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Monday, May 26, 2008
 Without a second thought, Microsoft and Windows is the way to go. All the way from my Pentium 1 with 4x CD rom using Windows 98, to WindowsNT, Windows2000, to Windows XP. I have definitely been a long time user of Windows, and as far as i'm concerned, it definitely does the job. The user-friendly interface sure beats the huge thumbnails and icons and this weird high-ram usage bubbly moving interface. I have to admit, Vista has become more like Mac, but there still leaves the compatibility issues. A majority of today's freeware, games, downloaded software and programs are all made for Windows. Mac is simply left behind, causing big issues for the users. The all white keyboard and external white shell just doesnt seem that appealing to me. A laptop, whether or not you care for it alot, will eventually become dirty from use. White is the worst color to be using, as your sweat and dirty hands will eventually make it gray or brown. It seems like Windows has just been traditionally been better at doing what modern people today need to do, reflecting their position on the market.
 I took one look at the website and I quickly closed it. My attention span is very small. I think that the developers are attempting at a good cause, but those regularly surf the internet are naturally used to short attention span related things. Youtube is clearly a website where people with short attention span are attracted to go to. The whole internet is basically catored around those who have a short attention span. Suddenly, the developers of bigthink.com attempt something so unorthodox. I personally doubt that this will ever catch on. I believe that only a very small minority of people that use the internet would be attracted to participate in such discussion. These discussions simply do not keep me interested long enough, to come back and continue talking about other issues. Later, I attempted to read a couple of the discussion topics on bigthink.com. The website is just not quite made for teenagers who feel the need to discuss these topics. Like, honestly, who wants to go onto a website to discuss about poverty; this happens at school enough already. No one would want to go home, surf the internet, and discuss about world issues. Teenagers nowadays, are just more interested in watching hilarious/stupid videos of other people on the internet. I tried an hour later again. No luck once again. bigthink.com does not have what it takes to capture my attention. The topics aren't even a bit interesting or more attracting to the average. Talking about politics over the internet.. who does that? There are way better things such as watching hilarious videos on youtube.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
 I found all of the pictures in the video very interesting and amusing. I was laughing half the time. The frog split merged with the orange peel was a bit weird. The frog with the skin painted yellow and black with the poisonous sign was very creative, showing the poison hiding under the skin. The picture with the Statue of Liberty and placing human legs underneath and then taking a picture upwards seemed like a political joke to me, disregarding the seriousness and importance of the Statue. The panda's were actually very unique and hilarious with the different shapes of the black spots. The very far left panda with the "bird black spots" actually even looks like hes enjoying himself. The couple shark eating pictures were very flawless as well. The pictures of both were merged very well, as you could not tell the difference between the two images. In one of them, water was also placed inside the shark's mouth to make it look more realistic. Butterfly with a tiger background on it's wings was very special, as I would never have ever thought to have animal's on a butterfly's wings. The bee and the fly fighting against each other was very intriguing, as it exagerated how they fought by adding a sword, something very common in movies and shows today. The Earth eating the Moon rat was very nice. The colors were matched perfectly and edges of merged images were not to be seen. I think that these images are made by combining 2 or more different images, and then using various masks and layers, the artist merges the outlines. By fine tuning the image with various tools, he/she combines it into one changing the original image completely.
 Pirating is something which I do myself. I feel that paying the $10 for a movie ticket, and then paying another $10 for over priced snacks is not worth it. Hundreds of movies come out in a year, and I'd like to watch all of them. Unfourtunately, this is not within my ability. My wallet is simply not big enough. There are also thousands of artists and bands out there. I cannot buy every single one of their tracks. iTunes is one of the several attempts to cure piracy. My own opinion is that it has done nothing but promote piracy even further. Average high school students have over 4000+ songs. iTunes sells each song for about $1. It is so much more easier to simply go online and download all the movies and music you want to enjoy, not worrying that you have made a bad choice and wasted your money.
Right now, BitTorrent is an amazing program. Everything, anything you want is literally a click away. I think that I am not the only one in this world who share the same views as me on pirating movies and music. Sometimes buying DVD's at like Walmart is rather difficult as well.
When downloading software, I do not hold any limitations on myself on what I usually download. If the program truly helps me alot, or simplifies a task for me, I will be more than glad to pay for it. The problem is, for example, Photoshop CS 3, the cost and the amount of usage. If I have to download a $300 program to use for 6 hours of homework, I am surely not going to buy the program. As for pirating games, I simply do not get addicted to a game. I dont find games that provide me with enough fun, to motivate me to buy it. $60 for a game that I may spend 10 hours on at max, just doesn't make the cut. I find that being able to try a game, see if its fun, see if you can play it on your computer before buying it, is much better than just buying something you cant return and leave it lying.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
 In gr 9 for our geography homework, we were also told to figure out our ecological footprint. I believe it was 8-9? The survey I did today showed that my footprint is 6.8, a surprising figure. I think that it the figure has went down due to the fact that I now ride my old red bike to school everyday. I ride about 3km per way, or about 2 blocks diagonally. It also had a comment at the end saying "If everyone lived just like you, we would need 3.5 planets". It makes me feel rather guilty and also a the same time more willing to take action and reduce my footprint. As of right now, I feel content with my footprint size. The Canadian average is 8.8, meaning that there must be those above 8.8 around 15-20? I control the amount which I travel with the car, and I prefer to buy locally made goods rather than imported. I bike to school every single day other than in winter and I do not leave the bathroom heater on 30 minutes before I actually turn on the shower. I feel that the website is actually quite user friendly and that it provides enough information. Without this site, I would never have known that my footprint is actually not as high I last checked. It has also made me more aware of the actions that make my footprint larger or smaller. The image I found by searching up ecological footprint are hilarious. A picture of a huge dirty grey foot stepping right through the Earth came up. It shows the different ways of how are big ecological "footprint" has destroyed the Earth with our living style. This has me thinking if I should do more to live a better life. I think of those in Japan and India who live life perfectly fine without having to use 3 worlds of resources.
 I personally don't find a video game based in the 25th century very interesting. What makes me even less likely to buy and play this game is the fact that the players are dressed in Star War's stormtrooper's or something's battlearmour. I just don't seem to find the thrill in shooting laser guns at AI controlled pixels. I personally like video games and movies the same amount. Video games aren't as fun playing them alone, but when you're basement is full of 20 of your greatest friends, I think Halo 3 would be an amazing game. Movies can be equally as entertaining, but I think that because the duration of a video game would last much longer, it would definitely be more entertaining in the long run. It has been roughly 3 months since the release of Halo 3, and I have yet to try this new game. I have heard good things about it, from stunning graphings to smooth gameplay and action. I think that once I've tried Halo 3, my opinion on it may change, as I believe that the $50 pricetag may not look so steep afterall. I've tried Halo 2 before, and I have to admit, it is great for a party. Between the various shouts of "Hey, stop shooting behind my back" or "Cover me, we're going to blow him out of there" you'll often hearing loud laughter, signs of people having fun. Im not that big of a fan for halo 3, and I couldn't care less about the hype for a video game. Yes, I think that those who waited at midnight at Best Buy to buy the game, have problems. I know that I probably offended thousands of people, but honestly, I can't imagine placing Halo 3 over a priority over sleep. Everyone needs their beauty sleep!
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