We Come In Peace

Welcome to our blog.

Hi, we are a group of guys ( Paul, Ryan and Adam) Two of us are new to blogging and one of us has had experience.  We are all of different ages,  from 16 to 54, we all have different views on today’s technology.

Paul: I’m in my mid fifties and I believe that technology is introduced into schools to children at a too early age.  So I hope the articles that I write will explain the reasoning behind my views and I hope somebody out there will understand them.

Ryan: I am fascinated with technology and its predictions for the future. This is my first blogging experience and I think I would continue even after I leave Swansea ITeC.

Adam: I’m currently 17 years old,  I have had previous experience of blogging. Some say I am tech obsessed but I would use the word passionate.  I have a real interest in weird and wonderful technology and odd invention ideas. While writing for this blog I will express my views on technology in movies. Will it become a reality in the future or will it remain as just fiction?

http://gadgetech.cjb.net/

Future Reality or Just a Sci-Fi Concept: Dream Technology and Inception

The concept of inception; the implanting of memories and dreams. In this article I will be writing about two films featuring this concept, Total Recall and Inception

The plot of Total Recall is that an construction worker from Earth, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzeneggier) is haunted by a recurring dream about a journey to Mars. He hopes to find out more about this dream, so he buys a holiday at Rekall Inc. where they sell implanted memories.

But something goes wrong with the memory implantation, he is sent into a mind-bending nightmare of a Martian mining colony ruled by the evil Mars administrator Cohaagen, who can alter reality to suit him. Quaid thinks he’s a secret agent fighting against Cohaagen.

The plot of Inception is that Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a thief who invades people’s dreams. Companies hire him to steal business secrets from rivals’ minds. When one company wants Cobb to plant an idea in a rival’s mind, who in return will fix problems with the US government so that he can return to his children. Cobb takes job, he’s puts together a team and starts planning three layers of dreams within dreams for the target. If it does not go to plan, the dreamers may not awake. Cobb doesn’t tell his team that his feelings about his children maybe powerful enough to bring on a comatose state for all of them.

(Video is Property of screenrant.com)

In the film Total Recall a bug is injected into his head, ouch!!! The bug was rather large. In the film Inception the used to enter people’s dreams is a PASIV (Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous) device,otherwise known as the dream machine is a briefcase that uses wires and sedatives is connected to a person to invade their dreams, we are briefly told that it was created by the military to enhance the training of soldiers without risking lives.

If this technology does exist in the future what form could it take?

Future Reality or Just a Sci-Fi Concept: Crime Prediction Software

What is the concept of crime prediction technology?

Those who have seen the film ‘The Minority Report‘will have some idea about this concept. For those who have not, the storyline is that in the year 2054 A.D. crime is being eliminated from Washington D.C. using three gifted humans (called “Pre-Cogs”) with special powers to see into the future and predict crimes before they happen.

John Anderton who heads Pre-crime, believes the system is without fault. One day it is predicted that Anderton will commit a murder himself in the next 36 hours. However, Anderton doesn’t even know the victim. He decides to solve the mystery himself by finding the ‘minority report’ which “might” tell a different story and prove that he is innocent.

If the concept of crime prediction did become a reality in the future, be that software, hardware or a combination of the two, what will this mean for humanity?

A recent trial of software in Santa Cruz, California, using the locations of past crimes, shows the probability of a crime happening again within a 150 square radius.  Each day it flags up 10 areas for crimes such as;

• residential burglary
• auto burglary
• auto theft

The program is updated each night with new data and identifies the locations with the highest probability of crime for the next day.

Police can then patrol these areas, in the hope that their presence might prevent further crimes from being committed. This gives the police a better chance of being in the right place at the right time to help victims and make arrests.

The program was created by mathematician George Mohler, at Santa Clara University in California, and his colleagues. The study showed that some crimes follow patterns. One burglary can lead to others nearby in the next few days, like a snowball effect.

On average, predictions helped locate and predict the date and time of 25 per cent of actual burglaries on any given day in Los Angeles in 2004 and 2005 by using previous burglary data.

“Should the program prove effective, it can quickly be applied in other cities”, says Jeffrey Brantingham, an anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a collaborator on the design of the software.

I finish with two thoughts:

What form could this technology take in the future?

Could this technology go forward to predict thoughts? If so what will happen to human rights?

Who’s Discovered Our Chatroom and Forum?

This post is just to inform readers about our Chatroom and Forum. These can be found in the top level menu under Community and Discussion.

Future Reality or Just a Sci-Fi Concept: Time Travel

In this article I will be writing about the concept of time travel. Most of us have seen a film which involves the concept such as the Back to The Future trilogy, The Hot Tub Timemachine and of course Doctor Who. Which leads me to my question, If time travel will exist in the future, in what form will it be?:

A Car

In the Back to The Future films, a car is used to create a time machine. The car is a DeLorean DMC-12. In the films the car needs to reach a speed of 88 mph to travel through time. The car is fueled by plutonium which powers a  flux capacitor to drive the car.

[Back To The Future - DeLorean Time Machine] Taken by AdamL212 (Adam Lautenbach) – http://www.flickr.com/photos/lautenbach/1393032429

There were a number of problems such as the car being fueled by plutonium which was rare. The other problem was you needed a straight stretch of road which was long enough to get the car up to speed, which also existed in the time they were going to.

A Train

The train was also featured in the concluding part of the Back to The Future trilogy and was an upgrade of the car, solving many design issues.

The train unlike the car, did not need a road in the time they were going to, as it was also a flying machine.

A Hot Tub

In the film Hot Tub Time Machine, when a russian energy drink called Chernobly (which according to a mysterious hot tub repairman, contains vital chemicals to time travel) is spilt on the controls for the hot tub the men are taken back in time.

The problems with the hot tub time machine, were that when travelling to your destination, you arrive in a hot tube, dressed in swimming trunks or a bikini, need I say more. Also on arrival, if traveling back far to the past, when hot tubs did not exist, people might think you’re a witch or an alien. If you arrive in the middle of nowhere the hot tube does not have any motorised parts such as engine or wheels.

A Phonebox

[Doctor Who - The Tardis] Taken by Sarah G…  – http://www.flickr.com/photos/dm-set/3605150762

The TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), a time machine and spacecraft as seen in Doctor Who. The TARDIS is a product of the advanced technology of the Time Lords, an extraterrestrial civilization, a race to which The Doctor belongs.

The interior of the TARDIS is much larger than the exterior. In the programme, the Doctor pilots an unreliable, obsolete TT Type 40, Mark 3 TARDIS. Its chameleon circuit (a circuit which as allows it to camoflauge itself to its surroundings) is faulty, leaving it locked in the shape of a 1960s-style London police box after a visit to London in 1963. The tardis is controlled in a console room which houses the flight controls.

The problem with the TARDIS is its inability to blend in to its surrounding and the fact it that it is unreliable, and its complex flight controls.

Read More:

About Time

Samsung Galaxy Europa

I have this mobile phone myself it is a really good mobile phone is manufactured by Samsung the operating system is running of Android™  by Google©

I really enjoy this phone I’ve had it for 2 weeks now, and its got full access to the Android Market and many more applications from the Android Market. You may access your email, all social networking sites like: Facebook, MyYearBook, Twitter, and many more.

Here is the Overview for the mobile phone

Here are the features for the mobile phone

Here is the Technical Specifications for the mobile phone

Have your say and please take my poll

With Christmas approaching, there are many good deals available with smartphones. I wish you to find the best deal for yourself.

Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. They invented and produce processors for personal computers, the most known of these is the Pentium processor. But Intel makes more than just processors; for example, they produce motherboards and other computing devices.

They boost their business when during the 1990s, Intel created new generation microprocessor designs. As stated on Wikipedia, at that time, Intel “was known for aggressive and sometimes illegal tactics in defense of its market position”, they stood up against AMD and Microsoft in controlling PC industry.

Intel has recently introduced a 3-D transistor, more energy-efficient chip that doesn’t get too hot so quick. I never used this chip yet.

Historical Date	Intel Logo Description	Logo Date	Remarks
1968–2005	‘Intel Inside Logo’ ‘MMX Intel Inside Pentium Processor Logo’	1991–2003	The original “Intel Inside” logos.
	‘Intel Inside Logo’ ‘Intel Inside Celeron M’	2003–2005	Similar to original logo, but customised on “e”.
2005–present	‘Intel Core Duo Inside’ ‘Intel Core 2 Quad Inside’	2006–2009	Intel took “Inside” out of circle and reflects multi-core processor functioning.
	‘Intel Inside’ ‘Intel Core i7 Inside’	2009–2011	Looks more cool visually as if 3D with showing a pick to processor’s motherboard and added “I” implying “intelligent” processor
	‘Intel Core i7 Inside’ (blue) ‘Intel Inside Core i7′ (aqua)	2011–present	Exposed motherboard in the middle of the logo. Keeping processor “intelligent”.

Communication in the 21st century.

Why have communication methods changed in the 21st century???

 

We have all seen a change in the ways that we communicate these days now we are in the technology age. The old fashion methods are dying out, letter writing is becoming a think of the past, it’s not as popular today as it was years ago.

As a young child I used to enjoy sending postcards to pen pals & letters to family and friends. Now with modern technology, these are not used today as much as they were years ago, which to me a sad sign of the times we live in.

Todays methods are so much more advanced. You can send messages to anywhere in the world & speak to family and friends anywhere around the globe with the touch of a button or click of a mouse. (why is it called a mouse? it doesn’t squeak!)

The list of methods of communication you can use today to “talk” with anybody and everybody you want to is not quite endless, only the choices are greater than I had as a child.

The list below shows  several of the  methods that are in common use to get in touch with people all over the world today.

• Phone calls
• Letters
• Text
• E- mail/ Skype
• Social Networks ( Facebook and Twitter )

These are now the most popular methods of communication today, which for a lot of people are the only way that they can get in touch with their family who live in far away places. In that respect its a good thing that they can keep in touch with their nearest and dearest, so it does have it’s good points. I prefer to communicate in the old fashion way, sending letters, as it has a more personal touch.

I decided that this called for another survey, just to see if anyone still puts pen to paper to communicate, or am I in a minority of ONE.

Survey

I am surprised with the result of this survey, I thought that letter writing was outdated. It’s nice to see that some of you (4) still enjoy writing to others, or is it a case of have to and not want to.

I know that facebook is popular with many people, so I thought that I would find out a little about it to see what all the fuss is about!

After doing some research, (thanks Wikipedia) I found some interesting facts;

• Founder – Mark Zuckerberg
• Started  -  February 2004
• Users    -   800 million

To my amazement I was surprised how many people use Facebook, I thought it was in the millions, but 800 million that’s an incredible amount and a real surprise to me I must admit. If they had to rely on people like me it would only be around 8 thousand.  Each to their own I supose!!

Who uses social media anyway?

Facebook, Twitter and any other Social Networks are they a good or bad thing !!!

We all have our own views, some love it some loath it, so you are proberly wondering where I’m going with this question?

It’s my opinion that they do more harm than good, although they are a popular site for many millions of users they can also cause problems for them, because once something is posted it’s hard to take it back, such as comments and pictures just to name a few.

I had an experience once,  comments were put on Facebook concerning one of my children of which I had no knowledge, everyone that I knew was telling me, and it caused several problems within the family. It also caused a rift between me and one of my children. If it wasn’t for Facebook or similar sites this would never had occurred and the family would not have fallen out over this issue.

I’ve also heard of pictures being put on Facebook, causing upset and embarrassment to people after doing silly things when they are out partying and enjoying themselves.

So in my opinion although Facebook and Twitter are very popular these days with all ages, is it such a good thing if it causes problems between family and friends?

I have discussed this topic with my colleagues and found that not all of them are followers of either Facebook or Twitter. That was a surprise!!  To follow this through, I conducted a survey of those who were at the centre today (Monday 21st Nov) . This was the result.

Who Uses Social Media Anyway!!!

Name	Facebook	Twitter	Other	None
Kirsty				√
Lauren				√
Andrew	√
Scot	√		√
Cath	√
Elena	√		√
Mair	√
Stella	√	√	√
Leia	√	√	√
Tracey				√
Diane	√
Paul				√
Sarah		√	√

Not sure if this is a surprise after speaking to some of you.

• 4 of you don’t use Facebook or Twitter or others
• 2 sad one use them all(lol)
• 8 use Facebook

So I guess that Facebook is the most popular. I’ll have to research this for another blog.

Computers in the class at what age?

I am writing a blog about at what age should computers be introduced into the school class.

Are children today being taught how to use a computer at too early an age?  Are they falling behind on their basic education like reading, writing and maths?

Before I continue this blog I’m not against technology, but in my opinion, more emphasis is spent on today’s technology than the old fashion ways of learning. I believe no matter how good computers are there is no substitute for the old ways of learning English, Maths and Writing. It appears that todays children would rather send an e – mail or go on Facebook.

I have several grandchildren of school age who are far more advanced with computers than I am, even at such an early stage in their young lives (8  and 11 years old).The problem starts when we get down to Maths and English, their skills fall far behind the levels  required when I was their age. They either rely on spellcheck, use a calculator or use any gadgets they have at hand to work out the problems they have.

So in my view I think computers should be introduced into school classes when they reach Secondary School. I feel that basic skills like Maths, English and Writing are far more important to youngsters at such an early age than computers, and will serve a better purpose to them later in their life.

In my opinion, dealing with form filling and sending off  covering letters for job applications, employers would prefer to see a handwritten letter than something typed out.

What are your views !!

Is Windows 8 trying to copycat Apple’s OS?

I wanted to write about this Operating System in development because its Graphical User Interface (GUI) is going to resemble Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System a lot, as rumor says. Personally, I don’t agree with such turn, after all, the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS was Apple’s idea’s.

Specifications	Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard	Windows 8
System Requirements Processor Memory (RAM)* Graphic Card HDD* Free Space	32-bit	32-bit	64-bit
	Intel (IA-32) “Yonah” 32bit or 64bit: later x86-64 architecture processors such as Core 2 are also able to run 64-bit applications	1GHz* x86 processor	1GHz* x86-64 processor
	1GB of RAM*	1GB*	2GB*
	OpenCL requires a supported Nvidia or ATI graphics card.	DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM* 1.0 (Not absolutely necessary: only required for Aero hardware acceleration)
	5GB of free HDD* space. DVD* drive (also accessible via Remote Disc) or external USB* or FireWire DVD* drive for installation	16GB of free HDD* space	20GB of free HDD* space
Kernel Type	Hybrid	Hybrid
Platform Support	IA-32, x86-64	IA-32, x86-64, and ARM
Developer	Apple INC*	Microsoft PLC*
Licence	APSL* and Apple EULA*	Proprietary Commercial Software
Preceded By	Mac OS* X V10.5 “Leopard”	Windows 7
Succeeded By	Mac OS* X v10.7 “Lion”	See rumour on http://www.neowin.net/news/rumor-microsoft-could-dump-windows-brand-after-windows-8
Website	http://www.apple.com/support/snowleopard/	http://dev.windows.com

*The stars at the end of each word in which is shown in the table which means:

RAM – Random Access Memory

GHz – GigaHertz

HDD – Hard Disk Space

DVD – Digital Versatile Disc

INC – Incorporation

GB – Gigabyte

OS – Operating System

WDDM – Windows Display Driver Model

USB – Universal Serial Bus

PLC – Public Limited Company