Nest - negative

            The Nest Learning Thermostat learns from the adjustments made to it and uses this information to create a personal schedule of temperature changes.  Once a schedule is created, the Nest will change the temperature on its own, according to its schedule, without anyone having to touch it at all.  I, however, am not convinced that this would be very useful for everyone.  Do you really change the temperature so many times during the week that you need a thermostat to make a schedule and change the temperature for you?  For this aspect of the device to be useful, you would not only need to change the temperature a lot, but you would need to change the temperature at consistent times.

            The Nest also has an “Auto-Away” feature, which is designed to sense when the house is empty and make appropriate temperature changes in order to avoid wasting money heating or cooling an empty house.  I am skeptical of its ability to accurately determine when a house is empty or not.  First of all, the Auto-Away sensor detects motion.  This could mean that if there is a long period of inactivity in the room in which it is located, it could think that nobody is home, even if there are people in another room.  Also, thermostats are not always placed in central areas of a house, but instead are often located in out of the way places such as hallways and corners.  And so again, it could potentially think that nobody is home just because nobody passed in front of the sensors.  Finally, the sensors can mistake the presence of pets for the presence of people.

Nest - Positive

The Nest Thermostat is a step that is geared towards a more digital and automated age. With the ability to “sense” physical presence in a room, the temperature, humidity, and light levels, the Nest Thermostat will automatically adjust itself accordingly. It does this through a learning process of the owner’s daily routine and manual adjustments of the thermostat. With this capability, the Nest will save massive amounts of energy, money, and waste as thermostats are estimated to control have of the consumed energy in an average household. There are claims that the utilization of Nest can save up to 20 to 30 percent in energy consumption as it will be able to adjust itself in situations otherwise impossible to with a regular thermostat, such as when nobody is home.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) calculated that if a relatively modest 15 percent of total energy use is saved by every household in the U.S. starting today, by 2020 $46 billion would be saved. This figure says enough on its own as one can imagine all the different areas and uses that all that money could be allocated to. In addition to the monetary savings, energy loss and pollution such as carbon would be significantly reduced as a result.

A feature that has an unlimited of future technological implications is its remote control ability. Being able to adjust the Nest from anywhere, via the built-in Wi-Fi hardware in the thermostat, adds convenience and efficiency into the owner’s life. Instead of having to be physically present to adjust it, owners can control the thermostat from anywhere with the use of 3G of Wi-Fi. Another example of the remote control ability is a system and software that allows users to water their plants remotely. Not only does time not need to be allocated in performing the physical task, but exactly amounts of water and fertilizer can be added precisely through the software. With the Nest, all the data that is sent to and from the thermostat is gathered in a database where further analysis takes place.

With access to this vast amounts data, Nest Labs are able to constantly improve the thermostat and automatically update them through the built-in Wi-Fi. In addition, the information in these databases is accessible to owners of Nest Thermostats to observe their own behavior as well as share the information with others. People are now being connected through the thermostat, sharing their experiences, thoughts, problems, and suggestions. Before this technology, there would have never been such hype or conversation stemming from thermostats. Nilay Patel, an editor for news publication The Verge, summed it up with the phrase “social networking to save the earth.”

For the ever-changing technological field, this thermostat is just a small step, hinting of the even greater future products to come. Looking at the interaction created between users, it is exciting to imagine what social benefits more technological advanced products can bring to society. Maryanne Wolf wrote in Proust and the Squid, “The next few decades will witness transformations in our ability to communicate, as we recruit new connections in the brain that will propel our intellectual development in new and different ways... understand[ing] other human beings is especially important today as we make the transition from a reading brain to an increasingly digital one.” It sums up the importance of social connection and getting to know and understand each other as we progress into a digital age. New advanced technologies, such as the Nest Thermostat, certainly do promote social networking and intellectual development.
For more information about Nest, please visit:   http://www.nest.com/

Nest

The Nest Thermostat is a learning thermostat that improves over time by observing changes in its surrounding. There are senses built into the thermostat that detect movement, temperature, humidity, and light. Any manual adjustment made to the thermostat is recorded and eventually the thermostat will begin automatically adjusting itself according to the owner's patterns created through their daily routine. It costs $249.

Smart Fabric--What's Not Cool (Jocelyn)

As Kristina pointed out, BMW's design is both innovative and cool; And what happens when a new product is both of those things? The price is through the roof. I could see car makers using this technology as an excuse to inflate the prices of their products, even in cars that don't look as cool as the concept car presented in Geneva.
As much as I would love to drive around in a "Tron car," I can tell you right now that I won't be able to afford it until the technology is old news.

Stroking the seat or dashboard to change the radio station or turn on the wipers might seem like a really cool trick in theory, but put in practice I could see a lot of problems with it. First, because it eliminates the need for buttons, drivers would have to learn all new controls. If you've ever driven a strange car and been confused for a moment when your hand changed the temperature instead of the volume because the controls were different from what you were used to, just imagine how confusing and distracting it would be to have to fiddle with every upholstered surface of the car to find the control you're looking for. And, of course, there won't be any labels to tell you where to touch. That would look weird. Secondly, Kristina pointed out that the smart fabric technology can be just as durable the fabric it is woven into. However, I've never seen anything woven into leather; and even if BMW did manage to weave these plastic wires into the leather seat, can we call it the same quality as traditional leather seats? People who buy luxury cars with leather seats aren't going to be pleased to know that there are bits of plastic under them.
Lastly, I would like to address other uses for this smart fabric. We read an article about how the fabric could be woven into that of a couch or chair and programmed to work like a remote. Well how lazy is our society getting that not only can we not be bothered to use the the buttons on the TV, but now we're too lazy to even look for the remote.

Smart Fabric Introduction

BMW is investigating a new touch-sensitive fabric for use in their upcoming models. The interactive seats and dashboards would be all touch sensitive with controls for air conditioning, the radio, and more. There have been many recent improvements by a research team led by Professor Maksim Skorobogatiy in Montreal, Canada that have made the fabric more marketable. They showed a concept car at the Geneva motor show.

What's Cool about Smart Fabric? -Kristina

The smart fabric looks quite amazing. That is a large draw of any technology now. The sleek screens of nowadays tablets and phones have made touch items the "hip" thing for our generation.

The newest smart fabric technology is able to be cleaned like normal fabric. This is a significant improvement from its previous prototypes. Most retailers realize that people eat, drink, smoke, etc. in their car and they need fabric that can be cleaned without special care and detailing. Instead of using copper wires, they are trying to use conductive plastic that can be sponged clean so the average person could clean it like in current cars.

It is now as durable as any other fabric used for car seats. When woven into a durable fabric, it is just as functional as leather or polyester. It supposedly doesn't feel any different than the fabric with which the technology is interwoven, so there would still be options of feel and look to car seat material.

This fabric has the potential to eliminate buttons on the dashboard. You wouldn’t have to look at the radio or air conditioner buttons and controls which distract drivers. Also, labels can be confusing. In many cars, the label for turning the air flow up looks like a strip of bacon. In the book, "Proust and the Squid," Wolf speaks of “visual feature analysis” and she says it takes a half second after a word appears to actually see it and then another second to comprehend and take action. That second and a half when driving at 70 mph would correlate to approximately one hundred and fifty-four feet. (70 miles per hour = 102.666667 feet per second.) That distance could easily cause a car accident. By eliminating those visual buttons and replacing them with smart fabric that doesn't need to be seen, smart fabric could eliminate a few distractions for drivers and prevent distracted driving accidents.

Amazon Kindle, What's Cool!

     The great thing about having an Amazon Kindle is the ability to access millions of books from a small, lightweight device that can be easily read no matter where you are. With the use of its electronic ink, (E-ink) the Kindle's screen is very similar to an actual book page and will not show a glare when used in an outside setting. With the more recent development of the Kindle app, Whispersync, and Amazon Cloud, users can access their entire Kindle library from Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Mac, and PC devices and have their bookmarks saved no matter where they last view their books. Each Kindle is given its own email address so users can send and save important documents directly to their device with ease. The Kindle can also last over three weeks on a single charge.
     Books available from the Amazon Kindle library are often cheaper than traditional books, and E-book sales surpassed traditional book sales for the first time in December of 2009. Amazon has also started publishing Kindle singles, which are short stories that would usually be rejected by book and magazine publishers because of their non-traditional length. There are also millions of free books available for download, such as those books published before 1923 with expired copyrights. Kindle even offers E-book check-outs from 11,000 local libraries and textbooks for buy or rent.
     The Kindle has added features that enhance the overall reading experience, such as text-to-speech capabilities which will read the text aloud or optional professional readings that can be downloaded. This feature can be extremely helpful for weaker readers or those with poor reading comprehension skills. In Maryanne Wolf's Proust and the Squid, the author states, "...in the first three grades a child 'learns to read,' and in the next grades the child 'reads to learn.'" (Wolf, 135) The use of Kindles in school settings as a replacement for traditional textbooks is becoming more commonplace, and these features can be extremely helpful in developing comprehensive reading skills in children.  Amazon Kindle will define difficult words on the screen allowing the reader to better understand their book quickly and efficiently. Kindle's E-books also include background information on key characters and events in the book that are downloaded automatically to the device, negating the need for an internet access and eliminating search time. 

Amazon Kindle Youtube Channel

 
This is a great technology that is useful for people of all ages, occupations, and interests!

Kindle - What's Not Cool (Anna)

The Kindle is a relatively new technology; it is a device on which people read e-books.  While most people see only the positives of e-reading devices, there are more than a few negatives.  Some of the more basic problems with the Kindle include cost and durability.  An average paperback novel from a bookstore costs between ten and fifteen dollars.  The price of a single e-book may be the same, if not less, than the real book; but this price must be added to the seventy-nine dollars that the Kindle itself costs.  Durability is another issue to think about.  A Kindle is nowhere near as durable as a book.  As Nicholas Carr says in his The Shallows, you don’t have to worry about a book falling off of your bed, whereas a Kindle would most likely break if dropped.

            One problem with the Kindle involves Communities and Connections.  Many people lend books that they enjoy to their friends.  With a kindle, a person can only lend “eligible” books to friends.  Eligible books can be lent once for a period of fourteen days.  If this person does not finish the book within the fourteen days, or if another friend would like to borrow the book, the whole Kindle would have to be borrowed. 

            There are many more negative consequences of the Kindle, and these are less trivial.  In Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows, he quotes Jacob Weisberg, who said that, “printed books, the most important artifacts of human civilization, are going to join newspapers and magazines on the road to obsolescence.”  This is a problem related to Human Development.  Historians have learned invaluable information about the past from the records that past peoples left behind.  If written books become obsolete, this will rob future generations of the important artifacts that can show how people today live their

lives.   

            Another problem arises from the use of the Kindle, and this one falls under the Education and Learning category.  This problem is also addressed in Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows.  He mentions that it is very easy to become restless and distracted when reading an e-book on the Kindle.  Many e-reading devices can now hold hyperlinks, making it easy to forget the task at hand.  With the increasing popularity of buying textbooks and other class materials on the e-reader, serious problems arise.  Students today have an increasing problem with ADD and ADHD, which may make it hard to focus on things like reading a chapter of the textbook.  Partner ADD or ADHD with the increased restlessness and difficulty concentrating that comes with reading on a Kindle or other e-reader, and many students will have a huge problem.

Kindle

The Kindle is Amazon’s e-reading device.  The Kindle can hold 1,400 e-books and has a battery life of one month.  Newer Kindles can also hold movies, television shows, magazines, music, and games.  They range in price from $79 to $379.
Amazon Kindle

Your Posts

Okay, again thanks to Tyler for his help figuring things out, it looks like we can't actually post to those pages. They are 'static' meaning only good for things like the schedule... SO, go ahead and post on the main page. I'll see if I can "archive" each weeks, but for now, just be sure to LABEL your post NEW TECHNOLOGIES so we can search by topic. Isn't this interesting!?! I'm so happy to be learning all this new stuff! :)

Xbox Kinect - What's Not Cool (Tyler)

    While the Xbox Kinect has a wide variety of uses, it ultimately limits the user’s experience physically, mentally, and socially.  The Kinect can only receive signals in a certain area and needs to operate in an open space.  Many households simply cannot provide ample space around the users; an individual must stand eight feet from the device and have an additional six feet of free space on every side.  This is further complicated with the introduction of another player.
    Another problem with the Kinect is that while it promotes some physical activity, is it a substitute for natural outdoor activity?  Why limit yourself to a piece of carpet when we have the entire world to play on?  An open field does not present as many safety hazards as a confined space surrounded by furniture.  Individuals have more materials to interact with and a larger range of motion outdoors; they can engage in games of soccer, swim in a pool, or jog around a block.  One can certainly expend more energy outdoors and burn more calories, a standard measure of exercise for many people.
    The Kinect only allows two users to interact with it at one time.  Even in the presence of others at a social event, users are engaged in the game and have little social interaction with others.  This takes away from the social connectedness of a group or family, a consequence of many forms of modern technology.  The book Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam shows strong correlation between the use of technology and the decline of social groups.  Socially, individuals might benefit more if they were members of a fitness club, soccer team, or community organization, all of which provide similar entertainment to that of the Kinect.  People should be “kinected” to others, not a camera or microphone.
    Finally, the current age of media and technology has heightened some functions of our brains, but dulls others.  No longer can we focus on an activity for an extensive period of time.  No longer can we read a book cover to cover with the same level of comprehension, even if we do finish it.  In Maryanne Wolf’s book Proust and the Squid, she claims that the rush of information and accelerated thought processes caused by technology isn’t necessarily a good thing (213).  Her book takes a look at the reading brain, how we engage and process information, and the continuing development of our mental systems and structure.  The brain is set up with dedicated “‘delay neurons’ whose sole function is to slow neuronal transmission by other neurons for mere milliseconds” (Wolf 214).  This allows us time to make inferences and compose new knowledge.  With the wealth of signals we are receiving from the Kinect and other sources, has technology injected itself into these moments, limiting our ability to think and comprehend?  Have the Kinect, and all of technology, created “a society of decoders of information, whose false sense of knowing distracts them from a deeper development of their intellectual potential" (Wolf 226)?  The Xbox Kinect limits us in more ways than one.

Xbox Kinect - What's Cool (Claire)

    The Xbox Kinect has begun to shape the future of gaming technology. With voice activated technology, a RGB camera, and ability to recognize depth and 3-D perceptions, this device allows for a hands free experience. By playing hands free, players are able to be much more interactive in the game. Instead of pressing ‘A’ or ‘Up’ to have different actions, they can now physically jump or move around and it will be emulated on the screen. This gaming device also supports connections with Pandora, a popular music site, Netflix, and all TV channels to get a complete experience. In comparison to other gaming devices, this Kinect is great for social events. People can get together to play these interactive games together, as well as watch movies and sporting events in a whole new way. Also, this device is connected to Xbox live, which connects users with players from all around the world. This creates an even bigger social connection that would not be possible without this technology.  In terms of physical activity, the Xbox Kinect allows much more mobility than the average game. Players can even perform fitness regimens and have virtual personal trainers. Instead of sitting on the couch, the Kinect inspires players to at least get minimal physical activity. Some parents may be leery of the safety hazards of connecting with strangers worldwide, which is a common concern of much technology these days. However, parents can disable the Xbox live as well as limit shows or movies with inappropriate ratings. This can ensure parents that they can at least take the proper steps to protect their children from strangers. The Kinect technology was hacked and Microsoft used that bad situation to turn around the future of the Kinect. The SDK, or Software Development Kit, is now available for consumers, who can use the technology of the Kinect to adapt in to their own environment. For example, it can now be used as a simulated instrument or for creating avatars. In the medical field, doctors are using Kinect technology to work machinery located outside of the operating room while remaining sterile inside. Also, games have been developed to work with children during physical therapy.  The future of the Kinect is headed in the direction of the creators; the options are limitless. Currently, the future is headed towards educational situations. In February 2012, the software will be available for Windows compatible computers to even further be implemented in the school and work force.  Children can get great views of parts of the human body, and can even use their bodies to simulate things like an analog clock.
    In Maryanne Wolf’s The Proust and the Squid, she urges her readers to understand that

We must teach our children to be 'bitextual,' or 'multi textual,' able to read and analyze texts flexibly in different ways, with more deliberate instruction at every stage of development on the inferential, demanding aspects of any text. Teaching children to uncover the invisible world that resides in written words needs to be both explicit and part of a dialogue between learner and teacher, if we are to promote the processes that lead to fully formed expert reading in our citizenry. (Wolf 226)

In simpler terms, she is stressing the importance of not only teaching reading comprehension but also analytical reasoning. Although video games are not the best for learning to analyze, the Xbox Kinect is something totally revolutionary. Since it has begun to be implemented in the classroom, the technology can be used to teach children how to analyze. Therefore, children will not think of just video games when they think of Xbox. Oppositely, they will think of learning, expanding, creating, and, therefore, analyzing. There is no doubt that the future of education is changing. Thankfully, wonderful programs like Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect are changing education in a positive way.

Xbox Kinect - Intro

    The Xbox Kinect is an innovative piece of technology that is just beginning to make its mark on the world.  On November 4, 2010, Microsoft released this device, and on February 1, 2012, the Kinect will be available for Windows.  At a current price of $120, the Kinect offers controller-free entertainment.  The device received a Guinness World Record for the fastest selling consumer electronics device ever, with 18 million units sold in the past year.  The Kinect’s camera is capable of face recognition, which allows users to sign-in just by presenting their face.  Also, the camera’s gesture recognition makes it possible for users to manipulate the Xbox interface and interact with games.  The Kinect’s depth sensor allows it to see a room in three dimensions under any lighting conditions.  The Kinect even receives audio signals; its multiarray microphone enables voice recognition and headset-free communication with online users.

LINKS:
Xbox Kinect
Facebook Page

Directions for posting your blogs

Thanks to Tyler, I think we have come up with a system for posting your entries. I added a page titled "New Technologies" for you to use this week and next week. Depending on your preference as a team you can add your entry in one of two ways. First, you can put the description, positive, and negative within the same posting - essentially writing it together (keeping in mind your grade is an individual - pos or neg) in one blog entry.  Second, you can post 3 different blogs - one with a general description, one for positive, one for negative. I guess a third option would be to post 2 blogs -one for each side with a brief description of the product you are reviewing... We'll see which method we prefer.

Reminders:
- cite course material in your entry.
- comment each week (starting next week) on at least one post.
- add a link to the product (if possible).

Week 2 (Technology)

Transloc (Louis+, Andrew-)Peel (Jared+, Dieu-)
Xbox Knect (Claire+, Tyler-)
NEST (Wen+, Joshua-)
StumbleUpon (James+, Jennifer-)
Kindle (Elaina+, Anna-)
VITA (Amanda+, Mitchell-)
SmartWindow (Danica+?, Steven-?)
SmartFabric (Kristina T+, Jocelyn-)
???? (Thomas?, Allain?)

I hope I got these right... don't forget to reference the readings at least once... share resources/texts with each other, please. :)

When you sign in

For your first posting, please tell me what blog you will be following... Thanks :)

Description

This blog is designed to promote critical thinking about the complexities associated with learning in the digital age.  It is organized around several texts that present the complexities involved in the study and analysis of the impact of digital media and mobile computing. Discussion will explore and question the opportunities and challenges generated by the widespread use of mobile computing devices for social networking, entertainment, and learning.  Because thoughtful discussion and debate – with each other, with professors, with authors and texts – are essential to the processes of critical analysis,  active participation are expected.