Blog Assignment #5

        My first product I am reviewing is the Iphone 5. It is the latest model of the iphone and is suppose to be top of the line when it comes to smartphones. I visited techcrunch.com and found an article entitled With iphone 5, Apple Has Chiseled The Smartphone To Near Perfection by Mg Siegler and found some interesting information. One of the best features about the iphone 5 is how light it really is. Compared to the iphone 4 and even 4s the iphone 5 is like holding a feather. You will pick it up and might think it is fake (Siegler, p.1).  Another positive factor on the iphone 5 which is probably the most impressive is how fast it is thanks to LTE. With LTE the iphone 5 moves at lightening quick speeds. According to Siegler, the iphone 5 is even faster than his wifi at his house (Siegler, p.1). One negative factor about the iphone 5 is the new lightening connector. It is much smaller than the original 30-pin connector but the problem is for all your accessories that you plugged your old iphone in cannot be used with the iphone 5. You will need to go out and by the conversion for $30 which is available at apple. Two specific product specifications mentioned in this review is passbooks which is new to IOS 6 and the new maps which is a lot better than the old (Siegler, p.3). The writer compared the iphone 5 to the older iphone versions and according to him the iphone 5 is far superior than the older models. This review is based on hands-on testing because the writer states that he experienced the device first hand. The writers final verdict on this device is that it is very successful.

The next product I looked at is a tablet called the Nexus 10. It is much different from a phone because it is a tablet. I found an article on techcrunch.com entitled Nexus Tablet Sales Estimate Shows The Nexus 10 Is Probably Not A Popular Option by Darrell Etherington and found some interesting news. One unique feature about this tablet is that it is manufactured by OEM and is running on google (Etherington, p.1). These features make is desirable to many consumers who are use to google and android networks. The bad thing about this tablet is that is does not do as much or is as unique as other tablets such as an ipad. This tablet only sold about ten percent of all Nexus 7 devices total which is only about 680,000 (Etherington, p.1). The sales for this tablet is way below what was estimated and it is struggling frankly. This is not because the device is no good, in fact this device will operate fine once you get use to it, but the sales are low due to all the competition with the ipad mini. Two specific product specifications are the improved CPU and GPU which will be presented in the next model of Nexus (Etherington, p.1). The writer compared this product to the ipad mini which released around the same time. Apple got millions of more sales with their tablet than Nexus did with theirs so the writer is stating the ipad is the more favorable to purchase. This review is not 100% accurate because google does not release its numbers to the public.

blog assignment #4

Sullins, John P., III. "Artificial Intelligence." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 110-113. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.

The video I watched about the Nao robot can be seen following this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk. This video suggest that we are pretty far in the revolution of artificial intelligence and robotics but we are not fully there yet. Certain things that we make look easy such as getting up is a difficult task for a robot to do by itself but we are making progress. When it comes to presenting the capabilities of present day robots, this video is very optimistic because it looks like the future will be bright for robotics. Even though some tasks will be difficult we can still manage to accomplish them. The creator of the video is Aldebaran Robotics, to find out more on them visit aldebaranrobotics.com. I believe the creator of the video affects the accuracy and trustworthiness of the information because it shows how credible the information will be. If a random person has information and an exclusive company has information, most of the time the company will be more credible. The information of the video is widely affected by the creator of it. 

In an encyclopedia article I found from the research link we were given I found many interesting facts. According to John P. Sullins, “ Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the science and technology that seeks to create intelligent computational systems” (Sullins, 2005 p.110). This means that our electrical devices will start to interact and become very intelligent. According to this description, the Nao robot can be classified as artificial intelligence. He is an advanced computer system than can interact and move on its own. He is intelligent and cis able to do things on its own. The difference between the Nao robot and a human being is that we can always get smarter by learning on our own but the Nao will have to be programmed to become more intelligent. It can think just like humans but it comes on what information is stored on its mainframe. The Nao robots stimulate emotion because the video suggest that they do. In the video the robot was able to tell a lie and feel pain when it got knocked over. I do not think a machine being artificially intelligent is really important but I do feel it can make life a lot easier. It is not necessary but can be very cool and maybe even do wonders for the world.

After looking at the technical description of the Nao robot from class i compared it to this youtube video. The video is more appealing because you physically see the progress of the robot and the point of the video is more clear than having to read a whole description. The written description definitely gives more information about the robot and all of its features. Even though the written description provides more information the video has more advantages because it can be seen on television and on the internet. More people watch television than read. An advantage the technical description will have is those who read it will have gained more knowledge than anybody who watched the video. 

references

(2008, 03). YouTube. YouTube - Nao Robot. Retrieved April 23, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk
John, S. (2005). Artificial Intelligence (Vol. 1). detroit: Carl Mitcham. Retrieved from galevirtualreferencesciencecollection

Blog Assignment #3

        I recently wrote my first professional memo for my English 259 class. It was not like what I thought it was going to be like, but in fact it was rather easy. We were given three topics to choose from and I am interested in mechanical engineering to I went with the buying a robot topic. In my opinion, this seemed the best topic to write about because there is so much to discuss and what I write about may actually be the future for some people. 

Two arc welding robots can accomplish much more than two skilled human welders.  They have the potential to create unlimited economic growth, since the more robots you have, the more they can produce. If something should go wrong with the robots and they malfunction, the warranty should cover the damages or might even replace them with a new one. If my highly skilled human welder malfunctions then we have to be one the hunt for a new one and fast.  There is also an employee loaded cost where we end up spending more than we are actually paying per hour. In an article entitled Loaded Cost of Employee Time by Jakob Nielsen, he says “The fully loaded cost of an employee is at least twice his or her salary. This is why consultants charge so much more than regular employees: their billable hours have to cover the many overhead costs that are implicit for your full-time employees” (Nielsen, 1997). With all of this coming into factor I will go over my budget and this company will go down. The welding robots also can produce about three times as fast an the average person with less chance of error. The only problem with the robots is they need to be serviced for two days per month but the cost to do this is as much as servicing your car.  The welding robots will do wonders for this company and I strongly believe will be put into effect immediately. 

That was a paragraph from my memo just to give an idea of what I wrote about. The solution I came up with was to buy the two arc welding robots because they are much cheaper than human skilled welders and will provide a better work output. I came up with this solution by looking at the negatives for both parties. The human workers will have some error and will need vacation time, sick days, and employee loaded cost. The robots just need maintenance every couple of months and they do not interact, they just do their job. I do not do much writing regularly, only if it is required by my professors. This was the first time I wrote a memo and I learned a lot from this. 

blog assignment #2

        When looking up blogs about mechanical engineering on the internet, I came across a very interesting article entitled Aerogel | World’s Lightest Material | Aerogel Lighter Than Air | Aerogel Insulation from http://www.mechanicalengineeringblog.com/3458-aerogel-worlds-lightest-material-aerogel-lighter-than-air-aerogel-insulation/. This website has many interesting pieces but this one particular blog caught my attention because it has to do with the future of cars. The blog is mostly about a type of material called aerogel which weighs about the same as air. Also known as “frozen smoke, solid smoke or blue smoke due to its translucent nature and the way light scatters in the material ” ( Mechanicalengineeringblog.com sep29), aerogel is being experimented upon to solve many problems we encounter today. 

Aerogel is a very special type of foam which is almost completely air, about 99.8% air. It is solid and can be held with your hands but is less dense than air. It was invented in the 1930s by Samuel Stephens Kistle but was not used much due to its brittle nature and the fact that it could not be shaped. Now with more experiments and technology we learned that “Aerogels posses the lowest density and highest internal surface area of any known solid material, which makes them extremely high performance material for collision, damping, acoustic and thermal insulation, structural support and surface chemistry” (Mechanicalengineerblog.com sep29). There was a type of aerogel created first called Silica aerogel but it is not nearly as strong as its new counterpart, in fact the new aerogel is 500 times stronger than the silica aerogel. Aerogel is also conductive and we can expect to see it being used to design new military vehicles and our everyday vehicle. With aerogel possessing so many properties many industrial and commercial users will start putting it in their products. 

This post describes a new type of material that we will start to see being applied to our everyday technological devices. The new material is aerogel and it is very strong with the ability to withstand impact. Aerogel has extremely low density, very good thermal insulator, low dielectric constant, and a high specific surface area. This new discovery will have a huge impact in society because our cars and other motorized vehicles will become stronger and lighter at the same time. 

Lastly, there is a great deal of benefit for myself in taking time to read a professional engineering blog. One main reason is it will help me better understand how to organize and write a blog professionally. From constantly reading them I will learn how to write them properly. There is also a greater purpose from reading these blogs. I will learn what new trend, technology, or research result comes out that can help me with my own inventions. I will be ahead of the game and have learned from a professional who could be doing what I want to be doing in life. Reading these blogs have nothing but positive impacts on myself.

blog assignment #1

My name is Rohoman Khan and this is my writing tech blog. I am 18 years of age and currently a student at Laguardia Community College. I am majoring in mechanical engineering and have high expectations for myself. I am very interested in technology and cars so that is why I choose that major. My career plans if to join the United States Air Force when I graduate from Laguardia. I am very fascinated in technology and it rely on it everyday. I use my phone, macbook, playstation, etc. everyday. Due to my major I am required to take many science and mathematic courses. I am interested in physics but not so much in chemistry. I am not interested in math because to me its just numbers and letters in a long boring equation but I happen to be good at it. I like the kinds of technology that deals with cars, planes, and artificial intelligence. In Laguardia, I have met a decent amount of people that have the same major as me. I would say that they have the same relationship with technology as I do. Almost all of Laguardia uses or possesses the same technological devices as I do. Everybody possesses a cellphone and a computer because they are really important today.  I do not believe many have the interest I share in cars, planes, and artificial intelligence because they are interested in business, criminal justice, etc. I do not enjoy reading and writing in the slightest bit. The only time I read and write is when it is required by a Laguardia professor, other than that I text and facebook. I read no books or articles because reading just seems boring to me. I would rather watch an educational video or listen to a recording because I retain more out of it than reading. If I read something on page one I will forget what happened by page 3 but if I watch a video I will know exactly what is going on throughout the whole video. I do no writing regularly except school related, texting, facebook, etc. This is my first blog and I hope readers enjoy.