Monday, November 9, 2015
TWIF Flattener #2 - 8/9/95
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-spring-2016.blogspot.com/2015/11/approved-sources-for-twif-current.htmlto find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that 8/9/95 was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Title: Technology that translates, and unites
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Gregory M. Lamb
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Tech/2010/0607/Technology-that-translates-and-unites
Summary: The article discusses how when the Internet and the Web were created it was done by U.S military projects and many American Universities which resulted in much of the codes and content created being made in English. While this is all well and good most of the people who use the web today don't speak or read English, notably in Arabic speaking countries as well as in China and other major Southeast Asian nations. However, new technologies are being developed and released to break down this language barrier and allowing sites written in foreign languages to natively translated into English and vice verse allowing for a major increase in productivity between workers in countries with different texts and languages.
Explanation: This relates to the creation of the web in the respect that it is the next step towards a free and open world web. Without these new technologies interaction on website not written in your native language would be nearly impossible as there a far to many languages to learn to fully take advantage of the web. Since new translation software is being developed we now today see that even if the site is written and created by someone in a far different language we can still access it and utilize the information on the site since it is translated by the computer as we look at it. This will open the door for even better international business and commerce via digital means
Title: Google paid Apple $1bn to be default iOS search engine
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/22/google-paid-apple-1bn-to-be-default-ios-search-engine
Summary:
Google has paid Apple one billion dollars to keep Google as the default browsers on iPhones and other Apple devices. This is perplexing for some due to the fact that Google and Apple are rivals however, Google uses Apple as a major part of their industry and business. “The answer, court documents revealed on Thursday, is simple: money talks. And $1bn, the amount Google paid Apple in 2014 for the privilege of default access to the hundreds of millions of iPhone users, talks very loudly”. This shows Googles immediate need for their Web Browser (which is accessible by millions of people around the world “from five-year-olds to ninety-five-year-olds") to be on the latest technological “hit”. This ties in with TWIF and its second flattener by the way that Google and Apple combined can share information through Apple devices and through the Google website.
Title: Sign language 'turned into text' by Aberdeen scientists
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-17297489
Summary: A portable sign language translation device is being developed by scientists. The device would connect to electronic cameras on mobile devices and would detect the movements of sign language, and then produce the text equivalent of the motion. This technology is being researched to help those who have to use sign language communicate with others who do not know the language. The project is intended to become an application that is easily accessible from a variety of different digital platforms. This article relates to the second flattener because it increases people's ability to communicate and interact with one another. With the help of this technology, sign language users will now be able to converse with people who are not familiar with the language, which I would assume to be a majority of people that they encounter daily.
Really interesting!
DeleteTitle: What is the dark web and is it a threat?
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9j6nbk
Summary: This article discusses the dark web and if it is a good thing or a bad thing. US military researchers created Tor which allowed intelligence operatives to transfer and exchange data completely anonymously. Tor was released into the public domain to allow more people to use the system which would make it harder to identify the government’s messages because there would be so many other activities found on the domain. Allowing the transfer of data anonymously can be considered a good and also a bad thing. It allows our military to transfer secret data that they would not like anyone to know about. On the other side, it allows many people with bad intentions to do the same thing and share data without anyone being able to track the source of the information or people obtaining said information. This applies to Friedman’s idea because it has changed how people can live however it refutes his idea by saying that Tor can be used for many negative reasons and can cause potentially bad things. The article says that if people have the potential to transfer data anonymously, then they can potentially do bad with that data.
Title: Smartphone now most popular way to browse internet – Ofcom report
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/06/smartphones-most-popular-way-to-browse-internet-ofcom
Summary:
This article essentially states that in the United Kingdom, more people use their smartphones to access and browse the Internet than any other device. This rise in popularity is largely due to the rise of high-speed 4G data networks, and the younger generations are driving the change. Adults are also taking part, because now two-thirds of adults own a smartphone. Laptop and desktop usages are declining, now mainly being used by the older generations. Essentially, it was the 4G data networks that have seriously impacted Internet browsing in the UK.
The second flattener that Friedman describes is the day that Netscape went public, on 8/9/95. Netscape was the company that released the first true user-friendly Web browser; it revolutionized the way people could browse the Web, and who could browse the Web. Using a point-and-click system, anyone could easily explore the World Wide Web. This article relates to this, because Web/Internet browsing is still evolving. Now people can browse the Web anywhere, using mobile smartphones and fast data networks. This explains why Netscape flattened the world, and why Web browsing is continuing to do so.
Title: "France:Fiber Optic Plans for Paris"
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/business/12fobriefs-005.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1421985664-aTbYKZD4503Wnt7mUuCBKw
Summary:
This article discusses the plans that the company Iliad has for building a massive fiber optic network. It is estimated that the cost will be around 1 billion euros. They want to create this network to make communication more affordable for their company. They also say that if they have any extra space they will allow other companies to lease the extra space. This relates to the second flattener because Friedman talked about the bubble. More space is needed for communication and this company is willing to pay a lot for it. This is what we saw when Friedman explained that everyone started selling fiber optics because companies needed more space. Companies need more space and capacity to grow and this article shows that. This might also create more competition if they start leasing the extra capacity to competitors.
Title: Internet used by 3.2 billion people in 2015
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32884867
In this article, recent statistics are given showing that nearly half of the world's population is using the internet. Not only are developed countries using the Internet, so are developing countries. Also, a lot of the people on the Internet no longer use a home or personal computer but instead a mobile device which connects them to the Internet. This article states that only about an eighth of the population was using the Internet in the year 2000, about 400 million, compared to the current 3.2 billion. I chose this article because it supports Friedman’s second flattener, in showing the increasing amount of people using the internet today, compared to previous years. This article also shows how the Internet has become readily available for many people across the globe, like the first developers wished it would.
Title: What Is Li-Fi and When Will You Use It To Download Everything Faster
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.npr.org/2015/11/28/457672585/what-is-li-fi-and-when-will-you-use-it-to-download-everything-faster
Summary: We've been relying on Wi-Fi to provide us with internet services over the past two decades. There is a new internet provider that could possibly challenge Wi-Fi sometime in the future. Wi-Fi may end up being replaced by "Li-Fi", one day. Li-Fi applied different wave physics in order to provide internet at a more efficient rate. Wi-Fi signals usually come in radio waves, which have very low frequency. Li-Fi, on the other hand, uses the visible spectrum to spread its signals. More specifically - LED lights. These LED lights can provide signals around a room at a much quicker rate than the average radio wave that consists of a Wi-Fi signal. In short, Li-Fi signals could make internet speeds 100 times faster than the typical Wi-Fi connection. However, there is only one pretty immense drawback that comes along with Li-Fi - LED lights can't penetrate walls, while radio waves can. This is why research is being done in Estonia to see how this drawback can be fixed.
Explanation: With the influx of technology, research was able to figure out a way to compete with traditional Wi-Fi signals. This new Li-Fi technology could become the future in how internet is provided among the public. This well supports Friedman's second flattner because 8/9/95 is about the introduction of netscape - which revolutionized the interface of the internet. Li-Fi could very well revolutionize the way internet is provided.
Title: The year in Google searches: Lamar Odom tops terror and Trump
ReplyDeleteLink: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/12/17/the-year-in-google-searches-lamar-odom-american-sniper-top-charlie-hebdo-paris-and-jurassic-world/
Summary: This article talks about how when people do not know something, they usually tend to google it. "Why do dogs wag their tails?" and "How to do the Kylie Jenner lip challenge" were among the top searched questions. Worldwide, the most googled item was "Lamar Odom." He was found unconscious in Nevada. There were 897 million searches about the Paris attacks in November. The most searched people list had Lamar Odom at the top, Caitlyn Jenner second, and Ronda Rousey third. Finally there was 439 million searches related to Adelle and her new album. Searching the internet has become easy for anyone in the world. This article relates very closely to Friedman's Flattener #2. When Netscape went public, it made it easy for anyone at any age to search the internet. About 20 years later, google makes it even easier. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, google is able to be used worldwide.
Article title: Netscape: the web browser that came back to haunt Microsoft
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/mar/22/web-browser-came-back-haunt-microsoft
This article describes the development of Windows' Internet Explorer browser as it surpassed Netscape's Netscape Navigator. It points out how Windows noticed, just as Friedman said, the growing popularity of the Internet and Mosaic and decided to create their own browser. Microsoft poured so much money and work into Internet Explorer that it rapidly became the number one browser. However, this became a problem when they were charged with an Antitrust lawsuit. The company bounced back, but they had spent so much time and effort creating the original version that they rarely made any improvements later on. This allowed smaller, more current browsers to outperform I.E. One of these was Mozilla Firefox, which is a company started from Netscape. So, overall, Netscape returned to be the leading company in Internet access.