Teeterrl's Weblog

Cell Phone Hackers?

Lynn Thompson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:47:18 +0000

It is a scary thought to think that somone could hack into my cell phone and steal all of my personal information. However, it is far more common that I though. According to an article I found, this happens very often and so far there is no way to stop it. Scary, huh?

Widget Kits make Websites easy

Lynn Thompson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:41:25 +0000

A new widget kit was released recently. It provides many useful tools that I can incorrperate into the websites that I have been developing. I used a few of them and found it very useful. Here is a link to an article providing more details.

Virtual Business—Cards?

Lynn Thompson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:37:42 +0000

There is a new iPhone application that allows users to hold two iPhone’s together, shake them, and virtually exchange information. This article tells more information about this application. I think it is a really cool and handy device. I am definately downloading it to my iPhone!

Obama or McCain

Lynn Thompson — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:33:41 +0000

The election is coming up and I still have not decided who I am going to vote for. I always liked Obama, until he decided to run for president and became more of a celebrity than a human being. Even though I am super excited to see either of the candidates win, I think it is important to vote to show my voice. When I was browsing the internet the other day I came across a great website that helped me pick which candidate I should pick. Click here to go to the website. Apparently even though I am a republican, Obama better represents my views. Soo I guess I know who I am voting for.

Should I change my password?II

Lynn Thompson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:42:53 +0000

I recently came across an article telling me that I need to change my iPhone password for security purposes. I’m not exactly sure what a root password is, but the article stresses that I should change it. The article also provides a simple how-to guide to changing it. Do you guys really think it is necessary???

Link to article!

How do you determine credibility?

Lynn Thompson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:39:03 +0000

In my speech class last year, my professor put a huge emphasis on making sure the credibility of our articles was top notch. Of course, we do not want to sound ignorant by citing incorrect information. This article talks about a new search engine called Hakia that lists results by credibility.

Click here to go to the article!

sxephil Says Thanks

Lynn Thompson — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:08:57 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v450EV5zEEY

One show that I watch on a weekly basis isn’t on TV at all. It is a popular youtube channel called sxephil. Today he announced that it was his two year anniversary. I think that it is so hard to believe that in a matter of less than two years someone can go from being a view of the web to a major contributor of news and media. My friends and I have often thought about attempting to make a show of our own, discussing topics and keeping each other up-to-date, however we can never find enough time to post videos.

By clicking the link at the top of my post you will be taken to sxephil’s youtube channel. On this particular episode Phillip DeFranco thanks subscribers for watching his show. It is amazing to me ho regular people can become stars by simply posting vlogs online.

We Have Evolved from the Days of Napster

Lynn Thompson — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:57:07 +0000

When I first found out about the a computer program that would allow me to download music from my favorite artists for free I was ecstatic. At the age of 11, I didn’t understand that the program that I was using was completely illegal. Napster itself wasn’t against the law, but what I was doing on it was. Stealing music from artists was never so easy. Years later even social networking sites have found legal ways to do this.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/20/is-myspace-music-an-antitrust-lawsuit-waiting-to-happen/

Your Mom Has a Facebook

Lynn Thompson — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:50:53 +0000

Social-networking websites such as Facebook.com and Myspace.com, have always publicized that they were not just for teenagers, and college students. In past years I have know of a few professors and older friends who had joined the facebook community, but I never thought I would see the day when my mom would have a facebook. Instead of just receiving the usual phone calls and emails that I have received in the past from my parents, I now have to deal with my mother being able to stalk my every move, and im me as soon as I sign online. I really hate it, not to mention she doesn’t even know how to use it correctly. In the past month she has also recruited all of my aunts and my 70 year old grandmother to join.

In the article, Twittermoms Shows Why Twitter Needs Groups, it can be easily assumed that it isn’t just my mother who has joined the virtual world. My parents generation now understands the perks to the social networking sites that they have grounded us from in the past because we spend too much time on them.

Did Miami University Students take the Power Outage too Far?

Lynn Thompson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:23:12 +0000

MU Students riot outside of President Hodge's House on Monday, September 16th, 2008 around 10pm.

On Monday, September 15th, 2008, around 9 pm, thousands of students gathered out side of Miami University Presidents house. Miami University located in Oxford, Ohio, is a small town known for being safe and was not expecting this uproar from the mostly upper-middle class straight-laced student population. The MU students were protesting the universities decision to resume classes. The protest started out as a social event that brought students together for a fun way try and get out of more class. The protest started with less than 100 students, but by 11:30 pm, there were more than 4,000 students lining High street. The students were chanting things such as “No Power, No Class” and “Hell No, We Won’t Go!” By midnight Oxford police had to call in over 42 police cars from the surrounding areas.A MU sophomore reported that “Everything was calm until the police started driving their car through the students, then all Hell broke loose. The police had pepper spray, German Shepard dogs, and guns. Students were tackled to the ground by police officers for not cooperating.” At 10:15 Duke energy shut off the generators that were giving power to the dorms and student center and soon the protest turned into a riot. Under instruction from the university, Resident Advisors prevented students from leaving dorms, the student center was shut down, and other students were prevented from entering dorms. “Most students were just angry that president Hodge, was not at his house, and had left a campus full of students without electricity,” reported freshman Steven Young. The MU students had been out of power since the high windstorm on Sunday afternoon. Many students fled campus and went home or to friends’ homes. A Miami Senior said “The students who stayed on campus just treated the day off of classes as an extra night to drink, which I think partly fuelled the riot.” Local police arrested between 4-22 students, depending on which news source you are looking at.

Did these students take it too far? Many people are asking this question. Many blogs, news websites, and news stations are covering this story. I believe that the students and the university are to blame. As a student at Miami University I lean more towards the side of the students. We should have to go to back to classes, but the professors should be instructed to push back deadlines or extend office hours for the students to catch up on work they missed. 30% of Oxford is still without power, and this includes most of the upper class Miami Students. How are we expected to get work done when we cannot use the internet or see our books. The University did not handle the situation right at all. We were barely notified about anything, and left in the dark without food or electric. I believe that the president needs to address the student body and apologize for the way the campus responded.

More information about this story can be found at the following web address:

More Photos of the event: