Group items tagged

This article is about how Apple's competition with Google is hurting both Apple and its users. The removal of Google maps and no Google+ integration in iOS6 is an example of this. It relates whats going today with Apple in 1985-1997 which had tried making many unsuccessful products. The author believes this has to do with its strong competition with Microsoft. They were focusing more on beating Microsoft with new products than actually developing quality ones. After Steve Jobs came back from leaving Apple he decided to partner with Microsoft and the quality of new products greatly improved. The author says that the same thing is happening with Apple vs Google, and unless Apple decides to stop, it will hurt the company and its users. I chose the tag of eLifestyle because everyday users of Apple are being affected by the new maps unreliability and no Google+ integration. Apple will continue to affect us even more if they don't decide to focus on creating quality products. In my opinion, I agree with the author and I think that Apple needs to think a little more like how Steve Jobs would.

The Berlin Boombox is a stereo for any type of device that has a headphone jack. It is entirely made out of cardboard and it is easy to construct. The guy who came up with this was inspired by the boomboxes from the 1980s, he was looking for an appealing and affordable speakers but couldn't find any so he came up with his own. I think this is pretty cool but the only thing that concerns me is the quality of the sound, because it is cheap and the speakers are probably not that good either, the quality of the sound might not be as good as regular speakers. 

Apple has done it again. They've just announced a new pair of apple earbuds, once again, trying to brainwash apple fanboys in buying their extremely overly priced product. "EarPods", they call it. They say the EarPods have been in development for three years now, making this the "perfect" apple accessory. Although the EarPods, compared to the old apple earbuds, have majorly improved in comfort and sound quality, it's just not something I personally would be crazy for. For 30 bucks, I can honestly and hands-down say that this is a total rip-off. When buying apple products, keep in mind that you are paying around 30% for the product and 70% for the name, Apple. Im not saying that Apple products are bad, I just think it's unfair to have to pay such a high price for products you can get for a lower price and better too.

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.

Today The Wii U came out, and even before that there are already positive posts about it. This Article talks about the Wii U's features, compares it to other consoles, and talks about Nintendo's future. The Wii U seems to have made quite an entrance, with many positive replies and it has been sold out everywhere in my area. Its main Qualities is amazing Multiplayer, as it has been designed to have fun with friends and family. Its new controller is also very interesting, as it has a built in touch screen. This is a big improvement as it allows for more control and eliminates screen picking as you can hide what you are doing and only see it on your controller. It also has completely free online interaction which puts it a step above the Xbox. As for its Hardware, it's processing is about 3 times as good as the Xbox' or PS3's and it also has a much improved graphics card. It also has its traditional motion sensor and controller, allowing for fun sword fighting and other motion controlled games. Overall, I recommend the Wii U for everyone, as it gives a lot of fun to yourself, and all your family/friends. It as an amazing console And will bring a lot o fun to your life.

This article is about a camera that is capable of not needing to charge in a outlet to power it. It only needs the sun, because its solar camera. The advantage of this camera from other camera out there, is you don't need electricity to power it, you just need the sun and your hand to power it. It also has a micro sd card slot and 15built-in digital filters. the dissadvanatge of this camera is it lacks  features, functionality and image quality.  limited photo resolution and basic 640x480 video capabilities.

The OUYA Android powered gaming console started off as a Kickstarter exclusive, but will now be available to consumers on June 4 for $99. On Kickstarter, the OUYA was a huge success, raising over $8 million. It is basically an Android powered device that is capable of running console quality games. There has been much anticipation for the people who did not back the project on Kickstarter because no one knew that it would get this big and popular. When it hits the market, it will be sold at retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and through OUYA's website. It will include the console, a controller and HDMI cables. I chose to use the economics tag because at just $99, this console is a steal compared to other consoles currently on the market. I believe that many people will pick this product up and OUYA may be able to compete with SONY and Microsoft in the next few years.

This article describes some issues surrounding Google's new VP8 video standard. Nokia,, which patented the H.264, is trying to prevent VP8 from being used, because it says that it infringes on 'its own intellectual property'.  Nokia also said that they are not ready to license any patent that would  allow VP8 to flourish.  Google wants to make VP8 a free alternative to Nokia's H.264.  Google may replace Adobe Flash Player and H.264 on Youtube with VP8.  This VP8 technology is very similiar to H.264 in terms of video quality, but it is said to have 'a technology advantage', while the H.264 only has an 'implementation' advantage.

This article talks about the current state of transparency in smartphones and where we are headed. So far, transparent smartphones have only existed in concepts and prototypes that have never gone into full production. This is largely due to the difficulties in creating fully transparent smartphones while keeping the same quality that smartphones like the iPhone. Another problem that this new type of smartphone is facing is that is currently has no software so it's difficult to actually visualize what the end product will be. There is also the fact that the consumer market may not even want transparent smartphones and that we're fine with our current ones. The company that created the prototype, Polytron, has more money to work with and their current prototype is already looking better than most previous attempts at creating a translucent electronic. Polytron stated that we may see transparent smartphones by the end of this year. That is possibly a little too optimistic but within a couple of years we may see transparent electronic devices emerge resembling those in movies we have seen today.

In the recent weeks, it seems to be the societal trend to chastise Apple Inc. for their mistakes, the most recent of them being their native iOS 6 'Maps' application. Earlier in the week, CEO Tim Cook published a letter on the Apple website apologizing for the poor quality of the app, saying that "At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment." However, this is not a first for Apple admitting their mistakes and apologizing; one example is in June of 2012, Bob Mansfield (SVP) expressed remorse for Apple's withdrawal of the EPEAT rating system, which ensured the company met an eco-friendly standard. They later recanted their actions and went back on to the rating system. Many people attribute Apple's recent downfall to the shift of power from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook. Apple has also come to fire for their general decreasing of employees per Apple store to increase profitability, their standalone podcast app and ultimately the widely regarded inadequate 'Siri', supposedly improved in iOS6. This relates to the tag 'eLifestyle' because when Apple limits the users experience by introducing faulty software and refuses to adress things because of pride, evidently the customers suffer. This relates to 'Environment' because of Apple's debacle with the EPEAT, and society's increasing desire for products that are eco-friendly, and Apple's supposed "higher environmental standards" that they operate under. Legally, Apple has actively been taking and giving lawsuits over the past years, including Samsung and Adobe (a lawsuit directly following Steve Jobs' choice to abandon flash on iOS devices.) From an economics standpoint, Apple seems to be making all the wrong choices, being that they abandon things that work (e.g. Google Maps, third-party podcast apps, EPEAT) and tries to 'reinvent the wheel' and many people argue that without the direction o

With the thin, sleek design, the shiny screen, and the convenient touch screen, the iphone has grown to become one of the most wanted phones in our country. Behind the high-tech phones and tablets though there's a much more serious issue. Iphones are often created in factories in China that exploit their workers. Things like child labor and abuse are practiced often in these factories. However, this article didn't only bring up the issue of human rights violations, but also our role in it. In the past, companies like Nike have been forced to improve the quality and treatment in these factories after many people boycotted the brands once discovering the ethical issues in the production process. We have not let the exploitation of workers in China pass before, so why are we doing it now with these Apple products. Every time we lay down our money and pick up a new iphone or ipad, we are encouraging this type of production and becoming a part of it. Even our simple, silly complaints about the Apple products can make the conditions worse for those poor workers. They are forced to work even harder and longer, no matter how tired, underpaid and overworked they already are. Has it become important for us to own the best phone, that the rights and sufferings of other human beings no longer matters? Why are we not taking the action necessary to help those workers and send a clear message of opposition? Before, reading this article I also wanted an iphone. It's a great phone, very convenient and high-tech. Knowing the conditions these phones are made in though has started to really make me doubt what I used to consider an amazing phone. It's an ethical issue. Do I want this phone so badly that I'm willing to turn a blind eye to the places it came out of? What scared me was that as much as I knew what the clear answer was, it was still a hard decision to make. Exploiting other humans is wrong and no matter how big Apple is, they are not an exceptio

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 youtube will be offering a 3D option for their videos. Viewers can choose whether or not they want to watch the videos in 3D. I think that its really cool what youtube is doing, and I think many people will watch their videos in 3D. However the picture quality and the 3D aspect of the video may not be very good and people will not use the 3D option. I personally am not a fan of 3D, but I think the rest of society like it and will be really excited to have 3D youtube videos.  

The Sennheiser is the most popular headset. This is because it has great audio, crystal clear voice quality, and is very comfortable. This headset is very convenient for video conferences and especially in gaming. I recommend that gamers who play online games that involve multiplayer such as fps should purchase this.  This is because it will really improve situations where someone can sneak behind you, and BOOM, you die. :(

Whether you are thinking of getting the new Ipad or the Ipad 2, yo should do some little bit of research in the internet. In this article, there are lots of advantage and disaventage about the ipad2 and the New Ipad.The foremost argument for the new iPad is its gorgeous, high-resolution display. It's sharper and brighter, and offers more compelling color and detail than the display on the iPad 2. If you appreciate the difference in image quality between standard-definition and high-definition content, you'll want a new iPad.

It is incredible how people want the new phone. 2 million iphones sold within the first 24 hours is amazing. What could make people want the device so bad? Maybe it is quality of the phone

This video and article is about a pair of sunglasses that can help you shoot videos and capture pictures on-the-go, instantly. This breakthrough has its own up side and down side. For the up side, you get to shoot videos whenever you want, wherever you want. Plus, its very convenient. It adds little to no bulk at all. From the outside, it looks like your typical sunglasses. And did I forget to mention it has a camera that reportedly surpasses that of the iPhone 4S? For the downside, think about privacy. Before, you can tell if someone was video taping you or not. You could tell because they are holding a rectangular device. But right now how are going to tell? Many people wear sunglasses and from a distance, you would not be able to tell that those pair of sunglasses are the ones that are capable of shooting videos. Well I guess downside of this just depends on how the user uses it. 

This article is all about phones. more specifically, which phones is the right one for you. The article has paragraphs explaining how there are so many phones and so many options and uses a flow chart to help you find the best phone that has what you are looking for. This can relate to me because when i was going to buy my phone i didn't know if i wanted to go with Apple or Samsung. I didn't know if i wanted a simple high quality phone with apple or a more customizable phone with Samsung

This article is about Google Fiber which is a new type of internet that uses an optic fiber cable to deliver Internet at the incredible speeds of a gigabit. The Internet that is available now in Canada is only up to about 500 megabit speed, and Google Fiber is about double the speed, at a lower cost, in comparison to Rogers or Bell. The article explains how the Fiber Internet is spreading to cities of the United States, such as Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. There is a lot to be done on installing this Internet in the cities, and it will take a lot of time, but in the end it will be worth it, as it increases the poor quality Internet Services that are available now in North America. In my opinion, Google Fiber should start making its way into the new developing cities of Canada, such as Vaughan, or Richmond Hill because it will be easier to install since the infrastructure is not finalized.

As technology constantly evolves, we replace our old electronics with brand new ones. on average, Canadian households have 24 electronic devices. When our old electronics go past their useful life, they become e-waste. In Canada, e-waste is a big issue. Environent Canada estimates that 140,000 tonnes and counting of e-waste is dumped in landfills every year. These electronics include harmful materials such as arsenic, mercury, and lead. Many of the electronics we buy were developed with planned obsolescence, which is planning to design a product with a life span. This is good for manufacturers, because it encourages consumers to buy their new products sooner, as these companies use cheaper components. Instead of old electronics dumped in the landfill, they can be recycled and used for new products. When planning to buy a new product, it is best to read reviews of the product and check if it lasts for a long time, or uses recyclable materials. Also, the cheapest model might not always be the best, and quality may come at increasing costs. in my opinion, if electronic companies plan for sooner obsolescence for their products, they should try to use more recyclable materials, and try to use less of materials that are harmful to the environment.