Website

http://www.users.muohio.edu/garchapj/IMS/Website/Index.html

The government needs hackers...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090418/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_cyber_security;_ylt=AtTA5wRwa3_WQETd_n2Qpx8jtBAF

The government recently conducted an in house study and the outcome wfas not so good. The government concluded that there are faults in the cyber security at the Pentagon. The government wants to hire hackers to come in and help point out flaws in the security. If a cyber attack does take place it could threaten the power grid, stock markets, and nuclear launch codes.
This is an uneasy thought to think about. Imagine a hacker, somewhere over seas, getting all of the credit card and tax information about everyone in the United States. It is scary to know that as of right now, that is possible.
I think its a great idea by the government to hire hackers into the Pentagon to help them better secure the nation's cyberspace. The government should be extremely careful about who they hire though. I know that the hackers will have an extensive background check and everything like that, but still. What if they were from a foreign nation, trying to obtain information about the United States internal operations.
It is nice to know that the government is trying to protect us and our information. They really need to be careful about who they choose though.

MTI robot is now a gardener

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090411/ap_on_hi_te/tec_robotic_gardeners


The research staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have done it again. The research team has designed a robot that will actually water your garden when the plants need watered. It is a complicated process, but I think it is extremely interesting. The way it works is that the plants are also hooked up to computers that send a signal to the robot when they are low on water. Then, the robot will come to that plant and spray a mist of water towards the sensor that sent the signal.
I think this is a stupid idea because it takes the point out of having a garden. Gardening is the number one hobby in America. If you have a robot do it, then what is the point of having a garden in the first place.
On the other hand, it is a great achievement in technology. It is really cool how we have advanced technology far enough to the point where we can have a robot actually tend to us. There is a growing trend in America where we are slowly stopping daily tasks and turning them over to robots. For example, we now have robots that will vacuum the floors and different robots that will cut your grass.
I think that America needs to stop with the robots and start doing work themselves.

Wikipedia is the new Brittinaca

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/weekinreview/29cohen.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1


Wikipedia and New York are not too different after all. This articles compares Wikipedia to any metropolis in the world saying that, like any big city, Wikipedia has many different languages, much diversity, and rules also. For example, people don't vandalize buildings everyday they walk around the city. Vandalism happens but it is rare because of the laws enforced by the police. Just like on Wikipedia, when people vandalize, the "police" correct it within a short amount of time. But above the police and Wikipedian police, most people just have common courtesy.
I think that Wikipedia will soon become an excellent resource. They have covered almost every article in the English Language. They are soon running out of things to write about. The best part about Wikipedia is that it is constantly updated with new and up to date information. Unlike other encyclopedias, such as print ones, Wikipedia can have an article about an event that happened yesterday.
I think that as soon as Wikipedia finishes all the bugs and kinks with the posts and editing, it will become one of the best encyclopedias ever. I, personally, think it is a great resource, and a great starting point for any information you may need. I hope Wikipedia continues to grow and become bigger and better.

Earth Hour!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10206051-54.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Saturday at 8:30, in every time zone, the lights will be out, hopefully. Earth hour was started in Australia 2 years ago and spread throughout the world like wild fire. It is an attempt to save the world by cutting back on our energy dependence. By shutting of all the power for an hour, they hope to save some kilowatts, and save some money. The program is a great idea and a good start towards a greener future.
I think the program has potential to really make a good impact on our society. If everyone turns the lights off in the world at 8:30 til 9:30 in their separate time zone, it has the potential to help our world greatly. I think it is about time that someone started to take some initiative against our growing problem with the environment. I hope that this catches on even bigger and we can soon start going from once a a year doing this to maybe once a month doing it. Then maybe for more than an hour eventually. The Earth Hour has even been endorsed by big celebrities who support it, showing their concern also. Once they endorse it and it becomes more popular, it only gives it more potential to grow.

How Web 2.0 is changing medicine

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7582/1283

This article was included in my annotated bibliography, which was centered on Web 2.0. This article talked about the ways in which Web 2.0 is changing the medical world today. It talked about how with the increased use of blogs and rss feeds, doctors can update daily and keep in touch with each other in real time. Any new information that is found can be published almost instantly on a doctor's blog.
I think this is very important to the medical world because it really helps the number of resources a doctor has. The more resources the doctor has, the better it is for the patient. I think that we, as patients, benefit the most from this recent update. I also think that we are moving closer to a instantaneous world where everything is updated in real time. The closer and closer we get to having everything be published in real time, the closer and closer we get as a people. As of right now, through social networking and blogs, we could potentially know what everyone we know is doing, at all times. For example, if you make a post on facebook, it gets sent to everyones phone who knows you and has it set up to do that, then they know exactly what you are doing at that time. I think this could be good but also has its down sides too.

Photoshop

Google Adds streetview imagery

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10173905-39.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

The article I chose was an article that discusses Google's new feature that allows people to upload photos onto the Google Maps application on your phone. You can take a picture of a socially tagged location, such as a memorial building or a restaurant, and upload the picture for others to see. This allows you to find this place more easily.
I think this is a great idea on Google's behalf. It allows users to become more interactive with each other. It is almost as if Google is moving in the direction to become a social networking empire. It is getting its users more involved with each other and allowing them to interact.
This new app is also great for those who travel a lot. If you are in a foreign city on business, for example, you dont want to spend time trying to find the place you need to go. So, you look at your find to verify that you are at the right building, and you can see which person posted the picture and see what other pictures they posted also.
The new feature also makes Google grow as a whole. This is just another step in making Google a broader company. It started as searches only, but then it moved to mail, applications, and much more. The Google company is growing and has potential to do very big things in the future.

Microsoft vs. Apple

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/microsoft-to-open-own-retail-stores/341874

It's a tough fight, and while Microsoft is losing to the big rival Apple. As Apple passes Microsoft in the sale of laptops, Microsoft needs new ways to attract (and keep) customers. People are attracted to the Apple concept because of its user-friendly interface and great customer service. Microsoft has lacked in this department so they have made a move to improve in these factors.
While Microsoft opens stores, it could be a great boost for their reputation and profile. Microsoft users will be much more inclined to go back to Microsoft once they see that they can go in and get help with their problems with the operating system.
I think that this was a big step for the future of Microsoft. Without this, I'm not sure if Microsoft had much of a fighting chance at the rate that the Apple company was growing. The Microsoft company made the first step towards become more like its biggest competior, Apple. Now that they have done this, I think that they now have a good chance to become the number one selling operating system on the market.

Find out where your kids are at all times!

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_google_people_tracker_6


This article shows how you can find out where your friends and family are at any time through the Google Maps application for you mobile phone. Even though the feature requires you to turn the capability on and off, I still think that it is a serious invasion of privacy.
If someone leaves it on (on accident) after using it or trying it then anyone else can find out where they are. This is a serious threat to people that they may not be aware of. For example, if an adolescent is using it to keep in contact with their parents, and leaves it on while the go play in the park, some type of criminal could come abduct the child or other things of that nature.
On the other hand, it could be beneficial if used in the right context. For example, if your mother has her finding capability turned on, and its her birthday, you can find out where she is and surprise her. Or, if your friend is new to a city ( in this case a campus), you can see where he is and give him directions to your location.
I think the concept behind the new feature to the program is good, but it can easily be used in a bad way.

Google Maps flight Simulator

http://www.programmableweb.com/mashup/google-maps-flight-simulator

This game combines a flight simulator and Google Maps. The program lets you move the plane around the city with the arrow keys. You can change the altitude and where your plane is going. The downside to the game is that you can pick from only 5 cities in the U.S so unless your from a major city, you can't fly around your home town.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/21/the-day-live-web-video-streaming-failed-us/

This article discusses what happened when too many people tried to tune into the inauguration speech at the same time. People were put into "virtual waiting rooms" which is a weird thing to think about.
I think that it is crazy how many people watched it online. It really goes to show the kind of age we live in today. I think it's weird to think that one of the biggest news companies in the nation couldn't support the rush of online traffic especially on such a highly anticipated event. I think that our world is changing when you can watch something(in this case, one of the most historical events in our country's history) that is taking place in real time.
I watched the speech on the television and I had know problems. I have watched the inauguration speech on television for as long as I could remember. While I was watching, I saw how many different kinds of media cameras were there and it was also very surprising. When you think about it, it is almost hard to imagine what it would be like without the technology we have today. It is even harder to imagine where technology is going to go in the future.

G.E Invests in New Wind Technology

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10147945-54.html


General Electric, one of the largest companies in the world, has decided to invest $20 million in a company called TPI which manufacturers wind turbines. This investment by G.E is a huge step in the right direction by a company of it's size.
The company showed serious concern by donating that amount of money. The company did not have to do it but they wanted to showed that they actually did care about the environment. Their new "Ecomagination" program is designed to start moving the manufacturing industry towards a "green" future. This is particularly important in America today where we pollute heavily and do barely anything to replenish the environment. Also, with the American economy in the shape it's in, this new program is an excellent oppurtunity to create jobs for many.
I think the program is a great idea respect General Electric for doing something like this. It it not only going to be good for the enviroment but also for the economy, and job market too. The program seems to benefit everyone.
Hopefully, other big companies recognize what G.E is doing and jump on the bandwagon. If three or four other companies the size of G.E take the same initiative, it has the potential to start a "green" revolution. If something along the lines of a "green" revolution doesn't take place sometime soon, we might be in trouble as a planet.

One laptop per child?

http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/01/13/one-laptop-per-child-then-what/


In some developing countries, a new program titled "OLPC" or one laptop per child is being started to provide children with the chance to become educated. The children of these countries are given a very cheap, somewhat low grade laptop. The program has increased attendance rates in schools dramatically.
I think that this program is a very good idea. If these third world, developing nations manage to educate the youth of their nation, they might be able to solve the problems facing that country such as debt, poverty, crime and any other civil problem.
The only criticism I have towards the program is that some nations cant afford to provide the kids with the laptops. Also, the nations don't have the capabilities to teach the kids to read, write, and use the computers.
Overall, the program is a very good idea.