Google Translate

It looks like the theme for the week is all about Google. Not to disappoint my blog is about yet another tool this powerful resource has to offer. Not all websites are in English, but just because they're not in English doesn't mean that we can't read and enjoy the content. Google has an excellent tool to translate any web page into English or Spanish or Czech or any of the major languages spoken throughout the world. While there may be minor errors in exact translation by all accounts this is a useful tool for those attempting to expand their horizons and see what others have to say even if it's not in their own language. This site allows you to translate text or an entire web page. I translated our blog from English to Spanish and although I'm not completely bi-lingual from what I could understand the translation was about 95% accurate.

Not only will it translate pages that you supply, you can search for pages in other languages by a specific topic. Basically Google translates your query into another language and returns all matches, similar to if you had just went to Google.com and entered a search term. Not only does it find pages that match in another language it translates it back to English. No more language barriers. How cool is that?? If your interested in a specific language translation hover your mouse over the translated text and the translation pops up in a window. Who knows, you may even be able to teach yourself a second language with this tool. One limitation I did find is that it couldn't translate embedded images, but hey use your imagination!

There's also a gadget you can add to your own toolbar to instantly translate any page. What will they think of next??

Here's an elearning Blog that was originally in Spanish but I used Google Translate to get it in English Spanish Blog

If you run into a page that's not in your primary language, have no fear Google Translate is here (I know it's kind of cheesy but it fit ;~) Check it out here http://translate.google.com/

School shooting in Finland

Finland is a small and safe nordic country. It has a reputation of dynamic business opportunities with low crime rate and only minor drug use. The social welfare system and society are designed to quarantee everyone equal opportunities in terms of education, employment, health care and retirement. Also the direct democracy offers people a chance to participate in decision making. All and all the country is a wonderful place to live.
This is true especially for me. As I have been away for a long time the image of my home country as described before has been tattooed in my mind.

However, the image of a Nordic haven has shattered in the light of recent events. There was a school shooting in a high school of a small rural town in the beginning of this week. A young 22-yeard old male student shot 11 people , shot himself and died in a hospital a few hour later.

The whole county is in shock. There has not been a single school shooting in the history until a year ago when a similar tragic even took place last year. The severity of the situation might not feel as terrifying for most people, as such acts of violence unfortunately happen all the time around the world.

However for me as a Finnish citizen this is a terrible thing to witness. The thought on my mind shared with the 5,2 million other citizens is; How has our society changed in a direction where young people are depressed and expresses their desperation in such horrifying way.
Both the Finland shootings followed the same pattern as the unfortunate shooting at Virginia Tech. a few years back. Both murders in Finland included violent YouTube videos prior to the shootings and a quiet and introverted young man, who had no criminal record, no previous violent activities or drug use and no diagnosed depression or mental disorders.

I have a really difficult time understanding what brings young people to the state, where they feel as though suicide and hurting others is the only way out. My common sense tells me that a person who has healthy and meaningful human relationships, interpersonal communication and feels and receives empathy does not act in this way.

Isolation from the world that happens around you is a scary thought. I realize that this is can not be the sole reason for the violent acts of the few, but I have a reason to believe that lack of real human interaction (which has been the case in all of the cases I have mentioned)drives people to desperate spheres. As people are consumed more and more by the virtual worlds, simulation games and web communities, a certain ability to feel human connections and develop real relationships where people care for one another and develop emotions disappears.

I notice myself that I spend a great amount of time on my laptop and in the internet. I do mostly education related things, keep up with innovations in the field, read world news and interact with my friends on social networking sites. Sometimes in the evening I sadly notice that I have spent more time of the day on my computer than interacting with my significant other who lives with me or any of my other friends.

For myself I am not worried about the use of the computer, as for me it is not aproblem to shut it off. In fact usually look forward to being able to walk away from it to enjoy my real life. However, I can only imagine what the empty black screen of a shut down computer must feel like for a person, who lives most of their days in the surreal world created by web applications, online videos, movies and games all accompanied with the quiet humming of the computer. As the computer shuts down, their world disapprears and leaves them in a vast emptiness.

I know this is not the cause of the problem, but as the internet and its many uses take over a great chunk of our time,we sometimes forget what is actually important. Turn the damn computer off, and go enjoy the world and life that happens around you, right now.

The End of IP Addresses?

As the majority of our discussions on this blog relate to the Internet, it seemed necessary to discuss the issue of vanishing IPs. According to Vint Cerf, a main developer in creating the Internet, the Internet protocol addresses (IPs) days are numbered.

In 1977, Vint Cerf and his colleagues created the web using the IPv4 system. The IPv4 system uses 32 binary numbers that create a unique number which allows Internet devices to communicate with each other. However, the fast expansion of devices and an increase in Internet consumption has decreased the current amount of IP addresses. Current figures that the Internet will run out of IP addresses in 2010. Cerf recommends that current Internet users should transfer to a new system, the IPv6 system which uses 128 binary numbers. Here is the full article.

First Android Phone Coming to T-Mobile "Soon"

Android is a new operating system for phones that is being developed by Google. The phone is an open source project, like Linux, which will allow users and developers to change the code on the phone. This is a departure from the regularly locked down software in cellphones, such as Windows Mobile and iPhone. The goal is to make it so programs can run on an android phone and are interoperable. This could make it so Web 2.0 applications work on more phones and in the same manner. Engadget has a write up on it here.