Privacy Online

        Online privacy is something everyone needs to worry about when using the Internet. In just about everything electronic or online, users need to understand the basic purposes behind privacy settings because of how unsafe the Internet can be without them. For users of all ages, the main reason privacy settings are encouraged for online usage is to prevent hackers from stealing personal information or causing damage to a user’s devices. Whether a user becomes the victim of identity theft fraud or possibly something that puts their physical safety at risk, online privacy can mean different things to different people.

        A good way to stay safe online is to have the most current and up-to-date security software programs. Protecting and securing all of your devices and online accounts will decrease a user’s risk of being hacked. Enabling firewalls also adds to your protection from malware, viruses, and hackers. Even being sure to create good, hard to guess passwords by making them long and unique by using lots of characters, can help add to the security of a user’s privacy.

        On most devices, parental controls can be installed to create ways to monitor and/or limit a device’s usage. It is normally a good idea to have parental controls on all the devices for kids and/or teens, and yet kids are considered more technologically savvy than parents. So as parental controls can vary between app and music downloads to website access, it is difficult to expect parental controls to catch everything that might challenge a young user’s privacy. Unfortunately the increase in device usage by younger ages means all users need to know enough about online privacy to take proper precautions or parents need to limit device access.

        All users need use caution when using the Internet and even apps, as they use the Internet in different ways like: updates, pictures, videos, in-app purchases, and e-mail providers. Users should never open e-mails from an unknown source in case there is a virus hidden inside of it. Because no matter how safe a website says it is, the site can still be hacked into or seen by others.  Nothing that a person could ever want to be private should ever be put on or sent through the Internet, because hackers can always find a way to trace back the steps of where it came from.

         Most websites use cookies, so that when a user visits a website it deposits data about that visit onto your computer. Cookies may also contain information such as login or registration identification, user preferences, online "shopping cart" information, and so on. However, there are some cookies, called third-party cookies that connect data about the user to an advertising clearinghouse, which in turn shares that data with other online marketers. These third-party cookies include "tracking cookies" which use the user’s online history to deliver other ads.

        So in general, privacy settings can help reduce malware and viruses from accessing a user’s device, but those settings can only work as well as the user that sets it up allows. Online Privacy is also about being cautious and protective of your property and information when being online or accessing the Internet.

Citations:

http://www.staysafeonline.org/stop-think-connect/tips-and-advice

https://www.privacyrights.org/online-privacy-using-internet-safely

http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/default.aspx

Self-Driving Cars

Self-Driving Car

            Self-driving cars are being made and critiqued by many car manufacturers such as Audi and Volkswagen. Google is also working toward making self-driving cars into a real world option for everyday drivers.

Most people who enjoy driving do not like the idea of self-driving cars, because they might take the fun out of having a car to drive. It is expected that companies will start manufacturing self-driving automobiles as soon as the 2020’s. Most self-driving cars today resemble a Smart Car, in the way that their appearance is small and boxy. Engineers have also worked to create a self-driving experience similar to airplanes, in that drivers could take control of the car at anytime in the same way that pilots can turn off a plane’s autopilot feature.

Smart Car

Some people still say that Self-Driving Cars may never be manufactured or available to the public, since these idea cars still have many challenges that need addressing to fix the self-driving vehicle experience. One big hurdle with the self-driving car is they cannot tell the difference between light trash and debris, such as a floating trash bag or piece of paper, compared to more dangerous obstacles like rocks and potholes. This is a very big problem that has to be corrected before the self-driving automobile can begin to be considered a viable option, otherwise self-driving cars could cause many avoidable wrecks.

                                         Citations

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/052014/how-googles-selfdriving-car-will-change-everything.asp

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/10/google_self_driving_car_it_may_never_actually_happen.html

http://www.google.com/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/self-driving-car-test-steve-mahan.html

Batteries and Charging Technology

Battery technology has not changed drastically in many years, but charging technology has improved a lot compared to a few years ago. One of the ways many mobile devices use much of their battery power comes mostly from the high-resolution screens, but this usage can be reduced slightly by turning the screen brightness down. The main battery killer is having multiple apps running at one time. As more and more apps run at the same time, the quicker the battery life is used up. Altogether batteries are still not as good as they could be and need to improve as mobile devices and apps advance, continuing to suck up more battery life. 

One of the companies that make portable chargers for many mobile devices is Mophie. Their smartphone case with a built in battery is a great product they produce for various cell phone models, especially when your phone is dying. On the bottom of the cell phone case there is a switch that either charges or turns the battery pack off. The battery pack has lights to show the battery’s power level. Mophie cases are compatible with iPhone, Galaxy, and HTC. Since these cases have a built-in battery pack, most people expect them to be big and heavy, but engineers designed the Mophie it to be light weight and thin. The technology to have a charger with your phone at all times is amazing in how straightforward and small engineers have made batteries in this day and age.

Mophie makes powerstations as well as charging cases. Powerstations are made to be durable and have an extreme amount of power available for multiple mobile devices recharging anywhere. The powerstation device can charge any electronic device that is USB powered. The simplicity of recharging any device quickly, even on the go, shows that scientists have made strides to improve battery functions while keeping things simple and easy to use. If you were looking for a large amount of power to use with various devices, then the Powerstation would probably be best suited for those needs.

Batteries in mobile devices have not drastically changed in over 15 years. Recently most battery companies have switched to lithium ion polymer batteries, which are power cells that the anode and cathode are bundled with a solid, gel-like electrolyte. (The substance that makes the battery conduct electricity.) The efficiency of battery life has not kept up with the rising energy demands for smartphones and other mobile devices.

If you think that because you’re getting a new smartphone and the battery will be much better, then you may be in for a rude surprise. The reason why batteries have not improved by much on new technology devices is because the battery industry has not pushed to advance their current battery technology. On the other hand, phone companies have soared in their technology without necessarily realizing battery companies cannot keep up. Therefore, it is really both of their faults for not paying attention to one another’s businesses. Over 100’s of years we still have not had a big increase in battery life technology. The power technology being built into mobile devices today are growing at twice the rate as battery capacity advances.

Citation

www.mophie.com

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EP-PG900IBUSTA

http://www.techhive.com/article/228189/SmartBat.html

Medical Technology

Biologically Printed Ear

Scientists have been working on bioprinting for a few years now and can even actually print small body parts. Medical technology has seen many changes over the 1,000’s of years humans have studied medicine, but I believe that printing three-dimensional parts of the body, including organs that can function properly in a human body, will have a great impact in medical technology.

The very first bioprinter was not big and fancy, it just another everyday printer. Then after scientists modified the printer and tried filling the ink cartridges with collagen (the main protein in animal connective tissues), they were able to start making small models of parts of the human anatomy. As they made faster bioprinters researchers were able to process other types of cells like stem cells, muscle cells, and vascular cells. A bioprinter creates the programed body part with immense precision, making every detail exactly the same as the real one. In theory, the replicated part of the body will work as if you were born with it. 3-D printers have also been used to create bone grafts, dental crowns, hearing aids, and prosthetic limbs. Researches have met complexities along the way in making the hair-like blood vessels linking the larger blood vessels to other cells. They have also been challenged with creating transplantable organs that function accurately.

Non-biological printing does not have the same complexities that 3-D bioprinting runs into. Researchers discovered the choice of materials such as cell type, growth and differentiation factors, and technical challenges are related to the sensitivities of living cells and the construction of tissues. So while researchers have created other “inks” by printing cartilage, which allows them to design entire ears that perfectly match a patient’s outer ear, it is much harder to print a replacement for a damaged inner ear.

Discovering these complexities requires the knowledge of engineering, biomaterial sciences, cell biology, physics and medicine. In order to create functional components they have made several approaches to 3D bioprinting, including biomimicry, autonomous self-assembly and mini-tissue building blocks. Scholars will slowly make more discoveries and in the future they will hopefully construct whole limbs and organs that will function properly with the rest of a body.

                                                             Citations

http://www.mayo.edu

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/how-3-d-printing-body-parts-will-revolutionize-medicine

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n8/full/nbt.2958.html