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This article talks about how they are thinking of making ATM machines that can read your palm. It can access your account just by scanning your hand. Then you can easily take out money without scrambling for your credit card. Now you don't need to worry about losing your credit card or even forgetting your pin number. I believe this is a good idea because it can make it easier for everyone to just scan their hands and get the proper amount of money out. I personally like this method better than using credit cards. This relates to the course because it takes a lot of programming to get these ATM machines to work, and also the actual ATM machine is a hardware.

Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank in Japan has revealed that it will introduce the nation's first ATM that lets you withdraw money just by scanning your palm. You wouldn't even need your credit card to verify that you can withdraw money from your account. I think this is a great idea. In Canada, we already have the device where it scans your chip, but it doesn't always work. For example, my dad had to send back his credit card 3 times before he finally got the chip to work. This is also very safe because every person has a different hand shape and "design" on their palms, no one would be able to imitate it. I hope that they come out with this machine in Canada soon, i'm sure it would be less stressful for many people.

This article talks about how in Japan they will soon have ATMs that let you withdraw money just by scanning your palm. This will come in handy when you have lost your card. Customers would first have to show identification for verification then they would scan your palm and can easily withdraw money from the bank. This new type of technology can be convenient because there would be less people stealing credit cards from other, and can withdraw anytime even when you forget your card.

As of 2012, illegal pirating is a huge problem in the technological world.  Everyone has illegally downloaded at least one file in their lifetime.  Under a new law that is active as of October 1, Japanese internet users who illegally download files could face up to 2 years in prison, or a fine of up to 2 million yen($25 700).  Even using applications such as Youtube, which stores video files on your computer, could be considered illegal and could land you a spot in jail.  Downloading copyrighted material was illegal in Japan since 2012, but the penalties were not as serious as they are now.  The law was passed by the Recording Industry Association, which cited a 2010 study, stating that illegal downloads in the country outnumber the legal ones ten to one.  This could be a legal problem, since people are not purchasing the files.  Instead, they are illegally downloading files, which is a form of stealing.  The big question here is should the rest of the world adopt this idea?

Keio University in Japan decided to create something where plants react to you and display a variety of different emotions on your computer etc. (example in the picture) Yes, it is a real actual plant sprouting out of a box, which has sensors and microphones that monitor its surroundings. These plants are "rigged up" and they don't wilt for nearly a year. That's pretty cool! 

Musician Mikael Mutti uses engineer electronics and gaming controllers to create instruments and new sounds. This video was made using the controllers in the video-including a Rock band Guitar/ iPad hybrid, Japanese office telephone, a Wii remote and a Beamz laser motion sensor. Using a bluetooth and USB, Mikael plugs two controllers into his laptop and creates the video music using Reason and Pro Tools. Isn't it just weird how you can make different sounds and instruments out of electronics and game controllers?!

Following the September launch of Twitter ads in the U.K., Twitter is now bringing its advertising products known as "Promoted Tweets," "Promoted Trends" and "Promoted Accounts" to its Japanese version of the service Twitter.jp. According to a post on the official Twitter Japan blog, the rollout began earlier this month.

Speculation around the soon to be Samsung Galaxy Nexus. A tweet posted by DoCoMo gave a little hint to the release date and stuff like that to the 

Well it would seem that NTT DoCoMo, one of the largest wireless carriers in Japan, has let slip the Samsung Galaxy Nexus announcement just a couple hours early. According to a tweet, "the latest Android OS smartphone with Google and Samsung Electronics [will be] announced on October 19 in Hong Kong tomorrow. DoCoMo is almost equivalent to the fastest in the world, scheduled for release in November. More later." (Anyone who's fluent in Japanese, please feel free to add clarity that Google Translate can't.)

This article is about an emergency communication system which can be used during disasters with users spreading information and looking for on-the-ground updates. Twitter hopes to start this in Japan. This tool lets users search Twitter for a postal code and see accounts of people tweeting about any disasters in that area. Eventually Twitter says it could be expanded to other countries. Twitter although, isn't the first network to set up disaster services-earlier this year, facebook introduced a ''Disaster Message Board'' that lets users mark themselves safe during an emergency. I think that this is a good idea because most people around the world are now on twitter, so if there are any disasters occurring in that country, everyone can find out about it before it comes to their area.

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.