Tech Post #8

First Impressions Of The Nintendo 3DS: 3D Done Right
I found this article on TechCrunch, and its about the new Nintendo 3DS. The article says this new DS has a lot of potential because the various new features it has. One of the new features is the “suspend mode” for games that allows you to drop into Nintendo’s communication and photo interface to take pictures and send notes." The communication and photo interface features are similar to those of the iPod touch. Many people wondered what the quality of the 3D was going to be like, and it seems that "the 3D play is immersive and exciting. It is, in short, revolutionary." One of the other features is "a pedometer as well as a unique StreetPass system that lets the 3DS interact with other consoles as you walk by them in the street." You can also take 3D photos with the dual front camera thats on the DS. However, there are some concerns such as the "3D may be too much for little eyes" and it may cause eye-strain.
I chose this article because I think the new 3D technology is interesting, and I grew up playing on Nintendo's GameBoy. This new Nintendo 3DS is just another advance in the 3D world, and it is creating competition for the iPod touch. With the invention of this new DS, "Nintendo has changed the landscape when it comes to handheld gaming."

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/03/17/first-impressions-of-the-nintendo-3ds-3d-done-right/

Tech Post #7

Path Fully Embraces Facebook And Busts Out Lenses For Pictures And Video — Including Premium Ones

I found this article on TechCrunch, and it's about the upates to the iPhone app calle Path. Path is a photo sharing app that before these updates only allowed you to share your photos with your Path friends. The Path update included: "Facebook sharing, lenses, an activity stream, and a new friend suggestion tool." The main update was the ability of Facebook sharing which "allows you to publish moments to your Facebook Wall, the next logical step" after sharing the photos with your Path friends.  When you Facebook share, Path will automatically set the privacy setting so that only your Path friends can see the album, but you can switch the privacy setting so that all your friends can see the album. This update is very key because it "extends the reach of Path by leveraging the largest social network on the planet, which Path co-founder Dave Morin happened to work at for several years. “I’ve been calling it ‘harmony’ with Facebook,” Morin says of the new options." The other main update is the lenses which will work with both pictures and videos. "To begin with, Path will offer four lenses for free: Pro, Ansel, Instant, and Diana. And three for $0.99: Old Time, The Grid, and 8-Bit. Morin says it’s more of an experiment at this point and less of an actual business model. “But, we see a long term revenue opportunity in premium expression through virtual goods like this,” he says." Path also wants to continue to make new lenses for people to choose from.

I pick this article people I love photography, and I think this is a really awesome iPhone app. I love how you can pick different lenses to shoot both pictures and videos with even though its not real camera. I think this will impact culture because it expanding the biggest social network, Facebook. It is also allowing more people to shoot creative photographs with different lenses with little to no photography knowledge.

 

Here is the link to the full article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/11/path-facebook-lenses/

Tech Post #6

RedRover Allows Parents To Make Play Dates On The Fly

I found this article on TechCrunch, and its about a social network called RedRover. This new social is "a private social network for parents to research and share everything from child-friendly restaurants to the closest hospitals in an emergency as well as schedule play dates." If you use this network you "can check-in to locations, or publicize plans to friends within the app. Users are encouraged to leave their tips, thoughts or “their 2cents” for each other." This app is considered to be more private because it doesn't include Facebook connect, so you have to invite friends to join your specific network through email. Now the question that arises is with "privacy is a natural concern for parents, I’m not sure if creating a new social network is the answer"? I chose this article because it seemed interesting that a social network would be created just for parents that allowed them to help schedule their kids' lives in a sense. I think this could impact culture because it will affect how plans are scheduled and kept track; maybe one day this will be done all virtually through social networks like this.

Here is the link to the full article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/redrover-allows-parents-to-make-play-dates-on-the-fly/

Tech Post #5

I Will Check My Phone At Dinner And You Will Deal With It

I found this article on TechCrunch, and it's about texting at the dinner table at restaurants. Now days if you look around a restaurant, you can find multiple people texting because it is becoming the norm even though older generations have the view that "you shouldn’t check your phone at the dinner table." However, "the situation has sort of reversed itself: you feel awkward if everyone else is using their phones and you’re not." Eventually when using your phone at dinner table "fully becomes the norm, there will no longer be the same stigma attached to checking your phone at a restaurant." Some people view texting while at dinner to be rude because they feel as if you are ignoring the others around you, while others consider it to less rude than talking on the phone since you are not making any noise. Even though some peole think that texting at dinner is rude, others feel as if it adds to the conversation by being able to look up facts and statistics, and it could spark conversations on what applications on are certain phones. I feel as if this will affect culture as this becomes more and more of a norm because it's changing the way people interact with each other at social gatherings, especially dinner. I chose this article because I tend to text a lot at dinner while my parents tell me not to which contines to show the different views of older and younger generations.

 

Here is the link for the article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/21/phones-at-dinner/

Tech Post #4

Why a War Photographer Shot an Award-Winning Photo With a $2 iPhone App

I found this article on Gizmodo, and it's about "NYT photographer Damon Winter's award-winning photograph, shot with iPhone app Hipstamatic." Once a photo is taken with this application it is processed with "a color balance shift, the burning of predetermined areas of the frame and increased contrast." People are uneasy about photos being taken with programs like this because they feel as if it is inauthentic. Their criticism was "that using a special effects app transformed the picture from a legitimate work of photojournalism to mere photography." While some people criticize this form of photography, others ask the question "how is using Hipstamatic different from using a lens with an extremely shallow depth-of-field and applying heavy vignetting or using an actual Holga camera or special film stock to produce a desired effect, often for aesthetics at the expense of pure documentation?" So the question is what do you think?

I chose this article because I love photography, and I couldn't believe this photo was taken with an Iphone. I think this will impact our culture because it will change the way photography is viewed and how it is "authentically" shot.

Here is the link to the full article: http://gizmodo.com/#!5758350/why-a-war-photographer-shot-an-award+winning-photo-with-a-2-iphone-app

Tech Post #3

comScore: Facebook Keeps Gobbling People’s Time

 

I found this article on TechCrunch, and it's about how people much time people are spending on Facebook. Facebook is now the top dog when it comes to social networking with it's U.S. audience totaling to 153.9 million alone. Facebook has become the 4th most visited web property. "The total time spent on Facebook in December 2010 vs December 2009 surged 79 percent to 49.4 billion minutes." While Facebook's aduience and page views are increasing, MySpace's are decreasing. "its audience declined 27 percent and total time spent on the site declined 50 percent." Facebook has become so popular that it "even surpassed Google, Yahoo and Microsoft in terms of time spent on each site, according to comScore’s data." Facebook has a strong "command over internet users time on the web" so it's "no wonder advertisers are flocking to the social network to reach users." I picked this article because I know that many of friends and that I, myself, spend quite a lot of time on Facebook, and it was interesting to how Facebook has gained so much power in terms of internet domination.

 

Here is a link to the full article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/07/comscore-facebook-keeps-gobbling-peoples-time/

Tech Post #2

ComScore Says You Don’t Got Mail: Web Email Usage Declines, 59% Among Teens!

 

I found this article on TechCrunch, and it's about how teens are using e-mail less and less every year as a way of communication. "Total web email usage was down 8% in the past year (YOY), with a whopping 59% decline in use among people between the ages of 12-17." Teens are moving from e-mail to using Facebook, twitter, and texting as forms of communication. I think this will affect the different web emails services and how people will start/continue to communicate with each other. I picked this article because I found it interesting due to the fact I am a part of this trend. I dont really use email too much anymore and I tend to forget to check it which can cause some communication problems.

 

Here is a link to the full article: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/07/comscore-says-you-dont-got-mail-web-email-usage-declines-59-among-teens/