University, me and this blog

I realise that I have neglected this blog for a while now, and I has come to my attention that I should continue with it. A lot has happened since I last wrote on this blog and I am proud to say I made it to university to study the one and only subject I can do, which is Computer Science.

University is everything I ever dreamed it to be, fun, interesting but most of all it gave me independence. When I started this blog, it was for the benefit of my studies and knowledge in sixth form, it allowed me to find a topic and I could latch onto and explore in any way I wanted. Well now I will continue to do just that, however, it is coming from a different person to when I started this blog off. I now study computer science, the one thing that I feel comfortable doing. Its almost like I have found my place right here at university. I was told that uni was not about finding yourself but creating yourself.

So in honour of my chosen subject, I have changed the name of this blog to 'Thinking In Code'. Its still the same blog and the same Facebook page, its just been left for a while, but today is when I revived it, 'switched the power back on' if you like. Look out for more posts on this blog in the near future guys. :)

Here is the Facebook page, a like would be good:

https://www.facebook.com/ticblog?ref=hl

Should towns or cities provide free WiFi for the public to use?

 This blog post is about public spaces and free Wi-Fi! A thought occurred to me about having free internet access in public places which otherwise do not have them. I mean, there are already some places like town centres, restaurants and bars that have Wi-Fi but I'm talking about everywhere people like to go: parks, residential streets near town centres, along the road where small shops are, you name it, the works!
Today I'll be looking at reasons why this is a good idea and why it isn't....

YES?

With more internet connection, everyone can contact everyone! It will be a world full of people who can access each other. This could be of benefit when a person has no texts left (if that still exists, a cap on the number of texts you can send!), this person can connect to the internet and send them a message on one of the social media websites!
As mentioned above, if the internet was made accessible in semi-public places like along the road where small shops are then there will be more attention drawn to those shops and communities. Thus this promotes their brand and will be better for the businesses.
Another point I am keen to make is the fact that most people need the internet for school and work. In fact I'd like someone to tell me about a job that does not involve using the internet or technology, I will be surprised if you can! :) Having free internet access in every public place would mean that work can be completed sooner. People on their way home from school on a bus can finish homework or adults on their way home from work can use the free internet access to carry on working.
One last point that is important, the free internet access will help reduce the impact of the digital divide. (This is the divide between people when looking in terms of technology. For whatever reasons they are not in the connected world, i.e. using computers or internet. This could be because of the money, age or economic background) With free internet access, the population can be online and the divide will become weaker.

NO?
With more internet connection, privacy will be erased. I'm not kidding, every thing and anything we put online could be accessed by most people. It is surprising how much we reveal about ourselves online, even social media posts have a set of GPS coordinates which triangulate our position. For example, if we posted something like 'Back home from the best day out ever!' , someone could easily find the town or street you live in!
Hacking is going to be an issue as well, if a hacker got into the system, everyone's personal information could be at risk. If someone in the area was checking the internet users visited pages, (the bank websites), it could have horrific consequences! What's more, a virus could be introduced into the system and the whole think could shut down and/or infect other devices, some without anti-virus protection.
The cost is also going to be an issue, not for the people, they get it free, I mean for the government. This kind of project will cost a lot for them to implement and upkeep. This means taxes could increase slightly and backfire on the population anyway! This could then lead to a domino effect and the government could cut back on other things like eduction: shutting some schools....

I hope this had made you think and feel free to comment on what you think! Should towns or cities provide free WiFi for the public to use?
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Wearable Technology

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Rumoured Apple iwatch

Wearable Technology! 
I always keep up to date with the latest science and technology news but this video ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25934550 ) made me realise that the next best wearable technology is just round the corner.

Google Glass

Any companies such as Sony and Google have launched or about to launch wearable technology, mainly glasses. Sony has launched a pair of  full size glasses to use whilst doing other activities. and you don't have to take your eye away from the things your looking at.
Google on the other hand, still have Google Glass in beta testing (which is testing with a sample of potential users, for those who don't know), which look like the ones on the right. I wrote a blog post on the functions of Google Glass, which you can see here  http://techrjess.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/project-glass.html

Rumoured look of the Google Glass 

Anyway, take a look at the video on the news website!
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And talking of Facebook, its 10 years today it launched and they have given us a flash back feature. When on the computer or laptop, on your news feed, type in /lookback in the address bar to watch a video about the time you have had on Facebook so far!
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Are CD's going out of fashion like floppy disks did?

Today, the blog post is about CD's. Music technology is moving so fast no and I was thinking about the old CD's I have and came up with today's topic:

Are CD's going out of fashion like floppy disks or vinyl did?








YES?
 CD's are going out of fashion when it comes to music. So many people have devices which can download music on programs like iTunes. I personally, don't use CD's any more and only listen to music on my iPod.  I think the future is digital and the shops which sell CD's will go bankrupt. It will be the same as all other media, first the vinyl, then the tapes, now CD's. Its almost like evolution. CD's are too big now and end up being throw in the back of wardrobe or in the attic.

NO?
One word: Back up. CD's are used for backing up data, they are good for that. They may be going out of fashion in terms of music but not storing data. Look at the image above, CD's are used for storing data like pictures and videos. I know that my parents keep pictures on CD's and many other people do. The reason they are still around is because CD's are cheap and you can find them anywhere.

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Are violent games bad for the players?

This blog post will look at violent video games and whether or not they are dangerous for the players. Personally I don't have a problem with most games on my Xbox 360 or any other console but some people do and believe that it will alter the players mental health for the worse. I think that you should only play the games your allowed to (which age ratings your over) so no harm is done. It is also important to be able to separate yourself from the games after you have finished playing them.  In this blog post I will debate the question: Are violent games bad for the players?

YES?
Many video games are violent: Call Of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and the newest Tomb-raider and are rated accordingly. They can make children who play them (under the age limit) more violent and aggressive towards other people, the limit is there for a reason and the children suffer for it. Think about it, the children get home from school, go on their games console for hours, have dinner and play more video games, the go to bed at a later time than they should do. This means they are behind on homework or revision for exams and will get in trouble at school. Also if children play games that are over their age rating then they can pick up traits from them. At a young age, children pick up things that are around them and are easily influenced by other people and actions, such of those on video games. Their should be a tightening on the rules of who can buy video games for their children and how they are sold.

NO?
Video games do not induce violence into the people who can separate themselves from the game. Even though games like GTA and Call Of Duty are quite violent they have an age rating for a reason. This is because they are the people who can fully understand the game and accept that the video game does not need to repeated in the real world. Also why blame video games! Why don't critics of this topic blame films or books. Film or book fans don't shoot people if the watch or read something violent.

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Computers or teachers?

In this blog post I will discuss the main thing in a classroom, a teacher and the role computers and technology play against them. My question this time is: Will computers replace teachers? 

YES?
So people may argue that students can progress in their studies quicker with the use of a computer. The course or work can be accessed anywhere, at home, at school or on the move with a portable device. Learning with a computer can be so much easier than set times in a school and homework deadlines. This also leads me onto another point, all students work at different paces. Some students may take a while to understand a topic and others may understand it straight away. With technology, students who struggle at a certain topic can work through the exercises in their own time in order to understand.

NO?
You could argue that students have a unique relationship with their teachers and can learn more from them than any computer. Having some one in school who understands you and helps you at any given second is a special relationship to have with someone. No teacher and just computers will spoil it. Also a computer will not explain something further if a student requires it. The computer does not give an example or put a theory into an example in order to illustrate it further, only a person who understands the topic can do that - a teacher.

In my opinion, I like to go to school and learn in a traditional way, with a teacher and paper. I know this sounds ironic coming from a future computer scientist but I prefer it that way.

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Are computers better at stuff than we are?

This week I will be answering a discussion which has be bothering me for a while. It is obviously about computers but my question this week is : 'Are computers better at stuff than we are?'

YES?
Firstly computers are better at maths than we are, no matter how fast you can answer a mental maths question, a computer can do it far quicker. Take a look at a spread sheet for example, when a formula is typed in and then you change the values of a certain cell relating to the formula, it processes the answer almost immediately. Spread sheets leads onto my next point, computers can present information better than we can ourselves. If we (humans) were to create a finance document, for example, on paper it would look messy and we would have to keep changing the values. Computers can present us with information in a clearer more structured way. Finally, computers offer us more security. Just think about how many passwords and log-ins we have. Passwords can be put onto documents, spread sheets and databases to prevent unauthorised people from look at our stuff.

NO?
Sometimes computers are not the best solution for everything. Computers have no human touch, yet. They can not be nice to you or tell you bad news nicely. Like if you ran out of memory on your desktop or your phone runs out of battery, they just do what they have to do. Basically, Computer says no. Also computers have not got the ability to give an opinion or any reasoning to any user. If you are choosing what colour your Facebook timeline cover should be, the computer does not tell you which one looks best. Lastly, computers are only as good as humans make them, so essentially I see us as helping and hindering ourselves.


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Computers can only get better!