Space has always
been one thing that humans have tried to observe and make sense of.
One of the recent trends among scientists around the world is trying
to invent various methods in order to understand more about dark
matter as well as present it in a visible form for study and
experiment purposes. According to scientists, 27% of the known
universe is Dark Matter. So what is dark matter, you ask? For
starters it is not any of the visible stars or planets or even in the
form of normal matter or antimatter. There are many things that it
is not and it is commonly suggested that it is made up of exotic
particles, but one thing is certain and that it is there even though
humans cannot visibly see or capture it.
Researchers at MIT have recently
invented a tool that they confirm will modify a particle accelerator
to perform the tests necessary to see if dark matter takes the form
of a photon-like particle that has “mass”. This experiment will
also help find two particles that dark matter may decay into.
The study of dark matter will be an
important if not historical for our species in order to learn more
about the vast new frontier known as space and this study may as well
help with future travel through the stars including ways to one day
reach warp travel so that the ability to study other planets with our
own eyes will one day come.
Here are a few links pertaining to dark
matter:
“A NASA Chief Weighs In On Possible
Dark Matter Discovery” (article)
For my blog post I want to talk about building credit and making sure that college students get the information they need to make sure that they don't make common mistakes due to ignorance. I was always aware of my financial position and made sure I stayed in good standing and didn't even want to get a credit card or any type of loan because I hate owing people money. That mindset is unacceptable, as I soon found out. Credit is needed for almost anything in the adult world. I wanted to buy a car, had the down payment they wanted and everything but they wanted my credit score to be in the 500's. I told the man I just started and I need to get a car loan in order to build it but the salesman didn't want to hear it. I couldn't rely on someone else's credit score because everyone I knew wasn't eligible. This is a problem and I want to make sure that the information is given to people while they are young and they can make their credit good from the start. So I've included some of my own tips to help as well as a few videos to help out.
Don't apply for too many cards. Applying for too many new cards can damage your credit score. It's not as bad as missing payments, but it's still bad. Avoid opening a lot of store-branded credit cards just because it's a good deal at the time.
Stay within your credit line. Don't go over your credit limit. This is a bad indicator that shows you are irresponsible.
Ask a parent. It's going to be harder for us to get a credit card most times than getting it through our parents. This is a good method to start off and will reduce your interest.
Apply for a secured card. I got me a secured credit card. I put a certain amount of money in a savings account and borrowed credit off of that money. This is a fail safe, so that just in case you don't have money to pay you can fall back on the original amount of money you put down when you got the card. BUT DON'T MAKE THAT A HABIT!
Apply for a student credit card. I have heard of student credit cards designed just for us. They have benefits for us and advantages that other cards might not have.
Don't spend more than you have: Now what I mean by this is that don't use your credit card unless you actually have the money. You can use your credit card to buy something because you know you have that money already. So buy something with a credit card and have money set aside to pay it off before you purchase it.
Small purchases are still big purchases!: The credit bureau doesn't really care if you buy some gum or a diamond ring with the credit card just as long as you use your card and pay it off in the time allotted.
Hope this helps.
5 Tips to Build Your Credit, Improving your Credit Score
In a study done last year, a Harvard
professor took the time to survey 5,000 Americas to find out what
they believed the ideal wealth in America is, and what the actual
wealth in America was at the time. He divided the country into 5
groups, equally distributing them into 20 percent pockets. The ideal
wealth could be summed up to America being relatively similar to a
socialist country, where wealth is distributed equally. What they
believed the wealth in America was, was still modest, and had the top
20 percent of the chart with a large majority, the bottom 20 percent
had the least and the other 60 percent were relatively the same.
However, the problem with both is that
neither is correct in the distribution. Actually, the ideal number is
as skewed as what people believe it is. The lower 40 percent of
Americans do not possess nearly any wealth, where as the top 1
percent, has the entire portion that the survey population thought
the top 20% had in the ideal situation. What makes the video below
interesting is the fact that it compresses the 311 million Americans
into 100 Americans and takes the estimated wealth of America in 2009,
which is about 54 trillion dollars, and displays it over a graph. The
telling fact of this graph is that it displays the top 1 percent
separately, simply because it is ten times bigger than the feasible
space on the graph. To quantify the amount of money the top 1 percent
has, it is roughly 40 percent of America’s wealth, while the bottom
80 percent only has 7 percent of America’s wealth. In today’s
American society, the top 1 percent, or wealthiest in the country
brings home 24 percent of America’s income yearly, whereas in 1976,
this same group brought in 9 percent. The top 1 percent of America
owns 50 percent of the stocks, bonds and mutual funds, whereas the
bottom 50 percent of Americas owns only half a percent of the same
investments.
The wealth desperation is one of the
worse in the world, and poverty is slowing increasing in the country.
It is up to those who have the ability to make, to give back to those
who are unfortunate. The inequality in the wealth of Americans can
cease as long as the next generation remembers that there are others
on the planet and make an effort to help them out in some way, shape
or form. The problem will not go away immediately, but with the
continued efforts of those who are determined for it to stop, it can
be a huge change in the graph. The future is in your hands.
Over the past
decade, consumers have found alternative sources to obtaining their
music. Music use to be a physically consumed product, whether it
would be vinyl, or physical LP’s and EP’s. When technology became
a major part of our lives and with that came ITunes, and Amazon that
allowed consumers to digitally download their music of choice. This
gave consumers the option to download full-length albums, or single
songs that they really enjoyed from an album. Another option created
in the past five years has been music streaming. With programs like
Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and now iTunes Radio, consumers can now
stream full-length albums, singles, and the like at the push of a
button as soon as they are released by the labels. Is this the
new-age of music and technology, will owning physical music and
downloading be a thing of the past? Has the world stopped buying
music, and started streaming?
In
a recent article by the New York Times, Ben Sisario writes how
the music industry’s real reliance in the past few years has been
sales from digital downloading, which is still fairly slow in growth.
However, they feature a study that shows a decrease in the sales of
those downloads. While the cause is still disputed, part of the loss
can be linked back to the introduction and continuous expansion of
streaming music. The article discusses the ability for users to
stream music wherever they go, and at lower costs. With Spotify, if
you decide to become a premium user, gives you access to millions of
songs for less than $10 a month. Newly released physical albums, and
album downloads typically cost around $10 or a little more (depending
on if you get a deluxe copy or not). This means that Spotify premium
users gain access to all of this music, both new and old, for less
than one full-length album per month. This sounds like an amazing
deal for consumers. While it has yet to catch on completely, this is
a growing sector within the music industry.
Researchers also believe the cause of
the dip in downloads could be due to an increase in Android users.
Android phones are not compatible with iTunes, and therefore that is
an open market for music consumption. Google play is slow, but
profitable way for Android users to download music, but the article
has seen that Android users spend less on their music than users with
iTunes compatibility. This is where the streaming of music can make
its way in and eclipse the idea of downloading music amongst android
phones altogether.
This positive, technologically
innovative experience is great for us as consumers, but it isn’t
necessarily amazing for the music industry. Buying a physical and/or
downloaded album or track, is the best thing for a music industry.
Artists, writers, producers and labels receive more money from that
and in a timely manner. A song that is streamed is not nearly worth
the amount of buying a physical song. We’re talking about tenths of
a penny at this point.
Many music industry execs, and artists
included are definitely excited about the streaming-age of music, but
there are definitely concerns in terms of royalties and when payment
is received that is another issue that they are trying to work out.
For more information on artists’ royalties and the streaming
industry check
out this article by The Guardian. In the meantime, they are
definitely grateful for streaming music and what it has done for
sales. In the New York Times article, Jonathan Lamy, a recording
association spokesperson is quoted saying “A variety of access
models are collectively generating a healthy amount of revenue for
labels and artists, We’ve still got a ways to go, but when you add
up revenues from all of these models, in the aggregate, they
represent real revenues now and prospects for a bright future.”
Great things are happening in the music
industry, and streaming may possibly be the future of the industry.
There are new models coming out, with the recent launch of iTunes
Radio, Rdio, and the future of Beats Music. I’d like to hear your
feedback on what you think about the music industry now. Do you guys
prefer physical copies of music or do you like to download your music
now? Also, how many of you stream your music as opposed to buying
physical copies, or digital downloads? If you do stream your music,
why do you stream your music?
I have linked a video on the
differences between downloading and streaming media for your
convenience.
Earlier this week, Apple unveiled their new product line
up by the way of a keynote presentation with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Amongst the unveiling was the new generation MacBook laptop, the iPad
tablet, and a new operating system for desktops and laptop computers.
Many believe that the public has charged Apple with an ultimatum to
deliver more innovative product designs in addition to increasing
market share. Many investors have lost confidence in the consistency
and success of Apple (AAPL) shares after failing to meet the expected
target point at the end of 2012. Many of the top financial
institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley
believed the stock would reach in the lower 700s while it barely
reached the mid 500s. Since that occurrence, Apple experiences a great
deal of turbulence throughout the 1st quarter of 2013 however they
have successfully rebounded on their losses. From a consumer
standpoint, Apple Inc. has lost its shine and appeal to many consumers
due to the previously stated lack of innovation and design. Across the
boards on various hardwares, Apple has yet to deviate substantially
from the original product design. While looks are not everything,
they can be the deciding factor.
It is up to Apple to prove to investors, the public, and
themselves who the game – changer in millennium technology is. In
order to do this, they must overcome any existing stereotypes and to
target additional consumer groups to increase market share. By doing
this, their presence in the industry will begin shine once again and
rise above competitors.
he
Acronym UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object that is define by a
mysterious object seen in the sky for which, it is claimed, no
orthodox scientific explanation can be found. Have you ever seen a
UFO? Do you believe that the only form of life that exists is on
earth, even though there are billions of stars and galaxy’s? The
number one question that everyone wants the answer too, with some
type of substantial proof is, are we really alone on earth? Meaning,
are there any other forms of life such as aliens that we humans do
not know about? After experiencing a UFO sighting myself and seeing
documentaries that have done tons of research on UFO sightings I have
concluded that we are not alone.
Around
the age of 14 I remember my family and I were on a road trip to
Brunswick Georgia. Brunswick GA is about 4 hours from Atlanta Ga, we
were traveling during the night. It was a normal car ride until I
look out of the window to my right and notice a Bright light that
appeared to be the size of a football in a similar shape. The bright
light was traveling parallel to us in the woods. It had to be pretty
far away but it appeared to be closer than what I could tell because
the light was so bright. My father was driving at that time. He had
to be going no less than 70 MPH. The light was keeping up with the
speed of the car, I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. So I
tap my brother and told him to look and he was amazed as well. The
light kept up with the car for about 15-30 seconds before it vanished
in the woods. This was no ordinary light that I saw that vanished
within 5 seconds. I know that it was not a reflection of a car or car
lights traveling on a road that I could not see because the woods
were there. Also I could tell it was abnormal because the way it was
traveling through the woods. The light was about the height of the
car but it was weaving left to right kind of how a snake moves but it
look like it was only moving that way because it was dodging trees at
a speed of more than 70 mph. After watching Peter Jennings
Documentary UFO’s “Seeing is Believing” I know that I am not
alone in the belief of aliens.
Based
off of the Documentary “Seeing is Believing” there are more than
40 million people that have saw or know someone that has seen a UFO.
There are countless testimonies that date back far as 1947 with
Kenneth Arnold testimony of seeing a flying saucer. Another sighting
was the “Phoenix lights” that happen on March 17, 1997. The
latest one that I heard about was “NASSA confirms meteor streaking
across SE sky on Saturday” that 11 Alive News showed a couple of
weeks ago. Even with all of these eye witnesses of sightings there
are still none believers. A lot of people and some scientist do not
believe in UFO’s because there is no scientific proof and a lot of
testimonies defy physics.
I
believe since we are now in the Information age we will hear about
another life form within the next 25 years. Due to the technology
that we have, we are able to capture videos quicker, take better
pictures at a faster rate and post it for the world to see in a
matter of seconds. As we discussed in class project “Mars one”
plans to establish human settlement in 2023. However one of their
main means of finance to keep this project moving is by broadcasting
each and every move on TV to be seen by the world. “Mars One”
shows you the power that is in the information age. In 1977 when the
last person was on the moon and idea like this would have never made
it to the table and if it did the average American would not be able
to participate because the TV’s that majority of people had
couldn’t handle a broadcast of such kind.
After
watching these videos do you believe that were alone? Do you think
the government is hiding information? What will scientific proof of
aliens’ existence do to our nation/world way of living and
thinking? Would your religious beliefs be change? What norms do you
think will be broken? Do you think we will see another life form
within 25 years?
Did you ever think that we would have so much access to internet? Did you ever think that we would be able to access it from our vehicles? On Thursday, Telsa announced the collaboration with AT&T to embed internet in automobiles. Tesla drivers will have cars that include an embedded modem and SIM card that connect through AT&T for real-time data via radio signal, safety diagnostics and other stats on driver habits and usage. Every Tesla with an infotainment screen offers apps and Internet browsing through AT&T. AT&T has been making bold moves, making it a force to be reckoned with in the technology market. AT&T recently acquired General Motors' OnStar system from rival Verizon, as well as recently partnering with Sirius XM to provide Nissan drivers connections.
This most eye-catching about this innovation is the fact there will be phone apps in which smartphone users will be able to lock their car or even crank their car from afar. This innovation is currently under works in Asian markets. Americans can expect it to arrive home 2015. This is technology history in the making. And we are living in it. I believe there are many advantages and disadvantages to having internet in automobiles. Safety would be improved as well as a one’s driving experience. On the contrary, it can be a distraction similar to cell phones. What do you guys think? Check out the video below to see a snippet of what this innovation is all about.
The students in
school today have Smartphone’s in their pockets, iPads and tablets
at home that are used for recreational use, and even a laptop to play
games on if they want to. With the younger generation being so
technologically savvy, wouldn’t it be a great idea to incorporate
technology in to the classroom. Many school systems across the
country have already realized the benefits of making the classroom
more technology accessible. Getting rid of physical textbooks and
moving towards using tablets can save a lot of money and even get the
students more involved.
Time to say goodbye
to regular ink-and-print textbooks, and hello to digital textbooks.
Students book bags are getting lighter as the use of iPads and
tablets are rapidly increasing. Publishers update students' books
almost instantly with the latest events or research. Schools are
increasingly looking to the hand-held tablets as a way to sustain
students' interest, reward their achievements and, in some cases,
actually keep per-student costs down. Education technology will
change the entire face of education allowing teachers to have a more
focused and supervised instruction creating a better management of
the classroom. A problem is created when the teachers and instructors
are not as advanced in the technology as the students are. How can we
expect the face of education to change if the voice is not literate
to the change?
Aside from the lack
of knowledge that some instructors may have, it has not discouraged
companies such as apple and Samsung to create partnerships with the
schools for the students. Some 2,000 schools already have partnered
with Samsung to use its lightweight Chromebooks, which start at $199.
Some 20 million students and teachers are already using them, company
officials said. With the influence the corporations are having on
school systems it would only seem right to create the most
cost-efficient way have a productive school year.
Wednesday Oct 16, 2013, we will have traditional class. We will discuss and review Excel. This will include discussing HW#4 - Pivot Tables in detail.
An example similar to HW#4 will be reviewed in detail. This will help in the understanding of Pivot Tables.
What are pivot tables?
In data processing, a pivot table is a data summarization tool found in data visualization programs such as spreadsheets or business intelligence software. Among other functions, a pivot-table can automatically sort, count, total or give the average of the data stored in one table or spreadsheet. It displays the results in a second table (called a "pivot table") showing the summarized data. Pivot tables are also useful for quickly creating unweighted cross tabulations. The user sets up and changes the summary's structure by dragging and dropping fields graphically. This "rotation" or pivoting of the summary table gives the concept its name.
How
often have you thought about what you love to do versus what you are
currently doing? How many people do you personally know, that love
and enjoy their careers/jobs? Even more importantly, how often would
you guess that a person chooses money over passion?
As a graduating senior, I often
think back to my freshman year when I had to make the important
decision of choosing my major. While the decision was not tough for
me personally, it was obvious that a great number of my classmates
struggled throughout this process. To follow their passion and major
in a subject that would possibly lead to success and happiness in a
field of their hobby, or to succumb to societal, cultural and
personal pressure and major in a field that would yield wealth,
exclusive of joy?
The attractiveness of wealth and the alarming idea
of falling short of society’s definition of success, often leads to
the pursuit of wealth on a trip down one of the paths that society
has designated for future success. Countries and citizens beyond the
United States have conceptualized the idea of an “American Dream”.
Besides the white picket fence and the perfect family, the foundation
of the American Dream is wealth [seemingly] equals happiness.
According to the Dream, the more money one has the more happiness
they are supposed to be. In a country where the people move fast and
work harder than for example, Spaniards, Americans are constantly on
the prowl for wealth. Americans spend so much time working and trying
to acquire wealth that they rarely have the opportunity to do what
they love. During my recent trip to Spain, I quickly came to realize
that Spaniards enjoy living life and participating in activities with
the people closest to them. An hour long “siesta” in the middle
of work hours would never be common in America, simply because
Americans are working hard each and every day to acquire wealth and
live out the American Dream.
While
most of us are guilty of working to obtain the American Dream,
curious minds wonder, what happens when we stop trying to live out
the American Dream and instead, live out our own dream?. The video
entitled “This Video
Will Change Your Life”,
brought up a great point; when you focus your time and energy on the
interest or hobby that you love, it is much easier to build a career
around it and yield future success. A passionate professor creates
great lesson plans and learning techniques that students benefit
from. A professor who teaches solely for money, does a disservice to
students. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had passions for technology and
as a result, led the world’s technological revolution. Steve Jobs,
who was actually fired from the very company he created, did not let
his colleagues or society, dictate what he would do with his life.
Upon being fired, Jobs explored other interests but his talent and
his passion led him back to Apple.
Your
talent and your passion will always lead you back to what you love to
do; the question is, will you stay or will you turn away? Whether
your passion is Finance, English, Music etc., to do what you love and
to do it to the best of your ability, is to be successful and truly
happy. Dare to be different, do what you love, be good at what you
love and enjoy life. You have one life to live; live it to the
fullest.
Texting while
driving is very dangerous. Texting and driving is the act of sending
or reading text messages, surfing the web, looking at email, while
operating a motor vehicle. This causes some motor vehicle accidents
and some states have restricted or outlawed it. Texting and driving
leads to increased distraction behind the wheel.
Texting has become
a global problem. Ever since 2000, texting has made a huge leap due
to the fact that cell phones developed texting packages. That was
just the beginning then, as technology improved cellphones improved
from flip phones to smartphones where it mad texting easier, and
provided more ways of communication. The question that we fail to get
in today’s society is why is communication more important then
safety. I asked a couple of my peers why do they feel that way and
they all said; without texting or a source of communication via
cellphone, they feel like they are missing out on something. Studies
show texting while driving is life-threating accidents because of
lack of driver focus.
Just recently,
Samsung released its new innovative smart watch called the Galaxy
Gear. This product is the first of its kind and is a direct threat to
Apple’s future products due to its early launch. Samsung, as well
as other phone brands, has been in fierce competition with Apple
since the emergence of its iPhone. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear was
launched before Apple’s iWatch and has the features of making phone
calls, take photos, listen to music, and make videos. The smart watch
is priced at $300 and is only compatible with the Galaxy Note 3 as
well as the Galaxy Note 10.1.
The ad campaign for
this advanced smart watch technology used the theme of nostalgia to
attract its audience. In the commercials, Samsung uses television
shows such as Knight Rider, Jetsons, Power Rangers, Predator, and
Star Trek, to display the use of smart watches for each of the main
characters. The commercial shows the progression overtime to what was
considered future technology is now relevant and accessible today.
This ad seems to be geared to people in the age range of 18-50, due
to audience familiarity of the shows. I feel that this ad is very
effective because it shows how far we have come in the technology
realm as well as presenting Samsung as the front runners of
technology for the future. This can and will open doors in the future
of Samsung, in turning future technology of the past to something
attainable in the present. How affective is this ad campaign to you?
How can this revolutionize technology of the future?
When
dealing with technology we can look at it in two ways, positive and
negative. Nowadays technology is consuming our younger generation by
force, and now that technology is only getting better with time. When
will it become too advanced for us?
Applied
Digital Solution came up with microchips that purposes were to allow
easier access for a person’s medical record. The microchip was to
be placed under the person’s skin either in the hand or the arm via
syringe. The microchip would contain information about the person
medical history and can be updated on a regular basis and wouldn’t
cause any harm to the patient when proceeding with the process.
This
Technology could be very useful to the medical field, but with
skepticism and the point of view by Orwell in his well-played novel
1984
brought up the depiction of the Government having eyes on the
citizens at all times. It holds a lot of good things when it comes to
the medical field, but people are having a hard time taking this
concept in. Many people are nervous to see what else they can do with
microchips. Sooner or later we won’t need anything with us because
they would be scanning us as a whole.
With the advancement of technology
putting everyone, from grandparents to children in elementary school,
in possession of a smart phone, email address, computer, iPad etc.
privacy becomes a major issue. While millions of Americans are
texting, emailing, calling friends or family or even going to the
store, they would like to think that this is done so in privacy.
However this is not the case.
The National Security Agency (NSA) in
terms of budget and personnel is one of the United States
Government’s largest intelligence organizations. The NSA operates
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and reports to
the Director of National Intelligence. The amount of tax dollars used
to fund the NSA and the personnel of the NSA makes it clear the
objectives of the agency are important to the government. The clear
mission of the NSA was supposed to be of gathering foreign
intelligence, but recent event have shifted from foreign to domestic
intelligence.
Big Brother is a term used to describe
a person or organization exercising total control over people’s
lives. To many of Americans the term “Big Brother” fits NSA, who
in June of 2013 was exposed by The Guardian, for requiring Verizon
(one of Americas largest phone providers) who were required in a top
secret court case to on a day to day basis, hand over information of
all telephone calls in its systems, both in the United States and
Other Countries. This means that all phone calls are recording
regardless even if the people on the phone isn’t suspected of wrong
doing (yes even your calls to dear old Grandma). The numbers of both
parties on a call are handed over, including the location data,
unique identifiers (Twitter, Kik, Instagram handles, with respected
emails.), along with the time and duration of all the calls. The
leaked government documents of June, were just the tip of the
iceberg; and of one we have yet to learn the full truth about.
President Bush was asked about the
possibilities of the government spying (made easier by the Patriot
Act.), in which he ensured the American that “The Privacy of
ordinary American citizens will be fiercely protected.” However, as
we continue to get new leaks of the NSA spying on us “ordinary”
citizens; Bush statements couldn’t be so far from the truth. The
earliest of the leaks from NSA, go back as far as 2006, the same time
the government spying (Big Brother) was bought into question, yet
President Obama and his administration are the blame for the NSA’s
actions.
As of today October 4th,
2013, there have been an total of 9 know leaks of the NSA, causing
employees of the agency to resign, and also other government
officials coming forth and saying that they had no idea of the spying
going on here in the United States. The leaks include the following:
“NSA PRISM program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and
other”, “Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages”,
“Live chat with Edward Snowden”( a former CIA and NSA employee
who leaked most of the NSA documents discussed in this article),
“GCHQ taps fiber-optic cables for secret access to world’s
communications”, “NSA tool collects nearly everything a user does
on the internet”, “NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per
year”, “US and Uk spy agencies defeat privacy and security on the
internet”, and finally “NSA can spy on smartphone data”.
The news of these leaks is having an
impact on some Americans future electronic purchases; such as the new
iPhone 5S, released a few weeks ago, which contains a fingerprint
scanner inside the phone for the user’s privacy. This has raised
flags as to what will happened to the users fingerprints once stored
in apples database, especially since Apple is one of the company that
has turned over information to the NSA. Another Company whose name
was mention with the NSA is Microsoft whose hot product of this
holiday season is the Xbox One, a video game system that comes with
an HD camera cable of going on the internet, making Skype calls,
powering on from recognizing the users face and remembering the users
voice. The Xbox One was originally supposed to be an “always on”
device, meaning that device would always have to be connected to the
internet to work and the devices camera always connected and working.
This sent customers into a rage causing Microsoft to change its
policy and allow for the device to work without being connected to
the Internet and the camera to be disconnected.
The spying the government was been
doing on the citizens of the United States is a direct violation of
their rights, and with these recent leaks is proven to be occurring
on a level no one in their wildest dreams could have ever imagined.
Here is some
videos explaining the Spying going on today, as well as the original
leaks that took place from June 2013 up until today.
In today’s society, the world
of technology is always expanding. New devices are being created each
day, however, essentially as each device is created and sold to the
public, it becomes obsolete. Google has been one of the forerunning
companies that are competing in the ever-changing world of
technology. Google is constantly coming up with new and innovative
ideas, to make the world around us easier to live in. A prime example
of this innovation is Google Glass.
Google Glass is Google’s answer to
the rapidly changing and progressive world of smartphones. Created by
Google X, a subdivision of Google, Google Glass are designed as a
pair of lightweight eyeglasses, with a small screen attached that can
display smartphone graphics and can do the same thing as smart
phones, just in a hands-free way, as Google Glass uses voice control.
As new prototypes are being created, new features are being added to
Google Glass, including GPS mapping, MP3 capability, phone calling
capability, text message capability, as well as having a digital
camera included.
Google hopes that Google Glass will
eventually be a replacement for the smartphone. Google Glass is
already in Beta testing, and Google is preparing for a public release
by May of 2014. There are two options when purchasing Google Glass.
Google Glass Explorer costs $1500 USD, and contains more software for
the user to use computer applications on it, such as Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint, and many of the Adobe Design programs. Google Glass
Explorer is not intended for the general public. The general public’s
edition: Google Glass Consumer costs $300-$500 (about the same price
as a high quality smartphones). Google Glass Consumer is more like a
smartphone, although it is easier to use, as it has hands-free
technology. Both versions of Google Glass operate on the Android
operating system.
Google Glass has received much praise,
and was even named “One of the Best Inventions of 2012” by Time
Magazine. Though it has received many accolades, there are still many
concerns associated with Google Glass. Testers to represent those
with hearing disabilities have said that Google Glass is not suitable
for use for those with hearing impairments. Google Glass has also
raised several safety and privacy concerns. Some believe that Google
Glass could be used to spy on people without their knowing.
Though Google Glass is still a new
product, and the kinks are still being worked out, it is a prime
example of how important and pervasive technology is in our society.
Google Glass already has a large amount of buzz surrounding it, so
once it is officially released to the public, depending on the
response, it has the potential to be even bigger than the iPhone.
Americans
born between the early 1980s and early 2000s have been deemed as
products of the “Millenial Generation”, “Generation Y”, or
the “Technology Generation”. These Americans, and people around
the world born in this time period, are characterized by their
obsession with technology. In the past 10 years alone, there have
been countless technological advancements that have drastically
altered the day-to-day routine of Americans. From social networks,
to video conferences, to printers that can assemble weapons,
technology continues to evolve, and it’s up to Americans to adapt
to these developments or get left behind. If any industry can attest
to this, it is the book industry.
For
centuries, paperback and hard-cover books had been the only means for
Americans to read their favorite books. Brick and mortar stores such
as Borders, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble were commonplace in just
about every mall in the country. The upsurge of electronic books,
commonly known as “e-books”, has changed all this.
Many
historians consider the first e-books to have been invented in the
1960s as part of the NLS project conducted at Stanford Research
Institute. Others consider the first to be patented by Angela Ruiz,
a teacher from Gallatia, Spain, in 1949. Despite these early
developments, electronic books did not begin their surge as the
leading choice for readers around the world until the new millennium
came in.
In
2004, Sony introduced the Sony Librie, the first electronic book
reader that utilized “e-ink”, a special type of electronic ink
created by the E Ink Corporation in 1997. Amazon followed suit with
the launching of the Kindle, now the most popular e-book reader on
the market, in the U.S. in 2007. In 2008, Books On Board became the
first online bookstore to offer e-books for iPhones.
Following
these innovations, readers slowly but surely began to shift their
focus away from the brick and mortar bookstore on the second floor of
their local mall, and toward their laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
E-books provided customers with a cheaper, more convenient
alternative to buying and reading books. This newfound alternative
has served as a great development to e-book readers, online
bookstores, and many customers; not so much for brick and mortar
bookstores.
In
the year 2012, for the first time ever, online bookstores accounted
for more book sales than brick and mortar bookstores. Through
November of that year, 43.8% of books were sold online, while just
31.6% were sold in large retailers. As of 2012, chain booksellers’
market share of the book industry fell to 19%, while e-retailers
market share had increased to about 38%.
No
corporation was hit harder by the evolution of electronic books than
Borders. Borders lead the movement of big-box booksellers, and
operated more than 1200 stores at its peak. After numerous quarters
of decreased sales and stock prices, Borders announced its plan to
close the doors to all of its stores and go out of business for good
in 2011. By September of that year, the last operating locations of
the store had been closed, and Barnes & Noble acquired Borders’
trademarks and customer list.
“We
were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds
we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly
changing book industry, eReader revolution, and turbulent economy,
have brought us to where we are now."
This
is a statement given by Mike Edwards, President of Borders Group,
regarding the closing of the company’s stores. While we can’t
ignore the impact of the recession that devastated our country’s
economy for a few years around the time of the company’s closing,
Borders can attest its inability to maintain sales they had
experienced in the 1990s and early 2000’s to the “rapidly
changing book industry” and the “eReader revolution”, or rather
the company’s failure to adapt to these changes. Companies like
Amazon foresaw this “revolution”, and made changes in their
operations and invested in new technologies, namely the “Kindle”,
and they are still functioning as a result.
The
sales results for e-books and brick and mortar bookstores for the
year of 2013 will be released in the upcoming months, and the numbers
will more than likely be even more promising for electronic
retailers, and more deflating for chain booksellers. With the
continued rise of smartphones, online bookselling apps, and the
electronic retail industry as a whole, for bookstores to maintain
their market share and avoid the same fate that Borders suffered in
2011, adaptation to these innovations in technology is the only
option.
Video
highlighting the effect of e-books on physical book sales:
