Patent Trolls

1. Topic: Patent trolls are suing Microsoft!! 

2. Article Title: Patent troll claims it invented the Windows 8 and Windows Phone "tiles"

3. Article Source: Arstechnica

4. Summary: A company that has a few patents but no actual products has sued Microsoft. Saying that they are the ones that came up with the tile-based interface that is used in Windows Phone and Windows 8. The company is known as Surfcast and is based in Portland, Maine. The website of this company shows that they currently only care about one thing - patent litigation.  They say that they developed the Tile concept in the 1990s. Surfcast owns four patents and is suing Microsoft over one of them. This lawsuit was filed yesterday in the US District Court of Maine.

5. Reaction: I am very surprised to hear that Microsoft is being sued. Seems like everyone wants a piece of everything these days. I can remember exact facts, but I can remember many other situations like this. I guess people just want to draw attention to themselves and away from big companies. To me, this all seems to be for attention. Surfcast is a small company with very little recognition. What better way to be noticed than to sue Microsoft over the tile design. They seem to have some legitimate proof, but I think that Microsoft will be fine after all this is settled.

6. World Impact: I'm sure that this will cause quite the uproar from the Microsoft fans and supporters. Then there are others that know that this is a stupid thing. Microsoft makes tons of money, they can surely get a good lawyer to help them win. Also, if the website of Surfcast seems in anyway illegitimate, that could be very good for Microsoft. Since almost everything is digital now.

Weekly Review Blog 8

This week we learned quite a lot about staying real online. Here are a few terms that we learned:

• Represent- How you present yourself to others.
• Persona- Image or personality you portray to to others.
• Avatar- Image or graphic that represents you online.
• Anonymous- Hidden Identity.
• Inhibited- Being careful or restrained about your actions or impluse. 

Also, we did some more work on out Digital Drivers License. We also used a new web 2.0 tool called Glogster. It's basically a picture blog. You can have text, but not very much of it, you have to put it in little text bubbles. Also, I don't like many of the pictures and graphics. They should keep adding more, better ones. Also, they have lots of emo pictures, I'm not emo, neither are many, many people. So why so many emo pictures?

With Glogster, we made ours about how to be real online. Mine included the following tips:

• Be true to yourself.
• Don't represent something that doesn't represent you.
• Don't do things that would reflect badly on you.
• Don't put inappropriate things on social media.
• Don't be anonymous.

So keep those things in mind the next time you go online. Don't pretend to be someone that you're not. Be who you are, don't try to make a different image of yourself online. Don't pretend to be a thug when you are really an A+ student and you've never been in trouble. And sometimes those fake images can make you look bad.

Also, don't put inappropriate things online, I don't want to see it. Neither does a good percentage of the world, so don't do it.

                                                                             Flickr CC

The Chromebook

1. Topic: The new Google Chromebook.

2. Article Title: Google debuts $250 laptop -- the Chromebook

3. Article Source: CNN

4. Summary: The new Chromebook is Samsung built and has an amazing price, it's only $250! The overseer of the Google Chrome browser, Sundar Pichai, says "It's the best laptop that's ever been designed at this price." But the Chromebook isn't built to replace your computers that you already have, it's made to be an additional computer.

5. Reaction: Honestly, I am very excited for the new Chromebook. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that thinks that Google Chrome is the best browser that you could have. Also, the fact that it is built by Samsung, one of my favorite tech-companies. I've pretty much lost faith in Apple, the new iOS 6 isn't as great as it's cracked up to be; and their new products aren't to wonderful either. So when I get a new phone, it isn't going to be from Apple. Hopefully it will be the Samsung Galaxy S 3.

6. World Impact: I'm sure that the Chromebook is going to sell fast. Not only is it a great price, but it is made by two great companies. Google has one of the fastest browsers ever made, and Samsung, in my opinion, is better than Apple. But by stats, Samsung is a better mobile phone company than Apple.  They just need to broaden what they make and sell. Apple has the iPad, the iPhone, Mac books, iPods, and iTunes. Of course, Samsung has Android and Google play. But now, it's all up to the consumers to decide who is better.

Who do you think is better, Apple or Samsung?

Weekly Review Blog #7

*

This week (and last week) we have been talking about cyberbullying. Also, things involved with cyberbullying. Such as the target, the offender, the bystander, the up-stander, escalate, and de-escalate.

• Target- The target is the victim of the situation. The one being bullied or harassed.
• Offender- The offender is the bully. They have malicious intent, and want to cause harm.
• Bystander- The bystander is a witness, but they don't do anything about it.
• Up-stander- The up-stander is a witness who does something; normally to help the target, not the offender.
• Escalate- When something escalates, it intensifies or increases.
• De-escalate- When something de-escalates, it decreases or goes down.

I am sure that almost everyone that has come in contact with the online world has seen or experienced cyberbullying. Whether you were a bystander, target or offender, (you better not be the offender!) you have probably seen it. Its almost everywhere, especially on Facebook and through text messages.

At any given moment in the United States, over 100 million people are online. The United States entered 2012 with a population of roughly 312 million. The question is, what are they doing online? They could be shopping, chatting, or just surfing the web. Then there are other people who aren't so innocent.

Some of them could be talking with their best friend about the school dance that weekend. Then one of them says something that makes the other mad. They begin throwing hateful words at each other until finally one gets off. 

To some people that doesn't seem too bad. It might be seen as a fight between friends that will never get any worse. Of course, there are other things said that are serious. Like bluntly harassing someone over nothing;  if no one says anything, it could get worse.

Close to 300 teenagers commit suicide over cyberbullying a year. Things that could easily have been stopped, but never where. So I am challenging you to be an up-stander instead of a bystander. Stand up for them, don't let something escalate to violence!

Along the same matter, we used an amazing program called WeVideo. We used it to make videos encouraging people to be up-standers, and to de-escalate situations. Mine is below:

I hope you enjoyed the video!

*Photo from here.

iPhone 5 Camera Problems

1. Topic: The iPhone 5 Camera isn't as good as they thought.

2. Article Title: iPhone 5 users complain about purple photos.

3. Article Source: CNN

4. Summary: Some of the uses of the iPhone 5 have been complaining that purple is showing up in their photos. Apple is saying that is just how the camera works. All Apple seems to be doing about is telling people how to position their phones to keep the purple light from appearing.

5. Reaction: If I remember correctly, Apple claimed the camera on the iPhone 5 to be 'better' than the previous cameras. True, not all of the phones have this problem, but I still think Apple should be doing more. You don't just put a band-aid on a broken arm. That isn't going to fix the problem. This is similar to the antenna problems with the iPhone 4S. Instead of taking the problem head on, they made another product that works as it 'band-aid'. Not really fixing the problem, but keeping it under control. I think they just don't want to do anything. They make a cheap fix just to keep people off of their backs. "If we do something, then they can't get us for doing nothing." That is true, but they need to be a better company, instead of just upgrading their merchandise.

6. World Impact: I am sure this is going to affect many owners of the iPhone 5. As well as future buyers of this product. This may deter people from buying the iPhone 5. Thus, dropping sales in several countries that are home to Apple stores. That may be the biggest company in that country. When sales drop in the company that is making most of your money, things could get serious. This issue may even make people trade in their iPhone's for another brand. For example, Samsung, Blackberry, and many other smart phone companies.

Weekly Review Blog Post #6

This week in my Introduction to Publications class, we discussed the terms self-disclosure, reciprocate, and sexting. Theses things are a very sensitive topic among teens. If you do not know what these words mean, here are the definitions:

• Self-Disclosure- Sharing private, sensitive, or confidential information about yourself to others. For example, where you live, what school you go to, even your birthday.
• Reciprocate- To give in return. An example of this is sending a reply to your friends text.
• Sexting- Sending or receiving sexually explicit photos or videos. Most people know that sending a nude photo to someone is sexting, but not many know that even receiving is considered sexting. Also, if the sender is under the age of 18, it is considered child pornography, and the receiver can go to jail.

Sexting, as I said before, is a sensitive subject among teens. Many teens are guilty of sexting, and many more are guilty of receiving these explicit texts. In class we made a chart of ways to avoid sexting. One reason was to stand up for what is right. You know that you shouldn't do it, so stand up for what you think is right and wrong.

Another way to avoid it is to just not do it! If you don't do it, then you have nothing to worry about. Now if you do, you have a lot of things you have to worry about. Like whoever you sent it to sending it on to other people. Several teens have encountered that problem.

A teenage girl had sent a nude photo to her ex-boyfriend. He said that if she did, he would get back together with her. She sent the picture, and so did he, to several other students at that high school. Who then sent it on to more, and more students. Some that attended other high schools, or were not even high school students.

Every day at school, the other students called her names, and bullied her. She endured that bullying up to graduation. After she graduated, she thought that it would end and she go on living her life. She was sadly mistaken. Everywhere she went, she was mocked, and slandered. She had decided that she had had enough. When her mother went out, she told her she loved her, and her mother replied the same.

When her mother returned home, she went into her daughter's room and found her hanging in her closet. She had committed suicide. That is how one photo can turn into a nightmare. This is a true story, but I will not reveal names.

That is why sexting is so serious, but some people seem to think of it as nothing. It isn't nothing; it is serious and should not be taken part in.

Moving on, the new tool we used in class is a comic creator called Make Beliefs Comix. It is a really cool website where you can make you own comics. The only downside is that the maximum number of panels you can have is four, but it is still cool.

Here are the two comics that I made:

Stand up for what is right

Digital Communication

This week we also did more with the Digital Drivers License (Sometimes referred to as DDL). We learned about how technology can affect your health. For example, your posture. While on the computer, be aware of your posture. Try not the slump over in your chair, sit up straight. Also, don't stay in the same position for too long, you can only withhold one position for so long. Try to do some stretches, or just move around whenever you can.

I am really glad for that information. I tend to be slumped in my chair, too close to the screen. I also stay in that position for a long period of time. It isn't good for your back. I'm going to try to change positions more often.

Overall, my week has been good, I didn't really enjoy the tests and quizzes, but I think I'll live. We got word that are building is almost completely finished. When I was coming into the school, I saw a furniture truck, that's a good sign!!!