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This article identifies a potential setback for various iPhone users. With all the hype of Apple's iPhone 5, some 4S iPhone owners may be out of luck in terms of upgrades from cellphone carriers. Rumors have said that the iPhone 5 will be seeing a summer or fall 2012 launch but the story here is owners with the iPhone 4S may not be eligible for an upgrade when Apple releases it's newest phone, this means essentially users that rely on contract upgrades are put at a disadvantage. In addition, Verizon customers are affected by the upgrade issue the most, and it will cost these users more if they choose to upgrade to a iPhone 5. This is huge news to anyone who owns a iPhone 4S, especially if they are a Verizon customer, and they plan to buy a iPhone 5. The additional cost may be too much for buyers and they may just stick with what they have until a hopefully near price drop. Apple on the other hand could also suffer because the more people who buy the 4S can reflect to less people who will be able to afford the iPhone 5. The Apple company as well as many other Apple users highly anticipate the iPhone 5, and it could be something like this little dilemma that can angry consumers and could also lead users to leave the upgrade and essentially pass on Apple's phone this time around.

The iPad3 will be releasing in March 7. There are lots of rumors about the new iPad is going to be a smaller version that the iPad2. The iPad3 might be going to be 8 inches or 10 inches plus running at a 4G speed. It will be a better graphic, better processor and better battery life. The iPad3 will be running in A6 processor. More likely around 1 GB or ram

This article describes the unfortunate unlikeliness of having iPad textbooks. It seems practical in this generation to have iPad textbooks, however there are still many aspects of this idea that need to be thought through. I think it will be more beneficial for students to carry one iPad as opposed to several textbooks, as well iPad would be more eco friendly because they would eliminate the need for printed textbooks. Nevertheless iPads can and often break and it would be much cheaper to replace a textbook as opposed to an iPad. Also,  I think that textbooks can easily out live an iPad especially if being used for long periods of time. I agree with this article that, at the moment, iPads would still be too expensive and impractical for today's use. However, I am certain that students in future generations will have the privilege to have iPad textbooks for educational use.

It's actually pretty cool that ipads would actually be entering the schools. But the problem is the cost of the textbooks, and installing the textbook work in the ipad. Which costs a lot for the school boards, but also for the parents. Schools will end costing much more, and schools will be needing an ipad hardware on top of the textbook software. But the cost can be lowered if Apple can think of a way to lower the prices. 

We all know about those little cameras on our cell phones or iPods, but have you ever considered a mini camera in your smoke detector or maybe even a rock? Well, maybe you should start. This article shows us various, unexpected places where small cameras can be hidden. It provides a glimpse at just how much technology has evolved throughout the years and forces us to face the reality that we're living in 2012. Technology is everywhere, even in places that we would never have expected. This article shows not only how advanced technology has become, but also how creative and discreet. I mean, I never would have thought twice about that rock sitting by the tree on my way to school, but now I'm starting to think that I should have. Every day, we encounter countless items that have become so normal for us. A ring, a tissue box, a car remote; we wouldn't even think about the possibility of a hidden camera in these commonplace items. Now, the question remains, is this kind of more advanced technology always better? Sure, these hidden cameras can be used by law enforcement and such to do surveillance, but what about the possibility of this falling into the wrong hands. In our world, we know that it's not difficult at all to get a hold of this kind of technology and to be perfectly honest, that makes me a little nervous. Despite the fact that this post was meant to be light-hearted and interesting, it also raises awareness about the risks of such technology. Before reading this article I never would have thought that the wallet that lady at the mall was holding could really have been a camera recording my every move, but now I've realized that things aren't always what they look like, especially in this day and age. After reading this post, I think I'm going to be a little more vigilant and probably also more paranoid, because we can never know if or where there is a hidden camera.

XBOX appears to be one of those gaming systems made by Microsoft, that has become very successful over the years. They have many dedicated players and always come up with awesome new ideas for the system. Even though I personally do not own an xbox, I believe these new controllers are a very good idea. Although they may not look very different, they are actually going to be more sleek and come in multiple colours like red and blue. They will also be more shinier. They will be released in mid-may and sell for $54.99. This relates to the course because it is a hardware that connects with a software. As well many people will be happy that they can get nice new controllers to replace their old ones. 

Microsoft announces a new Xbox 360 controller, also known as the special edition chrome series. This controller will satisfy gamers who like to have swag while they're playing because all their friends will be jealous of this amazing, shiny controller. In other words, you should buy this controller to have swag. Microsoft also announced that there will be three controllers to be released during may. It comes in blue, red, or silver. That's a lot of swagggg

This article (written by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai) is an interesting analysis of a general trend in the tech industry and demand for people with coding experience. The article states that now is the best time to dive in to coding because it has never been cheaper/easier to do so, with the introduction of Codeacademy - used in ICS20 - in early 2012. In less than 5 months, Codeacademy had stated that it reached over 1 million registered accounts, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Many web-based companies, even the titans that are Facebook and Google, are always looking for people with coding experience. Jobs in programming are also more lucrative than most jobs, even at entry level positions (15 of 21 San Fransisco Developer Bootcamp students were offered jobs in coding, with an average annual pay of $79 000.) The industry is severely lacking in female programmers as well, with only 1:10 ratio of women to men in the industry. This relates to Economics, eLifestyle and ultimately the ISC20 class because as the industry develops, there will be a higher demand for people with experience in coding; 2012 has been widely concerned as the best year for coding because many people who start coding now will most likely be secured for a positon right out of University, which can be very securing to young people who may not be sure of their future. Evidentally, the title says it all; if you are looking for a job, it would be wise to pick up coding because this a newly establihed market; most jobs in computers didn't exist twenty years ago so many people believe that coding will eventually become a societal necessary education, like math or grammar skills. This article shows how we are in a somewhat technological revolution, where we are creating new jobs where all the others are already full.

With Christmas slowly approaching, many of us will be shopping for presents online. For scammers, this means there will be more unsuspecting victims to scam. McAfee knows the risk of being scammed is present and has set up a list of 12 scams seen during the holiday season. These include fake charities, malicious mobile apps, too-good-to-be-true offers, and fake gift cards. As online shopping gets more popular, the threat from scammers increases as well so we have to know how to protect ourselves and keep our information secure. While shopping online is more convenient and cheaper in some cases, it isn't as secure as shopping in person at a store. Despite the lesser security in shopping online, people still would prefer it because of its convenience. I think it is good that McAfee released this list of scams to look out for because it will make sure more consumers during the Christmas season and everyday will have knowledge of what to look out for when shopping online. Though I doubt many people will see the list, McAfee has possibly saved many people from having to deal with being scammed, besides even if you can't help everyone you should help anyway.

Since 3D printing is becoming more popular, workers can assemble anything by using it. In this article, this product could be the world's first 3D printed car called "Urbee 2". It is a three-wheeled hybrid assembled with pieces that is printed out from 3D printers. With this model, Urbee looking forward to changing the way we build cars today and in the future. Urbee is the invention of Jim kor and his group(Kor Ecologic) that is dedicated to future 3D vehicle manufacturing. Their goal is to make vehicles energy-efficient and is easy to assemble. The location where this first 3D car is being processed is at RedEye, where the first worlds 3D printed motorcycle was assembled. 3D printing is very helpful to workers that are making anything because instead of producing parts that would be assembled later, the 3D printer can print out a single part that makes manufacturing a lot simpler. Urbee is called for being a race car safety. 3D printing offers many possibilites but it is really expensive. But with it you can manufacture lots of things with it a lot easier and more efficient.

This article is about Freescale launching the world's smallest arm chip. It is made of silicon and is only 2 x 2 x 0.5mm. It can hold 48 HMz ARMM Cortex-M0+ processor, 32KB flash memory, and 4KB of RAM. This, however, is not designed to run desktop software, but is instead intended to be used for products that can be swallowed. I think this is an improvement on "Portable Computing", as this technology can be used in the medical field. This also follows the trend of minimization, as we can now see the potential and advantages of having smaller chips, for example, inserting them into pills that can be swallowed. Freescale is pricing this product at 75 cents apiece, if purchased in 100 000 unit loads. However, I am certain that the cost will go up dramatically if launched successfully, causing the a shift in the electronic market and economy.

A Taiwanese company, Polytron Technologies, has developed a new smart phone that is completely transparent. Although this device is a mere prototype, it is a promising look into the future of smartphone technology. It consists of all the features of current smartphones, such as SD card support, speakers, a microphone and battery, but the clear display is what has many people in awe. Polytron calls this new technology Switchable Glass technology which allows the phone to look completely opaque when not in use and transparent when powered on. This technology functions based on the behaviour and properties of liquid crystal molecules in certain conditions. In the coming years we will most likely see this technology being introduced into smart devices if it proves to be a success. No longer will smartphones be thin, black or white rectangles, but rather they will be transparent works of art. In the coming future we may be thanking Polytron Technologies for their brilliant advancement in smartphone technology.  

Over the past few years, Facebook has grown to become one of the largest social networking sites in the world. People everywhere, young or old, have leapt at this opportunity to connect with friends or family from all over. This article brings up the possibility of creating a Facebook option that is available specifically for under 13 users as the current Facebook is only supposed to be available to users over 13. This new option would allow parents to create a link to their child's website and edit the Facebook Timeline options to whatever they think is appropriate. However, this possibility is met with a lot of opposition. People believe that allowing kids younger than 13 onto this site could be risky as they would be more susceptible to the dangers of cyber bullying and abuse. They believe that kids would simply be too young to understand the dangers of the internet and as a result would not know how to stay safe. Letting kids go on social networking sites like Facebook at such a young age is a huge decision. How do you know what is the right one? Despite the over 13 rules on Facebook, there are still thousands of young kids on this site that had simply lied about their age. It isn't hard to get onto this site. No matter what we do, with or without this new Facebook option, there will undoubtedly be young kids on Facebook. This fact is unavoidable. That is why I think that this alternate Facebook for children is not necessarily a bad idea. If we can't keep kids off of Facebook then we might as well work to make a safer version of it for them. Although, I don't condone young kids using this site, I am aware of the fact that we can never keep them all away from it and if that's the case then we might as well do all we can to protect them while on it. The growing world of technology is going to reach the younger children at some point and instead of trying to shield them from this other world and forcing them to explore it behind our backs, I thin

k we should find safer ways for them to discover this cyber world and educate them on its dangers. This article highlights people's concerns about rapidly growing social networks in the cyber world and its expansion to target younger children. It simply gives us a look at how much Facebook has really grown and what they are willing to do to keep it growing. It has grown so quickly and so has its number of users. It is only natural that young kids want to see and learn about what has fascinated so many of older people.

Many of use know about pirating, and some even do it. So far we thought that it was an easy way to get things with little ways of getting caught; this however is going to change. A knew security system is in development and bound to be out within the next 2 months that will catch those who pirate, and if numerous warnings are ignored; they will be prosecuted. This program watches popular sites such as bittorent and tracks the ip address of those who download illegal content. Then it sends warnings and if those are ignored, you will be tracked and investigated. Overall I believe this software will help stop pirating, but it will be met with huge opposition because most people wont be willing to give up their access to free movies, music, software, etc. Also this raises a privacy issue, but as this security system only tracks your IP, its not much of a problem compared to other tracking systems out there. To conclude, I believe the future of this system is filled with huge debates and maybe even battles.

On October 29, 2012 Google will unveil its new Android operating system called Android 4.2 or an update of Jelly Bean. Google will be showing Samsung Electronics Nexus 10 tablet and LG Electronics will be showing their first phone the Nexus 4 and the Nexus will be showed but won't be for sale until July of next year. This will be Google's biggest Nexus unveil with three new products. Google said that its new Nexus 10 tablet has a higher resolution camera of the iPad 3 and the Nexus 10 will have a pricing similar to the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Note 10.1. I chose portable computing as one of my tags because now many companies are starting to unveil new tablets at a much lower price than usual and with better quality. Tablets are becoming more and more popular with people because of size and versatility and it's becoming a more competitive market. I chose economics as my other tag because tablets are becoming cheaper and with better apps, components, and size. A lot of companies are selling more of them so it is a competitive market and companies have to come with new tablets within a few months.

This article is about how 38% of children on Facebook are younger than 12 years old. I found this to be really shocking! Even though there are privacy settings for Facebook, you still have to be careful with the people you talk to. Another thing i found surprising was that 74% of parents are worried about their children's safety, yet they still let their children on Facebook. There are many things that parents have to look out for when their children are on Facebook. Including sexual predators and cyber bullying. Even though parents say they are concerned it doesn't show in the stats when there are 6 year olds on Facebook.  

This article talks about how 38% of children on Facebook are younger than 12! There is an age restriction on Facebook, you must be at least over 13 to have an account. This shows how the generations have really evolved. Children under the age of 6 already have Facebook accounts! All parents are concerned about their children's safety but by allowing them to be on Facebook at an early age might be in more risk. Children can have sexual predators, expose too much information, talk to strangers and many more. I think that parents shouldn't be exposing their children to networking site at such an early age.

As the title states, hacking will soon be a top threat over terrorists. Hacking is a big deal because the people who do hack are able to take data - especially important data - from their sources and use it for their own benefit. For businesses, this is highly critical because just like that, any ideas you may have stored on computers could be gone and in the hands of others. Also, hacking might not be just for stealing data but also inputting viruses into other computers. In the US, two bills are being set to beef up the security of government networks to be protected from any cyber attacks. 

scary, but true

This article talks about a new development in computing technology. So far we have relied on the basic computer who's most basic functions are base on binary logic in the in state of "on" and "off". This new development is referred to as "quantum computing". In quantum computing instead of using "on" and "off" states ; qubits are used. Qubits are a form of matter/energy which is part of quantum physics. The trick here is that qubits can represent multiple states at once and therefore far less of them are needed, and many new types of problems can be solved. There is a drawback however, and it is that qubits can only stay in their form for a set period of time, and they must also be at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius or lower. Overall quantum computing is a great idea as it allows for things such as modeling atoms, and seeing how they will react. It will be a huge breakthrough in science, and will allow the modeling and creation of new atoms, chemical reactions, and even living beings, but it is not something you will be using day to day, such as your computer. To conclude, I think that this is an amazing development but i believe that it is more science centered rather than day-to-day life.

Samsung has put out the Galaxy Gear "smart watch" with what is said to be 3 days of battery life. The new mobile operating system, Tizen OS is used in this. Along with the Tizen OS there is a 1.63-inch touchscreen, 1 GHz processor and up 4 GB of storage, and it is compatible with Samsung smartphones. The Tizen is hoped to be used in multiple other devizes, from cars to TV's. The article relates to hardware because this may be the future of our equipment, possibly all connected and controlled with maybe one or a few things. It can be said that this is what everything will be like, from our tools to our everyday items. My idea of this is that these new things that are popping up that will make our lives "easier" will bring everyone to become more and more lazy. Before electronics people actually went out to have fun, but now everything we do, or at least almost everything, is in the "comfort of our home".

Computers are starting to recognize our faces. what does this mean? Let's find out. New and upcoming facial recognition technology like google glass will heavily integrate the face. it will be able to link someone's face out in the public, to an image of them on the web. In the future we would need to reformat exisiting legislation on privacy. Right now, by law, this potential action is not prohibited. This topic is already being discussed by people in positions of power who see the negative consequences to come. While people focus on the negatives, the positives don't get any real limelight! most of these include much quicker operating procedures for business, who can recognize potential customers. Security also becomes more efficient, which is a good thing when talking about the protection of people and business. It also seriously inflicts on an individuals right to privacy, though... for security in protecting people I believe this should be a mandatory, though. This might be something people will have to endure, whether they like it or not. But, it is better to embrace the future rather than reject it, so here's to computer tracking devices! One thing to point out is the younger generation will not be influenced by this at all. If we don't start to connect with newer technologies early, we'll end up like our grandparents!

PushBullet is a new computer and mobile app that allows notifications and other files to be transported from any device on the same account. The app comes with many features out of the box, such as the ability to share files between phones and computers with the click of a button, or having notifications on every device you own. The software is fairly new but it is being updated constantly and always changing. It can also be incorporated into stocks, or packages being delivered. I feel that this new app will solve many of the problems of software being seamless throughout devices. Windows media play, and other programs have tried the same thing and failed. I believe PushBullet can fix all of these problems.

The article that I have chosen to share for week 4 is about IBM and their new services to help eliminate fraud and financial crime. The article interested be because around 3.5 trillion dollars are lost per year to financial crime and fraud through technology. While the software is being marketed to big companies it also directly involves us, the consumers. For example when Sony's PSN was down thousands of peoples accounts were hacked and had money taken from their accounts. This new software interested me because now people can feel a little more secure using online programs knowing that their information can be safer. It is a new time where many things are bought through the internet and with better security people won't feel as worried about their security

The article that I have chosen to share for week 4 is about IBM and their new services to help eliminate fraud and financial crime. The article interested be because around 3.5 trillion dollars are lost per year to financial crime and fraud through technology. While the software is being marketed to big companies it also directly involves us, the consumers. For example when Sony's PSN was down thousands of peoples accounts were hacked and had money taken from their accounts. This new software interested me because now people can feel a little more secure using online programs knowing that their information can be safer. It is a new time where many things are bought through the internet and with better security people won't feel as worried about their security