Smart textiles.

The Clothing of the Future

Imagine knowing your heart rate and breathing rate every time you exercise? Well that's easy...we already have wristbands and handheld gadgets that provide that information.  But wait, what about a wearable medium that you've already been wearing your whole life?? Any guesses.......your CLOTHING.  That's right, smart clothing.  The co-founder of OMSignal predicts that in a decade all clothing that is purchased will have some sort of biofeedback sensors weaved into the fabric.  These smart clothing pieces may possibly be able to monitor stress levels in the body as well, so your shirt can literally tell you to take a chill pill.  This smart clothing will eliminate the need to wear extra accessories, such as the wrist band that can also monitor these vital signs.

Challenges

The problem with the OMSignal clothing is the price. Right now it is difficult to take the prototype and turn it into something that can be mass produced for a reasonable price that will promote consumer support.  This is the first time fabric like this is making it out of the laboratory. This clothing is predicted to be like the gas gauge on cars.  Originally they weren't there, but now we can't imagine cars without them.

What will the future be like?

I think that these clothing items could be useful for many high performing athletes or those who have health conditions that cause these vital signs to be of the utmost importance during physical activity.  However, I believe that we are already so connected...does our clothing have to be also?  However, these shirts have the potential to make great health advancements to encourage more people to be aware of their bodies.  It is crazy to think that this is possible.  It is a wild thought to picture what future technology has in store for the world.  And the big plus, the shirts are machine washable! I wonder if they will come in colors...

Creepy or Useful? The Facebook "Ask" button.

The "Ask" Button

I have seen several articles addressing the implementation of an "Ask" button on Facebook.  This button allows friends to click a button labeled "Ask" next to any of their friends' personal information.  This prompts a box to be opened that will allow a short message in order to ask a question about the personal information.  There is considerable dissatisfaction with the button because of privacy concerns.  Learn more about this button here. 

Is it really doing harm?

The main argument is that this is infringing on peoples' privacy...let's not forget that these people are on FACEBOOK.  If you have an account and expect privacy from other people I don't know why you would have an account.  Facebook is meant for people to CONNECT.  This can be on several levels, whether it be dating or friends it is all about knowing what the other person is doing.  If asking about a relationship status sparks an opening for a relationship then I would say Facebook is doing what it's meant for, connecting people.  If a person asks an inappropriate relationship question then maybe you should consider un-friending that person because they do not posses the qualities of a person you want to associate with.  As far as the hometown, work, school, etc. it may connect people who live in the same area.

The aspect people need to remember is that only people you are friends with can do this.  Thus if you don't feel comfortable enough with the people who are your Facebook friends to have this information than your privacy is already gone.  Just because Facebook gives people this option does not mean that everyone will suddenly be hit with a bunch of questions because most people will know the information either way.

Xbox users rejoice

Microsoft announced that it will no longer charge a fee for Xbox users to use online streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu plus.  This privilege was previously only available for the $60 fee for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions.  Also Microsoft will offer the Xbox one without Kinect for a cheaper price.  This streaming offer includes multiple services and is available for both Xbox 360 and Xbox one.  Read more from the Huffington Post here.   Microsoft is not doing away with the profitable Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, they are still required for other services on the devices. 

I think this is a great change for Microsoft to make.  It makes the product more useful and can give people what they want for less money.  The Gold subscriptions will still be purchased by the "gamers" but for the general public these new options may attract more people to buy the Xbox for more than just games.  Maybe this will create more profit in the end.  I like that Microsoft is attempting to cater to their customers. 

The effect of Facebook on self-esteem.

Facebook

Facebook has undoubtedly changed the way we interact with one another.  It brought a multitude of people into the social media stratosphere.  Do we have stop to fully take that in?  Recently it was Mother's Day, scrolling down my news feed I couldn't miss it.  The multitudes of Facebook users took to their profiles to wish their mothers a happy day.  Some threw in pictures, both recent and old, others went for the note of appreciation.  Some of these posts received over a hundred likes, others received in the single digits.  It shouldn't be a big deal......but is it?

The Effect on our Self-Esteem

A study done by the New York Times claims that people who feel ignored on social media suffer from lower self-esteem.  This is so sad because it is an outlet for us to feel connected.  Unfortunately it is very much a mirror of society.  People often have these left out feelings in RL social interactions, and many find similar situations online.  The study that was conducted in this article claims that those who posted and received little or no feed back felt "invisible" and as a result had lower self-esteem.  This is the hard aspect of online interactions, these feelings are common.  

Reality Check

I often wonder why some statuses get more likes than others even when the level of importance appears to be the same. In my own experiences I have found that it is related to how often people post, this creates more of a steady following base of people that will be more inclined to like or comment on posts.  Also, as the TED talk we listened to in class explained our news feeds are filtered so it may be that some posts have been filtered more than others.  I think that people shouldn't use social media as a means to gain self-esteem.  Social media should be for personal enjoyment and not for the "likes".  Focus more on having a few close people who truly care about you rather than 100 people who just like to "creep" :) 

  

Put an end to the glorification of drama!

Bullying vs. Drama

I can think of three girls that I went to school with who were mean girls.  They created endless amounts of drama, and do you know what made it worse?  Their mothers.  Ever time the victims of these means girls' attacks would try to call the girl out they would run to their moms and twist the story.  And that is the fundamental problem with combating bullying...stories can get twisted.  The truth is difficult to discern when two sides of a story don't match up.  I think this problem is why bullying shouldn't be called bullying.  If there are two sides of a story, then there is wrong on both ends.  Similar to Boyd's argument, there needs to be inequality.  Often when two sides get twisted it's because friends turned against each other.  Having recently left high school last year, the "drama" is all too fresh in my mind.

Drama, Drama, Drama

How do we fight against drama?  Stop glorifying it.  It is simple.  Stop rewarding bad behavior with attention, status, and money.  What is the quickest way for a celebrity to get a front page story in the magazines?  Behave badly.  That is the behavior that is modeled for teens and so that is what they act like.  It's looked at as cool to be mean.  In reality niceness will get you much farther in life. 

Punishment adds to the "drama" because that just makes the people lash out at something else.  The person who was previously directing their bad behavior at peers will now direct it at authority figures. I agree that bullies are often dealing with deeper emotional issues and should be assigned a councilor or therapy session.  Situations like the one Amanda Todd went through should never happen.  However, look at how much attention it bullies are given, but look at the price they pay.  I think that more emphasis should be put on the prices that people pay for the fame they receive rather than the fame itself.  Think of how powerful a story would be if a girl overcame all of her adversity and made something positive out of it.  Share the story and promote awareness rather than guilt. I can only hope that this online world can become a safer place for all who use it.  No one should feel that they are helpless.

Can you hear me now?

Does anyone remember those Verizon commercials with the guy who was always saying "can you hear me now? Good." and walking all over the place? Well although it always appears that the person on the other line of the call can hear the man, that might not always be the case now.  Personally I feel that I have to have my call volume all the way up to hear who I am talking to.  I am frequently having to repeat what I say and sometimes I hear my own voice echoing in the phone when I am talking.  I used to think it was just me...but a recent article in the New York Times gives me the answers I am looking for.  I am not crazy.  Call quality really is going bad.  This is not new, in fact companies have been continually trying to remedy the problem with various promises such as high speed LTE or 4G networks.  This process ended up being much more expensive than anticipated, so we are still waiting for these miraculous improvements.  Now this new HD voice is supposed to me the cure-all to the frustrating "what" language that frequents cellular phone calls.

I do not think that this HD voice is worth all the hype around it.  At the moment it will only work on certain networks and with that both callers must have that network.  With the multitude of networks that are out their it is rare to have everyone you need to talk to on the same network.  I think it would be great to have better call quality, however I am skeptical because the other attempts have failed.  I am an avid texter and I think that the bad call quality plays a role in this.  At least it's a good excuse :) I hope that the advancements will make a difference and as a whole we can spend a little bit less time repeating and a little more time conversing.