Brian Tonkin

Teacher Features/ Video Games

briantonkin55@msn.com

From ten hour loops of Nyan Cat to the high chance of being “Rick-rolled”, Youtube.com is a great place to procrastinate and waste time. This is demonstrated best by the Pronunciation Manual. The Pronunciation Manual is a satirical interpretation of how to pronounce many not-so-common words in the English language. 
    It’s 9:30 at night. You can either finish tomorrow’s assignment or learn the wonderfully incorrect, and much more interesting, way to pronounce Frederick Nietzsche. Or, if you’re really bored, you can continue to watch more of their 145 videos. 
    The channel started in April of last year in response to the popular Pronunciation Book. However, the Pronunciation Manual, due to its overall lack of a purpose and ability to waste the time of millions, has attracted a much larger audience than the latter.

Here’s a link to one of their videos: CLICK ME!

Brian Tonkin
Teacher Feature/ VideoGameBlog
briantonkin55@msn.com
 
Browser Wars
 
If you’re reading this post right now, then you’re probably familiar with the World Wide Web. The internet is a seemingly endless pool of knowledge waiting to be accessed by the public. In order to obtain this knowledge, we computer users rely on web-surfing software, web browsers.
There a many different web browsers, each with its own ups and downs. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be very practical to list every browser, so I chose to select only the widely used browsers. 
    Internet Explorer- Internet Explorer is the most known and used of all the browsers. This is because it’s the best, right? Wrong. IE is the browser that is already installed on all PC computers. I attribute the fact that Explorer remains a common browser still to an overall excess in apathy. To most avid Internet users, like myself, IE is best used to download other, better browsers. 
    Mozilla Firefox- A good web browser should focus strongly on its layout, and this is what makes Firefox one of the more commonly downloaded web browsers. Mozilla clearly put effort into providing convenient  features for its users, knowing that people need to go out of their way to get it.
    Google Chrome- Another great alternative to IE. It’s particularly useful to people who don’t mind the following: Being tracked by large corporations, having their information stolen by large corporations, or being constantly pestered by Google’s so-called “Apps”. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the “Apps” I wouldn’t have a problem with Chrome.
    Opera- Unless you live in a U.S.S.R. satellite nation, you probably do not know what this is. Just stick to the American browsers.
    Safari-Much like IE, Safari is fantastic for its ability to let users download other browsers… like Firefox.

Madeline Burdette
Reader’s Forum Editor
mckayb22@gmail.com
 
The Uses of Technology
After tossing and turning during a sleepless Christmas Eve night, you finally have the chance to creep downstairs and discover what jolly old Saint Nicholas has delivered for you. You rip through the perfectly wrapped present to find a brand new iPad, Kindle Fire, or any other technological innovation of the twenty first century. The hopes and dreams of its creator run through your head, how you could use this to download school books, type papers, learn a new language, and complete your work on this simple little tablet. Fast forward two weeks, the only app you have downloaded is Angry Birds, and you have neglected all the genius of your techie toy for hours of knocking down little green pigs with aggravated birds.
                Are we using our technological advances to their full potential? These tablets had noble aspirations to make medical discoveries, change communication, and revolutionize the way we work. Although they have made great leaps in society, to many they are just another meaningless distraction. I’m not saying we should give up fun games and apps, but maybe use them in an efficient way as well. Use the video chat to get connected with friends, check your grades or homework online, and appreciate the hard work put in to your coveted iToys. So maybe after completing every level in Angry Birds, maybe take a moment to use your technology for constructive purposes as well.

    Throughout two years, Android has thrived in business, However Android has now had an onslaught of malware programs that have been targeting solely Android. Many of them include SMS messages that if responded to, harm your phone. These "Trojan horse's" are the main malware that targets Android, yet others are fake antivirus viruses. Android states that these endless attacks of malware will come to a halt as android creates safety walls and other such protections from malicious software.

Mitchell Peterson
Techie Editor
pyro.visual@gmail.com
 

Imagine you just survived a massive earthquake. After regaining consciousness,you find yourself trapped under the debris of a building.  You try calling out for help, but find yourself coughing uncontrollably instead.  You look around, and see that amidst the earthquake, a gas line has begun to leak.  You don't have much time before the toxins begin to fill your systems.  Then suddenly, when all hope seems lost, you see through the dust, a pearly white spider. About the size of a baseball, it begins skittering towards you.  Believe it or not, this spider wants to help.
   
Through the magic of science, it seems that the researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have been hard at work, developing what a disaster relief robot they call "The Spider."  With eight legs to walk on, and with a small camera in its head, the Spider's main purpose is to traverse into disaster areas in order to find survivors in need of help, and then transmit the images and location info to rescue teams so they can take action.  The researchers also claim that the spider can be useful for exploring areas too deadly for humans in order to transmit any information regarding toxic leaks or other potentially hazardous problems in the area.  The best part is, because it's created using simple 3D printers, it can be manufactured in large numbers at relatively low cost. 

So, what do you think?  Do you think these little spiders exploring disaster areas can be helpful?  Is this the beginning of some sort of spider robot uprising?  Leave your thoughts in the comments and let me know what you think of our new eight-legged friend here!


Nick Lives

undeadmoose@yahoo.com

movies/music Editor

Brian Tonkin

Teacher Features/ Baseball

briantonkin55@msn.com            

    Do video games prompt violent behavior? This age old question, well I suppose decade old, has consistently started heated debates practically all over the world. Each side has countless psychologists claiming this and that. Some say video games not only improve motor skills and hand-eye coordination, but actually are a good way to vent and decrease violent behavior. On the other end, there are many who believe that games force the player to become absorbed into the game too much and the player will eventually show an increase in hostility and aggression because of this. With the increase in graphics and physics engines in the gaming industry, it’s true that the video games are becoming more involving. Whether or not this means that people will start rioting and fighting in the streets is, however, not quite clear yet. Video Games are definitely getting more popular, Activision’s hit series Call of Duty just published its newest installment, Modern Warfare 3 , which attracted approximately 1.5 million gamers to wait on lines and buy it at midnight the day before (Sniderman, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Demolishes Sales Records.”). 
    This business of video gaming is getting very serious and  I could write my opinion on this but I feel my thoughts would be a little bias; I just love video games too much. However, I’m more interested in hearing what you, the reader, have to say. Click the comment button on the right side of the page and give your feedback on the matter. How do you feel about video games?

The Adobe Flash program has beenused for ages, yet one controversy is that it drains resources consistently, and this has got developers scrapping the program for their products. Apple has banned Flash from all their products for a while when Steve Jobs predicted the fact that Flash was going out. Adobe lays off 750 people as a company reconstruction.

Mitchell Peterson
Techie Editor
pyro.visual@gmail.com