Labs

 Lab #2 January 20th, 2011   I personally find the app developer guidelines to be rather vague and inconsistent which is the huge problem for developers who want to submit their apps to the Apple store.  The one guideline rule I found to be the most unclear is the one concerning the users interface that states your app will be denied if ‘’your user interface is "complex or less  than very good’’ . First off, complex or less than very good are two statements that do not coincide, especially in regards to this rule.  <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">With confusing rules that are not concise and perfectly clear, app developers are left confused and disgruntled when their apps are not approved. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It seems as though Steve Jobs has left the approval list for app developers rather vague as a way to confuse people. Because the rules are so imprecise, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">the Mac store is free to reject your app for any reason they choose and the developer will have little to no idea why because the guideline is not very conclusive. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I feel as though the rules need to be more concise. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Lab #3

<span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Design is perhaps one of the most important factors that makes a product truly stand out among the rest. Many products offer the same things in terms of functionality and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> quality, so in order for companies to get you to buy their products, they need to draw you in by design. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">For example, Dell has given the customer to customize their laptops colour. It may not seem like a huge deal, but the choice to personalize your laptop in terms of what best <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> suits you will draw many individuals in who like to express themselves. Another company that has excelled by design is Apple. Their sleek and innovative design is one of the main <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> reasons why they dominate the market today. <span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">   <span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Lab #4 <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">As a recovering crackberry addict, I find the MIT's article to be rather insightful and truthful. She discusses the idea of being alone but looking for approval as though you were <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">together and I feel as though that is what we look for when we use these technologies. I recently lost my blackberry and had to wait a whole week to get a new phone. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I felt out of touch, helpless and anxious. My thumbs were out of service and the day went by much slower. I yearned for those status updates and funny <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">chain letters that usually get passed around. I never thought of myself as the type to get addicted to a technology but that week without a blackberry made me <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">realized how dependent I was on one device and it scared me. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I think losing my phone was a good thing for me because it freed me from my problem. I now can put my blackberry down and be a part <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">of conversations instead of ignoring those around me. I think the biggest problem with our overuses of technology is we’d rather communicate <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">over them than in person and we lose that human connection. We get lost between are real selves and our cyber selves and trust me, there is a difference. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Lab #5 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">New media seems to be moving much faster that privacy laws can keep up with. Individuals flock to the latest and greatest social networking sites to reconnect with friends <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">and don not seem to care much about privacy until it is too late. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> An example of this is Facebook. Facebook is perhaps the largest and most revolutionary social networking site in the world bringing people around the world closer together <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">but their privacy issues have caused concern. Unless you personally change your privacy settings, your information is there for the world to see. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Personal information such as photos, education, your relationship status, and where you live is made available to complete strangers. I personally found that the lack of privacy <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> on Facebook led me to feel vulnerable so I deactivated my account. Although it is a great tool and outlet to keep you connected with friends, people should not overlook the lack <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">of privacy it provides for its user. <span style="color: #1b1413; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

Lab #7

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">E-learning consists of a way for students to learn via technology. With the use of the internet, they are given the choice to learn online by electronically supported teaching instead of physically <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> attending a class. This is beneficial because it gives individuals who may not be physically able to travel outside their home an opportunity to get an education. It also provides students a chance to  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> create their own schedule that works and is more flexible. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There are some downfalls to e-learning though. There is a lack of interactivity and social connection amongst students and the teachers with e-learning. Without being physically present in a  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">classroom, students will not be able to interact with their classmates and engage in class debates and discussions. Another downfall of e-learning is teaching skills may not be as effective <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> online as it is in the classroom.