Shrinking Digital Divide

I think the digital divide is in fact shrinking. I say this from the perspective of someone who recently has been moving from a technology hater to a technology lover. The main reason for this, I believe, is became I have learned how technology can help me save time, and also how to properly use it.

I believe as schools and businesses start requiring more "tech knowledge", more people will start to come around. Not only because they have to, but they will see how new technological advances benefit their school work/normal work and begin to use them in their own lives.

I think by noticing that the widespread use of email over recent year, we can see how other new gadgets will also be accepted as long as they are intuitive, and not requiring a "how to" class. Many of these new/popular websites; Digg, Delicious, Twitter, Blogger, Google Reader, iGoogle, ect. aren't necessarily appealing to people until they are taught how to use it.

More than just website tough, take the actual gadgets. The internet phone. At first it seems just a toy, but then when e-mails can really be answered, orders can be purchased, and people can be contacted on the go, we see how the work world is really benefiting from technological developments, and therefore people in the work place and coming around and learning more. Because of this, it is required (somewhat) in school to be taught this in order to be prepared, and that is why I think the digital divide is in fact shrinking.

Canada, China, Europe, and the United States have all seen a decrease in the digital divide. But what about in more developing countries? Though we may experience certain advantages with technology in out society, but are they just a luxury? There is a website that deals with socioeconomic development and this issue.

Recent YouTube update

Website

Pay per view on YouTube. YouTube has recently signed with Sony, and now some of the content posted on the website will require a fee.

P2P and a mixed cd

I am one of those people that does think it's important to support artist say most of my itunes is paid for...which is depressing when I look at how many songs I have.

I do love it though, when i get a fun mixed CD from a friend, but how is that not the same as downloading music I have not paid for? I almost always download a copy onto my personal library, and therefore get a copy of the music for free. I do, however, have a friend who is very strict about this, and won't take CD's from people unless he had the music himself, I'm not this strict about it.

With Kazza, the music of our middle school years, it was just so easy to download the music, I would find myself downloading songs I had never even heard before. Now with iTunes and the feature to sample 30 seconds of the song before buying, and it just as easy to find what you are looking for.

I do however, agree with Tori that music is expensive, and that more people would cut back from illegally if music was cheaper.

Fabulous Firefox

Until college, I had never hear of, much less used, Firefox. Growing up with microsoft on our family computer, I was only familiar with Internet Explorer, and frankly I didn't see the reason to explore or try anything different.

I found out my freshman year that with one of my classes, my homework could not be uploaded through Internet Explorer but only through Firefox. I downloaded Firewfox, and soon began realizing the difference in the browser.

In my opinion, Firefox does a better job at opening and running more than one tab at a time. I also have found that there are not as many popups with Firefox. I like using the FTP programs on firefox as well

Powerful Power Point

I remember having a group project assigned to me in high school, and my fellow group members wanted to use powerpoint to present our presentaion. I didn't know what it was, much less how to use it. I did however, feel very tech savy once I learned I could make the text and color whatever I wanted and could make them enter the slide in fun ways such as flying or zooming.

Now that powerpoint is more popular and used is most of my classes, I find it very useful. When A professor is lecturing and I find myself zoning out, I find it very useful to gaze up at the friendly powerpoint outline to catch myself up and rejoin their train of thought.

Powerpoint is also very useful for people who are more visual learners than audio. All the pictures, diagrams, graphs, or other visuals on the slides also help explain points that sometimes words can't do on their own.

New York Times Technology Article

This is an interesting article about making medical records all electronic. Having medical records electronic would reduce in the amount of errors, as well as provide a more efficient way of keeping records.

the iPod relationship

I think it's true that many songs allow you to flashback to a time where you vividly remember your clothes, best friend at the time, and whatever you were doing . I can't help but think of that country song lyric by Kenny Chesney, "...everytime I hear that song, I go back..."

An article was published where a research study was done, and they found out that "strong emotions [were] associated with the songs played at the time." The funny thing is, is that most of the times the songs that are "bringing people back" are the same because they were popular at a certain time. Songs like "Ice Ice Baby" or "Gansta's Paradise."

It's funny how this is attributed to iPods, but it has actually been going on for years, just with mixed tapes or cd's...but it is true that you carry your ipod with you and it's organized by albums, as oppesed to your whole cd case in addition to your portable cd player.

I think that because the iPod is more convenient and therefore more likely to be an extension of our body, we are creating the opportunity for more songs to have this affect on us in our future. Or as the story said, more "windows to our souls."

Recent News Story

This is interesting, How Microsoft is responding to how Mac is raising the bar.

Financial Times Story

Wait, was that the phone?

The first article makes me think of a movie I saw recently, "He's just not that into you," where there's a scene with her sitting by the phone very anxiously, only to find out her phone has been unplugged.

I think it's true that "the less interested partner... is more often able to set the terms of the relationship...because the involved person is eager to maintain the relationship and will defer more easily to the partner's wishes." In most of the situations, the phone was a bigger deal in the beginning than in the end for various reasons. However, I think that our phones have become such an extension of us, that we usually talk while doing other things and it's probably not the best idea to base anything on the chemistry perceived from telephone conversations. Frankly, they might be a little preoccupied, and I would hesitate calling this selfish because I think it's a habit to multitask while using the phone. I think it's key that "not all of the women trusted the accuracy of their interpretations." When combining all of a woman's insecurities with the possibility of the man being busy, having not cell phone service, having left his phone behind, or maybe being a little insecure about calling, a lot of unnecessary heartache or drama is caused.

Sure confidence can be found when on the phone because the other person can't see you fidgeting, but I think it shows confidence when a girl can take the initiative and call a guy just like she would call up a friend without even thinking about it, and therefore talk more easily and maybe take some of the pressure off. However, I think when the girl calls it should be casual, and not in a pursuing kind of way. After reading some other articles, I think the guys want to do the pursuing, but sometimes the female can take matters into her own hands to make sure the idea has entered him mind and he knows she's available.

Phones have totally been twisted from a convenient conversation tool, to a tool used to create a whole new real of dating and is maybe analyzed [probably mostly by females] a little too far.

Technology in bridge infrastructure

So I found this interesting story about detecting problems with road and bridge infrastructure, by a sensore and GPS system in cars.

“This sensing technology will create a way to detect problems, both on the surface and subsurface, so that problems can be fixed more efficiently.”

Basically computers in the cars with the sensor and GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to a location. The data will be processed, reported, and analyzed to that repairs can be made where they are needed

"Computers installed in the vehicles will control the sensors and a GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to very precise locations. Constant streams of data will be processed and reported back to base stations using a cellular phone system, which will then be analyzed so that timely repairs can be made in vulnerable areas"

I think it is very important to note the positive side technology is playing on our society. I think many people can get so caught up in how lazy and unsocial we’re becoming that they fail to realize the great strides we’ve made.
We no longer have to wait for an open line to make a phone call, for instance, with the utilization of fiber-optic cables. Sure we can have longer social chats because of this, but also we can rest in the fact we know we can reach someone in a time of emergency.
As we all know, as technology has advanced, certain demands for being familiar with technology have also come into place, such as in jobs. Long-distance phone calls are going to need to be made when working for companies, and the fact that strides have been taken to let the prices fall for such calls is great! When working in a media or public relations position, having a cell phone is a must. Contacting people and getting things done while in the car, rather than wasting that time, enables more productivity and efficient use of time.
Regarding the Internet, the book says one consequence is it “has given birth to a vigorous new industry dedicated to developing ways to use it and services to sell across it.” I think something some people may have overlooked is that vast amount of jobs the Internet has provided. From designing to technical help, many people’s jobs are based around the Internet and making it more user friendly for everyone else. With the ability to link out from pages, the Internet has the ability to improve or help people with all kinds of jobs.

The Google mind

I like how in the "Is Google Making Us Stupid" article, he starts out saying his attention span does not last as long as he used to, them he writes a multi-page article.

I feel our reason for reading has changed, and therefore where we go to find our information has changed. With the growing popularity of the internet, people have began to rely on it for reference or "how to" information. This not only puts stress on professionals because amateurs can learn how to do their craft in a matter of seconds, but it also reduces the amount of reading for pleasure. With the appeal of endless information, it is apparently harder to focus on something that is just for pleasure.

Personally I do enjoy reading for pleasure, but my attention span does not carry over to what I'm reading for other reasons, probably because I know I could get a synopses somewhere else and not really be worried about losing the story value like in a novel.