Terms & Conditions = Don't Read, Scroll Down & Accept

So what are Terms & Conditions? Well, here's a Wikipedia definition for you: Terms of service (commonly abbreviated as ToS or TOS^[1] and also known as Terms of Use, Terms & Conditions) are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Terms of Service can also be referred to as Terms of Use or sometimes merely a Disclaimer, especially regarding the use of websites. (Click here if you feel enthusiastic and want to read more.)

We all know the importance of a legitimate contract, and that if we agree to it then we must abide by it. This is also the case with terms and conditions, although we don't really take it as seriously or as conciously as the traditional and more formal contract.

This then makes me wonder; my younger brother is 15 years old and has a Facebook account, his age means that he does not have the contractual capacity to fulfil a contract (Under 18), making a contract/agreement void? Right? Maybe not, after doing a bit of research; Facebooks Help page clearly inidcates that anyone can sign up to Facebook, from the of 13. If anyone found under the age of 13 creates a Facebook and their profiles get found out, they will be deleted.

So maybe the terms and conditions aren't as limited, in terms of age capacity as are formal contracts. I guess in terms of social media, terms and conditions are simply an agreement to abide by the rules. That doesn't mean that you should not read them (You must watch the video above if you haven't). Keep reading on and I will explain why.

Come on, we are all guilty of signing up to something and not even reading a word of the terms & conditions. I mean, whats the point? It's just a load of text that doesn't really matter and can potentially come back and haunt us in the future...

WHAT??? SERIOUSLY???? NO WAY??? Of course not, unless the information you've shared becomes credible in the future and the material you've shared on sites such as Facebook and Twitter become profitable, then yes. (PLEASE CLICK HERE, PRETTY PLEASE)

We will take Facebook owned photo sharing app Instagram as a prime example. Recently, there was huge controversy over the new terms & conditions that Instagram had published. These terms & conditions had implications of giving Instagram the right to all images uploaded to be commercially used without identification.

For those of you who only use Instagram to take pictures of food, you probably don't care. But some people upload valuable art, pictures with high sentimental value and images they just don't want anyone else to have or see!

Instagram however apologised and reassured the interested public that they were not to use their photos, despite losing a big percentage of their users.

The moral of the story is that; terms & conditions are basically similar to a contract, and if you are not aware of the important tiny details then you are responsible for agreeing to something which you do not actually agree to. (BUT YOU DID!)

So be careful and READ the terms & conditions!

We Are Being Stalked AND Protected?

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Over the years, as technology has advanced and privacy has become more and more exposed; we are in the age of surveillance. In this day and age, we are surrounded by cameras in almost every public place we go to. Yes, it is to reduce crime and to gather evidence of potential or already executed criminal acts but does it not make you weary knowing that you are being watched? Or do you just not think about it as much as I do and walk in public without a care in the world?

According to >>THIS <<  article in the Guardian that I came across, the increase in CCTV is a waste of money and is impotent in the act of penetrating crime. Fair enough, CCTV is still pretty effective but are we putting too much emphasis and money into surveillance? Maybe that money would come useful in other security measures? But then again, we are Britain. We are financially immature, spending money we DON'T have on things we DON'T need: 'Hello Afghanstian, do you like our weapons? We've been sent here to look mean with our big toys, be afraid. Grrrr!'.

If you have £200 in your bank account, with bills to pay and other costs to cover; it doesn't make sense spending £195 on a Michael Kors watch, does it? LOGIC.

Another question which comes to mind when thinking about the world riddled with CCTV - Is it ethical? Take a look at the video below.

I personally think that we have enough surveillance and should invest elsewhere. My favorite piece of advice is: 'Too much of anything is bad for you'. - In the battle of Man V Technology, man wins. Sorry, that was meant to be funny.

iPhone, iPad... iRobot?

 

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Today we have  revolutionary gadgets such as iPods, iPads and Iphones, a few examples. These devices have been highly successful in the market and consumers have made a huge demand for more, in terms of additional features as well as upgrades and more products. What this does is make the product developers and inventors to think outside of the box and create something original. For example, mobile phones used to be basic devices with just numbered buttons to make calls. Look at mobile devices now, they have everything. Can you imagine your mobile device being able to talk back to you and interact with you in several different ways? Well it's in the process, Siri from Apple is a prime example.

With every piece of technology you must understand that science is always involved, in one way or another.

Take a look at this video..

 

She's pretty hot right? I'm kidding, that's not the point. The point is that she's a robot, looks like a human and can even speak! No, I do not intend on asking her out, just because she looks like a lady it does not actually make her one.. Make IT one even.

After seeing this video you probably have a few thoughts running through your mind, right? Hopefully not any inappropriate ones! 

One of these thoughts should beg the question 'What effect can these humanoids have upon society and the world as a whole?' -  Well, They may take our jobs, may even start taking control of our domestic roles, may reduce fertility rates and eventually it will be deemed as ethical to marry a Humanoid. It is most certainly an ethical risk, a social risk and what if these robots become unresponsive or corrupt? Then it becomes a global risk and puts our entire human race at risk. 

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Do we need Humanoids? No we do not, Science needs to stop trying to be something it does not believe in, GOD. We have enough technology to just about keep us sane, any more and we'll all lose ourselves in a technological fantasy.

I personally believe that there is no positive outcome within the creation of Humanoids. It is not a joke; if a Humanoid race was starting to form I would kill myself, before they kill me. Computers are enough, that's as far as I'll go, a computer that I can look at and use as I do today. I do not want to be surrounded by a computer that can look at me and one that may be molested by some sick pervert. I do not need a Humanoid that can look after my children, sleep with my wife and do all my work for me, because these are compulsory aspects of life, why we live! If we take away our lives and give them to robots then we will have nothing left. Even the scientists will be inferior to their own creation, let's not go there.

Technology: Autobots Or Decepticons?

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For those of you who are not familiar with Autobots or Decepticons, they are Transformer machines. Autobots are the good machines who save the world and make our lives easier and Decepticons are evil machines who do the opposite. We all have an Autobot that we can rely on, but it is common to be burdened with a Decepticon, especially in this day and age (Even though they are becoming more powerful and successful overtime).

Before I begin I would like to link you to my previous blog post which will give you a further insight into this argument about good vs evil technology. Good technology (Autobot) let's me take you there instantly. Don't believe me? Well, click here! (Now that's a good Autobot!) ... You should be on the right page now, if not then my Autobot may have switched allegiances and become a Decepticon. If the page does successfully load, please give it a read before reading this post further on.

 

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Technology can be great, sometimes even flawless and second to none but it can also be your worst enemy! I remember when I was back in school during my GCSEs and I had literally an hour to submit my final ICT coursework draft. I had spent sleepless nights on my work, sacrificed my social life and even dumped my girlfriend at the time. I did make several copies and back ups on my work, they were on my memory stick and computer. My school was literally around the corner so I had enough time to save my work and get to school on time. Just as I was about to save my work, the screen went blue and my computer automatically restarted. It would not successfully boot, but that was fine because I had my work on my memory stick (Hurrah!). Enthusiastically I told my teacher I had the work finished and would show him. I plugged my USB into the port and there was a 'drive error'. I unplugged and then replugged to find out that my memory stick was corrupted and had nothing on it! The Decepticon had won this battle and made me fail my coursework!

I am certain that I am not the only victim of the weaknesses some technological devices possess. There are many cases where technology has ruined lives, for example: Cyber bullying, gambling machines, virus riddled computers and even Facebook! (The amount of times I have been dumped because of Facebook is laughable.)

Scarily enough, technology and humans are becoming more similar every day! We humans have flaws, just like technology. But it is our imperfections which make us beautiful!

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Beautiful technology, take this mobility scooter for example. My grandfather (god rest his soul) had one of these mobility scooters and it made him a very happy man. He was in his mid 80s and unable to walk, and get from A-Z, he was the type of person who liked to do things by himself. He loved his grandchildren and loved treating them to food and gifts as much as possible. The mobility scooter allowed him to go and buy food for my little cousins when they were hungry, when him and my grandmother fell out over the television remote, it allowed him to go out and clear his head and the last time I saw him before his death was on his mobility scooter going to eat lunch. 

Technology has also given us the ability to capture moments through video and photos, and to see family from the other side of the world through Skype and webcams which allow us to vocally communicate as well. The downside of a really good digital camera for example is the rocketing prices, but the moments it captures are priceless right?

I won't baffle on too much, I think you get the idea. Here's a video for you to watch.