Facts about Computers

This is a presentation done by me and Chris based on facts about computers (Stuff like programs, systems, etc). Enjoy!

The Big Picture

What is machine language and how is it different from human language? 

Machines use codes that they can read (binary codes) which are basically 1 and 0. There are different forms of combinations of 1 and 0s so that the system can read it and transform it into whatever the codes represent. Humans use alphabets and letters, which are both symbols, as language. Even though the language is totally different, both languages represent almost the same things, except in different forms.

Who was the first computer programmer? What did she create? Explain in details. 

The first computer programmer was an English woman named Augusta Ada Byron, or Lovelace. She was a fan of Charles Babbage's works in programming. She was good in Math and was interested in programming. The important thing she did was that she added notes which included complete details into the Analytical Engine. That means she was able to not only improve calculations, but also allow the computer to use numbers to make graphics, language, and music. She also was first to recognize that computers could be tied to music - by composing music. 

Dylancholy. "OMG Facts - The First Computer Programmer Was Lord Byron's Daughter, Born in 1816." RSS. OMG Facts, 22 June 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. <http://www.omg-facts.com/History/The-first-computer-programmer-was-Lord-B/52075?c_val=1>.

Diwali!

HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE! Here is a Prezi presentation done by me explaining about Diwali :) Enjoy!'

Diwali on Prezi

"Invisible" keyboard for iPhone

In the 20th century, it was quite rare for a person to have a mobile phones. Mobile phones back then were very simple and expensive compared to phones today. Today, almost everyone has a phone. In fact, not having a phone would only make it weird for a person in today's world. Phone technology has improved so much within the 10 years of the 21st century. We can tap on the phones to type. Now, you can just tap on your tables and you'll be typing already. These keyboards are physically non existent and when you press in the appropriate places, the vibrations will be picked up by the phone and show what you tapped on the desk. This is another huge step for the "Vibrative Virtual Keyboard" companies.

- Can type on the "invisible keyboard" and the phone will pick up the vibrations made, showing the letter you typed
- Can be used on any surfaces
- These don't really require touchscreen surfaces or scanners in order to type
- It is still being developed

I think there are a few good things to this keyboard. Since this keyboard can, in theory, be accessible anywhere on a surface, a typing keyboard will not be necessary. This can be helpful or bringing your phones anywhere you want. Just install the software and turn on the bluetooth and you're good to go! Another good thing could be that it's much easier to type on the "invisible" keyboard than tapping the letters on the iPhone (the letters are tiny and some people find them hard to press). The third good thing could be that it might encourage people to finally use the iPhone as an educational thing (to write notes, etc). Since it's much easier to type on an iPad than it is on an iPhone, people don't really get iPhones. Now with this keyboard, it could help encourage people and make them think twice before getting an iPad.

Like always, when there is an advantage, there is a disadvantage. Disadvantages could be that overusing it or if it makes you tap on a surface hard, it'll hurt your fingers and possibly damage them. Also, since it is affected by vibrations, maybe listening to music won't be such an effective way to use this (unless it can detect differences and only pick up vibrations that you make by tapping). And third, it is probably not really easy to type with and since it uses some auto-wording, it may be frustrating to get it the way you want it. Then again, this is only a prototype.

Will these keyboards improve and change the world by allowing you to type anywhere on a phone? Will this new keyboard ACTUALLY influence people to buy an iPhone instead of an iPad? As a prototype and as a complete device, how can this actually help phone users apart from typing? Will this be the new generation of typing? Can the phones pick up the correct vibrations? These are all unanswered questions that people would love to know. Of course it's only a prototype and it is definitely good for a prototype.

Ray, Bill. "IPhone Senses You Typing on Table, Bit of Wood Etc, Turns Vibes to Text • The Register." IPhone Senses You Typing on Table, Bit of Wood Etc, Turns Vibes to Text • The Register. TheRegister, 9 Nov. 2012. Web. 09 Nov. 2012. <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/09/vibrating_keyboard/>.

Spying on Child: Risk it or no?

Everyone, if not, almost everyone has a social network that they are part of. With computers and all those devices such as iPad or any technological stuff, people can chat with friends or random people. With the Internet and enhancement of technology, people have started to connect more with each other, whether if they're friends in real life or random strangers on the Internet. Out of all those people, kids are one of the most active groups on the Social Network media such as Facebook or Twitter. The social networks can largely affect a child's life and if bullied, can lead to suicide. All of this has lead to awareness from parents. Parents ban children from going on social network websites and some parents keep track of what their children do. Not all children are the same but children have their own private rights. So are parents allowed to track everything their child does and give them no private rights? 

- Kids should be able to have freedom and private rights

- Some parents keep track of what their children do by keylogging or many other tracking methods

- Parents need to be able to trust their children until it reaches a certain point

- Parents should talk to their children more and try to find out the reasons for why they use technological devices

Many cases such as Amanda Todd's suicide, has caused many parents to be more secure with their children. I think one good thing about parents tracking what their children do is that it prevents children from doing crazy things and allows parents to be aware of any bad situation their child might be in, allowing them to help or prevent their child from using social networks. Another advantage may be that the child are becoming more open and allows them to create more friends. Kids should be able have their own private rights. Not everyone in this world are bad and by making children from having limits to what they can do, it prevents them from meeting good, helpful, and smart people on the Internet that the child might actually enjoy talking to. Another possible advantage could be that the child is active, happy, and improves communication with new people they might meet in the future (in other words, practicing talking with new and random people might help the child when the child meets new people in real life).

One possible disadvantage is that if the kid has too much private rights, it might lead to the parent being unaware of the child's bad situation (if the child were to be in one). Some people on the Internet are kind and just want to meet new people, but most people sit behind their computers like cowards and just make other people's lives as miserable as they can. Another disadvantage could be that allowing children too much time on the Internet, might get them addicted to the Internet and get too sensitive about what people say. Since most people are bad, some child safety would be nice. 

Could there be a way to ban and/or arrest all the people on the Internet who like to insult and/or cause harm to other people? Could there be a way for a child to have lots of freedom but meet only nice people on the Internet? Instead of banning social network sites or preventing use of technological devices to children, is there a way that parents can teach their children how they must act and follow those rules on the Internet? 

Vila, Monica. "Trending Stories." Mashable. Mashable Lifestyle, 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/10/19/monitor-kids-spy-fine-line/>.

Google brings out their own "Siri"

Apple's Siri or Samsung's S Voice has really revolutionized this world and showed the world that the world is improving in technology extremely quickly. About 5 years ago we had to turn on our computers and had to search with a keyboard and typing. Now we can just turn on our iPhone, connect to the Wi-Fi, and just speak the words of what you were going to search right into the phone. Now Google wants to join in on the fun with their own voice-assisted intelligent personal assistant - the "Google Now". And of course, Apple now allows the application on their Appstore.

-"Google Now" may now be used a lot more than the Siri of Apple's products
-Both Siri and Google Now have very similar results and both are efficient when asked a question
-When asked a specific question, Google Now is the better voice-assist application system
-While Google Now is slightly better at searching for results, it cannot do many things that Siri can, such as setting your alarm
- Google Now can be used on both iProducts and Android while Siri is only on Apple products


I think that one possible advantage is that it allows Android users to be more comfortable with searching and that they finally have their own voice-assist system. It helps people get used to Google and will now search things much more easier and with good results. People might also have been lazy to search something because they had to type it - now they can just speak it out and they'll get the results.

Like always, where there is an advantage, there's always a disadvantage. With all these stuff, it's good to know that technology is improving but what about health? With Google Now, more people will now start to become so much lazier by just talking instead of using their hands. Like holding your phone and searching your stuff was hard enough, now you can just speak it out. "Google Now" has a limitation to searching whereas Siri can search or do many things such as opening an application or setting an alarm.

Will "Google Now" improve and make it to the point where many people want to convert from Siri to "Google Now?" (Improve as in better search results, more helpful, and helps with the phone like Siri). What can Google Now do to make their search results better and attract more people? Will there be anything for mute or deaf people or people who have trouble talking?

Cheng, Jacqui. "ArsTechnica." Ars Technica. Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2012. <http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/10/googles-enhanced-voice-search-lands-in-ios-app-store/>.

Tablets as main entertainment?

There are many types of entertainment in every generation. As technology improves, entertainment also changes. In the Medieval Ages, they had books, live shows, many types of physical games. The 20th century had televisions and shows. In the 21st Century, technology just exploded and computer technology has improved a lot. 8 years into the 21st Century, we had smartphones. And now 10 years into the 21st Century, we already have an invention which hundreds of millions use - tablets. Studies show that everyday, millions of people worldwide play games in the evening or whenever they have time. The world is changing very quickly and entertainment sources are becoming more fun to play.

- People are starting to use tablets as entertainment more than smartphones.
- People tend to play with tablets whenever they have free time or in the evening
- People are more focused and play on tablets longer than people who play on smartphones

I think an advantage is that it helps people get used to the tablets. Games also help people in a mental way (example: help pick decisions better, mental concentration improves, etc). Game marketing will also improve on tablets, well because people are starting to play games more on tablets than on consoles or watching TV.

To advantages, there are always disadvantages. A possible disadvantage could be that the game could be too addicting, bringing down a student's grades. Another possible disadvantage is that people are not becoming productive and becoming more dull by the minute. They could be out there learning something or playing sports in the evening but they spend time on their tablets.

I think gaming could be a good thing to ease off stress but it could lead to the disadvantages I stated above. Could there be a way where gaming DOES improve your mental abilities drastically? Is there a way where gaming could actually be productive in anyway possible? Is this starting to become a real problem? Those are unanswered questions that could prove anything.

This video is a small example of games on the iPad.

Etherington, Darrel. "Study Shows Why Tablets Could Become The New Center Of Living Room Entertainment." TechCrunch. TechCrunch, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. <http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/29/study-shows-why-tablets-could-become-the-new-center-of-living-room-entertainment/>.

Halloween Fun

This is my collage for Mr.Pete's Halloween Fun.

By Yugi G10B

The Anti-Suicidal Spray

In every generation, every decade, and even all the way back to the medieval times, there has been war. In the Dark Ages, there was the Crusades, which caused thousands of soldier and civilian life (back then was a lot). In 18th Century, there was the American Revolution. In the 1940s, World War II was there and now, there is a war going on between America and the Al Qaeda. I'm sure in every war, there were suicides of soldiers, especially in today's world. The University School of Medicine have made an anti-depression spray that causes soldiers to not be depressed and prevent suicide. The author says that it might help the soldiers not kill themselves when they want to.

- The pill was created because many soldiers started committing suicide (116, highest record) when they were depressed.
- Replaces the chemicals that you make when you get depressed with chemicals that allow you to be calm.
- They didn't use this long ago because it was hard to make it effective as a pill or injection.


What could be an advantage to this new spray? Well soldiers are civilians when they are not fighting (obviously), so the spray is saving lots of lives. It allows more troops to be deployed and this spray might save their lives and maybe after the military service, go back to getting on with their lives. They are advantages well, because they allow the soldiers to live and move on instead being depressed and kill themselves for nothing. They could have a potential of changing the entire future, who knows?

To every advantage, there's always a disadvantage. A possible disadvantage to this new drug could be that it could prevent natural feelings and thoughts, which having natural thoughts is always the best than controlled ones. Who knows how long this drug might last? The soldier may not be depressed, but once the drug wears off, it'll start all over again. Even if they're not depressed, they know deep inside their heads that something bad happened.

How long do these drugs last and will it cause any negative effects (brain cell damage, etc)?
Will this help the soldiers fight, shoot, and prevent them from thinking about the situation?
Will the drug actually help on a long term run or will it end up as a waste of medicine?

Eipstein, Mike. "Trending Stories." Mashable. Geekosystem, 19 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Aug. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/08/19/anti-suicide-spray/>.

My thooper thummer holiday :D

Mass Effect 2

In the 21st century, games are one of the most famous things in the world and make up a huge part in technology. Games earn one of the most money in the world. Games are important in today's world, not physically, but mentally. Games help you improve some of your skills. Of course, too much games aren't good but playing some can ease your stress and sometimes help you learn and get creative. Today, we are going to talk about an amazing game called Mass Effect 2. We've done Mass Effect 3 before but this is the sequel to Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 2 is a futuristic third-person shooter game made by Bioware in 2010. It's about a person who's trying to fight aliens who are trying to kidnap races of all kinds (humans, aliens, etc) to create a weapon that'll destroy every living thing in the Milky Way Galaxy. Mass Effect 2 has won numerous awards. It has been voted as one of the best consoles ever made. It has been also voted Xbox's 14th best game ever made.

In the future, about 200 years later, humans will go all around the Milky Way Galaxy and find other alien races. They have wars with them, make economic businesses with them, live with them and all those stuff. All those wars make humans the dominant race of the Milky Way Galaxy. Every 50,000 years, life in the Milky Way is wiped out by the Reapers. It is now 50,000 years and the Reapers are coming back but need to make a weapon. Commander Shepard, a soldier who previously saved Earth and other planets before, comes back and saves them from kidnappers called "Collectors". He doesn't do this alone. He gathers a team from all around the galaxy to fight the Collectors. This eventually leads to him trying to save the entire galaxy. He goes on a suicide mission and depending on what the player decides, he makes it out alive or is dead with his teammates. It's an amazing game and everyone should try it at least once to experience the epicness of the story and gameplay. It's an amazing game because it's action-packed and has a good storyline. It's also amazing because you can make your own choices which will decide the whole series no matter what.

Lesson Learned: Social Studies!

Social Studies is a very important subject to everyone. You need maths to calculate everything and make shapes and buildings. You need Biology to know how life works and how to go against diseases. You need ICT to be able to create all and help create a better future through technology. Every subject has its purpose. In Social Studies, you learn about the history of humans. Social Studies is important because you need to know how everything started and how cruel war is. To be a diplomat, you need to have good knowledge of history to make arguments and prevent any war possible.

In Social Studies, we are learning about the Cold War and how the World is after World War 2. After Hitler died and World War 2 ended, Germany was left in ruins. Germany was divided into two:  Western Democratic Germany and Eastern Communist Germany. Half a century later, they reunited but had economic problems because of East Germany. After World War 2, America and Soviet Union became the super powers of the world, trying to prevent one another from gaining power. They both fought each other in the Cold War (not exactly fought but was sort of a war), where a nuke was about to happen. If one nuke was launched, the two super powers and their allies would destroy the whole world with nuclear weapons. We learned many of these stuff in Social Studies class. 

Lesson Learned: ICT Class!

Like the Grade 9 always do, we learn new stuff from out awesome teacher, Mr.Pete. Mr. Pete has taught us countless things, bring us into the world of technology, create a huge job potential, and get ready for anything you want to be in the future. He's taught us since Grade 7 and he's taught us alot. He taught us how to use a program called Sketchup, which is a program that allows you to build stuff of your dreams, he showed us the world of technology through blog posts every Monday, and he's teaching us how to use professional stuff like Photoshop, In Design, and Illustrator, which will all be used in the future.

This week, in Mr.Pete's awesome class, we learned a little about Sketchup and a lot about Photoshop, In Design, and Illustrator. He showed us how to show the measurements of our restaurant. We took a picture of it and put it in Photoshop to make some changes. He's still teaching us a few more things but we've learned how to make your stuff more stylish and awesome. We placed labels and added colors to the background. We put that into InDesign and using Illustrator and Photoshop, we managed to make a cool border. This is all thanks to the awesome wonders of Mr.Pete. 

Transcendent Man

Last week, in Mr.Pete's ICT class, we watched a video called Transcendent Man. This video took about an hour and a half and it was one of the most important technological videos I've ever seen. This video did not just explain about the new technologies today and how it's improving, but how future will change, how future will deal with technology, how technology will improve and maybe even kill lives, and much more. This was a video based on the ideas of a man named "Ray Kurzweil".This man started his young age successfully, getting Bachelor of Science degree in MIT. When he was young, he owned successful companies. One of them was selling computer programs. Now he's a futurist - a person who thinks about the future and tries to predict the future.

Ray Kurzweil stated that the world would change in many ways. One example was that humans would eventually become synthetic and less biological. We would become much more like robots than ordinary human beings. Kurzweil thinks this is inevitable and there are many debatable topics about this. He thinks this is possible because in the future, they'll be able to create nanobots, which can effectively live on our red blood cells. Even if they don't live in our body, on the outside world, there will be robots. Now many people agree and disagree with this. Some people think this will be extremely effective and will help humankind get smarter and possibly improve life. Some people think synthetic beings will look down on humans eventually and will look at us like we're insects and kill us. Both of these are possibilities, that's why for now, they're not changing humankind.

This is important to remember because this could be the changing factor of your life, your children's lives, your grandchildren's life, and so on. Technology has made it easy for mankind. It also proved to be dangerous and used for business. People today have computers to play games, watch their favorite videos, listen to music, chat, and all those stuff all because of technology. In a hundred years time, they can probably just think it in their heads and they'll get the full song instantly. That's how rapid technology is going to evolve. In my opinion, the nanobot thing is all great but why would we need to improve technology so fast? We humans cannot get to the point that we're so lazy that we don't need to type to search up something. Maybe if it were to help our body function work better, it'll be fine but unlimited age is NOT acceptable. People have to die so that new generations can come and live or else it'll be overpopulated (which the world ALREADY is).

I've learned that human technology is going to improve and change everyone's life and it cannot be changed. I learned that everything is possible with technology and technology will go against nature's law such as death and survival of the fittest. I also actually learned that nanobots do exist and can prove to be very useful, but would effectively increase the laziness of humans and would be too easy to do anything. All the smart people, all the musicians, and all these people with special talents that you look up to have special talents and with these technologies, all that would be pointless.So in my opinion, we should wait a lot longer, until we find another planet that humans can live on. When we reach the point to be able to go to another planet and live there, we can certainly try combining humans with machines. 

DIY "Descriptive Camera"

So we all know what a camera does. It can take pictures or record videos. You can take those pictures and upload it on Facebook to share it with your friends, print it out and keep it in your living room or bed room in a frame, or just keep it in your camera for fun! So that's pretty cool. Being able to take a real life image and storing it in one device is one pretty hard device to make. Well guess what? Now there's a camera that prints out a description of what the picture you just taken looks like. This "Descriptive Camera" prints out a description and a picture of what the image looks like. Since it's a little too hard to take pixel by pixel and compare with others, they send it to a place called "Beaglebone" and have someone sort of describe it. It then is printed in the back of the camera.

I learned that technology is improving extremely quickly. First we had sticks and stones. Then we started to be able to forge steel and iron weapons and carve statues. Then the Renaissance came and improved painting and acting. Then guns were made and many technologies were made. Now we have today, the age of technology. We have amazing influences like Apple and it started with Windows. We have a non-colored and immobile camera, but now we have cameras that can take colored images and cameras that are able to describe something.

O'Brien, Terrence. "DIY 'Descriptive Camera' Captures Images, Prints out Prose." Engadget. Engadget, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/25/diy-descriptive-camera-captures-images-prints-out-prose/?utm_source=twitterfeed>.

Anti-Trojan system being made by Apple

So as you all should know, there's a virus around the world called the "Trojan Virus" that infects other computers. The purpose of this is to prank another person, get secret information, and for business purposes. The Trojan Horse virus was named after the Greek story "Trojan War" where the Greeks tricked the people of Troy. They did this by giving the people of Troy a large fake horse filled with soldiers as a gift of peace. At night, the soldiers would break out of the horse and open the gates of Troy, allowing the rest of the Greek soldiers in and end the Trojan War. Now to the main point. Many Mac computers that were created by Apple, have started to get infected by the virus alone. An estimated 650,000 Macs are infected by the Trojan Horse. The Apple company is trying to find an anti-virus system that would detect and remove the virus.

So how does this benefit us, the world, and many others? Well it shows that Apple is a company dedicated to their customers and helping them create an anti-virus system. Since technology will be better in the future, you must be able to counter anything like viruses. Though it is very selfish of people to infect computers for their own good, you can't help it. You can instead find a way to improve your ways of getting uninfected and help others not get infected too.

"Apple Develops Tool to 'detect and Remove' Flashback Trojan." BBC News. BBC, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17675314>.

Flying Cars? You bet

We may all think that movies are fake and that many creative and awesome things that come from movies cannot be brought into real life. All those stuffs like jet packs, hover boards, and flying cards may seem like an impossible thing to make, but with the technology, no way. Flying cars are now real. Totally real. A company called the Terrafugia have created the first flying cars ever. It may not be the one you think it is, with jet boosters and stuff, but it still has wings and is the first step in building flying cars. This flying car can really fly in the skies according to witnesses, pilots, and drivers.

So what does this tell us? Like everything related to technology, this tells us that mankind has evolved from being very simple cavemen, to people who can create cars that go against gravity. This may cure traffic jams and be an entire new step in human technology. People driving on the ground, people flying in the air, what next? People riding bicycles that are equipped with a jet booster? Who knows. It's technology and anything is possible.

Pachal, Peter. "Featured in Social Media." Mashable. Mashable, 6 Apr. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/04/05/terrafugia-transition-unfolds/>.

Portal 2

Everybody in this world loves different kinds of games. Violent games, action games, peaceful games, fun games, strategic games, puzzle games, storyline games, and all those different types. Well this game, Portal 2, is a puzzle game. Common sense tells us that this game is a sequel to Portal 1. Portal/Portal 2 is a first-person viewed puzzle game where you play as a character who has to solve and go through different kinds of puzzles. You are Chell, a mute woman who wakes up in a room with a robot named Glados who wants you to go through tests.

Imagine being in a lab, being the only person alive, in an abandoned military lab, with a robot trying to run tests on you. The storyline is a bit weird. When the lab was not abandoned, Chell tried to kill and run tests on Glados. After the lab got abandoned because of Glados, it turned the other way around. In Portal and Portal 2, Chell tries to live and go through Glados's puzzles. She also finds about what happened to the place. It's an amazing puzzle game where it never gets boring. In Portal 2, a robot named Wheasely tries to save you from Glados. Turns out, he's evil and takes over the place and tries to kill you. You help Glados, who becomes a potato, try to take back control. After you've done that and killed Wheasely, you go back to Earth through a long tunnel.

Lesson Learned: Biology class!

So does anyone wonder how life began? What's the purpose of life? How we are existing? Why are we what we are? Why animals think and react differently? Well most or all of those can be answered through science. In Mr.Brian's biology class, we learned something new, like we always do. We are starting to learn a hell lot about Biology. We finished learning about evolution and now we've moved on to a kinesis (reaction to something) of an animal. We're also learning about some body parts of humans, fishes, and amphibians but that will be explained later.

So what do you do when someone's about to punch you? You blink or use your reflexes to block the punch. That's a kinesis already. I did an experiment to test the kinesis of a turtle to see what reaction it would have when light shines on it. When I did the experiment, the turtle was scared of ANYTHING that moved very quickly in front of its face. It was an "innate response" or a response that happens and you can't help it because you're born that way. The baby turtle didn't care so maybe he was operant conditioned (learned) or maybe he was born not be super scared or it could be an imprinted response (learning in your early life that you remember forever) to not be scared of the light or maybe it didn't learn yet. That's all for this week and I'll see you next time!

ICT Class: Lesson learned!

So it's time for another lesson of Mr.Pete's super awesome class! Another day, another new thing learned, and another step to our careers. In Mr.Pete's amazing ICT class, we actually learn something new, not learning something like "this is a computer and this is a keyboard" or any of those stuff. They were important, but it's time to step up and who better to teach us than the super Mr.Pete. In this week (April) he was absent for the "main courses" so we had individual assessments.

Prior to the week Mr.Pete left for his stuff, we had to make a sketch of what our restaurant would look like and what the lengths would be. Using the stuff we learned from making our classrooms (windows, doors, walls, lengths, etc), we put it all together and many of us came up with extremely creative ideas. I made a simple structure, but it had many rooms. It was a building where there would be a hallway connecting to 4 places - the bathrooms, the entrance, and the dining halls. I may make a more creative design but I think it seems good enough. So that's all for today for Mr.Pete's super, awesome, amazing, ICT class and I'll see you next time!

A not-so-clear-but-good-enough diagram of what my restaurant MIGHT look like.

Viruses on computers evolve

Many things in this world all evolve. Whether if it's to suit your needs or if it's a struggle to survive, many things evolve. Like humans, they started from the "Australopithecus" then into the "Homo Habilis" then into the "Homo Erectus" and so on until us "Homo Sapiens". So basically, evolution is everywhere, especially in digital life. As computers evolve, so do applications, technologies, and even viruses. Viruses infect your computer, hack your files, steal your information, or maybe even stop your computer from working. In a real life situation, if you have a virus and something that tries to kill the virus, then the virus has to evolve. It's the same situation here, as computers become more complex, so do viruses.

So why do people even want to create viruses if it's very bad for your computers?  Well one main reason is profit. One possible theory can be that the anti-virus creators created the viruses in order to make profit and well, earn a lot of money. People spread viruses because of business, information thievery, pranks, jokes, and to break people's computers. Viruses can come into your computers in many ways. One can be an internet download file, or an advertisement, or a file from another infected computer, or phishing websites, and tons more. In 2004, there were 37 million infected files. There are so many viruses today that every 3.5 seconds, a "threat" is shown to a computer because there's a possible virus.

Tabouli, Julie. "Threat Morphosis: Evolution of the Computer Virus [infographic]." Daily Infographic. Daliy Inforgraphic, 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://dailyinfographic.com/threat-morphosis-evolution-of-the-computer-virus-infographic?utm_source=feedburner>.

The Off Spring

Music is something everyone listens to right? Music is something everyone should love. There are many different kinds of music like pop rock, metal, classical, jazz, and tons more. Me personally, I love rock, metal, punk or pop. A classic example of a punk rock band is called "The Offsprings". They are an American punk rock band that plays awesome music. They are very famous and is loved by everyone. The band was formed in 1984.  They are an old band but they still play cool music. They were formed around the time when rock and punk were the most famous. Green Day is a fan of "The Off Springs".

The Off Spring consist of 4 current members. The lead guitarist (Noodles), Dexter Holland (rhythm guitar, lead singer), Greg K. (bassist), and Pete Parada (drummer). Pete Parada replaced a former drummer named (Atom). These 4 have created music that are funny, awesome, and real-life related. Their album "Smash" made them extremely famous. Two good examples of The Off Spring is below:

Lesson learned: Social Studies!

You may or may not be thinking "hey, why on Earth are we learning about social studies anyway?". Well, the answer is simple - because it's important! All your buildings, all the cool traditional stuff you do, all the cool places you visit like the Great Wall of China is all based on Social Studies! History is extremely important. Science depends a lot on history for the technology and ancient studies. If you also want to be part of an organization like the UN, you need to be good at social studies.

In Mr.Randy's social studies class, we learned all about the moon landing theories. Some people thought the US landing on the moon was a fake and some thought it was real. There were some good arguments on both sides. It was real because even America's biggest enemy at that time, Soviet Union, agreed that the rock the Americans brought was not from Earth. The US landing was fake because there were no stars and no wind but the flag was still shaking. There's many different possibilities to this moon hoax. It's very enjoyable and I hope to learn more.

ICT class: Lesson learned!

Every week is a fresh new week, a fresh new day, and is always a fresh new lesson learned! In Mr.Pete's class we always learn something new! Whether it's an article review, or a sketching design, or any thing taught by Mr.Pete is very crucial. This week, I only had a lesson with Mr.Pete on Monday. Since I had a soccer tournament on Wednesday, I couldn't attend to his awesome class. Friday is a holiday making Mr.Pete class lovers desperate. Last week Friday, Mr.Pete could not come and teach us, which made us sad. Luckily, he gave an assignment, which loyal Mr.Pete followers did.

On Monday, which was the only class we learned in, was the day we did an article review.  Last Friday, we were given a task to do an article review too. We were also asked to make a rough and random Google sketchup of our restaurant using what we learned. I used different types of shapes and measures to make the buildings. I make creative buildings and random stuff. 

My Internet is really bad and I can't easily load the Edmodo page. I can't download my Sketchup photo.

Don't understand a language? Microsoft is coming to help!

When you don't understand a word, you look it up on the dictionary. You don't understand a word in another language, you look it up on your dictionary or search it up on the Internet. If you grew up in a village or a place that uses only one or two languages, then you probably don't understand languages from countries all around the world. Well, now Microsoft is trying to work on a translator that takes YOUR voice and translates it to another language! That's a whole new technology! Sure, there's Google translate and all those stuff but what if you don't know the word properly? Google Translate is great, but if you can speak and have it translated, then that's one awesome technology.

This is another good step in improving technology. Technology has helped the world be a good and easier place to live. Now Microsoft has a translator that everyone is allowed to use and can prove to be very useful. Now this translator can allow people to learn a second, or third, or possibly even a seventh language! This translator could be very helpful in business through the Internet and maybe even worldwide. Maybe this could open up a whole new technology. Maybe even for foreign users who can't speak English and can't use stuff like Photoshop or Sketchup or any applications, this could be the possible answer to their problems.

Iliaifar, Amir. "Microsoft Working on Program That Translates Your Voice into Another Language." Digital Trends. Digital Trends, 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. <http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/microsoft-working-on-software-that-would-translate-your-voice-into-another-language/>.

Physical body vs intelligence

Today, video games are becoming so much more popular and video game companies are earning a lot of money because people today buy games a lot. Xbox, PS3, PC, and Wii are probably the four most used and famous gaming devices or consoles in the world. They give access to games and can turn a bored person into the most excited and happy person in the world. Though people are having fun, there's a big question. Gamers like to sit around and play their games. Some gamers may do physical activities but it won't help much. Now you know where this is going to. What is happening to peoples' health? Are people in the future going to be very unhealthy? This may seem bad but there's also good news. Human minds are improving more because of games.

So what is happening to the health of gamers? Some gamers play sports so that may be fine but to gamers that don't play sport may have a little trouble. They don't exercise their bodies and they may get fat, increasing cancer chance. Maybe even lack of sleep are ruining gamers' health. These are all bad, but it's time for the good news. Studies have shown that human minds are getting better. Regardless of what games they play, they made humans more creative. Strategic games like Starcraft have made people think 4 times more faster. Games like World of Warcraft made people more creative. Red Dead Redemption gamers could make decisions 25% faster and more correct. Those are the advantages gained from games. So what is human going to be like? I think we can balance out both game and physical activity so that we have a healthy body and a creative mind.

Hughes, Jeff. "Body versus Mind: Gaming and Your Health." Digital Trends. Digital Trends, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/body-versus-mind-gaming-and-your-health/>.

Mass Effect 3

Everyone's heard of FPS games (which some are overrated) and it's kind of fun. You want more fun? It's called "TPS" which is "Third Person Shooter" games which means you see the person in third person view (able to see their bodies). TPS games are amazing especially for storylines. FPS games make great multiplayer, but bad storylines because you can't see what's going on. A very perfect example of a TPS is called "Mass Effect." It's a game where human kind, 200 years later and very advanced, would meet other alien species and get along with them until another group of aliens come and try to wipe them all out. It's an amazing game and I recommend people to try it. Another thing very special about this game is it has sub-plots and an interesting story. The player faces multiple troubles. Whatever decision the player is given and makes, affects their entire Mass Effect career. If you played Mass Effect, it can be brought in Mass Effect2, and same for Mass Effect 3. That's what's amazing and special. Those who say this game is bad can go cry a river because they don't know anything.

Mass Effect 3 is the newest  and last sequel to the Mass Effect storyline. It was released on March 6, 2012. In Mass Effect 1, a man (or woman you can pick), named "Commander Shepard" will fight against a group of robotic aliens and find out a whole lot about the "truth." They try to stop a villain who tried to use a powerful race as his slaves to conquer the world. Then in Mass Effect 2, Shepard dies but is resurrected by a rich company named "Cerberus." Their goal is to make mankind famous and superior. In Mass Effect 2, Shepard tries to stop a group of aliens called the "Collectors" by gathering a team of fighters and engineers. The Collectors collect humans and turn them into energy for their destructive device. Shepard goes and stops them. 6months - 1 year later, Shepard returns because of a surprise alien attack invasion by the 'Reapers". They are an alien race that comes out every 50,000 years to wipe out an entire galaxy. The Reapers picked on the humans and in Mass Effect 3, Shepard returns, with a few old allies and has to make as much allies as possible while dealing with internal problems of him and his teammates. Alone, they are like ants to the Reapers, but united, they can beat the Reapers and save themselves, which is the goal of Shepard.

Geometry Lesson learned!: length and angles of quadrilaterals

All the houses you see, the house you live in, your windows,  the tallest building in this world, your favorite department stores, and even your remote controller or mobile phones were built using Geometry. Geometry is an extremely important subject as it teaches you all about angles and lines of shapes and everything related to shapes. Architects have to be good at Geometry and it's an extremely important topic even if you aren't becoming an architect. When manufacturing something like a can or a guitar, you need geometry. That's how important Geometry is. Our Geometry teacher is Mr.Eubin who is an excellent teacher because he can teach and be funny at the same time (well all teachers in Wells are funny and teach well). So you can say almost everything in this world, like your keyboard and computer, was made using Geometry.

In Mr.Eubin's awesome Math class, we learned how to measure the angles of quadrilaterals, which are shapes with 4 sides. We used Mr.Eubin's equation and used common sense. If a parallelogram had two congruent angles for example, 5x+7 and the other 6x+8, what would each angle be. So we add the two numbers together, making it 11x + 15. Then we equate it to 180, making it 11x = 165. Then you divide 165 by 11, giving us 15. Insert 15 into the equations 5 (15) + 7, and 6 (15) + 8. The first one gives us 82 and the other, 98. That's how you find the length (remember a quadrilateral total of 360 degrees in angles).

I don't have my own picture but this should give an idea.

ICT Class Lesson Learned!: Sketchup

So all those houses you wanted to build and all those imaginary ideas of yours that you want to see clearly, can be made with Google Sketchup. Google Sketchup is a program that allows you to build everything you've ever dreamed of. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, a rich house, and all those stuff can be made in Google Sketchup and shared to the whole world. It's an amazing easy-to-use program that everyone can enjoy if they know the special tricks which our awesome teacher, Mr.Pete, has taught us a few tricks that were up his tricky sleeves. Our goal was to build a restaurant using Google Sketchup. Were not just drawing a rectangle and making a roof but were also going to make it detailed inside the building.

We've learned and always will learn new and cool stuff in Mr.Pete's ICT class. Last week, we build a restaurant that would be appropriate in size to a restaurant in real life (by measuring square x square, like 25x40). We measured everything like doors, windows, and walls to be as realistic as possible. To make a wall or window, we could just get the "tape measure" and make a line across the wall with the appropriate distance and length. After that we just drew it with a pencil or used a rectangle to make a wall or window. If we made a wall, we had to use the "erase" button to separate a line on top of the walls so that the walls were connected together. We also had to make counters (again using appropriate measures) and we were able to make copies of doors to place it in other locations. We made bathrooms and counters, which was a huge progress.

This is an example of my "undone" sketchup (I don't have the current Sketchup photo with me).

Samsung Galaxy super BEAM!

So we all have these cool gadgets like iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, and much more. When Apple released their products, Samsung had to catch up with them and make their own smartphone, so they released their Samsung Galaxy. The Samsung Galaxy is similar to the iPhone but some applications are different. They've released a lot of cool stuff and now they released something even cooler - the Samsung Galaxy Beam! Yes, we all know what a beam is and this new technology of Samsung, is similar to a beam. It's basically a projector in  a phone. Awesome right? The picture from the phone comes out of the projector LIKE A BEAM, and that's why it's awesome and could be very helpful. It's going to be at a price of $600 (18,000 baht).

I've learned that technology is getting better extremely fast. Like in one of my blog post, I had a topic about the phone outnumbering the human population. Well, that happened in less than half a century, and all these technologies, happened in a decade. That's how important technology is. The beam can be used for carrying information around and teaching people stuff whenever and wherever you want. That's how important and awesome technology is. Technology, like that beam, would help students or people all around the world. Maybe if they are lost and need a bigger map, or teaching people how to do something, or teaching orphans, or whatever it's used for, it'll be good.

Crider, Micheal. "SlashGear." Samsung Galaxy Beam Set for Summer 2012 Release in the UK -. Slashgear, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-beam-set-for-summer-2012-release-in-the-uk-29216360/>.

Assassin's Creed Revelations

So I assume everyone's heard of the game "Assassin's Creed". Every gamer must know that or else you're not a true gamer. It's one of the most best, famous, popular, fun, amazing, and successful games ever to be made. Assassin's Creed is a single player, third person view game, that involves unbloody killing, cool tactics, and an amazing story line. The game is made by the company Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed doesn't just shock you and make you excited, it has an amazing storyline too. It's an action game which everyone will love because you get to climb buildings and  jump down towers like the Galata Tower!

There are currently a total of 4 Assassin's Creed games: Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. There are a lot more but the 4 are the main ones. Each game takes place in a different location and has their own specialty. The first game takes place during the Crusades (around the 12th Century). The other ones are based on a character named Ezio during the Renaissance and has to fight for justice and prevent world domination. Assassin's Creed is good because you can learn a lot about history and get an idea of how cities looked like. As the Assassin's fight their enemies, The Templars, who want to control the world, they find out about the end of the world. The game has sold about 31 million copies entirely, and has been voted a lot of times and given positive feedbacks. 

Language Arts

A lesson in class, is to be taught and learn new stuff or go over old lessons you learned. In Language Arts class (the week before), we did a vocabulary quiz. We had to learn the words and study the words for a spelling bee. The non graded quiz had 100 words. Then this week we got the results. We did a vocabulary test this week too. It doesn't stop there though. That's what we mainly did.

I've learned quite a few things in Mr.Brian's Language Arts class. Of course, I've learned a lot of vocabulary words and some of their meanings. We also did some grammar stuffs about sentences and how it's important like independent clauses ( a sentence that can be by itself), dependent clauses (needs another sentence to make sense), compound complex sentences, and a lot more.

ICT Class lesson!

Every single lesson, no matter what, even on Mondays, we learn a new thing. Every class we get to know more of Mr.Pete and his unlimited knowledge. Though we learned more about Adobe InDesign this week, his wise knowledge has got us to know about Adobe InDesign much more. Using Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator, we had to use Mr.Pete's knowledge and create an anti-bullying poster. We also had to read a blog post and write an article about it.

I've learned a lot of different things. I've learned that in the future, phones will outnumber the human population, even if humans started from about 1 million years ago and phones were first made about 40 years ago. That's how important technology became. Also, we made anti bullying poster. We learned how to make a picture dark and white in Adobe Illustrator using "expand" and to edit it, we used "live trace" and "ungrouped" it. We learned how to increase size, and I learned how to draw a perfect like in the middle. Mr.Pete taught us about spacing and how to make it look balanced and nice. He also taught us how to make layers and all those stuff.

Avatar in real life coming up soon!

So we all know the movie "Avatar". We've seen it, probably loved it, and know it. If you didn't watch it, I advise you to go watch that movie like seriously. If you don't even know what "Avatar" is, I don't even know what to say. Avatar is currently the most highest-grossing film in the world. By 2012, it takes only 300$ million more dollars to make it's grossing go over 3 billion US dollars. Now, to the topic. So in the movie, a person controls a fake body called an "Avatar". If you're an Avatar fan, you'll love to hear this. The Pentagon has decided to make a machine just like the one in "Avatar". This will allow real life humans to be able to control an Avatar body and do what is necessary. Cool right? The Pentagon says that it'll only take $7 million while in the movie, it cost about $235 million.

Once again, I have learned that technology is extremely important and filled with wonders at the same time. Technology can do everything for us. What you're currently using is technology! Your TV outside, your game console, and even your favorite movies were made with technology. Technology is so great now that you can even make an Avatar machine, which is almost impossible to do. It may be bad because it could cause more war, but if technology gets even better and they fight in an imaginary world, maybe the world would get better.

Raby, Mark. "SlashGear." Pentagon Working on ‘Avatar’ Project; Yes, It’s What It Sounds like -. Slash Gear, 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.slashgear.com/pentagon-working-on-avatar-project-yes-its-what-it-sounds-like-19214267/>.

Starcraft 2!

Starcraft 2 is an amazing RTS game (Real Time-Strategy) that is only used on computers! Starcraft is one of the most successful games ever to be made. Starcraft is one of the main reasons why a lot of computer games today exist - it revolutionized computer gaming. You don't need those dumb Xbox 360's or Playstation 3's, you can always use a computer (which is the best) and one of the best games played on a computer is Starcraft 2. Starcraft is based on the future where human prisoners (Terran) sent to space, find a planet, build a colony, and  find them selves in a middle of a war between two alien races - the Protoss and the Zerg. The Zerg was created to wipe out the Protoss (an experiment that went wrong by their creators, the Xel Naga) and the Protoss fight for justice. The Terrans, well, they just try to live (it has a WHOLE larger summary than this. This is just about 1/10 of the main plot).

I actually learned a few things from this game. All those games today like Call of Duty, Battle Field, Skyrim, and a lot of those games were inspired by each other but mainly by Starcraft. Starcraft is also a sport in South Korea. Anyways, Starcraft was one whole campaign in one game but Starcraft 2, have three parts, focusing on one race at a time. It's expensive, but it has multiplayer and it was 2010's Game of the Year and most bought PC games. FPS (First Person Shooters) are very overrated and strategy games are for smart people, that's why Starcraft is one of the best games ever.

Social Studies lesson learned!

Well last week, we learned about World War 2, Nazi Germany, and Military Japan coming to an end. We watched a video about Hitler's last days in his bunker. The video was called "Downfall". It showed what Hitler did during his last 10 days in huge details. We also watched how Japanese soldiers commit suicide themselves with grenades to serve "honor" by not surrendering to the enemy. We also watched a video about "Kamikazes", Japanese suicide pilots, and Hiroshima.

I learned that World War 2 was a cruel, tiring, and dangerous war. I learned that in World War 2, millions of soldiers died, innocent civilians died, and how evil and cruel the World War was. Though World War 2 ended the Great Depression and helped restore economy, it was not worth the millions of soldiers' and civilians' lives taken. I learned that the Holocaust was a very evil thing (not in the German minds at that time), how strict Japanese culture was, and how the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a tragic event that even today, Americans debate about if they made the right choice or not.

A lesson learned from in Mr. Super Pete's class!

Every week, the class always looks forward to learn in Mr. Super Pete's awesome class. He is always full of surprises and entertainment! This week, the class made two things: a Valentines card and an anti bullying poster. We used Abode Photoshop for the Valentines card and Adobe Illustrator for the Anti-Bullying poster. We got a valentines picture layout then placed it into Adobe Photoshop. We used shapes from Abode Photoshop (a heart) and that smart man, once again, showed us a few tricks that were up his sleeve. Behind the heart, we placed a photo using Mr. Super Pete's technique and it actually looked pretty neat. As for the Anti-Bullying poster, we got a few pictures of bullying and made decisions on what was right and wrong.

Well basically what I learned is explained at the paragraph above. I learned a lot of tricks. I learned that you can get a layout, get a shape, create a shape and just put what ever you want like a picture behind it, making it look nice. I learned a few basics of using Abode Illustrator and I learned a lot through Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I learned about re sizing everything and making it go into place. It was all an enjoyable lesson!