Oops! Viral Take Over in Apt A

By no means would I say that my roommates and I are technologically inclined in any way so that is probably why within a two week span we had a viral take over of our apartment. It began with my computer. I accidentally downloaded some kind of virus spyware to make sure my computer was "safe" and of course it ended up being a virus that absolutely destroyed my computer. It took it about a day but it slowly took over my computer and I couldn't go to any websites without getting a warning of some kind or it would just close it all together. I wanted to throw my computer against my wall. I feel like there are many other people out there like me who do things like this everyday and have to pay a ton of money to get their computers fixed. I called around to see what it would cost to get the problem resolved because I felt stupid and didn't want to tell my boyfriend who is a CIT major and it was going to cost me around $300 to $500 to get it taken off and resolved. Needless to say I ended up asking my boyfriend to fix it and after hours of him sitting with two computers and a flash drive, he was able to resolve the problem, only for my roommate to do the same thing 2 weeks later with an even more detrimental virus then the one I had previously downloaded.

"Bluetooth Just Got A Little More Mobile"

I presented my poster project on Bluetooth technology this morning and it went amazing! I had a blast doing it and man am I relieved it is over! I was super stressed putting my project together and learning about my emerging technology but once I got the hang of it I felt like I really taught people something. The twitter portion of the assignment was neat to look back on after the presentations to see what people had to say about our projects as well.

A little about my technology, because I think it is worthwhile to hear about! Bluetooth is not just the little earpiece you stick in your ear and talk to someone on the phone to. It is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances using radio waves. So to put this in perspective for college students to relate to things such as Wii's, GPS's, and mobile devices all use Bluetooth to exchange data. Basically what Texas Instruments has done is taken Bluetooth and revised it to create Bluetooth Low Energy to use less energy to transfer data in smaller packets while still having good connection and range with the device it is connected to. It has also implemented the use of coin cell batteries to make even more beneficial and cost efficient. Coin cell batteries are the same batteries found in watches and do not need to be replaced for up to a year usually. This means that TI is moving towards products not having to replace their batteries or having to recharge for up to a year.

This will have an impact on not only mobile devices, toys, and GPS systems but as well as medical equipment and military equipment as well. The range of opportunities for this to expand is endless and therefore it could have an impact in many facets of people's lives.

Overall, I found my research poster porject to be one of a great learning experience and I was sad to take my poster down at the end of the day but looking forward to seeing the other emerging technologies on Friday! Can't wait to tweet it up!

* Check out the picture of my board! It's kind of hard to see but I tried!