Top 100 websites

If you go too http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/ you can find the top 1000 websites. I'm not too sure if this is accurate, because if you notice, google isn't in the top 100. But surprisingly, random websites I've never heard of are! Question? How many of you out there use YouTube? Well, apparently not enough people use it, because it didn't make the top 300! And, wait for it.....Walmart.com is #150! A franchising machine. Tsk Tsk, I'm not sure where they got their data from, nothing is cited. If this was from the Canadian government, I may trust it, Rick Mercer- definitely. But, I was happy to see that nih.gov made the list, I use that website all the time. Take a look at this website, let me know what you think.

Parents and technology...not a good combination

Technology is taking over everything! Okay...maybe not everything, but it's becoming part of a lot of things. Including parenting. There have been several new apps for the ever popular iphones/pods that can make you the "best parent you could be". Or maybe not. I don't think that parents should rely on technology to discipline their children, because maybe sometimes, the app isn't right. Parents should learn to trust themselves, because when they are using technology, it isn't them who is parenting, but the app. True, they are administering it, but the child would see the countdown on the ipod/iphone, and feel that it is in control, not their parents. What ever happened to "sit in your room" or "no T.V for a week", things that parents could do themselves? Are parents so weak that they cannot parent for themselves? (not all parents <-generalization!)

Toy Story 3 will soon arrive!

Pixar is at the head of animation, they are absolute geniuses. Though they may suffer through the harsh critiques, they can always produce something amazing. People may think that their films are for children, but I've seen people of all ages laugh. You can see the hard work through the finished product. Go too http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/process_pixar/all/1 to find out all the hard work they go through, you will find that Pixar will never finsih making movies, with 24 awards, why would they?

Blackberry for the Blind

I think that it is about time someone came out with a cell phone for the blind. Blackberry has decided to be the one. RIM recently applied for a patent to support a Blackberry for the blind. You're probably thinking "how can a blind person use a cell phone, when they can't see the keyboard?" I thought this too, and when I went to http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/13/rim-working-on-a-blackberry-for-the-blind/
I found out how. Apparently, they have developed technology to allow the user to hear what button they have just pressed, using audio to communicate. So, instead of seeing the keys they press, the blind can now hear them. The following is a claim from the patent application. "A method for dialing a destination comprising the steps of:associate groups of more than one input key and buttons of a mobile device to define at least one input region whereby a keying from any key of a same input region defines a same input;associate auditory responses and actions for operating the mobile device to respective inputs received from input keys and buttons of the mobile device comprising the keys of the at least one input region, at least one of the input regions associated with actions to input a character from a respective set of characters for composing a destination for inputting into the device such that repeating an input from a same input region selects a different character from the respective set; andfor each input received from said input keys and buttons, performing the respective action and outputting the respective auditory response associated with each input thereby to dial a destination. " There is a program that allows blind people to read their e-mail, and it is called "shoutmail". You can adjust the voice so it doesn't actually "shout", it just transfers your e-mail to audio form.

How the Microsoft Views the World in 2019

It wasn't too long since the thought of a computer seemed unbelievable, or even that television could be possible. And yet here we are in 2010, marveling at what could possibly come next. Our society is always trying to get the best, and to improve what we already have. If you think technology is already everywhere, take a close look at what Microsoft thinks of our future. If you go to http://pogpog.com/v/the-world-in-2019-according-to-microsoft/, you can see one amazing videos by one of the top corporations-Microsoft. Considering the astounding technologically advanced ideas in this video, I can't help but wonder what will become of Apple and other computer corporations. I think that by posting this video, Microsoft has a lot to live up to, can they surpass Apple's efforts? We shall all have to wait until 2019, when maybe iPods, iPads, and cellphone watches will be a thing of the past. It wasn't too long ago that my mom was flabbergasted by the replacement of the typewriter with a keyboard and mouse. Will that happen to me in the next generation? Will what appears to be impossible today, be a thing of the past tomorrow? Are we just moving too fast, that we may stumble? I will let you know in 2019.

New watches from citizen

What can japan possibly invent next? Japan is obviously leading the way in technology, with new cars, cellphones and music players. Japan has decided to find a new way to text, monitor your cellphones battery, monitor calls, as well as a cameras shutter. All with something unsuspecting...a watch. I think that it is really interesting how they have created something like this. It reminds me of all the spy movies I used to watch as a kid, with characters who communicated through watches. And to sweeten the idea, it's all in a watch. I think that this is a good idea, but I feel that it will minimize human contact, as well as attentiveness in school. This is another way for kids to communicate with each other while they should be paying attention in school. So many children are texting when they should be planning for the future and doing work. This presents a problem, because these cell phone friendly watches are difficult to discern from normal watches. Cellphones are already banned from schools, if this reaches Canada, could watches be banned too? As much as we love technology, it also hurts our society and productivity. I think that while these watches are fascinating and captivating, we should be wary of how it will affect our contact with others, and our grades. There is a picture attached of this amazing watch developed by Citizen.

Radiohead's fresh ideas

Radiohead. We've all heard or seen them, the innovative band with good music and even better music videos. I urge you to see the video "House of Cards" of you haven't. The technique is amazing, with Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR ideas instead of lights and cameras. It's almost as if they are a part of the computer, a person created by the computer, with the planes of their faces a mesh. Visit this link to find out how they did it http://code.google.com/creative/radiohead/, but if you don't, here's how they did. Using "64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes." this team could capture the area through the eyes of a laser, and change the perspective of the video. In the making of this video they used three techniques, the first being the geometric informatics system. The LIDAR system, which involves a revolving scanner. To use these techniques, they had to take several shots from all the scanners and lasers, to reconstruct it on a computer. See what happens when you explore this complicated technique at Radiohead viewer. I found this to be very helpful understanding the technology, because I can manually explore the shots taken using the three techniques. The last oen, with a shot of the face was the ebst one, because it reminded me of the stars. If I was him, I wouldn't appreciate people exploring every angle of my face, literally.

One small step forward in cleanliness

As a clean freak, I am jumping for joy because of Delta's new Touch20 faucet; something that can stay clean when my hands are not. This faucet turns on and off with a simple touch of the forearm, elbow, or, if you're desperate, your shoulder. But what if you want to control the temperatue?? Just like a normal faucet, there are controls at the side for temperature, or turning the faucet on and off. The faucet will operate at the previous temperature, so I presume that no one keeps the water scalding hot. If you do, just use the controls to change the temperature. This is inconvenient, if I am covered with egg, paint, or dough. I cook a lot, and sure, turning on the faucet without my hands is great, but what about the temperature? Take it one step further Delta.