Visa Blogging: Personal Interests: Technology: Samsung Launch 2GHz Dual-Core Smartphones 2012
Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous international affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand. Notable Samsung Group industrial subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics (the world's largest information technology company measured by 2010 revenues), Samsung Heavy Industries (the world's second-largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues), and Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T (respectively the world's 35th- and 72nd-largest construction companies). Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance (the world's 14th-largest insurance company), Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, Samsung Everland (the oldest theme park in South Korea), Cheil Worldwide (the world's 19th-largest advertising agency measured by 2010 revenues) and Shilla Hotel.
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone or camera phone. Today's models also serve to combine the functions of portable media players, low-end compact digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and GPS navigation units. Modern smartphones typically also include high-resolution touchscreens, web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages rather than just mobile-optimized sites, and high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband.
The most common mobile operating systems (OS) used by modern smartphones include Google's Android, Apple's iOS, Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia's Symbian, RIM's BlackBerry OS, and embedded Linux distributions such as Maemo and MeeGo. Such operating systems can be installed on many different phone models, and typically each device can receive multiple OS software updates over its lifetime.
The distinction between smartphones and feature phones can be vague and there is no official definition for what constitutes the difference between them. One of the most significant differences is that the advanced application programming interfaces (APIs) on smartphones for running third-party applications can allow those applications to have better integration with the phone's OS and hardware than is typical with feature phones. In comparison, feature phones more commonly run on proprietary firmware, with third-party software support through platforms such as Java ME or BREW. An additional complication in distinguishing between smartphones and feature phones is that over time the capabilities of new models of feature phones can increase to exceed those of phones that had been promoted as smartphones in the past.
Visa Blogging: Personal Interests: VOA Technology Report: Living in a World With Facial Recognition
This post I would like to share with you a very interesting technology report from Video of VOA Online English Resources...
Living in a World With Facial Recognition
A new study looks at privacy in a world where computers can increasingly recognize faces in a crowd or online. Alessandro Acquisti at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, led the study. Professor Acquisti says social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn represent some of the world's largest databases of identities. He sees increasing threats to privacy in facial recognition software and cloud computing -- the ability to store huge amounts of information in data centers. "The convergence of all these technologies -- face recognition, social networks, cloud computing -- and all these advances in ... data mining are creating this world where you can blend together online and offline data. You can start from an anonymous face and end up with sensitive inferences about that person." Recognition systems measure things like the size and position of a nose, the distance between the eyes and the shape of cheekbones. The software compares lots of images to try to identify the person. Facial recognition programs are used in police and security operations. But the software is increasingly popular in other uses, including social media sites.For the study, the Carnegie Mellon team used software from Pittsburg Pattern Recognition, or PittPat. Google bought that company last month. The software can recognize faces in photos and videos. The researchers did three experiments. First, they collected profile photos from a dating website. Its users try to protect their privacy by not listing their real name. But comparing their photos to pictures on Facebook identified one out of ten people.In the second experiment, the Carnegie Mellon researchers asked permission to take pictures of students on campus. They compared these to photos on Facebook. This time they correctly identified one-third of the students. In the third experiment, they tried to see how much they could learn about people just from a photo. They found not only names but birthdates, personal interests and even locations, when people listed them. And Professor Acquisti says "face recognizers" keep improving. In June, Facebook launched a facial recognition system to help users "tag" or list the names of people in photos. Germany became the first country to declare this software a violation of privacy. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal.
(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 15Aug2011)
You can learn English Online at VOA English Learning or with my blog: English Learning Online>>>
iPhone 4S Sold Out Over Four Million, Just Three Days After its Launch
This is a very very amazing and surprising news from Apple: Just only 3 days after its launch on October 14, Apple® announced that it has sold over four million of its new iPhone® 4S.(According to Apple's press released)
How much is it?
Wow! With price of $199 (US) you can buy the new iPhone!!!
Let me quote press released from Apple...
iPhone 4S First Weekend Sales Top Four Million
CUPERTINO, California—October 17, 2011— Apple® today announced it has sold over four million of its new iPhone® 4S, just three days after its launch on October 14. In addition, more than 25 million customers are already using iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, in the first five days of its release, and more than 20 million customers have signed up for iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. iPhone 4S is available today in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK, and will be available in 22 more countries on October 28 and more than 70 countries by the end of the year.
“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”
iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.
Pricing & Availability iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and is available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.* iPhone 4S is available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and select Best Buy, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract.
iPhone 4S will be available on October 28 in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
*Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Press Contacts: Natalie Harrison Apple harri@apple.com (408) 862-0565
Well, as everyone knows, The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc.. The first iPhone was unveiled by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007. The 5th generation iPhone, the iPhone 4S, was announced on October 4, 2011, and released on October 14, 2011, two days after the release of iOS 5.0, the Apple operating system for handheld devices.
iPhone
An iPhone can function as a video camera (video recording was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS was released), a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can send texts and receive visual voicemail, and has both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. Third-party as well as Apple application software is available from the App Store, which launched in mid-2008 and now has over 500,000 "apps" approved by Apple. These apps have diverse functions, including games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, security and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities.
There are five generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the five major releases of iOS (formerly iPhone OS). The original iPhone was a GSM phone that established design precedents like screen size and button placement that have persisted through all models. The iPhone 3G added 3G cellular network capabilities and A-GPS location. The iPhone 3GS added a compass, faster processor, and higher resolution camera, including video recording at 480p. The iPhone 4 has a rear facing camera (720p video) and a front facing camera (at a lower resolution) for FaceTime video calling and for use in other apps like Skype. The iPhone 4 featured a higher-resolution 960x640 display; it was released on June 24, 2010. In the U.S., AT&T was the only authorized carrier until February 10, 2011, when a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 launched for Verizon. On October 4, 2011, Apple announced the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S added a higher resolution camera (8 megapixel) with 1080p video recording, face detection, and video stabilization, a faster, dual core processor, world phone capability (allowing a single handset to operate on networks based on both GSM/UMTS and CDMA technologies), and a natural language voice control system called Siri. It will be available in 16 GB and 32 GB as well as a new 64 GB capacity. It was also announced that in the U.S. Sprint would begin carrying the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S and C Spire Wireless announced that it would be carrying the iPhone 4S as well.
Using IPhone Makes Me Remind of Steve Jobs
Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 and he passed away on October 5, 2011. Steve Jobs was an American business magnate and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.
Steve Jobs
In the late 1970s, Jobs – along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and others – designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa and, one year later, the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets.
In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2006, making Jobs Disney's largest individual shareholder at seven percent and a member of Disney's Board of Directors. Apple's 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its interim CEO from 1997, then becoming permanent CEO from 2000 onwards, spearheading the advent of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. From 2003, he fought a eight-year battle with cancer, and eventually resigned as CEO in August 2011, while on his third medical leave. He was then elected chairman of Apple's board of directors.
On October 5, 2011, around 3:00 p.m., Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto, California, aged 56, six weeks after resigning as CEO of Apple. A copy of his death certificate indicated respiratory arrest as the immediate cause of death, with "metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor" as the underlying cause. His occupation was listed as "entrepreneur" in the "high tech" business.
How much Steve Jobs earns?
Jobs earned only $1 a year as CEO of Apple, but held 5.426 million Apple shares, as well as 138 million shares in Disney (which he received in exchange for Disney's acquisition of Pixar). Jobs quipped that the $1 per annum he was paid by Apple was based on attending one meeting for 50 cents while the other 50 cents was based on his performance. Forbes estimated his net wealth at $8.3 billion in 2010, making him the 42nd wealthiest American.
How is Steve Jobs's Management style?
Jobs was a demanding perfectionist who always aspired to position his businesses and their products at the forefront of the information technology industry by foreseeing and setting trends, at least in innovation and style.
He summed up that self-concept at the end of his keynote speech at the Macworld Conference and Expo in January 2007, by quoting ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky:
There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will.
Steve Jobs's Inventions
As of October 9, 2011 (2011 -10-09), Jobs is listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in 342 United States patents or patent applications related to a range of technologies from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces (including touch-based), speakers, keyboards, power adapters, staircases, clasps, sleeves, lanyards and packages.
Steve Jobs's Death
Jobs died at his California home around 3 p.m. on October 5, 2011, due to complications from relapse of his previously treated islet-cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, resulting in respiratory arrest. His death was announced by Apple in a statement which read:
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.
Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."
Jobs is survived by Laurene, his wife of 20 years, their three children, and Lisa Brennan-Jobs, his daughter from a previous relationship. His family released a statement saying that he "died peacefully".
Shortly after his death was announced, ABC, CBS, and NBC interrupted scheduled programming to broadcast this news. A large number of newspapers around the world carried news of his death on their front pages the next day. Statements reacting to Jobs's death were made by several notable people, including U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and The Walt Disney Company's Bob Iger. Wired News collected reactions and posted them in tribute on their homepage. Other statements of condolences were issued by many of Jobs's friends and colleagues, such as Steve Wozniak and George Lucas.
A small private funeral was held on October 7, 2011, of which details were not revealed in respect to Jobs' family. Apple announced on the same day that they had no plans for a public service, but were rather encouraging "well-wishers" to send their remembrance messages to an email address created to receive such messages. Sunday, October 16, 2011, was declared "Steve Jobs Day" by Governor Jerry Brown of California. On that day, an invitation-only memorial was held at Stanford University. Those in attendance include Apple and other tech company executives, members of the media, celebrities, close friends of Jobs, and politicians, along with Jobs' family. U2's Bono, Yo Yo Ma, and Joan Baez performed at the service, which lasted longer than an hour. The service was highly secured, with guards at all of the university's gates, and a helicopter flying overhead from an area news station. A private memorial service for Apple employees was held on October 19, 2011, on the Apple Campus in Cupertino. Present were Al Gore, Norah Jones and Coldplay, and Steve Jobs' widow, Laurene, was in attendance.
Jobs is buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, the only non-denominational cemetery in Palo Alto.
Steve Jobs has passed away, but Jobs is living in new technology people's heart. Every time people hold their iPhone, they start missing Mr. Jobs....
Sony Releases Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work
Our Tech Trends reporter looks at the new gizmo Sony promises will revolutionize the way consumers become infuriated by goddamn blinking TV box things.
Watching the video below, do you think it is the real golden gun???
If it's true. It's the first time that I see the golden gun...Wow! Want to be a soldier!!!
Let watch the video below is you don't believe me....:=)...
Watching the video of the Golden gun, let read some text related to golden gun...
The golden gun is a fictional weapon that was used as one of the James Bond series firearms, used in The Man with the Golden Gun 1965 novel and 1974 film. It is used by the villain, Francisco Scaramanga, and also used by James Bond in the novel during a show of skill.
In Ian Fleming's novel, the golden gun is a long-barreled gold-plated Colt Peacemaker .45-calibre revolver that shoots golden bullets that are jacketed with silver that are cross-cut at the tip on the dum-dum principle for maximum wounding effect. In addition, Scaramanga also used a golden derringer with a poison-laced bullet as his back-up gun.
For the film, the gun was a single-shot weapon that fires a custom-made 4.2-millimetre golden (23-carat gold with traces of nickel) expanding bullet. The instant kill technology relies on the bullet "flatten[ing] on impact for maximum wounding effect", as explained to Bond. Scaramanga uses such a weapon to emphasize his peerless skill as a pistol marksman and the fact that he needs only one bullet to kill a target.
In addition, the novel specifies that Scaramanga himself makes the ammunition, whereas in the movie the bullets are manufactured by a contact, Senhor Lazar.
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. A loose adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel of same name, the film has Bond sent after the Solex Agitator, a device which can harness the power of the sun, while facing the assassin Francisco Scaramanga, the "Man with the Golden Gun". The action culminates in a duel between them that settles the fate of the Solex.
The Man with the Golden Gun was the fourth and final film in the series to be directed by Guy Hamilton. The script was written by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz. The film was set in the face of the 1973 energy crisis, a dominant theme in the script—Britain had still not yet fully overcome the crisis when the film was released in December 1974. The film also reflects the then popular martial arts film craze, with several kung-fu scenes and a predominantly Asian location, being shot in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macao.
The film saw mixed reviews, with Christopher Lee's performance as Scaramanga, intended to be a villain of similar skill and ability to Bond, being praised; but reviewers criticized the film as a whole, particularly the comedic approach. Although the film was profitable, it is the fourth lowest-grossing Bond film in the series and has been described as the lowest point in the canon. It was also the final film to be co-produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, with Saltzman selling his 50% stake in Eon Productions's parent company, Danjaq, LLC after the release of the film.
Based on the article above, I think that the video above, That's really the golden gun....
Well, Android is an operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google.
Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 84 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software license. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.
Android consists of a kernel based on the Linux kernel, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C and application software running on an application framework which includes Java-compatible libraries based on Apache Harmony. Android uses the Dalvik virtual machine with just-in-time compilation to run compiled Java code. Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a customized version of Java. There are currently more than 250,000 apps available for Android. Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or through online stores such as Android Market, the app store run by Google.
Android was listed as the best-selling smartphone platform worldwide in Q4 2010 by Canalys.
Seven Steps to Make Your Android Faster:
Short of installing a custom ROM or overclocking your CPU, there are a variety of tweaks you can put in place to make your Android feel faster. Here are the steps:
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009. Motorola Solutions is generally considered to be the direct successor to Motorola, Inc., as the reorganization was structured with Motorola Mobility being spun off.
Motorola designed and sold wireless network infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission base stations and signal amplifiers. Motorola's home and broadcast network products included set-top boxes, digital video recorders, and network equipment used to enable video broadcasting, computer telephony, and high-definition television. Its business and government customers consisted mainly of wireless voice and broadband systems used to build private networks and public safety communications systems like Astro and Dimetra. These businesses (except for set-top boxes and cable modems) are now part of Motorola Solutions.
Motorola's wireless telephone handset division was a pioneer in cellular phones. Known as the Personal Communication Section (PCS) prior to 2004, it pioneered the flip phone with the StarTAC in the mid-1990s, and it enjoyed a resurgence with the RAZR in the mid-2000s before losing significant market share. Lately it has focused on smartphones using Google's open-source Android mobile operating system. The first phone to use the newest version of Google's open source OS, Android 2.0, was released on November 2, 2009 as the Motorola Droid (the GSM version launched a month later, in Europe, as the Motorola Milestone). The handset division, (along with cable set-top boxes and cable modems) has since then been spun off into the independent Motorola Mobility.
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, advertising technologies, and search engines. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, often dubbed the "Google Guys", while the two were attending Stanford University as PhD candidates. It was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. At that time Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt agreed to work together at Google for twenty years, until the year 2024. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful", and the company's unofficial slogan – coined by Google engineer Amit Patel and supported by Paul Buchheit – is "Don't be evil". In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California.
It has been estimated that Google runs over one million servers in data centers around the world, and processes over one billion search requests and about twenty-four petabytes of user-generated data every day. Google's rapid growth since its incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond the company's core web search engine. The company offers online productivity software, such as its Gmail email service, and social networking tools, including Orkut and, more recently, Google Buzz and Google+. Google's products extend to the desktop as well, with applications such as the web browser Google Chrome, the Picasa photo organization and editing software, and the Google Talk instant messaging application. Notably, Google leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, used on a number of phones such as the Motorola Droid and the Samsung Galaxy smartphone series', as well as the new Google Chrome OS, best known as the main operating system on the Cr-48 and also, since 15 June 2011, on commercial Chromebooks such as the Samsung Series 5 and Acer AC700. Alexa lists the main U.S.-focused google.com site as the Internet's most visited website, and numerous international Google sites (google.co.in(14) and most visited site in India, google.co.uk etc.) are in the top hundred, as are several other Google-owned sites such as YouTube (Alexa:3), Blogger (Alexa:6), and Orkut. Google also ranks number two in the BrandZ brand equity database. The dominant market position of Google's services has led to criticism of the company over issues including privacy, copyright, and censorship.
On August 15, 2011, Google announced that it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion subject to approval from regulators in the United States and Europe. In a post on Google's blog, Google Chief Executive and co-founder Larry Page revealed that Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is a strategic move to strengthen Google's patent portfolio. The company's Android operating system has come under fire in an industry-wide patent battle, as Apple and Microsoft have taken to court Android device makers such as HTC, Samsung and Motorola. This purchase was made in part to help Google gain Motorola's considerable patent portfolio on mobile phones and wireless technologies to help protect it in its ongoing patent disputes with other companies, mainly Apple and Microsoft and to allow it to continue to freely offer Android.
A september 11 2001 tribute, and a watch of what happend that horrible morning near World Trade Center buildings, A terrible saw of what happend on the towers basements also. Never Forget 9/11/01
Technology is the making, usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose.
Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.
The Nature of Technology may refer to four main points: High technology, State of the Art, Technological convergence and Technology tree.
* High technology:
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology. (There is also an architectural style known as high tech.)
There is no specific class of technology that is high tech — the definition shifts over time — so products hyped as high tech in the 1960s would now be considered, if not exactly low tech, then at least somewhat obsolete. This fuzzy definition has led to marketing departments describing nearly all new products as high tech.
High Tech Economy
Because the high-tech sector of the economy develops or uses the most advanced technology known, it is often seen as having the most potential for future growth. This perception has led to high investment in high-tech sectors of the economy. High-tech startup enterprises receive a large portion of venture capital; However, if investment exceeds actual potential, as has happened in the past, then investors can lose all or most of their investment. High tech is often viewed as high risk, but offering the opportunity for high profits.
Like Big Science, high technology is an international phenomenon, spanning continents, epitomized by the worldwide communication of the Internet. Thus a multinational corporation might work on a project 24 hours a day, with teams waking and working with the advance of the sun across the globe; such projects might be in software development or in the development of an integrated circuit. The help desks of a multinational corporation might thus employ, successively, teams in Kenya, Brazil, the Philippines, or India, with the only requirement fluency in the mother tongue, be it Spanish, Portuguese or English.
High-tech sectors
The sector approach classifies industries according their technology intensity, product approach according to finished products.
An overall society based in high-tech is something generally unattainable by the definition comprising its scarcity among every technology available. Many countries and regions like United States, Singapore, Canada, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Australia, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Brazil and France can be in general considered high-tech societies in relation to other countries, since it is common for its citizens having access to technology that is presently at the cutting edge, in consumer's terms, as can parts of India (Bangalore, Mumbai) and China (Shanghai, Beijing). Research oriented institutions such as ESA, MITRE, NASA, CERN, and universities with high research activity such as MIT and Stanford might be considered high-tech microsocieties in relation to the general surrounding socio-economic region or overall activity sector.
* State of the Art:
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also applies to the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process, technique, or science) reached at any particular time usually as a result of modern methods.
The origin of the concept of "state of the art" mainly took place in the beginning of the twentieth century. Though the scientists and literary people who used to work on different art related subjects have already done some sort of work but the real application of the concept of this term was basically used in the book of Gas Turbine in the year 1910. The use of the term "state of the art" was first used in the literary work and over time its usage increased in all fields where art has significant role. In this relation it has been quoted by the author that "Although eighteenth century writers did not use the term, there was indeed in existence a collection of scientific and engineering knowledge and expertise that can be identified as the state of the art for that time." In the earlier writings and the literary work of 19th century, there is no evidence of use of the term ‘state of the art’. It can be considered as the recently coined concept as it was not used anymore in providing the description of the information and practices. For the time, the concept of state of the art can be used for the inclusion of new knowledge and expertise in the present world.
Definitions of State of the Art
The concept of “State of the Art” is defined as, “The level of knowledge and development achieved in a technique, science”. According to this definition, the state of the art is basically a unique art with the inclusion of the specific knowledge of the people in order to provide a particular unique framework. There are several synonyms of the phrase “State of the art” such as advancement, stylish, artistic work, modern and several other words. In other words, the “State of the art is defined as, the incorporation of new ideas and the most up to date knowledge in order to make advancements in the already existing knowledge”. According to this definition, State of the art is the process with which a new unique idea is incorporated in any field of technology, literature and architecture. In general language, state of the art is defined as the development of new techniques and procedures by expert people in a particular field.
* Technological convergence:
Technological convergence is the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks. Convergence can refer to previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications), and video that now share resources and interact with each other synergistically.
The rise of digital communication in the late 20th century has made it possible for media organizations (or individuals) to deliver text, audio, and video material over the same wired, wireless, or fiber-optic connections. At the same time, it inspired some media organizations to explore multimedia delivery of information. This digital convergence of news media, in particular, was called "Mediamorphosis" by researcher Roger Fidler, in his 1997 book by that name. Today, we are surrounded by a multi-level convergent media world where all modes of communication and information are continually reforming to adapt to the enduring demands of technologies, "changing the way we create, consume, learn and interact with each other".
Convergence in this instance is defined as the interlinking of computing and other information technologies, media content, and communication networks that has arisen as the result of the evolution and popularization of the Internet as well as the activities, products and services that have emerged in the digital media space. Many experts view this as simply being the tip of the iceberg, as all facets of institutional activity and social life such as business, government, art, journalism, health, and education are increasingly being carried out in these digital media spaces across a growing network of information and communication technology devices.
Also included in this topic is the basis of computer networks, wherein many different operating systems are able to communicate via different protocols. This could be a prelude to artificial intelligence networks on the Internet eventually leading to a powerful superintelligence via a technological singularity.
* Technology tree:
In strategy computer games, the technology tree or tech tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades a player can take, by means of research. The diagram is tree-shaped in the sense that it branches at certain intervals, allowing the player to choose one sequence or another. Typically, at the beginning of a session of a strategy game, a player may only have a few options for technologies to research. Each technology that a player researches will open up more options, but may or may not, depending on the computer game the player is playing, close off the paths to other options. The tech tree is the representation of all possible paths of research a player can take.
A player who is engaged in research activities is said to be "teching up," "going up the tech tree," or "moving up the tech tree." Analysis of a tech tree can lead players to memorize and use specific build orders.
* Watch The Conversation Nature of Technology: University of Michigan Taubman College Future of Technology: Description: University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning hosted the Future of Technology conference on September 24 & 25, 2010. An international roster of speakers, academics and practitioners addressed some of the most critical issues facing our technological future in four sessions, comprised of 15-minute segments and a panel discussion. Topics included: Digital Publics, Technology of Empowerment, Smart Technology and the Nature of Technology. The presentations were free and open to the public. For more information about the event: www.taubmancollege.umich.edu/futureoftechnology....
Daily Blogging, Technology: How Technology Changes The World?
What is Technology?
Technology is the making, usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose.
Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.
Relationship Among Science, engineering and technology:
The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear. Science is the reasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering enduring principles among elements of the phenomenal world by employing formal techniques such as the scientific method. Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability and safety.
Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result.
Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although technology as a human activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference.
The exact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated by scientists, historians, and policymakers in the late 20th century, in part because the debate can inform the funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake of World War II, for example, in the United States it was widely considered that technology was simply "applied science" and that to fund basic science was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophy could be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush's treatise on postwar science policy, Science—The Endless Frontier: "New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature... This essential new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research." In the late-1960s, however, this view came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives to fund science for specific tasks (initiatives resisted by the scientific community). The issue remains contentious—though most analysts resist the model that technology simply is a result of scientific research.
Top Hacker Suspect Arrested After Attacks on Sony, Sega, Citibank, CIA
What is Hacker?
==> A hacker is a person who breaks into computers and computer networks for profit, in protest, or because they are motivated by the challenge. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground but it is now an open community.
Other definitions of the word hacker exist that are not related to computer security. They are subject to the long standing hacker definition controversy about the true meaning of hacker. In this controversy, the term hacker is reclaimed by computer programmers who argue that someone breaking into computers is better called a cracker, not making a difference between computer criminals ("black hats") and computer security experts ("white hats"). Some white hat hackers claim that they also deserve the title hacker, and that only black hats should be called crackers.
Sony, Sega, Citibank, and CIA were Attacked by Hacker
Do you know Sony?
Sony Corporation commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate with US$77.20 billion (FY2010). Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, products for the consumer and professional markets.
Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its seven operating segments – Consumer Products & Services Group, Professional & Device Solutions Group, Pictures, Music, Financial Services, Sony Ericsson and All Other. These make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.
The Sony Group is a Japan-based corporate group primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group consists of Sony Corporation (holding & electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (game), Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony Financial Holdings (financial services) and others.
Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be "sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and presentable young men. Sony has a joint venture with Panasonic, making Media Nusantara Citra but Sony take over 30% of Panasonic's share, making Bhakti Investama wholly owned subsidiary of Sony.
How about Sega?
Sega Corporation usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of home video game consoles from 1983 to 2001, but a restructure was announced on January 31, 2001 that ceased continued production of its existing home console, effectively exiting the company from the home console business. While arcade development would continue unchanged, the restructure shifted the focus of the company's home video game software development to consoles developed by various third-party manufacturers.
Sega's head offices, as well as the main office of its domestic division, Sega Corporation (Japan), are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Sega's European division, Sega Europe Ltd., is headquartered in the Brentford area of London in the United Kingdom. Sega's North American division, Sega of America Inc., is headquartered in San Francisco, California; having moved there from Redwood City, California in 1999. Sega Australia is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, and Sega Publishing Korea is headquartered in Jongno, Seoul, Korea. The company also has smaller offices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.
What about Citibank?
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. As of March 2010, Citigroup is the third largest bank holding company in the United States by total assets, after Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.
Citibank has retail banking operations in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. More than half of its 1,400 offices are in the United States, mostly in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, DC and Miami. More recently, Citibank has expanded its operations in the Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, and Dallas metropolitan areas.
In addition to the standard banking transactions, Citibank offers insurance, credit card and investment products. Their online services division is among the most successful in the field, claiming about 15 million users.
As a result of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 and huge losses in the value of its subprime mortgage assets, Citibank was rescued by the U.S. government under plans agreed for Citigroup. On November 23, 2008, in addition to initial aid of $25 billion, a further $25 billion was invested in the corporation together with guarantees for risky assets amounting to $306 billion. Since this time, Citibank has repaid its government loans in full.
And What is CIA?
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government, reporting to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers. The CIA also engages in covert activities at the request of the President of the United States.
It is the successor of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) formed during World War II to coordinate espionage activities against the Axis Powers for the branches of the United States Armed Forces. The National Security Act of 1947 established the CIA, affording it "no police or law enforcement functions, either at home or abroad". One year later, this mandate was expanded to include "sabotage, anti-sabotage, demolition and evacuation measures...subversion [and] assistance to underground resistance movements, guerrillas and refugee liberation movements, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world". Through interagency cooperation, the CIA has Cooperative Security Locations at its disposal. These locations are called "lily pads" by the Air Force.
The primary function of the CIA is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers. The agency conducts covert operations and paramilitary actions, and exerts foreign political influence through its Special Activities Division. The CIA and its responsibilities changed markedly in 2004. Before December 2004, the CIA was the main intelligence organization of the US government; it was responsible for coordinating the activities of the US Intelligence Community (IC) as a whole. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 created the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which took over management and leadership of the IC.
Today, the CIA still has a number of functions in common with other countries' intelligence agencies. The CIA's headquarters is in Langley in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, a few miles west of Washington, D.C. along the Potomac River.
Sometimes, the CIA is referred to euphemistically in government and military parlance as Other Government Agencies (OGA), particularly when its operations in a particular area are an open secret. Other terms include The Company, Langley and The Agency.
Top Hacker Suspect Arrested After Attacks on Sony, Sega, Citibank, CIA
A 19-year-old man alleged to have hacked into companies and intelligence agencies around the world was arrested Tuesday in Wickford, England by Scotland Yard and the FBI, according to British police.
The police would not confirm whether the suspect was connected to a hacking group called Lulz Security, but the arrest took place days after LulzSec took credit online for bringing down the CIA's website, the most recent major security breach the group allegedly accomplished.
"Do you feel safe with your Facebook accounts, your Google Mail accounts, your Skype accounts?" said LulzSec in a letter posted Friday. "You are a peon to these people. A toy. A string of characters with a value."
The CIA breach was just one in a string of high-profile hack attacks by loosely-organized shadow groups such as Lulzsec and Anonymous, including the websites of Sega,SonyCitibank and the U.S. Senate. Their websites have all been hit by hackers now. In Sega's case, the firm said over the weekend the attackers got access to account information for 1.3 million users.
- Who is the Former White House Press Secretary that Facebook hired?
==> It's Joe Lockhart.
- Who is Joe Lockhart?
==> Joseph Lockhart (born July 13, 1959) served as White House Press Secretary from October 5, 1998 to September 29, 2000, during the administration of President Bill Clinton. He handled the press during the Clinton impeachment trials.
Mr. Lockhart is a founding partner and managing director of The Glover Park Group, a public relations and political strategy firm. Mr. Lockhart is also a veteran of multiple political campaigns. He was an adviser to Senator John Kerry during his presidential bid in 2004. He also held senior roles in the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, the 1988 Dukakis-Bentsen campaign, and the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro campaign. In 1980, he worked as a regional press coordinator for President Carter’s failed reelection bid.
Why Facebook hired Joe Lockhart?
==> The hiring of Mr. Lockhart comes as Facebook has been deepening its already considerable ties in Washington. The company has been facing increasing scrutiny from regulators over issues like privacy. And Facebook is expected to be thrust even more into the spotlight after it becomes a publicly traded company, which is likely to happen next year.
“Joe’s arrival brings new skills and greater depth to our incredibly busy team,” Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy, said. “His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny. His experience launching and scaling a communications firm will help us as we seek to build our team and continue to offer great opportunities for growth and professional development.”
==>> That's really very interesting news about Facebook!!!
Personal Interests: Technology: Android Running on iPhone
Android Running on iPhone
*** What is Android???
Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.Google Inc. purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005.Android's mobile operating system is based on the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android. The Android operating system is the world's best-selling Smartphone platform.
Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 200,000 apps available for Android. Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can also be downloaded from third-party sites. Developers write primarily in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.
The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.
The Android open-source software stack consists of Java applications running on a Java-based, object-oriented application framework on top of Java core libraries running on a Dalvik virtual machine featuring JIT compilation. Libraries written in C include the surface manager, OpenCore[21] media framework, SQLite relational database management system, OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics API, WebKit layout engine, SGL graphics engine, SSL, and Bionic libc. The Android operating system, including the Linux kernel, consists of roughly 12 million lines of code including 3 million lines of XML, 2.8 million lines of C, 2.1 million lines of Java, and 1.75 million lines of C++.
Personal Interests: Finance & Investment Tips: Patrick Munro: Basic Money Management Principles
This post I would like to share you a video of Patrick Munro. He's going to discuss about some basic money management principles.
Who is Patrick Munro???
Patrick Munro on Basic Money Management Principles
Patrick Munro was born on 9 October 1883 and died on 3 May 1942. Patrick Munro also known as Pat Munro. He was a British Conservative politician and international rugby union player.
The fifth son of Patrick Munro and Mary Helen Catherine Dormond, he was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he held an Open History Scholarship and graduated with 2nd class Honours in History. He was also awarded a Half Blue for High Jump in 1906 and President of the Vincent's Club (the club for Oxford Blues) in 1906-1907.
He joined the Sudan Political Service in 1907, and was Governor of Darfur Province in 1923-1924 and Governor of Khartoum Province from 1925-1929. He was mentioned in despatches in 1919 and awarded the Order of the Nile (3rd class)in 1929. He was a Member of British Delegation to the Capitulations Conference in Montreux in 1937.
He was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Llandaff and Barry from 1931 until his death. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Capt. Euan Wallace when he was Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1935, and when Secretary for Overseas Trade 1935. He was an unpaid Assistant Whip in 1937, joining the government payroll as a Junior Lord of the Treasury later that year and serving until his death.
Munro, a private in the Home Guard, died whilst taking part in an exercise at Westminster in 1942.
What important thing on the principles that Patrick Munro mentions???
Basic money management principles include avoiding risk to make money, keeping financial expenses low and making sure liabilities are at a minimum. Grasp money management principles and avoid drowning in debt with advice from a registered financial consultant in this free video on finance and investment.
*** Watch the video of Patrick Munro discussion: Finance & Investment Tips: Patrick Munro: Basic Money Management Principles***
