Microsoft Sells Anti-Google Merchandise

Microsoft started a new merchandise campaign, called "Scroogle", and is selling it on their website. Scroogle is the name of a selection of anti-Google hoodies, t-shirts, mugs etc. Most of the merchandise centers on the accusations that Google exploits users private information. For example, merchandise will have messages such as "Keep calm while we steal your data" and "Step into our web" with a picture of spider on it. Google responded to this campaign by saying,  "Microsoft's latest venture comes as no surprise; competition in the wearables space really is heating up." Despite the disapproval of Google, Microsoft is still continuing with their venture. 

 

I believe this venture to be bold. While I do appreciate Microsoft trying to take the muck away from googles prestigious company I can't help but think this is simply a ploy for business. I do not see any solid evidence of the accusations on this merchandise. That makes this slanderous and could potentially harm Googles business. However I do believe that Google has the size and influence to bounce back from this campaign against them. 

Racial Profiling

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defines racial profiling as "the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin," and is common practice in the U.S. Justice System. 

The leadership conference performed a study in Arizona and found "black drivers (4.5%) were twice as likely as White drivers (2.1%) to be arrested during a traffic stop, while Hispanic drivers (65%) were more likely than White (56.2%) or Black (55.8%) drivers to receive a ticket. In addition, Whites (9.7%) were more likely than Hispanics (5.9%) to receive a written warning, while Whites (18.6%) were more likely than Blacks (13.7%) to be verbally warned by police." When it came to searching minority motorists after a traffic stop, "Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (8.8%) motorists stopped by police were searched at higher rates than Whites (3.6%)." The "likelihood of experiencing a search did not change for Whites, Blacks, or Hispanics from 2002 to 2005." 

These statistics alarm me. I do not believe it is justified to use racial profiling because it sacrifices the fundamental rights of Americans for the sake of prejudice disguised as justice. 

Is Our Universe Infinite

For years scientists theorized about whether or not our universe is infinite. Unfortunately with modern science we cannot give a definitive answer however we can speculate. 

One speculation supports the theory that the universe is finite. If the universe is in fact limited then that must mean there is a point when the universe stops. So does that mean at a certain point we simply hit a wall? Not exactly. The running theory is comparative to an ant trapped in a spherical ball, the ant could travel in any direction and not notice when it passes it's starting point. Same conceptapples to our universe, if we travelled to the far reaches of the universe we would eventually reach the point where we started. 

In summary, though we do not know whether the universe is infinite or not it is still fun to speculate with theories and speculations.  

iPad promises huge speed improvement

The new iPad Air promises to be up to 80% faster than the iPad 4, according to Apple. The iPad Air, according to John Poole, will be powered by an A7 processor, same as the iPhone 5s and will run at 1.4 GHz, 100 MHz faster than the iPhone 5s. Poole is "not sure whether the iPad Air's processor is faster due to a larger battery (which offers more power), a larger chassis (which offers better cooling), or a combination of the two," but he does think the processor of the IPad Mini's A7 to reach the same speed of 1.4 GHz. The new iPad is also five times faster than the iPad 2, which is merely one hundred dollars cheaper than the upcoming Air. 

I think this is a great inivation. This will surely lead to faster processing speeds in other computer systems. I believe that the obsolete iPad 2 should be cheaper than its current price of $399. It would be more profitable to Apple because more people are more likely to by an old model for $100 than spend $400 when they can by a better model for just $100 more. 

Rules of Conduct for the Social Media

I think there should be certain rules that we should follow when considering social media. 

1. We should be able to object to photos of us posted without our consent.

2. Social Media sites should have a pre set provisions to protect our information. 

3. Google and other sites should protect certain photos from simply being downloaded. 

4. Facebook and other personal profiles should not be able to be looked up on Google and other search engines.

5. There will be no slander against another person on a personal profile or blog.

6. There will be no plagiarism on an informative blog. 

7. No private messaging to people who don't want your attention. 

8. You may not impersonate another person.

9. You may not threaten anyone with violence. 

10. You may not hack into private domain. 

Team America: World Police, Woman Priests, and Voyager I

There has been a lot of issues and devil omens in the news lately that I would like to comment on. 

The first issue has to do with America being a kind of "World Police" in response to the situation in Syria. Should America be more involved with the issues of the world? I do believe that the US should be more involved in other countries affairs to an extent and we shouldn't be controlling of the issues and we shouldn't risk a war we can't handle. 

Another event is the Voyager I satellite going outside of our solar system. This is an astronomical event in history and paiths a new path in space travel. 

Another question is whether women in the Catholic Church and I say no. It is traditional for a man to be the priest and women can still serve the church as a Nun. 

Monster's University Trailer Review

          Pixar has finally released it's trailer for it's new movie, Monster's University. Usually this is a time to rejoice because Pixar is coming out with a new movie that will be a great time for both kids and adults and will become an instant classic that kids will cherish until they die. However in the years after Toy Story 3 we just havn't gotten that kind of movie from Pixar. Not that Cars 2 and Brave where terrible movies it's just they weren't the same grade of movies that Pixar is famous for, and it looks like Monsters University might take the same road as Cars 2 and Brave.
          Now don't get me wrong I thought Monsters Inc. was a great movie and I was interested to see where they'd take it in this prequel, but after seeing the trailer I just don't see a classic Pixar movie, I see a kids movie with goofy and cheesy kids jokes, and I get that the comedy in a kids movie isn't going to be like the comedy in say 21 Jump Street but it is possible to have comedy in a kids movie that is funny to all demographics. The Toy Stories had great universal comedy, Finding Nemo had great universal comedy, Wreck It Ralph had great universal comedy ect. In the trailer I just saw a bunch of flat jokes that only a kid would laugh at. Which would be fine if this was just a kids movie but the thing is it's not just a kids movie it's a Pixar movie. Pixar has made such a reputation for itself in the past 18 years for making movies that any age demographic can enjoy and it sucks to see it fall from grace in its past two movies.
          The other thing that kind of bums me out is that in the trailer I did not get the distinct feeling that the movie will have depth to it, and I could be completely wrong it could just be a layer cake of just really thick...well...layers. When I say layers I mean the emotional tones and messages that kids movies like The Lion King and Finding Nemo have that makes them timeless classics. In this trailer all I see is a kids movie which I wouldn't bother doing a trailer review on if it wasn't for the fact that it's Pixar.
          So in conclusion I am interested to see Monsters University and I will give it a shot, but for right now I am not very hopeful for this movie.

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxrQ6BaijAY

Stand Alones In Between Star Wars Episodes! Good or Bad?

          So Lucas Films have come out and said that they plan on having "stand alones" in between each Star Wars episode inspired by the strategy that Marvel used for the Avengers films. When I say inspired by The Avengers I'm talking about how in The Avengers they had 5 stand alone movies (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk ect) that where each their own story but ultimately led into The Avengers. So what  Lucas Films wants to do is have each episode (Episode 7, 8, and 9) be the overarching story of the entire trilogy and then in the 2 or 3 year cap in between the movies have a couple of stand alone movies set in the Star Wars universe but not be directly a part of the mane story.
          Initially when I first heard of this new I thought to myself "Okay it'll be interesting to see what they do with this, I mean it worked with The Avengers after all." But then I told a friend about and he reacted by saying "That's so stupid this is gonna completely dilute the franchise." and to that I responded by saying "I...don't disagree." I mean at the moment I can't really complain about this but at the same time I can't praise it either. Truth is anything I say in this blog is pure speculation and in my speculative state (that makes sense right?) I'd have to say that this could go one of two ways.
One: We get 2 or 3 cool stories to hold us over until each episode comes out that will expand on the over all lore of Star Wars.
Or
Two: We get the adventures of Jar-Jar Binks that will feel like the really boring and pointless filler episodes of Naruto which only really exist to scam money out of hard working Americans.
          So to anybody who is reading this what is your opinion of Lucas Films making these "stand alones." Please feel free to discuss in the comments.