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Cellphones play a huge factor in our everyday life.  Everybody uses cellphones nowadays.  However, the real question is, when should a child receive a cellphone?  Rather, when should a parent give their a child a cellphone?  Everybody is different, so they have their own opinion as to when they are ready to receive a cellphone/give a cellphone.  A recent report shows that nearly half of the teens surveyed say they can't live longer than a week without their phones, and 36% said they check their phones at least every 10 minutes.  Of course, these habits don't develop within a day of course.  An American research market company polled parents on what they thought the most appropriate age for a child to receive their first cellphone.  Twenty-two percent of parents polled said they thought 10 was the right age, while 43% of the parents fell within the 10 to 12 age range.  I find this ridiculous, because not even I have my own cell phone, nor will I be receiving one in the near future.   In today's society, a phone is like a miniature computer that you can take anywhere with you.  Phones were originally used for making phone calls and giving parents feel a sense of security knowing they can contact their kids whenever and wherever.  However phones can also be a whole set of challenges to a parent.  It is an Internet-enabled device with few parental controls, which could be one challenge.  It might also give a child access to inappropriate apps, the less-than-wholesome intentions of other people, from bullying to worse.   As a child's age increases, there comes many other challenges such as sexting or texting while driving. Personally, I feel the only time one can be ready for a phone, is when they prove that they are mature enough to handle such responsibility.  But that's just my side of the story.

This article is about the comparison of the old apple earphones and the new EarPods. Apple claims that the new EarPods sound as powerful as the expensive earphones invented in the world (example: Beats by Drake.. if that's what they're called). These new EarPods are as powerful as a expensive pair of earphone, but cost only 29$ and if you purchase any apple device (iPhone, iPod touch, etc.) these earbuds are free.  I have watched the video below, and some people say they can't tell a difference from the old earphone, while other people say it's a big difference. I have never used the EarPods before, but in my opinion I do think it would make a difference because technology is improving and becoming more successful. One little piece of technology can make a big difference in the world. Also, the customers have commented that these EarPods are more comfortable to fit into your ears. These EarPods are not a great device to repair. However, they are a low price so once your EarPods break, you could buy a new pair.

15 year old Amanda Todd was found dead in her home on October 2012. This event was due to cyber, physical, and verbal bullying. He committed suicide in her house. She had no one to support her in this process. She tried forgetting so she decided to move to different schools. The people in her school followed her and made things worse. She was alone. Imagine how she felt. Bullying is horrible and it should stop today. But, no one is making a change and stopping these people. In this video, Amanda Todd stated "I didn't press any charges, i just wanted to move on". In my opinion, she should of told her parents or the police that she was being bullied because this would made a huge difference. She wouldn't be depressed for her whole entire life. This girl is my age, and if I was being bullied.. I would of told at least a teacher or my parents. Bullying is bad, and it should stop.

Bullying, a serious problem that is drawing not only around schools, but also in social networks, which is known as cyber bullying. This article explains how a girl who made a single mistake lead her to a depression, getting bullied in school and online, then to cause suicide. Our generations should be bullies but rather, support those who are in depression. One devastating mistake can lead to many horrible things such as cutting or even depressants. Unfortunately, this happened to the girl, and she couldn't bear the pain of being bullied even when she moved to a different school and the bullying continued. We need to take a stand and stop bullying not just to stop pain but to prevent a heavier loss, suicide. This connect to the environment because through the internet, it uses were to verbally bully someone through social networking.

I know that a lot of people were talking about Amanda Todd. Fifteen-year-old Amanda Todd posted a YouTube video last month that detailed her brushes with online and offline bullying, and this week she was found dead in her home in Canada as a result of a suspected suicide. She first attempted to kill herself by drinking bleach but then went to the hospital and survived. After people heard about that they began posting pics of bleach, Clorox. So then she hung herself. They said, 'She should try a different bleach. I hope she dies this time and isn't so stupid.' They said, 'I hope she sees this and kills herself.'" I think it is so wrong when people make others feel bad that there willing to kill themselves. This is an outrage and I can't believe she didn't find help before she decided to kill herself. 

The video by, Youtube channel ExtraCreditz, is about the issue of frequency space. All information that we use is transmitted through the air by different forms of radiation (radio waves, microwaves, etc.) The problem is we are running out of frequencies to use; there are only a limited band of wave lengths to transmit information with. These wavelengths can't be infinitely divided because they would end up cancelling each other out. This issue derives from the explosion in smartphone and mobile device popularity. These devices use 24x and 122x the spectrum of older cellphones respectively.  Along with other devices, we are running out of the amount of frequencies available to transmit information with. By 2014, there will no longer be any more spectrum to use. This is detrimental to any progress in developments of information sharing, such as cloud gaming. The demand for spectrum space in such ideas and innovations is simply to high with the current usage of the resource. Unless we can find a way to solve this 'Spectrum Crunch,' many future developments will not be possible. This is tagged under Portable Computing, as well as eLifestyle because this issue is born from the expansion of technology into everyday use. Before mobile technology became popular, the 'Spectrum Crunch' was never an issue. However, many companies are now racing to free up spectrum. Some solutions include freeing up spectrum used by television stations. But there is no definite answer. As the future in the world as leaders in an era of information and electronics, our generation must address problems like these to progress in the advancement of technology.

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.

This article is about how now even in pro soccer leagues, referees can use a smartphone app called Referee Pro to give people cards. It is set to official FIFA rules which means anyone anywhere can use it.  I found this article interesting because it shows how technology is taking over. People can't even do something as simple as pull out a card. Do you really need a phone app ? This relates to class because we always talk about apps and stuff. 

lol apps and stuff

It has been over a year now since we heard about RIM's plans to release a 3G Playbook. We final get to see the Playbook.Much like its LTE sibling, it comes with 32GB of memory, and gets the same faster 1.5GHz processor too. (The original was 1.0GHz.) People say that they can't even compare it to the IPhone. Everyone knows how bad RIM has been doing and they feel like the Playbook will boost their earnings. However, statistics show that what RIM is hooping for is probably not going to happen. People are paying more attention to Apple's products more than RIM. Unless they come up with a better marketing idea. RIM will come to an end.

Google, being the innovators and marketers that they are, are working on a new feature which will put Chrome ahead of the pack in the mobile browsing world. Google is using a new data compressing tool to make browsing faster and more reliable. The new technique involves forcing websites to be loaded to Google's proxies. Rather then having the user connect to the individual websites protocols, the user connects to Google's lighting fast server, allowing them to few the web page at a much faster rate. In addition, Google's servers will be made to compress the data of the website, allowing an even faster connection. The Opera browser has a similar feature to this called "Turbo" and it works in a similar way. However, Google may have the upper hand here, as Opera can't compete with Google's size, market, and staying power.

An up and rising company by the name of DoorJamz has created something that is perhaps the pinnacle of human ingenuity and progression. The guys at DoorJamz have a door bell that can be altered using a smart phone. This means that no longer will you have to hear the annoying ding dong sound, now your guest recognition device can be any sound clip your heart desires. The app side of things has many additional features. It lets you lower the volume of your door bell in case you trying to raise a colony of ants to do your evil bidding. Also available is to have the ability to pre-schedule specific sound clips for certain times and days. Having an annoying relative over that has an irrational fear of Celine Dion? Have the Titanic sound track play while she's over whenever a guest arrives. Can't control your bowels unless you hear the opening song to Jurassic Park? You can have that play as well. The possibilities are truly endless. I'm surprised you're still reading this, by now I would've expected you to violently type in the URL to DoorJamz's website and order 20 of these bad boys. Trust me, you're kid defiantly wants a DoorJamz door bell for Christmas.

This is  just another way to hold our electronics when we are "occupied".  This toilet paper holding iPad  stand allows you to view things on your iPad while in the bathroom because the stand holds it. This makes you have your iPad with you at all times. A negative effect would be the stand breaking or falling and the iPad drops into the toilet but it's positive because it will do what it's supposed to do which is hold up your iPad when you are occupied. Although it doesn't make sense as to why you would want to bring something like a tablet to the bathroom, it is something to hold it up when you can't hold the tablet. This may seem efficient for some people but I think it would be more efficient for other use like putting it as a stand but without the toilet paper holder to hold the tablet, but there is no reason why you should bring a tablet of some sort into the bathroom. Some people would like this invention but personally, I find it unnecessary.  

This article deals the idea that over the past 30 years people have become more dependent on social networking sites and video games.  The time spent on these websites have greatly increased because the have become more accessible to use and become portable through smart phones. I personally have noticed that people in class can't go 1 or 2 hours without pulling out there iphone and playing a game. People have become to misuse and overuse technology way more then ever before.

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.

This article is all about Nintendo 3DS outselling four Sony devices in Japan, now has 65 percent of the market. Japan's Media Create are showing that last year's trend has been fully reversed. Now consumers are hungry for 3DS because 3DS has more games compare to PS Vita. 3DS has a lot of good games, right now Kingdom of Hearts is the best selling game for the 3DS but sony can't compete with it because their PS Vita doesn't have good games to compete with it. A marked turnaround from when the console's future looked gloomy. 

This article talks about facebook for PS VIta update. The new version 1.01 has some new decent new functionality such as uploading images to your news feed, you can also tag images and enjoy any of the system languages of the device while you do so. This new update is useful because PS Vita camera is like useless when you can't upload your pics from your PS vita to facebook. I was disappointed with the facebook app for the vita because it sucks and it is pain to use but I think this will be the start to change the system of the facebook app in PS Vita. 

This article is about how a teen in China had sold his own kidney to get the money to pay for an ipad and iphone. Now this teen is going through renal failure, meaning his body can't filter out toxins so he is going to need a kidney transplant. The doctor, surgeon and medical staff involved in this case have been charged. I found this article to be really eye opening. I couldn't believe that someone would go through so much trouble to get an ipad and iphone. It shows how much society cares about having the latest thing. Its a bit sad now that the teen has to have a kidney transplant because of this. 

This article is very interesting and informative to people who has mac. Many students bring mac to school for projects and homework and it is embarrassing for many students for their laptop to make sound in the middle of class. Many of them find it difficult to silence up because of its long, drawn out process but with this program called start ninja, it becomes very easy to silence up the mac with just one click. I think this is very helpful because i have this problem too and i bring my laptop often to the library and it is very embarrassing for my laptop to make sound in the middle of silence and it must be very annoying for other people around me too.   This program is free for any people who has mac and this is great for many people who can't afford to buy program.

Can you imagine that instead of using heavy and boring textbooks, we use IPADS IN SCHOOL!!  iPads are more interactive and can't be damaged as much as textbooks are. Though iPads won't be coming to our school anytime soon, there are many reasons why they should include iPads instead of textbooks. One, you're saving paper, and another is that instead of carrying heavy textbooks, you only carry one very thin and light iPad, this was known to help with your health. 

Siri is very useful to those who want to find an answer easily, or want something done quickly, Siri is able to do just that. Apple is now introducing advanced technology as is currently in progress of having more languages spoken. This technology is so advanced that now those who do not speak English very well, or can't speak it at all now might be able to have that option that they can talk to Siri in their own language without discomfort. I find this to be very fair and open to all those around the world and Apple is doing an excellent job at expanding their cultural impact. 

This article is about the iPhone app "Black SMS."This app will enable you to send private messages to your recipient without having to worry about someone else being able to see it.  When you download the Black SMS app, you attach a password to your message and then type whatever you'd like into the app. Once the message is complete, hit Send and the app will automatically open your SMS app. Paste the message and the recipient (and everyone else) will only see a black text bubble. secret and encrypted black text bubble, that is. The person on the receiving end then copies the black bubble and unlocks the message by pasting it into Black SMS with the password. The only downside of this app is you can't encrypt pictures with it.

What is Microsoft thinking!? You can't release a major version of an OS that is used by about 90% of the market and just remove something everyone has been using for the past decade. I tried the Windows 8 Developer Preview and Metro is OK, but it's not something you seriously want to use with a mouse, which is a problem for business that don't spend money on touch screens, mainly because their employees don't need them. But now they go ahead and remove the start button completely, making it a hot corner instead, which can be really hard to use at times. When I'm at my computer, I want to be productive, and the standard start menu is the way to do that. I like pretty interfaces, but I also like things that just work, and that's what the start menu is to me. Long story short, if you have an OS as big as Windows, don't make big UI changes like this, because it can really turn out bad and confusing.