just do not add that in the description. I believe this is going to affect their business a lot, I think people are going to start switching to another subscriber, especially in the times of web 2.0 it could be very easy to create another one by someone that is computer savvy. Skype should get on this rumor and squash it or change something as soon as possible.

The Music Industry Must Change

Rocking or Reeling? Record Labels Adapt to a World of Online Music

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/22/music.future/index.html

As everyone is aware the music industry is stuck in a place where they are being forced to change, even though many record labels refuse to do so. Music is starting to go more and more into the digital world, and in turn CD sales are dropping like crazy. iTunes was thought to be the solution to this problem, but still many record labels are apprehensive. Now MySpace is coming out with something call MySpace Music, this will create a place for big record labels to gain a bigger face in the online music industry but also will give them a chance to gain online advertising income. This is not going to solve the problems that the music industry is facing but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Some big people in the major record labels say that this file sharing music idea is a phase and will fissile out; I believe that they need to open their eyes and see that everything is going digital. If they do not accept this they are going to be left behind. Once this starts to take hold and gets under way people are going to be able to download music anytime anywhere. Music is already a big staple in our society, it can define who we are and can holding feelings that will never disappear. Once the music industry has become truly digital this will be even truer and even more prevalent in our society.

Why Not Draw For The News?

http://www.doodlebuzz.com/

Doodle Buzz

At first glance this mashup seems to be a total waste of time, but if you really go in depth and see what it has to offer then you will be surprised at what you will find. First you just draw a line of any sort and when you are done a series of news stories about your topic will show up. Yes they are overlapped, but it will highlight the one your cursor is on. When you click on one you can draw another line and it will show a small blip about the article and if you want to delve deeper you can click on one of the related words. If you choose to click on the story then it will take you to that article, but if you choose a related word you must draw another line and more related stories will show up. It keeps going until you find the appropriate article.

It is extremely easy to use but the only problem with it is that the stories all overlap each other and are hard to see from time to time. This website could be useful if the searcher is very bored of the regular search engines. One thing that is specific to this website and not others is that you can actually click on an article and still be able to search other things relating to that article. It makes deep research much easier. At the same time I can see people many people disliking the way it works.

Personally I would never use it because all the articles overlap each other, but it is fun to play around with for a while. It fits into web 2.0 is because it takes searching to a very interactive level, the researcher can now literally draw out their ideas.

Touch Screen Soon to be Obsolete

Does Touchless Tech Point the Way Ahead?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/10/db.touchless/index.html

The new iPhone has created such an immense crave for touch screen phones and if you do not have one then you are behind the times, but is the touch screen about to be obsolete? That is very much possible in the near future. A laboratory called LM3Labs is working on something called AirStrike which is a device that uses cameras in your keyboard to track your finger movements. Why would you be waving your fingers above your keyboard you may be asking? The reason for this would be to move windows, minimize them, and scroll around the screen by just the flick of your finger. Even though some people think that technology is moving too fast; it is going in the right direction. With our world speeding up and wanting things faster than ever this would be a perfect instillation into our daily computer use. Since this speeds things up just that little bit more some people may think that it would create even more havoc and disorganization in our lives. I beg to differ, I believe that this would actually keep us more organized while surfing the web and researching. It would allow us to organize our desktops and search windows in any order we wish, it would be a much awaited upgrade for our hectic lives.

The New Virtual World

Designers Developing Virtual-Reality 'Cocoon'

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/11/immersive.cocoon/index.html

Imagine all of your research assignments literally being at the tip of your fingers. With the new invention of the Cocoon this is now going to be a reality, the researcher can actually go to the site of Pompeii, for example, and gather information just by touching the building they are looking at. Not only will this allow you to do research in a much more interactive way, the device also allows video games to be much more interactive as well. It is a human size cocoon that senses your body movements and makes you believe you are moving in a 3-D world. With this new virtual world being invented businesses would also find this extremely useful; it would allow them to have virtual meetings and in doing so save a lot of time. Even though this is a very futuristic idea and it is not yet completed for sale it is something that will reshape our world in a way we cannot even imagine. It is on hold until 2014 and even then is not going to be sold to the general public, but it is still a glimpse into what our world will be experiencing within the somewhat near future.

Surfing With No Trace

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/28/microsoft.broswer.explorer.ap/index.html

Microsoft is in the beta stage of coming out with their new search browser, Internet Explorer 8. The amazing thing about this new browser is that its users will be able to search the internet without leaving a trace of where they have been. The software that is used for this is called InPrivateBlocking. This helps block advertising agencies from tracking where you search and then hitting you with advertisements that are geared towards your personality. This will help frequent browsers to feel more safe and help them feel less like they are being watched; it will make them feel more secure and at ease. From and browsers point of view this idea is a fantastic addition to a search engine but from a marketers point of view this is going to make it much harder for internet advertisers to reach their target market. Like the article says, “If InPrivateBlocking was widely adopted by IE8 users, small sites that rely almost exclusively on outside companies to serve ads couldn't survive”. It would affect everyone tremendously.