Spammers and Bots

In recent years there has been an increase of spammers and bots on the internet. Since then we have had a new rise of web security known as captcha's to figure out if the user is a real person or a bot. This type of technology allows real people to input the characters that are displayed on an image, including letters and numbers, into a box to show they are a real person. Now a new startup called NuCaptcha has found a way to incorporate video ads into this sort of security. The concept creates the ability for an ad to be watched by a user, and during the ad there will be letters and number shown, and then the user has to input that to show that they are a real person. This technology is more effective than the average captcha's on the net because of use of image recognition software employed by bots and spammers, which has caused the older captchas to start using distorted images with characters in it. To me this seems to be a much safer way to secure a website, and it also allows for more ads to be shown on sites, which will increase revenue to both the website and the ad being shown.

Robert W. Taylor

    Robert W. Taylor was born in 1932 and is a computer scientist. He is a very important figure in the development of the Internet. During the 1960's he contributed in the development of the ARPAnet. The ARPAnet is an Advanced Research project that gradually progressed the Internet. He was a director there. ARPAnet stands for Advanced Research Project Agency. Some of the ongoing research projects for technology that Robert had started is computer graphics, time-sharing, networking and so much more.
    In 1968 Robert worked with J.C.R Licklider to publish an article about computers being used as communication devices. He left ARPA and shortly after he joined another research center and help founded the Computer Science Laboratory. Computer Science Laboratory (CSL) was the first local area network created in the 1970's. His work eventually lead to computer systems as the Mac and Windows.               In 1984 he joined  the Digital Equipment Corporation which progressed to an on-going research facility called Systems Research Center. He continued to work with them until he retired in 1996.
    His achievements will never be forgotten, in which he had received awards for all of his accomplishments.  In 1999 he received an award of the National Medal of Technology. This particular award is given by the president of the United States to many inventors or many people who have played a major role in developing of technology that is important in the world. In 2004 he won an award from the National Academy of Engineering. Without him technology would not be the same today.

Self Driving Cars!

    Self driving cars has always been science fiction until recently. Google has recently had success with test driving a "robot-car". This sort of technology allows for people to be driven around autonomously. This is done by the use of radar sensors, video cameras, and a type of laser ranger finder that senses traffic.  According to Google this would be safer, help reduce traffic, and make the cars more lightweight to pave the way for more fuel efficient cars. So far the only accident that has occurred was when one of them was rear ended at a red traffic light. 
   In my opinion this sort of technology would definitely help all drivers to be safer and more convenient. This would help drivers who are busy doing lots of things and allow them to talk, text, or do business while on their way to work.  Commuters would have more time to work on projects especially on those long trips to the office during rush hour.  One problem with this is the fact that traffic laws would have to be changed considering the fact that they were written with only human drivers in mind. Another problem would be if this sort of car will be effective against reckless drivers whom may try to cut off the robot-car or may be swerving.  We will have to wait and see because it seems that it won't be until almost a decade from now when we will see these cars on the road.

Talk, Text and Web in NYC Subway!

                Technology in this day and age allows people to check e-mails, text, and do many things using their smartphones, laptops, phones, etc.  There are very few places now that don’t allow you access to wi-fi technology or cellular technology, one of them being the NYC Subway System.   Soon this will change, due to T-Mobile and AT&T signing into a 10 year agreement with Transit Wireless.  Commuters shall gain access to cellular and wi-fi technology allowing them to do everything from talk, text and connect to the web.  This kind of technology will give freedom to the commuters to actually enjoy subway rides with the ability to use their smartphones, laptops, or other devices.  On a downside this might also add to noise pollution that has already plagued MTA Bus routes.  Also this sort of freedom of use of technology would somewhat be limited by the number of passengers on the train, you wouldn’t be able to really check e-mails or surf the web on your laptop with a packed train.   In my opinion this sort of technology will be a hindrance, unless rules of conduct are set, due to the fact that commuters might take advantage of this technology and become nuisances.  This is much like on MTA Bus Routes when you try to relax on the bus going to work, and the only thing you hear is a bunch of people talking on their cell phones or listening to music.  The way everything will work out is dependent on the actions of the individual commuters and how they use the cellular or wi-fi access.