Cars Of The Future You Can Drive Today

Name: Pallavi

Current Event Posting Number: 3

Topic: Technology/Science

Title of Article: Cars of the Future You Can Drive Today

Author: Courtney Palis

Publication Name:Huffington Post

Publication Date: 4/10/2012

Length of Article: 259 words


     Expansion of technology has been a determining factor in many of our daily decisions. Anything from a simple coffee machine to a high tech engineering database. Cars, more than any other vehicle, are the main form of transportation in many parts of the world. As our lives progress car manufacturers create newer, more efficient models of cars, that suit both our pleasures and transportation needs. The New York International Auto show, presents us with two future cars that many people may one day drive. The first one is the, Terrafugia Transition, the world first flying car. Initially it was set to released on the market in 2010, however, due to complications and malfunctions, the manufacturers have pushed the marketing date to about 2013. The first prototype was tested in Platsburg International Airport on March 23. The second "car of the future" presented at the show was from Google. They had been privately testing a "self- driving" Toyota Prius. They equipped an ordinary Toyota Prius with a hands free driving system and embedded each car with "rotating cameras, sensors, and more." A regular Toyota Prius was transformed into an auto pilot vehicle.
     In conclusion, with technology quickly advancing our lives will continue to be made easier. These two new cars of the future will decrease travel time and will more than likely improve road safety.

Name: Matt S

Posting Number: 3

Topic: Science

Title of Article: The benefits of Bilingualism

Author of Article: Yudhijit Bhattacharjee

Publication Name: The New York Times Date of Publication: March 17th 2012

Length of Article: 932 Words / 3 Pages

In recent years scientists have begun to show that being bilingual has more advantages than just being able to communicate with a larger group of people. It has long been believed that bilingualism was an interference to one's cognitive skills, that it slowed down the thinking process; recently scientists have found out that it actually makes you "smarter". In a 2004 study by Psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee, preschoolers were first asked to sort blue circles and red squares into the appropriate bins (blue squares and red circles) by color - both the group of the bilingual children and group of the not-bilingual children did this with relative ease. The second task was to sort the circles and squares into the bins by shape and not color; the bilingual children performed this task faster. This study and others like it show that the interference which comes from being bilingual actually improves your performance when doing conflicting tasks because alternating between the two (or more) languages you speak trains your brain to resolve "internal" conflict faster. Until recently Scientists believed that the bilingual advantages came from an ability for inhibition that was honed by suppressing one language system, meaning that it would let the brain ignore outside distractions; however, now it is shown that bilinguals preform better at tasks that do not require this inhibition. Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain, says that the key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals is more basic that this: that bilinguals have a heightened ability to monitor the environment because they are often forced to switch and process different languages on short notice. In a study that compared German-Italian Bilinguals and Italian Monolinguals, Costa found that the bilingual persons not only performed better, but they also did this with less activity in parts of the brain that are used to monitor the environment, showing that they are more efficient at it. In a 2009 Study led by Agnes Kovacs from the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste Italy, 2 groups of 7-month olds were subjected to a series of tests - one bilingual and one monolingual. A puppet would appear on one side of a screen and eventually the infants got used to this and began looking towards that side of the screen in anticipation of seeing the puppet. After a few rounds of this the side from which the puppet appeared was switched, the bilingual infants adapted to this first and quickly learned to switch their gaze to that side of the screen instead. Also, in a recent study conducted by Tamar Gollan of UCSD, it has been found that elderly individuals with a higher rating of bilingualism were less susceptible to early onsets of dementia.

Being bilingual has been thought to cause learning disabilities and cognitive impairment. However, the 3 recent studies show that being bilingual has immense positive psychological effects. A person who learns more than one language at an early age is both able to process on a higher level and avoid the negative cognitive impacts of old age. In addition to this, experts say that being bilingual lets your brain do these things not only faster, but also more efficiently. This comes to show just how important learning a second language is in school, or how necessary it is for parents to teach their children their native language.

Andrew A.
Post number: 2
Topic: Health
Title of Article: Health Care Reform: Why it's safe from the supreme court
Author: Mike Sacks
Publication Name: Huffington Post
Date of Publication: 03/18/2012
Length of Article: 1 page


The health care bill which was forced through congress by the combined power of the democrats and Obama, is now being challenged by libertarian conservatives. The health care bill requires all citizens to purchase the minimum health care possible if they can afford to do so. It incurs tax penalties for those who fail to do so, under the reasoning that their health care bills must be covered by themselves not by the federal government. This has been viewed with widespread outcry by Americans who "want the government to leave them alone." What they aren't saying though is that they would be willing to pay for their own medical bills instead they want the government to pay for them without increasing taxes. 


The author of this article believes that the health care bill which will soon be heard in the supreme court will not be struck down by the supreme court. As it stands the court is conservatively aligned with five conservative judges to four liberal judges. However the conservative judges believe in something called judicial restraint, which says that judges must only strike down things which are obviously against the constitution, and ignore any gray areas. Following this reasoning they are likely to uphold the law, because it follows the idea that congress can regulate interstate commerce.

Apps Seek to Help Phone Users Track Data

Cassie Posting number: 2
Topic: Technology
Title: Apps Seek to Help Phone Users Track Data
Author: Jenna Wortham
Source: New York Times
March 2, 2012
Article length: 2 pages

Companies are now introducing services and applications to help manage cellphone users' data. To help users get the most out of their data plans, companies such as Onavo are developing softwares that minimize data use, such as automatically switching to Wi-Fi when a network is detected. Because smartphones have become increasingly popular, more concern has risen over fear of cell phone bills. One of the reasons it is so difficult for users to keep track of data is the fact that the typical smart phone has so many uses such as listening to music or browsing the web. Also, apps are primarily data inefficient, meaning developers do not limit their app's data, focusing more on efficiency. With this, Onavo plans on uses their new app which requires users to change their phone settings to route data through Onavo's servers. This forces the user to conserve, by shrinking image files or storing pictures from Twitter, instead of having users find pictures repeatedly on each visit. Carriers are also looking at ways to deal with data traffic by switching users to Wi-Fi networks. WeFi is a new start-up based in Israel, which puts cellphones onto Wi-Fi for data when possible. With the increasing demand for mobile data, industries are receiving more than they can handle.

I believe that Onavo's app will prove itself to be successful in the future. With our society's increased dependency on smart phones, the app will further increase efficiency within the user. Allowing people to use their data plan to the fullest, this app helps not only with the user's convenience, but with their bills at well. Hopefully, more people will discover Onavo's new innovation, and recognize the company's achievements so far.

Why the interest in illegal cell-phone jammers?

Andrew M      Posting 2
Tech
Why the interest in illegal cell-phone jammers?
CNN, Doug Gross, Mar 05, 2012
598 words

At this day and age its become incredibly easy to buy anything when you want it on the internet.  Now it happens to be that one of those things is a cell phone jammer. It's incredibly when one is riding the bus, in a store, or relatively any small public area, and someone is yelling into his or her cell phone. Now, in response to these constant loud mouths, people are buying cell phone jammers, to use at their will. They are even sold at a relatively small price starting at around $40. One man in Philadelphia even admitted to using his jammer in his bus to shut up his surrounding people yacking on his or her phone. However, not only will his annoy the people on his or her phone, but it also happens to be illegal. Using a jammer illegally can lead up to $16,000 in fines and even jail time. Many others think that using a jammer is completely ludicrous. One women states, "Who is he to play god with our cellphones?"

In conclusion, people are using their privileges on the internet for some of the wrong reasons. It's simply breaking the law, and completely violating other peoples' rights and privacy. This is also becoming more and more popular which is a startling fact. Who is to say who gets to decide when and when not you can call someone. It would be nice if every one was silent during your morning commute to work, but imagine if you were in the middle of an important phone call and all the sudden it went blank.

On Cybercrime and Terrorism

Marisa
Post number: 2
Topic: technology
Title of Article: "FBI Director says cybercrime will eclipse terrorism"
Author: Stacy Cowley
Publication Name: cnn.com
Date of Publication: March 2nd, 2012
Length of Article: 1 page

In a speech on Thursday [March 1st], FBI director Robert Mueller declared that cyber attacks, such as the hacking of government databases, will soon overtake terrorism in seriousness.  Though he assured those gathered at the RSA Cyber Security Conference that "terrorism remains the FBI's top priority," he also warned that the cyber threat would pose a greater threat to the world, and that the FBI will "take lessons learned from fighting terrorism and apply them to cyber crime."  This mindset has led to the creation of a cybersecurity squad in each field office, boasting a total of 1000 agents and analysts.  A similar approach was used after the September 11th attacks, when the FBI formed 100 joint anti-terrorism forces.  He also reached out to the private sector for their assistance, since most companies prefer to deal with security breaches internally.  Under the idea that "'there are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that will be," it is crucial that there is cooperation between the FBI and corporations, for the sake of the security of not only government information, but that of private citizens.  Mueller also mentioned the ties between social networking and terrorist groups, such as the Twitter account for Al Shabaab, the Al Qaeda link in Somalia. 

Personally, I feel that the FBI has been somewhat slow to recognize cybercrime as a significant threat.  In light of the numerous attacks conducted by Anonymous over the course of the last year, and other security breaches [Mueller also alluded to state-sponsored hackers as part of the problem], it should be apparent that cybercrime is, and will continue to be, an issue.  As a threat to security of both groups and persons, it deserves its status as a force to be reckoned with, as do its proponents. 

[full-length article here][read more from PC Magazine here]

Janine
Current Event #2
Topic: Technology
Title: As New iPad Debut Near, Some See Decline of PCs
Author: Nick Wingfield
New York Times
March 5, 2012
Article length: 1038 words

It is highly possible the day will come when tablet devices like the Apple iPad outsell tradition personal computers. Many analysts and veteran technology industry executives contend that the torrid growth rates of the iPad, combined with tablet competiton from the likes of Amazon.com and Microsoft, make a changing in popularly a when, not if. Tablet sales are likely to increase dramatically this week when Apple introduces its newest version of the iPad, which is expected to have a higher- resolution screen. Brad Silverberg, a venture capitalist and a former Microsoft executive concludes that the Tablet is the latest and greatest in up and coming technology.

In 2011, PCs outsold tablets almost six to one, which was a considerable change from 2010, when PCs outsold tablets 20 to one. For the last two years, PC sales were flat, while iPad sales were booming.  Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, estimates that iPads will outsell PCs in the year 2017. Microsoft's introduction of Windows 8 promises to shake up computer designs further. Microsoft and its hardware partners have shown laptops with keyboards that can be swiveled around or removed altogether, turning them into tablets. The tablet and PC markets are going to blur together, both making form-factor innovations that will keep them in competition with each other for years to come.