The Release of Siri: What You Need To Know-Click here http://bit.ly/nF4i6q for full article

The Release of Siri: What You Need To Know-Click here http://bit.ly/nF4i6q for full article

Of all the many upgrades and new features included in the latest iPhone 4S, the most highly anticipated has got to be Siri. In a nutshell, Siri is a digital personal assistant program that's included in iOS 5, the latest and greatest version of Apple's much-lauded mobile operating system. Relying on natural language recognition and artificial intelligence to respond to queries from the user, Siri can do everything you would do yourself automatically without having to push a single button. While there are many similar programs on the market, few attain the level of polish and sophistication that Siri achieves.

Main Features and Benefits
Siri is like having a digital personal assistant within your phone. Using natural language recognition melded with cloud database storage, Siri responds to a user's commands and questions and learns as it goes. In order to launch Siri on a new iPhone 4S, simply hold down the home button. Once activated, you can ask Siri nearly anything you can think of and it'll answer you to the best of your ability. Simply ask Siri “What can you do?" if you're unsure where to start. It'll give you a rundown of the available options and capabilities built in to the service.

Siri's voice-activated web search is impressive enough by itself. But the truly astounding thing is the way in which it organizes and streamlines communication online or on the phone. Due to its tight integration with your contacts, E-mail, and messaging accounts, you can easily fire off calls and SMS messages by voice command alone. If you want to update your Twitter stream or see what other people are saying, Siri's got you covered. It can tell you if you need to grab an umbrella before you leave the office, and even book a hotel room for you if you so desire.

How Siri Will Change The Digital Landscape
It's not an understatement to say that Siri will be a major boon to small and medium-sized businesses that rely heavily on the iPhone to make their work force more productive. Siri's personal assistant technology makes having a secretary for lower-level executives almost redundant. For the rank and file, Siri makes keeping track of appointments and staying on top of deadlines less of a headache. Overall, Siri makes everyone a more effective worker. As Apple's flagship voice recognition software catches on with more and more users, expect to see competition in this sector heat up as Android jumps on the bandwagon and releases a digital assistant application of its own.

Wall Street Protests- Click here http://bit.ly/ptkPFs for full article

Wall Street Protests- Click here http://bit.ly/ptkPFs for full article

Back in August, the self-proclaimed ‘culture jamming’ Canadian magazine Adbusters launched a call to action to all disenfranchised Americans. It was time for the USA to have its ‘Tahrir moment’ they said, and they began a movement to ‘Occupy Wall Street’ with at least 20,000 people.

On September 17, the date finally arrived, and fewer than 1,000 people showed. Only a small shadow of what the original call was. Come next morning hundreds had left, and by Monday the 19th, only two days into the Wall Street protest, a mere 150 committed people remained.

Those who followed the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement expected it to fade out into the background and disappear, obscured by a mainstream media blackout. Now, 20 days in and contrary to early forecasts, the movement has not only grown, but snowballed nationwide beyond the already high expectations of the original organizers.

‘Occupation’ actions are being held and organized in over 200 US cities, including Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and the District of Columbia. It has also grown internationally, with ‘Occupations’ taking place in Spain, Canada, France, Brazil and Greece to name a few.

The occupation movement was originally met with derision and condescension by the media, due in great part by the lack of a cohesive and unifying message. But it may perhaps be this lack of a clear demand what is the most telling about the Wall Street Protests.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama addressed the protests, stating he believes “it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel” and that “the protestors are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works.” It may very well be this generalized message of frustration towards inequality that has made the movement resonate with so many Americans – and draw support from so many varied and eclectic sources.

Increasingly, these grassroots demonstrations against perceived injustice and corporate greed are drawing the attention and support of heavy hitters across the sociopolitical spectrum, like labor unions, Nobel laureates, anarchistic organizations like Anonymous, celebrities, active-duty and veteran US military, politicians and even groups of Tea Party members.

Ironically enough, the NYPD presence which was deployed to contain and disperse the Wall Street protests has only succeeded in helping galvanize public support for ‘Occupy Wall Street’. In fact, on September 23rd the occupation movement was still only a couple hundred strong, but the now infamous video of Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna pepper-spraying female protestors on September 24th played a key role in creating public support for the Occupation movement; catapulting it to the nation-wide pressure group it has become.

With such a broad range of issues ‘Occupy Wall Street’ wants to tackle, as well as the growing number of groups, parties and unions attempting to co-opt the movement into their own agenda, it is extremely hard to tell what the future of this grassroots campaign holds. However, one thing is certain: It has been 20 days and everything indicates it will only get bigger.

The Loss of a Visionary, the Death of Steve Jobs- Click here http://bit.ly/r3QA8F for full article

The Loss of a Visionary, the Death of Steve Jobs- Click here http://bit.ly/r3QA8F for full article

Hailed as both a visionary and creative genius, Steve Jobs passed away Wednesday night after a long and mostly secret battle with cancer. In addition to his friends and family, Steve Jobs leaves one the most successful technology companies and a host of innovations that will forever change the world. His family issued a short statement Wednesday, informing the public that he had left peacefully. Although many knew him as a creative genius, the release noted that he cherished his family. They requested privacy as they mourn his loss and committed to setting up a website dedicated to honoring his memory.

In response to the tragedy, many have begun to take a second look at Jobs fantastic life. Some have begun to assemble at Apple retail stores as they remember Jobs and his profound effect on the world. This effect was most recently realizied in the development of some of the most celebrated technological devices, the iPod, iPad and iPhone. The personal device revolution they have inspired is not dissimilar from the success Apple first experienced in the realm of personal computers.

Without Steve Jobs, in cooperation with Steve Wozniak, the computer revolution may have never happened, or at least been significantly delayed. Apple led the industry in personal computing until the 1990’s when the company lost a great deal of its popularity and market share. This coincided with Job’s absence from the company, beginning in 1986 when the creative genius and ended after Jobs returned in 1996 and led the company to release the first iPod in 2001.

Jobs brought more than just technology to the world. The visionary was responsible for number of contributions to society and worked with other corporate leaders like Bill Gates to encourage positive growth in society. He also gave joy and laughter to millions through a number of films produced by his animation company, Pixar. Steve Jobs bought the company in 1986 and after leading it for a number of years, accepted a buy-out agreement in 2006 and became the largest share holder in Disney. He continued to serve as a director until his death.

Apple issued a statement declaring the visionary a mentor to those he knew and an amazing human being to all. Until a website is released, they officially designated rememberingsteve@apple.com as the place to send condolences and appreciate for the man who changed so many lives.

Take Your Best Shot!- Click here http://bit.ly/nEgedy for full article

Take Your Best Shot!- Click here http://bit.ly/nEgedy for full article

It used to be that anyone who wanted to take good display-quality photos would need to invest a lot of money in serious photo equipment. Most people who took photos did so with instamatic-type cameras and were happy to just have personal records to keep for memories’ sake and not to necessarily display.

With the advancement in today’s technology, though, it is now easy and relatively inexpensive for anyone to explore their creative talents with photography. Today, a digital camera comes with almost every cellphone made. For example, the latest iPhone comes with a 5 megapixel camera and an L.E.D. flash. You will find cellphone cameras in use by many teenagers today. They love to send pictures to each other via the Internet and to post them to social networking sites. You will even find many of them sporting iPhones. Whether it be an iPhone or another type of cellphone camera, no child today feels complete without their digital camera.

For a minor investment, a budding photographer can more deeply enter into the world of photography by buying what used to be thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment in one affordable digital camera (typically known as a prosumer camera); a camera that allows the user to go from total novice settings to fully manual. Prosumer cameras typically come with zoom lenses of various focal lengths, some have a very impressive range of zoom—from wide-angle to super-telephoto.

For those who want even more, a modern DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera is the way to go. The DSLR is the camera of choice for those serious about photography, especially for those who make their living taking photographs, such as photojournalists. The DSLR allows the photographer to add myriad accessories such as different lenses to multiple flash units in order to get the shot

In a fast-paced working environment such as photojournalism, DSLRs are the cameras of choice. Photojournalism has become simpler with their use. The photographer no longer needs to wait to get back to the lab to get the film developed. She can now transfer the images directly from the location over the Internet to her editor for review. In some ways, digital cameras could be said to have revolutionized the world of photojournalism.

Digital cameras truly have opened up a new world for many today. There’s never been a better time to enjoy the fun of picture taking.