Media Convergence Initiative

iPad Air: The Investment is Worthwhile

Posted on October 28, 2013 by gabriellemotto

It feels like every week, something new is coming out in the world of technology. If it’s not the new Apple iPhone, it’s the new Samsung Galaxy with the smart watches or the Windows Surface Two. This time, it’s a new iPad by Apple. The new iPad, the iPad air promises to be innovative and revolutionary. It is superior to its predecessor in more ways than one.

This new tablet has been beautifully crafted to include features that make it desirable. The new table twenty-eight percent lighter than the last, weighing in at one pound. It comes with Apple’s magnificent retina display, measuring 9.7 inches. Inside, you can find the new, powerful, and lighting fast A7 chip. It optimizes on battery life, allowing the tablet up to 10 hours of battery live. The Wi-Fi on the iPad air is two times faster, with downloads speeds of up to three hundred megabytes per second.

Having an iPad is like having your entire world at your fingertips. It is great for taking and storing pictures. You can watch all of your videos, movies, TV shows. You can also have Netflix and Hulu for your entertainment. The greatest feature on on the iPad air is the iCloud. It syncs all emails, contacts, reminders, calendars, and apps between all of your devices. It’s great being able to access your schedule from both your phone and your tablet. Having the Apple apps pages, keynote, and numbers makes it easy to create word documents, slide shows, and spreadsheets. All of these then get synched straight to your iPhone, MacBook and iCloud. Apple has truly created something that makes people lives easier. The technology may be a little pricey, but it is most definitely worth the investment.

Posted in Science and Technology | Comments Off

Escaped Orange County inmates recaptured and returned to prison

Posted on October 28, 2013 by bhecker

Within the last month, police in Orange County, Florida, were working overtime to find two escaped inmates from the Orange County jail. Apparently, these two men managed to escape prison using forged documents to stroll right out of jail weeks apart from one another. Seeing as the two men were in prison because they were convicted murderers, this was cause for alarm for Orange County.

The escapees, Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, managed to get out and stay out of prison for a few weeks. During this time, the families of their respective victims were outraged, speaking to many media outlets about their displeasure. Luckily for the families, both men were apprehended at an inn in Panama City and are now back in jail.

Upon recapture, authorities began questioning the two escapees for information of how they escaped, and if there were any others who escaped the same way. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner stated that he is very sure they will be making more arrests based on information they get from the escapees.

One of the men, Walker, is to be charged with escaping from prison, while Jenkins is not being charged with anything. I’m not sure why only Walker is being charged. The two men are now being held in separate maximum security rooms in jail, to prevent them teaming up and escaping again. Orange County law enforcement is no doubt embarrassed that the two men managed to escape so easily, and are not likely to allow it to happen again.

Posted in Politics | Comments Off

Birthday Cake Is The New Trending Flavor

Posted on October 28, 2013 by brookeadams91

Bacon has been a popular flavoring for a long time. It has been a featured flavor in several snack foods such as chips, popcorn, and even ice cream. The new flavor trend today is birthday cake, especially in sweets.

Birthday cake is now the flavor basis of the country’s trendiest treats. New York City’s self-proclaimed and current cupcake queen Allison Robicelli, co-author of the new book “Robicelli’s: A Love Story, With Cupcakes” with her husband, Matt Robicelli, said that birthday cake is time machine to a happy place.

Manufacturers are planning on great success with the huge range of birthday cake flavored items that are featured in sweet treats on the market today. Birthday cake is a featured flavor in yogurt, popcorn, candy, ice-blended tea, and many other products. These products incorporate vanilla, butter, sugar, and eggs, which are the basic flavor components in homemade birthday cake.

Recently, M&Ms stated that it would be releasing a birthday cake flavor of its popular candy in May of next year. Birthday cake has also been incorporated into ice cream along with chunks of real cake in the mixture. There is also Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish as well as birthday cake flavored vodka. For those who want their homemade cakes to taste even more like birthday cake, there is an artificial extract making the cake smell and taste even more authentic and according to Yahoo, “you will even smell the wax of the burning candles.”

Birthday cake is a very delicious dessert in my opinion, but as a flavoring, I am not sure if it will be that good. Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish crackers does not sound very appetizing whereas birthday cake ice cream sounds pretty good since cake and ice cream is already a popular combination.

Posted in Economy, General | Tagged cake, Food trends | Comments Off

NFL: 2013 Playoff Hopes are Already Gone for Two Floridian NFL Teams

Posted on October 28, 2013 by shannonadams

Almost all NFL teams have played their first eight games out of the sixteen-game season, and many of the teams at the bottom of the ranking list have already been counted out by NFL Analysts. The most obvious teams that have been ruled out of the playoff hunt are the two remaining teams that have yet to get a win this season: The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Jaguars are on track to have what could be the worst season in recent NFL history, losing by a large point deficit almost every week. First round pick Quarterback Blaine Gabbert has proven to be a flop in the NFL after his first couple of seasons, and has been replaced by Chad Henne as starting Quarterback for the remainder of the season. Even with the change in Quarterback, nothing seems to be working for the Jaguars this season on either side of the ball. The Jaguars’ best bet is to continue playing how they have been this season, and pick a new rookie Quarterback with the first overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were thought to be a surprise playoff contender in the pre-season this year. They have a talented offense and dominant defensive players all over the defense. Tampa Bay has had several distractions that could have had an effect on their performance so far this season. When starting Quarterback Josh Freeman started off the season poorly, the Buccaneers decided to part ways with Freeman and go with their rookie Quarterback Glennon instead. As shown by their record, the change did not help the team as much as they had hoped as they continue to struggle. Unlike the Jaguars, the Buccaneers have shown they can compete with teams all the way to the end of the game. On a positive note for Tampa Bay fans, the Buccaneers are statistically more likely than the Jaguars to earn themselves a win this season.

Posted in Sports | Comments Off

Next Large War Could be Fought with Computers

Posted on October 28, 2013 by rachelfoster89

When war first manifested, it was fought with sticks and stones. We are in an age now where it is likely that the next world war would be fought with computers. Computer hacking has become a permanent resident of international news, it’s a new threat.

There are several chinese hackers that have claimed that they could ‘easily’ take control of American systems. This is a frightening thought, seeing as China is the one of the only other superpowers next to America. War in this age seems a little irrational and doesn’t seem top be a plausible outcome but in the case it is, we might be in trouble. Even the war fought in Iraq is mainly fought by drones and computer controlled machines.

Say there was a world war, it seems it would be the country with the most advanced computing and skilled hackers who would prevail. At this rate, there are only a few countries who would even be able to fight these wars. Second and third world countries would be lost in the process and most likely have no chance at competing with countries like China and the United States.

Of course, ever since war has started it has been the country who has the most advanced technology that wins. Better swords, stronger armor and more innovative weapons have always been the keys to a good military campaign. Things haven’t changed, war should be the last resort, but it has become much less personal and that may not be a bad thing

Posted in General, Politics, World News | Comments Off

Kim and Kanye are Officially Together Forever

Posted on October 28, 2013 by johnmalala

Well, it has finally happened “Kimye” fans: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are engaged to be married. It became official on Monday night, October 21st. What was thought to be a grand birthday party for Kim’s 33rd, turned out to be an extravagant proposal. Kim and the couple’s family and friends had no idea that was going to be the outcome. Of course, Kanye has to do everything extremely over the top and rented out the stadium, where the San Francisco Giants play for the night. This is where a 50 piece orchestra was playing Lana Del Rey and the mega screen labeled “Pleeease Marry Meee!!!” was shown in front of the whole crowd.

Kanye came out and popped the question, shocking Kim and everyone watching. The engagement ring is a 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz circular-cut diamond. The whole Kardasian gang, Kris, Khloe, Kourtney, Kendall, and Kylie all posted the big news on Instagram, with a congratulations to the couple. It was all confirmed when Kim, herself, posted a picture of the rock and the screen with the caption, “YES!!!”.

Kim and Kanye are parents of 4-month old daughter, North. She was born only a couple days after Kardashian was finally officially divorced from her ex-husband, Kris Humphries. Their marriage lasted only 72 days, creating an uproar from fans saying it was all a set up. I am not necessarily a die hard fan for Kim nor Kanye, but I am happy for them and the road they are taking. I believe this marriage will last much longer than her last.

Posted in Entertainment | Comments Off

The Next Generation of Video Game Consoles May not be Worth the Money

Posted on October 28, 2013 by jacquelynne bernstein

For the last several decades, few markets have drawn so much hype and attention to its products as the video game market. Video games and gaming consoles have changed and at times defined popular culture in America, and continue to be a strong and important influence. With the imminent release of the new Playstation 4 and the Xbox One, it is clear that video games are still as popular as ever. However, some feel that the new consoles may be doomed to fail before they even get a chance to affect popular culture.

Sony and Microsoft both introduced revolutionary pieces of technology with the release of Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. For the last several years, these two gaming consoles have provided some of the most entertaining titles is gaming. Like all technology, however, they were bound to be replaced with a newer and better version eventually. The PS4 and Xbox One are supposed to be those replacements, but some doubt that the two will be up to the challenge.

One of the biggest draws of the new consoles is the improvement of the graphics in games. Programmers and engineers are able to move closer and closer to real life with their graphics in the new systems. Most of the other changes are more in software, and could have been changed without introducing a new console. So the biggest draw for the new consoles is the graphics. Whether this will be enough to bring in an audience and make these two common household items, like their predecessors, is yet to be seen, but as long as developers are still making games for the PS3 and Xbox 360, there will be a struggle for power.

Posted in Science and Technology | Comments Off

Obamacare Causes More Issues Than Repair

Posted on October 28, 2013 by nlabosco

The official website for Obamacare was created and ready for use (or so we thought) from the public earlier last week. The main issue that arose was the fact that way too many people tried to access the website at one time, which led to a server crash. The website would not work and people trying to apply for the universal healthcare programs would have to push their application processing and approval dates back, WAY back.

Another issue that made an appearance is that none of the healthcare providers are rated, which leaves the applicants at a loss. They can easily become confused and informed as to which provider they should use or which one is best for them or approved by the most users. Healthcare providing companies are upset and irritated by this issue because they are solely being chosen by blind chance now. If their clientele approves of their service(s), they would naturally want others to know because it would improve their business, which would also directly affect and increase their clientele. Garry Maisel, CEO of Western Health Advantage states, “We think that is ludicrous. Consumers deserve to know what is unrated versus what has been around a long time and has a good quality rating.” The federal and state officials decided that ratings of only some insurance companies would reflect poorly, therefore enforcing the decision to not publish any ratings.

I’m actually quite excited to see how universal healthcare will play out in our country. It has provided great things for other countries around the world and I truly hope it has the potential to provide the same great possibilities for us.

Posted in Economy, Environment, General, Health, Politics, World News | Comments Off

Monday Night Football: A Fantasy Football Perspective

Posted on October 28, 2013 by jmedelman16

Monday Night Football is one of the biggest stages in football for teams to be recognized for their skill and talent. For a fantasy football player like me, I see it as a time for individual players to shine and show their skill. In Fantasy Football there is a process of drafting players when you start your season. Who the player picks will determine the entire season for them so it’s important to think wisely before picking. All fantasy football websites differ when it comes to player line ups and ways of scoring. My league has a line up of 1 Quarterback, 2 Running backs, 2, Wide Receivers, 1 Tight End, 1 Flex position, 1 Defense, and 1 Kicker. The flex position can be any choice of a running back, wide receiver, or tight end. There are other players that are drafted to your team that you store on your bench to fill in on bye weeks, for injured players, or if a starter in under-performing. A very basic overview on scoring points would be the better your individual players do, the higher score you get. This is not a team game, it is a game of rooting for individual players.

This week I was down 10 points at the end of Sunday night, but I still have 2 players left to play on Monday. The two players I have are my Quarterback, Russell Wilson and my Wide Receiver, Golden Tate. They both play for the Seattle Seahawks. So far, half way through the game, they have produced a collective 15 points so I am now in the lead. If my players don’t make any big mistakes the rest of the game and continue to play well I will win this week.

Posted in Sports | Comments Off

Bees Scheduled to be Replaced With Robots

Posted on October 28, 2013 by mattimmerman

I for one have never been stung by a bee, but reliable sources tell me that it is not a pleasant experience. But I’m fairly sure that nobody has ever been stung by a robot, unless of course the robot was specifically designed for stinging people. With these two taken into account, it can be inferred that if robot bees were to take over America’s pollination duties, the incidents of pollinator-inflicted stings would sharply decrease. And this is part of a plan in its very early stages being developed by Harvard scientists. Bee populations worldwide have been diminishing due to a phenomena known as colony collapse disorder. Researchers are unsure of the cause, but we are losing our pollinators fast and there seems to be no immediate solution. But never fear, for science may very well have a robot for that.

Scientists at Harvard University have been developing tiny winged robots called drones which, with a good bit more development and then maybe a good bit more development after that, may be able to take over the task of pollinating America’s crops. They are incredibly small and light weight, and unlike other man-made drones, they use tiny insect-like wings to stay aloft. They are far too small for motors or gears, so the wings utilize a phenomena known as the piezoelectric effect to beat incredibly fast. An electric current is sent through piezoelectric material which vibrates and beats the wings. The robots can successfully fly, but they have to be connected to a power source with a thin wire because nobody has invented a battery light enough yet. The other major roadblock is the fact that they do not yet have computers or sensors with which to detect and pollinate flowers. I think that this is another interesting example of the human race attempting to fix the damaged environment with technology. Who knows, maybe it will actually work this time.

Posted in Environment, Science and Technology | Comments Off