As Promised, a 2nd entry this week

Well, as I said earlier, I am doing two posts this week to make up for being out of town last week for my grandmother's funeral. I was a bit unsure of what to write about this week, but I decided to blog about my thoughts on the potential of cyborgs. Like everybody else in the class, I pretty much used the terms "robot" and "cyborg" interchangeably. But, I was reminded of a great quote used by The Terminator in T3: Rise of the Machines when John Connor calls the Terminator a "Damn Robot" and the Terminator replies "Cybernetic Organism!" So, what are the possibilities of cyborgs? Could we create a half human, half cyborg organism that possesses superhuman strength and added memory and brain power? Well, yes, that does appear to be on the horizon. But, who will this technology be available to? Should it be limited? I believe those are some scary questions that need to answered moving forward. I believe this technology should only be used in instances where it could help someone with a disability, and that they should not enhance a person beyond "average" human capability. Otherwise, we could end up with something like Dr. Octopus at the top.

Kindle 2

So, I may be a little bit behind the times with this one, but while I was in Pittsburgh for my grandmother's funeral, I had the opportunity to try out my mother's Kindle 2. I am aware that the Kindle 3 was just released a few weeks ago, but I fell the Kindle 2 is still pretty close and has a lot of interesting features. If you do not know, the Kindle is basically an iPod for books. You can store thousands of books in a folder sized notebook and browse through them as you please. To turn the page you simply move your finger across the touch screen from right to left, as if to simulate a page turn. It is a truly remarkable technology that makes you wonder, where has this kind of a product been for all these years? It just seems crazy that an e-book reader had not come out before Amazon.com decided to produce the Kindle. The prime implication of this technology is a very promising one, particularly for college students; cheap books. And, not just cheap Tom Clancy novels, but cheap text books, which is where most college students really get hammered financially. It will also make it easy to bring all of your textbooks with you everywhere. My only beef with it is I am not the biggest fan of the screen. I felt more like I was playing a GameBoy than I was reading a novel. But, as with any technology, there is always room for improvement.

It's been a while

I know it's been a while since I made a post, but my grandmother passed away last week and it's just been kind of a blur. I will make up for it by posting twice next week. Anyways, the product I am reviewing this week is a new application that would allow you to pay your bar or restaurant tab from your iphone. It's called tabbedout, and as of now, it only exists in Austin, Texas. Basically, tabbedout has participating locations that are hooked up to the tabbedout network, and you can log on, establish a tab, and cash that tab out whenever you like, even from outside the bar or restaurant. So, you never have to worry about leaving your credit card in a bar and not cashing out your tab. The app does not appear to have any obvious negatives since it's free and supposedly very user friendly, but I'm going to wait and see when it actually makes its way to the rest of the country later this year to pass any real judgment. The question is going to be, can tabbedout really get enough bars and restaurants on its network to make this app worthwhile? If it can, this seems destined to be one of the most popular apps amongst young adults, and the automatic 20% tip will make it a bartender favorite as well.

ESPN 3-D

I did my poster on ESPN's foray into the 3-D television market. Many people seem to think that 3-D television is the next logical step from high definition, but I am not as excited, or impressed, with this jump as many are. ESPN will be the first of several networks that will make the jump to 3-D, debuting their new technology this June 11th for the first match of the FIFA World Cup that pits host South Africa against Mexico. ESPN seems to think this will revolutionize television, but I am skeptical. Can I really see my father and his buddies kicking back a few cold ones, sitting back and putting on a bunch of pairs of little paper glasses to watch the big game? I do not think so. So, ESPN must be banking on the very young audience to buy into this, but, with the high costs expected for 3-D compatible televisions, how many young people will be able to afford this? In the end, I think it will be a nifty little novelty that, as time goes on can be worked into regular television, but I just do not see the revolution that ESPN predicts coming to pass.

LG 42LG70 42'' HD Television

After four years of saving up, and the decline in the prices of HD televisions, one of my roommates finally decided to get a new TV. He opted for this beauty from LG, and the thing has changed the way I look at TVs. We have a projector in our main room, and it makes for great sports viewing, what with the large size of the picture, but I would watch a Purdue basketball game on this LG over our projector any day. First of all, when Purdue wears its black uniforms with black numbers, you cannot make out the numbers and figure out which players on the court on our projector. On the HD, you can make out the numbers clear as day, and you can tell whether the guy with the ball is Chris Kramer (Yay!) or Ryne Smith (Boo!). The other thing that makes it amazing is how good HD compatible video games look on this TV. I really only play football video games, but my roommates are crazy about this new war game they got, and it looks scary real. The only down side to it is when the play online, the HD can cause a bit of a lag, and cause them to lose to people they refer to as "noobs."

iPhone "Bump" Application

Whoa, was I thrown for a loop this week when my friend visiting from IU showed me the new "Bump App" on his iPhone.This is pretty much the craziest thing I have ever seen. Basically, the app serves as a method of quickly exchanging contact information with a simple bump. Once the application is turned on, two people simply put their iPhones in their hands, and fist bum each other. This will send the contact info from one phone to the other. It is ironic, because this is probably the way my grandmother would try to send her contact info to someone elses phone, by banging the two together. Nevertheless, it is a very cool little application. You are given the option of how much info you want to share. You can simply put your name, so they can find you on facebook, or you could put your phone number, address, e-mail address, and twitter page all in. It does not always go through if you do not hit it just right, but its amazing how well it works, especially since the two devices never actually have to touch each other for the exchange.

Blackberry Bold

Ever since I received my first phone from my parents, back in tenth grade, I insisted that I did not need anything fancy. I kept that first phone for nearly six years until it broke on me while I was doing an internship in South Africa two summers ago(terrible spot to break, I know). I then purchased another simple phone that did nothing but call and text, but two weeks ago, for my birthday, my parents got me a Blackberry Bold. This thing is amazing. If you do not have a smart phone, get one. It does everything, and I am constantly connected to every important contact in my life. I've got my e mail, pictures, facebook, and a bevy of other things at my fingertips. Sure, it has its down sides. The apps leave a bunch too be desired and T-Mobil's 3G coverage is slow at best, but I can still get all of my stuff done in a coffee house without a laptop. I highly recommend this product, but would insist that you get some other service provider other than T-Mobile. They are terrible. On the plus side, my love for Atari games has been awakened after a 20 year slumber by the game "Brick Breaker" which is essentially pong with bricks instead of futuristic pill looking objects.