Are Robots Taking Over The World?

Robotics Population Ready To Explode

2006-11-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

The growth of robotics is expected to take off and gather momentum in both home and industrial markets, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) reported in a new survey of the world's robots.
"The chances of having an obedient robot do unwelcome or dangerous jobs have increased tremendously," the report stated. The World Robotics Survey 2004 was produced by the ECE and the International Federation of Robotics.
Japan leads in the use of robots with 320 robots per 10,000 employees, while the U.S. has only between 50 and 80 robots per 10,000 employees. Japanese auto manufacturers, for instance, use one robot for every 10 workers, the report noted. The report predicted healthy growth for the use of home robotics, forecasting home-robots use would jump sevenfold, from 610,000 today to more than four million in 2007. Service robots for home cleaning, including vacuum bots and for lawn cutting, were predicted to lead the way. "They will not only clean our floors, mow our lawns and guard our homes, but they will also assist old and handicapped people with sophisticated interactive equipment," the report stated.
http://www.techweb.com/wire/ebiz/51000325

Robotic Trends

2006-11-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Various independent market studies have reported that the personal, service and mobile robotics markets will grow to more than $5 billion in 2005 from less than $500 million today, and are expected to show even more dramatic growth after that. The market for intelligent, mobile robots for use in the home, workplace and public places is expected to bypass the older industrial robotics market by 2005 and will eventually dwarf it.
According to Eliot Weinman, CEO of Robotics Trends, "Mobile, intelligent robots and other emerging robotic technologies have product applications that span virtually every industry and will play an increasingly integral role in improving and protecting our lives. Our corporate mission is to become the world's leading integrated media firm focused on the burgeoning personal, service and mobile robotics markets. By joining forces with IDG World Expo, a business unit of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and event company, we will be able to provide a worldwide platform for manufacturers and end users who are engaged in these emerging markets."
http://www.roboticstrends.com/displayarticle261.html?POSTNUKESID=dd605a67a9d96297f87a9aeaece3ca7f

Robotics Safety

2006-11-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

With robotics in our workplace, robotic saftey training programs have been increasing. The 150 yearly attendees are usually employees that are starting to work around robotics in factories. This particular conferance has met yearly for many years. They have over fifty vendours and booths setup to give differant information on the differant robotics that are in the work place today. In this conferance they set up simulations to help the employee know what to do in certain real life situations dealing with a robot.
http://www.roboticsonline.com/public/articles/articlesdetails.cfm?id=1603

Technology advances, families crumble!

2006-11-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Paragraph One:

One of the most strikingly obvious impacts of advancing information technology is the shift in the work-home relationship. There are people that said they never took work home, yet the computer had its own room. The assumption that we knew what “work” was had to be questioned. People talked of their “work”—ongoing career preparation and finances. They failed to mention their duty as a parent. A large proportion of supposedly free time was spent thinking about “work-work” while in the shower, eating, or driving.

Translation: People seem to have more interest with work and less interest with their families. All of that resulting in little time spent with the family and family relations drifting apart.

Paragraph 2:

People were interviewed and asked what made them a family. The most common answer was “I don’t know…um…we do things together.”

Translation: Being a family means that there is love being shared, talking not just to talk but also to talk about family things, and always putting family first.

Meaning: A lot of “families” these days don’t know how to be a family.

Many studies have shown that people bring more work home now then ever before. Much of the work that is brought home requires concentration—especially writing, reading and reflecting. It is vainly hoped that uninterrupted time can be cultivated. The workers respond in a variety of ways. Some have clearly scheduled “Mommy is working now” times. Others schedule pre- or post bedtime shifts, whenever uninterrupted time is most able to be salvaged. The interaction with the family is rare. Another issue that is included with bringing work home is the dilemma of access. Instead of resolving the issue in a professional way, the family ends up fighting with each other. So, not only is there little time spent with family but when there is, it’s usually because of an argument over one thing or another.

Changes in work relations cause changes in family relations, and not always a change for the better. Families increasingly view themselves as management problems.

As a result of all this technology and having technology take up most or all of their lives, the “family life”, and all the love family shared and how happy families were, is mostly just a mere fabrication of what was, what used to be, at some point. Studies have shown that more than half of the families these days are falling apart as a result of technology, and how people waste their time with technology instead of putting what is really important, like family, first.

Who wants to play a game!!!

2006-11-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

We are going to do an activity for this blog today! *Drawing a chart and spending 15 mintues on both parts*

Consider the advances that have been made in technology over the past several hundred years. Think about the ways that these advances have benefited human beings. Examples you might start out with are the printing press, electricity, the telephone, the automobile and airplane, and lets not forget to mention, the computer.
Before we go any further, start drawing a chart on a piece of paper with three columns headings- “Increasing Production of Goods and Services, “Reducing Amount of Labor Needed to Produce Goods and Services,” and “Providing Higher Living Standards.” As you think of the benefits that technology has had on the world, list them on the chart. Here's an example, if you think of the phone making it easier to talk to people, put that under the heading "Providing Higher Living Standards." If you are thinking about a new copier that can staple and hole-punch, put it under the heading "Reducing Amount of Labor Needed to Produce Goods and Services." Then, ask yourself if you can think of any technological advances that have had negative effects on society. Before you continue the discussion of harmful side effects of technology, start a second chart on the paper with the column headings “Causing Environmental Pollution,” “Depleting Natural Resources,” “Causing Unemployment,” and “Posing Ethical Dilemmas.” Make sure make sure that you are fully aware of the meaning of each of the headings. Make sure you fully understand that the word ethical means “having to do with right and wrong” and that the word dilemma means “a difficult decision.” Therefore, an ethical dilemma is a difficult decision someone has to make about whether something is right or wrong. As before, record your ideas on the chart. For example, if you think about the automobile, list it under “Causing Environmental Pollution” and “Depleting Natural Resources.” If you think about the computer, list it under “Causing Unemployment” and “Posing Ethical Dilemmas.” (You might make it clear that computers have posed privacy issues and freedom-of-speech issues.)
By the time the half hour is up, you'll be able to tell by your own responses whether technology is more or less harmful/beneficial to society despite all of the advances.

We aren't dumb, I promise

2006-11-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Problems with technology are beginning to just be expected in a workplace. People are beginning to becoming use to coming to work and the computer wont work, or the machine keeps messing up. One of the main reasons for these problems are because the people using the machines do not know how to properly use them. This is what happened when hard to use computers are brought into a workplace. The problem with this is that people that are continuing to encounter problems with their work technology can make anyone frustrated. What this frustration is causing is a heightened anxiety using computers. These make workers less efficient and, more or less, just not want to use the computers. Research has shown that such frustration leads to anti-adaptive working and also lower effective goal-oriented behavior. It has been found that about one third to one half of the time on the computer has been completely wasted due to frustrating experiences.
These problems can contribute to the business not being as efficient as they could be. This can also cause the business to be less efficient than what they could be without the advanced technology. This also causes the workers to become stressed, and this heightens anxieties. This makes workers less willing to work, thus, lower work efficiency even more. Technology has many advantages, but businesses need to learn to not exceed the knowledge of the workers.

Who R U

2006-11-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

When some people talk about the technological advances in the work place they usually think that it is all a positive change. Depending how you think about it, it is all positive changes. The advances in technology have made the businesses more efficient, more effective, and have helped the workers get the work done quicker. People can reach each other in a matter of seconds. Workers also are getting the option of working in a place where they are most comfortable at. They don’t have to be physical with their clients or coworkers anymore. They can be at home, at a distant office, across the world, in their car, or even on an airplane. Though this all seems to be a wide variety of different positives to the growth in technology, they all have one same outcome; they all increase the businesses productivity. This, of course, is more than enough reason for the business owners to adopt these new technologies.
There is one problem with this though. With people not being forced to meet with each other face to face, lessens the importance of work related relationships. The physical office is losing importance and many businesses are turning toward allowing their workers to work in the environment of their choosing. These physically isolated workers will inevitably suffer a loss of face-to-face interpersonal skills. This results in major deterioration in relationships in the workplace, making people less and less social.

Computer??? What is that.

2006-11-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

We all know that when going into the workplace you need to have some form of technological knowledge under your belt. It is agreed by experts that over half of jobs these days require forms of technologic literacy. There was and estimated 60% of new jobs in the year 2000 that would require the skills that only 20% of workers possessed. A study was put into affect by the Information Technology Association of America dealing with jobs that are not being used because of lack of technical knowledge. They found out that about one out of every ten jobs will be unfilled do to the shortage of qualified workers. They also surveyed two thousand large and mid-sized businesses that had computer science related jobs to offer. They found that over one hundred and ninety thousand jobs where unfilled because of the lack of computer science educated workers. What is happening is that there is a big decline of college students with mathematical or computer science degrees. This, of course, is forcing businesses to send jobs over seas to more qualified workers.

DooD WhErEs My Family!?!?!?!

2006-10-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

A study found that attempting to maintain work-life balance increases stress at work, and that increased stress negatively affects time spent with the family. The survey found that 54 percent of workers feel that trying to maintain a work-life balance is a great source of additional stress at work. More than half of workers surveyed (about 57 percent), report the amount of stress in their lives can affect the quality and quantity of time they spend with their families.

The survey also revealed that most workers make a direct connection between workplace stress and accidents or illnesses. The majority of those surveyed agreed that stress is a leading cause of accidents and mistakes in the workplace (78%), and that people who experience a great deal of stress have higher absenteeism (76%). Workers also believe that high levels of stress cause or exacerbate illnesses. The majority of people surveyed (74%), also agree that three-fourths of all illnesses seen in medical practices are caused or made worse by stress.

Despite the negative effects of stress, which range from on-the-job accidents, especially involving the confusion advancing software, to adverse impact on personal lives, nearly two thirds (about 63 percent) of all workers feel there is nothing that can be done about stress! They say that it's just something people have to get used to.

Pollar, author of Take Back Your Life, Smart Ways to Simplify Daily Living, disagrees, "There are many things one can do to avoid unnecessary stress at work. He suggested that taking breaks, staying organized, and performing an ergonomic assessment to ompitmize the comfort of your workspace are just a few simple ways to reduce stress in the workplace."

CoMiNg To TeRmS wItH tEcHnOlOgY!

2006-10-31T08:07:00.000-08:00

Employers are doing more to counter the increase of worker stress. Almost half of the people that were surveyed say their employers support a work-life balance. Fourty-six percent report they have access to benefits, for instance, flexible work schedules, telecommuting options or compensation time.

However, even though employers to recognize the importance of work-life balance in reducing stress levels, they seem to contradict themselves when dealing with workspace organization. A study has shown that "four-out-of-five workers that are surveyed think that unorganized people seem to have more stress in their lives, less than one-quarter say their employers take steps to ensure their work area is designed and optimized for comfort and organization."

Regardless of the cause of stress in the workplace, a majority of workers believe that stress-related problems have extreme financial burdens for their employers. As a matter of fact, many studies have shown that "stress-related problems cost American companies an average of $750 per employee per year, which, for a company with 50 employees that can mean nearly $40,000 a year, or a little more than a third of the annual income."

"This survey shows that it is equally critical to the employer and employee that workspaces be designed to support a high degree of organization, comfort and personalization,' said Tom Russo, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Kensington Technology Group. 'Kensington uses research such as this survey to continuously improve our workspace products and best meet the constantly changing needs of today's workers."

As said in a comment about a post: Employers should be able to find out tons of information about you and other employees, but why would the employers want to lose so much of the company income to find some things out that aren't even close to being work-related? Or the fact that they know that some of the information has no standing on the characteristics of your work ability.

LEG-O MY EGG-O

2006-10-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

It used to be that celebrities were the only people complaining about the lack of privacy; now it's not just them, but it's also everyone who works. Threats to peoples' personal privacy have been increasing, leading some to call privacy "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." Major controversy heated up last winter when DoubleClick, the biggest advertising firm, on the Internet, bought an extensive database of names, addresses, and consumer buying habits, which ended up compiling profiles linking individuals with their purchases. (That practice is now suspended). Then, there were issues involving Carnivore, the FBI's Internet wiretap system, and of Dow Chemical firing 50 workers for supposedly sending "pornographic and violent images" through the company computers. It seems that everywhere we turn, there is always some job that just keeps cropping up and interfering with our privacy.

Now, the privacy issue is getting so bad that a federal judge is expected to approve a settlement in favor of workers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, who, for decades, were tested without their knowledge for syphilis, pregnancy, and the genetic trait for sickle cell disease. I realize that this kind of information would and/or could be helpful, but if the employers are able to get that kind of information so easily then how are people, or even you, expected to keep anything to yourself.

Even though it may be tougher than ever to keep things private, individuals have some ways to fight back. Number one, in order to protect what's left, it's critical to understand how--and why--privacy is under assault. Number two, there are steps you can take to prevent its further erosion.

What does it take?

2006-10-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Taking a look back a couple of decades ago means looking into a world with far less technology than there is here today. From colored televisions to calculators to computers, there have been many advances in what has been invented over the years. With the new technology there's also new requirements for people to have to be able to work in certain workplaces. Experts agree that over half the new jobs available require some form of technological understanding.
That's a lot of jobs that are available to people who know technology. This puts an even higher standard on education and the importance of knowing skills in that area. An estimated 60% of new jobs in the year 2000 require skills only possessed by 20% of the new workers. When the statistics are shown people then realize that many do not have the necessary requirements for the job. Also, in the early 1990s, workers who knew how to use computers were given a higher paycheck because of their skills.
There was a study done that resulted in one of ten jobs is going unfilled because of the lack of qualified workers. There has been a decrease in the population of people taking mathematics and computer science over the past few years. Without the people, there is no upgrade in technology. The option that has been offered is putting their practices overseas where there are more qualified people in other countries. Without them the businesses will never advance.

Robots taking over factories

2006-10-17T18:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.robots.com/
In this article new advancements of the technology in the robotic arms and other such tools that are used in large factories to manufacture certain goods are described. Today almost all factories use robots on the manufactoring floor to do all of the work and have just a few human workers actually run these robots and program them what to do. These robotic arms are taking over many jobs that the un skilled lower class people once had.

Privacy Please

2006-10-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

In the workplaces back a couple decades ago, there wasn't nearly as much technology available to the employers as there is today. However, people now see it as a possiblity of invasion of privacy towards their working time. With the new technology of cameras, the employers are able to see what goes around in their offices night and day. There are some advantages to that matter. It's a safety precaution that some offices have security cameras watching over their workplaces. Many cameras have helped in the capture of the intruders and are therefore a good idea. But, the disadvantages to them are that the employees are left with much less privacy than before they were invented. It is up to the employees to know what parts of their lives are being displayed and what are not.
Cameras are not the only source of privacy invasion the workers are put up against. There's also the factor of monitoring the e-mails that come in and out of the employee's name, and GPS tracking of company cars that people drive. These devices were again meant to keep people safe and a guarantee of knowing where their property goes, but at the same time it's stepping on personal privacy boundaries. There's also the use of infared badges that track people once they enter the building and won't stop until they leave the premise.
There have been controversies over how much is too much when it comes to technology and the point of personal space at work. But since many of these requirements to having these devices in the work area are well known before the employees are hired and they are safety reasons, it's just the matter of feeling uncomfortable.

Video phones taking over

2006-10-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

Technology today is rapidly increasing into newer, better forms to help the people with disabilities that might now be able to enjoy the luxuries that most can. For example, people who are deaf or almost deaf are finding this new technology to be quite helpful. There are hearing aids, text telephones, amplified hearing telephones, vibrating/ visual alerting devices, and closed and open captioning available to the impaired.
But, the newest and easier way of communication is the video phone. People amongst the deaf community are using the video phone more and more by using sign language to the other person. This easier because people don't have to take the time to type anymore and can allow even a translator to help people out. You can use your webcam on the television or the computer screen. People in their offices where they need to come in contact with people but the only thing standing in their way is their hearing use the video phones to have a translator on the opposite end.
Also, they are free to people who need them for these purposes because their insurance covers it and it makes their lives much easier.

HEY!!!.......WHO STOLE MY PRIVACY?!?!?!?!

2006-10-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Technology is no longer a benefit to have within the companies of the 21 century, it is necessary. New technology is always being created and is always advancing. How are people expected to keep up with the advances? The workplace technology is not just limited to high-speed computers. Both small and large companies require multi-line phone systems, wireless phone service, and copy machines that can do so much more than just make copies.

Businesses, these days, also have technology that keeps track of your spending, helping complete your payroll for you, and automatically re-order products when you or the company are/is running low. Let's not forget to mention the loss of privacy! While technology can be used for ways to help/expand the business, it also raises concerns that were previously nonexistant. Businesses have a module that find any information about the employers confidential records to information they search on the internet and why employers want the information, what they plan on doing with the information and why and/or if employees should be concerned. Even though employees can search for ways to still have privacy within the workplace, for instance: filing suits, it helps the employers in the way that they can protect themselves from privacy lawsuits. Also, employers can manuvere around whatever the employee does to maintain a little privacy...so in all reality, there really is no privacy.

*But, then again, without the software, how would the Congressman have gotten caught trying to go for young boys through the internet?

http://www.morefocus.com/lifestyle_leisure/technology/in_the_workplace/
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/privacy/Module3_Intronew.html

14 ways technology has transformed the workplace...

2006-10-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

14 ways Technology has transformed the workplace:

1. technology changes the way work is done, whether it be production , coordination, or management work.
2. technology enables a fuller integration of business functions.
3. technology creates the possibility of truly global functions.
4. technology forces basic changes in organizational structures.
5. technology enables organizations to transform from bureaucratic to network ways of operating and thinking.
6. technology requires new skills and competencies on the part of all workers.
7. technology impacts where workers work.
8.technology provides more opportunites and power to customers.
9. technology allows for the merger of virtual organizations.
10. technology affects reward systems of workers.
11. technology transfers knowledge faster and better between workers and throughout the organization.
12. technology affects how training is designed and delivered.
13. technology affects how knowledge is managed.
14. technology affects how organizations learn the new workplace.

As we absorb technology, technology aborbs our minds and we are left with ........

2006-09-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

"The principle of numbness comes into play with electric technology, as with any other. We have to numb our central nervous system when it is extended and exposed, or we will die. Thus the age of anxiety and of electric media is also the age of the unconscious and of apathy."

http://www.vaxxine.com/hyoomik/philo/numb1.htm

Why is there a need to go to school and learn for the future, when the future holds nothing of the possession of academic credentials, but everything of technology that thinks for you, instead of you thinking for yourself. Jobs...What are jobs? What is considered work anymore? What happened to the jobs where people actually knew what they were supposed to do and more?

As the world develops, its inhabitants develop as well, or they are left behind and/or unwilling to change. Not only does the increase of technological development, or advancement, bring new jobs, opportunities, and money to the economy, but it also affects the personal lives of the people who work a lot with technology.

Furthermore, studies have shown that, with the advancing technology, the obesity rate has increased dramatically. Now, the economy is not only dealing with people who don't know how to do their jobs any further than technology goes, but also, the adverse effects that "technology in the workplace" has on people's personal lives.

But then again, where, or how far behind, would the United States be without technology.

Technology is constantly updated in the workplace

2006-09-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Organizations in the knowledge business realize that their future depends on keeping their employees
up to date on the latest technology. Some of us are trying to introduce new technology in our workplaces.
Some efforts have been successful and some have not. The patterns described in this paper are the beginning
of a pattern language for introducing new technology into the workplace. The contributors to this
pattern language came from different organizations located all over the world. What they found when they
examined their separate contributions was a close interrelationship between their experiences, which
was reflected in the patterns they wrote.

http://st-www.cs.uiuc.edu/~plop/plop97/Proceedings/delano.pdf#search=%22TECHNOLOGY%20IN%20THE%20WORKPLACE%22

Portable Technology

2006-09-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

One of the largest advancements in the way to communicate and do things for a business by computer is the invention of everything basically now being wireless. The cell phones that help to keep everyone in a company close are wireless, the laptops that business people carry with them so they can do all of their business needs any where they want. They even can turn there laptop on when they are in most restaraunts and cafes and they can get instant wireless internet. Our military has even been effected by the portable technology that has been developed. Laptops are carried around to help with communicating with commanders and head querters, they help give positions of troops, and they have transmit differant situations that are brought upon. Our police use wireless laptops everyday in their police cars to help enter the data bases to look up licenses and all differant things they need in their car.
http://www.scs.unr.edu/~macowen/eMarketing.pdf#search='New%20technology%20is%20changing%20the%20way%20of%20businesses'

Technology is Making life easier for employees

2006-09-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

No longer is the technology for businesses just related to the copiers and printers and computers that are very common for successful businesses but now there are wireless computers, cell phones for the employees, robotic machinery controlled by computers to take over the spot of an assembly worker, and even printers that do all of the stapling for you so you dont even have to have a person staple the copies together when they come out. Though todays successful businesses have one of the biggest new way of technology is that they are now doing all of there banking and company records over the computer. This saves them time and they can access there records at any point that they need to. Even if it is the weekends.
http://www.morefocus.com/lifestyle_leisure/technology/in_the_workplace/

Wasting is bad

2006-09-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Now in most workplaces there are copy machines and other machines that use and unbelievable amount of paper each day! The prescence of these machines allow more opportunity for paper to be put to good and bad use all the time and there are certain ways to prevent so much from being thrown out.
They say that the average worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year. That's a lot of trees and a lot of it is wasted too. Statistics also say that the United States uses over 700 trillion pieces of paper a year. Using less paper makes more space in storage for other items. Saving money is also a benefit of using less paper. Buy plain paper fax machines that can reuse paper and save money. Using desktop fax, electronic storage devices, direct deposit, and electronic media can all help save paper and space. The majority of printers can print both sides which would help to save a huge amount in the end.
With the increase in technology there have been more options instead of printing off everything and wasting too many sheets of paper, but that doesn't mean that people choose them. Each office has the opportunity to try and conserve their resources but its a problem that still needs to be reminded more and more.

Oh my God! What's happening to all the jobs!!

2006-09-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

As new technology advances are opening up, some positions are opening for people with great skill and adaptability. However, some other jobs require no knowledge of the subject or the skills to possess that kind of job. It's also known as the "de-skilling of jobs." Before the technology was really around us, people actually had to know a lot about there jobs. They could start at the bottom of whatever there job was and actually get promoted, while learning their jobs really well. Now, people have the high technology jobs and they will be lucky to even be considered for promotion.

Most jobs, now, have gotten to the point that the people who work there depend on there technology to tell them where supplies are in their store, what the supplies are and used for, etc. However, if you're not involved with these "advancements", you'll be just another fading shadow in the corporate world. But, when they see a person involved with technological advancements, the companies just throw them into highly skilled jobs, right out of school with little experience. Then, when people go to them to ask questions on something that they aren't sure about, the person who was just placed in that job have no idea what's going on.

http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/Projects/effect-on-interpersonal-skills/Work4.htm

Oh technology

2006-09-13T05:03:00.000-07:00

Technology in this present time has everything to do with the workplaces that are available. It keeps anything building that's running up and consistent. From computers to phones to various machines, there are many advances that help places stay running.
If you can imagine the business world without the help of certain technologies you could see chaos and everything moving much slower. Computers alone keep on advancing as the months go by into more sufficient ways of keeping things organized and sent out to other companies as well. Emails are much faster and somewhat more guaranteed ways of sending out important information. Also, the interent is the number one source for information anywhere and is depended on by the majority of our country's workplaces.
Technology is advancing as we speak and it's all based on trying to make out world easier. That's really the point of it all is to make the working person's life better. Unfortunately, when technology fails to meet the expectations, such as if the power goes out or viruses spreading through different machines can be very bad. So since we depend so much on technology to keep our lives moving, when it's gone businesses and companies have close to nothing.

Are BlackBerry's taking over the world?!?!?!

2006-09-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Executives today are trying to find new ways to keep in touch with their business, while they are on vacation. Even today, there are millions of people that take there work with them when they go to “relax”. So now that technology is getting more and more advanced people are looking for a way to keep in touch with their work place via email and phone, but is also convenient to take with them.
Well then we have the laptop, which offers internet capabilities, and also a keyboard for easy typing. The problem with the laptop, though, is that you have to lug them around. They also are “geeky” looking. Then there is the cell phone, but the problem with the cell phone is that it is not very reliable and also the inconvenience of typing. So what else is there? Well there were some researchers in Ontario Canada that create a tool that would be one of the most widely used items by Corporate Execs, Government and Military Officers, and the Financial and Legal Communities. It is known as the BlackBerry. BlackBerrys are being used by over a million people in the business world today.
What makes the BlackBerry special? Well it is more reliable than cell phones when it comes to connection, and it also has a miniature keyboard used for typing. With all that one of the main differences between the cell phone and a BlackBerry is that BlackBerry uses a push technology. This means that email is continually routed onto it. Cell phones use its opposite. They use something called pull technology. Now what pull technology is is email is downloaded to the phone each time you want to use it. This makes the BlackBerry extremely more convenient than any cell phone. Some other things that some BlackBerry’s feature is full featured organizer with calendar, address book, alarm clock, phone capabilities, and the convenience of putting in your pocket and going. ( http://www.elecdesign.com/Files/29/7701/Figure_01.gif This is what a BlackBerry looks like.)
There is one draw back to the BlackBerry’s. What some have came to call it is “BlackBerry Thumb”, and what it does is after prolong use of the BlackBerry, emailing clients and coworkers, you begin to experience a throbbing pain in your thumb. The reason is because thumbs are not use to the up and down movement required to use the BlackBerry. Though this isn’t the first time doctors have experience a problem like this. When the Nintendo was first invented kids would begin to complain about a throbbing in their thumb, it is the same thing, except then they called it Nintendo Thumb. The problem with this is that when you begin to experience this pain you have troubles using the BlackBerry. This then reduces its effectiveness. The only way to cure this is to ice your thumb and put a splint on them.
Well after you have read my Blog you can see that the BlackBerry has some advantages and disadvantages. Do you think that the efficiency of the BlackBerry is worth the pain of BlackBerry thumb? Post a comment on what you think.

2006-09-06T05:24:00.000-07:00

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