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*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.

It is well-known that Apple has access to almost any music that one can think of. However, according to the New York Post, Apple is low-balling record labels for the rights to use their music in a new music streaming service. The company is only offering labels 6 cents per 100 listens, where as Pandora offers 12 cents per 100 and traditional radio pays 22 cents per 100. One can say that Apple is trying to enter this business, but not willing to go through all the trouble and complications that other music streaming services has to go through. I personally do not think this is right because record labels go through a lot of work just to try to get a little profit from the music industry. With Apple offering such a low price to use their music, it is not fair to those who work hard for a result.

This article is about how the next generation consoles will have the ability to interact with smartphones and tablets so that players can always stay connected to their games. Large publisher Electronic Arts has decided to share a few details about the next gen consoles. Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgenson quoted; "I do think once again without describing the new consoles, you've got to assume they're going to be highly integrated into peoples homes, and there will be a lot of capability for interaction."He also went on to explain that the new consoles will allow the players to interact with them not just through their controllers but also through tablets and smartphones. He quoted; "I think it's going to be an extension of moving from whats in the living room, to whats outside of the house. Even though it might not be playing on the console, it's connected to the console in some way.

This article talks chiefly about Google Glass, a new type of device that Google aims at putting out on the consumer market by the end of this year. First, it discusses how even though our technology satisfies all our wants and needs, we are often severely distracted by it. We are looking at everything through a screen that we hold in a way that acts as a barrier between us and the world. What Google is trying to do with Glass is make doing simple things like using GPS and replying to texts a lot more easier. With Glass, you don't have to walk around looking down on your phone oblivious to all that goes around you to find your way to the place you need to get to. Some problems with Glass are that it needs data through Wi-Fi on its own and that if it has no connection it's functionality is greatly limited. Since Glass can record video and it's almost unnoticeable, there is a privacy concern because many people may get filmed on video without them knowing. Also, because most of the interaction is through voice commands, it may become hectic to use the device if it does not understand you when you speak. Right now Google Glass may seem like a gimmick but the longer people are exposed to it the more they will understand its value and potential uses. Basically the question is not if people will use Google Glass, but when.

This article is about a music streaming service that Google might release for their Andriod Operating system. A few months ago, Apple was supposedly working on a music streaming service for their iOS and now Google is joining in, increasing the rivalry between them. Because of the on going rivalry between Andriod and Apple, both companies are trying to take all the necessary steps towards buying over their fans. The music streaming service would enable the customer to play music without actually having to download it. You would stream the music from the application with your internet connection, and since Google and Apple are developing these services, all the audio files that will be streamed will be playable on the device in use. This is a good way to get people to listen to music without actually having to download the song illegally and listen to the song they want to buy before purchasing it. This service could boost hardware sales, but they would not make a lot of money from the actual service itself, since its hard to make money with an ad-supported music streaming service.

Many of us think of Apple as this giant in electronics. Over the past decade, Apple set the market for smartphones, ultrabooks, and tablets. However, in the past couple of years, Apple has begun to fall off. Rather than being the huge 'juggernaut,' Apple has become a follower, forced to play catch up to other companies including Google and Amazon. Evidence of this are tied to the recent releases of the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7. Apple's response was the iPad Mini, when they realized consumers enjoyed smaller tablets. Before that was the iPhone 5, in response to people wanting larger phone displays. Apple Maps is a blunder that both iOS 6 users and Apple pays for. Apple was slow on the draw to join in on changes to the market specifications. Having controlled the market for the past decade with the popularization of smartphones, tablets, and retina display, Apple was simply unprepared to react to these changes. Apple still has their innovation and secrets hidden in R&D, but the fact of the matter is their most recent releases contain ideas from other companies' progress. This relates to elifestyle because our generation uses these products in our daily lives. Most of us do not remember a time when electronics did not make up a substantial part of our lives; when Apple was not a prominent consumer electronics company. This reminds us that power does not last indefinitely; innovators become followers, and companies fall. The next big thing in electronics may not even exist yet. 

Google+ has decided that it is time they make a new look for their social networking site. The new design allows you to drag apps in whatever particular order you would like. Also, the timeline pictures are bigger so it is easier to view. Google+ also came out with a new addition, chat. The web designing for this page is similar to Facebooks; when viewing pictures on a timeline. The new look on Google+ will allow people to be more organized and nicer to look at. As web designers, they are supposed to catch the viewers eye. If a site does not appeal to the viewer they will not even bother looking into the website. By creating this new look, google+ is hoping to have more additions to their site. They designed this new look for Google+ to more flexible for people when viewing profiles, and it is evident because that is what most people want. They prefer when things are made easy for them.

this is where your 100 word descriiption.  This is great!!!

I find this article interesting, it shows how we could put music to your secondary media player. It's amazing how it can become your best way to back up and access your music from where ever. It's pretty cool that Google is trying their best to improve their site, and Google is taking time to improve their site. Since it's one of the best music web apps, i can get to sync my music library and it can connect to my mobile, and also it's for free.

Google Music is states only for now, though. But an easy way to get around it is to either use a web proxy (hidemyass.com) or something like hotspot shield, sign into your google account and go to music.google.com. Turns out you only need to sign into Google Music once with a US IP address to be let in forever. So once you do that you can close the proxy and you'll be able to use it normally.

This article briefly discusses the upgraded Twitter App for IPhone's and Android Apps. This will be at great use for those who constantly use this App to tweet for the following reasons. To commence, one is now allowed to copy the tweet while holding over the text which will be useful because when wanting to remember a tweet and save it in your notes per se, you don't have to constantly memorize the tweet and go back to read what it is if you forget. You can simply copy and paste the tweet. Also, it will be fast and easy to use without having to leave your timeline when viewing a profile. This will also be at use because you don't have to re-scroll through your timeline after viewing a profile and going back to see the timeline. 

Blackberry phones are in the process of getting a rhythm to unlock your phone with. This type of technology would be useful to those who try to unlock their phones, but many people try to watch what password you put in so they can do it as well if they ever take your phone. However, with this rhythm that may come up it will be harder for those to try to pick up on what you are putting on your phone and it will be much more difficult to imitate it. Also, blackberry will be able to sense the touch so you do not have to make it obvious. I think this is more convenient because people won't guess your password as easily if it is a rhythm. 

As some people are so immature to share every single moment of their daily lives on the internet, they are unaware that all of that information is open to the eyes of predators all around the world. It does not matter if you are only confiding in a pen pal who you think is reliable and honest or if you are just trying to be viral with your statuses. Not everyone you meet online is safe and can eventually come to harm you using the knowledge you have willingly and ignorantly gave up to them. For example, the lady in this article retells her experience of being kidnapped, brought to a completely different state and continuously raped by a "friend" she met in a chat room and blindly trusted who then targeted and made a victim out of her. Instead of going through an event like this first hand, people, especially children need to wake up and realize that the Internet is not as secure as it may seem and the people you may have the chance to talk to can be potential monsters. From the way I see it, just because you are hidden behind a screen does not mean that there is not a way for predators to find you. Why would you share the secrets of your privacy which you would normally never tell in person, but online where there is always a chance for it being violated?

Apple's soon to come iPhone 6 is rumoured to have a larger display, which according to analyst Brian Marshall of ISI Group, could encourage many users to upgrade in 2014. Marshall suggests that Apple may release two versions of the phone, one with a 5.5 inch screen and one with a 4.7 inch screen. With a larger screen, the iPhone 6 may attract people who switched from iphone to android because of the larger screen, to come back to iPhones. A higher demand for an iPhone may happen because of this redesign plus the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s. I personally, would switch to iPhone if I was using a Samsung Galaxy, because the large screen would now be on the iPhone, but it would still also depend on the price of this new phone.

As we all know global warming and pollution are two big problems in this generation. Well two companies in Montreal and Maryland are trying to help this issue. Global warming is probably one of the biggest problems we are going through and the best solution fo this would be to stop using our cars to travel short distances, but most of us know we won't be able to do that. These two companies realize this and are trying to allow us to use our cars but also help with global warming in a major way. They are trying to use common waste materials from landfills heating it up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit and then using that energy to power something or to heat things up. I believe that this will go very far especially because people cant live without their own cars.  

"Back in the day, we had to use this thing called paper".  This statement could potential be used in the future.  During the American Music Awards on November 18, 2012, presenters used the Galaxy Note II to announce winners, instead of using the traditional paper and envelope. This is could change the future because in the future, there is a chance that we will not use paper any more, but we will use technology for literally everything, such as schoolwork, writing a letter (email), etc.    Instead of people carrying a book everywhere, they will be bringing around e-readers, and all sorts of mobile devices.  Paper could potentially become useless to us since we have technology which stores and organizes many different files in one machine, whereas papers could be organized, or it could be all over the place, depending on who you are.  So in short, technology is good, in a sense that is a great organizational tool. This is environmentally important because instead of destroying trees (which provide us oxygen, food, etc) for paper, we could spare the trees, and just use technology instead.  Sure, we would need to clear land to build manufacturing companies to create these devices, but it takes up less space and kills less trees, then producing paper, because using paper means that we have to take down the tree, ans well as clear land to build manufacturing companies, and writing utensils as well.  This relates to our class because we are a computers class, and we rely on technology for almost 100% of our work.  In the future, when technology does take over and paper becomes useless, we will have the upper hand because we know how most of these technologies work.  

States in the US have been slowly gaining traction that allows gambling to be completely legal online. This would mean that anyone over 18 can sign onto an account which allows them to gamble away all the money they have. Nevada was the first state to legalize online gambling, and more states are estimated to follow suit. Although the article doesn't give an opinion on the newly legalized gambling, I believe that this news is terrible. More and more people will become addicted to gambling, and now it's very easy and very comfortable to lose your life earnings. These new rulings will eventually run into some legal issues, as people under 18 WILL find a way to gain access to these operations. There is no proper way that rules can be enforced in online gambling. People will become addicted, kids will gain access, and people will go bankrupt. Gambling is alright, in moderation, but these new laws will allow anyone with an internet connection to gamble away everything they own without even realizing it. Good thing we live in Canada.

This article states that you have to be careful when you are looking for a job that lets you work from home because scammers make fake websites to get valuable information from you. For example the company CNBC website has been copied to http://cnbc.com-index.in. The URL is .in and not .com that is one way to know that the website is a fraught it should be .com. People who have gone to this copied websites to apply for a job have been asked very personal questions such as are you married, bank information, and to pay a fee for a company laptop. You should be suspicious if your contact for the job has an email of @gmail.com or @hotmail.com usually companies have their specific email. To avoid this scam always Google the company and your contacts email. Always have an opened eye to URL's and what the job application is asking for. I choose privacy and security as my tag because these scammers can get a lot of information from and start maxing out your credit cards and take money out of your bank account. In my opinion the government should step in and start watching out for theses fake websites and take them down of the internet or block them.  

this article talks about the increase in minimum wage that will come into effect june of this year. it tells us about things like how the cost of living is rising so the wages payed needs to increase as well. it also talks about the way employers do not want to increase the minimum wage but how it has to be done. this relates to me because i am a teenager looking to get a part time job and to hear that minimum wage is increasing is good news for me because as of now students get paid $9.60 and it will be increasing to $10.30

Make sure you tag it with the appropriate Topic Tag for the week, which is careers.

connection to careers and computers?

This article is about how Google is launching an Android Wear Project. Their goal is to bring Android to wearable devices. The world is staring to elaborate more with mobile technology and increasing the number of different uses for mobile tech. Right now, Android wear is focused on watches, which are designed to offer several functions. The app is planned to provide notifications, messages, and updates from social networking apps and it will include Google Now, which will allow the people to ask questions, send texts, set alarms and much more. Android Wear is also being designed to help with fitness and health by providing reminders. The company is partnering with chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek, and Qualcomm, plus fashion brands to help introduce the new Android Wear powered watches in 2014.

Many things are replaced by electronics and machinery for our convenience. However, in 2012, why is the majority of people still using the traditional form of payment-cash. In the past few years, there were a few developers, who were interested in this topic, began to explore and brainstorm a variety of creative ideas of payment for the convenience everyday consumers. These determined developers may not have created new methods, but they have provided us with options that we may consider depending on our positions: people buying or selling products, or exchanging funds. For each category, mobile apps and online websites were recommended. Since we have easy access to our cell phones, it is not difficult to complete our payment tax with ease. As a result, it is not necessary to carry around cash or credit cards too often when going out to.    For example, Google Wallet is relatively efficient since it supports most or all major credit cards and can be used to pay for restaurant or shop purchases. Microsoft Wallet (similar to Google Wallet) is also another option for those who do have Android phones since Google Wallet is available to only a few Android phones.     

This post is about Online Universities and why they don't compare to the real thing. Products like Saba LMS, Moodle, and iTunes U have made e-learning mainstream, and most universities offer and allow some or most of their coursework to be completed online. First off, the concern with many online universities and colleges is post-graduation employment statistics. Most have very low graduation rates. A government recruited states that "it's not ideal. It doesn't set a baseline expectation, for me or for the people he or she will meet in the field. If I just need to check off a 'degree' box on a requirements form, online will do, but if two candidates are similar, I'm going with the one from Stanford or UVA." Moreover, the differences come down to two things: brand and social interaction. Traditional schools can clearly understand reputations, strengths and weaknesses. Without historical data and a history of success or failure, the online schools' GPAs, class standing and other performance metrics are just numbers and statistics. The author of this article also states that "Giant online schools that accept pretty much everyone may be democratizing education, but they're not helping employers or anyone else separate out the best and the brightest." This can hurt the prestige, and ultimately the graduates of the school. This issue relates to the "eLifestyle" tag because in the end it will definitely affect not only the students, but the regular citizens of a country. The graduates of universities, online of traditional,  will be the leaders of the future, and I believe that traditional universities and colleges are better because professors can get to know and understand students at a different level. It is hard to judge or mark a student based only on online text. For instance, you will never be able to distinguish a student that truly tries and works hard but cannot understand the information properly to a student that understands it but is lazy and slacks off.