Net Neutrality Satirical Cartoon

     This political cartoon portrays the commonly discussed issue of this blog net neutrality. We can see the big companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast destroying the wall of net neutrality by a cannon's force. And the speech bubble in the back summarizes the entire picture, the wall that the FCC had worked so hard to build coming down in one blow.

Satirical Cartoon

        This satirical cartoon portrays the shift of priorities in today's education system. The students are so immersed in their new laptops, they completely disregard the fact that their teacher has been laid off. The lack of a mouths on the students also gives them a robotic and puppet-like look reflective of that of real life students who disregard their lessons and what their teachers are lecturing about, immersed without missing any attention in what lies on their screens. The cartoon also mocks the priority shift of today's schools. The speech bubble holding an announcer's message congratulates the students for their new laptops, although it is safe to assume the money spent on these very machines caused their teacher to be laid off, which the announcer mentions as nothing more than "other news."

New Skype App Translates in Real Time

     Microsoft's Skype, the video and voice call service, is in the preview stage and is to be made open to the public later this year. The service offers real time text and voice translation, although currently the preview only allows voice translations between English and Spanish, over 40 languages are supported as text translations. Microsoft is marketing the product as a translator tool for schools, Skype is already used by teachers to hold class conferences with children from other countries, and Microsoft wishes to expand this practice to more countries and nationalities. The preview is currently compatible with Windows 8.1 and preview copies of Windows 10. The translator is of course not perfect, Darren Orf from Gizmodo.com tested out the program and noted that while the speech recognition was very accurate, as the words per minute number increases the recognition's quality can decrease. Orf also noted that the translations can be rather broken, and for someone who has no knowledge of the language in which they are being spoken, it can be difficult to decipher what the translator is attempting to say.

You can take a look at Darren Orf's before-mentioned article in which he covers many of the nooks and crannies of the preview program, You may check that out with this link: http://gizmodo.com/skype-translator-hands-on-close-but-no-babel-fish-1671457117

Google Unveiled the First Prototype of It's Self Driving Car

   

      Pictured above is Google's first fully functional prototype for it's self-driving car. The vehicle, unlike its original mock up, contains working head lights and manual controls making it fully functional. The addition of manual controls was due to the requirement of California law regarding driver-less cars which states that all vehicles need to have manual controls in order to be qualified for the road, and also maxes out at a speed of 25 miles per hour for safety reasons. While Google has installed self-driving technology in cars such as Lexus SUV's and Toyota Prius Models this vehicle is the first to be Google's own design. The car is designed to be fuel efficient and compact.

For more information you can read this small video and the accompanying post by Erin Marquis at auto-blog.com: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/23/google-unveils-first-real-prototype-of-its-self-driving-car/

Google Released an Unpatched Microsoft Bug to The Public

     Project Zero is the name of a team of security experts compiled by Google to make the internet safer. The team focuses on finding vulnerabilities in critical internet infrastructure. Thus far the team has found vulnerabilities in a variety of operating systems including Android, Linux, iOS, and Mac OS X. Microsoft has been the target of the team's latest endeavor, as a member of Project Zero recently made public a critical bug in Windows 8.1 (and possibly Windows 7) which Microsoft failed to fix in the 90-day period after the team privately disclosed the bug to them. The bug in question gives a user, or a Malware, administrator privileges to make changes to the system by clicking an .exe file. This auto-elevation of privileges means that unauthorized users or Malware could make changes to the system by bypassing all limitations of non-administrators. Microsoft has stated that users would still "need to have valid logon credentials and be able to log on locally to a targeted machine." However as pointed by Steve Dent in his engadget,com Google posts Windows 8.1 vulnerability before Microsoft can patch it, "while that should limit the damage, it doesn't mean the flaw is harmless -- a disgruntled mid-level employee with some programming skills could wreak serious harm." Microsoft was alerted of the bug on September 30, and were warned they had a 90 day period to fix the bug. While Microsoft has admitted to the bug's existence publicly, it has not stated why it has not yet been fixed, the next planned "patch Tuesday," in which Microsoft usually releases its updates, is planned for January 13, but it is unknown if the bug will be fixed then, earlier, or later.

For more information you may visit this article by Lucian Armsau which I ulitized when making this post: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-critical-windows-bug-unfixed,28294.html

Or you may visit the before-mentioned article by Steve Dent: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/02/google-posts-unpatched-microsoft-bug/

A Humble Proposition: Satirical Writing

            The Internet is the spark of controversy of all forms in our modern world; legal issues of piracy, conflict regarding the effects it has on the health of its users, and pointless and endless controversy regarding how, much time teenagers and children spend immersed in it all spark from the supposed “greatest invention” humanity can be accredited for, however, dare I say it that should any one man or woman be able to device a solution that will bring an end to this endless disputing, he or she should be regarded as the greatest mind humanity has and will ever know, and be showered with unending riches throughout the duration of their entire lifetime.  

            Many claim the conflicts which arise on the Web, whether it be bickering between acquaintances or bullying and hate crimes, are so abounding that it would be impossible to eliminate them in one swoop, yet I do say they are mistaken, for I have humbly devised a humble plan that will humbly end all conflict born from the Internet now and forever in a single step. My humble plan will indeed end all discussions over Internet legal issues such as piracy, it will bring about a change for the better in the health of the common people, and best of all end all discussions about how it affects our youth, for the humble plan I humbly devised will indeed humbly end it all. What is my humble plan you ask, well it is one that has been applied by other minds throughout history although none as brilliantly as I; to eliminate the conflict, we must destroy its source.

            My scheme has been the product of long periods of thought and process and has been devised in such a manner as will flawlessly eliminate all issues that sprout from the Internet. No longer shall theft occur in the form of piracy by illegal downloads of music, movies, or software; nor in physical form of contraband CD’s and DVD’s. Artists, authors, and movies will no longer gain recognition by aid of the internet; and this very want of known entertainment would bring an end to contraband for no one would purchase a CD or DVD of a movie or artists of whose very existence he or she was oblivious to regardless of how cheap it might be. Furthermore, the sheer number of musical albums, literary pieces, and works of film will plummet as in modern day a huge portion of our entertainment is generated by indie developers who will no longer possess a portal through which they may make public their creations, thus curtailing the repertoire of entertainment contrabandist could use.

            My proposal of humble origins would also promote healthy habits through the elimination of online commerce. No longer would people be able to rely on electronic commerce for their goods, they would need to go to stores and physically purchase whatever items they might need. No longer could presents be ordered online, nor movies be streamed, humanity would once again be forced to be active, and to interact with one another. Some might claim the elimination of online commerce might take a toll on the economy since this is what a huge portion of the world’s trade consists of, however I say this would do nothing but help the economy since online businesses would need to adapt to the new personal form of market, and businesses which were thrown into bankruptcy by online commerce and streaming such as blockbuster would have a chance to once again prosper, this new need for person to person shopping experiences would be the gateway to creating millions of jobs as businesses would have plenty a new position to fill both new businesses and old. Businesses ruined or damaged by piracy such as is the case with record and movie stores would once again come to light as the main outlets for these forms of entertainment.  

            The final and perhaps strongest point in my humble proposition, is that the elimination of the internet would take away the ability of children and teenagers to explore their talents and learn about interests outside of what they learn in school, and instead give rise to generations of well-taught machines who are taught in the best manner possible: strictly to the test. Children need not know about rich foreign cultures other than those taught in social studies courses, nor do they need to learn to write outside the standardized format. A child will no longer be able to learn cursive in second grade through online learning sites, after all, that is third grade work. Children need not learn varied musical styles that they will not learn outside their music courses, after all that time could be spent learning complex polynomials. Teenagers need not be exposed to writings and music of others like them, they should be learning the correct way to do things, the way the teachers mandate.

            I do not reject the knowledge nor the ideas of other men and women of possible solutions to this problem, but I do confess with utter honesty and confidence that I doubt any other system proposed will work as flawlessly as my own. I also assure that I nominate this humble proposition for consideration wishing only to better the world, I wish to dictate that I hold no bias into the carrying out of this plan, but I do once again state, that I firmly believe that my humble plan which I have so humbly devised will bring an end to all conflicts as I have mentioned in this proposition.

Haptic 3-D Technology Designed By a Team At The University of Bristol Could Change Modern Medicine

                We have seen it on television and movies for years, it is employed by Tony Stark in all his creations in the Iron Man films, but at long last the technology of haptic 3-D holograms is no longer just a dream trapped in science fiction. Researchers at the University of Bristol’s department of computer science have created tangible 3-D holograms which can not only be seen and molded by users but also felt as if they were real shapes and objects. The technology is based on ultrasound; complex patterns of ultrasound are manipulated in order to create an array of air disturbances which can be formed into 3-D shapes the users can feel on their skin. Sensors are used which detect the position of the user’s hands within the array and focus the ultrasound waves in those areas; allowing the users to feel the objects freely without limitations of fixed parameters of the shapes which are tangible. The possible applications of the technology are endless, applicable to all fields from entertainment to sports and everything in between. The use for it in forms of media such as movies and video games is clear, to be able to hold a weapon from a video game or directly feel objects or props from a movie would create a new level of immersion for these mediums, but it doesn't end there. Michelle Starr, a writer for cnet.com, has listed the opinions of Dr. Ben Long, the project's leader, in regards to what he believes are this technology's potential uses in her article "Ultrasound creates a haptic shape that can be seen and felt." Dr. Long stated he believes the technology could be implemented in medicine allowing doctors to feel the different shapes in full body CT scans, giving them the ability to physically detect tumors. Dr. Long has also said he believes the technology can be used for experiences as simple yet enriching as it would be to be able to touch and feel objects in museums which are too fragile to be given into the hands of the common public. Haptic 3-D holograms have enormous potential for use in medicine, entertainment, sports, and even every day household use and I personally cannot wait to see how this technology advances and what potential it holds.

If you wish to learn more about this technology the article by Michelle Starr which I referenced can be found here: http://www.cnet.com/news/ultrasound-creates-a-haptic-shape-that-can-be-seen-and-felt/ The article also has a video which demonstrates how to shapes are "seen" with the technology by reflecting the Ultrasound waves on oil.