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With the popularity of social media growing rapidly everyday, so are the number of ways people are trying to steal your information. One such case is the Dorkbot or Ransomware worm that has previously attacked Facebook and Twitter has now began spreading through Skype. Criminals using Dorkbot infect it into computers through sending innocent-looking links to victims. Once a victim clicks the link, the worm blocks all files on the victim's computer from use  and uses these files as ransom for a set amount of money. Should the victim refuse to pay the ransom, all the files will be deleted.  This article shows that as easy as it is for our computer to collect data, it can just as easily have this data stolen, all it takes is a single opened link. It is always stressed to never open links that seem suspicious, yet many people will open links without any regard for their data. I think it's very low how online criminals will stop at nothing to find sneaky ways to steal other people's information and their money. Are they so lazy to make money on their own that they will just leach off of people who worked hard to make money to support themselves? People who don't take precautions while browsing the Internet are just as at fault as the criminals who plague the web. Since people are caring less about the safety of their data as the number of cyber criminals increases, it will be inevitable that web browsers will have to increase security or the government will have to make an effort to track down cyber criminals and set laws to punish cyber criminals more harshly.

This article explains how the successful and profitable Samsung company has decided to open various electronic retail stores in Canada to compete with well-known rivals Sony Corp. and Apple Inc. For Samsung, the retail push is the company's latest move to establish itself as a premium electronics brand, an evolution due to Samsung's success in the smartphone and tablet markets. Another reason for Samsung to have an interest in opening stores, is part of a global movement by the company to expand it's presence with consumers. Samsung, being a major technology company, believes these retail outlets will help showcase their products in a way so  consumers can experience the brand and everything Samsung has to offer like never before. This is a smart strategy for Samsung to take part in because this opens up opportunities for consumers to purchase and learn about new and popular Samsung products in a way that was never offered or accessible to them before. A variety of Samsung stores will give this company a huge advantage on the market and this will ultimately set themselves up for bigger and better success in the years to come. 

This article is talking about how a company in Las Vegas has opened up an electronic waste facility in Cincinnati. A new 50,000 square-foot facility was opened up in Northwest Boulevard in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. The goal of this facility is to recycle any old computers, monitors, TVs and any other electronic devices. This will help lessen and eventually stop E-Waste being dumped in landfills. The president of the company E-Waste said that if it has a battery or has been plugged in, bring it to our facility. I think this is a really good idea, because it will slowly stop all the junk being dumped in landfills and who knows where else, and now it can be recycled and maybe reused.

The new locking handbag is one sure-fire way to protect yourself from thieves and pickpockets. Plus, it looks a little daunting. It requires a security combination to open, and once opened, the handle can be looped around shopping carts, public benches, and anywhere else a theft may take place. Made from Tonka-tough copolymer plastic, it is harder than leather and other fabrics to open, it also happens to be dirt and waterproof, making it practical and useful, for, say, the beach. Not the most beautiful thing, but very useful and helpful for people everywhere, especially the incredibly paranoid.

This article talks about new gesture that could be used in addition to finger touch in order to have more options easily and launch new apps using your knuckle, fingertip, fingernail and more. A trio of Ph.D. students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh managed to modify a Samsung Galaxy SIII to accept input from all three different touch variations, and tell the difference between them. It accomplishes this with the help of a vibration sensor and software that listens for the acoustic differences that come with the different types of touches. A man named Harrison has already started a company called Qeexo to start selling this tech. This vibration sensor can easily be added to any smartphone's "guts" and the software added too.   This article has a lot to do with portable computing because different companies are always coming up with new innovative ways to make smart phones more "smart". This is one of those things that a new company called Qeexo is doing. They are looking to improve the options and speed of using a smartphone for example instead of opening up a note pad by going into the menu and clicking it with your finger, you can use the "shortcut" of taping your knuckle twice to open it. This can also be used in gaming, option menus etc.  The main point is that companies are always changing making technology much more natural and easy to use. I think that this is a very good idea and over time if people hear about this depending on how much this would cost to upgrade it may become big and even become a pre-installed feature. 

This article is rather interesting, because it talks about a patent Apple recently filed. The patent, "Sensing capacitance changes of a housing of an electronic device," - it sounds quite confusing, and the article described what it is.  Basically the patent is talking about the ability for our mobile devices to differentiate between how we hold our device, and react to it. For example, to open up our camera app, we have to unlock the phone and select it, but with this new technology we could simply hold our device with our fingers around its perimeter and have the app open up. Another example is turning on the device, instead of pressing a button we could simply squeeze the device slightly and it will turn on. We might also not need to lock our phones or have passwords if they are configured to recognize only our grip and fingertips. One last interesting feature is the ability to wave our hand over the device and reveal a keyboard that would later disappear when you wave your hand again.  It all sounds terribly interesting until you realize that it's only a patent and Apple hasn't even begun building a prototype. Right now it's an idea that I hope can exist in the near-future, so that accessing certain applications would be a lot easier and faster. Also, if the keyboards become tactile with thin, bendable metal plates that may solve a lot of the complaints about typing on most current tablets and smartphones. 

Elvis Impersonator take a step further with use of voice of control by using your Iphone, what can be done now with your Iphone now is that use raspberry Pi and siri to control things in your home such as opening and closing your garage door, changing the Chanel on television, opening or closing the your lights, checking your  security camera, and so on. Many users complain about this mainly towards on how much you have to pay, in order for you to get these features you have to have sensors around your house is specific places, and therefore you must pay a high price, a minimum of $500, many say that's its not worth it and better to get the lights yourself , and others say that this is the next step for technology and therefore making us live the future  

With Google's new product, "Google Glass", the company must come up with a new way to promote the product to its customers. Since the device will be costly, most likely to be around $1500, the company has decided to expand into retail stores which will be open all around the world. This can make it easier for consumers to test out products before buying it, and Google is also promoting and expanding its market in this way. The launch of Google retails stores can create competition for other companies, like Apple or Microsoft, and is a risk to invest in such a large project. Google, however, think this idea makes sense if the company wants to expand its business, and they believe it will satisfy its customers. I think these stores can create easier access to electronic information and products, which can benefit the company's profits, and with the rapid expanding of new technology, Google stores can use this factor to benefit and change the way people buy products from the company.

there were 3 million ipads that were sold on opening day obviosly this is quite a substantial number and apple still has it's edge even though stve jobs has died

LG made the first 55-inch OLED TV which , and it will cost $8,000. The timing jibes with what we heard at CES, but it's the first solid word we've heard as to what the future of beautiful television is going to cost us. Eight thousand. That's a lot of money-more money than most people have to spend on a TV, by a longshot. But it could've been a lot worse! Samsung's current top of the line 55-inch LCD TV runs around half that-and it's using old, old technology. OLED will be out of reach for almost everyone, but, like everything else, it'll slide cheaper, and cheaper in a (relative) hurry. Especially when LG, Samsung, and the rest realize nobody can afford this. It realtes to the course because its technology.

When your friends get into your phone and know your password it can get quite annoying. Now Samsung has an app that allows you to open your phone with facial expressions. You can blink a certain amount of times and smile and then it will open. This amazing because there has never been something like this before. It relates to the course because you need the software and app to get this on your phone. I personally like this because it would be fun to unlock your phone with facial expressions. It makes a social impact because then it will be harder to hack your friends phone. Overall, I think this was a great idea Samsung brought up. 

This article is about how Best Buy will close 50 box stores and open 100 mobile shops. I found this really interesting how our society has changed so much. Now our most used devices are being replaced with newer, better, faster and smaller devices. It is interesting to see how times change. Best Buy will now change its merchandise to better suit the market. I cant imagine Best Buy without TV's.  

This article is really useful if you are tired of the usual sites such as google. It really opened my eyes to new sites. I always use google, but now I think I will try some new sites.  I still like using google but I found it interesting when looking up some of google's alternatives. I think that many people will find these alternatives useful. As well as always having plan B when you are having trouble finding something or are tired of using the same resources. 

in this article, it is stating that MARVEL opened its vault to offer 15 to comic books to iOS and Android users. Marvel is offering this one-time fee of $0.99, a reduced rate, to access the comics during March as a promotion for he company's activities. Marvel Unlimited users can now download up to 12 comics at a time to their personal libary and enable offline reading for on-the-go access. following the month-long promo, fans can continue their subscription to Marvel unlimited for $9.99 a month or $69 for a basic year plan or $99 for the year long premium, Marvel Unlimited Plus, which gives members additional discounts on Marvel products and a first look at Marvel news. Marvel Unlimited is available in the APP Store and Goggle Play Store.   

Sprint has long been Android territory, but today everything changes. There's still about 24 hours left until the brand new, super snappy, personal assistant-equipped iPhone 4S is available for pre-order, but the yellow carrier has put the iPhone 4 up for pre-order this morning.

linux is getting its big break. many big name companies in the entertainment industry are starting to take notice. samsung is going towards realeasing a linux based phone platform which will be called tizen. tizen will be made for smartphones, notebooks, netbooks, smart tv's and last but not least tablets. as for the smart tv's, fujitsu, and panasonic are looking towards investing into linux.

The hugely anticipated Windows 8 operating system by Microsoft has aired its first ad today. Microsoft is reportedly spending a huge amount of money on advertising Windows 8 along with the new Microsoft Tablet, called the "Surface." Microsoft is holding a special media launch for Surface and Windows 8 on October 25. Furthermore, a number of stores will open at midnight October 26 to sell Windows 8 PCs and Tablets. I think that in order for the new tablet Microsoft is releasing to be successful and sell out to customers, they should start advertising it way more. I haven't even heard of it until reading this article, and with so many other tablets on the market, what makes this one so special? The fact that it runs on Windows 8 is simply not enough to sell the "Surface" in large amounts. Windows 8 will probably become very successful, as Microsoft is a trusted company when it comes to operating systems, and many people worldwide use different versions of Windows. In conclusion, i would focus more on advertising the new tablet rather than Windows 8, and airing these advertisements in as many places around the world as possible to attract worldwide customers.

This article mentions a new invention by West Health Institute in San Diego.  This new invention is called the Reflexion Rehabilitation Measurement Tool (RMT). It uses your Windows 7 computer and Microsoft Kinect to help patients suffering from musculoskeletal disease to get their daily physical therapy and help patients stay on track. It also helps keep the patients involved with interactive feedback so that their doctors can see their progress and help the patients constantly improve in a fun way. This new technology will also help bring down the cost of healthcare as well as the number of doctor visits a patient has to make without compromising quality.  This article is all about eLifestyle and how technology can help improve our daily lives and in this case health. With this technology we can improve health care and bring down the cost that comes with the therapy. This tool can help patients stay connected with their doctors and constantly work and learn new physical therapy routines for the patients needs without long doctor visits. I think this is a brilliant idea that will help save time and money opening up room to help treat more people with musculoskeletal disease.

Most of us know the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" which is about a young boy who finds a golden ticket in his chocolate bar and wins a trip to the chocolate factory. Now Nestle is doing the same with their candy.  In the UK, some Nestle chocolate bars have GPS trackers on them but you will not know until a Nestle representative track you down to award you with a prize. The trackers in the selected candy bars cannot be seen and many wonder if it is embedded in the chocolate itself and the effects it will have on the body when consumed.  Others find this "Willy Wonka-style promotion" to be creepy knowing that someone is tracking you down if you purchased and opened a candy bar with a GPS tracker in it. Despite having the feeling that you are being watched, wouldn't it be a pleasant surprise when you are presented with an award for purchasing a Nestle chocolate bar?

What if there a was a way to charge your smartphone and get a workout at the same time?  This project is currently being implemented in New York City. Bikes open to the public that are able to charge phones have been scattered all over New York City.  The Charge Cycle hopes to bring a network of outdoor neon-green stationary bikes that allows anyone to charge their phone for free by simply peddling.  It takes the same amount of time to charge as if you were to directly plug it into the wall. Although there are some concerns of theft, developers have chained the bikes and also put locks on the bikes, which makes it harder to move. Nowadays, we all rely on our smartphones, they are technically our everything.  Many people would be devastated if it were to die, and they will not be able to use it until they have their charger and an outlet.  The Charge Cycle offers a charging system for smartphone users while they get a workout as well, so it is a "win win" situation for these users.  This affects our lifestyle because instead of sitting around doing nothing while waiting for our phones to charge, we can get a workout out of it, and stay fit and healthy. I do think this a good idea because obesity rates today are increasing, which is dangerous.  In order to maintain a healthy diet, exercise is important.  This bike allows us to maintain said healthy diet, while charging our phones at the same time, which truly is a win win.