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This article is introducing a new product that could possibly be put on the market soon. It is called AdTrap. You buy this device for $120 and it sits between your modem and router and blocks all kind of ads on the internet for all kind of devices. This device is in its working prototype stage and is on a crowd-funding site Kickstarter. If $150,000 worth of devices are pre-ordered by December 8th they will start shipping the device. It is like a small computer running the Linux OS and can be easily updated to black new kinds of ads. You can also have a list of websites where you do not want the ads blocked. This device is great for those who despise ads and just 10 hours after being launched they raised just over 10 percent of its goal.  This advertisement has to do with eLifestyle because this device can possibly change the way we spend time on our computers. Those who hate ads in front of videos and other side and popping up have an alternative for $120. Most people that use technology have at one point complained about advertisements and constant bombardment with these ads this is a way to protect yourself and possibly your kids from advertisements at least on the web. This also has to do with eLifestyle because if enough people buy this device and it becomes huge it can change the way websites make money or not make money because most websites rely on ads in order to be able to give people their services and posts.  If this device is shipped for those who pre-order it may be a big fail in the market because ads just may not be as annoying to some as they are to others or this can be a big success but in the long term be devastating for web sites because they will not be making money from ads anymore. I personally would not buy this device for $120 dollars because ads do not make me that mad and I have gone long enough without this device I can continue this way for a while. Also can change the websites that run because of ads and I wouldn't want that. 

Wouldn't it be great to communicate with almost anyone in the world without having to learn a new language?  Microsoft has created a software that can analyze your speech, translate it, then play a new recording of your own voice speaking in a different language.  There are some downfalls however.  To reach a stage where the software is able to copy the user's speech and translate it, it would require the software to be trained with said person's voice for hours.  As well, the software may misinterpret the word, and could translate the wrong word, throwing the entire sentence off.  This software gets around one word in eight wrong. Regardless of the flaws, this software will benefit almost everyone worldwide.  People from all over the world will be able to communicate with each other no matter what language they speak.  This will help many companies worldwide as they do business with one another, due to the fact of how easy it will be to communicate with global companies. As well, it will be easier for people to look for jobs since they communicate with almost anyone, which means they can look for a job almost anywhere.   This software seems like it could potentially change the world as we know it today.  Once this software is perfected, it would be an amazing breakthrough in technology, seeing as how many companies would want to buy it.  Many people who don't work for big companies may also want to purchase this software to communicate with people on a global scale, and just to say that they can speak a different language.  To me this software would've been useful long ago, so I would not have to worry about taking international language classes.  Nonetheless, it will be exciting to see this software in the future.

Over the years, the internet has become faster and faster and as this has happened our patience has decreased. We have come to expect fast speeds and short loading times on the internet and anything slower is considered unacceptable. However, before reading this article I didn't realize how impatient we had really become when it comes to the internet. This article talks about the results of a study that showed that users were likely to give up on a video after only two seconds of loading! This had come as a surprise to me. To me, two seconds seems like only an instant, but I have to admit that I still am not willing to wait much longer than that for a video especially if the video is only 10 minutes or less. However, I find it interesting how two seconds of loading has become an issue, while we are still waiting through 30 seconds or more of advertisements before we are able to view our video. If we have already spent so much time watching an ad a couple more seconds shouldn't seem like a big deal. This article shows how our expectation of high speeds has affected us and our lifestyle. We have come to expect our video to load almost immediately and if it doesn't do this then it isn't worth the time. Our ability to wait is being altered. We're no longer used to having to wait for things that we want to watch, see or listen to on the internet. We've changed into thinking that if it doesn't load instantly, then it isn't worth watching. Of course, our patience should have limits. If it really is taking longer than the length of the video itself to load then perhaps it is time to abandon the video, but I feel that waiting only two seconds before moving on shows how impatient we have become with technology.

*Disclaimer: Article above contains profane/vulgar language This article details the findings of the blog 'Jezebel', who compiled a series of racist, anti-Obama tweets following the U.S election, and 'Floating Sheep' who trended those tweets and imposed them over a map of the United States. Using the knowledge of geo-coded tweets and the Twitter search bar, Floating Sheep was able to trend racist anti-Obama tweets from November 1-7. They used an 'LQ' algorithm which compared a state's ratio of racist to normal tweets to the entire country's ratio of racist to normal tweets. States with an LQ score of 1 were on par with the country, while those 1 had more racist tweets on average. After trending the reassuringly low 395 tweets, the study found (unsurprisingly) that higher LQ scores came from South-Eastern states, with Alabama at 8.1 and Mississipi at 7.4. This relates to Privacy and Security because Floating Sheep used geo-coding to find out where the cruel tweets originated from. This relates to eLifestyle because the internet harbours some of the most ignorant/hateful people who make callous remarks without realizing everything that you do can be and often is tracked. This relates to ICS20 because we promote a positive online environment and we frown upon things like racism and vulgar language; the very opposite of what these people mentioned in the article are portraying. If there is a silver lining to this study, it is that in this technological era, we are able to publicize ignorance and judge/analyze those who advocate awful messages.

As many of us may or may not know, Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung for apparently copying Apple's iPad when Samsung released the Galaxy Tab. However, the UK court ordered Apple to repay Samsung after proving that the information Apple provided in the lawsuit was false and misleading leading to proof that Samsung didn't copy Apple. Apple made two apologies to Samsung and will now have to repay Samsung all the money they sued them for.  This has to do with the legal tag because the lawsuit from Apple and Apple's compensation to Samsung are both legal actions. These actions also have to do with following the law since Apple wrongfully accused Samsung of copying which is against the law. I think that the UK court's decision is just because a company cannot sue another company just because they are remotely similar. If they could then we would have very little options when it comes to technology. For example,the first company to release a first person shooter game would be the only FPS game since the company could sue other game companies for copying their game genre. I just think Apple's lawsuit against Samsung was really just unreasonable in general.

This article details a video released by Michael Bloomberg's (the Mayor of New York) office: the video compiles some data from a study on how to reduce New York's CO2 emissions by "The mayor's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability." Those science nerds calculated that one tonne of CO2 would equate to a sphere with a 33-foot diameter, and knowing that New York as a city produces almost 2 tonnes of CO2 every second, the virtual simulation shows that over the course of one year, New York would produce more than 54 million metric tonnes of CO2; by those pre-determined facts, we would see that the entire island of Manhattan would be buried under a pile of those 33-foot diameter spheres. This relates to 'Environment' because as we progress in technology, our emissions of fossil fuel bi-products (especially CO2) increase rapidly. This relates to ICS20 because we often argue about the tech industry's impact on the environment, the most recent of debates being 'Cloud Computing' (which we all agree has a less minimal impact than a multitude of servers.) This video was released as an open forum to discuss the matters of New York's ecological impact, and since the video is quite self-explanatory, I recommend that you watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqSIplGXOA.

hi minab

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

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. 

LG released its newest refrigerator called the Smart Thing.which as you can guess, is a "smart" fridge. The fridge can communicate and interact with your Android phone to complete or help complete some of its tasks. This fridge can tell you what is in the fridge, scan barcodes of food products, suggest recipes based on the user's preferences and lifestyle, notify expiration dates, and count your calories. All these features can be done on an Android smartphone. Everyday, technology is improving itself to be better than its predecessor and allowing us to live simpler, more automated lives. This fridge is bringing computing into the kitchen by allowing us to do more things with our fridge other than just store food. We can now have our questions like "when will the eggs expire?" answered automatically by this new fridge. It appears as time goes on, the implementation of computers into our daily lives will be more and more prominent. The LG Smart Thinq is an amazing appliance because it is redefining the refrigerator entirely by making it so that modern fridges should soon have built-in computers. Yes this fridge is expensive at about $4500, but over time this price will drop to something more reasonable and also influence other companies to make fridges just like this one. Though this is a cool fridge, I still wonder who would buy a $4500 fridge.

We all know how dreadfully horrid Internet Explorer can be, especially older versions. Many have us have grown accustomed to cleaner, more versatile browsers such as (and pretty much only) Google Chrome. With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft has produced IE10. Microsoft is painfully aware of their browser's reputation, and has taken advertising it in a humourous way. The video depicts a typical basement dweller sending "IE sucks" comments and replies to forums, videos, twitter, and the like. Eventually, he comes around when IE creates a new "Karaoke standard" for the web, changing his point of view to "IE sucks... less." The ad directs to www.browseryoulovedtohate.com. Although many of us may never use IE voluntarily, the browser has come a long way from being the decrepit, slow "browser for people who don't know any better." It has made progress, and that is the driving force of technology. Who knows? Perhaps IE10 will be a bit more bearable than its predecessors.

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. 

This article talks about exploration in the Antarctic's ancient glaciers.  NASA is exploring these areas of the world because they are isolated, have not been disturbed, and are similar to conditions on other planets, such as Mars.  NASA's exploration into this glacier discovered some "very hardy bacteria" that was able to survive in this harsh environment.  NASA's robotic submersible could have disrupted this otherwise untouched ecosystem.  This perfect ecosystem also could house bacteria that could be harmful to humans, and was only surviving here, isolated from everything.  NASA's robotic submersible is still disturbing untouched ecosystems, and this could have serious consequences to the species that are surviving there. To keep these ecosystems form being destroyed NASA could use smaller robots to view these ecosystems, similar to the technology that enables doctors to put tiny cameras inside of people.  This could limit the effects of human interference in these unique ecosystems, and it would be better than sending a baseball bat sized camera.

This article is about a new infrared technology that will let firemen see through flames. This was a new study in Italy and researchers have created a system that cuts through smoke with infrared lasers. The lasers bounce off of anything such as people and go back through an imager to show the firefighters a 3D view of everything around them. The current infrared camera monitors that firefighters use can easily be blinded by thick smoke and flames because they have a lens that must zoom in on light. The new system will let firefighters see them in holograph form. This product still has to be refined but once it is it can help save many lives. This is an example of security because many more people will be more secure and safe when this product comes out.

The article is about a device that can get your vehicle to be connected to OnStar. This feature can be targeted to almost anyone who can drive because it is very beneficial to the owners. This device can automatically dial 911 and send emergency services your location if you are ever in an accident. This can also be used if there is a medical emergency, which I think is great for seniors or anyone with medical issues that drive. By having this in your car, it can make driving safer and makes you feel less worried. This device has already saved many lives and I think it is a great invention that can positively change our lives regarding the way we drive. This technology can lead to other inventions that can help save lives. The downside, however, is that there is a $15 monthly fee that comes with purchasing the product.

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.

Early in the afternoon today, a clever developer managed to sneak a Game Boy Advance emulator into an innocent looking app named "Awesome Baby Names". The secret emulator is activated by a series of taps on the touchscreen inside of the app. Once it is activated you can play your classic gba games just like you did in 2005. Apple was quick to catch this security breach as it was only in the App Store for twenty something minutes, but in that time many people including myself managed to download the app. This kind of sneaky activity from developers happens very seldom, but when something is smuggled into the App Store, it is usually very important. As stated in the article, it is a very easy process to unlock the emulator from the app, but getting the games and the BIOS onto the iPhone is the hard part. You must first download a program that lets you access the phone's file directory, then you must find the app's directory and drop the relevant BIOS and game files there. I chose the portable computing tag for this article because it deals with mobile technology and exploiting it to run handheld gaming software. This idea is not knew and has been around for a long time, but the idea of hiding the identity of apps and smuggling them into the App Store is a new idea. Apple is updating their security daily, but clearly couldn't spot this "child naming app" and make it out for the emulator that it was. I chose the privacy and security tag because Apple has a high priority for the security of their ecosystem and operating system, but clever people can still find ways to bypass this and get unidentified files into the operating system. I believe that Apple must keep a close eye on how they approve future apps into the app store because one day we may see cydia disguised as a senseless app make its way into the app store. If this happens, Apple with really have some explaining to do!    

My article is on Google's recent announcement that they will discontinue Google Reader, among other services. There was a strong response to this because there are many people who use it on a daily basis.  Google Reader is a RSS feed, or Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. Basically it is a technology that tracks websites for updates. Imagine you love to get your news from the Internet, and you like to go on The Verge, Wired, Lifehacker and Gawker. You visit all of those sites daily to get the news. But when you frequent a lot of websites, going to them all separately may start to take a lot of time. So here comes Google Reader, where you subscribe to all the various sites and get direct updates sent to just this one place, making it easier to absorb information. There are several different RSS feeds, but Google Reader is one of the more popular ones, and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people use this service daily. Google stated that over the years Google Reader's usage has declined, but that still means there are many people who rely on it go get all their information.  When Google announced its plan to discontinue the service, many people were lost as to why they would stop such a seemingly successful service and this has now lost the trust of Google by many people.  Regardless, it is clear that many people will have to find a new RSS feed or go back to visiting every website manually.

This article is about Facebook launching a phone. In the past Facebook has said that it will not launch it's own phone, but recently Facebook has invited journalists to the unveiling of Facebook's "new home on Android." TechCrunch says Facebook will launch a modified version of the Android that embeds Facebook deeply into the operating system. More than half of Facebook's 1.06 billion monthly users access Facebook on a mobile device. This phone would help Facebook with its mobile aspirations.The phone will be made by HTC Corp.The unveiling took place at the company's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.

This article is about Google's Nexus One Phone that was launched into space on Monday. It was launched into orbit aboard a CubeSat dubbed STRaND-1, which was developed by Surrey Satellite Technology at the University of Surrey's space centre. STRaND-1 now holds the honor of being the first PhoneSat and UK CbeSat that has ever made it into orbit. Alongside the HTC- made handset are an altitude and orbit control system, two propulsion setups and a Linux-based computer with a "high speed" processor. An app called 360 will let people back on terra firma request their own snapshots of earth taken with the phone's shooter and pin them to a map.

   Today's society uses  technology to communicate by email, and social networking. But now that we think about it, we don't use the old-fashion way of doing things, and some people don't know how we ever did communicate back then. This cartoon shows us  the way we communicated way back. It shows us in a comedic way in a cartoon picture how we ever caught up with old friends, check our location, track professional contacts, publish our thoughts for others to read and look at cat pictures before the internet.