Smith, Mike. "iPhone games accused of stealing phone numbers." http://videogames.yahoo.com. 6 November 2009.
iPhone apps from the gaming company Storm8 have been accused of stealing the phone numbers of the people who downloaded their apps. They used a "backdoor" to steal the phone number of anyone that plays their games. Storm8's games have been downloaded 20 million times. Storm8 claimed it was a bug that did it, but others say that that would be impossible to accidently do that 20 million times. After charges were filed, Storm8 claims to have removed code, but one investigator is still looking into it.
It's scary to think about how easy it would be for someone to steal your phone number to give to advertising agencies or marketers. It's a risky move to download something without knowing who created it, but millions of people do it everyday. I would suggest to iPhone users to look up the company who created the app before they download it onto their personal phone. You can never be to careful when it involves your personal life.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Video Game Girlfriend?
Silverman, Ben. "Does new video game take virtual dating too far?" videogames.yahoo.com. 16 November 2009.
Konami has come out with a new DS game. It is called Love Plus. Love Plus is a game where the player has a virtual girlfriend that they can create. The player has to do certain things to the virtual girl friend inorder to keep her alive and happy. The game will ask the player to "hold hands" with the girlfriend( done by touching the girlfriends hand with a pointer on the screen), take their girlfriend out on a date, or sometimes the game asks the player to "kiss" it's girlfriend. "Ok, this is pretty embarrassing. The DS has a mic and a touchscreen, so... one time, she asked me to say 'I love you' a hundred times into the mic. I was on the airplane when she asked me that, so I was like, no way. There was also this part where you have to hold her hand on the touchscreen. If you touch her hand with the stylus, you get to hold her hand. And then there's the part where you have to kiss her." -Koh
This is a sign of just how low of respect the media has for relationships and people these days. I think it is flat out wrong to have a game like this. Just think of all the damage to real life relationships this can cause. Men won't be able to learn respect for women or how to properly act in a relationship with women. Honestly, how many woman would let their husbands/boyfriends/kids play this game? It clearly is directed at single men who have no ability to connect to the outside world. Men(or more acurately "boys") who play this game probably have no social skills at all because they most likely have played nothing but video games out of their mothers basements for all their lives. If I ever meet the man that invented this game, I would not hesistate to give him a good 'ol smack across his face.
Konami has come out with a new DS game. It is called Love Plus. Love Plus is a game where the player has a virtual girlfriend that they can create. The player has to do certain things to the virtual girl friend inorder to keep her alive and happy. The game will ask the player to "hold hands" with the girlfriend( done by touching the girlfriends hand with a pointer on the screen), take their girlfriend out on a date, or sometimes the game asks the player to "kiss" it's girlfriend. "Ok, this is pretty embarrassing. The DS has a mic and a touchscreen, so... one time, she asked me to say 'I love you' a hundred times into the mic. I was on the airplane when she asked me that, so I was like, no way. There was also this part where you have to hold her hand on the touchscreen. If you touch her hand with the stylus, you get to hold her hand. And then there's the part where you have to kiss her." -Koh
This is a sign of just how low of respect the media has for relationships and people these days. I think it is flat out wrong to have a game like this. Just think of all the damage to real life relationships this can cause. Men won't be able to learn respect for women or how to properly act in a relationship with women. Honestly, how many woman would let their husbands/boyfriends/kids play this game? It clearly is directed at single men who have no ability to connect to the outside world. Men(or more acurately "boys") who play this game probably have no social skills at all because they most likely have played nothing but video games out of their mothers basements for all their lives. If I ever meet the man that invented this game, I would not hesistate to give him a good 'ol smack across his face.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Effect of Violent Video Games on the Brain
Scaffhausen, Joanna. "Violent Video Games' Effect on the Teen Brain" abc.com. 29 November 2006.
At a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers told 44 teenagers to play either a violent or non-violent video game for 30 minutes. Afterward, they used a MRI to study the kids' brains while they performed different tasks. The results showed increased activity in the region of the brain that controls emotional arousal, as well as decreased activity in the self-control area of the brain in the teens who had been playing the violent game.
I think that video games, especially violent ones, have a negative effect on the brain of teenagers that play them. Studies have been done to show that a male teen had a higher level of impatience and violent tendencies after playing a violent video games for a half hour than before he started. So just think, all these young teenagers playing video games that are grotesquely violent for up to 5 hours a day, to what level does this effect have on them? And they are our future leaders? I'm scared to think of what is going to happen.
At a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers told 44 teenagers to play either a violent or non-violent video game for 30 minutes. Afterward, they used a MRI to study the kids' brains while they performed different tasks. The results showed increased activity in the region of the brain that controls emotional arousal, as well as decreased activity in the self-control area of the brain in the teens who had been playing the violent game.
I think that video games, especially violent ones, have a negative effect on the brain of teenagers that play them. Studies have been done to show that a male teen had a higher level of impatience and violent tendencies after playing a violent video games for a half hour than before he started. So just think, all these young teenagers playing video games that are grotesquely violent for up to 5 hours a day, to what level does this effect have on them? And they are our future leaders? I'm scared to think of what is going to happen.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Could You Play a Video Game for 40 Hours Straight?
Smith, Mike. "Man plays Grand Theft Auto IV for 40 Hours, Breaks Record." Plugged In. 21 October, 2009.
http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/man-plays-grand-theft-auto-iv-for-40-hours-breaks-record/1365827
Chirantan Patnaik, a common equities trader from India, set a goal to beat the Guinness Record for the longest consecutive hours spent playing a video game. He accomplished his goal at 40 hours with only 4 ten minute breaks. Chirantan spent days maybe even weeks running, excercising and doing yoga preparing for his big moment(or two). He explains that what kept him alert and fit for his game of Grand Theft Auto IV was eating dates and avoiding coffee altogether. Chirantan says that this isn't the end for his marathon gaming, he will challenge his record by reaching 48 hours.
I know video games can be fun sometimes, and they are a great way to bond with some male friends, but I can't imagine wasting two whole days playing them. There is so many more productive things to do with those days, but instead Chirantan wanted to break a record that will soon be forgotten. It is a shame that young men and women are wasting so much time in front of that tv playing video games, which most are violent and involve heavy swearing. If we could get all those video gamers to offer their services to the local soup kitchen or even finish that homework assignment.
http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/man-plays-grand-theft-auto-iv-for-40-hours-breaks-record/1365827
Chirantan Patnaik, a common equities trader from India, set a goal to beat the Guinness Record for the longest consecutive hours spent playing a video game. He accomplished his goal at 40 hours with only 4 ten minute breaks. Chirantan spent days maybe even weeks running, excercising and doing yoga preparing for his big moment(or two). He explains that what kept him alert and fit for his game of Grand Theft Auto IV was eating dates and avoiding coffee altogether. Chirantan says that this isn't the end for his marathon gaming, he will challenge his record by reaching 48 hours.
I know video games can be fun sometimes, and they are a great way to bond with some male friends, but I can't imagine wasting two whole days playing them. There is so many more productive things to do with those days, but instead Chirantan wanted to break a record that will soon be forgotten. It is a shame that young men and women are wasting so much time in front of that tv playing video games, which most are violent and involve heavy swearing. If we could get all those video gamers to offer their services to the local soup kitchen or even finish that homework assignment.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Facebook Gives Birth to the Retrosexual
Arkle, Peter. "Facebook Gives Birth to the Retrosexual." Time. 21 September 2009. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1921609-1,00.html
This article is all about meeting old crushes on facebook. Elise Garber's husband was the first boy she ever kissed. They met at a summer camp they both went to. After losing contact over 20 years, they find each other on Facebook and meet up. They soon rekindle their flames and get married. Other Facebook users have similar stories. Meeting old crushes and realizing how they have changed, or how they can pick up their relationship as if no time has passed. Some people luckier at finding love than others.
To me this is very much like online dating, but you are the one finding the people. Yes, its nice to find old crushes and meet up with them, its even thrilling to find out if they still like you or not, but you must be careful in seeking partners. I don't think it is very safe to meet up with someone out of the blue you knew 30 years ago. People change dramatically in that amount of time. I think it would be safer to meet in groups rather than just the two of you. The person you're meeting could be a convicted felon or a person who has done some bad things. I think that it would be fun to meet old flames and crushes, but being wise about how its done is the smartest.
This article is all about meeting old crushes on facebook. Elise Garber's husband was the first boy she ever kissed. They met at a summer camp they both went to. After losing contact over 20 years, they find each other on Facebook and meet up. They soon rekindle their flames and get married. Other Facebook users have similar stories. Meeting old crushes and realizing how they have changed, or how they can pick up their relationship as if no time has passed. Some people luckier at finding love than others.
To me this is very much like online dating, but you are the one finding the people. Yes, its nice to find old crushes and meet up with them, its even thrilling to find out if they still like you or not, but you must be careful in seeking partners. I don't think it is very safe to meet up with someone out of the blue you knew 30 years ago. People change dramatically in that amount of time. I think it would be safer to meet in groups rather than just the two of you. The person you're meeting could be a convicted felon or a person who has done some bad things. I think that it would be fun to meet old flames and crushes, but being wise about how its done is the smartest.
Monday, August 31, 2009
"Therapy online: Good as face to face?"
Landua, Elizabeth. "Therapy online: Good as face to face?" CNN. 31 August 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/31/online.internet.therapy.cbt/index.html#cnnSTCText
If you needed therapy, would you do it over the internet? Pyschotherapists have created a new sytem of therapy. The patient and therapist text online. Experts say that patients who don't have access to a therapist for in-person treatment could really benefit from this program. "People may be more willing to talk about things that are embarrassing or stigmatizing if they're not interacting face to face" says Dr. Greg Simon. Dr. David Kessler says that writing about traumatic events could contribute to mental health. "We think that writing gives people time to pause and reflect, and that this may help the therapeutic process." But the program still has flaws. Therapists can miss out on visual cues, gestures and speech intonations which help allow them to help the patients. Many programs online have branched out and use video chat, or other different means of helping without a live therapist like graphics and avatar characters.
If I needed therapy, I don't think I would do it online. I think therapy should be personal between two people. You can grow from you therapist by their life stories or experiences that they offer you. You learn how to heal by the therapists reactions and thoughts and ability to connect to you on a personal level. If all transactions took place over text online, you could be losing the capability to explain your thoughts and feelings out loud to a human being that could help you. Communication plays a huge role in therapy. I can see how online can benefit those who are incapable of meeting face to face with a therapist or are out of state, but if you can, go see a therapist. Sit in their office, talk to them out loud, and learn to heal.
If you needed therapy, would you do it over the internet? Pyschotherapists have created a new sytem of therapy. The patient and therapist text online. Experts say that patients who don't have access to a therapist for in-person treatment could really benefit from this program. "People may be more willing to talk about things that are embarrassing or stigmatizing if they're not interacting face to face" says Dr. Greg Simon. Dr. David Kessler says that writing about traumatic events could contribute to mental health. "We think that writing gives people time to pause and reflect, and that this may help the therapeutic process." But the program still has flaws. Therapists can miss out on visual cues, gestures and speech intonations which help allow them to help the patients. Many programs online have branched out and use video chat, or other different means of helping without a live therapist like graphics and avatar characters.
If I needed therapy, I don't think I would do it online. I think therapy should be personal between two people. You can grow from you therapist by their life stories or experiences that they offer you. You learn how to heal by the therapists reactions and thoughts and ability to connect to you on a personal level. If all transactions took place over text online, you could be losing the capability to explain your thoughts and feelings out loud to a human being that could help you. Communication plays a huge role in therapy. I can see how online can benefit those who are incapable of meeting face to face with a therapist or are out of state, but if you can, go see a therapist. Sit in their office, talk to them out loud, and learn to heal.
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