Processing power needed to create complex models

To create complex and distinctively detailed models requires a certain amount of processing power. It's like trying to run a new sick engine and trying to install it on a jalopy. Sure it would go fast, but it would still look like an old jalopy. Not only do the looks need to be implied, it's performance is crucial to authenticating a simulation or model. The main idea of a simulation is to immerse someone/or people in a digital situation and see how they can react towards a similar situation in real life. If something is out of place then the whole immersion can be affected. Creating detailed and thorough simulations is highly difficult and requires a lot of skill and power to create. As an example, researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Technology Graduate University in Japan wanted to try and simulate brain activity. The brain is a highly complex thinking device so naturally it was rather rigorous and difficult to try and simulate one. It was proven even further how difficult it would be, because according to research, simulating one second of human brain activity took 82,944 processors. So as you can probably tell, simulations and models cost power, and depending on how detailed and complex the model or simulation is also depends on how much power is available. Going back to the past, let's look at what kind of models a less complex processor could accomplish.








The Sega Genesis' main processor is a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU which contains 72kb or RAM and 64kb or video RAM. Back then it was only able to produce 16-bit models as seen in the picture above (Sonic the Hedgehog). Back then it looked great and fitting with its price. Of course that was back then, now technology is so advanced that graphics like this now looks obsolete. Obviously due to the lack of technical equipment developers had back in the day. Different kinds of simulations result in different kinds of models being needed to be present. For example a flight simulation needs to have all the buttons a regular plane would have. The buttons need to be functional to immerse the person in the experience. Same goes with a surgeon simulation. The more authentic a simulation is, the better the processing power needs to be.

Net neutrality or not?

Not everybody can access the entire internet, for many good reasons. I don't think it would be wise if some casual facebooker were to access highly private government files through the internet. Or if one person were to access someone's personal online journal. If net neutrality were to be enabled then it could discouraged having privacy online. Another problem besides privacy is that if applications or website carriers like Verizon, who spend about 20 billion dollars every year on their networks, they need a certain amount of investment to do it so if everyone were to be able to use it equally then they would probably crash through investment. I could be totally wrong but this is what I see net neutrality as. Though it has its cons there are pros to this as well. I know of some websites that some people can't visit just because their information online says that their black or something. If net neutrality is enabled then everyone will have equal and fair use of every website and content used in the internet. I for one am not exactly against net neutrality but I'm not all for it either. I spend a lot of time on the internet and sometimes what I type can be personal and I wouldn't want people gaining access on that now would I?

IT Systems: How it connects with other tech/ future and trends

As an average consumer, I like to play games. I also like to watch movies. I also like to listen to music. A few decades ago all of these things would have to be done separately, but now in the advancements in technology you can do all of that in one machine. Last November the two competing companies, Sony and Microsoft, released their major gaming consoles; the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One. Although both are primarily seen as gaming consoles, they can do much more than that. I will talk about the Xbox One for this since it provides more features other than gaming. For starters, the Xbox One is basically half a gaming console and half a TV. You can connect your Xbox One to your home theatre system and it will automatically be apart of it. For example, when you say "Xbox, turn on" the Kinect will recognize your voice and will be able to turn your Xbox, TV and sound system on. Similarly like Windows 8, the Xbox One has the ability to snap applications like Skype, Internet Explorer to the side where players can multitask. Players can play a game while chatting with their friends, listen to music or watch movies which can all be controlled manually or via voice control. The Kinect can do various things as well like scanning QR codes to redeem Xbox Live card codes. The system also has a feature called Xbox SmartGlass which allows devices like a Windows phone, Windows 8 or Android phones to be used as a 'second screen'. Also for the first time the Xbox One allows players to record their games straight from the Xbox and are even able to upload them or share streams with people so they can see each other play live. Xbox also sells their products (mostly games) online in their own marketplace called Xbox Live (which it might not be called that anymore) where you can digitally download movies or games on to the console. You can either use your credit card, or buy Microsoft Points in game stores, or even go to Amazon and buy them there and just input the codes on the Xbox. Like its older brother the Xbox One comes with an HDMI port and an ethernet cable in case your house does not have WiFi. 

This is nothing new today but back then the Xbox was one of the first gaming consoles that allowed online access to things.  

iBeacon

WHAT IS iBEACON? WILL IT REVOLUTIONIZE PAYMENT SYSTEMS??? 

From my understanding and from what I've read online, iBeacon is an app made by Apple that will allow shoppers to interact with retailers through their mobile devices. Currently this is not available worldwide and from what I can gather are only in Apple stores so far. Basically what iBeacon does is when someone is walking around a store and is looking on a product, say an iPhone, they will get a message on their smartphone that will give them details about the product: the price, possible discounts, reviews, etc. In the future, if this gets funded, you'll probably be walking around the mall and you could check iBeacon and it will recommend products products that you would like to buy or try out. It's a neat idea, but all I think it is is just a way to replace some employees who's jobs is trying to get you to sell the product in the first place. It's kind of like having customer service on your phone instead of a person giving information. I'm not at all against iBeacons, I just found out about them today, but for a person like me who lives in the Philippines where whenever I walk into a store there's like 5-10 workers there trying to sell products to shoppers, iBeacons could make people lose their jobs. Although the possibility of that happening is probably still far away, it still could happen. 

WHAT OTHER ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS EXIST TODAY?

I live in a family where almost all of our payments are real money based. Very rarely do we buy things online (it's probably cuz my parents don't trust online systems with their credit cards) so I'm not very familiar with much electronic forms of payment, but I know the basics. Online shopping in sites like Amazon and Ebay are probably one of the most popular where people pay for items online with their credit cards. On the subject of cards, recently I found out about a Starbucks Card, which is no more than a credit card for Starbucks. On the other hand, in the United States, there is this thing called 'Tweet a Coffee'. It's pretty self explanatory, someone could tweet a friend a coffee for Starbucks and the friend will receive a $5 digital eGift where they can redeem in Starbucks. Another form of electronic payment that I recently stumbled upon are Bitcoins.

What happens to all your online data/accounts when you die?

Hopefully if I become famous or recognizable to the world all my online data and accounts will be stored in a private document where future generations will stumble upon it and remember what I contributed for the world, but that's just thinking out loud. I would normally think that after I die my online data and accounts will probably be removed from the web in about 2 years since it will also be dead like me. I think that my accounts like facebook will probably memorialize me in a sort of way, meaning that it won't be taken down but only my friends and family will be able to see my account, kind of like a grave. The money in my bank account will hopefully go to my family (my future "children) since I will obviously no longer need it more than my family does. Also after the money is sent to my parents my banking information will probably be deleted from the system. I'm not sure if gaming accounts apply the same, mostly when someone stops using their account it usually just stays there. But if I had an account with lots of games on it (Steam) I would pass it on to my "children" so they could keep it alive; unless they discontinue the program/project and move on to another one, then they would frankly take down all accounts. In a nutshell it's just like a website, if it hasn't been updating and used for a long period of time the accounts will probably be taken down from the internet, but data will probably be stored in some sort of storage for other people (most probably my future family) to access and see.

If I had $10,000....

If I had $10,000, what hardware and software ecosystem would you create?

I am a huge gamer so naturally I would want a workspace that includes something powerful to run games in, at the same time do work (if I have any). I have been a big fan of Alienware and the games it can withstand so I would like an Alienware desktop with a monitor. Also if I ever get one I would get a console, preferably a next generation one like a PS4. I would put it underneath the desk (or beside the desktop) in case I want to play. I also wouldn't mind having a small television so I could play the PS4. I also like to record my games so having the TV next to the monitor to record the games is good. The picture below is a concept of what I would like my workstation to look like.

Products: Total Budget $10,000

Alienware Aurora ALX (Core i7): $4239.00

Alienware optx aw2310 Widescreen Monitor: $499.00

Sony Playstation 4: $399.00

Samsung UN22F5000AF 22-inch LED/LCD TV: $236.62

TOTAL: $5,373.62

TOTAL CHANGE: 4,626.38