News Card 7

Facebook tests fees for out-of-network messaging

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/21/technology/social/facebook-messaging/index.html

Facebook is testing a system that is currently only available to a small amount of people in the U.S which allows messaging others who are not in their friend’s list at a not yet known fee. There has been a lot of complaints that messages got lost in the spam filter when texting to people who weren’t integrated in someone’s network. Currently Facebook only delivers messages from friends or friends of friends. Other messages which facebook deems irrelevant are marked as spam. With a paid system however messages could be considered relevant even without being integrated in someone’s network. This could be the case if a company wants to send you job offers that you have requested.

My blog: http://stevethai.blogspot.com/

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

News Card 6

Apple loses bid for permanent ban on Samsung phones in U.S.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57559701-37/apple-loses-bid-for-permanent-ban-on-samsung-phones-in-u.s/

US Judges refuses Apple’s request to get a sales ban on a number of Samsung devices. The requested sales ban covers 26 Samsung products which were denied because Samsungs infringement was just part of a lager feature set, making the request to ban sales on the 26 Samsung products to broad. Prior to that Samsung lost a court ruling to Apple, leading to a 1.05 Billion fine in Apple’s favor.

My blog: http://stevethai.blogspot.com/

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

News Card 5

News Card 5

YouTube Wants to Be Your Must-See TV

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/YouTube-Wants-to-Be-Your-Must-See-TV-76804.html

Youtube has redesigned its interface to engage more users to use their service rather than turning on the TV. It will now be easier to keep up with channel subscriptions and the Youtube guide is now displayed through all devices. The page layout is much simpler, more streamlined and the video appears at the top of the page.

My blog: http://stevethai.blogspot.com/

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

News Card 4

News Card 4

Why Facebook's about to slow down (and that's probably good)

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/19/tech/social-media/facebook-https/index.html

Facebook  is likely to slow down due to security improvements. Recent blog posts state that Facebook is moving its users from North America and later on the rest of the world to a more secure internet connection that is already being used for websites that deal with confidential credit card information. Most often you will see a lock icon in the browser showing that you’re using HTTPS which is the more secure type of internet as opposed to HTTP which is less secure. However the disadvantage is that it could slow down your connection slightly.

My blog: http://stevethai.blogspot.com/

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

News Card 3

News Card 3

Watch a French researcher control a robot with his brain

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-11/watch-french-researcher-control-robot-his-brain

When we talk about technology referring to robots, then we immediately have to think about Japan, where researchers are working on robots that can be controlled by brainwaves with the goal to make humans feel like there are embodied in the robot. Furthermore a collaboration between the French National Center for Scientific Research and the Japanese Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology was set up to research about how to interpret brainwaves into action that robots can understand. For that you need a signal processing unit that can translate the brainwaves into task that the robot can perform.  

My blog: http://stevethai.blogspot.com/

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

News Card 2

More customers using mobile payment technology

http://www.newsday.com/columnists/jamie-herzlich/more-customers-using-mobile-payment-technology-1.4170885

It is estimated that the number of mobile payment users is going to increase from 32.7 million this year to 90.6 million in 2016 according to stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. One of the applications using mobile payment is Level Up which links credit cards with QR codes that you scan with your mobile phone. The QR codes are imprinted on the products you are going to buy. Other technologies use different barcodes. It’s a way to make the transaction process faster and it doesn’t waste paper.

Stephan Kistenfger 552-9516

Assignment 1

1) How would you propose the plan to prepare students in your country to work in different culturally, technologically, and economically context?

Whenever working in a different environment becomes necessary students have to adjust to cultural, technological and economical differences to become competitive in a globalized world. Therefore the question becomes how to prepare students properly. There are many factors that play a crucial role. Such factors that educators have to promote are among other things, critical thinking, independent learning, creativity, multiple languages, technology, networking, social responsibility and awareness, internationalization, practical experience. Critical thinking skills have to be developed by allowing students to question any source of information in order to develop analytical thinking skills rather than following and believing a set of information. Independent learning has to be developed by engaging students and giving them more responsibilities rather than having them being dependent on someone else. Creativity which is so much in demand in today’s world has to be developed by encouraging students to speak out their mind and rewarding them for providing multiple answers rather than seeking for one possible answer. Multiple languages have to be promoted in order to be able to communicate in an increasing globalized world. The use of new technology has to be promoted in order to increase the efficiency in learning. Schools have to build networks with other schools and companies to provide students with more opportunities. Internationalization has to be developed by creating a network with foreign schools and opportunities to study abroad and by using teachers with different cultural backgrounds. Educators should also promote teaching that is relevant to real life and promote more connectivity with companies in order to enable learning experiences in work environments. The availability and effective use of financial resources must be provided in order to enable these conditions in educational institutions. Promoting these factors will prepare students to work in a different cultural, technological and economical environment. 

2. What has been done by your country in each context?

Germany has developed a society of critical thinkers over the last decades. Even though the school system is still based on a traditional system and lacks behind in creativity compared to other countries, Germany has developed a highly skilled workforce in the field of engineering social sciences and information technology. Considering the cultural, technological and economical challenges in a fast changing globalized world Germany has put a lot of effort on the education system. An example of such effort was the reform of college institutions with the conversion from diploma to bachelors and masters to have an international standard of measuring degrees among different countries and to ease the exchange of students between different universities across different countries. This political reform was conducted under the umbrella of to the so called Bologna Process which has resulted in a boost of connectivity among universities in different countries. The Excellence initiative is another policy providing private and public funding for universities fulfilling the requirements for outstanding performance which has resulted in more competition between universities in order to receive funding which can be used for investments such as the acquiring of new technological equipment. Talking about education in general federal states in Germany are solely responsible for the investments of their schools and universities and distribute money to their respective cities. Dusseldorf as an example has invested in a lot of technology to improve their education system with the latest example being the ipad which has been introduced in some schools. 


Bibliography:

The Bologna Process-Towards the European Higher Education Area. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov.3, 2012, from http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/bologna_en.htm

Excellence Initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 3, 2012, from 
http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/excellence_initiative/index.html

Kerstin Arzt & Katharina Frick. (n.d.). Mehr Technology an Schulen [More technology in schools]. Retrieved Nov. 3, 2012, from http://www.rp-online.de/region-duesseldorf/duesseldorf/nachrichten/mehr-technik-an-schulen-1.2760022

News Card 1

2014 will be the year of wearable technology
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/tech/article/2014-will-be-the-year-of-wearable-technology/

Google Glasses is one of the most anticipated devices consumers have been waiting for. The device which consists of a pair of glasses equipped with a camera, speaker, microphone, computer display and wifi connectivity will go on sale in 2014 and is expected to be sold at a price of around US$ 1500. Users will be able to make and receive phone calls, surf the Internet, share photos or even videos, check emails or listen to internet radio. Information will be presented on a small display depending on what the user sees in his field of vision. Possible could be that you see price tags on objects while you’re walking around in your neighborhood. This is referred to as augmented reality. 

Stephan Kistenfeger 552-9516