Hoverboards are real, sort of

Celebrities and TV shows have all been spotted showing the newest craze, "hoverboards".  They are not like the ones predicted in Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox in that they don't really hover at all.  They roll on the ground more like a Segway.

But the term "hoverboard" has stuck and they do look like a huge amount of fun to ride.

Except for the exploding batteries and the fact that you can fall off at 10 miles per hour and crack your head open....

Do you know anyone who has a hoverboard?  Have you ever ridden one?

The Games we Play

Here are 2 games my students play when they have some free time in class.  They are not the typical video games we all spend so much time playing, but they are educationally interesting websites that are fun to play with others in the room with you.

Spyfall is a game similar to Clue.  One person is a spy and the others are trying to guess who among them it is by asking questions the spy does not know.  My classroom gets kind of loud when we play.

GeoGuessr shows you a place on Google Earth and you have to guess the location.  You get points for how close your guess is.  It is addictive

And of course there is the WikiGame where you challenge each other to get from one Wikipedia topic to another either as fast as possible or with the least amount of clicks.

What other sites do you enjoy sharing with friends?

Death of Internet Explorer

Does anyone still use IE?  Well they probably shouldn't after Google releases their new Chrome update.  It promises to vastly increase download speeds (due to a new compression algorithm).

This is good news for mobile users because browsing will cost less in data usage and battery consumption!

So what browser do you use most?

Inflatable Hoodie

Inflatable Hoodie ?!?!!

OK, this isn't really "technology" but it's so cool I couldn't help myself.  I hear they are all the rage at colleges.

Lily Camera

Yes, please

What would you do with a Lily Camera?

Video Games are a Varsity Sport

Time Magazine did an article about how some colleges treat video games as a varsity sport.  And there are scholarships!  So now you can tell your mom you are studying while playing League of Legends.

How many hours a week do you think these top athletes spend training?  How is it comparable to more traditional sports?  How is it different?

An App with a Purpose

Pulse Point is a really cool app.  People who know CPR and are willing to help others in need can install this app on their smart phone.  Then, when 911 gets an emergency call, they send out an alert to those near by who can start CPR while the ambulance is in route.

What other kinds of needs are there that could use this type of response?

How long will we have paper money?

Seems like everyone has a smart phone these days.  And with apps like Mint, you can manage all your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and even give money to friends and family.  So who needs a paper bill anymore?

Quantum Computers: A Primer

What is a quantum computer and why is it important?  This is a complicated topic, but has a huge impact on building faster computers.

You know the famous "Schrodinger's Cat" thought experiment: A cat is sealed in a box with a flask of poison and a radiation source.  If the source emits a radioactive particle, a 50-50 chance, the flask shatters, releasing the poison and killing the cat.  Quantum mechanics implies that the cat is simultaneously alive and dead, in superposition, until it is observed.  The act of opening the box collapses the superposition, returning the cat to a classical state of either alive or dead.

Classical computers process data in the form of binary digits, or bits, that are either 1's or 0's.  When you bought a Nintendo-64, it had 64-bits to store data and perform calculations.  Because a quantum computer's data exists in multiple states, it can perform multiple operations simultaneously, instead of one by one, making it much faster.

Have you ever wondered why some people prefer CRTs-based monitors (the big, heavy tube ones) over LCD-based monitors (lightweight flatscreens)? Believe it or not, it's because the CRT is an objectively superior technology. Here's a link to a guide about the various advantages that the CRT has over the LCD!

March Madness Brackets

Well as everybody knows there is always a lot of money that you can make on the March Madness Bracket but it is so rare for someone to win. This year, 2015 a lot of upsets have already happened with 3 seed Baylor losing to 14 seed Georgia State and 3 seed Iowa State losing to 14 seed UAV. These are predictions that many didn't predict with only 9% of the brackets having Baylor lose to Georgia State. You could say with only 1% of the brackets still perfect, their will no money given out just like last year. Most people tweeted and did anything with social media to show how upsetting it was since predictions were so hard to predict that two 3 seeds were going to lose on the same day. This year was one of the most upsetting MarchMadness in a while.

2015 MLB All Star game in Cincy

Cincinnati Reds season ticket holders with be among the first fans to receive a spot to attend the All Star game. All Star events to be hosted at Great American Ball Park and Duke Energy Convention Center. The Reds organization will make every effort to follow the policies.  However, the 2015 All-Star Events are hosted by the Reds on behalf of MLB and modifications to these policies are possible based on MLB specifications. The location and number of seats available for purchase depends upon a variety of factors  

Now a days children spend more time in Video games, instead of playing with friends.Do you think video games should be not used by kids?

The bionic eye system consists of a camera, attached to a pair of glasses, which transmits high-frequency radio signals to a microchip implanted in the eye of the patient. Electrodes on the implanted chip convert these signals into electrical impulses to stimulate cells in the retina that connect to the optic nerve. The Bionic Eye gives you an opportunity to open your eyes again! 

Is Team Foretress 2 dieing?

After the fantastic update that was  Love and War, fans of the video game were left hungry for  more and the announcement of the End of the Line .  A community made update with a featured SFM and a promised new map game mode and weapons! But sadly the map was scraped and valve added hats and some re skin of a weapon , how disappointing then smissmass came and went three weapons added and a beta game mode! But is this really helping tf2? in recent years the lack of updates to the game have made the servers and over all enjoyment lacking content and other things. What do you think?

Do you think this winter will ever end?

Well according to <a href="http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Cincinnati+OH+USOH0188:1:US">Weather.com</a> , we aren't supposed to get any snow for the next week and a half. Do u think that this winter will attack again?

Snapchat, the social media application is claimed to be worth around $3 billion dollars! Does this make snapchat one of the best social media inventions of all time? Think about how many people in our school alone use this app. This says something about its popularity.

Spot is a robotic dog created by the Google owned robotics company Boston Dynamics. Boston Dynamics is known for their sturdy, well built robots and Spot is no acceptation. He can climb stairs and navigate rough terrain. On top of that, he can recover from a well placed kick, as shown when employees were asked to kick the robot dog. Many people believe that kicking a dog, robotic or not, is wrong. The animal rights group PETA even has an opinion on the matter saying that "PETA deals with actual animal abuse every day, so we won't lose sleep over this incident. But while its far better to kick a four-legged robot than a real dog, most people find even the idea of such violence inappropriate, as the comments show." What do you think? Is it wrong to kick a robotic dog?

Look Up

Look Up is a video which talks about how technology has consumed everyone's lives.  I do agree with the fact that people seem to care more about facebook friends than their real friends.  I am not saying that technology is a bad thing. However, I think that it is important that we take a moment to step away from it all and appreciate life for what it is.  Be social without social media.

Microsoft HoloLens

Microsoft HoloLens? Are they real? Microsoft has a different vision for the future. One that is more exciting.  Instead of changing the world around the user information is merely on top of the existing environment. This is interesting for many different reasons, one would be that there is nothing like this piece of technology yet, also many different types of these glasses are being created.

Do you think this will be the next big thing?

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us