Thursday, July 31, 2008

Cuil- The Newest Haystack

Cuil- The Newest Haystack

Cuil.com is a new search engine created by former google designers. I like the three column feature, I feel like I can read a whole paragraph from each selection and really know which one is the search answer I need. It does not have the insanely cool features that Google has however, it is just for searching. I found different sites that I could not find on Google and vice-versa. I believe my best bet is always to use a variety of search engines when I truly need to find something. As a Google-lover, it is not always easy to stray, but when in need, I will search through every haystack. Today my sister and I went searching for lost relatives and connected with some cousins from my step-father's side of the family. Interestingly enough, we could not get any further with our own blood relatives unless we paid the ancestry site a fee. There must be a way to get the information we want without having to pay a fee. I approach this process every few years and then give up after I hit the ancestry website roadblock. If anyone knows a REAL- FREE website, I would go needle hunting again.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Why Should Students Blog? One Teacher's Experience with Middle-School Blogging

Why Should Students Blog? One Teacher's Experience with Middle-School Blogging
How and why one teacher introduced blogging to her middle-school students.


Please read this article where I posted it on Associated Content. Share this link with your friends.

Technology Training on a Tight Budget: Sharing is the Answer

Technology Training on a Tight Budget: Sharing is the Answer
If Your District Won't Pay for Technology Training, There Are Free Services Available

View this article at the following address, it is published on associated content. please share this link with your friends.
Go here.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

San Francisco's Incoming Streetline Parking System to Briefly Dull Our Senses

San Francisco's Incoming Streetline Parking System to Briefly Dull Our Senses


We have evolved as humans. No longer do our men go out and hunt for days to catch a animal for our needs, instead full meals can be brought to our front doors by the various local delivery people, UPS and Fed Ex. As technology takes over more of our lives, hunting for sport and parking spots has long surpassed hunting for actual sustenance, and women and men alike turn to technology to increase their chances of a "Kill." I read in the New York Times today that San Francisco is implementing a Streetline smartphone system to help drivers capture a parking spot and cut down on inner-city congestion.

Since I hail from the New York City area, I can spot someone heading purposefully toward their car to pull out as easily as a duck hunter can spot a returning flock of Mallards. We both know to not give away our position, as we wouldn't want others to notice our potential strike. San Francisco automobile owners will soon be able to pay their meters from their offices and the only license they will need to park will be their cell phones and a quick hand on the wheel. Congestion will go down as more drivers learn to navigate the new parking system.

It will be interesting to see if decoys start thriving, as soon as a new technology is implemented it seems that there is an equal reaction to circumnavigate it. I can imagine teams of hackers ungluing the sensor devices from the streets or sending false reports to protect the actual free parking spaces every time they want to throw a party. What will become of our natural stalking instincts, will the Streetline permanently dull our senses by excluding of the daily circling of the neighborhood blocks as we search for a parking spot? I think not, even though we live in cities far away from the traditional hunting/gathering existence, we will always find something to pursue. We may soon be competing for taxis from our iphones.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/