I have always found it hard to write a paper and maybe thats why I chose to be an engineer. ( But thats a different story ) I never seem to be able to write the amount of pages necessary, not even the minimum. I am trying to find more information about Americans green path, but it seems as if Glades truly believes that we are doomed because we only have about two options. We either change our values and/or make companies responsible for making products that can be recycled, or we are doomed by our own goods. That is the reason why I believe America is headed to a disposable society! I decided to add a few comments to my paper concerning the fact that businesses have the mentality of screwing over their consumers in order to make money because they know the consumers will ultimately come back to them. It is sad to say that it is true, Americans prefer these disposable goods and see them as the best thing invented such as disposable razors and nylon pantyhose.
I also want to write about how Americans can not escape advertisement no matter where they are. It is all around us and there are some people who can not hear or see an ad without being sucked into it. It is sad to see that Americans have become so materialistic. Finally I want to add the point that America's electronic waste does not just hurt Americans but the whole world as well. We ship our garbage to other countries illegally and these countries scrap whatever they can with disregard for their well being. America was founded on better values and ideas and the time for change is now. America went through an industrial revolution in the 1800's but it must go through another industrial change as well, to limit its e-waste in order to save this plant. It is pretty ironic how we develop new technology to better mankind such as the invention of miniaturization, but it is this type of invention that is creating our downfall. So are we really advancing in technology, because what many see is the end of clean air and water.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Current Event ( Google Street View )
The topic of Google Street View is not uncommon in our class room. We have seen actual live feed of a street in class and debated the many pros and cons of this application Google puts in our hands. Some people do not feel comfortable with strangers being able to go to a computer and see their house whenever they wish. Sure Google is very respectful when a person expresses their desire to be removed for the application, but what should someone do when they see their personal belongings being exposed online? A few days ago a Japanese woman has taken matters into her own hands by suing Google for the application Google Street View which displayed her underwear. People might think that she is overreacting but who can argue with the woman when she stated, "I was overwhelmed with anxiety that I might be the target of a sex crime. It caused me to lose my job, and I had to change my residence." ( http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20026101-71.html )
The woman suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and the revealing of her underwear made her feel that Google was following her every movement. Many people are going out of their way to tell Google to obscure them from the application, but it becomes a hassle now that you can not do anything without it ending up on the Internet. Google Street View may have its pros and cons for example when a burglary happens and the suspect is caught thanks to the application, but what happens when innocent civilians are being hurt and damaged emotionally by it?
In today's society however, no one really knows truly if this woman was serious harmed by the website or is just to make a quick buck. She is demanding 7,000 dollars and it seems strange that Google has not paid the woman to end this quarrel. Google is currently looking into the situation but why shouldn't they bring up the claim that the woman was drying her clothes in the public so what difference does it make if it was put online. If the woman was truly self conscious about her underwear why would she put them in the public? Google should just check their information, pictures, and videos before putting out there in the public to prevent these problems from arising ever again.
The woman suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and the revealing of her underwear made her feel that Google was following her every movement. Many people are going out of their way to tell Google to obscure them from the application, but it becomes a hassle now that you can not do anything without it ending up on the Internet. Google Street View may have its pros and cons for example when a burglary happens and the suspect is caught thanks to the application, but what happens when innocent civilians are being hurt and damaged emotionally by it?
In today's society however, no one really knows truly if this woman was serious harmed by the website or is just to make a quick buck. She is demanding 7,000 dollars and it seems strange that Google has not paid the woman to end this quarrel. Google is currently looking into the situation but why shouldn't they bring up the claim that the woman was drying her clothes in the public so what difference does it make if it was put online. If the woman was truly self conscious about her underwear why would she put them in the public? Google should just check their information, pictures, and videos before putting out there in the public to prevent these problems from arising ever again.
Current Event ( Wiki Leaks )
I have never seen such a dispute over a website than I have for WikiLeaks. Whether you are a support or not of WikiLeaks, there is no hiding the fact that WikiLeaks can potentially change the world as we know it. WikiLeaks is a website that calls its self defender of information freedom. It posts up secret information ranging from government policies to corporate policies. The point is that this website puts up information that is not meant for the public to read. Recently WikiLeaks has been playing Internet hopscotch jumping from site to site due to the fact that many other website have been closing the door to WikiLeaks. For example, WikiLeaks takes donations from its fans to keep the site up and running, but one form of its donations was closed down when PayPal closed their account. According to PayPal WikiLeaks does not obey their terms and policies.
I personally think WikiLeaks has not broken and government rules and should fight actions such as PayPal's in court if necessary. We all have the right to freedom of speech so why cant a group of people create a website and do so. If the government has nothing to hide than this should not cause so much alarm, but the fact that WikiLeaks releases confidential articles about companies causes much uproar in America. The economy is something that no one nor website can interfere with and the government will do everything it needs to in order to halt WikiLeaks. This goes to show that money is the most important thing in America.
WikiLeaks will go nowhere, due to the fact it has hundreds of mirror links. Hackers recently halted credit card transactions the other day and no one knows for sure if the reason was because of the heat brought upon WikiLeaks. But if these hackers can halt such an important aspect in Americas economy, what else can they do? Millions of people are screwed once they cant use their credit cards, so maybe we should all open our eyes and see that this website and maybe more to come mean business.
I personally think WikiLeaks has not broken and government rules and should fight actions such as PayPal's in court if necessary. We all have the right to freedom of speech so why cant a group of people create a website and do so. If the government has nothing to hide than this should not cause so much alarm, but the fact that WikiLeaks releases confidential articles about companies causes much uproar in America. The economy is something that no one nor website can interfere with and the government will do everything it needs to in order to halt WikiLeaks. This goes to show that money is the most important thing in America.
WikiLeaks will go nowhere, due to the fact it has hundreds of mirror links. Hackers recently halted credit card transactions the other day and no one knows for sure if the reason was because of the heat brought upon WikiLeaks. But if these hackers can halt such an important aspect in Americas economy, what else can they do? Millions of people are screwed once they cant use their credit cards, so maybe we should all open our eyes and see that this website and maybe more to come mean business.
Final Assignment ( First Blog )
I chose to write about the question concerning Giles Slades. I personally enjoyed reading Made to Break a lot more than Technopoly. Made to break brings to the table many questions I think are important for Americans to address. I will start to answer the question whether America is moving towards a green movement or more of a disposable society by weighing which one of these paths Slades thinks attracts more Americans. Glades seems to feel that Americans would not like to change the society they are so used to because it benefits many. These people benefiting are of course those who love having what is new in the market and business that sell cheap durable goods. Next I want to write about all the things that make America become a disposable society beginning with the different types of obsolescence and an example of how the invention of a product can have devastating effects in society.
I want to analyze in specific the effects of obsolescence but I do not want to write about cars, because although it has certain obsolescence aspects, I feel more people can relate to a cellphone. A cellphone can be owned by anyone and many people can relate to either having a cheap phone breaking or a new model being released that makes your current one "trash." Glades does a great job of adding statistics such as the number of cellphones being thrown out a year which is adding to the e-waste America has. Then I plan on writing on why it is so difficult for Americans to leave their throw away ethic and become more responsible about what is happening due to their current culture and values. They are destroying the world they live in.
Finally I would like to address why America can not transition to a more green path so easily and fast. Glades talks about the lack of education of consumers and unwillingness of companies to change their business ways. The economy is very important and it is something that no business company wants to change, especially knowing they might lose money. There are a few key ideas on how to take baby steps towards going green, but these are only a few ideas that do not seem to radically fix the existing problem Americans face of building structures of waste.
I want to analyze in specific the effects of obsolescence but I do not want to write about cars, because although it has certain obsolescence aspects, I feel more people can relate to a cellphone. A cellphone can be owned by anyone and many people can relate to either having a cheap phone breaking or a new model being released that makes your current one "trash." Glades does a great job of adding statistics such as the number of cellphones being thrown out a year which is adding to the e-waste America has. Then I plan on writing on why it is so difficult for Americans to leave their throw away ethic and become more responsible about what is happening due to their current culture and values. They are destroying the world they live in.
Finally I would like to address why America can not transition to a more green path so easily and fast. Glades talks about the lack of education of consumers and unwillingness of companies to change their business ways. The economy is very important and it is something that no business company wants to change, especially knowing they might lose money. There are a few key ideas on how to take baby steps towards going green, but these are only a few ideas that do not seem to radically fix the existing problem Americans face of building structures of waste.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Solo Current Event Presentation
Do Americans really have the freedom of speech? If we truly have freedom of speech, should the website WikiLeaks be dubbed a terrorist group for making information accessible to the public? Recently PayPal has canceled WikiLeaks account due to the fact that the "service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity." I personally do not feel that WikiLeaks is doing anything illegal and they should continue to reveal information to the public as long as no lives are put in danger. I am not the only one that feels this way, when I raised the question whether WikiLeaks was either a terrorist organization or defender of freedom information, majority thought it was a defender of freedom.
If the government has nothing to hide then what is the big deal? Yet again WikiLeaks is leaking information that is not benefiting certain corporations and no one can mess with commerce it seems like. WikiLeaks seems to be growing all around the world and with all its mirror websites, I do not think it is possible for the government to completely shut down the website. WikiLeaks is revealing documents and articles that compromise what we should and should not know about our world, if you ask me they are doing all of us favor and informing us of what is truly going on. In a way WikiLeaks is making the world transparent for all of us to see!
Some government officials are trying to censor what we can say and with whom we share this information with. It is clear however, that with the wide range of technology, a website can play hopscotch and keep its business running. Technology in this case is both a pro and con, because it is helping to distribute information on a world wide scale.
(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20024649-38.html?tag=mncol;8n)
If the government has nothing to hide then what is the big deal? Yet again WikiLeaks is leaking information that is not benefiting certain corporations and no one can mess with commerce it seems like. WikiLeaks seems to be growing all around the world and with all its mirror websites, I do not think it is possible for the government to completely shut down the website. WikiLeaks is revealing documents and articles that compromise what we should and should not know about our world, if you ask me they are doing all of us favor and informing us of what is truly going on. In a way WikiLeaks is making the world transparent for all of us to see!
Some government officials are trying to censor what we can say and with whom we share this information with. It is clear however, that with the wide range of technology, a website can play hopscotch and keep its business running. Technology in this case is both a pro and con, because it is helping to distribute information on a world wide scale.
(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20024649-38.html?tag=mncol;8n)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Facebook Effect ( Third Blog )
Mark Zuckerberg is always a man thinking of the future, always trying to "imagine how his little service could be more than just an internet destination." ( pg 216 ) As if Facebook wasn't a big social network already, Zuckerberg decided to make his website into a platform, a website in which applications would be created for users to use as they wish. The never ending goals of Zuckerberg have caused "both technologists and ordinary users to sense that this service was more than they'd reckoned." ( pg 226 ) The whole notion of making Facebook into more than just a website has in a sense created Facebook into the web itself with all its users and applications pouring in daily.
Facebook has become such an important aspect in most people's life that it has become a norm to log on Facebook. The success of Zuckerberg's website has transformed him into a "rock star now." ( pg 274 ) To be quite honest Mark deserves all the praise he gets. He set himself to create the best social network and he is dominating the web and his globalization is opening even more doors. Zuckerberg's website "opens you to a lot more people in a lot more contexts than you would have been before." ( pg 278 ) Facebook has remained for the people, " a way to assert one's right to be oneself", just as Zuckerberg intends it to be. ( pg 281 ) What separates Mark's success from the rest is that to him growth is primary and revenue is secondary.
Facebook is not only changing itself, but it is also radically changing our institutions and way of life. To many Facebook is making the world a more transparent place. When Facebook users wish to express themselves they turn to the website for an outlet, "Facebook has now become one of the first places dissatisfied people worldwide take their gripes, activism, and protests." ( pg 290 ) People can now voice themselves online in masses and try to make their voices heard. Facebook already plays a huge role in government campaigns, as our current President Barrack Obama demonstrated during his campaign. Facebook seems to be along the path to completely dominate our lives in one way or another, whether we like it or not.
Facebook has become such an important aspect in most people's life that it has become a norm to log on Facebook. The success of Zuckerberg's website has transformed him into a "rock star now." ( pg 274 ) To be quite honest Mark deserves all the praise he gets. He set himself to create the best social network and he is dominating the web and his globalization is opening even more doors. Zuckerberg's website "opens you to a lot more people in a lot more contexts than you would have been before." ( pg 278 ) Facebook has remained for the people, " a way to assert one's right to be oneself", just as Zuckerberg intends it to be. ( pg 281 ) What separates Mark's success from the rest is that to him growth is primary and revenue is secondary.
Facebook is not only changing itself, but it is also radically changing our institutions and way of life. To many Facebook is making the world a more transparent place. When Facebook users wish to express themselves they turn to the website for an outlet, "Facebook has now become one of the first places dissatisfied people worldwide take their gripes, activism, and protests." ( pg 290 ) People can now voice themselves online in masses and try to make their voices heard. Facebook already plays a huge role in government campaigns, as our current President Barrack Obama demonstrated during his campaign. Facebook seems to be along the path to completely dominate our lives in one way or another, whether we like it or not.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Facebook Effect ( Second Blog )
What made the Facebook so successful when its predecessors failed one by one? The bottom line was that Mark Zuckerberg's "central thought was that kids have a deep-seated desire to have certain kinds of social interaction in college and that's what drives them is their extreme interest in their friends." ( pg 107 ) From the very beginning Mark was all about freedom for his website, no matter how big is company became. After becoming a million dollar company and having millions of users, Mark knew he had to allow investors to invest. Facebook's first evaluation was a little less than 98 million dollars compared to Google's 75 million dollar's. Now that money was no longer an obstacle for Mark he had to transform his company into a business and himself into a CEO.
Hiring was never an easy thing for Facebook, but yet again who would want to work for a twenty year old CEO with no experience and an invention considered a fad by many. Steve Chen for example "went ahead and left to start YouTube." ( pg 129 ) Zuckerberg was new to all of this and bought himself a diary to jot all his ideas down. The diary was named The Book of Change and "it revealed in detail where he was hoping to take his company." ( pg 135 ) Mark then took another step towards becoming a CEO by shadowing Don Graham, CEO of the Washington Post. All though Mark was new to all of this, he knew no matter what Facebook was going to forever be for the people. For example the creation of the News Feed wall on Facebook caused major disputes that people did not want their information distributed so easily and to everyone. Mark being an intelligent man tweaked a few privacy settings and quieted the rioters.
The whole notion of privacy settings is a completely different topic on its own. Facebook deals with users trying to create fake profiles of celebrities or even friends on a daily basis. Mark tries to install the idea that Facebook users should "have on identity" no matter what. ( pg 199 ) But Facebook itself has faults in its program. Their are some users that try to create an account but the system does not allow them to create it due to the fact that their name is a single letter for example. However, users must be aware that these privacy settings are created to ensure no hoax profiles. At the end of the day Mark is both a villain and hero for his privacy settings on Facebook, its up to the user to decide which he is.
Hiring was never an easy thing for Facebook, but yet again who would want to work for a twenty year old CEO with no experience and an invention considered a fad by many. Steve Chen for example "went ahead and left to start YouTube." ( pg 129 ) Zuckerberg was new to all of this and bought himself a diary to jot all his ideas down. The diary was named The Book of Change and "it revealed in detail where he was hoping to take his company." ( pg 135 ) Mark then took another step towards becoming a CEO by shadowing Don Graham, CEO of the Washington Post. All though Mark was new to all of this, he knew no matter what Facebook was going to forever be for the people. For example the creation of the News Feed wall on Facebook caused major disputes that people did not want their information distributed so easily and to everyone. Mark being an intelligent man tweaked a few privacy settings and quieted the rioters.
The whole notion of privacy settings is a completely different topic on its own. Facebook deals with users trying to create fake profiles of celebrities or even friends on a daily basis. Mark tries to install the idea that Facebook users should "have on identity" no matter what. ( pg 199 ) But Facebook itself has faults in its program. Their are some users that try to create an account but the system does not allow them to create it due to the fact that their name is a single letter for example. However, users must be aware that these privacy settings are created to ensure no hoax profiles. At the end of the day Mark is both a villain and hero for his privacy settings on Facebook, its up to the user to decide which he is.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Midterm Blog
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that offers information to every ones fingertips. People must be aware however, that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia created by people like you and me. Sure there are respectable people offering accurate information from a field, but some information is malicious and incorrect. Wikipedia should not be used as a scholarly source, for the fact that anyone can create or edit a wiki article. Instead the website should be used as a background check for certain topics. Once someone has a general idea on a topic thanks to Wikipedia they should use a more scholarly source to make sure all the facts are correct. It is truly amazing that a non famous person can contribute to society's knowledge, but not everyone has the same intention of creating a bigger circle of knowledge.
The technology we have today allows us in a sense to change or alter truth. There have been numerous accounts of Wikipedia users declaring the death of a person and editing that persons Wikipedia article. Someone who doesn't follow up on the life of this person regularly might stumble upon this information and take it as reliable and site it. The ease of altering reality whether for fun or malicious reasons, creates a bad image for our generation. We have so much technology that we should harness its power to better society rather than fool around with it. This project has reassured my reasoning that Wikipedia can not be taken as one hundred percent accurate. At times the website does tend to leave out information for whatever reason, so anyone using the website for facts should always double check the references.
The technology we have today allows us in a sense to change or alter truth. There have been numerous accounts of Wikipedia users declaring the death of a person and editing that persons Wikipedia article. Someone who doesn't follow up on the life of this person regularly might stumble upon this information and take it as reliable and site it. The ease of altering reality whether for fun or malicious reasons, creates a bad image for our generation. We have so much technology that we should harness its power to better society rather than fool around with it. This project has reassured my reasoning that Wikipedia can not be taken as one hundred percent accurate. At times the website does tend to leave out information for whatever reason, so anyone using the website for facts should always double check the references.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The Facebook Effect ( First Blog )
Majority of Americans either know about Facebook or are on it. Many of us are joined Facebook for its social features, but some people over the years have learned how to use Facebook as a "constructive or destructive force." ( pg 8 ) One of the best examples of its constructive force would be what Oscar Morales did in Colombia. Oscar harnessed the power of Facebook to create a group against FARC, a guerrilla group that terrorizes Colombia. The groups sole purpose for Morales was to "express my anger" as he states, "it was like therapy." ( pg 2 ) Soon Facebook became a political tool, where millions of fans could join the group against FARC and express their disgust without fear. This simple Facebook group had the power to construct massive protest groups around the world to go against something wrong in society.
Some people however don't realize that Facebook is also a destructive power. A lot of members of Facebook allow it to substitute face to face communication. Facebook was created to "make it so people could get access to information about anyone, and anyone could share anything that they wanted to." ( pg 29 ) Facebook should be a stepping stone for relations! Facebook allows its members to access information in a variety of ways ranging from its News Feed to its Poke feature. Most of Facebook features came about from previous social networks such as AIM and its away messages. Making Facebook easy and fast for the people caused it to survive and eventually spread to colleges all over the nation.
Since Facebook was not the first social network created it brought along with it legal issues. It seemed as if "whenever I do something successful, every capitalist out there wants a piece of the action." ( pg 83 ) This phrase was more than true when Cameron, Tyler and Divya creators of another social network accused Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, for stealing their ideas. Both parties agreed on settlement and Facebook today seems to have "lasting cultural value that could take over the world." ( pg 47 ) Lets just hope everyone uses it in a constructive force.
Some people however don't realize that Facebook is also a destructive power. A lot of members of Facebook allow it to substitute face to face communication. Facebook was created to "make it so people could get access to information about anyone, and anyone could share anything that they wanted to." ( pg 29 ) Facebook should be a stepping stone for relations! Facebook allows its members to access information in a variety of ways ranging from its News Feed to its Poke feature. Most of Facebook features came about from previous social networks such as AIM and its away messages. Making Facebook easy and fast for the people caused it to survive and eventually spread to colleges all over the nation.
Since Facebook was not the first social network created it brought along with it legal issues. It seemed as if "whenever I do something successful, every capitalist out there wants a piece of the action." ( pg 83 ) This phrase was more than true when Cameron, Tyler and Divya creators of another social network accused Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, for stealing their ideas. Both parties agreed on settlement and Facebook today seems to have "lasting cultural value that could take over the world." ( pg 47 ) Lets just hope everyone uses it in a constructive force.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Made To Break ( Third Blog )
Electronic waste is spinning out of control, especially in America. Landfills can no longer contain all the waste Americas dispose of, but is it really waste? Working devices are being thrown away especially cell phones. The reason is that companies keep producing new models and "modern consumers tend to value whatever is new and original over what is old, traditional, durable or used." ( pg 265 ) Advertising companies are not the only people to blame, some Americans have what is termed neophilia. There are three types of neophilians that contribute to E-waste, pristine, trailblazing, and fashion neophilians. Pristine's are obsessed with what is new, trailblazers always want the newest technology, and finally fashion fanatics speak for themselves. These three groups give rise to what is known as a social cascade, where Americans tend to follow what others do. Soon a domino effect occurs and we are all throwing away our "waste" to replace it with what is accepted by society, something "new." Such a pattern "renders the term obsolescence itself obsolete." ( pg 265 )
The never ending advancement in technology is rendering obsolete their immediate predecessor. If we look at slide rulers "death", it came due to the invention of the handheld calculator. Once a new invention is created that offers speed and accuracy companies can not afford to stay behind. For example, the creation of the first four function calculator "the M-27 manufacturer was Fristo, Denner, and Pape, a company that produced slide rulers." ( pg 202 ) The company new that the future would lay in calculators and no longer in slide rulers. The invention of calculators also brought the obsolescence of the skill set that older generation engineers possessed. A line was drawn out between old engineers who wanted to keep the skills they possessed such as using a slide ruler rather than the new engineers that took for advantage the simplicity of the calculator.
Miniaturization and the short life span of goods is creating the E-waste problem. Durability comes from psychological and technical obsolescence. These new models that seem as necessary are nothing more than companies attempts to extract money from its consumers. A change in color does nothing for a cell phone and its time that Americans notice that. We are polluting our air and water, at the cost of a product that is created by companies to break down in a few months? Americans might one day believe that "marriages are throw away items as well and...on a global scale countries and indeed subcontinents are disposable like Kleenex." ( pg 228 )
The never ending advancement in technology is rendering obsolete their immediate predecessor. If we look at slide rulers "death", it came due to the invention of the handheld calculator. Once a new invention is created that offers speed and accuracy companies can not afford to stay behind. For example, the creation of the first four function calculator "the M-27 manufacturer was Fristo, Denner, and Pape, a company that produced slide rulers." ( pg 202 ) The company new that the future would lay in calculators and no longer in slide rulers. The invention of calculators also brought the obsolescence of the skill set that older generation engineers possessed. A line was drawn out between old engineers who wanted to keep the skills they possessed such as using a slide ruler rather than the new engineers that took for advantage the simplicity of the calculator.
Miniaturization and the short life span of goods is creating the E-waste problem. Durability comes from psychological and technical obsolescence. These new models that seem as necessary are nothing more than companies attempts to extract money from its consumers. A change in color does nothing for a cell phone and its time that Americans notice that. We are polluting our air and water, at the cost of a product that is created by companies to break down in a few months? Americans might one day believe that "marriages are throw away items as well and...on a global scale countries and indeed subcontinents are disposable like Kleenex." ( pg 228 )
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Made To Break ( Second Blog )
It should forever be known that just about every single technological innovation will become obsolete as we progress into the future. The advancement of technology makes our dreams a reality the next day. The radio was once the only way reach massive audiences, but the "elimination of static and permitted realistic, high-fidelity radio broadcasting" along with the replacement of "vacuum tubes and wire circuitry with transistors" created the Television. ( pg 84 ) Just as the radio replaced the phonograph, the television nearly replaced the radio completely. Luckily for the radio, FM broadcasting was perfected and it played a crucial war during World War II, nicknamed the first electronic war.
Although obsolescence plays a role in technology it also played a role in the suburban obsolescence. After the war many veteran soldiers came back to America homeless. The idea that old techniques and styles of housing needed updating became clear in places such as in Atlanta when, "2,000 people answered an advertisement for one vacancy." ( pg 129 ) The living standard of the past became obsolete when the Federal Housing Administration recommended national space, safety, and construction standards. What difference would these new improvements in housing make, if science threatened to obliterate mankind entirely? The the invention of the atomic bomb scared the crap out of many people especially Norman Cousins, who published the so called Modern Man is Obsolete. Its very interesting to see how the advancement of technology and science made other technology obsolete but at the same time could potentially make mankind obsolete.
I guess mankind forgot about the notion of "Better Living...Through Chemistry." ( pg 124) America used this notion to free themselves from Japan's silk grip and create their own synthetic silk known as nylon. But nowadays the notion seems to be purposely design a product for failure and "introduce something that will make those products old fashioned, out of date, obsolete" for money! ( pg 153 )Where does better living come into play there?
Although obsolescence plays a role in technology it also played a role in the suburban obsolescence. After the war many veteran soldiers came back to America homeless. The idea that old techniques and styles of housing needed updating became clear in places such as in Atlanta when, "2,000 people answered an advertisement for one vacancy." ( pg 129 ) The living standard of the past became obsolete when the Federal Housing Administration recommended national space, safety, and construction standards. What difference would these new improvements in housing make, if science threatened to obliterate mankind entirely? The the invention of the atomic bomb scared the crap out of many people especially Norman Cousins, who published the so called Modern Man is Obsolete. Its very interesting to see how the advancement of technology and science made other technology obsolete but at the same time could potentially make mankind obsolete.
I guess mankind forgot about the notion of "Better Living...Through Chemistry." ( pg 124) America used this notion to free themselves from Japan's silk grip and create their own synthetic silk known as nylon. But nowadays the notion seems to be purposely design a product for failure and "introduce something that will make those products old fashioned, out of date, obsolete" for money! ( pg 153 )Where does better living come into play there?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Made To Break ( First Blog )
When we look at the Egyptians pyramids we stare at amazing structures that have stood through generations. However, when people in the future look back at Americans structures will they stare at "pyramids of waste?" ( Giles Slade page 7 ) Americans don't have enough time and money to keep creating landfills to dump their electronic "trash". Many times though, the trash is actually equipment that still works. The only problem is that a new product is out in the market. The idea of disposability has infested itself in our minds and its the means of progress and change. Obsolescence is used to describe out of date consumer products and there are three types of obsolescence. These are technological, dynamic, and planned obsolescence.
Technological obsolescence occurs when a major technological invention takes places to make the successor no longer needed. One example is when the electric engine was created for a car. This type of obsolescence is very time consuming and expensive, so it happens every once in a while. Dynamic obsolescence to me is the most crucial type because it involves changing the style of a consumer product to make it marketable to consumers. It is amazing how changing the availability of a color can bring the downfall of an old product and the new product is a musts have. Finally planned obsolescence is the technique of making products cheaper and less durable to keep consumers buying.
No one could have predicted that people would become so dependent on materialistic products. " A few foresaw a world...in which the ever expanding taste for material goods and the theory of comparative advantage would keep us all running as fast as we could on a giant squirrel wheel." ( pg 9 ) New ethics were brought up in our society beginning with consumer goods such as Yankee watches. These dollar watches were only a dollar and even though damaged watches could be returned for a new one, consumers chose to throw away the item and buy a new one. The fact that the good was only a dollar beat the notion of returning the item and waiting several weeks for a new one. Society is still like this today, we buy cheap goods on a regular basis and wear them out. Once that occurs we throw away the good and replace it right away.
If we look at the war between Ford and General Motors people could see how "style could date cars more quickly and reliably than technology." ( pg 36 ) Henry Ford was more focused on traditional values of making consumer good durable. But he soon learned that General Motors and their " New and Improved" ideology would bring them success. General Motors changed the style of their Chevrolet by expanding their color options and making the car more fashionable for woman as well. General Motors and many companies goal is to "hasten obsolescence, in 1934 the average car ownership span was five years, now [1955] it is two years. When it is one year, we will have a perfect score." ( pg 45 ) The big picture is that these companies will use advertisement to make its consumers by their products no matter how cheaply they are made. Their success comes from the fact that we keep going back to them to buy their goods over and over again. Meanwhile we keep adding to the electronic trash that will soon become a pyramid.
Technological obsolescence occurs when a major technological invention takes places to make the successor no longer needed. One example is when the electric engine was created for a car. This type of obsolescence is very time consuming and expensive, so it happens every once in a while. Dynamic obsolescence to me is the most crucial type because it involves changing the style of a consumer product to make it marketable to consumers. It is amazing how changing the availability of a color can bring the downfall of an old product and the new product is a musts have. Finally planned obsolescence is the technique of making products cheaper and less durable to keep consumers buying.
No one could have predicted that people would become so dependent on materialistic products. " A few foresaw a world...in which the ever expanding taste for material goods and the theory of comparative advantage would keep us all running as fast as we could on a giant squirrel wheel." ( pg 9 ) New ethics were brought up in our society beginning with consumer goods such as Yankee watches. These dollar watches were only a dollar and even though damaged watches could be returned for a new one, consumers chose to throw away the item and buy a new one. The fact that the good was only a dollar beat the notion of returning the item and waiting several weeks for a new one. Society is still like this today, we buy cheap goods on a regular basis and wear them out. Once that occurs we throw away the good and replace it right away.
If we look at the war between Ford and General Motors people could see how "style could date cars more quickly and reliably than technology." ( pg 36 ) Henry Ford was more focused on traditional values of making consumer good durable. But he soon learned that General Motors and their " New and Improved" ideology would bring them success. General Motors changed the style of their Chevrolet by expanding their color options and making the car more fashionable for woman as well. General Motors and many companies goal is to "hasten obsolescence, in 1934 the average car ownership span was five years, now [1955] it is two years. When it is one year, we will have a perfect score." ( pg 45 ) The big picture is that these companies will use advertisement to make its consumers by their products no matter how cheaply they are made. Their success comes from the fact that we keep going back to them to buy their goods over and over again. Meanwhile we keep adding to the electronic trash that will soon become a pyramid.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The World and Wikipedia ( Second Blog )
Many of us enjoy Wikipedia because of its hassle free way to create an article in an online encyclopedia. There are many reasons why we love it, one of the reasons is because it creates a virtual nation. Knowledge is everywhere but some times people do not like to share their wealth on knowledge face to face. Thus Wikipedia serves as a virtual nation where "people can be as shy or anonymous as we like, and yet our work, good and bad is listed and others can explore." ( pg 120 ) Wikipedia lets us write about whatever we like. It is true that some work may become deleted because of its incorrectness or vandalism, but it creates an editing war that many enjoy. Many of us enjoy finding these old arguments on the talk pages, because even though pages may get deleted, "their shadows-the deletion discussions live on." ( pg 125 )
Wikipedia is a place where everyone is equal! No encyclopedia on paper would allow just anybody to create an article. Lord Emsworth for example, a Wikipedian wrote about the British peerage system. Many people followed his work, but what many people didn't know was that he was a 16 year old from New Jersey. As a society we enjoy talking about ourselves and Wikipedia allows just that! A debate however arises, that people should not edit their own biog because in many instances people stretch or just simple lie about who they really are. This discredits Wikipedia as a legit encyclopedia. If their is an error or vandalism on your page, then correct it but any that is a matter of interpretation should be left untouched.There are good reasons why not to trust wikipedia, among these reasons are we don't know why or on what grounds people make the edits they do.
"You can't trust Wikipedia when its facts are footnoted because the source is usually Wikipedia." ( pg 180 ) We will all use Wikipedia one day or another and that's because the internet in a way is throwing it in our faces. Google search engines bring up Wikipedia sites tops on its list. Well known editors and respected people are starting to cite Wikipedia and contribute to it to create a circle of knowledge.
Wikipedia is a place where everyone is equal! No encyclopedia on paper would allow just anybody to create an article. Lord Emsworth for example, a Wikipedian wrote about the British peerage system. Many people followed his work, but what many people didn't know was that he was a 16 year old from New Jersey. As a society we enjoy talking about ourselves and Wikipedia allows just that! A debate however arises, that people should not edit their own biog because in many instances people stretch or just simple lie about who they really are. This discredits Wikipedia as a legit encyclopedia. If their is an error or vandalism on your page, then correct it but any that is a matter of interpretation should be left untouched.There are good reasons why not to trust wikipedia, among these reasons are we don't know why or on what grounds people make the edits they do.
"You can't trust Wikipedia when its facts are footnoted because the source is usually Wikipedia." ( pg 180 ) We will all use Wikipedia one day or another and that's because the internet in a way is throwing it in our faces. Google search engines bring up Wikipedia sites tops on its list. Well known editors and respected people are starting to cite Wikipedia and contribute to it to create a circle of knowledge.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The World and Wikipedia ( First Blog )
I'll admit I have used Wikipedia in high school to get a research paper done. However, Wikipedia has not been my first choice for background information, due to its "anyone can edit text feature". I have always gone to Google and searched a specific topic and no matter what I'm searching for, Wikipedia seems to have an article pertaining to it. It seems strange that Google always has links to Wikipedia top on its results list, but as stated in Andrew Dalby's The World and Wikipedia, "Wikipedia was the simplest way to ensure that the average Google results page look useful." ( pg 86) Yes Wikipedia is a very useful tool, but its users must realize that anyone can create or edit these articles and the information is not always correct. I feel that Wikipedia has the potential to be an immensely useful tool if everyone use it correctly, as a "circle of knowledge." ( pg 21 )
Encyclopedias have their origins thousands of years ago, thanks to Gaius Plinius Secundus. Secundus made notes of everything and spent every moment possible writing it down. The evolution of encyclopedias took off from there, but the problems were always the same. It was extremely difficult to revise encyclopedias make them up to date. A significant feature was added to encyclopedias, the ability to write and edit articles in Nupedia's ( an online encyclopedia written by experts ) supplementary site. This supplementary site became Wikipedia and it has brought along its benefits and dangers along.
Some Wikipedians "do alot of planting, while others prefer to pull a weed here and there." ( pg 52 ) These planters or editors create articles that hopefully benefit the circle of knowledge, but sadly that is not always the case. For example, John Seigenthaler was a man who, without knowing, had a wiki page. In this page, "he was thought to be involved in Kennedy's assassination." ( pg 58 ) John was outraged by these false accusations and tried to find the culprit, but on what counts can the culprit be charged with. Wikipedia like many other websites has brought drama along. In a weird turn of events, a wiki page was created for the hoaxer and labeled 'Wikipedia hoaxer.' Wikipedia itself turned into a medium of punishment and harassment for the hoaxer who was just messing around. This technology such as self created encyclopedia, is allowing the world to edit reality. "The best feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it. The worst feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it." ( pg 50 ) The good and bad always come hand in hand.
Encyclopedias have their origins thousands of years ago, thanks to Gaius Plinius Secundus. Secundus made notes of everything and spent every moment possible writing it down. The evolution of encyclopedias took off from there, but the problems were always the same. It was extremely difficult to revise encyclopedias make them up to date. A significant feature was added to encyclopedias, the ability to write and edit articles in Nupedia's ( an online encyclopedia written by experts ) supplementary site. This supplementary site became Wikipedia and it has brought along its benefits and dangers along.
Some Wikipedians "do alot of planting, while others prefer to pull a weed here and there." ( pg 52 ) These planters or editors create articles that hopefully benefit the circle of knowledge, but sadly that is not always the case. For example, John Seigenthaler was a man who, without knowing, had a wiki page. In this page, "he was thought to be involved in Kennedy's assassination." ( pg 58 ) John was outraged by these false accusations and tried to find the culprit, but on what counts can the culprit be charged with. Wikipedia like many other websites has brought drama along. In a weird turn of events, a wiki page was created for the hoaxer and labeled 'Wikipedia hoaxer.' Wikipedia itself turned into a medium of punishment and harassment for the hoaxer who was just messing around. This technology such as self created encyclopedia, is allowing the world to edit reality. "The best feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it. The worst feature of the site is that anyone can edit virtually anything contained on it." ( pg 50 ) The good and bad always come hand in hand.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Technopoly ( Second Blog )
It seems nowadays that the only form of knowledge has official status when conducted by experts and experiments. We use technology to give us data, but information given by a computer in today's society for example is "equivalent to God's will." ( Postman pg 115 ) If we take a look at doctors, their whole role has changed due to technology. Why has their role changed? Simple, American medicine was attracted to new technology. At first doctors used observation and direct communication to figure out what was wrong with a patient. But the invention of the stethoscope, a machine, that bond between doctor and patient was broken. From there on, the invention of new technology has caused Americans to demand CAT scans for headaches and doctors have given in to these to avoid being seen as incompetent.
If we look at computers, they have had a bigger impact. Computers seem to have no boundaries, it has come to the point that people compare us to machines. The only difference is that "we are thinking machines." ( pg 111 ) I personally think that we are nothing like machines, we have the ability to feel emotions and understand, as where a computer cant. America is most definitely a Technopoly and looking at how we act towards computers its no shock. When a computer gets infected with a virus, we try to make it healthy again so it can perform well. The computer starts to sound more and more like a human being. Society needs to step back and realize that we can live without technology and that it is just machinery!
Technopoly has seriously damaged the significance of symbols in America. Symbols are very important because they "function like machines in creating new mind-sets and therefore new conceptions of reality." ( pg 128 ) Symbols are inexhaustible, but the more frequent they become used they lose meaning. Technology, especially advertisement has made a ridicule of commemoration days such as Martin Luther King and others, which is used for furniture sale days. Advertisement isn't to be blamed however, technology is. Humans need to become a loving resistance fighter, as Postman puts it. To become this, "keep close to your heart narratives and symbols that made the U.S. the hope of the world." Always remember the symbols such as the Statue of Liberty as the symbols of freedom and hope. Reject efficiency as the goal to life and remember that technology is something that should never become natural to us!
If we look at computers, they have had a bigger impact. Computers seem to have no boundaries, it has come to the point that people compare us to machines. The only difference is that "we are thinking machines." ( pg 111 ) I personally think that we are nothing like machines, we have the ability to feel emotions and understand, as where a computer cant. America is most definitely a Technopoly and looking at how we act towards computers its no shock. When a computer gets infected with a virus, we try to make it healthy again so it can perform well. The computer starts to sound more and more like a human being. Society needs to step back and realize that we can live without technology and that it is just machinery!
Technopoly has seriously damaged the significance of symbols in America. Symbols are very important because they "function like machines in creating new mind-sets and therefore new conceptions of reality." ( pg 128 ) Symbols are inexhaustible, but the more frequent they become used they lose meaning. Technology, especially advertisement has made a ridicule of commemoration days such as Martin Luther King and others, which is used for furniture sale days. Advertisement isn't to be blamed however, technology is. Humans need to become a loving resistance fighter, as Postman puts it. To become this, "keep close to your heart narratives and symbols that made the U.S. the hope of the world." Always remember the symbols such as the Statue of Liberty as the symbols of freedom and hope. Reject efficiency as the goal to life and remember that technology is something that should never become natural to us!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Technopoly ( First Blog )
Many people in today's society think along the same lines as Thamus, the king of a great of Upper Egypt that "technological innovation has a one sided effect." ( Postman pg 4 ) The truth is that technology is good and bad, always both, however it just depends on how humans decide to use it. The problem with technology is that society is surrendering everything to it. It is becoming a religion for many people, in which the only way to move forward into the future is to accept technology or get left behind. For example if we look at the invention of the mechanical clock, it was created for monasteries. At first it served as "the technology that could provide precision to these rituals of devotion." ( pg 14 ) Soon this clock turned devotion from God, to the devotion for money. The clock became used for working hours and capitalism.
According to Postman their are three types of cultures, tool using culture, technocracies, and technopolies. Basically in tool using cultures tools were integrated into their society, at times some tools were not introduced such as the submarine because of the fear that it would not be accepted in God's eyes. In technocracies, tools attacked the culture, such as Galileo's idea that the sun did not move around earth but the earth moved around the sun. In scriptures it was said that the earth was in the center of the universe and everything revolved around it. But once inventions as the telescope came to existence, it brought along new ideas, many which went against Gods word. Finally a Technopoly is "totalitarian technocracy." ( pg 48 )
The technocracy culture was a very important step because it was the start to the separation between moral and intellectual values. Science can explain many questions humans have, but not all of them such as why are we here ,so religion still sticks around. However, technopolies are rushing massive amounts of information that is not being controlled by anyone. It is true that cultures suffer from a lack of information, but too much information "information without meaning, information without control mechanisms," only makes the information we have useless!
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Life Story of a Technology ( Second Blog )
Technology is everywhere! There is no way to escape it, especially here at college. Everyone is either on a desktop or laptop socializing or getting work done. Personal computers are so important that "Time Magazine also noticed the importance of the microcomputer when they chose the PC as their Man of the Year for 1982, the only time they chose a machine for an honor that usually went to important international leaders." ( Swedin and Ferro pg 96 ) PC's in my mind are the only machines that have single handedly revolutionized the world again and again. The invention of a personal computer itself is an amazing feature, but that fact that it can be used to communicate with others to create a cyber community seems fiction. To many people the computer and internet is considered a "norm", but it was not always like this.
The first personal computers created only did commands by the user actually typing in the extremely tedious command prompts. Once that was resolved by Graphic User Interface, more problems arose due to lack of memory and speed. Gradually the PC became what it is today thanks to better technology in microprocessors and software. Programs such as Visicalc, the first spreadsheet program "that was so successful it drove people to go purchase the Apple II", made the PC a business machine. ( pg 32 ) The creation of search engines, have made computers a powerful tool when it comes to research. Using engines such as Google has become such a norm to people that, "the success of Google became apparent as a new meaning to the word rapidly emerged, its use as a transitive verb, as in she googled the information." ( pg 130 ) What people fail to realize is the dependency humans have to technology!
The fact that we incorporate the name of a search engine as a verb is proof in itself. I know I have used that phrase when I mean search some information. Another example would be social networking. Some people can not live without going on Facebook, Twitter, or other social websites. These websites have in a way have brought people closer together since the telephone. Some people feel more comfortable going online and talking to a person through Facebook chat that actually talking to them in person. We as humans have incorporated technology into our lives, being a pro and con at the same time. Ultimately, I do not feel that humans have a choice, you either acknowledge the technology around you and become a part of it, or get left behind as technology leads us into the future.
The first personal computers created only did commands by the user actually typing in the extremely tedious command prompts. Once that was resolved by Graphic User Interface, more problems arose due to lack of memory and speed. Gradually the PC became what it is today thanks to better technology in microprocessors and software. Programs such as Visicalc, the first spreadsheet program "that was so successful it drove people to go purchase the Apple II", made the PC a business machine. ( pg 32 ) The creation of search engines, have made computers a powerful tool when it comes to research. Using engines such as Google has become such a norm to people that, "the success of Google became apparent as a new meaning to the word rapidly emerged, its use as a transitive verb, as in she googled the information." ( pg 130 ) What people fail to realize is the dependency humans have to technology!
The fact that we incorporate the name of a search engine as a verb is proof in itself. I know I have used that phrase when I mean search some information. Another example would be social networking. Some people can not live without going on Facebook, Twitter, or other social websites. These websites have in a way have brought people closer together since the telephone. Some people feel more comfortable going online and talking to a person through Facebook chat that actually talking to them in person. We as humans have incorporated technology into our lives, being a pro and con at the same time. Ultimately, I do not feel that humans have a choice, you either acknowledge the technology around you and become a part of it, or get left behind as technology leads us into the future.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
TFLN
I haven't attended many Rutgers programs, but I'm glad I went to this one. The event plain and simple was funny and relaxing. The two creators Lauren Leto and Ben Bator made the experience better by being laid back and open minded about certain questions they were asked. They definitely tried their best to get the audience involved by asking them if anyone submitted a text to their website. Obviously no one wanted to participate, but eventually one person shared his text to the audience. ( Even if I did submit texts to the website my mouth would have kept shut LOL ) I find it amazing how they used technology to make a profiting company out of a blog that they created! They started off with a blog filled with hilarious texts from their friends that they shared with each other and before you knew it, it took off. That goes to show you that technology can turn a simple investment into a multi-million or even billion dollar company. Technology opens a window for entrepreneurs or even people just doing something funny, like Lauren and Beto's creation of Text From Last Night.
One important thing that the creators mentioned a few times was that their websites success comes directly because of us. All the ridiculous texts that we feed to the website keeps the website going. The best part of the program was when they showed everyone a ton of texts submitted to the website and we kinda chose which ones would be posted on the site. A few of them were hysterically funny, but they couldn't read the text themselves because it was inappropriate. ( A few texts were from Jersey so thats a cool thing ) Overall it was a good experience and I will keep an eye out more on their website and upcoming TV show.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Life Story of Technology ( pages 1-83 )
War brings out the worst in people, but it is a proven fact that it also brings out the best in people. Technology would not be where it is today if it was not for war. World War I, WWII, and The Cold War brought together some of the most brilliant minds all over the world to fix and invent technology, on an amazing scale in a short period of time. Yes it is true that technology advances as time goes on, but war accelerates technological advances astonishingly. To think that personal computers emerged from tally sticks and abacus's is unbelievable. By no means do I condone war, but advances have been achieved because of it. Ancient civilizations wanted a way to calculate the weather and their location at sea, but never did they envision their inventions setting the way for the computers we have today.
As time progresses humans need faster, cheaper, and more efficient ways to get things done. Starting from creating a numeric system to solving differential equations, the human mind is limited. Thus, computers came to existence! The fist declared digital computer was Atanasoff Berry Computer, a computer that was built in a basement that "could only add and subtract binary numbers, but the machine presaged the future." (Swedin and Ferro pg 27) From that moment MANY computers came to existence, whether they were created for business or government purposes is a thing of the past. Thanks to technology banks can process thousands of checks a day and airlines can book your flight in just minutes. However, technology as brought us weapons such as the atomic bomb and helped mankind reach outer space.
Technology will always be an important aspect of society because in a way it determines who is the superpower in the world. Technology is so important that Swedin and Ferro state "The greatest war in history, World War II, was fought on the battlefields and in the laboratory." (pg 47) Guns and soldiers have always played an important part in wars, but with the invention of smarter and faster computers thanks to technology thousands of lives can be spared. Who knows maybe one day Artificial Intelligence will succeed and machines can be used to do human tasks. I am not a huge fan of AI, but I do feel that it is inevitable because mankind pushes the envelope. A few decades ago technology helped humans create machines that are the size of buildings, but the tasks that these machines did can now be done by a cellphone in your pocket. Who knows what technology is going to do next, but I am very eager to find out!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
First Blog Entry
Welcome to the world of Joel (well to my blog anyways). This is my first time creating a blog and to be quite honest, it is a little awkward. If it wasn't for this class I probably would have never even created a blog in the first place. I actually found it a bit difficult to create the blog at first, probably because I couldn't even remember my Gmail password (which is more my fault than the blog's fault). Thankfully, once I signed in things became a lot smoother. We'll see how interesting and fun blogging becomes, who knows I might even become hooked on it. To be fair I think I have a bigger chance of becoming a blogger if I actually blogged about topics of my interest and not homework (no offense to the class of course).
One of our first assignments besides creating a blog was creating a technology log. I was actually very surprised to see that I was able to go practically a whole weekend without using much technology. I used my laptop to go online Friday evening to do some math homework which took about four hours! But that's the price I get for being an engineer. Saturday was just about a technology free day to my surprise, I played soccer and hung out with friends. I used my phone to go online for about ten minutes but it was to check out my Gmail account and pay my term bill (which was paid late unfortunately, so there goes $125 for the late fee). The next day, I woke up today to check my Facebook and find the information needed to get this homework assignment done. My total technology log for this weekend was about 6 hours! Even though that does not seem like much, 6 hours is one fourth of an entire day!
On any school day however, I would probably go crazy if i didn't have my phone to go online and check my Gmail or Facebook. I normally use Facebook and the internet to help me survive class as sad as that sounds. Then after class I would use the rest of my day to do homework which always takes at least three hours. Quite simply I would die without being able to use the internet to make time go by on a normal basis.
One of our first assignments besides creating a blog was creating a technology log. I was actually very surprised to see that I was able to go practically a whole weekend without using much technology. I used my laptop to go online Friday evening to do some math homework which took about four hours! But that's the price I get for being an engineer. Saturday was just about a technology free day to my surprise, I played soccer and hung out with friends. I used my phone to go online for about ten minutes but it was to check out my Gmail account and pay my term bill (which was paid late unfortunately, so there goes $125 for the late fee). The next day, I woke up today to check my Facebook and find the information needed to get this homework assignment done. My total technology log for this weekend was about 6 hours! Even though that does not seem like much, 6 hours is one fourth of an entire day!
On any school day however, I would probably go crazy if i didn't have my phone to go online and check my Gmail or Facebook. I normally use Facebook and the internet to help me survive class as sad as that sounds. Then after class I would use the rest of my day to do homework which always takes at least three hours. Quite simply I would die without being able to use the internet to make time go by on a normal basis.
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