Home Phone vs. Cell Phone?

The article I found this week involves decrease of households using landlines. Surprisingly enough, the leading states in the cell-phone only category are Oklahoma and Utah. For me, the idea of getting rid of the landline has been discussed for a few years at home. My mom really wants to get rid of house phone, which barely anyone, except telemarketers call. The service of our house phone is so basic that no long distance phone calls can be made from it, leaving that up to cell phones. I think the idea of getting rid of landlines in houses is a good idea. When we want to reach someone cell phones are the most direct way. It is unfortunate that the infrastucture involving landline telephones has costed millions of dollars, only to be gradually left behind. However, I do not think landline telephones will every go away 100%. Think of office, school, etc. telephones that are linked to each other, requiring landline connections. They serve a function that cell phones would not be able to. For family households, landlines are not necessary. Families/people who move constantly can keep one phone number no matter where in the country they may be. Overall, I support the decrease in household landline phones. Cell phones are a more direct way to reach someone and we will no longer battle changing phone numbers.

HTML practice

My Favorite Things!!

I'm going to write some of my favorite things so you can learn about me.

• IMS.. of course


• Miami Student Police Beats


• Pop Culture


• FmyLife.com

The Myth about the Digital Divide

I found this article about the myths of the digital divide from a trade publication to be very interesting because it talked mostly about the “second level” to the digital divide. While many sources I looked at blamed race, education, and socioeconomic class for the cause of the divide, this suggests otherwise. The gap is said to begin when people own old technology which leads to connectivity and online skill problems, and the inability to use the Internet effectively. Current technology is now almost critical. Students who do not own updated technology are limited because they are unable to access or run software on their computer that is essential for their studies. Also there are situations where broadband access is not available leaving users with an outdated dial up connection which in turn hinders their ability to effectively use the internet. This article would be useful for readers because it explains different causes of the digital divide and though some people own computers and have dial up access to the Internet, they are not necessarily successful users of technology. The information in this article is very relevant to our class and I can draw many parallels between the two. Without updated technologies we would not be able to access the applications that we use in class defeating the course’s purpose of technology literacy.

Album Cover!

Horray for photoshop! The random band name and quote I got for this picture didn't turn out too bad. I think it looks like a real album cover.

Effects:
This picture already had several lense flares to I added the one in the upper-right hand corner to give it some color in the sky. I added the grainy look for texture and to give it a more "city" feel. I also darkened the sky which was a bit more gray so "John Shirlow" would look better in white and the colored streaks on the highway would be accented as well.

The iPod of Books

What is "Kindle 2?" I did not know until 15 minutes ago about this gadget, but this is another example of technology spicing up an old routine. Essentially Kindle 2 is an updated version of Amazon's E-Book reader, able to hold up to 1,500 books at a time. It's design, like the most of the newest technologies, is thin and slim, and light as a feather. My first thoughts of this article were skeptical. Theoretically it sounds like great technology, but who wants to read books off of the screen of a handheld device?  I would much rather read a hard copy of something than read off of a screen. Isn't part of the whole "book reading experience" holding a book? Will the bookstore business become obsolete?? Realistically, I don't think things will ever go that far. Kindle 2 does possess some cool features, like E ink. Unlike LCD screens on TVs and cell phones, E Ink reflects light, rather than constantly creating it, which is easier on the eyes. Kindle also has 3G wireless and a keyboard for emailing. The disadvantages to this gadget however kind of weigh out the good. When changing pages there is a second or two of black as a new page loads, the screen is not touch and only displays 16 shades of gray, and, like all small expensive gadgets, Kindle is unavoidably subject for being lost virtually anywhere.

I think Kindle a good idea, but unfortunately it sounds as if there are some kinks that need to be worked out before this technology makes it big... collaboration with the iPhone, anyone? 

Universally Awesome!

At last! Articles on CNN and MSNBC report that cell phone makers will be introducing a universal charger for phones by 2012. The reason for the 3 year wait has to do with the cell phone manufacturers fitting their phones to the new standard of charging. No more headaches from losing or breaking a charger and being out of luck until you can buy another... only to get a new phone a few months later. An interesting statistic I found in MSNBC's article came from Marco Caputo, he mentioned a study that claims "every 20 months between 48 million and 51 million cell phone chargers become obsolete."

While I thought of this technological standard as merely a convenience for our oh-so-hectic lives, the articles explain the environmental impact a universal charger will have as well. The Group Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), responsible for the cell phone industry's adoption of the standard, says manufacturing and transporting chargers adds up to 22 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as well as 51,000 tons of physical waste each year. Those numbers are astounding when you think of what is causing it; cell phone chargers. So by the universal charger being introduced everybody wins. Cell phone lovers can always get their fix and the environment will benefit too. The only down side to this universal charger is that not all cell phone manufacturers are jumping on board. I noticed Apple was conveniently absent from the list of manufacturers as were many others. If the iphone is planning on dropping to $99, its popularity is likely to increase. With more iphones being used, the more people will have non-universal phone chargers. Thus, manufacturing, pollution, etc. But I suppose you can't win them all and at least this is a step!

Podcast

Here is the link to the article I talk about in my podcast!