15% of Adults do not use the Web.

Article

Not everyone is on the internet, to be more precise, about 15 percent of adults have no desire to be on internet. The reasons range from lack of interest, identity theft, or not being able to afford a computer. About 92 percent of these respondents have no desire to be on the internet for a reason. Pew studies also gathered information about older Americans with less education, rural Americans and Hispanic Americans are least likely to be online. The most popular reasons of those who have no use of it say that "just not interested," "don't need it/don't want it," or "think it's a waste of time." Even though these Americans do not use the internet, they still have some access through other persons. About 4 out of 10 non-connected people ask their friend or family member to look up something and nearly a quarter say they live in a household where someone else uses the Web. Do you think these 15 % of Americans are missing out on anything of significance that the internet provides or that they can live without it?

Video Game Life

 

Living in a Video Game

Have you ever imagined your life in a video game? What if everything around us was computerized and third dimensional. It would definitely be interesting all right! Well, believe it or not, but this is actually in progress! Have you ever heard of augmented reality? Well, it's basically the technical term for a real video-game-like experience one can have. Researchers and engineers pull graphics from your television and computer and then integrate them in a real world environment.  Augmented reality is basically the bridge that has connected us with the video game world. Although this progress in technology can seem a bit overwhelming and excessive, it can be useful in life today. If you are perhaps a tourist, this technology can be useful allowing you to focus on something and instantly know its importance. Or perhaps you're in a new city, you have no idea where you are, and you can't find the bathroom--yes, it will even help you find a bathroom. This is all very impressive technology, but our engineers and researchers continue to impress us. Check out this video to see where researchers see augmented reality taking us: The Internet of Things. Our world is literally changing right in front of us, how are we going to keep up? I don't know about you guys, but while all this is great, it's a little overwhelming to me. What do you think?

Sean Moran post 1

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/2013/09/23/fda-lays-out-rules-for-some-smartphone-health-apps/UzStD30hlKwpKbsgyg37hO/story.html

FDA lays out rules for some smartphone health apps

The FDA says they will be releasing applications for smartphones that can and will help people regulate there health.  There are currently 17,000 health apps already in existence, so to me its unlikely that these new apps chances of standing from the other 17,000 is highly unlikely.  But they are saying that these could have heart monitors, and blood pressure readings, which I believe to be a great thing and support.  Applications for our devices seem endless and companies are taking full opportunities to make money off of this app craze.  With it being so much to even create an app companies need to make sure that they will get a proper return on their investment.  All in all I believe technology is going in the right direction with wanting to assist people in a healthier life style but I just dont see the apps making much money because the need for these things is very low.

Smart Phone Web Use

Accessing the internet is becoming effortless through the use of smartphones. Nowadays most Americans would use their phones for the internet and apps rather than to make an actual phone call. Pew Internet & American Life Project reported studies showing that two-thirds of cell-phone owning Americans use their cell phones to surf the Web and check things like emails and social media. This is double the amount from 2009 in which only thirty one percent of cell phone users used their phone for online purposes.  The age groups of 18-29 year olds still are the dominate users of web accessing, but there has been an increase in the 50-64 year old group in online phone using.  With these smart phones getting faster (3G or 4G), screens getting sharper and apps improving, it is making it easier for the consumer to access the web faster. A question arises whether it would be difficult to revert back to a phone that does not have apps or web access after being a smart phone user...


Cnn Article

Oil Can For An Apple

Robot Teachers

          Who would've thought that a 1960's television show would predict the future? That's right, the popular show "The Jetsons" entertained us with their creative ideas for what they believed the future holds, but one of their "predictions" is literally coming true. It started out as a toy teaching assistant, but the realization of a robot teacher is closer than you think. In 1999, an edtech company called Desire2Learn launched this idea and has now practically completed the project. Although there are still a few problems--what computer doesn't have its problems--some schools today are now using a robot teacher. In my opinion, I think it is rather depressing to think that our technology is competing against our own intelligence and, unfortunately, winning the fight. So, what do you think? Do you encourage the idea of this advancement in our technology, or would you rather stay with the norm? For more information regarding the future robot teachers you can visit Robot Teacher.