Let's Play in NCSU's Technology Sandbox

     While reading the News and Observer on Tues., Feb. 22nd, I ran across an article about the D. H. Hill Library at North Carolina State University.  The article was by Jay Price and it goes into detail about a new room in the D.H. Hill Library called the "Technology Sandbox".  This room is filled with the latest in large, interactive displays that use multi-touch, gesture-based computing.  The centerpiece of the room is an $100,000 Perceptive Pixel display wall that is similar to the ones used by cable news networks. NCSU officials believe this to be the first Perceptive Pixel display to be in any library or university. 
     Library staff at NCSU have received a federal grant to develop a "technology tool box" that would be used as a platform for other libraries in the ever-expanding bid to bring libraries into the age of technology.  According to David Woodbury, who oversees the Sandbox, "Libraries are places where you come to work in a group, and you need the tools to visualize the data, to share what's on your screen with your partner. They (the students) are going to be using these tools down the road in their jobs, and the idea is to get these things in to their hands now."
     Along with the Perceptive Pixel display, the Sandbox's 1700 square feet include, a quad-panel display (four screens that can display images from four computers or one giant image and is used for group presentations or group computer programing), a SMART Board (a digital chalk board used for educational purposes that allows you to display your computer screen while being able to manipulate the image with your gestures such as circle or underline important data while your talking about it),  a pair of Microsoft Surface Tables (tables that look like giant horizontal iPads and work like the Perceptive Pixel), and the Sandbox will include a Microsoft Kinect ( a new type of computer gaming equipment where players use gestures to control action on the screen and is expected to be an asset for the university's game developers.)
     This is completely foreign to my memories of studying in the D.H. Hill Library 30 years ago.  I made that comment to my husband and he replied "I never thought you went to the library."  He can be such a smart *%# sometimes but I love him anyway.  I'll admit that I didn't use it enough my first year at State. (I was too busy having a good time.) But that is beside the point.  The Sandbox is now open for public use 7 days a week.  If you would like to read the article, go to:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/22/1005614/ncsu-jumps-into-sandbox-to-touch.html#storylink=misearch
Other information can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/ .  Go to the library tab and enter Technology Sandbox in the search window. 

For those who are addicted to Facebook...

     Taiwan-based, HTC Corp. has released two new smartphones made especially for Facebook users.  The phones, the ChaCha and the Salsa, have a blue Facebook button below the keyboard that provides instant access to the social-networking site.  The button is "context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content".  HTC claims that you can instantly update your status, post a song that you are listening to (the song is automatically identified and shared), instantly upload a picture taken from your phone, or instantly share a Website by the touch of the button. 
      These smartphones use the Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 operating system along with the latest version of HTC Sense.  When you call or receive a call from a Facebook friend, the screen displays the friend's latest status and photos, and tells you if the friend's birthday is approaching.
     HTC Corp. and Facebook have been working together for several years to develop these phones and bring them to the market.  Facebook has over 500 million active users.  If you would like to read more about the phone go to:  http://www.htc.com/us/press/htc-unveils-two-social-phones-with-one-touch-facebook-access/27
 

This Message Will Self-destruct in 60 Seconds

     This Message Will Self-destruct in 60 Seconds.  Remember that line (or something similar) from Mission Impossible?  Well, it seems remarkably appropriate after I read an article about self-expiring text messages offered by TigerText, Inc. (no connection to Tiger Woods).  The messages disappear from both the sender and receiver's phone after a set amount of time (from 60 seconds to 30 days) so they can't be copied or forwarded.
     To use this service, both the sender and receiver must download the free app from http://www.tigertext.com/ .  It available for a variety of devices including iPhones, Androids, and Blackberrys.  A user sends a message over TigerText's network after first setting the time for the "expiration".  The receiver opens the message which starts the expiration process.  After the message expires, TigerText servers write over the old message.  No copies are stored.
     Approximately half a million people have downloaded the service.  Among this number, celebrities are using this service to keep their private lives private.  Banking and the health care industries are using the enterprise version which cost $10 per month per employee.  One group of physicians in the Greensboro, NC Moses Cone Health system use TigerText to communicate about patients on a real-time basis instead of leaving charts for another doctor to read hours later.  The expiration of these texts is compliant with federal HIPPA regulations. 
     TigerText says that it is unable to retrieve any message once that message has expired and is erased from the server. But the company does say that "it would comply with any requests from law enforcement and cooperate with any investigations." It seems to open opportunities for criminals and straying spouses, if you ask me. 
      The information in this blog was obtained from the article "Secret Texting... Pass It On" by Lauren Schuker in February 4's The Wall Street Journal.  Read it at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740104576122460926972084.html?KEYWORDS=secret+texting

Watson Update and What do you think?

    Okay, my new technology post was made on Friday, Feb. 4th.  This post concerns a couple of topics I wanted to talk about.  The first is about Watson, the IBM computer system that processes information given  in natural language that I blogged on last week.  There is a great article in this weekend's Wall Street Journal by Stephen Baker.  FYI, Watson cost IBM more that 30 million dollars and has 2,208 computer processors working "in concert".  It will be facing Jeopardy's champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in two games that will be aired on Feb. 14, 15, and 16.  I know I will be watching to see how it goes.
    The next topic concerned an article on the front page of The News and Observer's Thursday, February 3rd paper.  The article was called "Researcher's demotion hurts UNC image" with a subtitle of "Blamed for hacker's breach".  It was written by Eric Ferreri. The article blasts UNC for demoting cancer researcher Bonnie Yankaskas after the research database that she was overseeing was hacked into in 2007.  According to the university's investigation, 180,000 patient files were exposed as well as 114,000 social security numbers.  The article goes on to say that 127 university professors have signed a petition to request reinstatement of Yankaskas saying that the punishment was unjustly harsh.  Yankaskas was reduced from full professor to associate professor and her salary dropped from $178,000 to $93,000.  Yankaskas, 65, says that she"can't be expected to be a data security expert".  She had turned over the security aspects of the database to a subordinate.
    In my opinion, she should be held accountable if she can be proven to be negligent.  As with the law, ignorance is no excuse.  If she was the person overseeing the database, then she should have taken every precaution for database security.  She should be well familiar with the steps taken to secure the database even if she turned the duties over to a another person.  People in charge of sensitive data should be able to prove that they have not been negligent with its security.  I know that even the best security can be hacked, but you have to provide (in good faith) the best security that you can. What do you think?  BTW, I was one of the people whose data was compromised. Read the story at:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/03/964783/researchers-demotion-hurts-unc.html#storylink=misearch

Planning Weddings in the 21st Century

    I was reading the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, and I came across an article that sparked a personal as well as CTS 287 interest.  The article was by Katherine Beohret, a recently engaged reporter, and was called "With This App, I Thee Wed...".  Well, my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last November so I was intrigued by the article.  How could technology make planning a wedding easier than what it was like 25 years ago?
    Ms Beohret has researched several wedding apps (for basically iPhones and iPads) that would help an engaged couple plan their wedding, shop for items for their wedding registry, find the right wedding dress for their body types, and list local vendors for photography, transportation, rentals, and officiants while keeping a daily count-down to the wedding (56 days to go!). 
    She looked at two free apps from TheKnot.com based on two features of the website.  The Look Book helps find the perfect wedding dress based on body type and personality, and Wedding 911 answers all kinds of wedding questions.
    Two apps for the iPhone and iPad, called Brides Wedding Genius and My Wedding Concierge, deal with shopping for dresses and jewelry, planning your honeymoon, and inspiring the user with creative ideas for her wedding.  The iWedding Deluxe iPhone app http://www.iweddingdeluxe.com/Home.html  costs $9.99 does it all and allows you to store all your contacts in one central location. 
    MyWeddingBudget ($1.99 Android) and Wedding Organizer  ($2.99 Blackberry) failed to offer as many advantages, but were the only apps available at this time.
   This article was found in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 on page D3 and can be read in its entirety at  http://online.wsj.com/public/page/personal-technology.html just click on the iPad icon.
    Thinking about the planning and the cost of a wedding turns my hair gray.  This alone tells me that I need to get a job NOW!  Did I forget to mention that I have THREE daughters?