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Internet Comes to Cars
With satellite radio and DVD players already in cars, the next best thing to come to the roadways is the Internet. As if drivers need one more distraction behind the wheel, Ford has announced plans of bringing Wi-Fi to its cars.
Japan has successfully used Wi-Fi in cars since 1997 and has seen a drastic improvement in traffic and gas mileage. So bringing this concept to the United States could provide some major advantages on roads. Ford won’t be the first to provide the cyber world in motor vehicles; they will actually be joining BMW, Chrysler, and Mercedes-Benz. However, Ford is approaching the idea in a different way. They are proposing to let customers plug their own modems into cars. But to make some money, Ford will also have the option of a dealer-installed system. The dealer system will costs about $200 after a $200 mail-in-rebate, and then $29 a month for the Internet service and will create a 300 feet-in-diameter circle of Wi-Fi around the car.
Having Internet in cars will provide many luxuries like music streaming from your personalized radio station on Pandora, access to up-to-date gas prices, 3D imagery when getting directions, not to mention e-mail access, Web surfing, and so on. The long-term goal of having Internet in cars is to allow car-to-car communication. A car-to-car connection could allow real time traffic reports or even a braking warning when approaching a stop.
The cars of the future (like in Back to the Future or Minority Report) are becoming more attainable. Cars more intelligent than some humans. Can’t wait.
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Present Day Hunters and Gatherers
The Internet is a huge reference source full of information on any topic. A tool that helps sort through all the confusion of the different news information is called an RSS feed. RSS feed stands for “Really Simple Syndication,” or “Rich Site Summary.” The RSS feed is a tool that delivers constantly updated information, like in a blog or news source, to a reader. Any new blog article or news story is sent to your feed in an RSS feed reader like NetVibes or Google Reader. When you choose to use an RSS feed, you’re really deciding between hunting out your own news and gathering up the news that is sent your way.
Receiving RSS feed verses going out and collecting news has be a long debated topic here at Keystone. Jamie Holland, Keystone’s leading Graphic/Website Designer, compares the opposing ideas of an RSS feed to the difference between having multiple P.O. Box’s and a regular mailbox. Holland is one of the few here at Keystone who prefers to not use RSS feed, instead he checks his favorite Websites daily for updates that he might find interesting.
Why do some people choose to seek out their own news when they can have it delivered to themselves? Or why do people sort through all the news sent to them in an RSS feed when they can check their favorite site, knowing they will find something that interests them?
It almost sounds like a question of laziness. Those who go out looking for news are taking more initiative than the other guy who reads over his RSS feed? But the reality is both people are sitting at a desk, moving nothing but their hands and wrists. So it’s a big fat no to the question of laziness.
Convenience is the answer! The convenience of having something delivered is what an RSS feed satisfies. I mean, most Americans get food conveniently delivered to their car window at least once a week. Yet, others could argue that when you find a reliable Website, it may be more convenient to go directly to the source as opposed to sifting through articles of other sites only to be disappointed.
We could go on all day. Basically, it is a natural instinct to identify as either a “hunter” or a “gatherer,” in every aspect of life. To be a “go getter” or a laid back “roll with the punches” sort of person. Amazing how your personality might affect your everyday decisions.
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Google Continues to Expand: Google Chrome OS is in...
Google has announced their newest, coolest, and biggest project yet. To keep up with the tough competition (Microsoft), Google is now entering the operating system field. Google Chrome Operating System is the newest idea in the works.
Like Windows or Linux or MacOS, Google Chrome OS will be a host of applications, coordinating activities between programs and users. Google says that the operating system will focus on speed, simplicity, and security. One goal in the security of the OS is to achieve an underlying security system hidden from users, allowing users to avoid viruses, malware, and security updates.
Believed to hit stores in the fall of 2010, Google Chrome OS will be for PCs only. The new OS will be built around the relatively young Google Chrome browser that was released in December of 2008. The baby browser has already attracted more than 30 million users, claims Google. By centering the OS around the Google Chrome Browser, Google is aiming to redefine the operating system. They are trying to keep the real focus in mind, Internet use with as few obstacles as possible. Google says in their announcement, “the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web… It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.”
Google has already been thought of as a huge force in the Search Engine world, maybe we’ll be talking about them in the OS and computer making business in a few years. The possibilities are endless!
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The Internet’s Place in Michael Jackson̵...
Hopefully you have heard the news of the death of Michael Jackson. It’s pretty hard to miss. But one thing you may not have heard on celebrity gossip news is his dramatic increase in sales.
Michael Jackson had 2.7 million sales in the entire year of 2008. That may seem like a big number, but since his death back on June 25th, he has had 2.3 million sales! Talk about a difference! In one week, Jackson’s sales almost reached the amount of sales in one year. This arises a question; where will all the revenue from these sales go? Even today, the day of his memorial service, 80 movie theaters across the country are showing live feed of the service. Where will the profit from those shows go? Just two weeks ago, Michael Jackson was well in debt and it took his death to put him in the black.
You will agree that this record breaking amount of sales in one week is only possible because of the Internet. Online marketplaces are the epitome of instant gratification. They have taken the traditional theory of a marketplace and turned it virtual. Not only is it more convenient because you don’t have to leave your home to go to it, but the marketplace of the Internet also utilizes its virtual nature.
As the writers of the great show Gilmore Girls wrote in their character Logan in the last season of filming, “This is the real dot-com renaissance. Everything’s changing from the way media is sourced to the way we buy things to what we buy. All the restrictions of the brick-and-mortar retail mall are gonna be a thing of the past… It’s way beyond Amazon and eBay now. It’s kind of like what’s going on with these simulation games, like ‘Second Life’ or ‘World of Warcraft.’ Actual currency is being exchanged for virtual goods,” (Kirshner).
Apple has adopted the same concept in iTunes. Yes, the songs you buy took a lot of work and money to create, but each is still only an audio file on your computer- a virtual item. Amazing sales rates, such as those of Michael Jackson, can only be attained with the help of the Internet.
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China’s Censorship Failure
China is one of the last communist countries in our world along with Cuba, North Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. Known mostly for their trade relations with the United States, the Chinese have become one of the top thriving technology sources in the world. The Chinese government recently passed restrictions for all computers in the country, announced to take effect last Wednesday.
The restriction called for all personal computers in the country to be sold with software called Green Dam Youth Escort. Computer producers worldwide started installing the software for computers going to China hoping to meet the deadline, July 1. Some companies feared scrutiny from the media in their home countries for enabling censorship in China, something that happened in America in 2006.
The government claims that the software is needed to keep children from looking at inappropriate sites on the Internet. They also claimed that Google was promoting sites of such inappropriate nature back at the end of June. On June 24th and 25th Chinese citizens were blocked from the Google main page and the Chinese version at google.cn.
Hours before the restriction was to be enforced on Wednesday, July 1, the government announced a delay in the new computer requirement. A government official said that the plan would be carried through eventually and that it is only a matter of time. However, no new deadline has been set for the restriction.
It might be hard to believe, but could this have been due to pressure put on the government? An honest answer may never be revealed.
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