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The beginning of CineFile. My version of a home theater database management solution coded in VB. This system will give the user the ability to see what movies they own, a basic description of that movie and the ability to add more movies into the database as their collection grows. My plan is to start this off as an application for Windows, and then will make moves to develop it for an Android/iOS environment. I would like to create an easy, at home place for families and users to get together and better distribute their media database. I know it isn't much, but it is a start.

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I FINALLY DID IT! 

I made my first infographic! Aside from fumbling around with photoshop for upwards of five hours the work of great beauty and skill is finally complete! 

This infographic tells the story of how criminals may try and access your data over both your personal networks as well as enterprise and other public networks. It then goes on to tell some statistics, things like how many people use public networks and figures showing the true threat of cybercrime! Lastly, it gives the reader some tips on data protection along with a fun QR link the reader can go to to "test their newly learned knowledge"!

Data security is and will be a trending topic on a global scale and will only become a hotter issue as more and more users log on and leave their personal information in the hands of machines and programs. Recently banking sites, e-commerce sites (think Amazon) and even government websites have come under fire regarding the measures they have in place to keep your security safe! There is a growing concern cybercriminals will break into someones accounts and change settings, steal passwords and card numbers and even worse, take a users identity. 

With all the hype it is important I leave you with one message: The security of your data, starts with you!

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So we all know about the seemingly unlimited success of Harry Potter. From the original books to the silver screen and even Lego Harry Potter items. The story that has captivated millions is still going strong.

We have seen this in the most recent addition of Pottermore, a unique gathering site for HP lovers. In the site, you are sorted by the Sorting Hat and placed in your respective house! You then can interact with your classmates, perform spells and duel and eventually try and rack up points to win the House Cup at the end of each year!

I would like to look at Pottermore from the perspective of the past, and see how it may have changed the success of the story. Had Pottermore been implemented around beginning of the series (Books 1-3), I hypothesize we would have seen an even bigger sell to the public. If targeted for children and adolescents it would have created an entirely new medium for people to talk about the books! Rather than just going to school and talking about, the readers could have gotten online and enriched their HP experience to the MAX! 

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Today is finally election day. Living in a swing state, I know it is my job to vote because it actually can make a difference and as soon as I get out of class I will be going to my polling location. However, I know I’m not the only one who is really sick of the political ads. Back in July, I saw a statistic that Cleveland spends the 2nd or 3rd highest amount of money on political ad coverage on TV in the nation. This was over the summer and now I’m counting down the minutes until the ads stop. So the point of my rant about these obnoxious commercial is that there are some entertaining aspects to the election.

This collection of photos are things that have gone viral because people like seeing the candidates look ridiculous (Biden with a biker chick on his lap?). Most of these videos have gone viral or become memes since they originally hit the public. I’ve seen the photo of Paul Ryan lifting weights countless times, especially since he is from my alma mater, and who can forget Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair? It doesn’t matter which candidate you’re voting for, you can’t help but laugh at this collection. Also, the photo of a little kid stealing a kiss, photo-bomb style at an Obama photo-op is adorable. 

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           Yesterday Google went down. Most people not in Hong Kong really wouldn't even have noticed this happened. The problem was most likely that a network engineer in Indonesia had probably input the incorrect IP address for other ISPs to route to.

The problem here was resolved in mere hours and is not an uncommon problem to see. What we need to take away from this is the way the problem was resolved. A network engineer outside of Google first noticed the outage. Using his resources he was able to determine the problem did not exist within his scope of operations. Then, he used social media to confirm with his colleagues elsewhere in the world that they were having the problem too.

Using his resources and they were easily able to fix the problem. This shows the mass amount of interconnection relied on to make the internet successful.

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New Jersey residents displaced by Sandy will be allowed to vote via e-mail

Residents must first submit a ballot application by e-mail or fax to their county clerk

Attempts to make it easier for those who have been forced to leave their communities and for those workers away from home who are busy with disaster-relief efforts

Displaced storm victims qualify as “oversea voters”

Critics argue that Internet-based voting systems pose security risks

Argue internet-based voting systems are more vulnerable to hacking and other security risks

Opens the door to new forms of election mischief 

This news story provides yet another example of the implications to technology. There are security implications to this new e-mail voting system due to the fact that e-mail is “not at all authenticated, reliable, or confidential.” Although recent technology can offer simple methods for solving such problems like this, technology-oriented solutions may not always lead to the right answer. The fact of the matter is that voting through e-mail cannot sustain authenticity, and it increases the opportunity for error in the election process. 

This really puts our technology-dependent society to the test. It also questions technology’s value and the role that it plays during presidential elections. 

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There is now an extension for Google Chrome that will replace your Facebook friends' political rants with pictures of cats. My first response to this was "yeap...that sounds about right for the internet". I think this article is really getting at the deeper matter that is two-fold regarding social media and the internet.

First, when it came out, we loved Facebook for its ability to share everything our friends thought with us. As the elections draw near, we are beginning to see an unbelievably huge amount of political content so I find it interesting that rather than unfriending or blocking people are choosing a more passive avenue of blocking the content. It makes me wonder if this will soon find it's way to blocking other types of content.

Secondly,  we should look at this from the perspective of the particular web browser. More and more we see people switching over to Chrome from Firefox and IE (thankfully). So is it that Chrome is new and exciting or is it that it actually has things people want that they cant get in other browsers? You decide.

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This article makes a good point to talk about the idea that the Hurricane could effect people and businesses that never even get a drop of rain from Sandy.

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Mason Jar Speakers

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Congressional interest in the Internet in China is tied to human rights concerns in a number of ways. These include the following:  

• The use of the Internet as a U.S. policy 

tool for promoting freedom of expression 

and other rights in China, 

• The use of the Internet by political dissidents in the PRC, and the political 

repression that such use often provokes, 

• The role of U.S. Internet companies in both spreading freedom in China and 

complying with PRC censorship and social control efforts, and 

• The development of U.S. Internet freedom policies globally.

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                                 Today Youtube may have changed the way videos are made popular forever! Or at least deemed popular. Today Youtube made the switch from ranking videos based on their "Hits" or number of clicks over to Time Spent viewing the particular video. This is significant since many many viral videos have had part of their virality rooted in hits. This change may mean that a viral video (while still exhibiting a lot of hits and shares) may actually end up with less hits than previous videos but could be counted viral simply due to average time spent viewed. Youtube has cited that in an effort to better analyze their viewers watching habbits as well as helping pick more pertinant  "suggested videos" this switch will probably be for the better. Also, as Youtube is trying to become a major player in the television industry, they felt that by switching over one of their main means of analysis to time spent they may be able to choose content better or possibly even utilize these figures to start being a main competitors to regular television if they chose to go that route. This is not just for Youtube though. This is also for Youtubers! That means you! Youtube has also said that by looking at the time spent on videos you can actually gauge what your audience enjoys and what your audience only glances at. In the same vein you will be led to enjoy Youtube more with more pertinent videos to your interests!

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The Direct Marketing Association has announced a One Million dollar campaign to fund lobbying efforts,education and research with respect to online consumer tracking/adds. The Association feels that lately there has been too much negative hype surrounding the methods used to procure your information. Legislation and public scare tactics are making people feel less and less secure about this type of data gathering and advertisement. It is my opinion that none of these adds violate my privacy. I see no need for legislation against them. It all goes back to the idea that this is (ideally) a free market economy and if I don't want people keeping tabs on me through the internet, I'll just go shop in person. Furthermore, since the economy and business procedure are being defined more and more by ways we can "trim the fat" using the data gathered from tracking cookies etc. may be one of the most economic things invented. At long last, most people simply need to realize that these tracking cookies have been around for a long time and have been tracking their mouse movements for years. Nothing bad has come of us yet due to any types of business marketing tracking or advertising.

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The Art of Ghosting

ARGUABLY THE BEST VIDEO I HAVE EVERY SEEN

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Hey you! Yea you... do you always think of what could happen after you hit the "Post" button?

Matthew Woods, the poster of two remarks regarding missing children has been sentenced to the maximum penalty for this type of offense in Wales. Apparently his remarks were so offensive that nearly 50 members of the local community came to his house (I'm assuming with torches and pitchforks). Wood was arrested shortly thereafter for his own safety.

After pleading guilty, Wood explained it was all supposed to be a joke to see if people would think his Facebook got hacked, until it got out of hand. He was "truly remorseful" which tells me that he really didn't mean to bring the commotion he caused.

The biggest thing coming out of this is to remember, once it is posted, it generally cannot be unposted. Remember to think about the fact that anyone can see your post and post accordingly...and with correct grammar.

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The Art of Ghosting

ARGUABLY THE BEST VIDEO I HAVE EVERY SEEN

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I want this very much.

Union Metrics for Tumblr provides detailed Tumblr analytics for brands and marketers, helping provide insight into engagement with Tumblr campaigns and conversations. Union Metrics for Tumblr is Tumblr’s preferred analytics provider. For the first time ever, get...

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HERE IT IS WORLD! THE ONE, THE ONLY MYSPACE! Coming out of retirement, the new myspace plans to make a scene as it arrives relatively soon! A cool mix of most social media apps now, the new Myspace may be exactly what this country needs! I for one, have already got my name on the sign-up list!!!!

http://vimeo.com/50071857