What Makes the Apple Crunch?

Apple, it is the largest publicly traded company in the world, with yearly revenues exceeding a 100 billion dollars (Gupta 1). But what makes it such a massive tech company that is probably worth more than Google and Microsoft combined? Was it the idea of delivering innovative and next generation products to the world; planted by its founder Steve Jobs? Or Apple’s amazing marketing techniques including commercials that delve into consumer emotions or hyped press conferences? Whatever it is, it is working for them and they should continue doing whatever they do. In my opinion, the most important thing to learn from Apple's success is their ability to think outside the box and provide oodles of creativity in doing so. Just look at their headquarters in Cupertino:

Looking at their commercials, it's obvious that they do think differently than the rest, encouraging quotes like "Those that are crazy enough to think they can change the world...they do." Time and time again they have proved this through the release of game changing devices every year. Their Macs/Macbooks changed how people looked at computers and are thriving in terms of sales and popularity each year. After the release of the IPhone, Apple proved to be a great innovator in the SmartPhone industry; giving a competitive edge to leading cell phone devices alike with its touch screen interface.
What is common among all Apple products is the great amount of simplicity they bring in terms of the user interface. I am sure that Apple invests a great majority of their research towards the actual design and interaction way before it is put in place. This is why the consumers of Apple products range greatly; with young kids using them to even older generations. I greatly appreciate what Steve Jobs has contributed to technology and I hope that his legacy to "Think Differently" lives on forever.

Gupta, Poornima (August 9, 2011). "Apple briefly passes Exxon as largest U.S. company". Reuters. Retrieved December 24, 2011.

Twitter...Something more than a Social Network

Social Networking has gained momentum in the recent years but one special site that has changed everything is Twitter. It has become a powerhouse social networking website that is making the world closer than we think. It has allowed equality and a sense of connectedness in the online world. Now the notion of conversing with your favourite celebrity doesn't seem so far fetched because of it's unique offering.

The aspect of Twitter that I find most appealing is the use of trending topics in tweets and the amount of impact they have on society. For example, when in a Town Hall meeting held July 2011, Twitter received over 110,000 #AskObama tweets (Dorsey 3) The overall power that Twitter brings to users is overwhelming. These trending topics help to find what people are talking about in their specific region. They can be used to help spread awareness about a campaign for cancer or can just relate to a specific event (as in the Oscars). But it still is yet to reach its full potential. I personally think that a Twitter account should be something comparable to getting a phone. The mass benefit it provides to society is great.

Recently we are seeing many business are utilizing it for the purpose of marketing and getting their name across consumers. It helps to gain a personal conversation with the consumer on their reactions and provides businesses with free publicity at the same time. Celebrities who have millions of followers have the most significant impact as single tweets are read by a massive amount of people. Twitter has become more than a Social Network and its uses are numerous.


Jack Dorsey (July 8, 2011). Impressions on the White House Twitter Townhall. The White House. Retrieved July 10, 2011.

Social Networking Sites and their invasion of privacy in jobs

The various uses of Social Networking Sites have grown rapidly since the past few years. I have heard people using them for reasonable purposes such as spreading social events, catching up with friends or finding out what's trending in world news. Another controversial but widely practiced use of Social Networking Sites is in the recruitment of jobs. It is now normal for employers to "stalk" or scan profiles of potential employees to develop a feel of their personality. Even though this may seem invasive to one's personal privacy, it is considered the norm today. What caught me off guard when I was reading the news was how Employers were requesting the actual passwords of interviewees so that they will have full access to their account. This is mainly due to the fact that most Social Networking Sites, such as Facebook, have options where one can limit the visibility of their profile and therefore protect one's privacy. I find this absolutely ridiculous and as an extreme threat to individual rights and freedoms.












One such example can be given in the case of Rob Macleod, who was being interviewed for a law enforcement position and was asked for his password to browse his profile for any questionable content. "I have nothing to hide. (I said) 'You can look at it. I just don't like to disclose passwords,' " he recalled of the law enforcement position he applied for in 2009. 1. Even with this type of behaviour, Rob agreed with the employer because he really needed that position. I think that any type of involvement by the jobs towards an individual's social profile is strictly a strong violation to their privacy and this type of activity should be restricted in the job market. You can not fully judge a person's work ethic through their online activity. This could lead to people making alternate names online or fully deleting their account as a whole, because of the threat to privacy that this causes. I would rather not accept working at a company where this type of behaviour exists!







Here's a few potential responses, taken from Kevin Mullet, you could give if in the above situation (2). :



No.
As my password is the same for multiple personal and financial accounts, I am not willing to disclose that information.
Heck, no. (Derivatives may be acceptable in certain situations…ok, don’t do that.)
I would be willing to show you a printout of my last 50 status updates; if this will not suffice, I will have to withdrawn my application. (Unless you REALLY, really need the job.)
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
Oh, don’t worry, you can subscribe to my public Facebook feed, which will give you access to all conversations I mean to make public. Obviously, conversations like those occurring in my own home, in a privately addressed letter, or via my own personal phone are off limits.
Are you concerned about what I might say because cause has been given to employees to speak out in the past?
*Updated* It is against Facebook’s terms of service, section 3.5 and 4.8, for me to share this information with you. (Are you asking me to break rules?)
“You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.”


AND ”You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.”See also section 3.12, 5.7 and 5.8 if they want you to friend someone who will “review” your account. See section 3.2 if they mention using “tools” to search for your information.
*Updated* As this information may be used to discriminate against me based on my age, race, religion, or sexual orientation and breaks Facebook’s terms of service section 3.10, I must decline.
“You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or

discriminatory.” (2)

• 
  

1. Dabu, S. (2012, March 21). Employers requesting facebook passwords. Retrieved from http://www.canada.com/news/national/Employers requesting Facebook password violates privacy Experts/6339030/story.html

2.Mulet, K. (2012, March 20). Asked for your facebook password during an interview?. Retrieved from http://www.kevinmullett.com/asked-for-your-facebook-password-the-answer-is-no/

Artificial Intelligence in Video Games

 Good news everyone, there is now games that can be fully automated from scratch! Although it might not be at par with the latest and greatest games in the market, it is still a landmark achievement for Artificial Intelligence as we know it. You can take a shot at one of them, called Santa's Snowfight Escape yourself. 


The name of the project is Angelina and is a project developed by Michael Cook, a PHD candidate at Imperial College in the UK. (Geuss, 2012) The "Angelina" project is used to develop playable video games from thin air. Using complex algorithms, computer science and concepts from artificial intelligence, it is able to fine tune the levels towards a certain difficulty level as the user is playing the game. I personally found this concept as a great idea which is both innovative and most certainly one of its kind.


A.I. in games has come a long way since the use of it to find algorithms for moves in board games such as chess. It was used to challenge human cognition and was certainly successful in these type of situations. However most recently, it has exploded in the realm of video games, where gamers are much more inclined towards realistic approaches in their games. Projects like these will help contribute to the growing uses of A.I. in gaming; which is something that is relied upon nowadays. What I would like to see in the future would be games that could somehow incorporate user emotions into the game to take it to a whole new level. We already have the existence of motion sensors, why not emotion sensors? In these type of games, if a user is feeling puzzled/happy/sad/frustrated, the game would adjust itself and present situations catering to that specific emotion. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out in the next few years, it will definitely not be cheap!

1.  Geuss, M. (2012, March 11). Artificial intelligence project builds video games from scratch. Retrieved from http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/03/artificial-intelligence-angelina-builds-videogams-from-scratch.ars

IPad 3, rumors,rumors and rumors!

Today, there's much anticipation towards the release of the new IPad 3 by Apple. The announcement set for today will be extra special as it is the first time that Apple has held this type of event after Steve Job's passing. There's a various amount of rumors going about on its specs and what type of features it will bring to the consumer. There is no doubt that it will be faster, possible boasting a 4G LTE and there are speculations that the display will be HD (according to qj.net). Also on the list of rumors is the storage size and how it will increase greatly in this upcoming device. Not sure if they will make any major changes to the overall design of the device and type of materials.
It will be interesting to see if the new IPad will blend also. Given any major changes in its infrastructure. These announcements were major landmarks in the world of technology as they introduced innovation and creativity through such devices. It's great that Apple is carrying on with the tradition, as I am  hoping to eventually get my hands on one of these.

As an update the Ipad 3 is finally released and I think its just another money grab for Apple. According to the Apple website, theres a new retina display, a 5MP Camera, 4G LTE, and new apps. Its still an impressive upgrade from the IPad 2 and I think it's enough features to make Apple fans line up to get their hands on this revolutionary device. I think many people will agree with the fact that they could have put these features in the device before. The reason why they don't  do this is to boost their profits, it's all part of their so called "strategy." All this hype before the event launch creates free advertising and only helps in convincing customers that this device is the one to by. Nonetheless, Apple is a game changer and are one of the most innovative device makers in the market, so this type of behaviour  is expected of them. Just hope they don't release an IPad 4 any time soon so that I can invest in this product before it becomes extinct!

Cars that Drive Themselves!

I was astonished as I read the news to find out that many car makers including BMW are making cars that actually drive themselves. With the help of the latest in technology such as sensors with complex algorithms, these cars will be able to maneuver through roads effortlessly and with ease. The driver in most cases, will have full control of the vehicle in the midst of the process. The whole story can be read here. On this news I thought, Wow, Artificial Intelligence is really reaching its peak, or is it? This technology has the ability to change the face of transportation as we know it, making the roads much safer as a whole. Even though it is still in its testing phase, it has successfully been introduced to the streets. But the question is, can this technology pose any threat or has potential to backfire. There is a nuisance regarding the speed limits and how it tediously abides to those. Given this fact, will it be able to perceive exactly how a human would scan traffic? Or is there possibility of failures in specific situations. These questions are extremely important and I am confident that car makers such as BMW are hacking their way through them. Despite this, I would like to give them a round of applause for their innovative efforts and contribution towards this rapidly growing field. 

Is Privacy Dead?

Well here goes my first post towards this blog that I intentionally called “Computers and Society,” because it will cover everything that comes under this definition (and maybe more). After doing an extensive essay on Information Technology and its effects on privacy, I found that there are many unresolved issues to this day on the ethics of computers and how societies have a stance that is unclear in many ways. In one of the parts I mentioned that as technology is advancing, people are also changing or “accommodating” their views in the midst of this progress. Mike Lynch, who is often referred to as the "Bill Gates of UK" has said in an interview that ultimately certain aspects in today's societies are doomed such as privacy. The full article can be read here.  

This may be true in some ways but can't it be said that society itself is redefining what privacy means to them every day? In other words is it adapting to the efficient technology culture in sacrifice of its current beliefs or is it truly feeling a sense of deprivation of its freedom? With the emergence of Social Networks such as Facebook and their overall popularity, I think that people are overlooking the threats that they may cause (such as individual privacy) and are keen 

on joining the majority of users to reap the benefits of a social community. We are now in an era that relies on smart phones and I think this brings a shift in consciousness, making people more "easy going" towards the threat to privacy that information technology poses. This ultimately shows that the comments made by individuals such as Lynch can be deemed irrelevant in a society such as ours; where I believe that technology has an immense effect on society in terms of the beliefs it holds on issues such as privacy.