Google Glasses

I have no prior knowledge about this topic.

I want to know two things before researching:
   What is Augmented Reality?
   Will Google use it as an advantage against Apple?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hRCAg9jFu8&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb2uojqKvFM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-liQDE3cM&feature=plcp

What I learned

• Google Glasses are glasses that have a screen in which you can manage your daily tasks. It uses
• They use Google Maps and GPS in order to help you reach destinations.
• You can manage your messages there and you can reply by speech to text. 
• It has a camera and you can take photos whenever.
• It has video calls in which you can show  people what you are watching, with your glasses!

This connects to my life because in the twentyfirst century, people are dependant on technolgy. Having spectacles that are able to manage all your stuff in the day will be very convenient for people around the world. However, in Colombia, there is no such technology and information to be able to use all of Google Glasses's advantages. 

Will people really want to use it?

College Exploration on Naviance

Harvard. Located in Boston, Harvard University is considered one of the best colleges in the world. It is a participant of the Ivy League.

Stanford. Stanford is located in Palo Alto, California and is one of the best colleges in both sports and academics. 

Stanford NYU Columbia Brown MIT location Palo Alto, CA New York City New York City Providence, RI Cambridge,MA percent admitted 7 32 10 9 10 avg. GPA 4 3.7 4 4 4 student body 19535 43727 25208 8525 10566 public or private? private private private private private avg SAT 2172 2030 2180 2135 2225 Coed? coed coed coed coed coed

My GPA in MP1 was 3.7.

I learned that the great Ivy League universities require a perfect GPA in order to be accepted. Also, they accept very few students, and this means that only the best of the best of students enter the universities. Using this information, I will try to maintain and improve my GPA, knowing that it influences my total opportunities greatly.

Google Last Day

Today, I decided to use my Sketch up skills to do a good house. This house will include bedrooms, staircases and a good roof. I learned to use the "Follow me" tool in the roofing part of the house. It was difficult because if I deleted a line, a whole wall would go missing. That's why I took up most of my time in the technical part, not the

Below are two photos of the house.

Google Day 4

Today, I spent most of the class outside because of a mass. However, I managed to use my time to create a sketch of a house in SketchUp. This house was pretty ugly, so Im not proud of it in any way. Below is a picture of the house.

Google Day 3

Today was a relaxed day. My goals were to have fun with SketchUp and do a model house. I used tutorials in youtube such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX0b1lmgjDE.

I learned to use many different tools in SketchUp such as the follow me tool and the push pull tool. They are extremely helpful when making structures and houses.
Below is the house that I made today.

Google Day #2

My Goals For Today

1. Learn the skyscraper technology and what they do to support themselves.
2. Understand earthquake proof technology  in order to design my building in a secure way.
3. Download SketchUp 8 and make a prototype building.

Skyscrapers.

One important thing in skyscrapers is elevators. It is extremely inconvenient to move up and down a building with stairs. Now a days, the elevator shaft is usually in the center of the building, which is used to give support. That is the other important thing about skyscrapers. they require a great central structure that will allow them to be stable.

A great problem that architects face is the elevator-floor relationship. If you put a lot of floors and little elevators, people will be waiting in the lobby for a long time. However, if you put a lot of elevators, floor space will be lost. That is why the balance of elevators to floor space is important. 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/skyscraper3.htm

Earthquake Proof Technology.

Basically, the most important thing in earthquake proof technology is a strong base, escape routes and a moving area. The strong base will be used to support the whole building. It is usually the elevator shaft. The escape routes are in able to make a quick escape to an open space for safety. The moving space is usually the sidewalk surrounding the building. It allows the building to move without damaging others. In Japan, earthquake proof technology is really advanced, since they have frequent earthquakes. 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/earthquake-proof-building-that-is-built-to-collapse

this link taught me about main structure and why it is important.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/building/earthquake-proof.html

This link taught me about escape routes and their history.

Google Sketchup Prototype Building

For next class, I will like to learn how to make tall and complex structures in SketchUp

Awwapp

Awwapp is a very useful tool that allows you to draw in a digital whiteboard, share with others and it doesnt require installation.

How to use it:

1. Go to Awwapp.com. Click on Start Drawing
2. Select your marker thickness.
3. Select the color.
4. Click and drag to draw.
5. Let your imagination flow!

One Example:

This can be used by students for group projects. this tool will be useful because you can interact with others and share ideas. However, I would not use it because I don't think it is complete. It is only a simple drawing pad. Paint is better and much more complex, so that is why I would prefer it to Awwapp. That is why I would recommend Awwapp for non experienced users.

Digital Nation

Agree

• That the internet be used for good purposes. For example, globalization. This is good because it allows people to learn things anywhere in the world.
• Controlled multitasking. That people can concentrate doing various things at once. This will help them do many tasks and work efficiently.
• I agree with the movie that humans aren't capable to focus on several things at once. 
• Internet that can be accessible to anyone and everyone like internet cafes in Korea. This will  allow them to connect with each other at all times.
• People relax their brain while reading a book. That is good because it is like a "time out" from other activities that have to do with internet.
• Programs that make children camp for 10 days without internet, so that they have a break from their addiction.
• Online classes like blogs, websites, and interactive activities. Technology that is used for education.
• Schools that promote a responsible use for technology. They will train the students to use technology fluently and responsibly, in order to do well in life. 
• People of all ages that can interact with the internet. Bubbe uses her cooking show and now she says that it has added more years to her life. 
• Massively multiplayer online games that make people interact with each other in a world that is imaginary.
• Guilds that are created by people who don't know each other but consider themselves close friends.
• People that were married and that they met in online games.
• Games that make people interact and that make people behave better because they feel physically close to the other characters. 
• Using programs such as Second life that will allow the people in the same company to express themselves better and also be able to play anywhere in the world.
• People can work anywhere in the world, without necessarily meeting each other. Also, they don't have to go to the office to work.
• Military using technology to treat retired soldiers with trauma. They also train themselves for real life situations, such as flying a plane or raiding a house.
• Also, remotely controlling planes in the Iraq war from Las Vegas without really being there.

Disagree

• That people are obsessed with the internet.
• That they have to be looking at a screen all the time. 
• In universities, the students are distracted all the time by the web. They are not paying attention to the lectures because they are checking Facebook, games, email, YouTube and other pages.
• Young people spend more than 50 hours a week in internet.
• PC bombs in South Korea that get out of hand. People that die in these internet cafes are addicted to screen looking.
• Internet overuse that affects people's grades and that kids stay up all night playing video games.
• That adults can monitor the children's screen without them knowing it. It is clearly an invasion of their privacy.
• Students that don't read books due to multitasking and obsession with screens. Now professors cannot make students read a novel that is more than 200 pages long.
• Multitasking that is not productive. For example, when people write a paragraph and then check Facebook they will finish their homework in two hours, when they could spend only 10 minutes. 
• People that spend a lot of time playing World of Warcraft and that have to quit their jobs and break up their relationships just because they spend a lot of time in the game. 
• People that don't let children and teenagers use technology, just because they think they can't handle it.

Green Computing

What I know about the topic. Absolutely nothing.

Two Questions About Topic.

1. What ate the basics of Green Technology?
2. How is it important for today's world?

Useful Links

Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices

Green PC

What I learned

• Computers have added a great amount of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
• They use a lot of energy and the energy plants are suffering.
• Also, the disposal of computers are harmful for the environment. 
• Many companies such as Green PC sell refurbished and recycled computers.
• There are a list of things you can do in order to help Green Computing (turning off the system when not in use, using energy saving methods.etc.)

How it relates to my life

I use computers all the time, and the computer in my house is almost always turned on. Since I use it so often, I may have a low amount of green computing. After seeing all the effects of green computing, I will try to reduce the amount of energy I use with my computer. This involves many different techniques such as the ones I told in the last point of the "what I learned" part.

Remaining Question

In our search for the sustainable world, wouldn't it be better to create less energy consuming computers or any other methods of green computing?

Google Day 1

3 goals

Learn the basics of SketchUp.
http://www.sketchup.com/intl/es/training/videos/new_to_gsu.html

This link is extremely helpful for SketchUp users. It has tutorials in all the levels of difficulty. It starts up explaining how to make basic structures, and then continues on making more elaborate shapes and buildings.

Design a basic building in SketchUp.
Since I couldn't download SketchUp in the computer, I decided to use Minecraft today to make a basic structure.

Research "green" buildings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building
Here I learned that a self sustainable building must have various things:

Water Efficiency: Having clean water can be a key factor in sustainable buildings. Collecting rain water and using low amounts of water in toilets and showers are all signs of a water efficient building.
Material Efficiency: Usually, material efficient buildings are made of low consuming materials. Some examples are lumber from third party forests (that are especially made to be cut down).
Energy Efficiency:  Sustainable energy such as solar, hydro and wind is used  as energy sources for the building. I am planning to do a building that will be able to create enough energy for itself and its neighboring structures.

Next class, I want to use SketchUp and start to design my building.

Google 20%

I am really interested in architecture. Many people from my family are architects, and I find the different types of architecture cool. Also, I would like to know how to use architecture programs that would symulate every single feature of a building. That is how I will mix technology and architecture.I will design a building.

Since I am very eco friendly, I am willing to design a 100% sustainable building that would generate more clean energy than it consumes. It might use many different types of energy and be earthquake proof. At the beginning I will use Google Sketch Up. Afterwards, I will try to use more advanced programs.

To demonstrate my knowledge, I am planning to make a video with my friend Mateo that will show all the features of the building.

LINK

C/C website