Started From the Bottom, Now We Here

BY: Darrell Frye

The future of flying vehicles has been undoubtedly a controversial topic that many individuals continue to engage in. However, the question regarding flying cars is more "when? rather than How?". Through thorough research of the evolution of the normal household car, it is evident that many prototypes have been created. These prototypes are being enhanced with daily innovations in order to securely promote this new form of transportation. Propellers have been designed, exteriors have been crafted, and engines have been created uniquely in order to cater to these flying crafts.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/volkswagen-hover-flying-car-nevada_n_1499501.html

Flying Cars? How will these cars land and take off? Is this Safe? The questions continue to mind boggle many of the brightest engineers who have dedicated their time towards this creation. Fortunately some have come closer in both designing and manufacturing this magnificent machine.

"Developers of a flying car say they're about $80 million closer to giving your morning commute a real lift. For years, Moller International has been working on a way to make the old science fiction dream of turning tires into turboprops a reality. Their SkyCar, designed for speeds of over 300 MPH at altitudes as high as 36,000 feet would seat four people and isn't trying to replace commercial air travel."

-DailyMail.co

The Topic of the Day:

"What a way to beat the traffic! Flying car developer says he's $80 million closer to making sci-fi dream a reality"

The "Moller Sky Car" has been named the "magic carpet" by its creator, Dr. Paul Moller. It is a vertical take off and landing flying car. The pods rotate to direct thrust with fans powered by 2 engines. Dr. Moller has experienced machine failure more than two times, but ensures the consumer that the technological brain of the flying machine will solve any immediate failure. I also found it interesting that Dr. Moller is considered an astronautical genius who earned a doctorate in engineering without any undergraduate experience.  

(embed video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk : Flying car that can hover short distances, drive on road)

The myth of flying cars is soon becoming a reality in this new generation. With the commitment of Dr. Moller, our society is one step closer of navigating through the air. I guess the next question is how will the GPS be innovated? 

Feel Free to share your thoughts. 

Where Will You Be After Graduation?

By: Vincent Carter

I have often wondered where college students around the nation go once they graduate. I know everyone is not going to work at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, so where are they going? A new study reports that nearly half of college graduates are working as sales clerks, waiters, janitors and other jobs that do not require a college degree. The problem is the recent downturn in economic growth in the last few years mixed with the high volume and high expectations of college graduates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NBCmh6oK-U

Everyone is not going to receive a glamorous high paying job with a luxurious office right out of college. You have to work to earn these things and gain knowledge and experience to be able to be effective in your position. After graduation students face stiff competition not only from classmates but from current unemployed people, retirees, and other college grads from previous years who are still job hunting.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2010-05-19-

jobs19_CV_N.htm

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

Google's Online Privacy Piracy

BY: Jordan Price

Google, we all use it just about everyday and most of us would admit that it is very useful and convenient, but is it safe? Google has been caught on numerous occasions now attempting to & successfully working its way around preset privacy settings for both Apples safari browser and Microsoft’s Internet explorer. Microsoft claims that Google has been circumventing their “P3P privacy protection” feature, which is a web standard that forces a website to reveal what they plan to do with the information collected from a user. Microsoft claims that Google is able to use a nuance if the P3P specifications that allows them to bypass a users specific privacy settings. This which means that even if a user sets their internet browsers privacy settings to deny third party cookies, Google will still be able to track what sites they look at and what they do on those sites; and extreme invasion of privacy in the eyes of many. Google has also been more recently accused of using these same deceptive tactics to bypass the privacy settings on smartphones, allowing them to monitor users behavior on their phones similar to the way their Internet use is monitored.  

Google Claims that they bypass these privacy policies to in fact, enhance users web browsing experience and allow for better functionality of Google’s “+1” features. However Google has always used our information for not only our benefit but also for their own as they sell much of this information to company’s that want to target us with advertisements. Google is now even planning collect all of this information they have been “monitoring” and put it in one place, giving its users a “profile,” where information bout what we do and search online in private may become public. 

The collecting of our information into once place & the concept of new Google technology such as Google glass calls for a more advanced understanding of the what you do on the web and how it can affect you in the real world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7z8YtiKEog

Google Glass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7BklPVduFo

Wednesday May, 2013 - Last Class

In class we will discuss:

1. Final Grades - You need to calculate your own Final Grade. You have the Learnboost grades and the syllabus. Use algebra to calculate your final grade. Then add the Extra Credit where you wanted it placed. - The Fusion Table grades will be updated over the weekend, so check learnboost for that new grade. I will send an email/text blast once Fusion Table grades are updated.- If you have any issues with the reported grades in Learnboost, email me proof of my mistake to os3@aol.com and I will correct it and email you back.
2. Homework #10 - Macros is discussed in more detail below.
3. Final Exam - This Exam will open Thursday May 2, 2013 at Noon and Close on Sunday May 12, 2013 at midnight. Any graduating Seniors need to complete the exam by Saturday morning May 4, 2013 at noon. This exam will be on classmarker.com and will have 20 random questions from previous Excel Exams #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 (new), #7 and #8. HW#9 and #10 will not be included in the final.
4. Homework #9 - Due to the problems with add-ons for Apple, I am going to reactivate HW #9 and give students until Sunday May 5, 2013 at midnight to find a PC with the add-on to complete this exam. In order to do this, everyone will have a chance to retake this exam, if case you want to improve your grade. You can find some of the computers in the second Floor lab and Douglas that have Exam with the add-on. You will have to find by trial and error (check Excel menu or try to add it). You may want to ask an Economics Professor or Decision Science Professor which computers their students use, because they use Multiple Regression in their class. The best option maybe to ask a friend to use their PC. The Business Computer Lab on the second floor of the Leadership Center has the add-ins. They have Excel 2007. Watch this video or this video to add it in.
5. Google Place Assignment - I will not grade this assignment until Wednesday May 8, 2013. This is to give some students more time to get their code. Once I get this assignment graded, I will send a blast email/text to everyone.
6. Blog ebook - I will be converting this blog into an ebook and placing it in the cloud. You will get a blast email/text once that is done. I suggest you download and save the ebook on your own cloud drive for future reference. This blog will remain active for a few more months maybe years. The new address is http://misspring2013.blogspot.com/. the old address will go away soon www.hba322.info.

It will take me a day or two to get back to you, because of the last minute volume I may get from students.

If you would like to meet with me, I will be available by phone and join.me starting on Wednesday May 8, 2013. You need to text me first to make an appointment.

---

Homework #10 - Macros

I want you to create two different macros using any data you want. You can create your own, use data from a previous homework or find some data on the web. Then email me a copy of your excel file to osistrunk@gmail.com. This assignment is due Sunday May 5, 2013 at midnight. I will grade your spreadsheet based on both macros working.

Review some of the videos below:

http://youtu.be/zyGVfUZl5fo

http://youtu.be/ABXa6X18nyo

http://youtu.be/nvWpFdo7EO0

Pros and Cons on Defense Spending

BY: Russell Richey

Recently there has been a huge uproar in the American Economy around the issue of decreasing federal spending. It was intended to serve as incentive for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the “Supercommittee”) to come to a deal to cut $1.5 trillion over 10 years. If the committee had done so, and Congress had passed it by Dec. 23, 2011, then the sequester would have been averted. However both the Democratic and Republican Parties have shown that they are on different agendas. Republicans have sentiment towards Defense spending and Democrats want to protect domestic spending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Ww8OMKyQBP0

In total the Sequester has accounted to cut more than 8% of the nation’s total defense spending. Most of the programs being cut are in the area of future weapons systems. Weapons used to finance the United States most recent military operations have not seen much shrinking. However, some of the military’s top secret programs have been put on hold due to the issues in Washington DC.

As illustrated in the picture below, many programs are losing money to enhance current conditions of military equipment. Some of the videos will help you understand how the cuts will affect the economy. One should consider how the overall economy will be affected and what kinds of stocks will outperform or underperform due to this action taking place on Capitol Hill. 

  Defense cuts could delay or cancel programs to modernize aircraft. Technicians here work on a Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter flown by the Army.

 

This video will help you better understand the bigger picture of what is going on behind the cuts.

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

iPhone 5 vs. the World: How Apple’s Device Stacks Up?

BY: Denzel Butler

Apple’s iPhone 5 features a larger display, more powerful processor and 4G LTE connectivity, but does that mean it’s also the most advanced smart phone ever? I do not think so, according to the specs  the iPhone 5's Retina Display is  one of the sharpest screens on the smart phone market. However, it falls short of the Nokia Lumia 920, which features a 4.5-inch 1280 x 768 display, and as well as the Motorola Droid RAZR HD Maxx. The video below shows an in depth comparison between the Nokia Lumia 920 and the iPhone 5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4SaEQ2xzl4I

From this video I believe the Nokia Lumia is a better phone. Another debate is between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5, personally I believe the S3 is superior but this video will give incite to let you be the judge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=e8qdhq3BrEY

I do not believe that the iPhone 5 is the most advanced smart phone on the market, I believe there are at least 3 other phones, at least spec wise, that are better. I am in no way saying that the iPhone 5 is a bad product it is a great product, it is just not the greatest.  

I Heard it Through the VINE

BY:  Martavius Leonard

Social media has proven to be a stakeholder within today’s society. With such platforms as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube, one would think that this generation has reached the peak of the social media phenomenon. Think again! Take a look at the new form of social media that has emerged on the scene.

http://youtu.be/H4xJ6_ghJ9E

In January 2013, Twitter released Vine video, its free video-sharing application that enables brands, businesses and consumers to shoot and upload six-second snippets to blogs, presentations, e-mails and social media sites. Vine is Twitter’s six-second video. The idea is to create quick, easy and interesting short films to share with friends and network on Facebook and Twitter. It is an app, currently only for iOS, that records six seconds of video and posts it on an endless loop to your Twitter account. The video below shows a more in-depth depiction of how the Vine works.

http://youtu.be/QlJPROAvahQ

This new and innovative application is extremely attractive to consumers and businesses alike. More specifically, businesses can use the vine app to create unique marketing strategies to appeal to consumers and to restructure the way that people, brands, government agencies, and celebrities interact with one another. Businesses can use the Vine app to showcase its brand, send messages to fans, encourage fans or customers to contribute or donate to a particular cause, or to leverage existing video content. Below are some examples of how users are utilizing the Vine app.

Another advantage of using the vine app is the ability to share these videos with other consumers. Most individuals will share videos that they like with others, thus causing such user-generated marketing to spread significantly. According to the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, 92% of mobile video viewers share mobile phone videos with their friends and social networks, with ‘tweeting’ accounting for 12% of all shares. That figure could rise if Vine turns video into a more prominent part of the Twitter service. 

Thus, if implemented correctly, Vine could become the next prominent marketing tool. This application is not yet available for Android users; however, its implementation on such devices could be the key to Vine becoming an household name and an international phenomenon.