Gas Prices

I read an article about the rise of gas prices and the effects its having on commuters. Motorist fear that gas might go up to 4 dollars a gallon, which put a halt on any vacation plans people might have. This problem was due to the hurricane that hit New Orleans a couple years back. The U.S. is lacking of resource to produce oil and it's creating a great impact on our fellow Americans. Gasoline is now at a national average of $2.87 per gallon, about 33% higher than 11 weeks ago.
In my opinion, it is rediculous how high the gas prices are increasing. This problem will impact people who commute at a daily basis. For example, sudents that drive to school and on a budget can't afford high price gas. The only way students can save gas if they carpool, bus, or buy a hyrbid car. But all those alternates are not accessible for all the students. If the prices continues to increase I might have to start riding my bike to school, it's about 15 miles away.

WIRELESS

"As advances in wireless technology continue to blur professional and personal boundaries in the lives of American adults, a new Yahoo! HotJobs survey reveals that many professionals have love-hate relationships with their gadgets."
Today, many people constantly using their wireless device to their advantages. I have many friends when they are at work, they depend on their wireless to satisfy customer service. Also, at places like Starbucks people go on their computer and go on the web while sipping on their drinks. People are attach to their woreless device to where it seems like they are married to it. Businesses today rely on thier wireless connection to do business. It is a good way for communication either from e-mail, AIM, text message or cell phones.

RFID

Brittan Elementary School required students to wear RFID tags around their neck as they attend their classes. The main purpose for this was to make roll-call much easier and reduce the time it takes in the morning. Also, teachers are able to track their students with their every move on campus. The way the RFID works is that students have chips embeded in their ID cards and as they enter the classroom they are continously scan by a device hanging by the door. The teachers, then would have a head count by receiving the information into a wireless component.
"A small-town school in California has become the latest to mandate that students wear RFID-based ID cards when on campus. According to Brittan Elementary School officials in Sutter, a rural farming community, the tags have been implemented to simplify attendance-taking and reduce vandalism. In addition to tracking students in classrooms, the school's principal wants them tracked in bathrooms and locker rooms. Parents and the ACLU have raised privacy and civil-liberties concerns. Some have also questioned the financial relationship between the school and the cards' manufacturer, which is paying the school to try out the cards and offering it commissions on future sales to other schools. However, the principal, Earnie Graham, has another explanation for student objections. "You know what it comes down to? I believe junior high students want to be stylish. This is not stylish," he said. Okay, guess they'll have to switch to implants, then."

RFID

Brittan Elementary School required students to wear RFID tags around their neck as they attend their classes. The main purpose for this was to make roll-call much easier and reduce the time it takes in the morning. Also, teachers are able to track their students with their every move on campus. The way the RFID works is that students have chips embeded in their ID cards and as they enter the classroom they are continously scan by a device hanging by the door. The teachers, then would have a head count by receiving the information into a wireless component.
"A small-town school in California has become the latest to mandate that students wear RFID-based ID cards when on campus. According to Brittan Elementary School officials in Sutter, a rural farming community, the tags have been implemented to simplify attendance-taking and reduce vandalism. In addition to tracking students in classrooms, the school's principal wants them tracked in bathrooms and locker rooms. Parents and the ACLU have raised privacy and civil-liberties concerns. Some have also questioned the financial relationship between the school and the cards' manufacturer, which is paying the school to try out the cards and offering it commissions on future sales to other schools. However, the principal, Earnie Graham, has another explanation for student objections. "You know what it comes down to? I believe junior high students want to be stylish. This is not stylish," he said. Okay, guess they'll have to switch to implants, then."

Game War Consoles

Between the three consoles released in the past year, the Nintendo Wii is on top of the charts in sales. It is currently beating the Sony Playstation and the Xbox 360. I think Wii is so successful because the system is affordable and its targeted audience were the kids. Xbox and Playstation worried too much on making money that they did not notice the consoles were over priced. The games that went along with the system were over priced as well. I played the Wii before and it so much fun compared to other system because its motion censored. Plus, the Playstation and Xbox made their consoles too complex with the extra features it had. People are mainly buying these system is to play the games, people can care less if you can play dvd's and cd's on it. Playstation and Xbox forgot their main purpose of the whole console market. That is why Wii is so successful with their system.

Sony Releases Its First Wireless Camera

In this article, Sony has develop another technology allowing consumers to send photos wirelessly to another camera or PC. Sony's DSC-G1, a 6-megapixel digital camera in the Cyber-shot line, can send photos without wires to any product that is enabled with the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard, which works with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g networking.
I think this new technology is crazy because people can instantly send photos during parties and gathering more quicker than uploading it into a PC and emailing it to friends. Sony will be in advantage compared to thier competitors like Canon, Nikon and Samsung. Sony better be careful because competitors can easily immitate that new product and create their own technology.

Cell Phone Credit Cards

In countries like Japan and China, consumers are more likely to have cell phones than credit cards. The case gives an example that only 5 percent of Japanese uses credit cards for their personal spending compared with 33 percent of Americans use credit cards. Furthermore, cell phone providers view this new technology as way of bringing attention to their network and creating a useful and convenient image for cell phone usage. MasterCard International and Nokia are testing this new product for the U.S. consumers. The product contains a chip with the user’s information and a transmitting circuit that allows consumers to have purchasing power in their communication device.