Blog Post #6

The First Camera Phone 

 

    The first camera phone was manufactured by Samsung and originally released in South Korea in 1999. It wasn't released, however, in the United States until November of 2002. The first model of this phone with the camera was worth $400, which is much different than the prices of phones today ranging up to $1000. The original model was able to hold up to about 20 pictures before they had to be downloaded to another device, most commonly to a computer. The picture quality was about 350000 pixels (about .35 mega- pixels) which was very good at the time but not so much to us now. In order to download the pictures to a computer you had to attach the phone to the computer with a cord and wireless download wasn't invented until 2004. In 2004 the camera quality of the evolutionary camera phone was getting better and was not only allowing wireless download and printing but the picture quality was good enough for the pictures to be printed without it being too grainy. Later in the evolution of this invention, the multi-shot camera was added to the phone giving it the ability to to take up to 8 pictures at one time, and brought the price up by about $150. Within the first year of the new camera phone about 80 million people had one of these camera phones worldwide. 

    The first camera phone idea was originally thought of by a man Philieppe Khan. He was sitting the maternity ward waiting for his wife to give birth and he wanted a way to take a picture of the birth and then send it to their friends and family. He made the camera using a computer, a regular camera, and his phone. When his daughter was born he was able to take the picture of her and then send it to 2000 different people. After he figured out how to do this, he took it South Korea where it was developed into the first camera phone. He had created something that changed our entire world of technology all because he wanted to take a picture of his new daughter and send it to his family. The phone today has gone through many changes since then and evolved into the iPhones and Samsung (or any other kind of phone) that we know today. 

    The first camera phones have a lot of pros and cons that stemmed from this newfound technology. Some of the pros are that it jump started the evolution of the smart phone and now all phones have a camera as a default to the design of any device. It made it a lot easier to take and share photos with people because it was all in one device and you didn't have to have a separate camera and computer to do that anymore. It was very easily accessible to the people. On the other hand there were some cons as well. One of them being that in 2006 camera phones surpassed the sales of digital and film cameras hurting the sales of those devices.  The camera quality in these phones were not the best at first but they have significantly gotten better over the years. It was also a problem for people who wanted to take a lot of photos because the storage on the phone and for the camera was very limited so people had to keep downloading them to another device which could be a hassle sometimes. Overall though the camera phone was a revolutionary upgrade from the first cell phone and brought us to the amazing technology that we have today. 

Blog Post #5

In the Age of AI 

    I thought that this documentary was very interesting in learning about AI and embrace the new tech that is coming in to the world. China is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. The President Xi Jinping says that China is going to catch up to the United States in artificial intelligence by 2025 and be past us by 2030. By feeding these programs mass amounts of data and if it has a specific goal then this technology could assess problems, make predictions, and  create a solution for that problem. Some of the things that really surprised me was them talking about how they think that this technology can help solve the problems in cancer diagnosis and other diseases to help people of all kinds. It is a more elaborate and creative computer mind that will be able to look and assess things in different ways. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZ_lvDgevk

    The fears that the AI technology is bringing up in people is the problem of privacy. The AI technology requires a facial recognition system and it also has a reward and consequence system based off of "social credit" in order to create a complete surveillance country. Another thing is that they think it is going to split the countries between the China and American technology and create a technological Cold War. When it comes to technology this advanced, it is going to make people very competitive in who thinks of what first.  This documentary explains the good and the bad things about this technology and shows that the future of this world is going to something we have never seen before. 

 

Blog Post #4

 First Amendment in our Lives Today 

Black Lives Matter Movement 

    The first amendment rights are scattered throughout this country and are practiced by many people everyday without them even knowing it. When posting on social media of your beach vacation or of a funny story a friend told you is exercising your first amendment rights by having freedom of speech. The first amendment has been a big part of our society recently and the one I am focusing on is the Black Lives Matter protests. There are 6 different rights/ clauses under the first amendment that include freedom from religion (establishment clause), freedom of religion (practice of the clause), freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition. 

    

    The Black Lives Matter movement is an example in today's society of the American people practicing their first amendment by speaking their minds, assembling together, and protesting for the things that these people feel very strongly about. Being able to come together and spend their time chanting and bringing awareness to a problem that dates back to the beginnings of our country was needed to get people to listen. Freedom of assembly and protest were used by the public in all 50 states on this matter and have brought light to this topic to leaders of this country to have them make a change. According to statistics only 1 in 10 Americans know that freedom of assembly is a part of our first amendment rights and now it is being shown all around the country. These protests also bring up points from the 8 speech theories the theory to promote tolerance from all of the hate speech connected to this topic but how the world needs to be able to evolve and grow through the hate and become a better place for future generations. Bringing awareness to the tough topics today are the things that are needed in order to make that change happen and people are going to have a problem with this change but when this country gets through the storm it will become better. 

Blog Post #3

What Makes a Good Blog Post: My favorite of the 8 Speech Theories 

  Individual Self- Fulfillment

    C. Edwin Baker made this theory to say that the freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves and how they feel on the subject matter. It allows people to share their own identity and ideas with the rest of the world, it is what makes each human different based on their values and opinions. By being able to share what they really feel they may also find people with similar values and beliefs which connects people in a different way. Connecting with people and being your own person is a big part of what makes the world run because if everyone was the same, there would be no real purpose to life. I think that this is one of the important ones of the 8 speech theories because when you are writing a blog, it should be your own space to express yourself. It should be a place for your imagination to run wild and make it anything you want it to be and in order to do that freedom of speech plays a big part in that so that we, as Americans, can have that liberty to make it give any message that we chose. It is a a right that plays a part of our human dignity, human agency, and autonomy. This day and age is all about self- expression and not being a afraid to show who your really are and the terms of freedom of speech is what we are able to use to express this and so it is very important when it comes to today's society. 

Promote Innovation 

    Jack Balkin is the maker of this theory and it says that a community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be more energized, creative, and interesting society because the people within this society will be able to actively fulfill themselves in many diverse ways. I believe that this one and the self fulfillment theories are both very important to making a good blog because self expression is something that cannot be concealed and buried. By feeling open to be yourself it creates a happier life for yourself and it promotes it in other people as well in getting them to show their true selves. If the entire community around you showing their true selves with no judgement or reservations then everyone is more likely to be happy and the world will be a better place lower depression rates. In a blog it is not only about the individualized format and creative sides to it but it is also about the content. When someone is writing about something that they are passionate about it automatically elevates the writing and gives the audience a more interesting piece to read so having the ability of freedom of speech gives people an outlet to spread happiness and spread their views to not only connect with others but also try and get other people to do that same. Being able to express myself is very important to me and growing up we were always taught to not hide your true self and these both represent that and so being yourself should come first. 

Blog Post #2

 Introduction to the Supreme Court 

History

    The Supreme Court was established in 1789 by Article 3 of the United States Constitution. The legislative branch first act of duty was the Judiciary Act of 1789, which specified that the court would be made up of 6 justices who would serve until they died or retired. It was set to the first assembly on February 1, 1790 but didn't actually get held until the next day due to traffic keeping some of the justices from getting there. They actually didn't hear any cases their first term, and the first decision on a case was made on August 3, 1791 in the West vs Barnes case. 

Supreme Court Justices

    The Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President and either confirmed or denied by the Senate. The first Supreme Court was made up of Chief Justice John Jay, and Associate Justice's John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson. The Chief Justice is responsible for presiding over the Supreme Court and setting an agenda at meetings. They also presides over trail of impeachment against the President in the Senate including our latest President Donald Trump's hearing. 

Importance

    The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the country and the head of the Judicial branch of government. Under the US Constitution the Supreme Court has ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the United States and is responsible for evaluating the constitutionality of those laws. The Supreme Court also has the power to check the work of the other branches of government. It serves our country as a way to ensure that the changing views of a majority does not undermine the fundamental values common to all Americans. 

Blog Post #1

My Top 5 Sources of News 

WBAL TV 11 NEWS 

https://www.wbaltv.com/

    I live in Baltimore, Maryland and one our main news channels in WBAL TV 11 News. It is the main source of news that I get from the television rather than any other TV news channel. This is a good source of news because it will keep my updated about the things happening in my neighborhood and around me in my city. I have always gotten my news from here and my high school has been shown on this news channel before. It is a very local news channel but still reliable in Baltimore. 

CNN 

https://www.cnn.com/

    CNN is my main source of information when I am online. I sometimes go and watch the little news videos to catch up on some of the main topics in the world today. I used CNN to help me find information on some of the Presidential election and the capital riots when they were happening. I also used it to find information for a research paper that I had to do for my english class on the Black Lives Matter movement and it helped me find a lot of useful stories to incorporate. 

Fox News 

https://www.foxnews.com/

    I watch fox news on television and I read it online. This is a main source of where I get my news from because it shares news from all over the country so unlike WBAL, I can get news that isn't just local to me. Sometimes it has been known that Fox News can give false information but for the most part it is reliable and I make sure to fact check the stories before I use them in any form of school assignment, but it is a fun source of news if I am just trying to stay up to date with the world. 

The New York Times 

https://www.nytimes.com/

    New York Times is another great source that I use for assignments in school, like for my research project, or my analytical essay in my english class. It gives good and reliable information. It gives good information on the majority of the major things happening in the world, including the statistics on the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. It is one. of my favorite things to read because of all the interesting topics and it presents it in and it is easy to understand. 

Instagram

www.instagram.com

      As a teenager in the 21st century, social media is a very prominent source of news in my life and can provide me with knowledge on a topic in a different way. I am on social media majority of the day when I am on my phone and Instagram has become an outlet where memes and stories come out on social media in a very approachable and absorbable way. This and snapchat stories is where I get most of my news when it comes to social media.