Final blog for google foo.

I've loved this year's Google foo. The people were amazing, they class was wonderful. It was hands down the best. The one thing that did catch my eye this year wasn't the new assignments, but the way some of them were done.

The best way I can say the class can improve is more in-class group work. Sure one can do it over the internet, but its different when they're right beside you. For example, when we wrote the final page in the "Never Ending Story"  we all had a blast. Not only did we commune with one another, but we were all laughing! Pitching wacky, crazy, story ideas at one another. It was a heap of fun.

So if the class could improve in any way possible, I'd say it'd be with more group work. Other than that the class was terrific. There was a lot of cool projects, and brand new websites. Not a day went by where it wasn't interesting. All in all, I'm happy I got to be in the class and meet all the nice folks in it.

What is Bitcoin?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not 100% sure. I've watched videos, read forums, and spent several hours doing some research on these little miracles. Now I do know somethings about this topic, but I'm still going to do some research in order to have a better understanding.

Bit coin is a peer-to-peer digital currency that cuts out the middle man. There is no banks, no taxes, and no goverment to back it up. It's ALL user based. Bitcoins can also be a physical currency. They do make coins for them, and inside said coin is a mathematical code, that is worth one bitcoin. (I hope I got that right). But that's what a bitcoin is. Its a series of complex math, stated by a who creates programmer bitcoin miner software.

How does one get these so called bitcoins? There are many different types of software that one can use in order to get these coins. Such as bitcoin tapper. Or one can download a miner, which collects bitcoins at a steady pace depending on your network. There is also a place to store your new currency, and that's by using a wallet. No not a physical wallet, but a digital one. These accounts can be accessed from different websites, desktops, and even android phones.

Like any currency, bitcoin does have its...dark side. Back when the silk road had some of its, unwanted, services users would use bitcoins to hide there transactions. After all the goverment couldn't keep track of this type of currency. Its unregulated by banks, and they don't like it when they can't spy on your purchases of uno cards. So these coins would be used to hide the purchases of drugs, weapons, and other types of services. Yet again, one can say the same thing for the US dollar. It too has a shady history.

More and more businesses are starting to use these micro transactions. One can buy video games, utilities, food, and so much more. There are even a few Cafe's that have been starting to use bitcoins as legitimate payment for services!

Lets talk about how it could possibly help the homeless. For starters think of this, in order to get a job what do you need? Social number, date of birth, an arm, left leg, address, and so much more. Because hey how can they make a check out to you when you don't have a(n) bank account? All in all, its one giant hassle for the homeless folk. How can they get a job when they don't have a home, a license, or account? They can't, unless you get insanely lucky by being born with a beautiful voice. But that's a different story, for another time.

Now if the homeless were given access to computers and knew some simple bitcoin software then they could feed themselves. I'm referencing an article on wired called "Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins". The article is about these homeless folk in Florida who used Bitcoin to feed themselves. It talks about different, and simple, software that they used to achieve their coins. So imagine if we could teach these folks without homes about these programs? They could go without food, and its a lot less embarrassing.

With access to the internet,  now how can you do this you may ask? There is a program called Gyft, it can turn bitcoins into gift certificates. This is the program that the gentlemen in the article used, and that's probably not even the tip of the iceberg.

Sadly there is a downside to bitcoins... with the price of bitcoins going up at a steady pace, most people now days want to hold onto them. Waiting till they get so high before selling each for a healthy profit. Which is good, but also bad. For instance,  Mr. Angle used his to feed his friends and himself; yet, if he saved them till present day he would've made a whooping six thousand dollars. Something that he even stated is that he's "I'd rather starve". So hording bitcoins has become a thing, that and with the recent crash due to the Chinese banks. Some maybe getting out earlier than others.

The government despises bitcoins. It can't be traced, it can't be banked, and it can't be taxed. It gives too much power to the people, and that's what they fear. Heck it has the potential to stop gangsters and drug dealers! Although some countries have already found a round about for that. This new currency is amazing, its encouraged me to try it. This truly gives power back to the people. Now Like I said in the first paragraph, i don't know much about this; however, I want to know more. So if you you'd like put a comment below explaining more.

Funny things to find around the internet.

Have you ever sat down, and just gazed about the internet? Just looking for something that catches the eye, or maybe just wanted to see something funny? We've all done it before, and we all have our own little go to places for it. So today I can hopefully add to that little list. Now there is one that I'm going to mention that has been taken down. Yet, I loved the website so much, that it deserves an honorable mention.

So start things off I'd like to talk to you guys about Dorkly. Dorkly is a mash up of videos, articles, pictures, and even comics! It covers pretty much everything... from the debts of tech support, to the movies with an obsession with painting things black, and to poke some fun at the video game world. If you're into the theory side of things, they do hold articles about it. Such as "How did Sherlock Holmes survive his fall" that is if you're into that type of thing.

Another dangle I like about the developers is how organized the site is. Everything is properly placed into its category. So if I click web comics, I am going to get web comics instead of "Miley Cyrus twerks again!" or something equally as foul and scary. This is something that fills that little pit in my heart, unlike certain websites that tend to mash things together; won't mention any names, but you know who you are! So that gives this website an A out of 10 for me.

Time for the wacky tunes, and jingles I give to you (drum roll please) BRENTALFLOSS... comics. For those who don't know, Brentalfloss is a youtuber who makes parodies of video game music. He has had his fair share of comedy hits such as "What if Doctor Mario had Lyrics". What kind of comic could this guy come up with you ask? A gaming one! Now put on your duckbutt hat kids, and we'll get this train a rollin'.

For starters it took me awhile to find it again, mainly because they moved it, and gave it its own URL. Now the new website is kinda standard and plain. Unlike Dorkly which is full of vibrant colors, this one seems kinda basic. Yet still it can give you a few good laughs here and there, even though it gets tiring seeing the comic, and then a white background. The comics, however, always bring the user back. With its funny adventures, to its wacky one pictures.

DamnLol... it feels like a life time since I've been to this site. Unlike the other two above, this one is more centered around user content. People from all around upload pictures, gifs, and even comics to this lovely website. There is no homepage, there is no start and finish. You see once you go to the website itself you're welcomed with a random picture. (Unless you go to the link above, I copied the link of a gif to get things started). Now some of this is insanely funny, while others can be meh, or, if you're lucky, you can find something extremely epic. Like a Zombie Marvel Sculpture.

If left unchecked, one could spend hours on Damnlol. There has been many a short-weekend thanks to this lil site, that's for sure. So travel with caution adventurer, for ye may not return.

Lets wrap this up... one of the websites that I was going to talk to you fine folks about was leaguememe. League meme was about funny pictures/videos of characters from League of Legends. For awhile it was one of my go to sites, just like Damnlol was. but lately when one goes there an error pops up. I've even asked friends to see if they could access it, but sadly not even they could. Still this was an amazing website, and especially fun for LoL fans.

Top 10 Tech themed costumes

Its a little late to do Halloween posts, so instead I'm gonna have a lil fun with this and search for both Halloween costumes AND some general costumes that you'd see at cons or even pets. Anything that falls under the line of costume.

Okay... I'm a family man, and a gamer. So when I saw this I was amazed.

I love the quality and the time spent on this. It also looks like the baby is

rather comfortable. I bet this kid is going to have her/his jaw drop when

they look back at this.

 Personally, this is the best of both worlds. The stormtrooper family look amazing and the iron man costumes are out of this world. Both are fully detailed, and verry well made. I also love how the little iron man reacts. It kinda looks like he's going to give em a nice blast. No worries little iron man, Stormtroopers can't hit the broadside of a barn.

LOOK AT THE PICTURE BEFORE READING

At first glance I thought "Hey that's cheating its a picture of a baby."

Then I realize that it wasn't a iphone.

I found this lil number on amazon. So looks like I found myself a new Halloween costume!
Seriously look how epic this thing is. It has the plastic, see through, tie. A golden lap coat
with matching pants. Personally I just want the goggles.

You've heard of He-Man, you've heard of Megaman, but now meet...
KEY MAN. With the power of Type!

This lil guy is pretty cool. I love how it features the lil mouse. The only thing I don't like
is the hands... the hands bug me. Other than that its an amazing thing.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be this. With my luck of computers this is quite normal.
Still I love how creative it is. This is enough to scare any computer illiterate person to call
there friend who knows how to fix computers for help.
What really sells the costume is the monitor head.

This is actually pretty neat. Not only is it a fully detailed camera, but the back of the costume
has a photo of two people standing side-by-side. Although their faces are blanked out. So it gives
off the illusion that he is in fact a camera. Kudos good sir.

 Meet robo-man. Half man, half... 3-Cpo. Not only is his dance moves fresh,
but he also has 32 gigabytes of ram, with a 500 watt battery. Legend has it
that his powerful robotic limbs can crush the skull off any human. But he uses his powers for dance,
and not evil.

Four way battle: LibreOffice, Microsoft Office, Google Drive, and Skydrive

Microsoft Office, my experience is well... I won't say vast, but well informed. That might be a better word. I've messed with Microsoft office from middle school to somewhat present day. Its professional, although sometimes it can be complicated at times. With many different options, buttons, and do-dads one can get lost. Still lets talk about the features shall we?

This is Microsoft word's tool bar. For starters it has the basic File, Home, Insert, Page Layout, and Mailings tab. Now, I'm going to state this as well, this is the 2010 version. So it is outdated. It still has its uses, and can make one hell of a resume for a job. Although my skills with the program has dwindled over the years, I still tend to use it from time to time.

The funnest thing to play with by far is the text animations, and background manipulations. You can bring new life to your work, giving it a more edgier approach.

I'm also going to add this in, Skydrive is a slightly inferior version compared to Microsoft office. You receive 5gb of space to use for files, you can buy more space if needed, and the best part is that its perfectly free! All you need is a live account. So if you have a xbox live account then you're golden. Heck you don't even have to make a new email for it. You can link one of your own to log in with. For example, instead of having frankbillbobjoemanthefifth12@live.com I can use rememberflapjack53535@yahoo.com instead. (These are not real accounts, and if they are I apologize in advance. I came up with these at random.)

Now Skydrive is really cool, I prefer google drive over it. Yet it still stands tall. With a Skydrive you have access to slightly downgraded version of Microsoft office. In addition you can sign in on the desktop version and it will sync your work. So its automatically saving itself onto the web-base version; internet is required for this to work. I give it a B+.

Google Drive. I probably post about this quite a bit to be honest. I know it isn't the first time I've done it. In fact, this topic has been around the block once or twice. So I'll try not to bother you much about it. Now the google drive is completely free, unless you want to buy for additional space. It has everything that Microsoft office has, but its more simplified. Although there is beauty in simplicity. It is easier to find more what you need, BUT you don't have too many options in customization like Microsoft office does. That is one of the downsides for me.

Libre is kinda like Microsoft office. It has the same fonts, almost exact options, and is shockingly compatible. You're asking what's so compatible about libre office aren't you? well I'll tell you. Libre office documents can be opened with Microsoft office, and Microsoft live. I figured it out by accident. Now its not 100% keen, but when it comes to saving Word docs then it'll do its job. I will say this though, I still prefer some of the templates you can use in Microsoft Excel over libre office's version. Still its free, and that's always good.

The beauty, and horror of Social Media.

Social media has become a major part of modern day life. Can you think how many times people visit a social media website such as You tube, Facebook, or Google plus? Have you ever went an entire day, out of your own free time, without visiting one of these sites? I can't, I'm on Youtube almost everyday. If not I get on facebook for a minute or two. Still, all these social medias have become a major part of our lives. Both in a positive and negative way.

Facebook has become most likely  the largest social media site around. They have enough users to create their own country if they wanted to. Yet they don't, because that'd be weird. Any who, Facebook has grown in popularity quite fast, every day they get more and more users. Even then they have at least 300 million users on daily! Heck that's a major feat in itself.

It also allowed the users to keep in touch with old friends, family members, or even celebrities (if you're in to that). It has allowed us to make new friends, keep in touch with older pals, and even have long political debates that seem to never end. Amazingly all of that blends beautifully.

Personally, I tend to hate most updates for facebook. Sometimes their good updates, don't get me wrong, but other times its just down right confusing! At least its not as tragic as You tube updates. And yes, I said tragic. Yet its the little things that tend to bug me the most. Mainly because it messes up the group settings.

Super Sonic boom is our little clan that was made back in 2011. I, and 3 other friends, run this little group to host events. Such as tourneys, game days, and casual tie day. The picture to our left is our clan's symbol, and motto.

Facebook has quite a few perks does it not? How could something this good be so bad? Well there is a downside. Facebook has affected newspapers and the school reunion companies.

Newspapers used to make money from advertisement banners. This was once a gold mine for local newspapers. Companies would post job openings, events, and advertisements. That way everyone in the community could see it anytime they would look at a newspapers. Now days companies make facebook pages, which is perfectly free to do. Now they may pay a little bit for advertisement, but not as much as they would if they stuck to using banners.

Just because some companies choose to advertise over the web doesn't mean they don't use newspapers. They're just not making as much revenue as they used to.

Remember back in the day when non turtle wranglers would have a special event to celebrate an X amount of years out of high school? I sure don't, because I've only been out of high school for 2 years, going on 3. With jokes aside, they took a hefty blow. You see, people now days use facebook to stay in touch with one another or use some other type of social media. This has nearly killed organizations that due high school reunions.

Google plus... you know, I've had no problems with it. Heck compared to facebook's setup, Google plus is extremely organized. How, you may ask? Well much like the groups in facebook, google plus has a similar thing called Circles. Circles are like little clicks in school, or whatever they call em. Now each circle can have its own, unique, category. Such as Friends, Family, Dogbert, SSB, or something along those lines.

Lets say you'd like to post something for a specific group, aka SSB, but you don't want everyone and their grandma to see it. Well you can actually post to said circle without anyone else knowing. That is one thing that I find amazing about it.

Another thing you can do is hold group chats, and do video sharing. In the video sharing option, where you can host videos from youtube or other types of medias. Its cool, and easy to setup to boot.  The only problem is that you can only have 10 people per hangout. That's kinda lack luster when you want to have a movie night with the guys. It also makes it extremely awkward when you have to pick who gets in and who doesn't get to come.  

So lets say a new episode of Game Grumps is uploaded and I'd like to watch with my pal Noah. All I'd have to do is go to google plus and invite him to hangout. I put the video up, then we both get to enjoy a few good laughs. That or we could even have a movie night, sadly that may require money depending on where you go.

With all that's said out of the way, we can all accept that social media has become apart of our every day lives. Whether it be facebook, youtube, google, or anything along those lines. It has had some positive effects on us, and some negative on a few businesses.

To be continued with the Myspace Struggle...

I do not own anything from the video. All rights go to the developers of the game and the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWPYF5thVPw

Life with Google.

Using google is like a love/hate relationship for me. Sometimes I love it, other times I'd like to strangle it. Either way I can always say one thing. It owns me. No matter what, its always the go to guy. I've used it for projects, research, laptop backgrounds, shopping, and so much more. Its unbelievable. Come to think of it I hardly ever use yahoo, unless its for my gaming email. That's because Google has the superior search engine. I've used Bing, Ask.com, and so many others over the years. None of which stood up, for me at least, like google did.

With Google, I was able to complete my senior project for high school. I used it not only for research, but as a place to save and do my work. With its Google drive, then I could just add onto it whenever I liked. Then once I got home it was saved on my email. So I never really had to worry much about it. (You know Google is important when you type it without capitalizing the G and spell check says you spell it wrong). That worked wonders when I did my Senior project and I was at a jail with no internet wireless connection. It allowed me to keep notes, and didn't have to worry about losing them unless I deleted them myself.

Now its just common use! I use Google probably hundreds of times daily. Mainly for research on Marvel characters, or past video games. But those are just some of the smaller things. If I ever have a problem, I simply Google it and receive an answer almost instantly. Its unbelievable. Besides, you'd look like a fool if you told a friend to "Bing it". I think not.

What else can you do on Google? Well, you have Google books. Think of a kindle, but replace it with Google and you get the idea. In fact they're both compatible! Like two peas in a pod field of information. Although, I never really used Google books, but I can say one good thing about them. In my System architecture book I am missing chapter 1, so I Googled it. Google books allowed me to preview the entire 1st chapter for free, and some of the later chapters as well. Now there is a time limit for this, so don't get any ideas. Its so many hours a day. Although its still nice to have a back up.

Lets say you don't have Microsoft office, nor a live account. Then you're not going to have access to Microsoft word, excel, power-point, etc. Well if you use Google, you'll get something very similar. Its called Google docs. Google docs isn't the prettiest thing in the world, in fact its quite simple. It doesn't have all the buttons and do-dads like Microsoft office apps have. Yet it still gets the job done, and a pretty good job at that.

In many ways Google has changed the way we look at things. If something peeks our interest we google it. Its like having an infinite amount of knowledge at the palms of your hands. (Don't take that literally.) I've learned a lot from Google. Although 75% of it will probably never be used in actual conversation. Or ever used, but still it works. Now children of the chore how about we all type "Zerg Rush" into google and enjoy ourselves for a bit.