Cell Phone’s are Taking Over the World

The cell phone, besides the internet, is probably the most used piece of technology today. Even computers are starting to be over run by several new cell phones which seem they could be the only thing you’ll ever need again.

Martin Cooper of ArrayComm Inc. makes the first mobile phone call in 1973

The first mobile/cell phones appeared in 1973 and was put out by Motorola. It weighed close to two pounds. Today, over 3.3 billion people have cell phone subscriptions. That’s over half the world’s population, making the cell phone the most widely spread technology and the most common electronic device in the world. Seriously, think about what the cell phone has since replaced when they became popular in the 1990’s. PDA’s are no longer necessary because new cell phones have all those functions and way more. The camera, while nowhere near its demise, has certainly taken a hit in the teenage and college kid area, since that population has phones that can take pictures. MP3 players are starting to die off because of cell phones that can hold a few thousand songs and have built in head phone jacks. Last but not least, the land line phone itself is becoming a thing of the past. If you are under the age of 25, you most likely don’t have a land line phone and probably never will.

A Blackberry Storm-has a touch screen that clicks when you touch it

Think about all the things a new iPhone or Blackberry are capable of doing. Laptop computers are going to be the next victims if Apple has anything to say about it. iPhones now come with three gigabyte hard drives. “3G technology gives iPhone fast access to the internet and email over cellular networks around the world. iPhone 3G also makes it possible to do more in more places. Surf the web, download email, get directions, and watch video – even when you’re on a call,” the Apple website states. That’s truly amazing. It honestly is only a matter of time before cell phones are all we need to survive outside our homes. Who knows, maybe the next generation iPhones will be able to scan our credit cards, making them obsolete too.

A 3G iPhone

Don’t get me wrong, cell phones are amazing and we are all better off with them. Let’s just not get too out of hand. Little girls and boys are already addicted to text messaging, most can text faster than I could type or even talk. I’m very curious what the future of cell phones will be and only time will tell. For now we will have to live with touch screen 3G iPhones.

When the Winter Winds Blow: Head South

Key West is the southernmost point in the continental US

As the winter months continue to bear down on us and the temperature needles keep dropping everyday, people will be thinking of where to escape to for this winters vacation.

Obviously, there are countless warm weather areas to go to, but not all of them are equivalent and many don’t fit the average person’s budget. One place that is a sort of middle ground is Key West, Florida. A small tropical island located at the southern most point in Florida, it offers a vacationer many great attractions.

Entertainers draw large crowds to Mallory Square to watch the sunset

The island is four miles long and two miles wide and is closer to Cuba than Miami. Key West has been a growing tourist area for the last 20 years. This is no surprise when you find out all what Key West can offer. With temperatures that don’t fall below 70 almost all year long, anytime from October to April are the popular months to visit.

While in Key West you could go snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, golfing, lie on the beach, go shopping, enjoy the night time entertainment, and the great restaurants which offer food from around the world. It wouldn’t be a true Key West vacation without shopping on Duval Street, deep sea fishing at Charter Boat Row, or watching the street entertainers at Mallory Square as the sun sets before your eyes.

So when considering where to escape this winter don’t overlook the tropical paradises right here in the U.S., such as Key West, Florida.

Deep Sea Fishing is a huge attraction in Florida

Three Great Multi-Media Websites

In todays world of journalism it isn’t enough to simply have a well put together newspaper. The younger generations of people no longer want to sit and flip through a whole paper. These people want up-to-date information as quickly as they can get it. That’s the beauty of the internet. News pubications have caught on to the growing phenomena of multi-media websites that allow todays demanding readers to get any news they want, whenever they want. Three such websites that offer multi-media are The New York Times, The Los Angelos Times and CNN.

The New York Times has long been considered as one of the best newspapers in the country, if not the best. They don’t lose slack to these internet sites either. The New York Times website offers all readers a chance to see pictures, videos and print editions of stories online. Once you get to the opening page, the days news is at your fingertips. A user can select videos at the top of the page, click any link to an interesting story, or view numerous photos. The site is easy to navigate and gives the reader everything a news site can offer.

The Los Angelos Times is another great newspaper and that greatness has also translated into a strong multi-media website. Not quite upto the New York Times site, the Los Angelos Times website still offers all the forms of news. The site gives access to pictures, print articles and video. The only reason I put it below the nytimes site is because I feel that it is not as easy to navigate the entire site like you can on the nytimes site. All that aside, the LA Times still provides great news coverage with numerous multi-media stories to grab your attention.

The third site that has great multi-media is CNN.com. CNN does a fantastic job of offering a user any type of media they choose. Similar to the nytimes site, CNN has a link to all their video stories right on top of the home page. It is also easy to navigate like nytimes is and the website is layed out nicely. This site doesn’t clutter the page with clips of stories and such, but instead shows the headlines and provides a link to those stories. I feel that this keeps the page looking cleaner and gives the user more control over the content that they want to view. CNN is one of the better multi-media websites to view your news in my opinion.

Buffalo Bills are 3-0 for first time since 92′

Marshawn Lynch

Not since Buffalo’s super bowl teams of the mid 90’s have the Bills been out to a 3-0 start and off to what seems to be a promising season. The team of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith, went to four straight super bowls in the 90’s. Buffalo fans everywhere have to be excited for what this season may bring.

Buffalo has started strong, beating Seattle, Jacksonville and Oakland to start the 2008 season. With young players such as quaterback Trent Edwards, running back Marshawn Lynch and reciever Lee Evans running the offense, the Bills have been looking good. The defense has been doing it’s fair share as well, keeping their opponents in check and giving the offense plenty of opportunities.

Now that Buffalo has taken the number one spot in the AFC East, you have to wonder if they can keep that spot. Why not? Miami just beat the hell out of the Patriots, who are without Tom Brady for the season. The Jets are struggling to keep their momentum going after a close game against Miami in week one. And Miami themselves have just gotten win number one of the season, which as we may remember, was their total wins from last year.

Buffalo Bills cheerleaders

I’m a Buffalo fan and I’ve seen numerous seasons of the Bills just missing the playoffs or having a terrible season. This year has a different feel to it. They are off to a good start and are playing with confidence. They beat a tough Jacksonville team, who just beat the 2007 superbowl champion Colts last week. Trent Edwards plays with poise and confidence and has already had four fourth quater comebacks in his short career.

I’m excited to see what comes next for the Bills. They take on the 0-3 St. Louis Rams this Sunday, which seems like it could be a game that Buffalo can win if they keep playing like they have been. Lets hope that not only the 3-0 start since 92′ has come back to Buffalo, but also the greatness that was the Bills during the mid-90’s.   

John Fallon Field Gets a Facelift

John Fallon Field completed in 2005

John Fallon Field, home of the Great Danes lacrosse team, has been undergoing phase two of its three phase construction plan to build a grandstand which will give spectators and athletes a renewed excitement.

A new grandstand has been under construction at John Fallon Field which will seat 2,000 spectators and feature a press box, ticket booths, restrooms and concession stand. As of now the $2 million project, which was started in December of 2007, will be ready by January 2009. “Just in time for our lacrosse teams home opener in February,” Rick Coe, Deputy Athletic Director said.

The project, $7 million in total, will create a better atmosphere for spectators and athletes, Coe said. “We didn’t have any permanent seating and we’ve had a few national games there and ESPN has been there and we thought given the national scope of our team, we wanted a permanent grandstand.”

Phase one of the project was to build the turf fields themselves, as well as the lights. The grandstand, press box and utilities foundations are all part of the second phase. The concession stand and restrooms, which will go underneath the grandstand, and seating for the field hockey field are all part of the third phase, which is still awaiting a budget approval.

Coe is excited that this project continues to keep moving forward, although not without its complications. “We are a little behind schedule as of right now, but construction usually is,” Coe said. He says that the utilities take the longest to install.

Set backs aside, the new grandstand should be a welcoming sight for spectators who had to watch from the grass or from outside the field in previous years. Fans will get to enjoy a new perspective come February, when the Great Danes host their home openers. “I think the team is certainly excited by seeing (the grandstand) out there,” Coe said. “It’s not just a venue for us, it’s for the whole capital region.”

India Implements Brain Scans in Courts

Brain scans have been under heavy research by numerous countries looking for advanced techniques for lie detection. In June, a woman in India was found guilty of murder by use of a brain scan that said she held “experiential knowledge about the crime that only the killer could possess,” a report from the New York Times said. 

India has become the first country to convict someone of a crime relying on evidence from this controversial machine: a brain scanner that produces images of the human mind in action and is said to reveal signs that a suspect remembers details of the crime in question.

For years similar types of techniques have been used to try and peer into the brains of humans to try and decipher deception in the mind. Since September 11th, the United States has been funding and researching brain-based lie detection, but most countries still don’t know enough to have it used in a courtroom as evidence.

The technologies have been showing promise, but are overall still unusable in most court systems. The exception, of course, is in India, where in recent years judges have begun to admit brain scans. But it was only in June, in a murder case in Pune, in Maharashtra State, that a judge explicitly cited a scan as proof that the suspect held specific knowledge of the crime, sentencing her to life in prison.

The device used in the June murder trial was created by neuroscientist Champadi Raman Mukundan and is called a Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature test or BEOS, according to a report from Slashdot.   

The United States, which has been at the forefront of research for brain scan lie detection, has mixed feelings about India’s use in court. My own opinion is that this technology is truely incredible if it does indeed work. However, I agree with scientists in certain reports that say it isn’t reliable enough to be used in court, much less on a murder case where the sentence is life in prison.

I suppose that’s the difference between the United States and India. This topic could be discussed and argued all day, but for now, the United States is still researching and India has used it to sentence a woman to life in prison.

You have to wonder whether or not this technique is better than truth drugs, which have been used over the years. How reliable should a brain scan have to be to sentence someone? Does that person have a right to privacy over their memories? Could this bring an end to lying as we know it?

“The Dark Knight” Continues Record Summer

If anyone has been to the movie theaters this summer, they have undoubtedly heard that “The Dark Knight,” Warner Brothers’ sixth Batman movie, is the film of the summer.

“The Dark Knight,” which stars Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker, is directed by Christopher Nolan. It builds on his “Batman Begins,” which took in more than $200 million at the domestic box office for Warner Brothers after opening to a solid, but not spectacular, $49 million in domestic ticket sales in June 2005.

“The Dark Knight” has done considerably better than “Batman Begins,” setting the record for best opening weekend making $155.3 million, just edging out “Spider-Man 3,” which made $151.1 million in its first weekend.

“The Dark Knight,” which has been out since July 18, has become the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500 million at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4 million, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros. The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took “Titanic,” which reached $500 million in a little more than three months. “Titanic,” the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No. 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8 million.

Movie experts estimate that “The Dark Knight” will not surpass “Titanic,” but will end earning anywhere from $530-550 million. In my own opinion this film really did give the audience a mix of great action, twists and turns and not to mention good acting. Of course the big talk surrounds Heath Ledgers phenomenal performance as the Joker.

Much of the fan interest has been driven by word of a career-topping performance by the Australian actor who died in January. His interpretation of the Joker has already inspired Oscar talk.