Chuckle Buddies

I was at the Dallas airport yesterday, hurrying to my connecting flight when I walked by a small toy store. I noticed there were two stuffed animals rolling around on the ground back and forth in front of the store laughing uncontrollably. I looked on the shelf displaying the animals and saw they were called Chuckle Buddies. This particular store was selling them for $19.99. I couldn't help but to smile when I saw them in motion. They were cute and interactive and their laughs are kind of contagious. After looking the item up on their website, I found out they are motion activated. There were only four different animals displayed on the site: a monkey, a lion, and two different dogs. The concept is owned by a company called 50 Fifty. The company announced they are even launching Christmas versions of their toys; they will be wearing Christmas hats.

Online Class Evaluations

So, it's the end of the semester, and with the close of each course comes class evaluations for students. Usually these evaluations are done by hand in standardized testing format. However, this semester, for the first time, students (primarily those in new media) were given links to online evaluations. All of my evaluations for the end of this semester were online, except for my Yoga evaluation. Likely this is because all of my classes but yoga were in the school of informatics due to my major, and if any of the evaluations are going to be available online, it would be in this area. I found this format convenient because I spend a great deal of time on a computer anyhow. The original manner of completing the evaluation by hand I felt was more bothersome compared to this new method. It was nice I did not need a pencil in order to complete it too. I would imagine many things involved with the school of informatics will likely become available in an online format in the near future.

Microsoft Debate

I was watching Fox News this morning while waiting for an estimate on my car. One of their news stories involved Microsoft and the European Union. Microsoft was previously fined by the EU for 2.53 Billion because they limited internet browsers on Windows OS, which the EU felt was an unfair advantage to other browser makers. However, at the beginning of the month they adjusted their planned antitrust settlement and decided to expand their options and "allow users to choose between browers" (as mentioned in the Fox News update) in hopes to settle the suit. In the agreement they declared they would automatically offer at least five different web browsers. I can understand the EU's position on the matter, but the suit surely was for quite an extensive amount. Luckily Microsoft avoided the costs by settling the suit, so in a way everyone wins.

Wearing Recycled Music

I discovered a pretty neat fashion concept directly related to technology on ecouterre.com. Two designers, Alyce Santoro and Julio Cesar have taken recycled cassette tapes and created fedoras. The hats, featured on sonicfabric.com are tightly woven with fifty percent recordable cassette tape and fifty percent colored polyester. If that isn't interesting enough, the tape actually becomes audible when a tape head is ran across the fabric. What an inventive concept- a hat that has the potential to play music! These hats are made to order, come in brown or black and are available in medium and large. The cost: $165. Not too pricey if you think about the work that goes into each hat, although the process could be more simple than one might think. This isn't the only item they've created you can wear using the same cassette-tape concept. Artist Alyce also fashions neckties using the same process.

More Options on Airplanes

When I first started flying, which was about five years ago, it was not a possibility to access the internet while in flight. Passengers were permitted to use their computers, but were asked to shut off electronic devices such as cell phones which contained a signal or put them in airplane mode. Now many airlines have added wireless internet to their flights. Not only does American Airlines and Delta/Northwest offer this feature currently, but AirTran advertises wireless internet on every flight. According to an article in the L.A. Times Business section here's the basics on how it works: "The network operates through an air-to-ground system that uses three small antennas installed on the aircraft to connect to Aircell's mobile broadband network, which has 92 cell towers throughout the country. The equipment costs about $100,000 per plane to install, but weighs only about 125 pounds...The connection is fast... about 3.1 megabits per second." The article states that passengers can't use the network for making phone calls, however, and mobile internet service on American isn't free. I believe that will be one of the next steps forward for improving flights though, enabling phone calls while in-flight.

iPhones and Boarding Passes

Earlier I was checking in online through American Airlines for my flight to Seattle tomorrow. There were a few options for me to receive my boarding passes. The first was the usual, which was just to print them. Another option which I found intriguing was to check in and have your boarding passes sent to your iphone. I started to think how that would work once at the gate considering the typical routine is to just hand your paper ticket to the attendant checking in the passengers. Would the iphone owner just hold their phone under the scanner and have it read the barcode from their screen? That would seem to be the most reasonable option. It is so interesting how many iphone applications there are that cover so many aspects of life. Maybe someone on my flight tomorrow will have chosen the latter option for check-in, and I can see for myself just how checking in with an iphone works.

Locating Someone Online

As mentioned in my previous blog, the vast amount of information the internet provides is incredible as well as the ease with which you can obtain your desired information. Recently a friend mentioned to me they happened to type my name into google search. Interestingly enough, he said my N201Fall09 blog appeared along with my posts. My profile for my blog is very minimal, but it does include my photo. I didn't think he was lying, but wanted to see the results for myself, so I googled my name. Immediately two links were displayed that were directly related to me: my linkedin page and the link to this blog. (A facebook page link was also displayed with the same name, but when I clicked on it, did not show my profile.) It only took a few seconds to find my place on the web.

Internet Prevalence

The internet is so useful for thousands of reasons and makes obtaining information so much easier (although sometimes for a price). It is interesting to me that you can now obtain a police report online. Recently I had to file a report for an accident and in order to file a claim with the other person's insurance company, needed the other driver's information from the report. I had two options basically in going about this. I could have driven downtown to the city county building and gotten the report from the citizens service desk for four cents a page. Or I could just get online and print the report right there; however, with that convenience comes a price, $7.14 to be exact. If you think about it though, it still costs for the first option. The gas you use to get there costs, each page costs, and the time you wait for the report in a sense costs too. Needless to say, I chose the second option and decided even if it did cost a bit more, I was willing to pay because I needed the instant gratification of the information with little hassle and time involved.

Solar-Powered Sneaks

Maybe you could say I love shoes...here's another post about them, only this time they are solar powered. Simply buy the Solar Street Light Kit from Lost Values and fling your old pair in a nearby tree to light up the night. There are two sizes for the kit-kid and adult. It comes with either white or colored lights and can be quickly and easily assembled. A single adult shoe kit is twelve euros, which isn't too expensive. The idea was originally from an exhibition by Lost Values, the Swedish design firm and was inspired by shoes hanging from overhead cables. It may sound silly, but I would actually buy this and display an old pair of my shoes. I like how personalized the idea is. It is imaginative and original. When thinking about it a little further, it could also become useful in certain situations. The shoes would be great for camping or any need for an outdoor light. They could also be displayed in a fitting indoor environment.

Picnik

A fellow student suggested a website to me for jazzing up your own photos called picnik.com. I wasn't familiar with it so decided I'd give it a try. I know I might have discovered this a little later than most people, but better late than never. I immediately loved it and embraced its craftiness. It is actually free to use some of the features. You can add borders, touch up your photos, add text and other related items. You can also save your photos in a library, e-mail them, or upload them to blogs or social sites. The site also features seasonal themes, so basically you can create your own low-cost Christmas cards. I briefly experimented in doing so, unfortunately I'll be too busy this year to send out Christmas cards. Next year, however, I plan on making my own and sending them out. As for other photos, I'll definitely be using picnik to spice them up and likely purchasing an upgrade to Picnik Premium to access all of the options.

Digesting Information

I came upon this article on technewsworld.com and found it absolutely fascinating. The article discusses the human brain's capacity for digesting information on a daily basis as shown by a group of researchers at UCSD. According to the article "The amount of information consumed by Americans in 2008 totaled 3.6 zettabytes and 10,845 trillion words...which equals 1 billion trillion bytes. Imagine a stack of paperback novels stacked seven feet high over the entire United States, including Alaska -- that's analogous to the amount of information Americans gobbled up. For an average person on an ordinary day, this represents 34 gigabytes of data and 100,500 words." To think about this for just a moment is really incredible. What is also fascinating are these results compared with results from the 1980s. "A 1980 study estimated that Americans received slightly more than seven hours of information on an average day, according to Bohn. Americans are now exposed to 11.8 hours of information each day, based on the new UCSD study, which calculated only the amount of information flowing into American households. It did not include the amount of information received in the workplace...Researchers looked at 20 sources of activities unrelated to work, including movies, cellphones, television, the Internet, video games, newspapers, magazines, books and music." This data is not surprising though. It just supports the fact that our society is very quick-paced compared to twenty years ago and our devices have a great deal of influence on our intake of information. Another interesting thought to ponder is how much quicker children should be learning bacause they are faced with more information.

Avoiding Technology?

I know that since I am a new media student, it only makes sense that I would have the latest gadgets technology has to offer, but I have yet to invest in an iPhone or an equivalent touch-screen device. I've toyed around with them, sure, but for some reason I think I have a slight fear of converting to the most modern technology and for this I may be somewhat old fashioned. Or maybe I'm just too simple for all of these new inventions. (And maybe I'm also broke because I'm still a student.) Whatever the reason, I am not up-to-date with my gadgets. My current cell phone is a bit beyond the basic flip phone; on the front screen there is a touch option for you to turn on your music, set your phone volume or turn on blue tooth, but it is not your full-fledged touch device nor would it likely support a number of apps. I desperately need a new ipod because my ancient ipod mini barely holds a charge. I considered getting an itouch and a few friends have suggested the itouch when I do decide to upgrade my ipod, and yet I am still slightly hesitant in getting one. On the bright side, I know I'll eventually have to face getting a touch-screen phone since it is becoming the standard. And getting a new phone just may be in the near future considering I dropped mine last week and cracked the front screen. Maybe with the new year will come more funds and bravery for investing in the most modern technology, but for now I'm content with my basic technologies.

Barbie at the Children's Museum

Recently I discovered that on December 19th, the new Barbie exhibit will open at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and will run until February of 2011. The exhibit will feature an enormous collection of Barbies beginning in the early 1960s. Guests will also be able to design their own fashions for Barbie or Ken and "walk the runway." (I'm not entirely sure what this entails, but I do plan on visiting the exhibit to find out.) Barbie was actually revealed to the public on March 9, 1959 in New York at a toy fair, so her fiftieth anniversary was this past March. To celebrate, Mattel designer Robert Best created a golden fiftieth anniversary Barbie doll.
When I heard about the exhibit opening last month, the little child inside me grew ecstatic. Immediately I envisioned an entire room of bubble gum pink and hundreds of dolls on display. It is wonderful to see the transformations these dolls have made over the last fifty years. Their features have completely changed from when they were first unveiled. I grew up playing with them myself so my experience is different than my mom's of Barbie. I still have the majority of my dolls and their many outfits and accessories. I honestly am saving them for my little girls. I don't know that they would be worth anything, but the memories for me are priceless.

Buying Gifts Online

A good deal of my friends have decided that this year they are avoiding crowds and are buying their gifts online. There are pros and cons that come with this decision which I'd like to observe. First, the obvious, they are avoiding crowds as already mentioned. They won't be wasting any gas or dealing with the heavy volume of people. They won't be waiting in line either. They can get what they need right from home and really all they need is their credit card and a list. They can browse millions of things in a matter of minutes rather than going to separate stores to find what they need. They will however likely have to pay shipping costs. They also won't be able to see their purchases with as much detail as they would if they were to buy it up front.

This Holiday's Craze: Robot Hampsters

Practically every year there's a holiday craze for some toy. This year it happens to be Zhu Zhu pets, little robotic hamsters. The toy runs from 8-10 dollars. They scurry around, make around forty different noises and even come with accessories: a car and a house. They also have a setting to "snuggle." One reason some people think the toy is a hit is because they are inexpensive. Another possibility is because these little toys are now scarce because their demand is so high. Some are being resold online for around forty dollars. Personally, I don't understand the hype like many others; they are just tiny little robotic toys, however I am not ten anymore so how can I truly be the judge? If I had children of my own though, I might be more interested in these furry little robots. It is unfortunate that we forget what it's like being young at times and the experiences that accompany youth. I often wonder what growing up in this era would be like because of all of cool advancements in toys.

This post is a bit random, it is about a dream I had the other night. In my dream, I was driving along a highway, on my way to California for some reason and it was nighttime. All of the sudden, as I'm driving I enter this portion of the highway that is enclosed for miles, except obviously for the entrance and exit, which I'm driving through for a while, but I can't see outside of the enclosure at all. Then, an announcement is made on a loud speaker about the contraption. The announcement states that the "enclosure" is the first successful attempt for scientists to make the time of day change. Not long after the announcement, I see the end of the enclosure, and up ahead I see that it is now light out. I know that this was just a dream, but I don't think it is too far from impossible to think that this could one day occur.