Innovation Journalism

South Koreans and Counterfeits.

2008-12-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

In a recent blog by Michael Arndt from the BusinessWeek Innovation Web Site, he speaks on how South Korea has a problem with fake goods. I find this to be really funny because it is so true! This may seem like a statement that would usually offend a South Korean, but I will have to say that Koreans love to find a bargain. Even though that Louis Vuitton looks more like a IY than a LV, as long as it looks like the real deal, Koreans will buy it. So in order to crack down on the fakes, South Korea has created a new innovative way by creating pretty nifty incentives. If someone reports anyone who is selling fake goods, they will be awarded with money.

"Like
nations elsewhere, South Korea has a problem with fake goods. It's trying an
innovative method to stop counterfeiting…It's enlisting everyday citizens to
tell on people selling knockoffs, and paying bounties for their detective
work. "
—Michael Arndt, NEXT: Innovation Tools & Trends
For More Information: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2008/12/koreas_new_anti.html
-Nina

Is That a Fly or Wait a Camera?

2008-12-07T23:53:00.001-08:00

What looks like an insect is actually a camera that is under study to be used in the United States military. The military is hoping that they could develop these cameras to spy on enemies and make attacks. It is used to conduct dangerous missions while saving people's lives. The hopes for this flying robots is to send them out in a swarm so it looks like it is just insects.

For more information: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27845644/

-Nina

Go Green While You Eat.

2008-12-07T23:42:00.000-08:00

You may think, gee another post on Going Green?? I am going crazy! No, but this one will be useful, even though it might be something you already know. Going green while you eat, does not necessarily mean eating vegetables and organic food everyday. There are other ways you can care for the environment when you are shopping for groceries. First, make sure that you write EVERYTHING you need from the supermarket. This prevents you from making multiple trips because you forgot something, which ultimately helps you save gas. Also, make sure that you are bringing your reusable shopping bag, so the supermarket can cut back on all of those plastic and paper bags. Only one percent of plastic bags are recycled and surprisingly, only 20 percent of paper bags ever gets recycled. Also, try shopping at your local Farmer's Markets, so you can support local growers and a good way to get some fresh air. Lastly, you can buy recycled cups, paper towels and napkins for your meal.

For more information: http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/green/sns-green-eco-meals,0,6329839.story

-Nina

New Drug Can Help You Sleep Easier.

2008-12-07T23:32:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be nice if someone created a medication to minimize jet lag and bring sleep back to graveyard shift workers? Everyone needs the right amount of sleep to stay healthy and when someone does not have a steady sleep cycle, it can be unhealthy. About 450 people were conducted in a study by a team from Bringham and Women's Hospital in Boston, to test an experimental drug that can restore normal sleep. The group were subjected to stimulated jet lag in a sleep laboratory and found it to work the first night it was used! There were no aftereffects from the drug, minimal side effects and has no potential for addiction or abuse, unlike other sleeping aid drugs. The people who took it also performed normally the next day. The experimental medication, called tasimelteon, works like melatonin and restores normal sleep patterns.

For more information: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-sleep2-2008dec02,0,6896293.story

-Nina

Obama and Innovation.

2008-12-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

Jeneanne Rae is a columnist for Business Week on the Web. In a recent piece entitled, "What Obama Needs to Know About Innovation," she basically describes what well, what the President-elect Obama needs to know about innovation. It is clear that the future President-elect will need to have a clear understanding of innovation, because we are currently in an age of transition. Transitioning with innovative ideas and products, that he will need to utilize and further advance for our society to advance as well. It is also clear that Americans want and need to change in our society today and for the future. In order for that to be successful, the government needs to make some changes of its own.

What Rae suggests that Obama learns from failure, analyze bureacracy and look globally to learn. There needs to be some improvement in health care, social security, education, aid of rescue and most importantly in our financial system.

For more information: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2008/id20081126_872242.htm

-Nina

Food vs. Fuel: Saltwater Crops May Be Key to Solving Earth's Land Crunch

2008-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

Saltwater-loving plants could open up half a million square miles of previously unusable territory for energy crops, helping settle the heated food-versus-fuel debate, which nearly derailed biofuel progress last year.

If the world's irrigated acreage by 50 percent, saltwater crops could provide biomass for alt fuel makers. An article in wired.com said Saltwater plants could be put in over a million miles of previously unusable land. This the article said, will “tone down the rhetoric of U.N. officials worried about food prices, one of whom called the conversion of arable land to biofuel crops "a crime against humanity."

NASA scientists have taken new interest in the salt-water crops.

The article said, “that salt-loving crops could be used to produce 1.5 billion barrels of ethanol annually on a swath of new agricultural land almost five times the size of Texas.”
Because of the worlds need to feed 6.7 billion people its hard to find room for biofuels.
So the article said, “social and environmental groups agree that the best location for bioenergy crops would be on currently unusable land. That would ensure that land used to grow food crops in poor countries was not converted to growing energy crops to power cars in developed nations.”

So the one problem is where do you find all this land, solution is overly salty land could be used to grow a special set of salt-tolerant plants — halophytes. The article said, “calculated that this could produce 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent per year. That's 35 percent of the United States' liquid fuel needs.”

-Adam

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/saltwatercrops.html

Eye Spy: Filmmaker Plans to Install Camera in His Eye Socket

2008-12-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

An article in Wired.com explains that Rob Spence’s hazel-green eyes will have a tiny wireless video camera in it that records your every move.

Rob Spence lost his right eye at 13 while playing with his grandfather's gun on a visit to Ireland. "I wanted to shoot a pile of cowshit," he says. "I wasn't holding the gun properly and it backfired, causing a lot of trauma to the eye."

Therefore, the eye he is considering replacing is not a working one and he has had prosthetic eye for many years.

The article said, “Spence, a 36-year-old Canadian filmmaker, is not content with having one blind eye.” He wants a wireless video camera inside his prosthetic; this will give him the ability to make movies wherever he is, all the time, just by looking around.
"If you lose your eye and have a hole in your head, then why not stick a camera in there?" he asks.

Spence, who calls himself the "eyeborg guy," will not be restoring his vision the article said. “The camera won't connect to his brain.” It is like having someone else with you recording and watching your every move.

"The eyes are like no other part of the body," says Spence. "It's what you look into when you fall in love with somebody and [influences] whether you trust someone or not. Now with a video camera in there, it will change how people see and perceive me."
The article said a wireless video camera into a prosthetic eye isn't easy. “The shape of the prosthetic is the biggest limitation: In Spence's case, it's 9-mm thick, 30-mm long and 28-mm high.”

Spence will be the first of his kind having a camera physically put in his body. The article said, “Getting a completely self-contained camera module to fit into the tiny hollow of a prosthetic eye is a significant engineering challenge.”

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/eye-spy-filmmak.html

-Adam

Mars Mission Delayed Until 2011

2008-12-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

NASA announced that it's over-budget Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover will be delayed by two years, to 2011, adding another $400 million to the cost of the mission and could delay other missions. Technical problems are to blame for the delay.

According to newscientist.com, the nuclear-powered rover, which aims to test whether the planet is or once was capable of supporting life, was originally set to launch in October 2009. Rushing to fix the problems would put the entire mission at risk, said NASA administrator Mike Griffin.

The mission is already $300 million over its proposed budget of $1.6 million, established in 2006. This delay could bring the cost of the mission near $2.2 billion. Money to fund this may have to come from other Mars missions, this delaying or canceling their progress.

-Michael Strachan

Twitter turns down Facebook

2008-12-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

Social network, Facebook offered competitor, Twitter, $500 million dollars in stocks Monday morning. However, Twitter, unsure of Facebook's potential turned the company's offer down.

Though both companies are social networks, Facebook and Twitter differ in many ways from how the website works down to what each offers. Interesting that Facebook's seek to join with Twitter was turned down since Facebook's success doubled in the last year.

However, Twitter doesn't believe that Facebook has reached it's peak of success. Weird, I don't remember hearing about Twitter until Dr. Reis told us about it in class, so who are Twitter to turn anyone down?

Reportly, Facebook has gone down this year in users by 1% when compared to last year and Twitter believes they their company has the potential of growing on its own without partnership at this point in time. We'll see.

Ching

Holy Crap! These guys in Germany just cured AIDS!

2008-12-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

This was a fun fun funny article that I found in Popular Science this week... So it's more about medicine than innovation... But hey, it's innovative medicine...I'm including the entirety of the entry with comments to follow because I think it is worth a read...

Of course, the procedure is so expensive, complicated, and risky that it's not replicable as a large-scale public health strategy, but we'll ignore that for a minute. Here's how they did it. Drs. Gero Hutter and Eckhard Thiel are blood cancer experts at the Charite Medical University in Berlin. Their patient, an American ex-pat, was suffering from leukemia as well as a full-blown case of AIDS. His case was so desperate that his doctors decided to get craaazy and give him a bone-marrow transplant--(this isn't the crazy part)--using blood stem cells from a donor who was immune to HIV (this is). About 10 years ago, doctors discovered that a few of their gay male patients never developed AIDS, despite engaging in risky sex with hundreds of partners. It turned out that they had a rare mutation called Delta 32 that blocks a molecule in HIV from adhering to the cell surface. Delta 32 must be inherited from both parents; it occurs at a rate of roughly 1 percent in European populations (it's more common in Northern Europe and much much, rarer--basically unheard of--in Africa and Asia), so it was difficult but not impossible for the doctors to find a donor in Germany who fit the bill. The patient was asked to stop taking his antiretroviral AIDS medication for the duration of the procedure with the understanding that he'd have to restart the meds fairly soon after the transplant was complete and the level of the virus in his bloodstream started to rise. But to everyone's surprise, it never rose, not at all. It has now been close to two years since the transplant, and there are still no traces of HIV in the patient's blood or brain tissues. So: success! A cure! For this guy, at least."

Now back to the caveats. A bone marrow transplant is dangerous and painful--it involves wiping out the patient's entire immune system with chemotherapy and radiation and carries a 30 percent mortality rate. The prospect is so daunting that one doctor joked to the New York Times that he'd rather just take antiretrovirals for the rest of his life. It's also not always possible to find a donor who is a good match for the recipient (if the donated cells are not taken from someone with similar human leukocyte antigens, a crucial part of the immune system, they are likely to be rejected or cause severe graft-versus-host disease) and is also happens to be resistant to HIV. This would be particularly tricky in Africa, where the mutation doesn't occur naturally. And carriers of Delta 32 might actually be more susceptible to certain other diseases, like the West Nile virus.

But even though this particular procedure doesn't offer a new standard of care for AIDS patients worldwide, it offers a lot more than just hope (although hope is nice). For one thing, researchers now have a clear path to a cure. If the steps taken by Hutter and Thiel can be refined, simplified, and made less risky, they could become a viable protocol for thousands of other people with AIDS. Eventually, this might entail bone-marrow transplants in which not all of the body's immune cells are killed, or "snipping" the segment of DNA that codes for HIV receptors out out of blood cells and transplanting them into AIDS patients. Eventually, patients' own cells could actually be engineered to resist HIV. These advances are probably decades away, but this breakthrough is confirmation that, once they're made, they could amount to something big.

Okay...Me again...

There are a few interesting implications that we need to discuss here on three levels. First the pharmaceutical industry, second, eugenics, and finally, validity of the discovery.

So first, this is the one are where I feel like a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Who, in the general population anyway, actually knows if there is already a cure for AIDS, outside of this little--or rather huge--discovery. If there is, which is a possibility, then the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the world, would be screwed. Billions of dollars go into AIDS research and treatment. The companies who make these drugs and do this research would loose a pretty penny if there was all of a sudden a cure for the THE incurable disease of our time. These companies also send funding and share political platforms with candidates who are in the public eye all the time. Just look at the issue of universal health care in this last election. I think it is entirely possible, however horrible, that the upety ups in the gov't wouldn't want to piss off some of their biggest contributors and flip the bird to the economy when all of the jobs created by AIDS research are suddenly unnecessary. In short... no cure for you silly dying people, sorry about your quality of life... or lack there of.

Second, eugenics is super fun! Hey, since this procedure is super invasive and takes very specific genes that occur in one percent of the population, we need to find all of the people with the immunities and create a super race of AIDS fighting babies. Just think of it--they'll be like super heroes. We could force men and women, who may or may not know each other, to procreate and essentially create drug babies that belong to drug companies in the name of science. We'll rip out their bone marrow... I mean "donate it" to dying people so they can live. Hey the baby might die, but it fulfilled its purpose. I know I know, the pro-lifers will not be happy--but hey, at least the conservatives livin' on the DL wouldn't have to worry about transmitting the plague to their wives anymore. (Okay, I know that was a super low-blow, but I think you are smart enough to get it).

And finally... Dun dunna nun!!! Who knows the validity of all of this anyway? Yeah, you've heard about this now, but if it is true shouldn't it be one of the top stories in the world? I mean, it only affects millions of people. Oh, wait... *see paragraph on pharmaceutical companies* Anyhoo, I would love to believe that these findings are accurate, but I am suddenly reminded of the only episode of South Park I have ever seen. In the story two young boys are infected with HIV and they go to Magic Johnson to find a cure. Turns out the cure was money. Yup, thousands of dollars injected right into their veins... funny that... Yes this is a comical twist on finding a cure for HIV, but we've all thought it. If we haven't, we aren't doing enough thinking.

Well, heres to hoping you are all immune like those lucky dogs from eastern Europe. If not, do your part to find those who are and let's get on the ball creating our super race of AIDS killing babies. So then we can focus on something really important, like what Palin did on her most recent huntin' trip.

--Roger

Sport Utility Bikes

2008-12-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Even though gas prices are decreasing, there is no certainty of when it will go up. Many people have taken another route on cars and have rushed to their local bicycle shops. Because of the high demand of bicycles, companies have utilized this demand and has developed many sport utility bikes. These bikes are longer and more expensive, as it could hold various items in the back. These are also known as "longtail bikes" or extra long SUB'S [sport utility bikes]. These are designed to hold extra heavy cargo and cold hold up to 200 pounds of cargo. The prices of these bikes may vary but is around $1,000.

For a list of different types of SUB's, go to: http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/green/la-he-gear6-2008oct06,0,2004149.story

-Nina

A New Look for McDonald's

2008-12-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wait, what? McDonald's is getting ready to make the transition from its traditional packaging to a new look. The idea behind this remodeling of packaging and marketing is geared to "telling a story about each product." The chain also hopes that this new branding will influence the decrease in obesity, as some products will contain pictures of it on its packaging, to remind consumers that it is made out of real food. It hopes that consumers will keep in mind that McDonald's is known for quality and authenticity. The new packaging also consists of bold and crisp lettering. The remodeling is also developed to help further the brand to be a global brand, saying that it will appeal to more consumers.

The interior will also include some changes, as it will have flat screen televisions and plush chairs. I am excited about this upgrade, but I wonder if it will encourage more consumers to eat there. Will the branding have a tremendous affect on sales? I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2008/id2008123_918813.htm
-Nina

Back to the Garage: How Economic Turmoil Breeds Innovation

2008-12-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

An article in Wired Magazine by Daniel Roth explains a bad economy might be a good thing for innovation. The article said, “In periods of economic turmoil, people are hungry and work cheap, and entrenched companies often concentrate on in-house cost-cutting instead of exploring new markets, which can explode with the next turn of the business cycle.”

Lots of companies lay low and cut corners but work on new and innovative ideas when the market get rolling again.

The article talks about the Great Depression and how many companies made big gambles and became some of the most crucial business moves in modern history. The article said, “Du Pont told one of its star scientists, Wallace Carothers, to set aside basic research and pursue potentially profitable innovation.” The article went on to say, “What he came up with was nylon, the first synthetic fabric, revolutionizing the way Americans parachuted, carpeted, and panty-hosed.” The article talked about other great inventers such as, Thomas Watson built a new research center, Douglas Aircraft debuted the DC-3, and the creation of television.
"The wonderful growth of the post-World War II period was due largely to the tremendous backlog of innovation developed in the late years of the Great Depression," says Rick Szostak, an economics and technology historian at the University of Alberta.

The article made it clear that this doesn't mean that big new ideas emerge because of turmoil and data does not show a link between the two. The article does say there is something about tuff economic times that forces people to think more about there futures. But the benefit of a global money drought is that competition tends to vaporize. The article said, “Bill Hewlett of HP committed to building the pocket calculator—at the time, a supposedly impossible task—during the 1969-70 recession; the 2001 dotcom-led downturn presented the perfect launching pad not just for risk-taking, fresh-thinking startups like discount airline JetBlue and blogging juggernaut Six Apart, but also for Apple's iPod-fueled resurgence.”

For me personally It lets me know its the time to start getting into the stock market and the housing market. By the time I get older things should be back on top and one can buy in for less. It seems the new trend is not the consumer market anymore. The money is in conservation.

It this a recession or depression? I think its an American wake up call.

http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-12/st_essay

President-Elect Obama wants to appoint a CTO

2008-12-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

President-Elect Barack Obama plans to appoint a Chief Technology Officer when he takes office in January. The new CTO would be in charge of issues concerning new technology as we know it now and in the future. The CTO would also attempt to bridge the gap of communication between the government and citizens by using the internet.

By appointing someone to oversee technology, it allows the United States to stay current with technology in terms of dealing with safety concerns and the internet, as well as new innovation that can be useful to the citizens in which they govern.

Do you think a CTO is needed? and is this a good idea?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/politics/obama-would-make-chief-technology-officer-a-cabinet+level-position-322797.php

Rashad L.

Money for Security

2008-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

USA Today reported on the new two-factor authentication security system Bank of America has recently introduced to their patrons. With online banking, thieves are finding it easier to steal username and passwords of bank account holders, since that's all online banking requires for people to login to their online accounts.

Bank of America introduced a "SafePass card" which is a card with an embedded button that a person must press before logging onto their bank accounts online. The button will then create a one-time use number, which will appear on the card. People logging into their accounts will have to enter their username, password and this special number digitalized by the SafePass card.

Bank of America is the first major banking company in the United States to add extra security to online banking. The bank are not making this card mandatory because it would be too costly to supply over 25 million people who bank with Bank of America to receive a SafePass.

The SafePass card is $19.95. Some say that it's worth the extra 20 dollars a month to secure thousands of dollars in a banking account. But to others, perhaps that extra 20 dollars a month just isn't affordable.

Ching

Online Coupon Queens

2008-12-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

In this time of economic hardship, everyone is looking for a bargain and people are definitely more on the hunt for a discount than usual this holiday season. And for those really looking for steep savings, online shopping and coupons are the way to go.

According to a NY Times article on Nov. 26, many shoppers are obsessed with finding these bargains and some coupon websites are making it much easier. Sites like Retail Me Not, Fat Wallet and Budget Fashionista offer promotional codes and discount tips for other shoppers for different companies' sites. And apparently this trend is really on the rise - "In October, 27 million people visited a coupon site, according to comScore Media Metrix, up 33 percent from a year earlier."

At first, some companies were not happy that their promotional codes were being freely handed out over the Internet, but most companies now help tip off the websites since it helps bring in more business and they generally do better when these coupons generate more traffic to their sites.

Just like the old coupon queens at the grocery store, I would feel no shame about using an online promotion code every time I checked out if it meant saving me big bucks!

Read the full article on NYTimes.com and start saving!!

- Jessica I.

Facebook Connect? What happened to privacy?!

2008-12-03T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Internet's largest social network site, Facebook, now wants to take you across the web with your friends and show you their activity on other websites.

According to an article on the NY Times website on Nov. 30, the site is offering a new feature called Facebook Connect which "allows its members to log onto other Web sites using their Facebook identification and see their friends’ activities on those sites." FB Connect will also allow members to broadcast what they are doing on those sites and where they are going on them to their friends. To promote this many sites that want a "social web" will become partners with Facebook and users information will be shared with these other sites.

Many of us probably joined Facebook as a way to keep in touch with friends and chat with people we know over the Internet, but now FB is expanding in a way that will broadcast our information very freely over the Internet. Although an example of how FB Connect will work sounds cool - "For example, a person might alert his Facebook friends to the fact that he is watching a video on CBS.com and invite them to join him there to watch together and discuss the video as it plays" - the idea of people knowing everything that I do on the Internet does not exactly sound appealing to me. Do you think this is a big issue of privacy?

Read the full article for more in-depth info about this Facebook update on NY Times.com

- Jessica I.

Hawaii's mass transit may be electric

2008-12-03T08:13:00.001-08:00

As if we needed an excuse to go to Hawaii!

The Aloha State, and former home to our President-elect, will soon be installing an alternative transportation system. The system will be modeled after similar technology used in electric cars.

The system will couple the Internet and multiple charging stations to reduce the number of issues that come along with the technology (slow recharging and not enough stations).

However, I think the most fascinating thing about the project is the funding. So far it has been private investments being poured into the project.

Shai Agassi of Better Place L.L.C. in Palo Alto, Calif is spearheading it but has also received support from national governments, regional planning organizations and one major car company.

It is interesting to see the private sector merge and overlap what will essentially be a public benefit. I cant say I believe that this is the best way to operate public needs, but it may actually work in this case.

"Better Place would become a major customer for electricity and was also planning to invest in renewable energy sources that would be connected to the electric grid," reports the NY Times.

Hawaii has been called the perfect place for such a project, but I still have some questions. For example, there are many remote areas inland (maybe not as much on the Big Island), making it problematic.

It kind of irks me that the majority of these innovative technologies are never really questioned. The article talks about "working through the difficulties" but never explicitly says what those may be.

This article doesn't really ask the questions of feasibility, it really just reads like a press release. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for environmentally-friendly changes. But Hawaii's economy depends greatly on tourism, which is said to be down 14 percent in October compared to the previous year

But Obama's election is apparently starting to increase the tourism to the state. Sure, thats my excuse too.

-Erin

Roadtrip to Space, Anyone?

2008-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

Beginning as early as 2011, space tourism will be as "cheap" as $95,000 a ticket aboard a Lynx craft, thanks to the development of this new rocket by XCOR Aerospace of California. Tests flights are scheduled to begin in 2010, with paid flights beginning as early as 2011.

This company is competing against Virgin Atlantic Airways offshoot, Virgin Galatica, which is currently developing a sever-person craft known as SpaceShipTwo, which sells seats for $200,000. Over 200 people have already reserved seats aboard SpaceShipTwo and have put down their deposit of $20,000.

Lynx passengers ride along-side the commander during the 30 minute flight to 61 km above the Earth. Although they are strapped down, they still experience about a minute of weightlessness and can look out the cockpit windows at the Earth below.

More information can be found by clicking here.

-Michael Strachan

.Tel

2008-12-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

A new domain name is in the works. Tomorrow is the first day where companies and organizations can register Web addresses with .tel, according to an article on the NYTimes.com. This new domain stores and encrypts contact information directly into the Domain Name System and has the potential to become a phone book for the Internet.

"A .tel domain name links to the contact information of businesses, organizations and individuals. Information can include telephone numbers; link to Web sites, including a Facebook or MySpace page; e-mail addresses; instant messaging names, and, if you wish, identities for virtual games such as Xbox Live or Second Life," the article reads.

Because this information is stored on a DNS, rather than a server, when a person updates some of their personal information like a phone number or address with that .tel account, it will be automatically updated in friends address books who also have their .tel information stored on their phone.

Lauren D.

From YouTube to Carnegie Hall

2008-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

On Monday a new YouTube Symphony Orchestra project was announced in San Francisco, London and New York. The goal of this project is to create an orchestra with 100 members from around the world, who will come together to perform April 15 at Carnegie Hall.

The project will be conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony. "YouTube is the biggest stage on Earth, and I want to see what the world's undiscovered musical geniuses will create on it," said Chinese-born composer Tan Dun, before appearing at the news conference at Google's London headquarters.

The Orchestra will perform a new work by Tan, written for them and dubbed "Internet Symphony No. 1, 'Erioica.'"

In the first phase, musicians everywhere are invited to learns Tan's "Eroica" by downloading their parts from the new orchestra's YouTube site at www.YouTube.com/Symphony.

To compete for a spot, the musicians must record their performances and upload the videos to the site, then a panel of experts from different Symphony's will narrow the field to the best participants. Anyone who watches YouTube can vote on their favorites, from the final picks.

The winners will be then flown in April to a three-day music summit in New York, led by Tilson Thomas and culminating with the Carnegie performance.

After reading this article I began wondering what YouTube will com up with next?

-Carly Youngren

Even More Fuel-Efficient Vehicles are on the Way

2008-12-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

Even as gas prices continue to drop, teams of developers are still working to produce a car that is more energy efficient than anything out there. One model is powered only by batteries that weigh less than two grown men while another features "doorless sides" to help reduce drag.

As stated on MSNBC.com, "In one recent study, scientists discovered a thermoelectric material that increases fuel efficiency by 10 percent or ore. In another, engineers found that a simple electrically charged tube attached to the fuel injector could boost mileage by up to 20 percent."

While neither products are ready for production quite yet, both are helping to get the ball rolling in producing a car for the future. Until then, lets continue to hope prices at the pump continue to fall.

-Michael Strachan

Internet for All!

2008-12-01T23:03:00.000-08:00

December 18 will be the decision day for FCC to vote on whether or not to provide free broadband wireless internet service across the country. This is definitely something to be excited for.

While many Americans have internet access, whether it's at school or home, there are still many rural places where people either have very slow internet or no internet at all. FCC hopes to bridge the gap between those who have high-speed internet to those who don't.

This idea was first proposed in 2006 where airwaves would be sent across the United States to provide wireless internet for all. They call the airwave. AWS-3. Did I also mention that the idea proposed for wireless internet, for all, will be... free?

If FCC approves this plan, our computers, phones, or whatever people use these days to surf the web, might just detect internet connection anywhere in the United States within a year. Not to worry, intital usage of the free internet will need a confirmation of any persons 18 years or older in order to insure that children will not have access to adult contents on the web.

Internet carriers are not happy about this plan, which is why FCC has not gotten a chance to vote on this idea until they are sure it is best for the country, and the company that's sole purpose is to sell what might be offered to consumers for free.

Either way, it's exciting and it's great to see our country finally bridging the gap of technological innovations between those who can afford, to those who can't afford internet.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2008-12-01-free-broadband_N.htm

Ching

Cyber Monday

2008-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

Today was an official "Cyber Monday" according to a report by USAToday. The retailers in cyber world saw an increase in sales today after Black Friday sales was reported down by 5% and down 8% the day after this Thanksgiving.

Today, approximately 280 retailers online experiences 4.6 million visitors per minute as their peak. Retailers online have cut prices, not only nationally, but globally as well. Best Buy and Victoria's Secret experienced the most traffic on the sites from visitors all around the world.

Visitors are tracked through Web tracker Akamai Technologies'. Although this year's Cyber Monday is almost over, the National Retail Federation's promotes special deals on CyberMonday.com. Maybe we will experience another Cyber Monday after Christmas. Find the deals and grab them before someone else does.

Ching

NEW Adobe Creative Suite 4!

2008-11-30T21:36:00.001-08:00

I just can’t keep up with all this new technology! I just bought the Adobe Creative Suite 3 back in April and now Creative Suites 4 just came out.

It sounds like it offers many of the same programs as before but now offers some new features. According to a product review by CNN, “streamlined interfaces and integration for designing and editing images, Web pages, mobile sites, desktop apps, animation, film, and print layouts, and support the latest digital formats.”

I try to keep learning the new programs so that I can be one step ahead of the game… so I can have a little more of an edge out in the work force. I am so frustrated because I can’t afford to keep up with the new technology.

Link: Product review
http://cnn-cnet.com.com/software/adobe-creative-suite-4/4505-3513_7-33255199.html?subj=Adobe+Creative+Suite+4+Master+Collection&tag=feed&part=cnn-cnet

-Monica Sullivan

Personal security or national security?

2008-11-30T21:35:00.001-08:00

Bare all security x-ray machines… Germany is conducting several researches to make a full body scan for airports that would not reveal all.

In an article found on MSNBC’s Web site, Interior Ministry spokesman said tests would attempt to show whether images of concealed explosives or ceramic knives could be generated without also showing passengers naked.

Technology has been known to do many things… but this is the first time I have heard of modesty technology.

I guess it all comes down to personal privacy and national security!

Links:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27969302/#storyContinued

-Monica Sullivan

Acting Robots

2008-11-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

Two Wakamaru robots have been cast in pivotal roles in a new pay called "hataraku Watashi (I, Worker)," which premiered Tuesday at Osaka University. This play is set in the near future, as of now it is only 20 minutes in length, with plans to reach full length soon.

The play focuses on a couple who own two housekeeping robots, one of which loses its motivation to work and engages its owners in a discussion of its boring and demeaning existence.

The robots were built by Mitsubishi and are only three-feet tall, they are usually found as greeters and companions, but custom software developed at the university allows them to move around the stage with their human co-stars and deliver lines.

After reading this article I kept trying to imagine robots acting, and I couldn't. Lets hope that these robots don't take over for Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in the future.

-Carly Youngren

Do We Overrate Basic Research?

2008-11-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

New York Times Article by Steve Lohr talkes about Obama emphasizing a need to maintain a technology leadership in the world and use government funds to get going.

Acccording to Amar Bhide, a professor at the Columbia Business School. In a new book, “The Venturesome Economy,” “hidé makes a detailed argument that contradicts the prevailing view of expert panels and authors who contend that the nation’s prosperity is threatened by the technological rise of China and India, and that America’s capacity for innovation is eroding.” He does not believe government spending on research, are sorely needed.
“America’s competitive advantage, Mr. Bhidé explains, resides mainly in its creative use of information technology, especially in the large and growing services sector, led by companies like Wal-Mart.”
As long as technology is global we all benefit Bhide said. Technology is not to the key to economic growth. So instead of tilting policy toward the apex of the education system, Mr. Bhidé suggests, it may make more sense to invest scarce government resources further down — say, in upgrading community college programs. “The modern information technology economy is going to need a lot of foot soldiers,” he said.
I think it comes back to the idea that all of us need to be involved in something innovative in our lives and the little things will add up.

-Adam Meyn

It’s a BlackBerry?

2008-11-29T23:57:00.000-08:00

Most people can recognize a BlackBerry from across the room. The full keyboard and square body is the signature elements to a BlackBerry phone.

But what if we took away the traditional look and modernized it… would it still be a BlackBerry?

Verizon will be offering a rebate on the new BlackBerry Storm which will completely change the traditional look of a BlackBerry. The new phone is now a rectangle shape and no longer has a traditional full keyboard. It has become completely touch screen.

This new transformation has been causing a lot of drama around the water cooler. According to David Pogue blog on the New York Times Web site he thinks it will be a BlackBerry Dud. He very passionate about the negative effects this phone will play on the BlackBerry persona.

“I haven’t found a soul who tried this machine who wasn’t appalled, baffled or both,” said Pogue

I personally think that the BlackBerry Company made this phone for competeing with the rising sales with the iPhone. I guess in the long run we will have to wait and see how well the new phone will do.

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/technology/personaltech/27pogue.html?_r=1

-Monica Sullivan

Black Friday goes online

2008-11-29T23:19:00.000-08:00

The day after thanksgiving, Black Friday, has always been known for in-store discounts and savings, however with the changing times Black Friday has also changed.

People would wake up at the crack of dawn to go stand in line for a killer deal on top selling products, which still holds true today… But there is a change in the wind.

Customers can still choose to get up early, with bloody knuckles to duke it out with each other over the new TV on sale or now they can shop in the comfort of their home.

This past Black Friday I woke up and purchased a new ipod from the comforts of my home. The in-store deals were also offered online and with one little click of a button I was the new owner of an ipod.

Although this little change in the wind has not caught on with all the aggressive customers that can be found in the store on Black Friday, it defiantly has sparked my interest and will become my new form of shopping for future Black Fridays.

-Monica Sullivan

Parental controls on Driving?

2008-11-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

There has been lots of talk about the new babysitter in town… No not the parental controls on the TV or the computer, but in your Ford vehicle!

Ford Motor Company will be offering a new feature on some of there 2009 vehicles. The “Big Brother” feature is programmed in the key which will limit the car's top speed, radio volume and general fun level, at the whim of the car's owner.

The new feature is mostly aimed at teens and "is to look at safety technology from a family perspective," said Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood.

This uptight feature will allow parents to automatically turn on traction and stability control, limit speed to 80 miles per hour and control the radio volume.

Since this is a blog I feel able to share my words of wisdom to the parents that are controlling enough to purchase this… Just don’t let you teens drive… If you don’t trust them enough on their own to drive… they most likely shouldn’t be!

Links:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2008/10/ford-watching-u.html

-Monica Sullivan

A GPS for x-mas could mean a driving violation

2008-11-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes, technology can bite the hand that made it. Or something like that.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Global positioning systems and factory-installed "black box" event data recorders have been helping to create cases against those who choose to break the law.

The “unwitting self-surveillance” has been used to build a case against an arsonist, Scott Peterson and stalkers. At the same time, a man wrongly accused of speeding used his GPS to prove otherwise.

Many are upset that this technology is an invasion of privacy and that you can’t disassemble the recorders. Insurance companies are even using this technology to dispute claims.

"That's my problem with this, from the privacy perspective," John Soma, a Denver University law professor and executive director of its Privacy Foundation, said of event data recorders and of authorities reviewing the stored information. "The car comes equipped with it. They can't disable it. There hasn't been any meaningful legislative discussion of this or any meaningful notice that this is now in your car."

But courts found that defendants cannot plead invasion of privacy when travelling on publicly funded roads.

I find it rather ironic. If a GPS could get us out of a ticket, I doubt we would be concerned with “our right to privacy.” But when the tables turn, we cant help but be upset.

I don’t advocate the use of a car’s black box or GPS device over human eyes. In fact, relying on such could almost promote laziness. We shouldn’t rely on Big Brother to do the job of our publicly paid police force.

But we cant be upset when technology bites us.

-Erin

Watching HD on Medical Monitor

2008-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Olympus' "videoscope" is making its way into the medical field for the doctors. The videoscope is now being used by doctors during surgery as surgeons are inserting these cameras into patients' bodies. The videoscope replaces old cameras that have been in use at hospitals for years without upgrading. Now, with the videoscope, surgeons are able to clearly distinct and search for specifics in high definition.

These cameras are currently on the market for about $20,000. However, some say that the camera is worth the price since it has more abilities than other traditional cameras on the market. Currently, Olympus doesn't have much competition in HD cameras, however, traditional cameras without the HD cost about 10% less than Olympus' newest invention.

Ching

Wind Farms Controlling Weather?

2008-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

In the United States, wind power only accounts for one percent of all electricity generation. The industry as a whole, however, is growing rapidly and plans are in the work for the country to generate 30 percent of all it's electricity by wind by 2030. Large wind turbines like these may soon become a common, everyday sight.

But what kind of effect will these large devices have on climate patterns? In a recent computer model demonstration, wind turbines were places from Texas to Canada, from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains. The results, were alarming:

"On average, the mammoth installation lowered wind speeds by 5.5-6.7 miles per hour immediately downwind," said an MSNBC.com article. "The turbines also disrupted air currents on a large scale that rippled out like waves across the northern hemisphere. As they spread out, the waves sometimes ran into storm systems a few days later, knocking them several hundred miles off course."

Scientists have looked to using these turbines to control storm paths.

"Let's say a big snow story is headed for New York City and if you leave the wind farms on, it has an 80 percent chance of hitting, but if you turn them off, there's only a 40 percent chance," said Daniel Kirk-Davidoff of the University of Maryland. "That's about the best we could probably ever do, because weather forecasting is full of uncertainty."

Looks like weather forecasters may soon have a new variable to throw into the mix when creating weather outlooks!

-Michael Strachan

Prosthetics or Aesthetics?

2008-11-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, this one is kind of cool. Although, I'm beginning to worry about just how advanced video games have become...

The latest generation of prosthetics being developed in the US are incredibly advanced, funded by a $73-million grant from defence research agency. But the latest piece of research kit is a cheap piece of videogame hardware: the controller to axe-man simulator Guitar Hero.
The controller was hacked by researchers at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to respond to the electrical output of the twitching chest muscles tasked with controlling the lab's latest prototype prosthetic arms.

That provides a new, hopefully less tedious, way for amputees to train themselves to gain fine control over the arms. The lab hopes to make control of individual fingers on the robotic hand possible, not just opening and closing all five at the same time. Apparently they plan to modify more games for muscle twitch control.

It is developments like this one that truly lead me to believe that the future, and for that matter the not-so-distant future, will rely so heavily on technology that we might begin to lose sight of what makes us who we are. Things like art and culture, that may not hold the key to solving problems with disease or end climate change may not seem to share the same validity as new advents in prosthetics, but they show us who we are and where we came from. We cannot lose sight of any of these things. Otherwise, we ourselves become less human, and more machine. So, instead of a picture of the prosthesis on this blog, let's enjoy something a little more aesthetically pleasing.

And hey, I don't have anything against giving people the ability to use all of their limbs. I just think we need to take a step back some times and take in our surroundings. We as people often get so caught up in our daily lives, we forget to actually live them. I think former President Abraham Lincoln said it best when he noted, "With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die."

--Roger

Supersize It, Please.

2008-11-26T22:04:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Wired.com reported on the genetic changes in the food we will be eating tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day.

What is going on with the turkey and the corn? Does it seem like each year, our food is getting bigger? While some consumers may find it exciting that they are paying the same price for a larger turkey this year as last year, many people may be unaware of the unnatural mutation our turkey goes through each year.

Compared to 1966, the average weight of a turkey has gone up 13lbs. In 1966, a turkey averaged 21lbs while in 2003, the average turkey weighed 39lbs. That's 13lbs more bird and twice more amount of meat to indulge.

The birds aren't growing larger naturally, though. Take into consideration that a bird is fed chemical enhancing food that allows them to grow up to 50lbs in five months. A turkey may get so big that they are unable to mate naturally. That's where the turkeys get artifical inseminations so farmers can make sure that next year, there will be enough turkey for all. Bigger turkeys for all.

Ching

STMicroelectronics' STM32 Microcontroller Wins EDN China 2008 'Best Product' Innovation Award

2008-11-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

The EDN Innovation Awards started in Silicon Valley in 1990. China is a leader in innovative products. In 2008, 160 products from 74 companies were nominated to compete for the awards. Fifty one of these products, were selected as finalists by the judging panel.

World leader in microcontrollers and recognized innovator among semiconductor manufacturers, was presented with EDN China's 2008 Best Product Award. The STM32 was singled out among scores of competing products in a broad range of categories. EDNC's Innovation Award honors outstanding electronic products and professionals, as selected by an expert jury and voted on by engineers in China.

"We are very proud that STM32 won the Best Product Award of this year's EDNC Innovation Award. Although STM32 was designed in Europe, it is widely accepted by Chinese engineers since it is voted by EDNC netizens and engineers," said Arnaud Julienne, Director, Microcontrollers, Memories & Smartcards Group. "We are pleased that the STM32 has gained significant design-wins in the mass market of China. The applications into which China's engineers are designing the STM32 demonstrate their world-class marketing and design skills."
http://www.st.com

-ADAM MEYN

Eco-Friendly 360 Paper Bottles

2008-11-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

Feel guilty about all those plastic bottles you have in the backseat of your car?

Well, here's a solution. A concept for paper bottles made from 100% recycled food-safe materials.

The bottles can be stacked and are resealable.

Brand Image has developed this design "that questions the very existence of a plastic water bottle."

I really hope this gets put into production, it could greatly reduce the amount of plastic used for water bottles and perhaps other bottled-products.

-Matt M.

Woolly mammoths, coming to a petting zoo near you!

2008-11-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Do we really need to cross-species clone a woolly mammoth?

That is precisely what some scientists intend to do in a $10 million project.

The New York Times reports that a science team from Pennsylvania State University points to enough mammoth genome to regenerate or clone these animals that fell extinct over 10,000 years ago.

One of the largest problems with "regenerating" the mammoth is the degraded state the DNA is found in, and thus makes cloning extinct animals an even more daunting task. This also adds to the high probability of failure.

I'm always fascinated by the bio-ethical questions journalism poses, but never answers. We are constantly bombarded with the positive aspects of how much "progress" we have made in science.

At the same time, the progress we have made in stabilizing the economy or bettering our education system stands still.

Most articles do touch on the negative side, but it is either trivialized or never taken seriously (I think this may be partly because we think of these projects as controlled science and assign a notion of sterility).

I came across an oped piece, “Resurrection Science” that posed the many questions I have about these experiments.

Olivia Judson asks why should we be spending time and energy on recreating extinct animals when we clearly have problems keeping many of the endangered list.

“And yet. No matter how much I enjoy thinking about the science of resurrection — and I do — I have to admit that the absence of mammoths isn’t exactly a pressing problem. What is pressing is the number of species we are currently in danger of losing … Let’s get our act together. Let’s prevent that first.”

I think it is harder for journalists to answer these questions. The whole idea of remaining objective and allowing the public to come to their own opinion may not be the best when it comes to cloning and other bio-ethical issues.

Erin

Apple Touts 'Greenest Family Of Notebooks Ever'

2008-11-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Apple is at it again, this time proclaiming its "Greenest Family of Notebooks Ever" with the introduction of new MacBooks.

Though it might be a very clever marketing scheme by Apple, the benefits that the new laptops have for the environment cannot be overlooked. If anything, as this Channel Web article says, the strategy may be able to give consumers a reason to buy higher-priced Macs over PCs.

Apple offers an Environmental Update page on its website, found at http://www.apple.com/environment/update,

"For the past several years, Apple has made a concerted effort to be more transparent about the steps we are taking to protect the environment and make our business more sustainable. In this environmental update, I’d like to inform you of our recent progress and introduce you to a groundbreaking system of reporting that we believe is unmatched in our industry."

Are all you PCs out there ready to become a Mac?

-Matt M.

Children Suffering from the Economic Crisis?

2008-11-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

As the holiday season grows closer each day, a recent survey made by global consultancy, Deloitte, showed that shoppers have no stopped in spending money on Christmas gifts for the children.

Due to recent economic difficulties, adults have been spending less on themselves to save up for the winter seasons, to see that smile on their children's faces Christmas morning. Some retailers, such as clothing stores, have seen a drop on their sales, but it isn't because parents have stopped spending completely.

Instead, adults are spending their money on electronics for their children as Christmas gifts. More importantly, adults have not stopped buying innovative interactive learning toys for the kids. If anything, the money saved up from this year are being invested in their children's education.

Everyone is taking one for the team this season. In October, Disney said that they are going to keep prices down this winter season to make their toys more affortable in order to see a smile on a child's face. So children, no need to worry, daddy may be tight on money, but Santa will still be delievering presents this winter.

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2008/id20081119_173987.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_top+stories

Ching

There's hope for journalists...

2008-11-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

Six Apart, is a media source that is introducing its own bailout plan, according to an article on NYTimes.com. The TypePad Journalist Bailout Program offers a free pro account on the company's blogging platform for recently terminated bloggers and journalists. It pretty much offers them a way to keep working and writing.

I thought this part was interesting because it is something that we can relate to -- Brooke-Sidney Gavins is a broadcast journalism student at University of Southern California. "I understand that there may not be a 'guaranteed' job with a major media organization after I graduate," Gavins said in the article. "A lot of new journalists are going to have to build their careers more guerilla-style by selling their stories and promoting their work all the time."

And that is someone coming from USC! She thinks she's worried about getting jobs? What about us CSULB students...? Check the program out... you may be accepted and not have to worry about future graduation plans!

Lauren D.

Agriculture goes urban and high-tech

2008-11-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

A new twist to a traditional concept of agriculture has been implemented in Pomona, California. A recent article published by CNN.com talks about using hydroponics in farming which will bring farming into cities.

Hydroponics farming is a method of cultivating plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. With the concern of fewer natural resources in the world, hydroponics would be ideal because it requires less water than traditional farming. It also provides an opportunity for plants to be grown year around in greenhouses. California State Polytechnic University is currently running a program implementing hydroponics with a goal to bring farming to consumers which are in cities.

Supporters point out the environmental benefits this could lead to. Lower costs, more wildernesses, less bacteria and insecure food chains which are reasons they mention for urban hydroponic farms.

Of course nothing is for free, this high-tech farm will require a lot of money, not to mention the price of land, the heat and light needed to sustain the plaints year- round.

“Hydroponics are generally used for fast-growing, high-value crops such as lettuces and tomatoes that can be produced year-round in heated, well-lit greenhouses. So far, production is not large enough for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to track,” according to the article.

Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/21/urban.agriculture.ap/index.html

-Monica Sullivan

How To Not Act Your Age at Work

2008-11-23T11:39:00.001-08:00

Posted on CNNMoney.com by the editors of Money Magazine, there is an article with interesting tips as to not appear old at the workplace. The new techniques they name are texting, Wikis, blogging, and twittering.

I'm sure everyone has already sent a text message in this day and age (if not, you are definitely not living in the 21st century). But business texts are becoming more popular for quick, immediate updates. Instead of leaving a long voicemail that no one even has the time to listen to, send a quick text to inform your co-worker or boss of information or details they need to know right away. By this time, blogging is already pretty popular as well. People are writing on the web about every little thing that interests them or just putting out information about themselves whether people want to read it or not, but blogs are still popular in helping people in the business world. If you put on enough pictures, links, videos and useful content, people have been known to get noticed and then are offered business deals because of it. If writing a blog though isn't your thing, they also suggest just being a regular blogosphere reader to make sure that you are in-the-know about current happenings and help you expand your online searching knowledge.

The two new ones though - Wikis and twittering - are really what people are into these days. A wiki is a webpage where all employees and team members can update to and post information on. The biggest plus is that office wikis can be set to only be accessed by people you trust so you won't have to worry about all your information about your big project being available for viewing by anyone on the Web. Lastly, twittering is when people write short, frequent entries about what they are doing or thinking. Much like a Facebook status, Twitter updates can be followed by anyone and they can learn about many resources they wouldn't normally know by following someone's updates.

So based on these 4 things, how old are you in your workplace?

- Jessica I.

Fired Over Obama

2008-11-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

On Friday, a Verizon Wireless source told CNN that the Verizon employees connected to a breach of records from a cell phone used by President-elect Barack Obama have been fired. They will not say how many employees were fired because of the matter but they are saying that is considered to be "closed." Verizon first reported the breach on Thursday, but Obama's team was notified on Wednesday and the President-elect has reportedly not used that phone for months.

CNN explains: "The source also said the employees in question could not have read text messages, if Obama sent or received them, and would not have been able to access the content of any voice mail messages, although they would have been able to see whether any had been left... Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology said the employees probably had access to the dates and times of calls, the length of calls and the telephone numbers of those Obama spoke with."

Verizon says that they think this breach was just due to employees' curiosity, and it was only a simple voice flip-phone that was compromised so none of Obama's emails could have been accessed.

Verizon is also launching an investigation to see if the information was only shared between employees or to sources outside of the country. Do you think the White House is now going to switch to AT&T?

- Jessica I.

Wi-Fi in the Sky

2008-11-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Virgin America is set to launch in-flight Wi-Fi service this week and had a demonstration flight this Saturday out of San Francisco International Airport. They also partnered with YouTube for their demonstration flight.

Finally, an airline is offering what I feel should have been available years ago! For a society of people who are permanently connected to our Blackberries, cell phones and PDAs, a 5-hour cross country flight without being able to check our e-mails is a long time. Finally, Virgin America is giving all travelers what they need, and people will be able to access Internet on flights from 25,000 feet above.

After passing 10,000 feet in the air, CNET blogger who was on the demonstration flight said he was able to find a sky-high Wi-Fi signal and create an account. The service is, of course, not free and will cost you $9.95 for flight 3 hours or less and $12.95 for flights over 3 hours. Kent German explains how it works: "The service is available through Aircell, which powers the in-flight Wi-Fi technology. Radio towers through the continental United States transmit EV-DO Rev A signals to the planes. Three antennas on the outside of the aircraft pick up the signal, which is then transmitted throughout the cabin."

Also, cell phone usage in the air is still a no-go, but if you have a Wi-Fi enabled cell phone you will be able to text. Lastly, a very important aspect of the in-air Wi-Fi is that Virgin America will not be sensoring Web sites. Just be aware of your cabin neighbors and try to keep your browsing PG!

- Jessica I.

Puppies and Webcams

2008-11-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we have all used Webcams at some point to communicate with loved ones away. Ustream, a site used for conferences and chatting, has exploded after a live video feed of 6 Shiba Inu puppies went viral.

And trust me, they are cute.

"The flurry of attention began last month when a Bay Area couple’s pet Shiba Inu, a kind of Japanese hunting dog, gave birth, and its owners decided to train a Webcam on the newborn pups so they could keep an eye on them from work," reports the New York Times.

The site was created as a way for soldiers to stay in touch with their family, reports the same article.

And the puppies have drawn the attention of people across the globe.

Even CNN reported on the live stream.

But there is one comment on the NYT site that caught my eye. One smart reader could be on to something.

"I suspect this puppy site is part of a Ustream viral marketing campaign to drive eyeballs-for-ad-dollars and grow the base of Ustream users. There’s nothing wrong with viral marketing … just wish people better understood how it works. It seems more likely that the sudden dramatic website traffic didn’t result simply from a Ustream employee seeing the site and sending the link to friends and family … after all, the originators of the site (puppy owners) no doubt sent the link to their friends and family and it didn’t suddenly go 'viral.'"- Laurie

In the aforementioned articles, they do say that the couple wishes to remain anonymous. It makes you wonder whether the owners of the puppies are really people working at Ustream. In fact often times, readers have to wonder why there are news stories about something in the first place.

As the same commenter pointed out, both the NYT and CNN have used the viral video to address the First Family's desire to get a puppy. This has generated so much buzz alone, and doing this story could be a way of keeping a non-newsworthy story in the news.

Either way, we see you cant go wrong when combining cute puppies and Webcams.

Erin

Interesting WIFi Article - Take a Read...

2008-11-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

From Newscientist.com:

"The contest to exploit the airwaves freed up when the US switches over to digital TV next year has now got some rules.

These so-called white space frequencies are valuable because they travel further through the atmosphere and so could hugely extend the range of Wi-Fi services such as mobile broadband and gaming networks. The downside is that signals from distant devices operating at the same frequency within this band are more likely to interfere than existing Wi-Fi networks do. That could mean trouble for digital TV.

The solution, says the Federal Communications Commission, is to let the souped-up Wi-Fi devices detect which frequencies are free. In addition, the DCC says the new devices must have GPS receivers so they can avoid the frequencies licensed by TV broadcasts in their area."

Sounds like this situation has a really strong positive, but a strong downside as well. Interference with others on the same network? How would this effect your internet browsing? Could it make it easier for others on the same frequency to hack into your network or computer? Who knows - looks like we'll find out.

-Michael Strachan

Checking up with the doctor online

2008-11-20T12:11:00.001-08:00

When I came across this headline on NYTimes.com, "The Doctor Will See You Now - Online", I was intrigued to read it because in my medical sociology class we have been talking a lot about doctor/patient interaction.

Basically, American Well has gotten innovative and is creating ways so patients don't have to wait months to see their doctor...not evening have to start their car and drive to the office. You can log onto your computer and be face-to-face with your physician over the Web.

Dr. Roy Schoenberg founded the company with his brother, Ido.

"We need to take a fresh look at what's available in 2008. Online care means that without reworking the budget, without going through Congress, we can bring affordable health care to people who cannot access it," he said in the article.

There are some costs and a transaction fee - but the doctor's definitely aren't in it for the money considering that they get paid less. But the advantage for them is they don't have to deal with scheduling, overhead and paperwork. They basically log on and wait for patients to come to them and then the money gets deposited into the doctor's bank account.

The practice will benefit doctors who are retired or need business on a Saturday or Sunday where their offices may be closed. It will benefit patients who have a very close relationship with their doctor who knows them well and it's easier to log on and talk to them rather than wait months for an appointment.

If you have a heart attack obviously this system is not going to work well for you but it will work for primary care like diagnosing colds, back aches, etc.

I think for me personally it sounds really convenient if you have a simple question but if you don't really know what's wrong with you and you need a doctor to look at your throat, etc. then I would just rather go to the office.

Lauren D.

Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science

2008-11-18T23:51:00.000-08:00

New supercomputers brakes through petaflop speed barrier. The new computers will provide science new opportuties that weren’t possible before, with its number crunching skills, said an article on Wired.com.

According to the article, breaking the petaflop barrier won’t just allow faster computations. The computers will move scientific simulations farther than just the two main branches of science, theory and experimentation, and into the foreground.

The article continues by stating: “Instead of just hypotheses being tested with experiments and observations, large-scale extrapolation and prediction of things we can't observe or that would be impractical for an experiment, will become central to many scientific endeavors.”

Past supercomputers have enabled scientists to test theories, design experiments and predict outcomes as never before. However, the new petaflop-scale machine is poised to bring about major qualitative changes in the way science is done.

Link:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/supercomputers.html

Monica Sullivan

And The iPhone Keeps Getting Better

2008-11-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

Because of the iPhone's amazing capabilities, this phone is already clearly one of the most chased after phones. However, it seems that it is only getting better and better.

The iPhone, because of its glassy exterior and touch screen capabilities has been said that it is like a "entertainment system" at the tip of your fingers. It also seems that it is like a gold mine for entrepreneurs.

Steve Demeter, a former ATM software designer for a large bank, created the game "Trism" and pitched it to Apple in spring of 2007. Apple then made the game available for download starting in July of 2007. The game was available for $5 and in the first two months alone, Demeter made $250,00 in profit.

"Its done phenomenal business," said Demeter, 29, who lives in San Francisco Bay area. "I'm very honored that so many people would enjoy my game. "

It seems that Apple has provided many opportunities for entrepreneurs to have an open playing field and offer their games up for sale to this company. It also seems like the customers of people are enjoying whatever games they are getting. It will be interesting to see where this leads the future of the iPhone.

Albina A

Dominos and TiVo...perfect combination

2008-11-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

Though I am more of a Papa John's pizza kind of girl, though I don't eat it that often, this combination of Dominos Pizza and TiVo is pretty cool.

In an article on NYTimes.com, TiVo announced on Monday that you can now use your DVR to order pizza.

The press release reads, "TiVo is serving up a piping hot new service that's truly made to order and gives a whole new meaning to the term 'TV dinner.'"

Oh, technology at its finest!

Lauren D.

ADAM MEYN WROTE THE LAST TWO POSTS

2008-11-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

QUICK ENERY FACTS

2008-11-17T18:23:00.001-08:00

AND COMPANIES MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Energy Consumption
· Total U.S. residential energy consumption is projected to increase 17 percent from 1995 - 2015. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
· Though accounting for only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world's energy. (American Almanac)
· The United States spends about $440 billion annually for energy. Energy costs U.S. consumers $200 billion and U.S. manufacturers $100 billion annually.

Global Warming
· On average, 16 million tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere every 24 hours by human use worldwide. (U.S. Department of Energy)
· Carbon emissions in North America reached 1,760 million metric tons in 1998, a 38 percent increase since 1970. They are expected to grow another 31 percent, to 2,314 million metric tons, by the year 2020. (U.S. Department of Energy)
· The United States is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for 23 percent of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide. (U.S. Department of Energy)
Energy Efficiency
· By taking appropriate energy-saving measures, by 2010 the United States can have an energy system that reduces costs by $530 per household per year and reduces global warming pollutant emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels. (Energy Innovations report)
· A decrease of only 1% in industrial energy use would save the equivalent of about 55 million barrels of oil per year, worth about $1 billion.

Innovative Company: EnerNOC
· In October 2006, EnerNOC became a carbon neutral company—the first in the energy management industry.
· EnerNOC offsets 100% of our carbon footprint with Green-e® certified wind, solar, and other renewable energy credits.
· As a carbon neutral company, we effectively power our business operations and our customers’ backup generators with green, renewable energy.
· EnerNOC also offers our employees hybrid car subsidies and energy efficiency incentives to promote intelligent energy use. Employees who purchase hybrid cars receive monthly subsidies.
· EnerNOC’s Green Green! Program encourages employees to install compact fluorescent light bulbs, commute environmentally (walk, bike, take public transportation, car pool, or drive a hybrid), replace old appliances with energy efficient equivalents, and conduct home energy audits, and influence family and friends to follow EnerNOC’s environmental stewardship.
· EnerNOC outlines how customers can utilize demand response to get more from energy

CarbonTrak™

· Enables us to monitor each customer’s emissions by mapping their energy consumption with the generation fuel mix in their region.

· Provides our customers strategy development and support for greenhouse gas or renewable energy credit trading activities.

Can concept of clean coal be salvaged?

2008-11-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

Study looks at method that drastically improves efficiency, cuts emissions
By Bryn Nelson
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27685081/

Researchers believe technology can salvage the idea of “clean coal” -- or at least try to get to a point if cleaner coal. Researchers at the University of Padova in Italy have started working on a new process for transforming coal into gas with more improved efficiency.
The new process will be better then conventional coal-to-gas, or gasification, techniques by 28 percent and release 22 percent less carbon dioxide. “Coupling the scheme to a coal-to-liquid process, the authors conclude, could yield 40 percent more synthetic fuel, release 32 percent less carbon dioxide and contribute to a 70 percent rise in overall energy efficiency,” article said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Cleaner-Coal-Technology-Key-Worlds/story.aspx?guid=%7BE56664EB-C30B-49C6-9392-4A9924297980%7D

Nov 13, 2008, GE Energy and the University of Wyoming announced an agreement to further cleaner coal technology.
Under the agreement, “GE and the university will develop the High Plains Gasification Advanced Technology Center to accelerate the commercial use of cleaner coal technology,” Business Wire Press Release said.

In the United States, coal supplies more than 50 percent of the country's current electricity needs. Coal is an abundant, low-cost, domestic, natural resource that continues to be a significant part of America's energy mix. Wyoming has become a leader in coal resources and can support a large portion of the nations energy needs and produces about 40% of all coal used in the United States to generate electricity.
Coal has been a part of America for better our worse since the being of the industrial revolution. So if the wells not broken, why fix it? On the other hand, should we just improve the well to make it give more water to more people? Why am I using water as an analogy for coal? I guess I am starting to accept the fact that large companies that support millions of coal workers should be a part of energy change to. Do you agree that we should be putting money into new coal technology or should the nation work in other cleaner areas and force everyone to change? I personally think any small improvements count for the time being. If Wyoming supplies 40% of coal for electricity we should be making sure, they are using the cleanest coal technologies available. I also feel its time for the big dogs in the industry to step down and let other energy effect company take over.

No BlackBerry for Obama

2008-11-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

Like many of us, President-Elect Barack Obama is addicted to his BlackBerry but before he arrives at the White House he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about keeping his e-mails secure, he faces the Presidential Records act. In the act his correspondence are the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas.

For all the privileges and power afforded to the president, the chief executive of the United States is essentially deprived by law and culture of some the tools that the other chief executives depend on to thrive and survive.

Obama is hoping to bring the White House into the 21st century by having a laptop computer in the Oval Office at his desk, he would be the first president to do so. On Saturday as he broadcast the weekly Democratic radio address he was videotaped and put on YouTube for all to see. Obama is using technologies that were innovative a few years back and by doing so taking another step forward in history.

A final decision has not been made of whether he could go against precedent to become the first e-mailing president, but many believe that hope is doubtful.

We will have to wait on see on January 20th if he still has his Blackberry at his side, I am sure many college students wouldn't know what to do if there were faced with giving theirs up.

-Carly Youngren

Internet helps get messages out

2008-11-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

This isn't a new concept. But it does make it apparent that when a message needs to reach numerous people, the Internet is there to help. In an article on NYTimes.com, it reiterated the fact how the Internet played an unprecedented role in the election.

In aspects of the gay-rights movement, there was a website made called Join the Impact that rallied thousands of people to gather in eight countries, 50 states and 300 cities to fight against the Prop 8 decision.

The article talked about an organizer of the movement, Amy Balliett. She contrasted this movement with the Stonewall Riot of 1969. "Had they had social media, had they had the Internet, we would have been able to accomplish a lot more already, because they would have been able to keep the message alive and keep the community going," Balliett said in the article.

Join The Impact was getting 50,000 hits an hour once it went up. The internet has an obvious affect to "drive the masses" because it can be reached at anytime of the day and it is so easy with all these social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to send a message out about something and create events to get your community together to stand for something.

Lauren D.

Dear President Obama

2008-11-16T07:38:00.001-08:00

In just a little over 60 days, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president. But despite the time, "Dear Mr. President" letters are already piling up.

Two of my largest concerns is how exactly will he undo the mess that is our economy and our environmental issues.

There are many ideas being thrown around to get America back on track. Obama supports cap-and-trade policy that would lower emissions and hold larger agencies accountable. Also many recommend that the U.S. resign the Kyoto protocol when it comes up again in 12 months.

Bush, had no love for regulations and insisted a federal system would only harm states if it implemented a one-size-fits-all policy. States were left to figure out what policy would benefit them best.

Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute told Newscientist.com that a federal policy could be adopted before the end of 2009.

In the same article, Sen. Jeff Bingaman predicted there would be legislation to develop alternative energy sources before any cap-and-trade policy.

I know the economy is tanking, but why do we have to give up fixing the environment. I think that resolving our climate issues could be the solution to a weakened economy by creating new jobs. This could also be a good way to boost our reputation back to being known as innovators.

Building a stronger economy and solving our environmental issues should not be mutually exclusive. But every media article focuses on how Americans have chosen economy over environment, and even foreign policy. Again, the major issues we face today are complex and require innovative ways of addressing our nation's dilemmas. The media should be focused and diligent when it comes to marketing this idea (environment/economy/foreign policy). I mean come on, after this election cycle they kind of owe us right?

And now the kicker! Our outgoing president will be the one attending a U.N. climate summit in December. Supposedly Obama will be sending representation, but this is just a a reminder that we still have 60 more days.

Unlike the last president, I hope Obama will not see environmental protection laws as unproductive to our economy, but rather essential.

-Erin

Clean Coal!!!!

2008-11-13T02:32:00.000-08:00

Coal is what keeps the lights on at night. It is also the most carbon-intensive fuel we use. The clean coal concept is the latest pursuit in the industry to cut down chemical emmisions.

Coal and Electric power industries are using exisiting technoloigies to take the sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide out of the emissions at electrical coal powered electrical plants.

The new technology is called CCS, or carbon capture and storage. In theory, it is said to reduce CO2 emmisions by as much as 90%. The process involves capturing a plant's carbon emissions before they escape into the atmosphere and storing them where they can do no harm.

From here, scientists claim to inject large quantities of CO2 underground into depleted oil fields and sandstone beneath the North Sea. Others think that gas could injected into volcanic basalt abundantly located in the Western states causing the interaction to produce a harmless mineral. Although skeptics believe the land would be far to pourous and the gasses would leak out of the land.

On top of that, there is no infrastrucute for a program like this and the process would cost billions of dollars to simply develop storage facilities and transport the CO2 . Something tells me this is not the governments first concern right now!!!

Alex Sanjuan

Brain Computer Interface Research, Alex Sanjuan

2008-11-13T01:41:00.000-08:00

Erick Ramsey was injured in a car accident in 1999, resulting in a blood clot in his brain's stem cell that caused a stroke where his body and his mind met. The diagnosis is a rare condition known as Locked-in syndrome, which means he has no control over any of his muscles. He will never move or speak but has been spared his conscious and unconscious processing systems, such as his memory, his reason and his emotions. He can feel, see and hear but will not have any way of communicating.

Dr. Phillip Kennedy of Neural Signals Inc. , a pioneer of brain computer interface research works with Erick to introduce medical innovation and the human mind to produce communication, not verbally but audibly.

In his office he hooks Eric up with wires connected to the back of his head and asks Eric to mentally think about making the sound of a word that is spelled with various variations containing a vowel that are projected on a wall before him. As Erick does, a booming vibration pours out of a speaker, the sound is coming from Erick's brain. Erick is the first human to have his thoughts translated directly into speech.

Dr. Kennendy performed an MRI on Erick showing him visuals of animals and monitoring what areas of the brain were stimulated when he tried to sound out the name of the animals. The premotor cortex that controls movement of the mouth was the central focus of his effort prompting Kennedys neral teal to thread three hair thin teflon coated gold wires into that exact part of his brain.

What happened next was a progression of sound units which enabled Kennedy and Frank Guenther, a neuroscientist, to develop a prosethetic voice decoder that allows Erick's thoughts to be audible.

Big Three Automaker Bailout or INNOVATION

2008-11-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Democrats in Congress are pushing for a bailout plan for the Big Three American Automakers. The bailout would send $25 billion to automakers as an emergency loan and would give partial Federal Government ownership in each of the three companies.

Opponents of the proposed bailout point to innovation as a better option. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky points to an earlier proposal that would send the same amount of money to the car makers to develop more fuel-efficient cars.

"Democratic leaders will need to win over some skeptical lawmakers who question whether a bailout would cause changes in the auto industry or simply lead to more handout requests from other industries."

--Democrats urge federal stake in big auto companies

-Matt M.

Chicago Innovation Awards

2008-11-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

"Six years ago, Thomas Kuczmarski, founder and chief executive of consultants Kuczmarski & Associates, teamed up with veteran Chicago business journalist Dan Miller to celebrate innovative entrepreneurs and companies by crowning 10 of them annually with a Chicago Innovation Award. Since then, the contest's judges have occasionally become worried that interest would slack off. Far from it. In 2008, organizers received a record 307 nominations. That's up from 254 last year and 90 in 2002.

This year's winners are as impressive as ever, ranging from Abbott Laboratories (ABT)—metro Chicago's biggest company measured by stock value—to PrepMe, a 2005 startup with only 10 full-time employees. The winners' creations include Internet services, of course. Just as impressive, they've also discovered ways to improve gear or processes that go back centuries.

The cream of the 2008 crop will be honored on Oct. 28 in Chicago's Goodman Theatre, at a ceremony underwritten by major sponsors IBM (IBM), McGuireWoods, and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (WWY) Many of the other candidates won something this year as well: 75 got a chance to take part—for free—in an executive seminar on innovation at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, a full-day tutorial that otherwise would have cost $2,200 a person.

Organizers will start accepting nominations for the eighth annual Chicago Innovation Awards late next spring."

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_43/b4105999575668.htm?chan=magazine+channel_special+report

-Nina Pak

The Great ShakeOut, you'll laugh, you'll cry

2008-11-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Come 10 am Thursday morning, all Southern California counties will be shaking, or so they say.

In an attempt to rally education and understanding about So-Cal's frightening, but true, earthquake reality, the Great Southern California Shakeout is promising to raise awareness to a less than knowledgeable population. The drill is set to imprint the necessary, earthquake survival motto, "Drop, Cover, Hold on!," on So-Cal's residents.

Creating public awareness is both easy and hard nowadays. Its easy because there is greater technology and a better system for warning. However creating enough buzz about a particular threat may go unheard. It can seem like just another day for us. We cant always decipher what threats are probable and that's where the media should help out.

The Great ShakeOut takes an innovative way of creating public awareness and making earthquake preparedness sexy again. Yes, again.

Scientists wager the "big one," the drill simulates a 7.8, is due to hit us within the next 30 years. Not only will the state's infrastructure fall apart but a Diet Coke could cost $10 in the aftermath, reports the Wall Street Journal.

So far, it would be hard to miss the many fliers scattered around campus, but I really wonder whether CSULB students or staff will be participating. There have been other media outlets covering the drill as well.

Los Angeles Times

"One hurdle remains Southern California's polyglot population, where messages must penetrate 81 recognized languages. To counter that and public apathy, efforts are focused on combining repeated messages encouraging homeowners to educate themselves with quasi-peer pressure. The goal is to instill a group "norm to prepare," whereby one set of residents sees another set act and emulates them."

These articles are examples of advocacy journalism, but with a twist. The LA Times article reads like a press release. The article reports numbers showing the small percentage of families actually prepared. The story simply is set to bring publicity to the drill and some vendors that actually specialize in items that will get you through the devastation (SOS Survival Products, catchy huh?).

The WSJ article pretty much mocks the idea by saying that educating the public has helped little, so lets throw a party! The article basically plays on ingenious marketing strategies behind the drill.

I see there may soon be a trend for "creating awareness." Its not that I'm opposed to block-parties celebrating our deeper understanding of what it is to "Drop, Cover, and Hold on," I would however like to understand what it will be accomplishing.

For example, many Southern Californians may be in their cars when the big one hits. What about the infrastructure of our freeways and overpasses. I appreciate that the news outlets are attempting to promote awareness, but what about reporting on the probable infrastructure damage rather than complaining about how little the public knows.

Erin

Technology in hotels

2008-11-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

How often do you use the computers in hotels? An article in the NY Times looked at the many hotels who have been using technology to keep up with their guests.

Sheraton teamed up with Microsoft creating new Link@Sheraton lounges where spaces in lobbies would be kept for guests to use public computers to check e-mail, print boarding passes, etc. Westin worked with Nintendo to put Wii consoles, like Wii Fit, in its fitness centers. The Gansevoort Hotel Group is working with Sony to relocate traditional business center to more social setting near the lobby.

Another aspect of technology that hotels are working with is Control4, which is known for the automation systems.

"Another company working with Control4 is the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, which plans to use the system to create a welcome experience at its Las Vegas property, scheduled to open in late 2009," the article reads. "Guests arriving in their room after checking in will be greeted by the drapes opening, the lights automatically turning on and the television displaying a customized message with the guest's name."

Goodbye work, hello laziness. I guess this aspect is kind of cool, but hopefully they will warn them that this will happen. I think I would be scared to see all these things moving at once, opening and closing, and computers/TVs being turned on the second I open the door. Another thing to look at that is interesting is that aren't vacations supposed to be relaxing, not having to worry about your cellphone/computer and other things that are distracting in your normal life? I can understand how these technologies would be useful to those who are on business, but for the normal family on their Hawaiian vacation...I think it would be distracting because everyone is separated trying to find time to get on the computer to play with these gadgets instead of doing what they were going to do when they planned the vacation...relax.

Lauren D.

Heavy lifting? Get Honda!

2008-11-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Lifting heavy boxes gets really annoying, doesn't it? It's also a strain on your back, can lead to health problems down the line and could also cause other joint and muscle injuries.

Problem solved, according to Honda. The company unveiled it's experimental device this past week that helps support body weight, reduce stress on the knees and help people get up steps and stay in crouching positions.

It is described as a, "bicycle seat connected by mechanical frames to a pair of shoes." The company envisions this product being used by auto workers or factory employees, such as in the Honda workforce. The product also features an onboard computer, motor, gears and sensors that monitory your movements to provide the correct amount of assist. In a test by a reporter, it does take some getting used to.

The price is still undecided, however. So if you're moving this weekend and thought this would be a great help to carrying those boxes, I'm sorry to get your hopes up.

-Michael Strachan

Google's YouTube to make even more $$$

2008-11-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

YouTube may have struck a deal with FremantleMedia to produce TV shows which will be shown exclusively on the Website, reports Reuters. The same website that allows its audience to post parodies of parodies and "odes to (insert political candidate of choice)," now plans to legitimize itself by making a profit.

We all knew this day was coming, right? We will now be subjected to boring commercials in between what seems to be YouTube's exclusive reality shows. Currently, the new programs are based off shows outside of the states, but if these shows actually draw the large audiences they promise we can bet the American market will be tapped into soon.

On the same day, YouTube also announced it would be partnering with MGM to allow the site to show full length movies, reported CNN.

So far MGM is unwilling to hand over some the more profitable films--James Bond and Rocky--but rather the obscure, straight-to-video titles. This marketing strategy may generate good revenue or may backfire.

Already our Internet use is bogged down by pop-ups and ad graffiti on our screen, but I'm sure YouTube and MGM will be able to invent other forms of advertising that are equally obnoxious.

When they do figure out how to make a profit they should definitely let the rest of the online media know. I heard some were hurting pretty bad.

Erin

Time for a change...

2008-11-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today Circuit City, the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection but plans to stay open for business as the busy holiday season approaches. It said it decided to file for bankruptcy protection because it was facing pressure from vendors who threatened to withhold products during the holiday shopping period. The company also sit it cut 700 jobs at its headquarters, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

The Richmond, Va.-based company, which has has only one profitable quarter in the past year, has faced significant declines in traffic and heightened competition from rival Best Buy, and others.

I feel that every morning when I wake up there is another store that is going out of business or another company laying off thousands. I am so thankful that I have not had to deal with this personally, but I am deeply saddened for all of the people that have. Lets hope that with the new President starting in January that we won't have to wake up every morning to such sad news.

-Carly Youngren

Rich Dad,,, Poor Dad...

2008-11-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

Maybe you can ban steroids in sports because they're medically dangerous. And maybe you can ban carbon fiber prosthetic legs because they're newfangled. But what about swimsuits? What do you do when a technology that's been around for ages—sleeker, tighter suits—becomes decisive? What can you say when the only objection to such technology is that most people can't afford it?

That's the situation today in collegiate and high-school swimming, according to Amy Shipley's enlightening report in Sunday's Washington Post. Swimmers wearing Speedo's LZR suits set 71 of the 77 new aquatic racing world records at, or just before, this year's Olympics. Now collegiate swimming programs are buying LZRs, and their competitors feel obliged to, um, follow suit. The trend extends to the high-school level, where the suits are showing up at state championship meets. Problem: LZRs cost around $500 retail. At best, with discounts, they go for about half that. And because of the fancy fabric, they wear out after just a few meets. Bottom line: Swimmers who can afford these suits will beat equally talented swimmers who can't.

Athletic federations are divided over what to do. Two months ago, USA Swimming prohibited kids under 13 from competing in the suits. The NCAA imposed a moratorium on the suits but then withdrew it.

In general, I don't like sports equipment bans based on sheer cost. Composite tennis racquets were pricey when they first came out. Should they have been prohibited? What about golf clubs or bike frames? Innovative materials are usually expensive at the outset. The way they become cheaper is by gaining notice, spreading to a broader market, and being produced more efficiently in subsequent iterations. If you ban them, you block this process.

In the swimsuit case, it looks to me as though a logical compromise is already unfolding. What makes the suit prohibitively expensive isn't just the outlay, but the fact that it wears out so fast. The crucial number is the per-meet cost. And that number can be sharply reduced by using the suits only at championship events late in the season. This is exactly what some college programs are already doing. You don't need a Ferrari to pick up your groceries. Swim your regular meets in cheaper suits, and save your LZRs for the big events.

Although, this whole situation lends itself to the elitist perspective that as long as you have money, you truly are better than everyone else in every way. It is difficult to watch people who are just as talented and who have the physical prowess to compete at the same level at these top class athletes have their dreams and hard work crushed just because they can't afford the fancy equipment.

This is really a double edged sword. On the one hand I really want to support the underdog here, but on the other hand, I can't say that there is anything wrong with this type of innovation. Oh wait, that isn't true at all. It is capitalism at its best. If you can afford the best thing... you get to make all of the decisions. I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles... or in this case, the way the rich people always get what they want... see, money really does buy happiness..

Oh crap, now I want a cookie.

--Roger

A World Full of Womyn

2008-11-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

In her novel “The Cleft,” Doris Lessing invites us into a fairy-tale society, free from sexual conspiracy, jealousy, and petty rivalries: a society free from men. She recounts the history of the Clefts, an ancient community of womyn living in a coastal wilderness where childbirth is controlled, and their children are always female. Lessing’s is a story of our earliest ancestors, a race that emerged before humanity, as we know it came into existence, before men existed. While some may argue against such a testosterone-free world, and praise the patriarchal society it has given way to, according to Discover Magazine on June 15, 2007, Dr. Karim Nayernia has found a way to bring us back to the time before men walked the earth, by harvesting bone marrow in order to create sperm cells. This revolutionary process breaks from the traditional reproductive constraints, removing the physical need for both a male and female, and in the end, gives couples made of two womyn the ability to biologically produce a child.

But don’t worry guys, there not going to get rid of all of us....yet.

Normally “the talk” begins with the birds and bees, but soon it will be the birds and the birds…or is it the bees and the bees? Either way, the process itself has significantly changed, and we must understand the actual experiment that has taken leaps towards such a development. According to the April 2007 academic journal, Reproduction: Gamete Biology, in July of 2006 Dr. Nayernia extracted undeveloped cells from the bone marrow of mice and, by using proteins that promote cell growth along with Vitamin A, coaxed them into spermatoagonial stem cells , which would then form into mature sperm. These were then transplanted into the mice’s testes where they were monitored as they underwent meiosis and developed into mature sperm cells. Dr. Nayernia announced in the January 31, 2008 Environmental Graffiti that the bone marrow sperm was successfully transplanted into female mice eggs resulting in seven live births, although, one died and the other six had minor health problems. However, these results were strong enough that researchers believe humyn testing can soon begin. The April 13, 2007 London Independent maintains that with the success of the procedure in mice, this new technique for producing sperm can easily be applied to humyns, and describes the process. After bone marrow tissue is extracted from the person, scientists will isolate the stem cells to be used. Through a culture medium, the stem cells are then coaxed to develop into early sperm cells. Once they have stabilized in their development, these cells can either be implanted into a man’s testes or, if the person is female, the cells can reach maturity in a test tube. At this point, there would be no difference between this bone marrow sperm and sperm produced the old fashioned way, and are completely ready to fertilize a womyn’s egg. Given the fact that these sperm cells are created from any individual’s bone marrow, male or female, this process easily lends itself to the breakdown of the need for both a man and womyn to biologically interact in order to make a baby.

Reproduction has been valued as a gift, something that must be cherished and never taken for granted. However, in our society, there are couples that have not only had this gift taken from them, but those who have never been given it to begin with, and with a development such as this, we can aid them all. Obviously, infertility is the first condition bone marrow sperm can cure. Whether it’s a natural disorder that some men may be victim to, or as the April 13, 2007 Press Associate claims, one more sacrifice that men with cancer must make due to the side effects of chemotherapy, male infertility is a devastating reality to those who cannot parent their own biological children. However, the Guardian notes on April 27, 2007 that since bone marrow can now be developed into mature, healthy sperm cells, infertile men can now be given the gift of fathering their previously denied biological child. Not only does this procedure benefit infertile men, but according to the April 16, 2007 Pretoria News, this technique could be adapted to help female infertility by growing eggs through the same process. However, the London Telegraph claims on January 31, 2008 that in Brazil, Dr. Irina Kerkis has started to make eggs from bone marrow stem cells, but they have all been completely sterile. Therefore, with current research, only same-sex female couples could biologically parent a child without the use of donors. However, there is one little quirk. The previously cited Discover Magazine reminds us that while a male’s sperm carries both an X and Y chromosome, bone marrow sperm made from a female would only have two X’s, and therefore, the resulting child would always be guaranteed to be female. Regardless, by removing the need for both a man and womyn to go through the lengthy, messy, and sometimes uncomfortable process of making a baby, this groundbreaking technology is finally challenging the social and biological limitations put upon humyn reproduction.

So now that whole birds and the birds thing doesn’t seem so far off, huh? Just imagine it, a world where womyn wouldn’t need men…for anything, able to procreate completely on their own. Unfortunately, we need to realize that it’s not as simple as that. According to the April 16, 2007 News in Science, Professor Harry Moore, of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield, notes that while stem cell manipulations in mice are successful, humyns are much more complex, and that these sperm cells could have permanent genetic changes that would make them unsafe to use, especially in the complicated reproductive process. Due to this argument, the British government has taken a stand against stem cell sperm. Big surprise! The April 13, 2007 France Agency Press, explains that the British government has recently proposed bans on using artificially created sperms or eggs in assisted human reproduction. The ban explains that there are profound ethical implications, but in the April 19, 2007 Pulse, Dr. Allan Pacey, secretary of the British Fertility Society, speaks of the importance of continuing research on this breakthrough, since through the testing and research of bone marrow sperm cells, we can unlock the mysteries of humyn reproduction and infertility. Should the world progress beyond the close-minded understanding of making babies, we may find even larger implications. The social impact of such a revolution is by far the most significant to consider. The desire of many sterile heterosexual couples to biologically parent a child, is now probable. Beyond that, much of the debate over same-sex marriage is based on the argument that two individuals of the same sex cannot produce a child. However, with this breakthrough, this aspect of the debate is now a moot point, at least for female couples. But even though there has been experimentation to allow male couples to synthesize eggs from their own bone marrow, the London Telegraph of February 12, 2008 maintains that until an egg can successfully be produced, dreams of parenthood will have to wait. Therefore, only lesbian couples can biologically parent a child. Though, some have spoken out against this idea. On April 14, 2007, Father Joe Parkinson, director of the L.J. Goody Bioethics Centre told The West Australian that two females achieving pregnancy is not assisting nature, it’s over-ruling nature. Perhaps he just fears that, as a man, he’s becoming obsolete; because just think long term…really long term. The April 14, 2007 Courier Mail claims if we abuse this technology, then the number of men on this planet could dwindle down to nothing. While this seems like a bit of a stretch, in today’s world, womyn already outnumber men, and they're not even doing anything special. Plus, according to the July 24, 2007 Associated Content, the Y chromosome is becoming extinct, with the life expectancy of males quickly dropping and females living longer than ever. Factor in a process that guarantees a female birth, and the male species may find itself struggling for dominance…for a change.

A planet full of womyn: is that a hetero man’s dream or his worst nightmare? Hopefully we’ve realized, that this development won’t make everyone come out of the closet, but rather, has evolved our society past the traditional notions of reproduction. Doris Lessing wrote in her novel of a time when men began to be born into a world of womyn, and their society had to adapt in order to flourish.

--Roger

Two Days Later!

2008-11-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Its been two days since Senator Barack Obama won the presidential election, making history by becoming the first ever African American President. I still feel like I'm dreaming. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my parents and I would live to such an accomplishment.

As a young African American man, this is so inspiring! I now know the feeling of being high off of life. I now truly know that I can accomplish any and ever dream that I have, with hard work persistence and faith.

I'm proud to know that I was a part of and witnessed HISTORY!

Don't follow your dreams, Chase them!

Rashad L.

Smartphone = save money

2008-11-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

What if you could take a picture of an item from your phone and within seconds find the lowest price? Well, ShopSavvy made an application that would allow people with smartphones to use the phone’s camera as a bar code scanner. A user of this application would simply have to point the camera at an item and ShopSavvy connects to the Web to search for the lowest price, online and local stores, and product review. ShopSavvy also has the feature for retailers to add their emails and their projected price, the company sends out an alert to the retailers when the product hits that price.

There have been reports of ShopSavvy not having the information on all the products out on the market.

A down side to this new application is that it only works best for the G1 which is the Google phone. Other cell phones have fixed focal points which restrict the camera from working properly.

Another product-and-price database is called, Slifter, Virgin Mobile began offering users last month. This program works differently than the other application. It is featured on the phone’s “deck,” a directory of Web sites chosen by the carrier. It should work on more phones because the carrier put them there.

New York Times
“Hesitating Over a Smartphone’s Price? It Could Save You Money”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/technology/personaltech/06smart.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

-Monica Sullivan

Phones and more phones

2008-11-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

After only being out in the Asia market for about two months, a second version of the Samsung T*Omnia was introduced on Monday in Korea. The upgrades on this phone includes a wider screen with high resolution for multimedia functions.

T*Omnia is going up against Apple's I-Phone 3G but Microsoft Steve Ballmer points out how the T*Omnia offers more extensive features than the 3G. T*Omnia comes with a five-megapixel camera with WI-FI, GPS, bluetooth and the microsoft office program, which allows PC users to transfer compatible files with ease.

Ballmer said, “I like the T*Omnia phone because it brings together communications, productivity, multimedia, and entertainment in a way that meets the needs of both consumers and mobile professionals.”

Samsung is currently negociating a deal with America for the T*Omnia to be distributed within the states. If the deal comes through, the U.S. will be seeing this phone on shelves at the end of this month.

-Ching

Profiting from pirated content

2008-11-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

For many years now, entertainment companies like TV networks, film and music studios, have been fighting against having their copyrighted material available on the Internet for free. But now according to a post on Wired.com, "MySpace is launching an ad platform called Auditude that automatically identifies content from MTV Networks (content like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "Punk’d") and will display an overlay that shows where the clip originally came from, its original air-date, and links to online stores where users can purchase the entire episode."

Auditude uses "fingerprints" in the original content to identify the audio/video data so it will be able to find the source no matter who uploads the video (i.e. copyrighted videos and clips posted to sites like YouTube).

Do you think this program is a step towards eliminating so many cases of people violating copyright law due to illegal downloading? Wired.com is saying that this is "a big step forward for monetizing online video."

- Jessica I.

Another reason to get a DVR

2008-11-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

On Thursday it was announced that the owners of the latest TiVo DVRs will soon be able to watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix. The two companies will begin testing the service, by having a portion of their customers try the service. They then plan to roll it out to hundreds of thousands of TiVo customers by early December.

Netflix is aiming to make its download service available to as many consumers as possible, said company spokesman Steve Swasey. However, he did not ass what portion of Netflix's 8.7 million subscribers are also TiVo subscribers. "The whole idea is to grow the service," Swasey said. "We want to keep our members and attract new members."

For TiVo, the deal allows it to better differentiate its DVRs from the typically less costly ones offered by cable and satellite TV service providers.

The deal follows similar agreements that both Netflix and TiVo have signed with other companies. Earlier this year, Roku, a Saratoga-based start-up device maker, launched its Netflix players, a $100 set-top box whose only feature is the ability to stream Netflix videos a consumers' TVs.

My family just got a DVR for the first time and I feel like it was a very great investment. I don't have much free time but I have a few shows that I like to watch. With this product I am able to watch it when I do have a free minute and even fast forward through the commercials. I would not be interested in the Netflix part of this offer but I am still a fan of the DVR.

- Carly Youngren

Green skyline and company innovation

2008-11-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

The greening trend has recreated the New York skyline.

The New York Times has a really cool little video up on its website right now showing how energy conservation looks on a 100-plus floor skyscraper.

The video shows photos from

The energy efficient lighting is achieved through dimmers, timers, motion sensors and different types of bulbs. New green buildings are becoming more prominent.

I also stumbled upon an article titled "It's no time to forget about innovation."

"By its very nature, innovation is inefficient," states Janet Rae-Dupree in the first sentence.

Rae-Dupree suggests that even as the economy may be melting before our very eyes or as many Americans are bombarded with the current political climate, this is no time to forgo future investments. But rather than scaling back on all innovation, risky or not, it is important to pick and choose where and how much.

Author and former chief technology officer at Cisco Systems, Judy Estrin offers 5 rules to "entrench innovation in to the corporate mind-set": trust, questioning, risk-taking, patience and openness

"Fostering a company wide atmosphere of innovation — encouraging everyone to take risks and to think about novel solutions, from receptionists to corner-suite executives — helps ensure that the loss of any particular set of minds needn’t spell trouble for the entire company." --Rae-Dupree writes

According to the experts, while this may be a difficult time to get loans or even look past the difficult times at hand, the current situation may foster innovation. Plus it is no time to not try and refocus creativity and innovation in a company's field.

After all it may be worse for companies to resist innovation than it is to take a few risks.

Erin

Tis election season

2008-11-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday could not come sooner...

Not only will all political "analysts," "pundits," and/or "experts" be out of jobs for 4 years (this is of course for their disservice to the American public through the entire election season), but we will also welcome a new president. Here's hoping he will be "that one."

But until then, we must deal with some bumps.

Wired.com reports that Floridians and Pittsburgh-ians have been receiving robocalls telling voters that they can vote by phone on election day.

I'm not implying that this was done by one campaign, but it is offensive to see Americans do this to other Americans.

What is going to happen come election day? Long lines, possible technology breakdowns, there are many things at stake.

I can only hope that "technology" comes through this time.

Erin

Real War Games

2008-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I'm so obsessed with video game culture, I'm not even an avid gamer, but this is of great interest to me... It's another one of those "dark side of innovation" deals...

While brutal civil war ravaged Spain in the 1930’s, representatives of the democratic government turned to the 20^th century’s most well know, but least understood artists. Hoping he would provide a bold visual protest to Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s treachery. While Pablo Picasso generally avoided politics, and showed disdain for overtly political art, Guernica is arguably one of modern art’s most powerful anti-war statements.

Similarly, visual artist Joseph DeLappe is creating a sort of living memorial to those who gave their lives in Iraq. But where Picasso painted abstract victims, DeLappe’s are rendered in full 3D digital imagery, with software courtesy of the U.S. military. Salon.com explains, the online interactive multiplayer game “America’s Army” is funded by the U.S. army as a recruitment tool.

Since the anniversary of the Iraq invasion, DeLappe, chair of the art department at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been playing the game using the character name Dead-in-Iraq. Whenever he logs on, he allows his character to be shot and killed in the virtual environment, and then painstakingly types the names of dead U.S. servicemen into the game’s public chat system. Here's the rub, can a memorial, which serves to agitate its immediate audience, be an effective form of moral confrontation?

Wired news explains, DeLappe logs on and allows his character to be shot and killed in the virtual environment. He then painstakingly types the name, age and date of death of each service person killed in Iraq. As of September 14, he’d entered 2,670 of the American’s killed. He plans to continue until the war ends. In DeLappe’s words, “I’m trying to remind other gamers, that real people are dying in Iraq.”

DeLappe explains in the New York Times in September, “I’m going to where these people spend their time. If you can get them where they live and this causes them to think, even for an instant, I think it’s effective. According to Aphra Kerr in his book the Business and Culture of Digital Games, 2006, “of all the industries that use digital games, the military is arguably one of the most effective.”

To some anti-war groups outraged by the $4 billion a year the military spends to recruit new soldiers, DeLappe’s performance art is valuable. “I applaud him,” says Celeste Zapala, a member of the anti-war group, military families speak out. Her son was killed in 2004. She argues, “when people participate in virtual violence, it makes the victims of violence less empathetic, less real.”

However, other gamers are not amused. When DeLappe uses the game’s public chat system, the screen becomes filled with messages like, “Please, this is not the forum for you to do this,” and “Man, will all the F%&*N hackers just go play ping pong or something.”

According to wired news, other reactions are more personal. “One Air Force senior airman stated, “A dead soldier is not, and should not be used as a political icon to justify beliefs that they may not have shared.”

As critics of new media and innovation, we should note that DeLappe’s protest only exists online in a make believe world, and that the names are only on the screen for a short time. One important implication to consider is how significant publicity becomes to his overall message. The original audience of players is so limited that in order to elicit a reaction form from the larger world, the project must gain coverage in the media.

When I logged on to play the latest version titles “America’s Army, Real Heroes,” I did not encounter DeLappe’s handiwork, but I was able to experience what seems to be the army’s response to his protest, which was just added sept. 14. You can now read profiles of actual decorated soldiers and watch video clips of them talking about their families and war experience.

DeLappe’s message has been repeated in media sources all over the world, has little to do with the fact that it is confrontational, but is more likely because it fits into the bigger picture of war protests.

In fact, although he facilitated dialogue with both advocates and protestors of the war, his actions are rarely seen as over-the-top by other anti-war groups. Further research might determine if this is because the use of non traditional methods of protest have become more commonplace in our national discourse, or because agitative rhetoric requires greater notoriety to stimulate a response.

Art is a limited form in trying to change the world, but it is the only tool that some activists have. While DeLappe’s protest art is not exactly Picasso’s Guernica, it does occupy a place in the new school of political art that lambastes the Iraq war. DeLappe says that as he types he imagines President Bush or Donald Rumsfeld having to write each of the names out on a chalk board like a punishment. Charles A. Handson Jr. 22, marine, November 28, 2004.

Just a little food for thought the next time you log on to play war games.

--Roger

AT&T to raise prices

2008-10-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

As of January 1st if you are get your local phone services from AT&T you could see a rise in the price of your phone bill. The telecommunications company has begun notifying customers that it plans to raise monthly rates for its basic land line phone services between 10 and 25 percent. These rate increases will not affect people who just have wireless plans with the company.

These rate increases will affect about half of the 6.5 million residential phone lines that AT&T provides in the state, including those of its lowest-income customers. This has a lot of consumer advocates upset, with the prices being raised at the most vulnerable time for the customers and the economy. People think that the timing is wrong for a rate hike and that it seems unnecessary to attack customers that really can't afford it.

AT&T has only raised prices once in the past 14 years, which happened this past year. Even after this raise in prices they are still going to be one the lowest phone services in the nation.

I don't really think this is going to affect students our age because the majority of us only have cell phones and don't have a land line anymore. I am not worried about this because I do only have a cell phone but I can see how this could be a problem for a number of people.

-Carly Youngren

Instant-on computers

2008-10-28T12:10:00.001-07:00

I read a really interesting article on NYTimes.com about the new instant-on PC computers.

These PCs are going to start up in about 20 seconds where you can automatically access basic functions like the Internet, messaging and Web telephone products.

Matt Richtel and Ashlee Vance, the reporters who have been writing articles on this product, looked at the societal trends that make people want and need their computers to boot up super fast. They looked at why people get so aggravated if their computer takes 70 seconds to boot up and they came to the conclusion that technology is the answer.

"People have grown used to smartphones, which give them e-mail in a flash. Often they don't really need Windows software to communicate, surf the Internet or even do work. They want the Web, and they want it now," the article reads.

I laughed when I read the comments to the story where people were saying that they have had instant-on computers for a long time, they are called Macs! When I was reading the article I was thinking the exact same thing and thinking that my MacBook boots up in less than 20 seconds. Maybe everyone of those complainers who can't wait 25 seconds for their computers to boot up should switch to Mac!

By, Lauren D.

Picture Messaging Provides Protection

2008-10-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ever felt uneasy about a certain situation? Lets say, a car has been following you turn-by-turn for more than a couple miles, or a man appears on your doorstep and says your property manager asked him to inspect your water heater. There really isn't any immediate danger or need to call the police and panic, after all, nothing may even happen.

Just to be safe, cellphone users can use a new program called "My Mobile Witness." This program, developed by Marcus Anthony and Scott Bullens, allows you to snap a picture of a person/license plate/scenario or a type a simple text of the situation and send it to "My Mobile Witness." This is then stored in a "vault" that can be accessed later should you end up getting in trouble.

According to an article on MSNBC.com, "Police can access the vault without a subpoena or court order if they go through 'Fusion Centers' that coordinate state law enforcement efforts."

The program is free for its users. Is "My Mobile Witness" an ideal new form of protection? Or is it simply going to cause more problems down the line with false accusations? We're about to find out.

-Michael Strachan

Innovation in the Mobile Industry

2008-10-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

BusinessWeek sits down to speak to T-Mobile's CEO Hamid Akhavan about his thoughts about the advancement in the mobile industry and its innovative ideas. He also touches base on the relationships with competitors such as Apple by introducing the new T-Mobile "G1" phone. The most interesting part of this interview was how Akhavan emphasized the need of customer's options.

-Nina Pak

Source:
Watch the entire video here. http://feedroom.businessweek.com/?fr_story=738fbb4328c0b0bb77730d2639d22b2bbc874433

New Batteries May Cut High Hybrid Costs

2008-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

According to an article on newscientist.com, "Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) could become cheaper thanks to a breakthrough that would allow inexpensive lead-acid batteries to replace the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batters they use now. Similar battery systems could also be used to smooth out fluctuations in power output of wind turbines."

A team of developers are working on a lead-battery that comes with a supercapacitor that helps keep the lead-acid battery charged. These batteries typically drain in power after being discharged and recharged over and over again - this is why the more expensive NiMH batteries are in cars such as the Toyota Prius, in part leading to the high price tag.

In lab tests, the new UltraBattery lasted four times longer than typical lead-acid batteries and even provided 50 percent more power, and is third to a quarter the price of typical NiMH batteries. A test is currently underway in which the battery will "run until it fails," - so far over 185,000 km and still going.

-Michael Strachan

Blogging

2008-10-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Blogging is an Internet phenomenon that has been catching on like wild fire. When you boil it down, a blog is a digital newswire and anyone can be a blogger.
When reading a blog, one must be wary and remember that not every blogger is a trained journalist and the information presented to you the reader may not be as credible as what you would see in a newspaper.
Josh Quittner from Business 2.0 magazine believes that “blogs and bloggers are positive elements in media that keep journalism honest.” He believes that it doesn’t make good business sense for the media to get into blogging, and that blogs should be independent voices apart from the media.
However, I disagree with that. I think that the media should do more blogging. Even if reporters only attract a few hundred readers to their blogs, that’s still a few hundred new readers.
Blogs are a good way for the journalist to put out all of the information that he wanted to but may not have had space for in a traditional media such as a newspaper. This innovative way of publishing stories is sure to give the media a breath of fresh air.
Journalism is still a vital component to a democratic society, and any way that the media can reach its audience is worth looking at.
Patrons to blogs are unique in the fact that they can leave the writer feedback instantaneously. For example, if you post a blog right now, someone could leave feedback for you after they’re finished reading the story: as fast as two minutes later. This feedback will help bloggers and journalist alike by showing them what their readers are looking for and how to better target them as an audience.
Jon

Blogging for Democracy

2008-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Innovation is history changing, an industry adapter and regulator. From a journalistic standpoint innovation is the struggle to reach the people at a marketing level and an active one. Innovation journalism and innovation involved with journalism both share a struggle with time. The importance of journalist in a democracy is to help get the unbiased word out. Innovation can help and hinder this goal. The importance of the message seems only to be heard though credibility.

The article said without journalism we would not have democracy. Democracy is a broad ideology and is in need of someone to keep up with the everyday changes. Journalists are considered the watchdogs of society because they are hopefully keeping the masses aware of the complexities and importance of their so-called democracy. Innovation helps broaden the spectrum of awareness with things like the Internet and Blogging. “Trying to engage audiences in conversation should be a primary goal for news organizations, the article said. With the help of communication channels like blogging and open range of communication is was democracy is all about. This open range of communication might also cloud the true importance of a message.

Innovation changes a society and even forces democracy to adapt to this change. This need to find a closer relationship and understanding between a consumer and a Journalist is best answered in blogging.

“Concepts like blogging and podcasting are presenting new ways of distributing journalism instantly and letting readers interact with the journalistic product,” the article said. “The blog is a publishing innovation, a digital newswire that, due to the proliferation of the Internet, low production and distribution costs, ease of use and really simple syndication (RSS), creates a new and powerful push-pull publishing concept.”

In other words the blog takes away the separation for the professional journalist and the amateur one. Blog not only gives a journalist the opportunity to elaborate on a current news story but it also give the reader a chance to elaborate and critique for all the world to see. The power of the professional is put in the hands of the armature. Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Stanford said in the article the blogs are the first innovation to help engage people to act.

From a professional journalist point of view blogs are “goldmines,” The article said. “The blogosphere is a huge source to tap…” Not only can blogs help journalist get closer to there reader but can be an inside search engine for new ideas. The article said blogs also could be seen as the snakes in this overwhelming new media full of “ranting and personal opinions.” “Blog responsibly, and you’ll build a reputation for being a trusted news source. Don’t and you won’t have a reputation to worry about, article said. This is the great thing about journalism people in a democracy have the ability to weed out the credible sources from the non. If they are unable to someone will blog about it.

Journalist should blog because they are a credible source and need to make sure the masses have access to valuable information to keep the information trustworthy. Blogs keep a never-ending open wave of communication. This mass communication has no class borders. Blogs is an open unedited waive of communication, the fundaments of democracy. With freedom such as in a democracy and journalism, credibility will always stand out. Even in a time of information overload.

-Adam Meyn

Blogging Can't Hold Journalistic Integrity... Yet...

2008-10-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

On the morning of July 15, 1974 talk show host and media personality Christine Chubbuck confused her co-workers by claiming she needed to read a newscast on her morning program Suncoast Digest. The confusion lied in the fact that she had never done something like this before. Three weeks prior to this incident, she asked the station’s news director if she could cover a news piece on suicide. After being approved, she began to make jokes around the station that she herself was contemplating ways to end her own life as a reaction to her own piece. Her copy even made a speculative report of her plan to kill herself. Eight minutes into her program, when a planned film reel jammed and wouldn’t run, she made the immortal statement, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.” She then proceeded to draw a revolver and shot herself in the head, fell forward, and the camera slowly faded to black, a symbolic representation of her demise coming to fruition. Perhaps the most shocking part of the story is that even the camera crew thought, at first, that it was all an elaborate prank to garner ratings.

As far removed as this may seem in a contemporary media setting, her story stands a kind of tragic legacy, inspiring a younger generation of mass media enthusiasts to follow suit. Stimulated by Chubbuck’s story, a young blogger, known only as “90-Day Jane,” Garnered much attention in recent months when she created a blog space based on the premise that for 90 days she would write one entry each day, leading up to her inevitable death.

Understandably, this blog caused reactions ranging from concern to absolute disgust. One reaction on the blog itself reads, “You are such an attention whore.” “90-Day Jane” notes, “I didn’t expect this kind of response. To be honest, I’m kind of freaked out, but I also feel a responsibility to continue my blog.” There is one key element that sets “90-Day Jane” apart from Chubbuck: the whole experiment was a hoax. It is of course disturbing that someone could distribute this type of misinformation and refer to herself as “responsible.” This being the case, the blog functions not only as a stunt, but also as a bizarre social experiment in new media, to see just how people would react to personal journalistic endeavors on the Internet.

It follows that as critics of the media, we must consider that blogging serves two equally important, but conflicting purposes: self-expression and a new form of editorial journalism. We must also consider that information disseminated on the Internet is not under the same scrutiny as print or broadcast journalism, so it is up to the audience, and not the news media to determine what is pertinent information.

In the case of blogs, that are opinionated in nature, telling the truth is less interesting than exaggeration or storytelling. “If 90-Day Jane” had focused solely on presenting an accurate portrayal of what she was doing-not actually killing herself-she would not have had audiences salivating over her every move, and thus would not have presented what is often referred to a “newsworthy information,” however falsified it may be.

This is intrinsically the point though, because with the advent of blogging comes a means to critique traditional media, and individuals need no real experience or professional clout to do so. This gives the general population the ability, in a mainstream fashion, to act as the watchdog against media conglomerates that are, often times, pandering to the corporations they answer to. Johnathan Dube, Managing Producer and Publisher of Cyberjounrnalist.net notes the comments of long time blogger Rebecca Blood when she says, “I think it’s unrealistic for the blogger to uphold journalistic standards. Most of us aren’t interested in being a journalist.” On the competing end of this view, advocates for a code of ethics for bloggers argue that bloggers need to be aware that they are putting words into print and do have a responsibility to the readers.

Journalists are tasked with presenting news, even if it is editorial in nature, and the public trusts this to be accurate. Howver, with the advent of personal blogs, “90-Day Jane” being a perfect example, there is no real way to monitor who is allowed to present what information. On that note, personal bloggers are not paid to put this information into print. They do this because it is a new way for them to express their views in an accessible manner, similar to a diary or journal entry but on a grand scale. The media wouldn’t control an individual’s personal freedom of expression in a diary that was lost and read by others, so they cannot presume to control a digital diary either.

“90-Day Jane” was certainly not presenting an ethical portrayal of what someone in a journalistic capacity should or would do. However, she isn’t claiming to be a journalist but rather acting as a social commentator on sensationalism in the media and the current reliance and isolation of the Internet. The core issue is that when you publish something, that carries responsibility. There is an ethical responsibility whether you're with an organization, or whether you're standing on that soapbox in a blogging town square. Individual bloggers, not employed by a media outlet, have no responsibility to monitor what they say in a blog. People have a choice as to what they view on the Internet. Whether it is a blog or the online edition of a major news publication, it is still a choice. Blogging seems to function as a new watchdog for the media itself, and will continue to do so as long as there are few restrictions on what content exists on the Internet.

I know this isn’t exactly what we discussed in our group, but it is something that was of particular interest to me because it shows how there can certainly be a dark side to a medium that has yet to be regulated. For that matter, it may never be regulated.

--Roger

http://elliottback.com/wp/archives/2004/11/15/ethical-blogging-not-good-for-blogs/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/02/13/2008-02

Blogging and journalism

2008-10-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

The role of blogging within journalism has often created a differing of opinions when it comes to traditional journalists and non-traditional journalists. Patrick Baltatzizs deconstructs the role blogging plays in a democratic society, and the million dollar question — Is blogging journalism?

The importance of journalism within a democratic society is extremely important, in my opinion. “Democracy,” writes Baltatzizs, “is the legitimate struggle between powerful ideas to establish political, social and economic leadership in our societies.” The overthrowing of powerful regimes, (he equates recent innovation with historical innovations), can be done by changing societal power structure with the help of inventions.

Blogging is publishing information (low value to high value) through the Internet. Blogs attempt to focus on specific ideas and values that are supposedly effective at engaging the audience to act. While I agree with this concept generally speaking, it fails to leave out specifics when it comes to the audience who reads blogs. I believe that the few thousand readers who will be engaged by blogs and therefore act, are already active readers/civic participants already.

I think journalists should blog—why not? I agree with Baltatzizs’ point that when newspapers blog, they legitimize themselves as a valuable resource within targeted communities. I’m not really sure I understand why this is the case however. I suppose the majority of mass-reaching journalism (i.e. TV pundits, radio personalities, and Internet sources) is quick to issue opinions, and thus solidifying their validity with a particular topic. But I don’t believe that just having an opinion deems anyone an expert. In fact experts should be able to be well versed on the oppositions viewpoint, just as much as their own.

Blogging may be innovating journalism, but I don’t agree that it is innovative journalism. Blogging is keeping journalists on their toes so to speak, with truthfulness, timeliness and job security. Blogging relies on journalists, with the rare exception, but blogging does not make you a journalist always. Although it is rather late, it must be included that blogs are not all one in the same. There are many “blogs” that adhere to journalism guidelines and then there are some that spout off author-invested arguments.

While blogs may provide a great resource for journalists to gather story ideas, make contacts or understand what the public is thinking, I don’t think there is any substitution for getting out there and talking to people!

Erin

Is blogging Innovation Journalism?

2008-10-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

In the article, “Is Blogging Innovating Journalism?” by Patrick Baltatzis he expresses five points. They are:
How is quality conceived and achieved in an environment of abundant, transitional and complex information?

What qualities, skills and tools are required to assimilate, Digest?

Then distribute relevance and meaning where attention is more valued than most physical goods?

How does new media technology fit into all this?

How do RSS-feeds and easy web-publishing tools (which have contributed to the growth of the blog) and podcasts contribute to interesting stories, good journalism and the future of publishing?

Baltatzis continues on by stating that Journalism is vital in a democratic society. Without journalism we would not have the broad, abstract concept of democracy. Due to journalism and free press people are enabled to participate with an active voice, which allows for power players for democratic advocacy.

Blogging is an innovative digital newswire found on the Internet. It has low production and distribution cost and allows a forum for anyone to publish his or her ideas. The name Blog comes from the combination of Web and Log.

In the article, Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Stanford and an Internet visionary, argued that people become immune to traditional streamlined and broadcasted messages, blogging presents an opportunity for communities to arise.

Although blogging can be beneficial for journalists the issues of trust and reliability arise. Not everyone who does a blog has journalist qualities and there for how do readers decipher between a journalist blog and a regular blog?

Journalists should consider blogging because that is where their readers are. To make an impact journalist need to have an audience therefore if their readers are blogging then so should they.

“Blog responsibly, and you'll build a reputation for being a trusted news source.
Don't, and you won't have a reputation to worry about," writes John Hiler.

Blogging is a form of innovative journalism, it presents a forum for new trends and events. The information on a blog can be fast and informative for readers. Although blogging is a new way to publish news, the old fashion printed news is still important to keep older readers informed as well.

-Monica Sullivan

Is blogging innovating journalism?

2008-10-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Journalism in a democratic society is more critical than most people realize. Journalism informs the public on issues that most certainly would go by the wayside without a sector designed to report on it. Journalism keeps things within in a democracy honest and forthright. Through newspapers, magazines, television and now the Internet, information is plentiful and immediate.

Blogging, in its simplest from is publishing text on the Internet by anyone for anyone. Blogs can be produced by anyone with an Internet connection and, because of the “proliferation of the Internet”, can be syndicated and subscribed to. Unlike traditional news media, blogs offer readers an opportunity to contribute to, and interact with, the content.

Blogs, as it pertains to journalists and journalism, has its benefits and its issues. Blogs, and on a larger scale the Internet, offer unlimited amounts of space. Traditionally, journalists were constrained by the finite size of a newspaper or magazine. Not only do blogs offer infinite space but blogs are not held to the same standards of other news media, yet. Meaning journalists can report on the story in more detail, inject their own opinions and interact with their audience. In many cases, journalists should consider blogging to make the newsgathering and reporting process democratic. News organizations have always held the key to the gate, blogs have the ability to keep the gate unlocked.

The interactivity of blogs gives innovation journalists a way to immediately receive feedback from “the market” and become a part of the community. The immediacy of blogs changes the way news is reported – when, why and how it is reported. Blogs often break news stories and, depending on its newsworthiness, causes mainstream media to react.

Baltatzis top 5 concepts (in no particular order)
1. Journalism is crucial to democracy and blogs can become crucial to journalism.
2. Blogs help news media “build legitimacy in targeted communities and societies.”
3. Blogs can be useful as resources.
4. “By blogging some beats … publications would expand their audience as well as attract new readers.”
5. If blogs aren’t innovating journalism, at the very least they’re challenging traditional media.

-Matt M.

Journalists Online

2008-10-21T10:30:00.002-07:00

Innovation has made its way into journalism. Journalism has been a part of societies around the world for centuries. Some may say without journalism, there would be no democracy. Baltatzis defines democracy as “a struggle between power ideas to establish political, social and economic leadership in our societies.” To channel out those ideas, journalism creates a space for people to come together to establish and share their thoughts. That is what makes a democracy.

Journalism has taken a new route when online web logs (blogs) were established. Blogging is a web-based concept where anyone can publish text on the web. There are many blogging companies that allow users to sign up at no cost, allowing them to create their own blog pages. Journalists are encouraged to blog, especially when working on a professional piece. Baltatzis says blogging is “technology with a mission.” Instead of traditional paper publication, audiences who read blogs can respond and interact directly on the blog site. Traditional print may only allow a certain amount to be published due to the constraint of space. Blogging allows journalists to write gathered information they want to share that they weren’t able to include in the printed edition.

Blogs are “goldmines” for journalists. There are unlimited amount of space on the web for a journalists to write as much as they want and include any type of media file whether it’ll be video, sound or picture slide show in their blogs. As media and news are and should be instantaneous, blogs offer the same speedy service to readers where journalists can update their site at anytime. Blogging should not be the story itself, rather a relevant piece that compliments the printed edition.

Blogs can be made by anyone on the World Wide Web, journalists or not. The stories that are written on blogs cannot be completely truth worthy. Even if a well-known journalist have already established his or her reputation at a printed publication, publication on the web by the same person may still create skepticism from readers. Those who blog have to remember that credibility is key in any story and they must build a trusting relationship with their readers.
While Baltatzis recommends managers to encourage their staff of journalists to blog, some people like Josh Quittner, who runs Business 2.0 magazine says, “I don’t think blogs are something that big media should get into.” He fells that blogs should be independent voices rather than a tie to a large corporation.

The idea of blogging intrigues many as journalists find this concept benefiting their work. A web log allows interaction between the writer and the reader in a virtual space on the web. Blogs are usually open to all which makes discussions a lot more interesting. While writing blogs are innovative and a steer towards a different direction for journalists, traditional journalism will never be replaced by it. Blogging has not developed a certain credibility that traditional print journalism has worked hard for, for the past centuries.

-Ching

Bloggers Delight!

2008-10-21T10:17:00.001-07:00

Democracy as described by the author is the "struggle between power ideas to establish political, social and economic leadership in our societies." Blogging allows everyone to have a voice where they can express their opinions and facts for that matter on whatever it is they see fit. It gives citizens of the world a chance to interact about any subject, opportunities for economic growth in societies and the relatively free distribution of this kind of journalism gives it a democratic function that this an innovation tool to be used by the masses. Blogging in my opinion is the free forum on the world wide web to create and design a page where you are free to discuss and relay any opinion or information . For some, it is a professional tool to utilize known approaches and technical skills. Although some people believe that blogging should be a separate entity from journalism all together. Josh Quittner of Business 2.0 magazine believes that, "blogs should be independent voices." It's obvious that there is a fine line between credible and factual news with legitimate publications versus an individual writing on a computer in their room. There are trust and reliability issues and unchecked typos and grammatical errors to name a few criticisms of the blog trend. Although others would disagree and feel that the blog can be a resourceful tool in "establishing forums for dialogue", and "strengthening bonds to readers." Within communities, if the blog is done correctly, (which means balanced, unbiased and factual) it can "build legitimacy in targeted communities." not to mention the cost efficiency of its production and its instantaneous release. Blogging is innovation journalism if you look at the sign of the times and how far we have come as a society. According Baltziz, relevant information that cannot fit into a traditional paper can be channeled through blogs. The days of traditional papers are slowly succumbing to online mediums, papers are too slow and paper is expensive, blogs are the new innovative source of information, just be cautious and selective!

Is Blogging Innovation Journalism?

2008-10-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

In today’s society, people want information to come to them as quickly as possible and as easily as possible. For that, we have what we call a blog. Blogging is one of the new was of sharing information with the world in a new and fast way.

There are many reasons while blogging is important to our democratic society. For one, it is important because it provides information to the public immediately after something has happened. A journalist can log on to their blog and write up a quick information blog for people that are interested. However, with a newspaper for example, it would not get to the public as fast. Another reason why blogging is important is because it allows the reader to interact with the writer. If one has a question or would just like to let the writer know something, you have an opportunity to do so with a blog.

In a brief description, blogging is what we call an integrated story that comes from the writer and it involves information regarding the story and personal inputs from the writer themselves. This could be one of the best ways to get information. Blogging is also like a discussion forum for the writers and the readers; they can interact and communicate.

For journalism as a whole, blogging is important. According to Patrick Baltatzis, author of “Is Blogging Innovation Journalism?” blogging is like a goldmine for journalists. It is this huge world of communication that they can log into and blogging can help them find story ideas, help with future sources, or even allow them to do follow up stories based on the stories in the blog. Blogging is also important because the readers can choose to read what they want. They can only go to the blog topic that interests them and be happy with that rather than having to read through everything just to find what they want.

Some say that journalists should blog and some say that they shouldn’t. In my opinion, it is important for journalists to blog. The reasoning for that is because when a writer blogs, they are almost building a community around them. Once they have this community, readers can become a part of this community and it is almost as if the writer has this following and they will be interested in what you have to say whenever you do write an article in comparison to someone who does not have a blog and the readers cannot really connect with that writer.

So it seems that it is clear to see that blogging in my opinion is definitely innovation journalism. As Baltatzsis states, for innovation journalism, “blogs present a tool for analyzing trends and current events faster by having fruitful, synchronous conversations with the market.” This goes to show that blogging is innovational because it uses new technology and different ideas to get its message across in a clear and quick manner.

The Importance of Blogging

2008-10-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Baltatzis’s article discusses the importance of innovation journalism, why journalism is a vital part of a democratic society, how blogging is an innovative concept for journalists and its significance, and how magazines and newspapers should use blogging to develop a shared experience with their readers.

The article states that journalism is vital in a democratic society because it provides social, political or economic ideas in society. Together, journalism and the free press enable people to participate in their interests and have an active voice in powerful ideas. Blogging is a way to combine journalism and the free press because it approaches and empowers readers and creates deeper relationships with them.

Baltatzis defines a blog as “a publishing innovation, a digital newswire that, due to the proliferation of the Internet, low production and distribution costs, ease of use and really simple syndication (RSS), creates a new and powerful push-pull publishing concept. As such, it changes the power structures in journalism, giving yesterday’s readers the option of being today’s journalists and tomorrow’s preferred news aggregators.” Blogging is a concept where publishing text on the web is combined with its syndication and the blogosphere is a marketplace of ideas.

The article also states why it is significant for journalists to blog, by saying that “the blogosphere is a huge source to tap, using services like Technorati.com (a blog search engine) and Googlenews, for new ideas, arguments and leads to new stories and for follow-ups on stories on other sites.” Blogging also allows journalists to publish things online at all times of the day, keeping their stories and information current and newsworthy. It is important for journalists to blog so that they can properly follow up with their stories, by continuously adding content and up-to-date information. Journalists should also blog to build their legitimacy in targeted communities and societies, and it can help establish forums for dialogue among participants, expanding their audience and strengthening their bonds to their readers. Most importantly, blogs are innovating journalism by allowing journalists to “present a tool for analyzing trends and current events faster.” By being able to update all the time, readers can receive the most current information and blogs will become essential ways to find out information about societies and communities.

- Jessica I.

Is blogging innovating journalism?

2008-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

In the article presented by Patrick Baltatzis, several key concepts were discussed, which included what is blogging, the significance of blogs to journalist, issues in blogging, the importance of journalism in a democratic society,whether or not blogging is innovating journalism and why newspapers should blog.

The importance of journalism in a democratic society cannot be understated. Responsible journalist provide vital information to the public and act as a watchdog. Journalist also help push forward new ideas which include technology and innovation.

A new innovation that some journalist have not latched on to is blogging, which is the concept of publishing information on the Internet for anyone to see and respond to what you have published. Unlike newspaper the back and forth dialogue of blogs is key and helps push the conversation, it is interactive.

The significance of blogs is huge. Bloggers are increasingly become reliable sources of information as well as publishing untapped or unpublicized relevant news that mainstream media will not or cannot cover.

Blogging is innovating journalism in terms of having your stories read by many more people than if you were writing for your local paper. By blogging on the Internet you also have the avenue and ability to interact with those whose comment on your story, which as I stated earlier moves the story along.

I see no problem with a journalist blogging as long as he or she follows the same ethical approach to blogging as they do to any other form of writing.

Rashad L.

Blogging

2008-10-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

The article talks about how journalism plays a vital part in the democratic society and things like blogging and podcasting are presenting new ways of information to different people around the world. Baltatzis also talked about how these innovations are important to society because they let the public know about certain things that can improve or disrupt their environment. Lastly, he talked about how publishing with these innovative tools leads us to believe that journalism is growing. Journalism is basically transitioning from traditional media to new media and we can see this in the things reporters are writing stories on the and the news packages they are creating with these new innovative tools.

Baltatzis says that journalism is vital in a democratic society. Journalism is all about concepts and ideas and presenting them in an objective manner and this is what a democratic society is all about. Journalism lets people express their ideas and voice their thoughts as well as participate in their community.

Blogging is basically the marketplace for innovative ideas. It engages conversations between readers and societies.

The relevance of blogging for journalism is that it gives journalists a place where they can go and see what other people are talking about. It allows them to find stories in the most uncommon places and see what a particular subject is presenting about an idea. They can take that and turn it into their own story. They can also use blogs to follow up on other stories. If they write a story and it doesn't get published, they can post it on their blog.

Journalists should blog because it creates a new forum of ideas that they can present to their community. It's much more laid back and it gives people an opportunity to comment on their blogs. It presents information in a new way opposed to the traditional media that their publication uses. Baltatzis goes on to say that blogs create communities of interests.

Blogging is innovating journalism because it is creating new ideas and new forms of expression. You can add many things to a blog such as video, commentary, pictures and more. It is more casual than what would be on the front of the newspaper because you can use any style that you want. Anything technology related is innovated and since blogs are used on the internet then I would say that it is turning traditional journalism into new innovative journalism.

Lauren D.

Blog to the Future

2008-10-21T09:42:00.003-07:00

Blogging: a wild dream to the founding fathers? Though we can't take a vote from a bunch of dead old white guys, undoubtedly they'd be intrigued by the growing phenomenon known as blogging. Indeed, as some would argue (in the present century), blogging is a shot in the arm to democracy. And if journalism was good enough to be given First Amendment protection in the U.S. Constitution, then what is the relevance of blogging to a free press today? This basic question and others are explored in a conference paper by Patrick Baltatzis called "Is Blogging Innovating Journalism?"

To explain it to the dead old white guys, blogging is the activity of communicating thoughts and ideas in a public forum located on the World Wide Web (we won't explain that one). Such a forum is called a blog, or weblog, which is an online version of an open journal, onto which anyone can post a thought, comment or question on a shared topic of interest. A blog is the equivalent of a running dialog or conversation, offering timely and up-to-date, if not cutting-edge, information on anything from a presidential campaign to the latest cell phone technology or collector model cars. With content driven by reader interest and information exchange, content-accurate blogs often break news that traditional journalism overlooks or misses entirely. And this on nearly any subject imaginable, large or small. It's like having hundreds, if not thousands, of eyes simultaneously zeroing in on a topic versus those of one one reporter or editor. This is an unprecedented, thoroughly breakthrough development in information distribution. And thus in journalism as well.

Ironically, this new, dynamic form of news and information gathering and sharing comes as U.S. newspapers are beset by a seemingly unstoppable hemorrhage in circulation. Whereas blogging has taken the Internet community by storm. According to Baltatzis, there were 30 million blogs worldwide at the time his paper was presented. In the wave of monumental, technologically-innovative shifts in media communication, traditional print journalism, by volume, is rapidly losing competitive ground. But reader responsiveness to the less rigid, lively engagement of blogs has been tremendous. As Baltatzis quotes Josh Quittner, editor-in-chief of Business 2.0 magazine, today a publication's "worst competitor is not another magazine" but "readers' attention and time." To that end, blogs fit the bill.

This is because blogs offer an immediate, compelling, easy-to-use form of interactive communication on topics of individual, interest-driven relevance to readers. As online published dialog, Joe and Mary public can see their opinions, perspectives and ideas weighed in, side by side, with experts -- not only within the U.S. but across the world. According to Baltatzis, this creates in readers a sense of community and ownership of the information-sharing process.

Moreover, because blogs can be produced with free software and distributed low-cost via the Internet, they offer a new, highly accessible means for traditional journalism to expand its readership base. The result is a virtually limitless flourishing and free exchange of ideas, a forum of information exchange whose community voice will only expand as more people gain access to the Internet across the globe. In this way, blogs very much embody the spirit of democracy.

Five principle concepts discussed by Baltatzis include the following:

1) Blogs can "create new value," "empower readers" and "create deeper relationships" with them than traditional news formats and players alone;
2) Blogs need not, and should not, necessarily replace traditional journalism;
3) Blogs gain value in the marketplace based on their unique appeal to the public and/or their credibility and quality of content;
4) Blogs break down the wall between content producers and consumers;
5) Blogs "are positive elements in media that keep journalism honest" (according to Quittner).

Based on interviews by Baltatzis with bloggers in the news industry, a growing number of journalists see blogging as an innovation that breathes new dynamism into the lifeblood of a free society. Yet at the same time, there are concerns that blogs threaten to diminish expectations of content quality to the level that ultimately degrades hard news itself. But this need not necessarily preclude a news organization (or citizen journalist) from creating a blog of their own. Blogs of no significant consequence proliferate on the Internet. With the virtually limitless publishing space of the 'net, that fact is not likely to change. But neither does it stop other blogs from staking a legitimate place for themselves in the wider community.

Bottom line, blogs that adhere to the fundamental standards and ethics of traditional journalism -- accuracy, fairness, balance, clarity, solid writing -- are shaping up to be those with the strongest reputations for credibility and reliability. Conversely, a blog that aims for content higher than mere gossip or fleeting hype, but which is considered by readers to be unreliable, is likely to lose, not attract, readership. Blog readers by nature tend to be more discriminating in their blog selections, drawn as they are to topics with which they are often already highly knowledgeable. Therefore a blog that lacks credibility is likely to be one that readers quickly abandon in search of better ones that merit their time and attention.

So in a blogosphere of billions of readers -- where there is room for everyone with Internet access -- just as with other matters of importance to the public, the more trusted, compelling sources of information tend to distinguish themselves and draw a larger and loyal readership. That in itself is a metaphor for a healthy democracy: a diverse and often messy enterprise, but ultimately reflective of a bell-curve measure of human activity and consciousness over time.

Journalism, then, that incorporates content-accurate, timely and compelling blogs is journalism that is responsive to the changing needs and expectations of the public. Blogs also widen the spectrum of key players and voices involved in any subject discussion. But overall the best kind of blogging revitalizes the democratic impulse of the public to engage in open conversation on topics that hold often passionate meaning for them. In this way, blogging is definitely innovating journalism.

According to Baltatzis, blogging can also provide a healthy boost to news publication revenues by drawing in and broadening readership. But blogging can benefit the larger economy as well, he notes. For the very nature of the free exchange of ideas tends to drive, accelerate and support innovation of goods and services and the policies that serve them. Blogging can therefore be seen as a reinforcing mechanism in a critical loop of democracy.

As one of the most powerful tools a journalist can have in his or her arsenal, then, blogs can be fertile resources of new ideas and specialized information, freely and vitally exchanged. This is an enlivening of the democratic process. Whether these ideas cover the areas of politics, business, the economy, science and medicine, technology, public policy, the natural environment, or the arts and culture, content-reliable blogs are becoming an integral part of a newly thriving public discourse. No astute reporter today would dare not appreciate the real and potential impact of blogging. And those who jump in with stellar blogs of their own stand to help nurture a kind of democracy those old dead white guys could have only dreamed of.

- Misako M.

"Is Blogging Innovation Journalism?" Q & A!

2008-10-21T09:42:00.002-07:00

In the article, "Is Blogging Innovation Journalism?" by Patrick Baltatzis, five concepts and ideas are asked about innovation journalism. They include:

"How is quality conceived and achieved in an environment of abundant, transitional, and complex information?"
"What qualities, skills and tools are required to assimilate, digest and then distribute relevance and meaning where attention is more valued than most physical goods?"
"How does new media technology fit into all this?
"How do RSS-feeds and easy web-publishing tools (i.e. blogs) and podcasts contribute to interesting stories, good journalism, and the future of publishing?
"How is journalism changing and what does the future hold?

The author continues to expand on these questions by interviewing journalists and examining the use of blogs as a reporting tool. He begins by taking a look at the importance of journalism for a democratic society.

Democracy is a broad, loose and somewhat undefined concept that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Journalism, in a big way, is vital to the idea of democracy. As democracy innovates through changes in social, economic and political shifts, certain aspects gain popularity and power over others, causing changes in an overall structure. One example given by Baltatzis is the use of MTV broadcasts and reporting in Eastern Europe in the 1980s. As residents locked behind the Berlin Wall were able to see what existed in the outside world, they began to resist their Communist leadership and demand a change, demand their freedom. The use of SMS-messaging (text messaging) in Iraq for civic reporting also played importance in spreading the word to a mass audience. With the growing popularity of the Internet, many journalists have opted to take advantage of the easy-to-use technology and virtually endless audience to get their news out to the world.

What exactly is a blog? According to Baltatzis, a "blog is a publishing innovation, a digital newswire that, due to the proliferation of the Internet, low production and distribution costs, ease of use and really simple syndication (RSS), creates a new and powerful push-pull publishing concept." Readers are able to get news with the click of a mouse, looking at today's news and what's to come. Subscribing to news feeds allow people to receive news updates automatically as they happen - people no long have to go look for the news. Blogs also provide an open forum for debate and discussion, since readers can respond by commenting on a journalist's blog or by posting a rebuttal post on their own blog. “Trying to engage audiences in conversation should be a primary goal for news organizations. It’s what a democracy needs and what news organizations are meant to support,” wrote the authors of Hypergene, a blog committed to furthering the concept of citizen journalism.

Blogs are very relevant to journalists doing professional work. They allow them to put out new ideas and arguments that can often lead to news stories and follow-up stories on either sites. There are, however, some issues with blogging. Since many feel that blogs are just an easy way for people to voice opinion or rant about something, the issue of trust and truthfulness comes up. Blogging may also take away from readership in traditional magazines and newspapers.

Despite the negative, journalists should continue their quest in the blogging world. According to Baltatzis, blogging not only builds legitimacy in society, but also, "the transitional nature of business and media consumption must be considered if publishing houses want to prevail in their chosen markets." Blogs allow information to be shared quickly and easily around the world and with others who may, if it were not for blogs, would be left in the dark. By providing reliable and truthful information, blogs can aid communities in growing. Communities not only thrive on reliable and relevant information, but also enjoy the openness to the audience, even allowing people to partake in making stories.

Everything here boils down to one simple question: Is blogging considered innovation journalism? To be considered innovative, something must be new or differently introduced and changed from traditional customs. Given that definition, blogging would definitely be considered innovation journalism. Not only is it interactive for the audience, but it is becoming something like we have never seen before. It is providing an open forum for readers, a way of discussing news that they would typically not be able to with a traditional newspaper. People are able to get up-to-date news faster and almost anywhere in the world. Blogging has broken down barriers that have long been set by classic journalism reporting, opening the door to a new world of ideas.

Posted by: Michael Strachan

Is blogging Innovative Journalism?

2008-10-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

In the article "Is blogging Innovating Journalism" by Patrick Baltazis there are five main concepts/ideas. They are:

1) Background information on innovation journalism

2) The definition of what blogging is

3) The significance of blogs to journalists

4) The major issues in blogging

5) Why newspapers should blog

Journalism is important in a democratic society because without journalism there would not be democracy. Whether social, political or economic, innovative ideas enable different interests groups to gain leadership on a society. They in turn are of special interest in a democratic discourse. Journalism and free press, committed to honoring journalism makes it possible for different interests to have an active voice and participate.

According to Baltazis blogging is: Emerging technologies converging into new ones, the roaming of ideas and technology with at mission. It gives the readers the option of being a journalist. Baltazis explains that "the blog is a publishing innovation, a digital news wire that, due to the proliferation of the Internet, low production and distribution costs, ease of use and really simple syndication (RSS), creates a new and powerful push-pull publishing concept."

Blogs are very relevant to any journalist doing professional or crafted work. Blogs can help journalist gain ideas using different services. Reading other blogs can open a journalists eyes to concepts they had not thought of before. If the information is trustworthy these ideas may turn out to be the journalists latest story or an idea they may want to look further into.

According to Baltazis "Magazines and papers should consider blogging to build their legitimacy in targeted communities and societies. The transitional nature of business and media consumption must be considered if publishing houses want to prevail in their chosen markets." If journalist enter the blogging world they are able to reach a number of people they would not have before. Baltazis states that "Communities breed on relevant and reliable information. A newspaper or blog can grow if it provides relevant and reliable information to leaders in its targeted communities. The difference between traditional papers and blogs are that the latter can be more 'open' to their audiences, letting readers participate in making stories, and, in extreme cases, letting readers publish their own stories." Blogs are a way to build communities of special interest groups which in turn could gain a journalist a larger following.

Blogging is innovative journalism because its changing the way news is being read. A lot of people get their news from blogs rather than reading a newspaper or watching television. Many blogs have their own communities of readers, if journalist choose to blog these could be a new and innovative way for them to gain new followers.

-Carly Youngren

"Blogging"

2008-10-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Blogging seems to be the new media outlet of where journalists can gather their ideas and deliver to the public. However, are journalists that use blogs really journalists or are they just stating their opinions? It seems like almost everyone that is blogging does not have to have a degree in journalism, but just needs to connect with their audience. But what about the journalists that actually do report on an innovative instrument or a new exciting technological gadget? Patrick Baltatzis uncovered some of these ideas and/or concepts of blogging in his article. First, he examines the role of journalism in a democratic society and how vital it is to establish a relationship between the two. Second, he defines the new media of blogging, and explains what it is. Third, he analyzes the significance of blogs to journalists and if journalists are embracing it or rejecting it. Fourth, he uncovers the issues in blogging and if it has any restraints in the field of journalism. Lastly, he touches on whether or not journalists or publications should utilize blogs.

The importance of journalism in a democratic society, is that it enables different interests to gain leadership in society. It establishes political, social and economic leadership in societies. Most of the advances in journalism have made in an impact in our democratic society, thus deems some advances as revolutionary. Journalism also enables different interests to come together and have an active voice. Without journalism, we could not have a democracy, because it would not include the public's voice.

Blogging is a new channel of special interest to publishers and readers as well. It can sometimes be a form of journalism, but sometimes it is not. It would be hard to come to a definite answer about this. However, by blogging and using the Internet, it is a cost effective way of delivering news and a message. "Users or other bloggers subscribe to these syndication feeds (RSS-feeds), which automatically appear on the subscriber’s website, blog or in a newsreader." A blog can be used as a marketplace of ideas, by including technologies.

The significance of blogs to journalists is the fact that their stories can spread quickly. It also gives journalists more of a free tone of voice. It gives the journalist a way to break free from the traditional standard way of writing in a newspaper to more for writing freely. This is an area where journalists do not have a criteria of the way they write, but more of what they want to write about. It establishes a connection between the journalist and his/her audience.

Journalists should definitely consider blogging to build their reputations with communities and the society. By writing in a way not just as a journalist but more of a consumer, the communities will be able to identify with the writer. The journalist can provide relevant and reliable information to their communities. Blogging is also less expensive than the paper and can use fewer resources. All the information that could not fit on the paper, could be written in the blog. It is a great way of readers to pick and choose what they want to read and what they think is relevant.

Blogging is innovating journalism in a tremendous way by "analyzing trends and current events faster." Readers will be able to get their information faster and it is a cost effective way to deliver that information to the public. Blogging is presenting new ways for readers to contribute to the stories and gives them a chance to interact with the journalist as well. Because innovation is a vital for the advancement of society, blogging is a great step forward in journalism. With the development of these such new medias, journalists can deliver the relevant information faster and easier.

-Nina Pak

The latest project from NASA

2008-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

A small spacecraft from NASA was launched this weekend, it will embark on a two-year mission to give scientists their first view of the happenings at the edge of the solar system. The spacecraft is called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or Ibex probe for short, will study a chaotic region in space where the solar wind from the sun clashes with cold gases from interstellar space.

The Ibex prone is a $165 million dollar mission that will build on the long-running Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. Observations from the spacecraft will help researchers in "unlocking the secrets of this important interaction between the sun and the galaxy," said chief scientist David McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

The Ibex is only the size of a bus tire and will be lifted 130 miles above Earth by a Pegasus rocket and put into orbit.

-Carly Youngren

Feature film premieres on YouTube

2008-10-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

CNN hosted an article by AP on director Wayne Wang’s movie “The Princess of Nebraska” being premiered on YouTube last Friday. According to the article people will be able to watch it for free at the YouTube Screening Room which is a new addition. In the article, Wang is said to be one of the most notable filmmakers that is trying to give away a film for free online. In the past movies available online for free were illegal, where music has been for free.

With this new development of free movies on YouTube, what does that hold in store for major movie producers? Not just movie producers, but the entire movie industry? Is technology providing new mediums that better of society or hinder it?

Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/10/17/movies.internet.ap/index.html

-Monica Sullivan