Essay Outline

• Thesis: Ivan Petrovitch connects Vodka and his servant job to produce the theme of a wasted life.

• Topic Sentence: Ivan doesn’t like his job

Evidence/Quotation: “Twenty five years I have live like a mouse in the wall.” “The Professor goes on … I’m here among you…”

Explanation: He feels like he’s not very appreciated because Serebryakov doesn’t accomplish anything. He also feels like his life has been wasted

• Topic Sentence: Ivan doesn’t like Serebryakov

Evidence/Quotation: You’re going to sell the estate”

Explanation: He is furious at the professor for talking about selling the estate. He end up trying to kill the professor with a gun, but misses.

• Topic Sentence: Sofya shows a lot of care for her Uncle Vanya

Evidence/Quotation: ”But I beg you, please, do not let my uncle drink. It’s so bad for him.” “You’ve got drunk with the doctor again…Why do you do this? At your age…?”

Explanation: Sofya really cares about Ivan. But it makes here unhappy to see her uncle get drunk.

• Topic Sentence: Vanya has a very obscure point of view when ut comes to relationships.

Evidence/Quotation: “A fidelity like this is false”, “I’d make my peace with you”, “I could have proposed to her and now she’d be my wife”

Explanation: Ivan does not believe in fidelity, for he thinks that the professor doesn’t deserve Yelena. Hence, he tries to make a move on her, but it fails. After he goes on about how he could have had her before she married Serebryakov.

Quotations

Character Page

Ivan Petrovich is the protagonist in the play Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov. He is middle Aged. His relationship with his niece, Sonya, He has been living in the manor for most of his life. He does not enjoy his life. He work for the professor Serebryakov, who also resides in the manor. He blames The professor for how his life turned out. He complains about inactivity, that all he does is serve the professor, and because of that is life has no purpose, because the professor does nothing of value. He says that all he does is eat, sleep and drink.

He is secretly jealous of the professor, especially of Serebryakov’s way with women. The professor’s wife was actually Ivan’s sister. He claims that she was so beautiful that she captured the eyes of all the men around her. She could have gotten any husband she wished, and she ended up with Serebryakov, who was much older than her. Ivan accuses the professor for stealing his sister’s youth away.

Regarding Serebryakov’s current wife, Yelena, Ivan also believes that Serebryakov is not good enough for Yelena. Like with his sister, the professor married her when she was still young. He blames Serebryakov for taking the life out of her. Ivan does not understand why Yelena remains faithful to the professor. He thinks she should not keep her fidelity. He secretly fancies Yelena, and finally confesses it to her during the play. But to his dismayal, she is disgusted by his acts and asks him to stop.

All of Ivan’s hate and anger towards the professor is let out near the end of the play, when he he loses his temper and takes fires a revolver twice at law Serebryakov. To his disappointment, he missed. During the period after his attempted murder, he speaks of madly and sees no sort of brightness in the future.

Ivan’s relationship with his niece, Sofya, is what gives the play it’s title. Sofya hears a lot of Vanya’s complaining. Also when he gets drunk near the end of the play, she tells him how pathetic he is acting and how drinking with do him not good at all. She really cares about him and wants him to get out of his misery and become the best man he can be.

Apple’s Purchase of Lala Could Signal Cheaper, Streaming iTunes

Recently, Apple has sealed the deal to purchase the streaming website Lala. This new addition is very significant towards the development of iTunes.

What Apple particularly is interested in is Lala’s “payment and fulfillment system”, with which Lala sells their customers pre-paid music credits, with which they can purchase their songs. This could help Apple cut down on its credit card transaction costs.

With this new addition, Apple could also perhaps increase its revenue. In 2007, the average iTunes account only purchased an average of 22 songs. However an average Lala customer will pay an average of $67.

Overall Lala will be a beneficial acquisition to iTunes. It will be able to not only sell songs as downloads, but also as streams. In addition, it will reduce Apple’s its credit card transaction costs, and will increase its revenue per user.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/apples-reported-lala-talks-could-lead-to-cheaper-cloud-based-itunes/

Review: Harry Potter Spells iPhone App Is Magical, If Imperfect

To satisfy millions of people’s desires to be able to cast spells like harry potter, an iPhone application was created. It is called Harry Potter Spells, and can be purchased on the iTunes store for $2.99.

The game starts off by having the player enter their name, and just like in the series, he is given a suitable wand. Next, the player is sorted into one of the four a Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. After the player has finished that, he may proceed to lean spells.

There are fourteen possible spells, which the player has to unlock one at a time by successfully learning the previous spell. A spell is cast by making a particular motion with the iPhone which is unique to every spell. Apparently the games instructions for spell casting are not so clear, so a video was made to clear up all uncertainties. Finally, once the player has learned all fourteen spells, he can start to duel. Two players can play against each other if they both have the application. But if not, the player can still play against a CPU.

Each spell has an individual animation to it. As a spell is cast, its animation is played and a British female voice recites its name, just as they do in the series. However if the player is is unhappy with the default voice, he can record himself saying them.

By releasing this application, apple is getting closer to fulfilling its saying: “there’s an App for everything”. The application world has gone from reality into fantasy. By having such a broad spectrum of applications signifies society’s application of technology to most factors of life. As we accommodate to these accessories we create dependencies, which may lead to difficulties if in some point in the future if we run out of resources to continue spending on luxurious cell phones.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/11/review-harry-potter-spells-iphone-app-is-magical-if-imperfect

Google Chrome OS: Ditch Your Hard Drives, the Future Is the Web

For some time now we have been hearing of Google’s plans to create their own computer operating server (OS). Yesterday, Google released more information on its upcoming Google Chrome OS. Unlike Microsoft Windows, Chrome OS will not be available for download or installation, bit instead will be pre-installed netbooks, whose maker(s) are still unknown. Netbooks are a fairly new concept. They are a sort of mini laptop, whose main focus is to browse the internet. Introduced into in 2008, netbooks have been a big hit, resulting in 35 million units shipped in 2009. The Chrome too, will be web-based, revolving around the Chrome web browser. However the Chrome OS netbook will distinguish itself by being bigger than most netbooks, being closer to the size of a regular notebook. For file storage, the Chrome OS netbooks will not have hard drives, but instead on flash memory and also internet-based storage. Additionally, all programs will be web-based. This relieves the user from needing to install programs, manage updates or backup their data. Google claims the user will not even have to bother with anti-virus software; it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps. The Google Chrome OS netbook will have a sensational start up time of approximately 7 seconds. Their vice president of product management quoted: “We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast … to boot up like a TV”. The Google Chrome OS netbook will be released in late 2010. Price wise Google estimates an average netbook price: between $300 and $500.

By realizing the Chrome OS netbook idea, we are shown that technology is slowly moving towards being almost entirely web based. This is of upmost significance, because the web has also shown its flaws. The Internet is very malleable; things come and go before you can even refresh the page. This results in valuable documents, pictures or videos being lost forever. Although an approach to a web based future has its negative aspects, I am sure those problems will be addressed so that technology will have a brighter future.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/google-chrome-os-ditch-your-hard-drives-the-future-is-the-web/

Terrifying Cheetah-Inspired ‘Bicycle’

Ever dreamed of running like a cheetah? Well, Pablo Lopez did, and the aspiration resulted in an inspiration to design the Pardo. The Pardo, short for quepardo which means cheetah, is a human powered tricycle which is designed to imitate the movement and feeling of a cheetah.

The pedal system of the Pardo has the rider pump both legs simultaneously. Overall the contracting and expanding motion resembles that of a cheetah. Yet the methods for steering are questionable.

Contrary to some people’s assumptions, this vehicle is not intended as a transport system such as a bicycle, but more as an extreme sport. Pablo Lopez stated: "My main goal is transmitting and creating sensations,”.

This new innovation definitely does intrigue me, since as a kid I did have a fascination for the cheetah, the fastest animal on earth. I definitely want to try out a Pardo, but sadly it is not out on the market yet. I don’t believe that when released, it will invade the transport market; however it might become a popular outdoor activity. The Pardo reminds me a lot of the Wave Board, since both are similar to a popular vehicle and both try to create a sensation of something totally different.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/terrifying-cheetah-inspired-bicycle/

TomTom XL 340S GPS

Tom Tom has released its new middle-priced GPS navigation system, XL 340S. It is packed with innovative and exciting features. First of all, for only 13 dollars one can change the default voice to that of a celebrity such as Mr. T (imagine being told in Mr. T’s inimitable voice: “I pity the fool who doesn’t take the next right on the road”). The downs-side is that by switching to a celebrity voice, one loses the text-to-speech capability. For some users this may not be a major loss.

To prevent the vexing uncertainty of in which lane to be on a highway, Tom Tom developed Advanced Lane Guidance. This feature notifies the driver well ahead of time about the lane to occupy in order to be ready for the next step in the driving itinerary.

Another new addition is the modified route planning feature, IQ Routes. Most route planners when calculating the fastest route only take the road’s speed limit into account. IQ Routes also takes traffic conditions into consideration. This helps prevent the driver ending up on a highway that is inflicted with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The 340S has its own software, facilitating the connection to the car’s already existing GPS. This allows for adding maps, planning routes, updating the GPS and installing new voices.

One truly useful feature, “Help Me!” quickly locates nearby emergency service.

All these extra goodies add up to a satisfying product for which its price tag of $250 price tag is quite digestible.

The launch of this new product marks a further positive step in the development of affordable, but sophisticated GPS navigation systems for the average consumer.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_tomtom_xl340s

Beatles Catalog Goes Digital, Inside a Plastic Apple

Nowadays, online music stores such as iTunes dominate the music industry. CDs are becoming less popular because of their digital rivals. Usually, digital music is downloaded from these online music stores (or regrettably by using illegal programs such as LimeWire) directly onto the computer. EMI has come up with a novel approach. It is now selling the Beatles catalog on an apple-shaped USB stick.
One might think that such an innovation is pointless. After all one could always simply download the Beatles’ music from iTunes, buy their CDs, or even find illegal copies somewhere online. However, EMI’s plastic apple provides several distinct advantages. The content is quite impressive. It contains 14 albums, documentary films, photos, cover art and liner notes. The music itself is in a DRM free, lossless FLAC format and it is 24-bit, which is better than CD.
Thirty thousand of these special Beatles catalogs will come on the market on December 7th. Despite the considerable content these catalogs are expected to sell for less than $300. Overall this product is original and will satisfy any Beatles fan.
The idea of selling music-filled USB sticks is innovative and compelling. With this, one can pass on music to friends legally, and save it onto multiple computers. Whether this method will catch on or not, only time can tell.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/beatles-catalog-goes-digital-inside-a-plastic-apple/

Review: DJ Hero Celebrates Malleability of Music

We all know Guitar Hero, the game with the guitar-shaped controller and the little colored fret buttons. The developer, Activision, released eleven further versions of the game and sold over 25 million copies with a revenue of 2 billion dollars. Now Activision has come up with a whole new game: DJ Hero.

DJ Hero is out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PlayStation 2. Unlike Guitar Hero, where the purpose is to simply recite rock songs, DJ Hero is more about “mashups”, which are two songs combined together to create a unique sound.

Just like the Guitar Hero the controller is guitar shaped, the DJ Hero controller is turntable shaped. The plastic turntable comes with three buttons located where the album would be placed on a regular record player. Pressing a disk and spinning it back and forth will make the classic scratching sound. Next to the record player is a tone mixer where the player can slide and fade between tracks.

Disappointingly, the players are not really mixing the song, but simply mimicking what another DJ has already done. The player, as in Guitar Hero, is dictated what to do by so-called “rails”. Yet when the player is the middle of playing, he has the sensation as if he were actually doing the mixing himself.

DJ Hero features celebrity DJs such as Daft Punk, Grandmaster Flash and DJ Shadow. However, their cartoon versions come off rather cheesy.

In the game, there is the additional opportunity to plug in a Guitar Hero controller and play along. Sadly, the mixes give a rather cacophonous effect.

A notable success is the game’s final bonus song, whose scratching portion captures the essence of what DJ Hero is all about.

Quantity wise, the game’s 93-mix set list gives the player a large enough selection. Although the game has issues that clearly need resolution in the next version, it can provide the player with an exciting thrill of “creating” mash-ups.

The release of this game marks the entrance of DJ-ing into the music gaming world. But it is an entrance not without some question marks. Since regular DJ-ing (with record players) is already an electronic activity, DJ Hero is seeking to “game” something that is already electronic (this is different, for example, than when sports are turned into an electronic game). Whether this will come through to all the gaming public or even Guitar Hero players, is not clear. Possible, however, is that some within the public, particularly younger teenagers who have never tried real DJ-ing, just the video game imitations. Those that might get hooked on DJ Hero will get a false sense of developing a skill for true DJ-ing. Instead what they will be developing is a skill for a poor second-best. Like Guitar Hero the consequence will be a generation that plays a look-a-like when, instead, they could be playing the real thing. An alternative view is that some who try DJ Hero may become so fascinated with DJ-ing that they will try the real thing. Overall, DJ Hero’s entrance into the gaming world is a step, but into what direction?

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/10/dj-hero-review/

The Corperation's Visual Rhetoric

Michael Moore’s section is intended to persuade the audience into thinking that most corporate CEOs are not in touch with the reality of the company’s production methods. He claims that corporations are all run by white men, and that most people of the world are not in fact, white men. He interviews the Nike CEO, and asks him if he had ever visited one of his own factories. Surprisingly, he answers no. In this section, two conventions of documentary film making are used: talking heads and subtitling. Talking heads is used when Michael Moore comments on his interview. Subtitles are used to give the titles of the speaker. Overall Michael Moore effectively delivers his message by using convincing visual rhetoric.

Military Eyes Football Helmets for Battlefield Protection

Concussive blasts to soldiers’ heads are a reoccurring problem. The Department of Defense has tried to prevent, cope with and measure these blasts by adding helmet-mounted sensors or pressure sensitive crystals.

Riddell, a football helmet producing company, was contacted by the military and asked to improve the Army’s Advanced Combat Helmet. Riddell claims its dual density foam, which is used in its Revolution helmet, reduces impact magnitudes by 50 percent.

Recently, a new product has entered the helmet market: The Xenith X1. It uses a new inventive technology. 18 air-filled shock absorbers are built into the helmet cap. These shock absorbers slowly expel their air to reduce impact. Many Medical professionals think very highly of this new innovation.

This article is important because it approaches a crucial, yet unknown problem: Concussive blasts to the military soldier’s heads. With the use of some of some football helmet concussion preventing technology, fewer soldiers will return home not remembering the names of his family.

Although the Riddell Revolution and the Xenith X1 are good football helmets, this article fails to mention the best protective helmet: the Schutt ION 4D, which uses a gel layer and a air pumped foam layer to maximize helmet protection. It has won the NATA Best New Sports Equipment and Apparel category, beating out competitors like Riddell and Xenith.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/08/gridiron-gear-g/

Alpha Geek: Rocket Scientist Takes on TV for Gamers

Mary Spio has done it all. She has worked for McDonald's and Boeing. She also has done her share of leading companies: founding One2One Living and is being the current CEO of Gen2Media.

Now Mary Spio has a new target: Xbox Live. The online entertainment center has 17 million subscribers. Gaming is the most popular thing to do on the Xbox. "They're not watching American Idol or America's Got Talent," she says. "They're playing Rock Band." She says that these kids need is customized content.

Spio is planning a Xbox live show which is a cross between America's Got Talent and Rock Band, called The Verge. On e360live.com, independent artists can submit their music. Viewers and a board of professional judges will vote to pick 20 contestants to be featured on Xbox Live. There, viewers will pick their favorite artists America's Got Talent style: with back stories on the 20 finalists, which are featured in the weekly programs which lead up to a grand season finale.

This innovation is important because it shows how the media is adapting to the “Guitar Hero generation”. We have seen this sort of adaptations throughout history: with the rock and roll, hippies, rap and pop generations. Now we have just witnessed another one of these adaptations.

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-10/st_alphageek

Apple Gets OK to Keep Palm Unplugged From iTunes

The Palm Pre had been advertised as being compatible with iTunes. However now it does not seem likely that this feature will be available. Through updates of the iTune system Apple disabled the capability of the Pre to sync with iTunes. Palm complained to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) claiming that Apple was unfairly restricting trade by allowing neither Palm nor other devices to synchronize to iTunes. In response to Palm’s complaint, the USB-IF instead declared that Palm had violated the group’s membership agreement by misrepresenting the Pre as an iPod so as to connect to iTunes.
Blackberry has software that can transfer music from iTunes to the Blackberry Media player. However this software is limited to DRM-free music, which costs extra at the iTunes store. Palm might be able to develop similar software in the future. If not, Palm users will have to find alternatives to iTunes.

Your Jetpack Ride Awaits on eBay

We have heard of crazy things sold on eBay. Now, you can bid for six Jetpack flights starting at $30’000, right on eBay! Glenn Martin, the designer of the Martin Jetpack, says that after your experience, you’ll be designated a Martin Jetpack test pilot.

The Martin Jetpack was unveiled at the big AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. But the audience was disappointed to see it only hover a few feet off the ground.

Glenn Martin is trying to get his product into the tourism business. He wants tourists to have a “jetpack experience”. However such tourists could only fly 3-4 feet off the ground at a maximum of 6 mph.

Yet, the machine’s full capacity is far beyond what has been demonstrated. Glenn Martin states that the Martin Jetpack can fly 8,000 feet high 30 miles far.

For the eBay event, the jetpack’s performance will be adapted to the winner’s experience level. Any person over the age of 18 with a driver’s license and under the weight of 90 kg is eligible to participate.

What is cool?

Cool has two meanings. One relates to something having a slightly cold temperature. The other meaning is far more complex. The other cool originally played off the literal cool. It referred to someone who was laid back, maybe even a bit standoffish. However the meaning of cool has evolved. After a first change, cool came to refer to what was popular among teenagers, be it people, trends or objects. The cool kids were the popular ones who had nice cars, good looking girlfriends and a bunch of friends. In clothing there was one kind of cool style: what cool kids wore. If a cool kid said something was cool, it was cool and vice versa. However once the cool kids grew older, and new cool kids appeared on the scene, other kind of cools emerged.


Now cool is an adjective that describes being appealing to the individual who recites the word. Cool can refer to a person whose attitude, personality, actions and/or appearance appeals to you. Cool can also be used to describe an item that has certain characteristics that appeal to your individual taste. An event can also be cool by being enjoyable to your views. In colloquial speech, “it’s cool” is an assurance of peace in the context “hey, I’m sorry” and as a reply you could use “it’s cool”. Cool has changed from referring to being laid back, to now having generally positive meaning.

PlayStation 3 Slim Shaves Off Price, Not Performance

Recently, Sony released a new slim version of the PlayStation 3. The original PlayStation 3 was portrayed as a grand innovation in the gaming industry, especially in the graphics area, but was often criticized for its gargantuan size, weight and price. Sony tried to address these issues in their new PlayStation 3 Slim, while preserving its performance quality.

The price of a PlayStation 3 Slim is $300, while original one cost $600. The size of the PlayStation has been cut to a minimum. Its 6.8 pounds make it approximately 36 percent lighter than original. Its energy usage has also changed a sizable amount: due to a new 45nm Cell processor, the new PS3 uses 96.24 watts, instead of 206.90 watts on the original model. The highly vexing sensitive power and eject controls have been replaced with real, mechanical buttons. Now you can bitstream, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, due to the new HDMI chipset. However the Slim loses two USB ports and card readers, which were infrequently used anyway. Another negative is that there is no compatibility for PS2 games, nor can you run another Operating Server, such as Macintosh or Linux. Although the PlayStation 3 Slim has a new processor and other slight differences, they have closely identical start up times.

In comparison to its competitor, the Xbox 360 Elite, for the same price, the PlayStation 3 Slim has built-in Wi-Fi, and a high performance Blu-ray player. But in matters of online gaming, Xbox 360 with its Xbox Live has the upper hand. PlayStation 3’s PlayStation Home is still not quite at the level that Xbox Live is.

Overall, the PlayStation 3 Slim is a new and improved version of the original PlayStation 3. Its smaller lighter and cheaper, but performance-wise there were no big changes.



http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_ps3_slim

Viacom's Companies

• BET NETWORKS

• MTV NETWORKS

• ATOMFILMS

• ADDICTINGGAMES

• CMT

• COMEDY CENTRAL

• NEOPETS

• NICKELODEON

• SHOCKWAVE

• TV LAND

• VH1

• PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORP

• ATOMFILMS

• ADDICTINGGAMES

• CMT

• COMEDY CENTRAL

• NEOPETS

• NICKELODEON

• SHOCKWAVE

• TV LAND

• VH1

• PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORP

Disembowel Your eyeball germs

What is in a contact lens cleaning solution? Let’s find out!
Dymed- An antimicrobial agent that rips the guts out of bacteria,
Hydranate- Prevents mucus molecules to cloud your vision
Boric Acid- a pH buffer (Which has been declared by the government as an infant killing poison)
Edetate Disodium- that prevents metallic ions from reacting with the lens
Poloxamine- traps lipids so they can be washed away (also used in gene therapy for carrying DNA)
Sodium Borate- A pH buffering agent (also found in the dust in Death Valley)
Sodium Chloride- Regulates the fluids to prevent the lens from drying out

Novel Comparison

Both Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 have dissatisfied protagonists who live in dystopic civilizations. Both dystopias are carefully planned out to become a utopia-like society. However, both societies restrict their citizens very strictly. In Fahrenheit 451, people are prohibited from reading books, and if found guilty of reading or possessing one, you are severely punished by getting your house burnt down. Brave New World has several restrictions that the authority implements on their people. First of all, there is one inescapable restriction, which is the conditioning. In this world, if you live in civilization, from birth you are “conditioned” to blindly obey and respect the authority, no questioning. In both dystopias, there are “cures” for unhappiness: the parlor from Fahrenheit 451, feelies in Brave New World, and more strongly the soma also used in Brave New World.
Guy Montag, Bernard Marx, and John Savage are all unhappy in their dystopic societies. These protagonists blame their unhappiness on what they don’t have. The governments in both novels withhold information from the public. In Brave New World there are no books from before Henry Ford’s time, and in Fahrenheit 451, all books in general are banned. In Brave New World , they aren’t allowed to settle down with one person from the opposite sex. You also don’t get to know your family, for there are no families. Love is a foreign word. They don’t feel free under this government restriction, so they both go to seek out answers.

Authority's Restriction on Our Freedom

In our society, we are limited to follow the authority. Although we are capable of rebelling against it, there are consequences to our actions. Some could say that this denies us of our freedom of choice, that we as human beings are allowed to do however they so please. This is just nonsense, people that say things like this are usually plaintive in all aspects of life and are generally unhappy. They believe that their personal freedom is higher ranked than the freedom of society. Freedom is a controversial term, for people can do many things in the name of freedom. What some people don’t realize that restricting freedom is not always bad, Freedom isn’t always good. Our government restricts us on what we say, what we write, what we wear and what we show. These are all limitations of our freedom. But we need to ask ourselves, why does the government restrict us? Is it because they are an evil corporation that want to exploit us as their minions, or do they do so because it is necessary for maintaining peace and to increase citizen satisfaction. The restrictions are for our own good, that’s why government systems are present around the world, because without them, chaos would rule, which would diminish every ounce of freedom that we possess. We should be grateful that our government does such a great job at giving us so much freedom and still manages to fairly maintain order.