Monday, June 1, 2015
TWIF Flattener #10 - The Steroids
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-fall2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/approved-sources-for-twif-current.html to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that the steroids were "flatteners." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Title: Google Translate App Gets an Upgrade
ReplyDeleteLink: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/google-translate-app-gets-an-upgrade/
Summary:
Upgrades have recently been made to the Google Translate app, including a now seamless conversion of languages through speaking. One can now recognize who is speaking based on the language and then translate a phrase into a different language right after it is spoken. A few adjustments need to be made but it still works rather well. You can now also use the app by taking pictures of foreign words and having it translated on a smart phone. Google and Skype are both working towards seamless technological translations. Google uses its translation features the same way as it does with its general search engine, teaching the translator new words.
This article relates to Friedman’s “steroids” flattener in numerous ways. Friedman states that the steroids make the other flatteners virtual, mobile, and personal. Google Translate in this case would be a “flattener” under the category of in-forming, and the steroids applying to this flattener make it more virtual, mobile, and personal. The article explains that the app can be used now by taking pictures of foreign writing or speaking into a microphone to be translated rather than typing it as one would have had to do before when using the app. With these new tools (or steroids) being added, the “flattener” of Google Translate has become more virtual, mobile, and personal.
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ReplyDeleteTitle: Mississippi Couple Accused Of Trying To Join ISIS
ReplyDeleteAuthor: MARIE ANDRUSEWICZ
Link: http://www.npr.org/2015/08/12/431803342/mississippi-couple-arrested-for-attempting-to-join-isis
Summary: This article discusses the arrest of a young Mississippi couple that had been going to leave the country to join the Islamic militant group known as ISIS. They had been planning to fly into Turkey and then crossing the border into Syria to join ISIS. They were caught when the female of the couple sent a Facebook message to an undercover agent detailing her abilities that would help her assist ISIS as a medic. While very unfortunate it supports Friedman's flattener that Digital, Mobile, Personal, and Virtual "Steroids" have lead to an increase in global connectivity. ISIS uses social media to recruit westerners such as this young couple.
Title: As Killings Unfold On Live TV, Media Consider The Graphic Footage
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/26/434944064/in-wake-of-journalist-murders-media-consider-the-graphic-footage
Summary:
The chilling shooting death of two workers for a news agency was caught on live television. The footage was later featured on major news stations. It was later found on Facebook, the footage of a first person shooting the two news workers. It was later taken down off the social media .
This is an example of steroids because the footage was available almost instantly on social media. This allowed more people to view it and connect more people. However it is a horrible crime, this still shows how the social media is as fast as texting or phone calls.
Title: iPhone 7 to Premiere on September 9
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.euronews.com/2015/08/28/iphone-7-to-premier-on-september-9/
Summary: This article states that the new Apple iPhone 7 is ready to come out next month. The advantage it has over the most previous iphone is that it has a much more durable battery. this is an upgrade to the steroid because it could already upload and download plenty of footage from anywhere, but now it is boosted with an upgrade in battery life. This relates to the tenth flattener: The Steroids because the article is about an example of a steroid, the iPhone.
Title: Palmyra: Satellite Image of ISIS Destruction
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34090536
Summary: The French Pléiades Earth-observation System, which is managed by Airbus Defence and Space company, has captured images of the ancient Syrian temple of Palmyra utterly destroyed. Dating back to 1 AD, the UNESCO World Heritage Site was one of the most culturally important ruins in the world, attracting nearly 150,000 tourists before the Syrian war. The "before" image was taken on the 22 of May. Though with a slight angle difference, it is obvious that the "after" image bears no mark of the massive ruin on August 25. ISIS believes such monuments worshiping other divinities other than theirs as sacrilege.
Friedman published TWIF in 2005, 10 years ago. I trust today that he is well aware of all that has happened is far better than his predictions or expectations. As he states, "…real-time data we receive via satellites, we can identify an event" (TWIF 198). One of the steroids is the digital application of what is around us. Yes, satellites can prove that the world is not geographically nor psychically flat, however, such does allude to the fact that we can safely put an 'eye' anywhere in the world, from the other side of the earth. Silently watch destruction, silently watch triumph. Satellites document the earth's scars, it's weather, and it's inhabitants. The earth may not be flat, but our world certainly is.
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ReplyDeleteTitle: Skype Translator Preview App Brings Our World a Little Closer by Introducing French and German
ReplyDeleteLink: http://blogs.skype.com/2015/06/18/skype-translator-preview-app-brings-our-world-a-little-closer-by-introducing-french-and-german/
Summary:
Skype’s offering six different spoken Skype Translator languages varying from English, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, and recently added French and German as well as 50 different instant messaging languages. A Microsoft researcher, Ted Hart, happened to be deaf and the Skype Translator preview app impacted his social life remarkably. Ted communicated with his wife through this app. Her uttered words were changed into text instantaneously and Ted was capable of replying back with the apps instant messaging. This short article is an example of Friedman’s steroids instant messaging. This recent update on Skype allows communication to go quicker by changing the spoken words into text in a matter of seconds.
Title: New Hearing Technology Brings Sound To A Little Girl
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/06/01/410065053/new-hearing-technology-brings-sound-to-a-litte-girl
Summary:
Jiya, a young girl who was born deaf, has undergone a rare surgery that allows her to hear. She is part of a study, along with a few others, on the way each of them processes and learns sounds. In the past, Jiya had tried a cochlear implant, but it did not work for her because her brain stem was too thin. Luckily, the eight-hour surgery she underwent to get a chip implanted into her brain allowed her to finally hear, whether the sounds were clear or otherwise.
In TWIF, Friedman described new technologies as “steroids” that would push the world to a new level of interconnectivity and flatness. Jiya’s brainchip is example of one of these steroids because it is not only a new technological device, it is also a way for Jiya and others like her to connect with the rest of the world through her hearing, thus flattening the world. In previous decades, this capability would not be considered even a possibility.
Title: Nintendo to Develop Mobile Games
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31923811
Summary: Nintendo is planning to work on expanding its mobile uses. The company is teaming up with DeNA in which the two will work together to create new Nintendo games for both the original Nintendo DS but also to upgrade and create games for smartphones. In addition to this, Nintendo is planning on making a newer version of the DS. This article relates to Friedman’s assertion of steroids being considered “mobile’. The Nintendo DS is a wireless device used for gaming, surfing the web, photography, etc. The Nintendo DS can be taken anywhere for it is a small, portable device and it can also be used with anyone which is how Friedman describes the mobile steroid. By creating games for smartphones, the mobile aspect of the Nintendo will grow.
Title: Apple releases new 12in MacBook with larger retina display
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/09/apple-releases-new-slimmer-12in-macbook
Summary:
The article, by Samuel Gibbs and Alex Hern, details the features of the new 12 inch MacBook. This new MacBook Has a thinner body and longer battery life, which allows for it to go farther without needing a charge. I've selected this article because it is an example of one of the "steroids" listed in flattener 10. The MacBook falls under the category of steroid #6: wireless technologies and devices.