Square!

Immediately after hearing about square from my house-mate, I figured I would get the free device sent to me.  For those of you that do not know what square is, it is a device you plug into the headphone jack of your iPhone that allows another person to scan their credit card.  This money will be taken from their bank account and be transfered into yours at a cost of 2.75% of the transaction by Square.  However, I did not begin using Square because I was skeptical of giving out my bank account to a company that I had not researched.  As time has gone on, I have not heard anything bad about this device and its complimentary App.

In addition, I had read recently that not only is it safe but it is also the most efficient way to transfer money.  Whereas some banks take a few days for the money to be transfered, Square is doing allowing your money to be available the next morning.  In the article I read, they suggest that Square is actually processing $5 billion in payments per year.  This is a 25% increase since March.  I think it is safe to say that I will finally download the app and begin using my square device and I encourage others to do the same.

Square

Tiger Woods at the Masters

With Tiger’s impressive win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational recently, everyone is wondering if he could win the Masters for the 5th time.  Personally, I think that Tiger is back to where he used to be when he dominated golf.  He has moved past all of  his personal and health problems and looks better than ever.  His -13 tournament score at the Arnold was enough to dominate the tournament and was too much to handle for expert golfers such as Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els.  The Masters will obviously be a tougher test than the Arnold Invitational, but if Tiger can pull this one out then other golfers may want to consider retiring.

Flying Cars? Sooner than you think

So it seems the idea of flying cars is not that far off.  The New York Auto Show is said to have a few prototypes making appearances this year.  These “flying cars” are attracting pilots and non pilots.  These people have already put down payments on their future airplanes and will receive them next year.  The question I have is, in the future will 16 year olds be getting their pilots license or will getting their drivers license still be the most important thing in their lives.  If these “flying cars” prove to be efficient and manageable, will our means of transportation completely change? I believe this could in fact be the case.  I think/hope that with future innovations of these cars, our view of transportation will be that of our favorite futuristic movies.

 

If you want to read further, here is the link to the article

Flying Cars

FaceBook’s Data Use

Whether we know it or not, FaceBook has been taking and using data that we have given them since we all signed up for a profile.  They use information such as age, gender, sex, and race.  FaceBook requires us to give this information in order to create a profile, and they do this for a reason.  They also are able to get data about anything you post or choose to share on their website.  They can use this data for several different reasons.  FaceBook says that they use this information to help you and let  you know about things that may interest you, but that might not always be the case.  FaceBook also sells this information for their own benefit.  They will take this information and advertise based on your interests on FaceBook. If  you are on the internet and you don’t sign out of FaceBook, they will track your activity and give you appropriate ads when you revisit their page.  I don’t think FaceBook should be able to have this information and it makes me very uneasy.  I think they should only be able to have access to the information that is on their site and nothing more.  FaceBook was one of the first sites that was able to do this, but soon I fear most sites will be able to steal your privacy.

How long will the iPhone be on top?

Analysts are saying this lead could possibly end within the next 5 years.  The facts are other companies are making similar smartphones for much cheaper.  However, owning several smartphones and being a current iPhone owner I certainly disagree.  I think the iPhone is very fairly priced and the capabilities of these phones is amazing.  After switching to the iPhone 4 last year, I have told all of my friends that I will never buy another type of phone unless something completely blows me away.  I have never had an issue with my iPhone and have no reason to believe that I ever will.  Maybe one day someone will conquer the mighty Apple iPhone but until then I stand by my statement.  Here is the article of the opposite viewpoint so that you can decide for yourself.

 

Apple’s lead is not guaranteed

Sacha Baron Cohen, Past His Prime?

At the 84th Academy Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen spilled a fake urn of Kim Jong Il’s ashes on Ryan Seacrest.  This isn’t the first time he has made a fool of himself at such an event.  Prior to the release of Bruno, he basically sat on Eminem’s face.  Personally, I think he is the farthest thing away from a comedian.  I have to admit, Borat was a very funny movie but ever since then he has been nothing but annoying.  His antics at these award shows are banking on shock value alone and are completely disrespectful.  Kim Jong Il passed away recently and it is completely disrespectful for Sacha to make a joke out of it.  I’ll attach the article as well as a GIF of his antics so that you can decide for yourself.

Sacha Baron Cohen

Twitter should not be involved in elections!

Recently, FOX News had a pilot run of asking viewers to tweet the candidates name and include #answer or #dodge depending on the response to a particular question.  After the debate, FOX displayed graphs that showed what the public had decided for the candidates and their responses.  I personally don’t think this is right and think it sways the publics opinion of how the debate went.  People are very easily persuaded and if the majority of the public thinks a candidate dodged a question then the average person is likely to blindly agree.  I think people should continue to view the program and make their own assessments of the candidates instead of allowing twitter to decide for them.  Unfortunately, I think the public will show a liking to the twitter use and news stations will start to use it regularly.

 

FOX News uses Twitter

Has technology gone too far?

After reading an article about a virtual therapist, I had to ask myself if new technology is really the best thing for us.  I believe in most cases new technology only improves our everyday lift, but for things such as therapy I tend to disagree.  I believe a therapist’s interaction of another person will allow them to make a correct assessment of the patient.  I do not believe that a program could have the same effect or any effect at all.  I think once these apps or programs are available to everyone, most people that try them out will use it once or twice and realize that its nothing more than a mindless game.  I will provide the link to the article so that you can read it and decide for yourself.

 

Virtual Therapist

NASA Biocapsule

NASA has developed new technology that can treat astronauts while they are in space and before they even know something is wrong.  The device that they implant into the skin is made of carbon nanotubes and they will release treatment to the person when it senses that something is wrong.  This discovery is groundbreaking and will eventually be available for people here on Earth as well.  The doctor mentioned that it could possibly help diabetics and also cancer patients with their Chemotherapy.  Below is the link that describes the biocapsule further and also there is a video of the doctor explaining how it works.

NASA Biocapsule

H-Agent Robot

German designers have come up with a new idea to keep you warm during the cold months of the year.  They have developed a box, or robot, that absorbs heat from various objects and stores it until you need it in the form of a heater.  The H-Agent as they call it will be able to absorb heat from the sun, a cup of coffee, or even an open flame.  This robot can also look for heat sources itself and find its own resources.  The H-Agent is not for sale as of yet and the developers are not sure on the exact date of its release.  Here is the link for the H-Agent so you can read about it yourself!

The H-Agent