Are We All Related?
Reading articles and listening to the podcast about the Genographic Project, it made me think about what would happen if we found out more about our ancestry and how the world migrated and where the population migrated from! Sometimes, since God created Adam and Eve, this means that we are all related even in the slightest way. If this is the case, people couldn’t just have been teleported somewhere on earth to be born; we had to all migrate from somewhere! So, thinking about this question, it may be interesting to find out where we migrated from.
The technology for this project must be very advanced because analyzing DNA from so far in history is like analyzing dinosaur bones. In the participation kit which costs a quite unreasonable $99.95, you get a cheek scraper a multimedia DVD, a quick-start card and an exclusive National Geographic Genographic map. I don’t find this kit worth it and even the information that you will receive. According to the website, your DNA will receive either tests for your direct maternal ancestry or direct paternal ancestry.
It claims that the information you receive will reveal your “deep ancestry” and show migration paths that they followed originating many years ago. I do not think this information is necessary for any human because for one thing, the information will be so long ago that the must you would get is a “cool” and then “but… what’s the point?” This would be my reaction because I think that finding out our ancestry and where we migrated from has nothing to do with us. Without proof, we may as well say that IBM made the project up! However, it is true that we have very slight genes from generations long. The first time I saw these articles, I was wondering if maybe they could find out who your ancestors actually are but I guess that couldn’t happen since they don’t have files with the DNA of people thousands of years ago! I would find it really cool to see a huge family tree.
One good thing this may result in is possibly lowering the amount of prejudice to races in our world. Even these days there is still some racial comments and injustices spoken in our communities. The idea of the genographic project suggests that we all migrated from one area of the world and our ancestors could have been anywhere in over the world. This means that one may have some genes from a culture they did not respect before.
In the end, I think the idea of the Genographic project is great but the Kit and the information that they give is not really needed. The final answer to this project will be the main importance; whether we all originated from one place. So, we are all unique but would you like to find that we may all be somewhat similar? The question is yours to answer or find out!
Are Wii the Children of the Revolution? - Journal 5
Ever Since the gaming revolution system called Wii has entered our markets, I think it has excited many young gamers who want something new to play with besides the old controller, pressing keys and just sitting down in a chair watching the screen intensely. The Wii came out just before Christmas and if you can imagine the demand for it by itself, imagine what it would be like before Christmas!
I believe the Wii is not a technological revolution but definitely a unique start to how the gaming experience will be in the future. The Wii is stating to suggest a new way of hands-on gaming that gets others more active in the game compared to older systems such as the Playstation where you just have to sit down and hit buttons with your fingers. Nintendo already started this earlier in the previous year when putting the new Nintendo DS in the markets followed by the Nintendo DS Lite which was a slick new smaller version. There will certainly be more systems with new ideas of gameplay like this finding out that Nintendo Wii was such a success.
The gameplay of Nintendo Wii is with a control designed like a remote control and a joystick called a “Nunchuk”. There is a sensor in the controller which connects to the game system that senses every move. This co-operates with the gameplay such as Metroid Prime (not released yet) which is a featured Nintendo game for many of its systems. In this type of game you would use the game controller as the gun and move around with the Nunchuk. I think this idea was revolutionary because it makes the game more exciting when we get to make our actions in the real world as well. So, it makes the game more realistic.
In conclusion, I believe that the Nintendo Wii is an innovation of gaming because there has been other games invented that require body actions to play such as Dance Dance Revolution and TV games such as Flash Golf where you can play golf on the TV using a golf club which has a sensor or connected to a sensor in order to hit the ball! However, Nintendo Wii is the first console of its kind (Playstation, Xbox) to bring gameplay to a whole new level! I would choose Nintendo Wii over Playstation 3 anytime!
Reading in Cyberspace - Journal 4
1) This library-based digitization of a book catalog can have a negative effect on Google's relationships with publishers because they may think that Google is trying to steal their business since by putting these digitization's of books on the web, available for everyone with a computer, libraries will be less popular and less people will need to buy books for information since they can find the book on Google. Google, being a search engine has already drained a lot of business from libraries and bookstores so this may really anger them if Google starts showing their books page for page! However, Google has rights to post up their information on the web and since many websites with material from several books, this is just more of an organized way for to find specific things.
2) http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-6141162.html - Microsofts book search
http://blogs.business2.com/business2blog/2005/10/yahoo_print.html - Yahoo Print
These two links are links to huge competition between Google Print, Yahoo Print and Microsoft Book Search. The ideas of these three are all the same but the way they are being imputed into the internet and programs is much different. Microsoft Book Search as in the article says, "Microsoft has restricted the beta release of Live Search Books to only include non copyright books scanned from the collections of the British Library,
the University of California and the University of Toronto." So, this will reduce law firms and anger from others because they only take books from one library and which are non copyright. Microsoft will also be adding copyright material to their book search but with permission from the publishers. These companies all have to be careful in what material they allow the world to see! Yahoo takes a different view at this problem as well. Instead of doing what Google does which is adding snippets to hide the fact of using copyright work, Yahoo is putting the full text in from the books except they won't have as big of an archive to search through.
3) The impact that this could have on the access to information would be that people would never have to leave their computer to get information because if they need some more reliable information from a book they can just search on one of the book search functions. This could turn into a pretty hot debate for teachers and students one day! Teachers want students to understand their topics more better instead of just copying and pasting off the internet and using it as their own information. The only way to get information from books used to be to write things down which get students to think. Now, Google Print and its competitors are making it so you can cut and paste from books as well! So, I don't think this is a good idea because people should still read books to understand the information better. I myself feel that I understand the information better if I read directly from a book.
4) Yes, I think for sure librarians will be affected by this new development because if people can find book material right from their computer, i'm sure they would rather just do that. Less people would go to the library but never will no one go unless they get really ambitious and put even magazines and everything in these book searches! Libraries are also a quite place to read and you can't find certain non-informational and daily issues of books in the Google print sources which many people go to the library for.
5) I'm sure that if you did an advanced enough search on Google, you could find very similar information as you would fin in Google Print books except it may be harder to look for. A while ago when search engines came out they took alot of business from book stores and libraries so Google book search is going even further with this. I think it is a good tool and another example of how technology is changing our world and soon how we will be able to do everything at our house.
When War Meets Video Games - Journal 3
1) I think that war games are so popular because first of all, people like to be part of fighting and part of real-time action like being on the battlefield themselves and being able to change the outcome of a war. War video games were made to look realistic and be realistic so the player feels as much like they were part of the game. I don’t exactly like real-time war games myself, but I see that people who do like to play them get very addicted and probably care most for the realism as opposed to the storyline and game play. Sometimes when studying history, I wish that I could have done something in battle to make the outcome different or even make my own plan which would have worked. In these war games, the outcome and plans may be made for you but it gives a feeling that you are part of the war and can see what kind of things happen
I think war games are also popular now because people like the suspense and action in these games. In war games such as call of duty, there is always suspense in turning around every corner, building or just plain open area. There is usually a lot of stealth involved and makes you feel like your own life may be at hand!
2) I don't think realistic war games can be anywhere close to the feeling of being in a real war so I think it is just fun. No matter how good the graphics of the game even in the future, in if it were virtual reality, it would never give the same feeling and horror of being in a war. I think this because only half of the horror in war is caused by fighting, shooting and getting bombed, but the rest of the fear is of course dying, loosing all your close friends/family, and the fear when looking at the dead bodies of soldiers you may have known. Lots of fear involves in spiritual and psychological feelings. Sitting on a chair in front of a television or computer definitely doesn't give me that feeling! Making these connections with a video game desensitizing people to the thought of war is simply like making a connection between going to a play compared to watching a movie or a filmed recording of the play.
3) Personally, I don’t exactly enjoy war games because I find that they are unrealistic and all of them are the same except placed in a different setting with a slightly different storyline. Also, I usually end up getting stuck somewhere in the game because of trying many times and not being able to figure out what to do. Then I may result to cheating or not playing the game for a very long time! As you can see, I don’t exactly play adventure games and games with story lines because I’m not too patient. I enjoy games that only take around 30 minutes and can satisfy my needs for entertainment and a break! I think the graphics and fps is very good and would be fun for many people and many people have the patience to play these games but I don’t find it fun to be playing a game that is takes long and is unrealistic.
An Ipod Classroom - Journal 2
If the Ipod casting were to be only for seminars or some important facts that I must know, I think I would be able to learn well from an Ipod because it would be interesting to be able to listen to the spokesperson wherever and whenever I want. If I forgot what he said during one of my in class seminars and was stuck because of this, I wouldn’t be able to find out unless I went to another seminar or asked him in person but having a Pod Cast is much more efficient and I could listen to the seminar over and over again until I fully understand it.
Another way that I think I would learn well using an iPod is because I think I need breaks and sometimes I can’t listen to long lectures but having it on an Ipod may make it more interesting because of the fact that I can learn using an iPod! I can usually understand a lot better if I work hands on because I can actual analyze what I’m doing. For example, in science, sometimes the only way to learn how a chemical reacts is to do a lab and find out with my own experience. If I have the iPod in my hands, it is kind of the same as hands on because it is right in front of me.
A reason that I think I would not be able to learn well on the other hand is that i may get sidetracked by using my iPod too much since it could be used as a media entertainment system. I'm sure. if i get bored i will decide to switch to a movie or listen to music and listen for a while which would make me forget what i learned and maybe not want to ever go back. In a way, learning in a real classroom is much better because in a classroom, you can't just leave whatever you want or just stop listening and watch a movie without the teacher knwoing - hopefully!
So, in my case, I would prefer to get my seminars in a classroom instead of on an iPod but for those who have a longer attention span and can focus themselves on one subject without getting distracted, this is a great innovative idea to learn. For the most part, i think this is a good idea and they should continue but for myself ill stick with the old style of learning from a teacher who says it only once and will probably bore me to death buts its better than wasting my time and never getting to the point.
With the Good Comes the Bad - Journal 1
Communication Technology is always growing and there are many modern-day communication technologies that help us in our lives and make it easier. Some very popular pieces of technology would be the cell phone, camera cell phone and Instant Messaging and especially mp3 players such as Ipods. There is always something good about communication technology or else it wouldn’t be developed and made popular. Even though there are good things, there are also bad things and consequences as well!
An example of technology that many people use in their everyday lives is an Ipod or other MP3 players. Almost every teenager today in school has some sort of MP3 player. Everyone knows the advantages of this technology but not many know the disadvantages. Some advantages of MP3 players are that they are entertaining and are extremely portable. On the way to work, MP3 players can be nice to have to keep you entertained in the loud bus or on a walk. Disadvantages to MP3 players are that they can ruin your ear drums and hurt your hearing later on if you listen too much or put the volume up to high. Another big disadvantage to MP3 players is that since it is very inconvenient and confusing to transfer songs from CD’s to the computer and then into the MP3 player, many people download off Gnutella Networks such as Kazaa, Limewire etc. Besides, for people with 80 GB Ipods, are they really going to buy thousands of CD’s? If you use those Downloading softwares to download music illegally, you could easily get fined or in big trouble.
Another example of technology that is commonly seen today is Instant Messaging. The most common used is MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. There are many advantages to this Instant Messaging software and I personally use it very frequently. The advantages to instant messaging are that you can talk to friends over the internet right away without having to call them. You can also talk as long as you want because it is for free. It is an easy way to communicate with friends for homework because there is a file sharing feature and another feature where you can talk with a microphone or even with a web cam! As you know, there are also many disadvantages such as being a distraction from school work. I remember once when writing my English essay and I accidentally put “dat” instead of “that” or even my friend who put ”lol” which in msn means “laugh out loud”. A very sad disadvantage is that people loose their communication skills to talk in front of other people.
So, in conclusion, all technology has a good use to it or it wouldn’t have been made but disadvantages and consequences are also packaged along with it.
HTML text changing.
Hi everyone, as you can see; I did a few things with my Blog page. One of the things I did was I used Photoshop with the help of my friend Vincent Lee to change the pictures in the default sample template called "Snapshot Tequila". I put my hobbies in there (see if you can figure it out)! Also, the school logo and changed the theme colour to match the rest of my blog “red” was changed. Then I embedded it with HTML into my blog page. The header doesn’t show as well in Internet Explorer but is perfect in Mozilla Firefox!
For the scrolling text or marquees, I used the same book that Ms. Largo showed us for HTML formatting help which I read in Chapters when my parents were looking for books to try to see how to create it. It doesn’t go all the way along the line but I guess it’s better than nothing!
P.S.I will edit this later with how to put marquees in, just incase you would like to try.
