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With the economy in a slump, consumers are spending less at stores. However they are finding the time to purchase virtual gifts. No, not like things from ebay but actual gifts that only exist online. Many come from avatar sites like Gaia but many also come from sites like Facebook.com. According to the article, consumers are spending more time at home and therefore more time on their computers. Tightening the wallet for expensive goods is understandable but when it comes to simple virtual accessories and gifts they think “what’s a dollar?” Sales on these items accumulate to over a billion dollars a year. If you were to ask me, I think the whole thing is silly. I have never used an avatar site, but I suppose that if you do it is important to make your guy look cool; however that seems like a complete waste of money. If consumers were to save the money they’re spending on their avatars they would probably realized that it would amount to a decent sum of money. Just like smokers who don’t think it’s a big deal to drop three or four dollars on a pack of cigarettes, but if they didn’t do that they would have hundreds more to spend. I am an avid Facebook user, but I do not understand the point of spending a dollar simply to send a friend a virtual gift. There are applications where you can send gifts for free. If I am going to spend my money I better be getting something physical in return. The only good thing about consumers purchasing these items is that it could help pull us out of this recession. I am taking macro economics right now and when the country goes into recession the market needs to be stimulated to pull out of it. With people saving more money it just hurts the economy, but with people not seeming to think that these virtual gifts are a waste of money, the economy is being helped.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/technology/internet/08virtual.html?_r=1&ref=technology
Sources: http://www.gaiaonline.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/giftshop.php?ref=sb

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Last year I wrote a paper for my English class about how America is falling behind in math and sciences compared to countries like India and China. A similar situation happened after Russia launched Sputnik in 1957. At that time the government pushed for increased math and science education. My stance on the topic is that while math and science are very important topic, it is very important that we make Americans as well rounded as possible and continue to stress the importance of social sciences and languages, as all subjects in a way interact with one another. For example, where would a chemist be if he could write a legible lab report? Many are worried that with increased technology in other parts of the world America will fall behind. However, according to Amar Bhidé, a professor at Columbia Business School, America will actually prosper from other countries’ technological advances if we continue to be the best place to “commercialize” inventions. Though Bhidé makes a good point, many still believe that it is in the United States’ best interest to push for more funding in basic research. I agree with both statements. I have never thought about Bhidé’s opinion before, but it makes a lot of sense. In my macro economics class were are learning about international and how it actually benefits the U.S. because it keeps our economy stimulated and gives us a constant flow of goods. Accepting increased technological advances in other countries would cut some slack to U.S. inventors, and allow them to have to make fewer strides to keep technology moving forward. However I do feel that it is important for the United States to keep up with the rest of the world. We are one of the most powerful nations and we do not need to allow any other nation to do the bulk of the work for us. We are strong and we have the capability to stay that way if we try. I think that we should be pushing for better all around education for ourselves.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/business/30ping.html?ref=technology
Source: http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/

13

As we all know the economy has been in a slump recently. Many are getting laid off from their jobs every day and journalists are certainly no exception to the issue. Many journalist and bloggers have lost their jobs recently and a company called Six Apart is going to try to help them. The company’s vice president is Anil Dash. On November 14th the company posted a blog addressing laid-off or nearly laid-off journalists. Anil Dash has had more than 300 responses to the blog so far. The respondents are trying to earn themselves one of the 20 to 30 yearly memberships that Six Apart is offering. The memberships would include professional technical support, advertising, and placement on the company’s site Blogs.com. The free membership accounts are worth $150 annually. Many journalists are excited and want to be a part of this because journalism is a slowly dying art. It is becoming harder and hard for journalist to find work. Having one of these spots could help him/her get noticed. I have been doing journalism since I was in the 8th grade. I also did it all through high school and now I am in my second year of working for the University Times. I have known for quite some time that journalism is not a field that I would make a good career in. The jobs are becoming more and more scarce and more and more people are turning to their computers and televisions to give them the latest updates; print media is becoming obsolete. I think what Six Apart is trying to do is a cool idea, but I also do not fully understand it. It seems to me that with so much economic activity and national headlines needing to be reported on, there should be work for these individuals. However, there isn’t. Maybe they should consider a new career path, because earning one of those spots could be a tough task and it is not enough to make a living from.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/technology/internet/24apart.html?_r=1&ref=technology
External source: http://www.sixapart.com/blog/

blog 12

Parents should always be concerned with the safety of their children on the internet. It is so easy to stumble upon something inappropriate or something that’s bad news. There a several internet programs that parents can use that prohibit children from using certain sites all together, like those that block certain television channels. Parents have been requesting even safer internet use for their children. Companies have been trying to develop the perfect program to monitor for some time and they are still not done. The program that has been the most successful so far is eGuardian. eGaurdian has parents enter a child’s information and then that information is confirmed with a school. I think this method makes more sense that just having people enter birthdates in, a child can chose a year that would make them appear older, just as a pedophile can make him appear younger. Some companies were proposing a site, like Myspace.com, where people under a certain age are only allowed to interact with people under that age or with adults that their parents approve. However, there is nothing in that which would prevent a child molester to lie about his age to make himself appear younger and then be able to interact with the child, situations like that happen every day. Parents are concerned with the new programs like eGaurdian because they are going to use the information provided about the child to target advertising to them. People are questioning whether these sites are actually promoting the safety of the children or hindering them with their advertising. I think that using the safety of children to promote products like junk food and toys is not in the best interest of the children or society. I believe the best way to ensure child internet safety is through parents. It is important to teach your child the risks and how to keep themselves safe, because in the long run they’re going to be the only ones who can do it.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16ping.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

Source: http://www.eguardian.com/ourprocess.php

11/9/08

Youtube is a popular website. It has so many possibilities and chances are you find anything you want on there. Currently you can already look up movies on the website and they’ll be broken up in to segments, however this is very illegal. Google bought Youtube several years ago and has been disappointed with its profit returns since the purchase. Youtube is now in the works with MGM to be able to show full length movies on the site, legally. Google is interested in getting Youtube connections with a lot of Hollywood industries. Youtube is also making it possible for companies to spot illegal video on their website and either delete them or leave them up and sell ads on them. Youtube is competing with a site called Hulu. Hulu does not have amateur videos on it, but only television episodes and movies. I have never visited am unfamiliar with the site so I cannot compare it to Youtube, however many are thinking that it’s the next big thing. I don’t think that I would necessarily like Hulu because I do not like to watch movies or TV on my computer. My eyes are sensitive and they get strained when I stare at my computer screen for too long. I like Youtube because the videos are short. I also like the amateur aspect of it because it’s very personal, anyone can do it. I even have a video on Youtube. It’s a lot of fun to go through and find your favorites and share them with friends. It’s definitely a good plan on Google’s part to partner Youtube with as many Hollywood agencies as possible. With its well known name and millions of users Youtube would be a smart partnership for any company. I am interested to see these changes take place.

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10mgm.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
Source:
http://www.hulu.com/

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What is the world coming to? Do we really think that our time is so precious that we cannot wait 45 seconds for our computers to boot up? That’s too long? Of course I have had the experience of being in a hurry and my computer not seeming to understand my need for speed. However, life and time are both so precious that it really is just sad that people are throwing them away so easily. People are rushing through everything. Everything has to be faster and better.
Computer boot up times are being compared with that of smart phones. Consumers desire their computers to be ready, set, go as fast as their phones. What they are not realizing is that a computer has much more potential that a telephone, and a far greater memory. The phone has very little to load compared to a computer, especially if users a like me and have a lot of music and photos. Because such a large number of people are interested in rushing their lives away and are primarily using their computers for internet and e-mail purposes new gadgets called “netbooks” have arrived. Netbooks have essentially the same aspects of a smart phone as far as internet goes but they are as big a computer and have a keyboard. However, these books are still at least 400 dollars and it hardly seems worth it when you could have an entire computer for only a few hundred more.
What bothers me most about this article is that people are so impatient. There is really no need for you to have 40 extra seconds. Take the 40 seconds your computer needs to boot and take some deep breaths if that small segment of time is really that important then obviously you need to distress.

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/business/02digi.html?ref=technology
Source:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone.htm
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-memory.htm

blog 9

Just a few hours ago I was in a meeting where we were discussing communication and it involved how men and women vary in how they approach and address people. It involved facts like men are more likely to interrupt during a conversation, and that they actually talk more than women do, but that women ask more questions, etc. The article definitely relates to that! After my meeting I really started to think about the way that I communicate with people and whether or not I’m setting the correct impression or if I’m making myself well understood. The article describes and MIT professor who has developed a device that can analyze the way we talk. The device has the capability to determine if we interrupt too much, or if we come off as though we don’t care because we don’t speak up enough. This software sounds really intriguing. I would love to have my voice analyzed. I am one of those people who you can tell exactly what I’m thinking from the face that I’m making so I’m sure it is obvious to tell from my voice too, but I never realized that any of this is happening. The device could help train us to be better at communicating which could have large repercussions for the entire world. Imagine if everyone could communicate on a high level, so much animosity could be avoided. People would be more successful in their careers, and have better relationships too! The software in the device has been used of college students and people in the work place before as a small chip that could be attached to a name tag, or something similar, and then the information was sent to a computer and analyzed. This technology can tell if you are talking to a person you like or if it’s someone who annoys you. I’m completely fascinated by it and would love to try it out.


Source:
http://www.simmalieberman.com/articles/menwomentips.html
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26novelties.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin