My Thoughts on the Apple iWatch

The Apple iWatch is hitting stores in November of this year. This year has been putting out a lot of "wearable" technology onto the market. Already there are many iPod Nano watches, in which one fits their Nano into a watch case. An iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton (which can be found here) features all the recognizable aspects of an iOS 7 Apple product, such as Siri. The apps are accessed by fours in every 'screen', which can be viewed by scrolling up instead of the regular sideways. Apple CEO Tim Cook has decided to work with former competitor IBM. Similarly, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty believes that it will help the company, as it widens the audience for its products.


Personally, I hope it won't be the same as the Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch. Although it will certainly have a different look and will definitely have a different feeling, the concept is pretty much the same. However,it certainly sounds interesting. What do you think about the Apple iWatch?

Electronic Documents

According to this article in the Office Journal, there are three reasons for why converting paper documents to electronic documents are beneficial for your workspace. First, you can save money. Paper costs money, mailing documents costs money, while email and electronic documents will make sure the office budget is being used wisely. Second, it boosts productivity, as people won’t constantly be photocopying and handwriting important information. Scanning such information could prove extremely beneficial for work, as just one scan can make infinite digital copies without wasting a single sheet of paper! And third, it keeps information secure. Imagine losing an important document that was on paper! It would be so much better to keep it in an electronic device. However, don’t leave it at that. Back up! Whether it’s on a cloud-based service or on an external hard drive, a mistake can easily be fixed with a backup. These three reasons: saving money, boosting productivity, and keeping information secure, are just three of many reasons for why converting paper documents to electronic ones are much better.

2048

The game that seems to be taking the world by storm - 2048. It frustrates people to no end, and when it's finally over, there's that feeling of relief that will never go away. Finally, you think. It's over.

When I began playing 2048, I never would have thought that it would have been so addicting. I just thought it was a phase, that I would get through it. It's like Candy Crush Saga, though. It takes a long time for the hype to die down. But it isn't anything like that.

Up, down, left, right, up, left, right, down. The possibilities are endless, and you think you're just beginning to get the hang of the game when - BAM! Game Over.

But 2048 players, do not lose heart. We all will finally get there.

Tablets to Communicate with Autistic Children

After a communication breakdown between two boys, – one with autism – speech therapist Jordan Sadler recreated the incident in an iPad app called Puppet Pals in order to address the issue. Using the tablet, both children identified what happened and made better decision. Similarly, many others are utilizing the tablet to communicate with autistic children.

Four years after the debut of the iPad, app creators, educators, and parents are looking to find new ways of using the tablet in order to work with the 1/68 kids in America with autism. The iPad allows autistic kids to think visually and to “interact with content directly without the cognitive hurdle of a mouse,” (CNN). Siri is also able to help with articulation. According to an interviewee, “the tablet has also given (kids) more independence.

Tablets also allow much more control than a TV, as they can rewatch videos and have a more ‘intimate’ experience with their game. All in all, the future to communicating with autistic children may have tablets such as Android tablets or iPads in view.

To find out more, visit the CNN article here.

HeartBleed

Frequent Internet users, beware! A new issue, HeartBleed has recently been discovered by a security engineer, and now websites are trying to fix it – but is it too late? According to the WGGB (find the link here), the HeartBleed bug “has been…putting your personal information at risk for years.”

One thing needs to be cleared up, though. The HeartBleed bug is not a virus. According to Tyler Brooks, at tech at GoGeeks Computer Rescue in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, explains: “It’s not a virus, it’s a glitch in the programming code.” But if it doesn't ruin your computer, why do you need to be worried?

Basically, the HeartBleed virus takes any information from what you’ve done on the website: credit card information, passwords, et cetera. How does it do this? Hackers use a security loophole in the communication program that computers use, called OpenSSL and trick servers into leaking information. So, technically, it was impossible to protect yourself from. But the bug affects secure websites – ones that begin with the web address “https,” such as Gmail or other social networking sites.

How do you protect yourself and your information? The easy way is to change all your passwords, especially ones on this list. Second, make sure to check for credit card statements and identity theft.

Don't forget to stay safe on the internet - you never know what could happen.

Microsoft's New CEO

Satya Nadella. Born in India, worked in Microsoft for 20 years, and now is CEO. There is a CNN Money article (which can be found here). He is the one who created the cloud and enterprise division of Microsoft, which has since been one of the company's best-performing units. Nadella is also in charge of several consumer cloud products, such as Office 365, Bing search engine, Xbox Live, and Skype.

"During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella," said Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. "His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth."

Gates will also be working closely with the new CEO, who is said to be personable, and well-liked at Microsoft and within the technology world at large.

Be sure to visit the CNN article to find out more about Satya Nadella!

Goldie Blox

This Super Bowl advertisement, which was thirty seconds long, cost $4,000,000.

GoldieBlox is a toy company, who's mission is to inspire the next generation of women in STEM fields. 

This is a description of GoldieBlox, according to their website:

“At GoldieBlox, our goal is to get girls building. We’re here to help level the playing field in every sense of the phrase. By tapping into girls' strong verbal skills, our story + construction set bolsters confidence in spatial skills while giving young inventors the tools they need to build and create amazing things.

In a world where men largely outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and math...and girls lose interest in these subjects as early as age 8, GoldieBlox is determined to change the equation. Construction toys develop an early interest in these subjects, but for over a hundred years, they've been considered "boys' toys". By designing a construction toy from the female perspective, we aim to disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers.

We believe there are a million girls out there who are engineers. They just might not know it yet. We think GoldieBlox can show them the way.”

In my opinion, GoldieBlox is an amazing opportunity for young girls to find out the engineer hidden in them.

Visit their site, www.goldieblox.com, to find out more.