EOTO presentations

 The EOTO presentations were interesting. I felt like I got to know the class better personality wise and a little more about technology. One that really caught my intrest were the carrier pigeons. Originally I wanted to do this because it sounded funny and cool, which it was. The fact that we used to use birds to send out mail is crazy to me. How did the train the birds? That is a question that really never got answered, how did they know when to drop off the package and where. I give birds a lot more credit for their intelligence than I did before. If you had to send a message overseas how long did that take? A bird was not possible. Now a days it is instant communication from any where and everywhere. You even said your self you sent your very first email in 1995 before I was even born. Most of the people I know can not even imagine a world with out the instant gratification of an email, text, or internet as a whole. One of the cool facts that I took away from the presentation included the early days of email. The fact that the pigeon beat the email sent by a long shot is crazy to me. To look back on how slow it was to now a days. Where you can send an email to a person across the country and they can not only get it but respond in minutes is insane. As a society we have come so far in technology spanning across all forms, I can not wait to see what the future holds. 

Theory of Diffusion

     I decided to do my diffusions of innovations post on electric cars. The first electric car released in the early 1800's where scientist in Hungary, Netherlands, and the US were tinkering around with the idea. They were very small and horses where still the primary source of transportation. In 1884 it became more practical. They became more and more popular in urban areas in the late 1890's especially with women particulary because they were less noisy and did not stink as much. They began to take off but the hybrid model of a car was released in 1901. Then through 1908 and 1912 the model- t was released making gas ran cars more affordable and accessible for the common person. This is when the decline began of electric cars and gas took over. We really did not see electric cars enter a conversation until the production of the Tesla line on luxury electric cars.  People are becoming more and more drawn to them as they are proven to help the environment and honestly is a trend. 

https://www.energy.gov/timeline/timeline-history-electric-car

    Looking at it through the lens of the Roger Diffusion of Innovation back in the day I would say people caught on because it was not an expensive option. It was easily accessible as well as to operate. The main buyers were white women with money though. I believe this because it was kind of a luxury while horse was still the main mode of transportation. As gas powered cars were put out and sold at an extremely cheaper rate, basically all of America caught on to this trend ditching the horse. The early adapters where the rich like with all things and as prices fell and it became more common to have a car this is when people took the leap to join the trend.  Now the electric car business has kind of picked up where it started with luxury brands putting out the most popular cars. History kind of repeats itself in a funny way. Tesla, Audi, and BMW are great examples but these come with a very high price. As we see now people want to help the environment. Companies that market to families and the middle class are coming out with hybrid models sold at an affordable rate. Once we realize that earth can not take so much pollution I think the slow transformation from gas to electric will have a speedy, constant, and steady rise. I believe the positive will out weigh the negative as this transformation happens. We begin to save on oil and gas and try to reverse the damage we have done thus far to our home planet. 

In the next 100 years I believe gas stations will almost be obsolete. These will turn into overnight charging stations. Or parking lots will just be full of charging stations with gas stations becoming retail stores. I also predict a lot of these cars eventually turning self automated. Will people even know how to drive in the future?  When I get older and I can afford it I know I will want an electric car. Ive already began my research and my current dream car is the new Audi that was released. It was actually featured in The Avengers movie. Iron man was driving it and I knew it had to be mine one day. 

 

Privacy

I knew our government had information on us but not to the extent the videos were describing. I already had a sense of distrust for them but after viewing the videos they solidified that gut feeling. Why does the government need to know all this information about me if I am an innocent citizen?  If they know everything about me, essentially there is no privacy. Like video one saying no one needs to know that much. Like said , having that much access is kind of like playing a God.  One of the major shockers was the cameras that were sold to facebook that were mounted in places that could be used to track where you are, who you're with, and much more. Stores can now use facial id to track your purchasing history in real life time and sell you on something in person. I know this is done on the internet with ads being sent to your phone but having it done in the moment is just crazy. 

We then moved on to how police are using license plates readers to again collect unnecessary data on innocent humans living their everyday lives. At one point a man asked for the data on his license plate to be released and they could see who he was with, where he was, and even had a picture of him going into his house with his family. To me this is insane. Police also use this if they suspect behavior that may harm the community , which I agree with but to an extent. Only if you have actually evidence. Using a tool called sting they could go through a whole street or even neighborhoods houses and tell you who is where and what they are doing. 

Wiretapping, hacking text messages and emails are something we see in movies like Jason Bourne but are known to happen everyday.  In the past anyone could be wire taped and listened to by our government, foreign governments, or even just hackers. I understand the why of this but there needs to be a medium.  Apple and some other companies have started to develop your communication tools so they become encrypted and no one can really see them.Personally I don’t really believe that. Governments have become “mad” about this becasue it has put a barrier in there search for terrorism and other unlawful activities. Companies have tried to make backdoors for this where only certain people can get in but with that any seasoned hacker can find it as well. So what is the solution to this problem? I do not know. I understand safety precautions but like said before there needs to be a medium. 

The volatile and disgraceful act of releasing someone else nude photos without their permission was the next video. The woman in this video was very very strong. She explained that her ex boyfriend decided to release nude photos that he had taken of her while she was asleep. He barely even received a slap on the wrist. In my opinion it should be a law that you should get a sentence to prison if this is done, and the fact that it is not already is horrible. The amount of women that go through this and have to deal with the problem ultimately ending up with cases of depression and suicide is just sad. Imagine if you were suddenly exposed to everyone you know and the world butt naked on the internet. This could essentially ruin your life, jobs not wanting to hire you, money lost and more. Privacy is no joke and needs to be taken a lot more seriously especially regarding the women in our society.

The fact that a child's toy can monitor and gather data on a family is not ideal to me. Although you do have to sign an agreement when you get the toy I do not know if I still like this. I like my privacy and I want it to remain private, not our government having mines of data on innocent people. I understand why behind it but I believe there can be a better way. It has kind of become a norm and how the world works. I want there to be change in the ways we deal with nude pictures being released, there should be a price to pay rather than a little slap on the wrist. Our government is trying to protect us but I believe they do not need to be so invasive on innocent citizens. 

Bluetooth

 I was assigned the technological advancement of Bluetooth. A communication tool that changed the way we connect with each other and our devices for the better.  Bluetooth became a buzz in the engineering world around 1993, when the company Ericsonn assigned employee Jaap Haartsen to trail-blaze the new and exciting upgrade in the world of technology.  Link: https://bit.ly/3tyBsBL

So what exactly is Bluetooth? "It is a short range wireless technology standered that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances using UHF radio waves." Average distance usually ranges from twenty-five to thirty-feet when your devices are connected. Now a days this could be computers, headphones, cellphones, speakers and essentially any other technology that is available. But like anything to truly understand something you have to go back to the past. With all success comes a helping hand.  Sven Mattison another engineer at Ericsonn was this for Jaap Haartsen. As a team they were able to develop multi-communicator links something that would transform into the world known advancement Bluetooth. 

Bluetooth uses short length radio technology to connect your wireless devices. It is based on a technology called frequency hooping spread spectrum, first used to keep torpedoes from being jammed that were being guided by radio. Unfortunately the U.S army did not adapt this but luckily civilian society took advantage of what science was trying to bring to new generations. This system allows multiple devices to be connected at the same time using the master slave-structure. ( they could have found a better name in my opinion) But meaning the master device can push out information to one or more slave devices at the same time. Link:  https://bit.ly/3C6ph24

"Bluetooth", what a random name for something that is dealing with technology. Apparently it was named after King Harald Gormsson. Blue tooth was his nickname. This was the man that introduced Christianity to Denmark but also unified numorous tribes and clans under a single flag. Bluetooths main goal to bring together every piece of technology under one platform kind of what was accomplished by King Harold.  The logo is also the same as the character that you can find on the Kings banner. The letters are a Nordick H and B. The engineers could not come up with a better name or idea so it stuck.  Link: https://bit.ly/3CaIYpz

Bluetooth did not really go mainstream until the early 2000's. People thought it looked weird and did not really adapt right away. I remember as a little kid looking at my dad taking work calls with this funny shaped device in his ear and wondering what is was. Now it is normal to see people talking out loud on the phone through their wireless headphones. You can even text from your computer now all because of Bluetooth. I am amazed by the advancments society has made in such a short period of time. What else will we be able to connect as the years pass?  My only critique or advancement I would want to see them make is the distance of connection for your devices. If I am going on a mile run I do not want to have to cary my cell phone or feel it bouncing around in my pocket while running. This is what Bluetooth should have its eyes on next.

I had previously written the blog post so just adding to what you said to do in class. I believe some of the pioneers where the people that were close to the study and the invention. They trusted the technology and knew what it could do. Early adapters included people in business trying to innovate and bring new communication styles to their company. Early majority, once people began to see it work it started to leak into the common population and even more in Business America. Late adapters included the elderly, they were just getting used to the cell phone at that time, I do not know if they would want to take it a step further and have a funny shaped device in their ear at that time.  Now everyone uses it for everything. 

 

Post #3

 "Fuck You Nigger." This was what I heard as I released my first air balled free throw in my now retired basketball career. I looked at the referee in which I knew he knew he had heard what was said, and he did nothing about it. Those three triggering words almost made me walk off the free throw line and fight the kid that murmured them under his breath. Luckily my coach saw the anger boiling through my body and called a time out. 

Speech Theories promotes the tolerance of freedom of speech and extremest speech. One of the first events that brought this to light was dealing with a couple members of the Socialist party deciding to march down a suburb in Chicago where a majority of the population were Jewish. During this march they raised Nazi paraphernalia and hate speech against the Jewish. The socialist supposedly did this because they did not want to, "let their traditions die."  This was obviously morally wrong and society knew it. Yet the courts felt bound to protect their first amendment.  From personal experience I hated it. It allows racism to continue to live on with out a punishment in sight basically a big middle finger to minority communities back in the day.  Now that times have changed and the majority are becoming less tolerant to racism, this allows people to really show their true colors. If you are bold enough to express yourself in the demeanor that you are better than someone else because of the color of your skin or relegion you are viable to be " cancelled" and publicly shamed on the internet. Ive seen it multiple times in the last couple of years and as we talked about in class the owner of the Atlanta Hawks tweeting under the influence. Recent " cancelations" of people have shown the world what will happen to you if you continue to carry on outdated traditions of the unequal treatment of human beings. 

The government was smart and kind of countered the freedom of speech and extremest speech with, "Protect Dissent." It protects minority views no matter how unpopular. You have the right to disagree with the government no matter what is said. This kind of plays into the storyline of Martin Luther King JR. Without this major change in American history segregation and the mistreatment of minority Americans may very truly still exists. He gave speeches to over two hundred thousand people about his dream of making America a better place. An idea that truly went against all policies that were being enforced at the time. If we did not have this law implemented I believe things would have went a lot different and the black community would have followed Malcom X, a less peaceful way of getting the same message across , completely changing the history of America. 

As a black man in America this matters to me. I want to be able to play basketball without being racially attacked simply because of the fact I was better than them at the sport; and that goes for all things. I want minority children to not even know what it feels like in the future because it has become such a taboo thing to do. As I have grown and matured I have not let those words control me anymore but learned to use them as a "log on the fire" to fuel me on my journey to success. I love that America gives people the opportunity to express themselves and show the world who you truly are by simply opening your mouth or typing a couple words on a screen.  As change is slow and we will not see true justification for people still stuck in their outdated ways today, I believe it is approaching and a new way of living life is upon as the old dies and the young prevail. 

Source: https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/164866/04_02_BR_Magee.pdf;jsessionid=84A682DD8686260BD2798598190AA4E0?sequence=1

Supreme Court

Blog post #2 

Growing up in the American school system I was able to retain a little knowledge about the Supreme Court and the importance they have to our government.( I wish I would have payed more attention in class).  The videos I watched and article I read definitely refreshed my memory and also provided new insights. For example I did not know the Supreme Court has almost the same power as the president. This really plays into the checks and balances system. Personally I like it.  This gives more people more power instead of placing it all in the president's lap on having to make important decisions. Plus Supreme Court justices once pulled in have the job for their life. This gives an array of opinions and insights as the elected presidents have bounced around between both parties through the years so decisions are not swinging one way. This may make decisions old and outdated because a supreme court justice could literally sit in office his or her whole life.  I also did not know the amount of cases the Supreme Court received a year and had a choice to accept them or not.  I only thought they received the "important" ones.  The amount of people that work for each justice was surprising as well. It takes a whole team for each and every justice to pick and sort through all of the cases and then decide which one they want to take. 

I would say my most important takeaway was the amount of power the chief court justice has. They oversee impeachments and have major influence on laws decided, cases, and much more.If you think about it essentially they are almost if not  equal to the POTUS. If you hold this seat you have been in the system the longest which I respect. You have put in the work and have gained wisdom over time. For example John Marshall established the power to review and rule on the constitutionality of federal laws enacted by congress. They interpret what is wrong and what is right, nothing moves without their piece in the puzzle concerning  legal purposes.  

I had no true opinion on the supreme court before actually taking the time to try and understand. I have grown immense respect for not only the work they do but the amount. Personally it could not be me right now, I would die of boredom sitting behind that desk all day doing the type of work they do. They play a major role in the checks and balances system which I love, keeping people accountable and honest in the roles they are in. Although I do not see myself taking an interest in a future career , you never know where life will take you. I always enjoy soaking up new knowledge and am glad I got to expand my horizons on the play the supreme court has in our governments system. 

For more information visit: https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts

Watch: Part I