Ana's Tech Blogs

Clever car?!?

2006-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

On the never ending and much needed quest for fuel efficieny, Brittish engineers have developed what they call a "clever" car. Designed more like a motorcycle, with technology that allows it to turn more efficiently, this clever car is "is designed to help the commuter squeeze through the narrowest of gaps and nip into the tiniest of parking spaces." (Sydney Morning Herald). It is a great concept for EU, but this will not penetrate the american materialsitic market, at least for another 7-10 years. Look at the picture and you will understand why.

bout darn time!

2006-04-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

The booming online music sector saw sales triple to $US1.1 billion in 2005. This, among many other reasons, leaves me dumbfounded when I hear about bands protesting against digital music. At this point, it should be standard for music agencies to require bands to post their music online, despite the loss they get from piracy. It is their competitive advantage. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Beatles are finally planning to sell their music online. Bout darn time!

I want an iPhone

2006-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Visiongain, a US market research company, is suggesting Apple launch iPhone mobile phone to co-incide with the launch of Helios. According to Pam Duffey, telecoms analyst at Visiongain, "There exists a relationship between Apple and Helio management that goes back to the ROKR iTunes phone, and Helio has declared a target audience identical to iPod's existing market. Helio's top rank executives have also publicly voiced frustration with mainstream carriers and appear to be on a crusade to radically shake-up the industry."

If and when Apple develops a phone, it is likely to dramatically change the phone industry just as they changed music industry.

2006-03-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Fortune magazine recently predicted technology trends for the upcoming year. Surprisingly, they claim that the mammoth and beloved Google will see declines in their business. The article claims that Yahoo will outperform Google because a new concept known as "community-powered search." Yahoo is market leader in this fast-evolving technology with its acquisition last week of del.icio.us. Del.icio.us is similar to MySpace, however, whereas social network site helps members find dates, form groups, and share music picks, del.icio.us helps members find information--websites that others have found useful. (News Corp. (Research) recently bought MySpace, for $580 million.) The article claims that “what others liked” button will be preferred over Google’s “I’m feeling lucky” button.
Another interesting claim? Apple will try to reclaim some of its lost market share in the mp3 industry by introducing new cell phones that compete with Motorola’s ROckR phone.

an obvious but brilliant move.

2006-03-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

The Georgia State students are clearly not the first nor last to think about this brilliant idea. Going 55 is absurd, yet they did a masterful job in actually following through on the idea and filming the comical scene for all to see (http://www.campusmoviefest.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IdeaFlow.woa/wa/showAMovie?movieID=978) But, what really will come out of this, other than a great laugh? As ignorant as it may be to post a 55 speed limit, the sole reason for doing so is honestly not our safety (though "the man" would like you to believe). Just think about the cop that pulls someone over going 75 in a 55......what a massive payday for the government.

Regardless, the movie was brilliant and I hope to see many more like it.

one cool unity

2006-02-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

Google alongside Professor Allen Weinstein, the national archivists for the US, have joined forces to "enable researchers and the general public to access a diverse collection of historic movies, documentaries and other films from the National Archives via Google Video (http://video.google.com/nara.html) as well as the National Archives website (http://www.archives.gov)."

I think it would be amazing to gain access to watch video such as World War II newsreels, and the story of Apollo 11, amid many more historic events. It allows for a more in-depth meaning to research for students worldwide.

This agreement has also sparked up the controversial issue of having on line text-books. Publishers worry about copywrite infringement, others claim they have a right to post texts online. Honestly, I am all for which ever one will allow me to buy cheaper!

neonarcissism?

2006-02-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

I read an article in the NYT entitled "Here I am taking my photo" in which they study a recent trend of "youngsters" (our generation) increasing their use of photography because of the advent of digital cameras, camera phones and web cams. The article was an interesting read, especially the discussion of how others might view it as narcissitic (because many of the photos taken are self portraits to be uploaded to the web for sites such as myspace). Being a myspace junkie, I definitely have seen and been subject to this type of photography. However, having a digital camera has introduced me to my new hobby: photography. And contrary to what the article implies, I use it for SOOOOOO much more than photos for myspace or facebook.

Re: defending the future of books

2006-02-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

The masterminds behing google have set themselves apart from their competition by not only having the best email mailboxes (gmail) but by having RSS leads that you can customize to your preference as well as gmail chat (which I still have yet to use, but I'm sure is cool). Google also has a google blog in which "Googler [gives us] insights into product and technology news and our culture." This weeks blog mentioned University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman desire to protect books by making them electronic. She states, "Most recently, Hurricane Katrina dealt a blow to the libraries of the Gulf Coast. At Tulane University, the main library sat in nine feet of water -- water that soaked the valuable Government Documents collection: more than 750,000 items -- one of the largest collections of government materials in Louisiana -- 90 percent of it now lost."

I really don't see the controversy in it. Especially when it means that prices for college textbooks could be drastically cheaper. Bring it on! :D

oh how I love commercials

2006-02-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl sunday, the last hurray for football fanatics, but a glorious day for advertising and marketing majors (or simply those who love 30 seconds of promotion). I noticed a lot of commercials for ABC (shows like Lost and the like--a waste of several millions of dollars) however, I was very pleased with the humor in mastercard (Mcgyver ad) and others. New York Times recently stated that the importance of these advertisements are growing in popularity due to the advent of blogs and the "everyday critics." The Nationwide Financial VP qoutes "what's happening in the postgame, on the back end, more than made up for the cost" re: fabio commercial. People are not only posting their thoughts on blogs, but downloading the videos, installing them on video ipods, and ifilms. Hopefully this will only lead to an increased importance on better quality commercials and moving the target audience away from just males! (ahem, godaddy.com)

apple + Intel chips

2006-01-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

Arriving six months ahead of schedule, the masterminds of Apple and Intel have joined forces to perfect Apple computers. The reason for switching from IBM to Intel is improved speed and less heat produced from the new Intel Core Duo chip. Simply turning on the new apple/intel computers take 40 seconds less! Yet the new apple/intel computers have many of the same awesome ammenities as the old, but with a faster response. The price? The same as the old apples. As David Pogue from the New York Times writes, " Apple has brought a staggeringly complex ship down for a surprisingly soft landing. It has made an excellent computer even snappier without increasing the price, and done an amazing job of concealing the technical plumbing."

I have a Dell computer, which when I got it four years ago, was the creme-de-le-creme. I am looking forward to purchasing the new apple laptop when I graduate in May. Hopefully by that time "universal" programs (those able to run with both macs and pcs) will also improve. I can't wait!

hope for improved doctor visits.

2006-01-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

These articles were very interesting. Particularly the one about the competition between communication companies (and interestingly AOL Time Warner) in obtaining a ten year contract with the NY transportation authorities. This is something that is long due, not just for convienience but more importantly safety. Few subway stations are safe, especially during the late hours.

Also, I really do not care who has to pay for the transitioning between paper records and electronic records, but someone MUST do it. I get very impatient in the waiting room, especially when I had to make my appointment months in advance which is often the case with my physician.

2006-01-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

So, I completely missunderstood the assignment and read the wrong articles for the mini quiz. Anyway, I was blown away by the ipod article. 100 ipods a minute is phenominal, I wish I had stock in the company. I got my ipod last year for christmas, long before the nano and video ipods. Since then I have grown to love my ipod and feel just as naked without it as I would without my cell phone.

On another note, hd tvs are cool and all, but why spend a rediculous amount of money when a regular television works just fine? If I really wanted to get the feel for something (ie some sporting event, nature, food) I would take my $4,000 or more and just get front row tickets.