Communication | Latest and Greatest Technology

What Smart Phone Accessories To Buy

: Image by john.duffell via Flickr

Smart phones are becoming all the rage these days. It seems like everyone has one and everyone is interested in decking it out with every accessory in the world. It makes sense because there comes a point with these accessories that they are packaged so nicely that it’s hard to be able to resist or refuse them. Everyone wants them and yet they don’t know why. It’s because the advertising is so good. So if you are interested in all of the phone accessories to get, here is a list of the essentials.

Cover or Carrying Case

Your phone is far too expensive and you are far too tied into the phone for you to ever worry about dropping it or breaking it. It’s a good idea to get yourself a gel cover or protective sleeve to keep the phone in. If you drop it, it should be fine and you should be able to operate without any trouble. They are inexpensive and even the very nice ones are cool if you are looking for something with a little style.

Universal Charger

The problem with most of the smart phones that are out there is that they are so technologically advanced that their battery life is the one thing that really suffers. If you have ever had a smart phone you can attest to be at the end of the day and thinking that your phone was going to give out on you. This is why you need a universal charger. These are the kind that not only plug into the wall but plug into the car as well. They make a great thing to keep in your purse or briefcase.

The point is that most of these accessories don’t need to be purchased. If you just stick with the basics you’ll have everything you really need.

Filed Under: Cell Phone, Communication, Technology Tagged With: Fashion accessory, Mobile phone, Smartphone

How Computers and Technology Changed the World

: Image by aranarth via Flickr

Computers have come so far from where they started. There was a time when a single computer would take up an entire room. Today there are computers that are barely larger than a book. With the improving technology of smartphones, you will soon be able to do everything from your mobile phone that you can do on a regular computer. Computer technology is always improving and making life much easier.

Computers are the reason why it is so easy to work from home. Although having a successful home business is not easy, once you have a business established, computers allow you to work from home. You can operate a website that markets your product from home. You can take orders, ship orders and process payments from home. Being able to work from home allows many business owners the freedom and comforts they desire while still making a profit. Computers have truly changed the way the world of business works.

Computers are also a great resource for education. You can find the answers to any questions just by doing a quick search. Students use computers for doing research and typing reports. Teachers use computers to help keep parents updated on their child’s progress. You can even obtain a degree entirely from home on your computer! Just as computers have advanced the world of business, they have made learning more streamlined and accessible.

The next time you log in to your email and chat with a friend across the country, take the time to appreciate the amazing technology you are using. Without computers, society would come to a standstill. While this is a definite sign of how far the human race has come, it is also a little scary. Without technology, the little things we take for granted would be gone. Is society too dependent on technology? Maybe, but it seems to be a risk everyone is willing to take.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Business, Mobile phone, Technology

Changing the World for the Better

Technology is a part of life. Without technology, you would not be able to enjoy many of the finer things in life. You would not be able to enjoy many of the simpler things that you take for granted. Your cell phone is probably important to you. Without technology, you would not have that little gadget to keep you connected while you are on the move. You would not be able to share music and movies files with friends using software like Ares Galaxy. Technology makes life easier and more enjoyable for everyone in society.

Technology is always changing. People are always looking for ways to make life even easier than it is. They look for ways to improve the world. For instance, hybrid cars are a great way to help the environment. You can save gas and do your part to better the environment by driving a hybrid car. Without technology, there would be no hybrid cars. Without technology, there might not be any cars at all.

Technology has helped society move forward as a people instead of as individuals. Inventions are created, patented and produced for the entire world to share. Technology will keep finding ways to make life better and easier for everyone. Technology is making its way into third world countries, as well. Places that were once untouched by modern day technology now have cell phones and internet access.

It is amazing how technology brings everyone together in the world and allows them to share things simply and easily with Ares and other p2p software. As one person or country makes a new development, they share it with everyone else. Then, the entire world takes another step forward. At the rate that technology is improving, society has many good things to look forward to in the future. Although cars may never fly and people may never live in bio-domes on other planets (at least, not in this lifetime), there are still many advancements that will be made to improve life everywhere.

Filed Under: Cell Phone, Communication, Technology Tagged With: Hybrid electric vehicle, Hybrid vehicle, Technology

Is Google the Future of Social Networking?

: Image via CrunchBase

In the beginning, there was Friendster. Then an Internet migration made Myspace the most popular social networking site on the planet. A few short years later, Facebook had created an empire that spanned the virtual globe. And then there was… Google?

The Internet’s short history shows us that social networking junkies are fickle creatures that are always on the look out for a better site to use. Whether or not they want to admit it, everyone knows that Facebook will eventually take second place to a new website. Google hopes to create the site that will make Facebook a part of history.

Google recently announced that it has entered the planning phase of creating a social networking site that will rival every attempt before it. This isn’t surprising. Google has the ambition to be the best at everything online. Social networking websites were the next logical step.

So, how will Google’s site be different from Facebook, Myspace, and Friendster? No one knows for sure yet, but there is some speculation. Google will likely focus on building a site that addresses common issues that bother Facebook users.

For instance, many Facebook members complain that the site’s online chats freeze up often and drop conversations. Google could attract dissatisfied Facebook users by creating a more reliable chat option, perhaps one that uses video chats.

As owners of YouTube, Google could also address one of the biggest complaints that Internet users have: every site is independent of others. Integrating YouTube into the new social networking site would make it easier for users to upload, create, and comment on videos without switching from one site to the other. This would provide a more cohesive experience.

Clutter is another big complaint from Facebook users. Constant requests to join online games such as Farmville often annoy members who just want to use social networking to communicate with friends, relatives, and colleagues. They don’t necessarily have any interest in playing games. A Google site that eliminates clutter from third-party applications would appeal to those who just want to use the site for networking rather than play.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet Tagged With: Facebook, FarmVille, Friendster, Google, Myspace, Social network, Social network service, YouTube

Google Chrome 6: What’s in it, What’s not.

Google’s web browser, Google Chrome, is fast becoming one of the world’s usable and most used browsers available on the net. Google Chrome has become a major force in the browser market, gaining over 7.2 % of the browser usage in only a few years of use. It has even begun turning the heads of Apple’s Safari and the open source Firefox as a serious contender. With Chrome’s latest edition of their web browser Chrome 6 it is easy to see why. Google Chrome 6 features an expanded and streamlined set of applications along with a bevy of new features not available on previous editions. With all of these features there are a few that have been sidelined for use in future editions. These features that were scrapped for this edition hint at even better innovations and improved service down the pipeline in Google Chromes to come.

Google Chrome 6 features an extensions sync that makes it possible to transfer all extensions from one computer to another without losing anything in the process. Chrome 6 has also fixed some of the problems that plagued earlier versions. For example, a consolidated menu button collapses the two earlier page and tool buttons into one single button. Another exciting new improvement is the further developed browsing history synchronization that allows a user to easily revisit websites across multiple browsers.

Some features that missed the bus for Chrome 6 but will show up on subsequent editions are the much talked about “side tabs” that enable users to use a vertical tabbing system that many claim streamlines the browsing process. The “Native Client” program which Google has been talking about for awhile is not yet ready, but promises to allow downloaded material run smoother, faster, and more securely on any machine, as If the program were part of the hardware itself.

With all of the exciting features Google Chrome 6 has to offer, Google has made it clear that the best is yet to come.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Google Chrome, Web browser, WWW

Facebook: The Long Road to 500,000,000 Friends

On July 21, 2010 Facebook obtained over half-billion users, making it the most popular social network site in history. This begs the question, however, what would you do with 500,000,000 friends? For most of us having a few close friends and a number of “online” friends is enough to keep us more than occupied. Due to the ever expanding global market for social networking and its ability to span age and socio-economic gaps, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Facebook on its way to this milestone event. In fact earlier this year Facebook received the lowest customer satisfaction rates it has ever received. The paradox is however, while so many are frustrated with its layout, spontaneous ad notifications, and privacy concerns, they are so interconnected to the lifestyle Facebook affords that Facebook gained more customers than ever during their poor performance record.

Some major concerns that people had were the relatively lax privacy features that facebook offered. Instead of making strict privacy settings the default users had to choose to make their profiles private, and given the casual relationship to the site many opted out based on confusion of the rules. The fact that facebook users are getting younger and younger by the year leads to legitimate concerns about child safety on the internet. More concerns surfaced about Facebook’s massive advertising platform, “annoying” notifications and spamming, and abrupt interface changes that altered the layout of the site overnight.

While a majority of the clientele surveyed ranked the site with low marks in those areas, they continued to use the site, logging in multiple times a day to connect with family, friends, and co-workers. The fact that Facebook accrued it’s 500,000,000 th friend should come as no surprise. Ever since its inception the site has been a runaway success, starting as a college network and eventually expanding worldwide. Founder Mark Zuckerberg celebrated this victory by launching a new app called “Facebook Stories” which allows users to tell their stories of how Facebook helped them reconnect with old friends and family members.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Facebook, Online Communities, Social network service

Set lasers from stun to kill. US Navy laser system shoots down drones.

In a demonstration taken straight from science fiction the US Navy successfully shot down multiple drones off the coast of California in a demonstration of a new directed energy weapon called LaWS. While at first glance this may not seem that impressive compared to other projects in the field of directed energy weapons such as ABL which rides in a 747 and is designed to take out ballistic missiles or THEL the joint United States Israeli anti artillery platform the details of the test let this system truly shine.

For one the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) uses a solid state laser. What does this mean? Well there are actually multiple types of lasers and they are differentiated by how the laser energy is created. The more common gas laser for example uses a high voltage passing through a gas to create light. Gas lasers are simple and reliable but inefficient and low power. The more advanced Chemical lasers use chemical reactions to create laser light. These lasers can be immensely powerful (Megawatts!) but are complicated and create some seriously dangerous byproducts during use. The byproducts are so bad that the airborne versions of these lasers do not eject the byproducts over the enemy but actually store them for disposal back at base! Then there are the newer Solid State lasers which use electricity and a glass or crystal to create light. They are simple, efficient, more powerful than gas lasers, and no harmful byproducts. A good weapon.

Secondly the test was performed on a naval ship. This is impressive because of tracking on a rocking ship and lasers do not mix well with water vapor. Water vapor scatters the beam of a laser and sucks energy out of the beam almost acting as a shield for the target. All other laser weapons stay away from wet environments but the LaWS succeeded there. So even though this laser will probably not be able to engage fast missile threats it is an impressive step towards a functioning directed energy weapon. We are one step closer to be able to yell “Full Energy to Lasers!” and have it mean something.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Laser, United States, United States Navy

Infantry Survivability continues with development of Artificial Blood

: Image via Wikipedia

In the quest to develop the Übersoldiers the Pentagon has traveled down some interesting paths. However the most recent string of research by DARPA has yielded some potentially impressive and controversial technology. For those outside the loop DARPA or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the research arm of the Pentagon and United States Military specializing in weapons and military applicable technology. Recently DARPA scientists revealed they have figured out how to create artificial blood which is identical to the old fashioned stuff. Why is this important? Because blood is is sometimes hard to get when you need it and relies on donors and in an active battlefield blood can be even harder to get and after large operations blood reserves can be emptied before all casualties have been treated.

Using a type of Stem cells harvested from freshly available umbilical cords scientists at a company called Arteriocyte in Ohio are essentially able to create bone marrow. The bone marrow is then placed into artificial bone stand ins and allowed to produce all of the important components of blood. Impressively scientists have even figured out how to make the blood created in this process Type O- allowing it to be used for any individual. It is easy to see that this process although developed for the military has an application on the home front for supplying hospitals with much needed blood in times of shortages.

This new technology adds to the impressive string of other recent infantry survival developments DARPA has spearheaded with the goal of practically cheating death. Bandages made using Chitosan which is derived from shrimp shells have been shown to stop bleeding in grevious arterial wounds in less than thirty seconds and will be able to save soldiers that easily would have had lethal wounds before hand. For more serious casualties DARPA research is also continuing into a Hydrogen sulfide based system that induces suspended animation causing the heart to stop beating, and bleeding, and preserving organs giving soldiers several more hours to be transferred off the battlefield to advanced care. With the goal of military medicine DARPA is creating technology that could improve survivability for the rest of us as well.

Filed Under: Communication, General, Technology Tagged With: DARPA, Technology

Avast copywriters! Swedish pirates continue looting intellectual property

For landlubbers who may not know Sweden is a haven for anti-copyright groups thanks to Sweden’s privacy and copyright laws. The infamous torrent site Pirate Bay calls Sweden home and has managed to maintain operations despite police raids and court rulings. It may come as no surprise then that Sweden also has a anti-copyright political party uniquely named the Pirate Party or Piratpartiet in Swedish. What may be shocking however is the Pirate Party is the third largest political party in Sweden! This has resulted in the Pirate Party acquiring seats in European Parliament and this is where things have started to get interesting.

After the most recent court injunction aimed at the ISP of the Pirate Bay that left Pirate Bay offline for half a day the Swedish Pirate Party began using its Parliamentary Powers. The Pirate Party took over as the Internet Service Provider for the site and has allowed the webpage to run problem free.

Now the Pirate Party is creating a new anonymous and private ISP service with the intention of applying their ideas to an Internet Service Provider. Pirate ISP has completed small scale testing is now rolling out broadband service in the city of Lund and then across Sweden. Pirate ISP refuses to keep logs or allow monitoring from authorities and is sure to ruffle some feathers. Although the new Internet Service Provider is based around a controversial idea some of its features offer a refreshing change others might follow. The mission of Pirate ISP is to protect customers information and protect their privacy. In a world where everything is slowly linking Pirate ISP is going the other way and offering privacy. It is unclear how far the Pirate ISP will get but the Pirate Party believes it is on legal grounds which is a good thing because it is already starting to draw the attention of copyright groups. How far it will get is anyones guess but history favors those that go against the current.

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Copyright, Internet service provider, Pirates

People Have it Easy!

You have to admit, people are pretty spoiled today. Isn’t it great to live in a world where you can virtually find out information about anything you want? Most people’s parents certainly didn’t have that when they were in their twenties and thirties, and if they didn’t know about something they had to find someone who did, just figure it out on their own, or forget about it all together. There is such an advantage to living in the computer age – information is available right at your fingertips. If you want to know about something in particular, you just type a few words into a search engine and then in virtually no time a vast array of articles and websites come back listed specifically for what you were looking for.

Additionally, it is convenient to have access to so many different computer software programs to help make your life easier than before. There are all kinds of different software programs available — everything from audio and multimedia to education to communication and even business applications. You can even find a lot of software that has to do with health and nutrition, personal finance, food, cooking, and recreational topics. The sky really is the limit!

And what makes it even easier is that you don’t have to get in your car, drive to a store, find the software program you’re looking for, pay for it, drive home and then install it on your computer. Companies have made it simple to download software that is pretty unbelievable! You just have to search for what you want and then you can download it right then and there and be on your way. Optimizing your computer or server, organizing your recipes, learning a new computer program, losing weight, listening to music or even playing a new game can be fast and simple. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Filed Under: Communication, Internet, Technology Tagged With: Education, Web search engine, Website