Support or Against?

Abortion

The article was about prolife advocates worried after Obama’s election, and their long fight to end abortion.  The advocates of prolife are worried about an administration that is prochoice.  I disagree with their side, as prochoice is giving the person of concern the option to have an abortion if needed.  It could have been a one time mistake, or even a rape that ended in a pregnancy.  There are too many intricate things that are intertwined together to be prolife.  Imagine if America was prolife, women cannot get an abortion are then financially, physically, and mentally burdened, so much more than if they had the choice to abort the pregnancy.  I feel that a prochoice is the correct side, and that there is enough support through sciences, both social and scientifically, to prove the point.

TIMES, THE WASHINGTON (01/31/2009). "Abortion". The Washington times (Washington, D.C. : 1982) (0732-8494),  p. A.10.

Illegally downloaded songs

This article was about young people between the ages of 14 and 28 downloading songs illegally.  Stating through the fact that almost half of the songs on a person’s music player is copied from someone else, it is clear that the article wanted to point out the issue of illegal downloading.  While stating the issue is good to get the public aware of the facts, it does not help the fact that it still exists.  I feel that something more should be done than offering a subscription based legal way of downloading and streaming music.  There are many ways to go for this topic, and I feel that there could be more done

Sabbagh, Dan (06/16/2008). "Illegal download survey shocks industry; Teens average more than 800 pirated songs on players". The Ottawa citizen (1986) (0839-3222),  p. A.8.

Speed of Light

This article is about a high school teacher and two students suggesting that they may have made a particle travel faster than the speed of light.  Through the years however, recently it was once again proved wrong.  Support is still for the fact that nothing is faster than the speed of light.  I believe that this is true, because it is a law of physics that should not be able to be broken.  In theory, if something does travel faster than speed of light can lead to more scientific discoveries and innovations, but it is highly unlikely for something to travel faster than the speed of light.  My opinion on this topic, is that the rules of physics is steadfast, and no matter what, it is impossible to have anything travel faster than the speed of light.  I believe that some people are just wasting their efforts trying to do so.

Faster Than the Speed of Light?. US Fed News Service, Including US State News 26 Feb 2007: null. 27 Oct 2011.

Nintendo or Sony?

Handheld gaming has been a success for many companies.  The majority of domination seems to come from Nintendo, with its successful DS series handheld gaming devices.  It has the original Nintendo branding, which can date back to the first Gameboy that was widely popular among kids.  It’s the classic brand that everyone knows, and one of the top toys to buy as a gift for a child.  The newest line from Nintendo is the 3DS, which comes in two colors when it first launched.  It appeals to both boys and girls, and gives people the ability to play 3 dimensional games without glasses.  It features a flip design, which protects the dual screens and buttons.  It is a square solid piece of plastic that can be put in a pocket, which makes it portable for anyone wanting gaming on the go.  It brings ease of use to the consumers.  It also features small game cartridges that are easy to bring out, however also easy to lose.  It is one of the most popular handhelds up to date.

            Every great thing has a rival, in this case, a competing rival for Nintendo’s 3DS, is the Sony PlayStation Portable, also known as PSP.  The original PSP was a competitor made by Sony to rival Nintendo’s Gameboy.  It is one of the most popular devices in the market as well, and also a great gift for a child.  This device compares to Nintendo, because it is also a brand that everyone knows, Sony.  This gaming rig however, is intended for a more mature audience, closer to teens.  It only comes in black when it came out, and was portable like the 3DS, hence the word “portable” in the name.  It is different than the 3DS, because it focused to be seen more businesslike and sleek.  It doesn’t have a flip screen, but offers a bigger screen that can play some intense games.  Once again, it brings ease to consumers with its size and portability much like Nintendo’s.  The original PSP had a cartridge called UMD, however Sony decided to rid its device of the cartridge with its newest series called PSP Go, and the future PS Vita.

            Both gaming devices are a pleasure to play with, but they aim for a different audience.  Nintendo aims for people of all ages, focused a little bit on children.  Sony aims for a more mature audience, of teens and older, who want to play intense games on the go.  Both are good at executing their form and shape, and in reality, one doesn’t trump the other aesthetically even if they are intended for different age groups.

iPhone Merit and Criteria for an Evaluation

            The iPhone 4 has many features and it is one of the most revolutionary phones on the market today.  Apple has created extraordinary phones since the very beginning with the original iPhone.  In the first few weeks of sale, the iPhones are always off the shelves and sold out for at least a good month, before there is stock for the non-apple fanatics to get their hands on one.  Apple always creates top quality products that loyal customers just love.

            How should the iPhone in general be categorized? A phone? An iPod? A portable gaming device?  Truth is, the iPhone is able to do just about anything, and it should not even be considered a phone.  An original definition of a phone is a means of communication between people.  Most phones today, which are mostly smartphones, can do so much more than have people communicate with each other.  People can use their phone as a camera or video camera which can capture important memories.  Or even use it as a GPS when someone is lost.  Perhaps the most common use for the phone in addition to communicate would be to listen to music and also play games.  It has created a portal for developers to make new and exciting games, and the phones are their saving grace, giving many job opportunities to make applications for the phones.

            Criteria to measure how close the iPhone 4 is to a fantastic phone would be user friendliness, speed, battery life, camera feature, and call signal strength.  Camera feature would be a criteria, because almost all phones today come with one.  In user interface friendliness, the iPhone is easy to get used to, and move around in.  Apple’s operating system, iOS, is one of the most user friendly systems out there, that anyone can pick up an iPhone, and the gestures to navigate the phone seem natural.  The phone does not even come with a manual!

            Speed, with an A4 processing chip in the iPhone 4, it can handle applications with ease, and it “just works.”  Opening an application only takes one simple touch, and in an instant, what you want is on screen.  Typing on the screen is also simple, because due to the speed, there is no lagging involved, so it feels very smooth.  It also has a decent battery life, as normal usage can deplete the battery as low as half of its cycle.  However, for intense applications, it could run the phone out before the day is over.  For a phone that can do so much, it definitely has a decent battery life.

            The camera integrated into the iPhone is not bad, but not the best out there.  It has a five megapixel camera which is clear enough for a decent picture and video, however, most phones out there now can do eight megapixels or more, depending on which phone.  It also includes an led flash, which helps with the battery life, and is simple to use.

            Call signal strength is a weak point of the iPhone 4.  It had a major antenna flaw, which was due to the hardware and could not be fixed easily.  In my experience, I have had many call failures, dropped calls, and fuzzy noise.  It is one major down point when the even the name of the product is iPhone, and it is the feature that has one of the biggest flaws in the iPhone 4.  Other than that however, it is a phone regardless, and millions of people have bought it already, so whether it is a phone worthy for a person’s pocket, is up to the person himself.

New Blog Design

Blogs should be easy to read and pleasing to look at.  Memorable blogs however will look a cut above the rest.  I remember seeing some awesome websites, and the reason I remember them was because it was unique and different.  My blog has a black background with white text.  It is different, but easy to read.  The colors that were put on the black makes the blog have life, and not just have it black and white.  The texts of my writings are also easy to read.  They are not like Comic Sans MS where it looks childish, but professional and clean.  The title of my blog “YYam’s blog” is a different font, because it shows uniqueness and some creativity and leniency.  I have also seen some websites, where they are plain and boring with a white background and black text.  It’s like reading a document meant for lawyers fighting for a case.

            Blogs should represent people’s characteristics, and I feel that my blog is an excellent representation of my characteristics and personality.  The black background gives it a mysterious look to it.  For a college classroom about rhetoric and writing, I would say that my blog is appropriate, but could use some improvements.  I feel my blog expresses my writing as well.  It gives the reader a clear picture through the clarity of the text which was white on black that gives it originality.

            I chose the new design for my blog to freshen it up.  A whiter background makes the print easy to read, and having a gray background makes it distinct.  The gray background is also to make it represent like a newspaper.  I made it look like a newspaper because that is what blogging essentially is, news, but opinionated.  I also blue in most of the text to support Penn State’s blue and white.  It goes with the motto, “I bleed blue and white.”  I chose white text over black still, because black on grey would still look like an eye sore, unlike white on gray.  A site that inspired me is Apple’s main site.  It has a gray background that is classy, which fits for an English 15 class.  It is a refreshing feel compared to the previous black background.  I also liked New York Time’s font different and it was still professional.  For my blog, I chose a more relaxed title font, because it represents my characteristics.

            The purpose to refresh for a cleaner blog is to make it easier to read and pleasing to look at.  The hyperlinks are in a distinct color difference between clicked and unclicked.  I also feel that having the background white represents something.  It represents innocence and clarity.  Cleaning up my blog makes it look nicer, and I actually have a thought process when I chose the color scheme, font, size of certain texts, as well as the width of the main article versus the side bar.