Article 7- 2/28/10

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100226/ap_on_hi_te/eu_britain_twitter;_ylt=AprMZZFdAN1hGNyejuu2WY8jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuMGdyZWUxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjI2L2V1X2JyaXRhaW5fdHdpdHRlcgRwb3MDMwRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2Z1bGxuYnNwc3Rvcg--

This article is about Twitter scams that have been happening in London. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter states “Twitter is a free social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets.” The article states that hijackers hack into accounts and send sexually explicit messages to their followers. This type of hijacking is known as “phishing scams.” This is where the user is sent to a fake web site and they are to part with their password and then the hackers are able to log into their account and send sexual messages. This happened to Ed Miliband, the British energy minister. Another case also happened to Harriet Harman who is the House of Commons leader. Both said they would never send messages like this. It says that “Intel UK, the British arm of the chip maker, apologized to its followers.”

We all know that hackers are out there on the Internet, but I believe that technology should be ahead of them and should know how to prevent this. Twitter is such a popular website that it should not be having problems such as these. I believe this is going to impact Ed and Harriet in many ways. These messages that were sent by hackers could be taken seriously and they could lose their job. Many may not believe that this was a hacker. It would be horrible is they both lost their job because of a technology problem. If Twitter does not take hold of this problem it could affect many others, which would not be good. I think that Twitter should get on top of this problem right and way and make sure that these “phishing scams” do not occur anymore. Luckily I do not have a Twitter account, so this will not have an effect on me.

Article 6- 2/21/10

http://www.statesman.com/business/technology/blockbuster-fighting-back-with-new-technologies-265130.html

This article is about Blockbuster’s new technologies they are planning on using to save their company. Blockbuster has been losing money, having to layoff people, and has been having tough competition such as Netflix and Redbox. Their plan is to be able to watch videos over the Internet and connect that to TVs and cell phones. Also they want to be able to have customers download movies to a memory card so they can take it home and then watch it there. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Blockbuster-Inc-Company-History.html states “With approximately 27 percent of the U.S. market share, Blockbuster operates about 6,500 video stores, serving more than 87 million customers in the United States, its territories, and 25 other nations.” They don’t know how successful these new technology advances will be, but they are hoping it saves their company

I think that this technology advancement that Blockbuster is trying to pursue will have a huge impact on society as a whole. Our society loves to watch movies and Blockbuster is creating an easier way to watch and download movies. Obviously if Blockbuster shuts down many people will lose their job and this will affect many people. Many will have to find new jobs and be jobless for a while. I personally love renting movies and when I am out I will always stop at Blockbuster to pick up a movie, so I know if they get shut down that it will have a huge impact on me. I will have to resort to a Redbox, which I honestly don’t like as much because they do not have a huge selection. I think the memory card idea that Blockbuster is planning on using is a great idea. It will be easy and convenient for people. You won’t even have to leave the house to rent a movie.

Article 5- 2/14/10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8484664.stm

This article is about privacy settings on Facebook. Many people are complaining that it is harder to make your Facebook private. Elizabeth Denham stated, “Some Facebook users are disappointed by certain changes being made to the site - changes that were supposed to strengthen their privacy and the protection of their personal information.” It states that once you make your privacy changes you much accept the change, but sometimes it would reverse on you.

I think that Facebook should have the technology to let people hide their Facebook if they want to. It should not have to be difficult. It should be something easy and efficient. I don not understand why a website this big should have a problem such as this. People that use Facebook are at fault as well because they are putting their information out on the web. If you go to this website (http://www.allfacebook.com/2008/05/the-facebook-stalking-tool/) it states that there is now a stalking tool on Facebook. It is an easy one, two, three step process. I find this absolutely crazy. It is weird to know that you can see who is constantly looking at your page. I feel as though this site should only be for saying hello to friends and looking at their updated pictures once in a while. This website has gone way to far. I used to cheer for a competitive team and I know that a girl on my team got stalked on Facebook and even further. He pretended he was someone else that she knew and wanted to meet up with her and she did and she was shocked and immediately left where she was. I think if Facebook would have a better privacy system then this could have been prevented. People should be able to make their website private if they want to.

Article 4- 2/7/10

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/07/league-acknowledges-testing-of-new-game-day-technology/

This weeks article ties in very well with what is happening now with the super bowl. The article explains that in Friday’s pre-Super Bowl press conference they stated that they are trying to create a new technology. The new device will be able to locate the players on the field and the balls location. They will do this by placing a camera in the ball that can detect if the ball crossed the line of it the player went out of bounds. They have been testing this new technology and it has not been released yet. The only con to this new technology is that fans might think that the game is fixed or rigged. I guess we will find out when the new technology is released.

I believe that this is a great idea for football. It would be an amazing step in technology. The referee’s would not have to make the decisions themselves. They could simply check the monitor and see. For instance this picture (http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PHO/AAGU224-No26TDdive~Super-Bowl-XL-Willie-Parker-Touch-Down-Dive-Posters.jpg) might be hard to tell if a touchdown has been scored or not. This technology advancement will have an impact on football players, fans, coaches, referees, and many more. The impact could be great and could be bad. This could cause referees to lose their job because they will not have to call the shots anymore. It impacts players because they will have to be more precise about where their ball and foot placement is because there would be proof of it. Many fans will start rumors of the game being false or fixed. I personally believe that this advancement is huge. This would save time in the games and also eliminate arguing over the call. One last impact is that the ball size and weight could change because of the camera implant. They would have to make sure that the ball remains the same.