How to buy the right laptop or PC

There are many things you need to consider before buying a PC laptop. You can’t just but the one you think looks the best. It needs to be suited to your particular needs. The first question that students must ask themselves is will I get a PC or a laptop? I would definitely say a laptop. One of the main reasons for this is size. First of all many students would be moving away from home to go to college and they can’t be bringing down a big huge computer especially when they are most likely going to e sharing accommodation which itself probably won’t be very spacious. For this course I also think that it is important that the students have a laptop because again I think size is an important deciding factor. Many students bring their laptops to and from college and it needs to be fairly compact in that situation then.

An obvious factor of course when choosing a laptop is price. Being a student you don’t have much money so the top of line laptop is out of the question. As mention previously the size is important because you will be bringing you laptop everywhere with you so there is the possibility of it getting quite battered along the way.  However getting the cheapest one too is also not a great idea. For this course you are constantly researching or working on assignments and so can’t afford for your laptop to be always breaking down on you. So I would suggest a good quality one that is not likely to breakdown but not so good that you’re taking out a loan to get one.

The next question is though what kind of laptop? There are so many out there today how does one even begin choosing the one that will suit them. First of all you must consider what exactly you need the laptop for. For example with this course it is essential that the laptop has Microsoft Word or if not that it is able to have Microsoft Word. With this course you will be doing many presentations and powerpoints so you will need to take into consideration the RAM as you may need multiple programmes open at once.

For this course one of the modules deals with design and graphics and although it is not essential that you have it I would recommend a laptop that can download the Adobe programmes such as photoshop. You want to be able to work on your work where ever you are not just in college. But being able to work in college with your laptop is important too. But you must take into consideration the batter size. It is likely that you won’t always be able to charge your laptop in college as there may not be enough plugs so it is important then that your laptop has a long battery life.

I feel it is an obvious factor but an essential one none the less. The internet. I’m sure most laptops now come with the ability to connect to the internet but it is something you must check before buying. For this course it is essential that you can connect to the internet. Many lecturers put their notes up online or will ask you to submit work or assignments online. It is also important for research purposes. Some of your modules especially that of design and ICT make require you to do your work online and sometimes it is just not convenient to be working from college. Another obvious it that it be easy to use. You are going to be spending most of your time on it and doing most if not all of your college work and assignments on it. You can’t afford to be spending all your time figuring out how to open a programme or get something started.  For this reason I also recommend a PC laptop not a Mac unless you are actually used to dealing with them. Personally I find them very hard to use and not easy to figure out either.      

Article - Cyberbullying

Bullying, a deliberate and repeated aggression among peers, usually confined to the schoolyard but as the world of ICT has expanded so too has bullying. Bullying using computer mediated communication is known as cyberbullying. It is defined as hurtful and intended forms of communication using any technological device such as the internet or a mobile phone. Unfortunately as the technological world is expanding so too are the methods for bullying. Cyberbullying is becoming more common than regular bullying. It is a lot more appealing as the bullies can hide behind fake names or even use someone else’s screen name.

Cyberbullying is now an emerging universal issue. A nationwide random survey with 1500 participants showed that 9% of internet users between the ages of 10-17 have experienced online harassment. Results from a survey of 384 people under 18 years of age stated that 29% of participants had been victims of online bullying and a staggering 47% had witnessed online bullying.

The forms of online bullying include, being ignored, disrespected, called names, being threatened and having bad rumors spread about them. These studies show the extent that cyberbullying has grown and that it is distinguishing itself from traditional bullying. It differs from traditional bullying because it violates three implicit assumptions of traditional bullying: The victims know who their bully is, there is a power imbalance between the victim and the bully and bullying occurs on and around school grounds. Anonymity plays a big role in the reason for cyberbullying being so appealing. It provides a means of safety for the bully and a much greater chance of getting away with it.

In both cases of bullying it is centres around power. In traditional bullying power is associated with physical or social characteristics, in cyberbullying power is associated with computer literacy. The bully uses flaming, posting inflammatory messages and kicking someone out of a bulletin board. Gender also seems to be an important role in understanding the experiences of both cyber and traditional bullying. However the studies done on the significance of it are inconsistent. A final study in 2006 though did show no gender difference was noted in being of victim of either type of bullying but that more male students reported being a traditional bully or cyberbully. Therefore the main goal for the present study at the time of the article was to explore adolescents’ cyberbullying experiences by clarifying their links to traditional bullying with respect to gender.

But also regardless of gender differences, the relationships between being a cybervictim and cyberbully are significant and much stronger than the relationships between cyber and traditional bullying. This result suggests that the same adolescents who are victims are also bullies in cyber-environments. For both male and female students the results showed that being a bully in cyber and physical environments were correlated, but being a victim in cyber and traditional environments were not. The largest gender differ­ences for both cyber-victimization and cyberbullying were found for traditional bullies. For female students, there are no significant differences in cyberbullying or victimization among the four levels of traditional bullying. However, male students who reported being a traditional bully are more likely to report experiences of cyberbullying. Thus, the gender of students should be considered when examining the relationship between tradi­tional bullying and cyberbullying.

I found this article very interesting because it contrasted to the other article that I found in the benefits of Facebook. Essentially I don’t think that you can have pros without cons and these two articles show that. The role that anonymity plays in all this really interests me too. It brought me back to what you would always here about a bully actually being the bigger coward.  

Link to this article: http://nms.sagepub.com/content/12/1/109.full.pdf+html

Article - The benefits of Facebook

This article by Nicole B Ellison, Charles Steinfield and Cliff Lample looks at the benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook, Friendster and MySpace. It examines how these sites essentially boost social capital. Social capital refers to the connections within and between social networks centred around the idea that social networks have value. There are many benefits of a high social capital such as lower crime rates and more efficient financial markets. The research done for this article also found that Facebook usage had a positive impact on psychological well being. It provided greater benefits for those suffering from low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.

Social networking sites allow people to maintain connections with others. There are also many different types which can be centred around work, romance or a place for connecting those with shared interests. This article however deals with Facebook which allows us to interact with our offline friends online or meet new people. It was originally created to connect those at university in America but now has more than 21 million members worldwide. Although Facebook receives much negativity about privacy issues and identity presentation during the study for this article however it was shown that Facebook use among college students was significantly associated with measures of social capital. There were two hypothesis’ posed in this article the first being that,

 “Intensity of Facebook use will be positively associated with individuals’ perceived bridging social capital”.

 The internet provides vast new ways of communication to keep in touch with those whom we have strong ties with. It is also a way to connect with other people which you would not have the opportunity to do if it were not for the internet and social networking sites like Facebook. It is these connections that result in an increased social capital. In fact a 2006 survey reported that people who used the internet were more likely to have a larger network of close ties to those who did not use the internet. However as online and offline connections are relatively the same on Facebook it is unclear how social capital can occur in this situation. A second hypothesis was then proposed,

 “Intensity of Facebook use will be positively associated with individuals’ perceived bonding social capital”.

Online social network sites have become increasingly popular for those who have difficulties forming and maintaining strong or weak ties. Studies have shown that these sites can help those to form ties because the can lower barriers to interaction and encourage self-disclosure. To test this hypothesis the Facebook intensity scale was created (see tables in article). It was found that there was definitely a positive relationship between certain kinds of Facebook use and the maintenance and creation of social capital. Internet use alone did not predict social capital accumulation, but intensive use of Facebook did.

Link to this article : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x/full 

Work from Photoshop

Hope these help!

Heres some websites i thought might be helpful, the first i think will be the most, its a site that helps with Refrencing
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/

Simon's Cat 'Cat Man Do'

I know i already posted the url for this but i then realised i could have the actual video in a post and its just so amazing it deserves lots of attention!!

Dora the Explorer

Since starting college i've been given a few nick names one of which is Dora. Dora has now grown on me so I decided to blog about her as all my other blogs seem to be me moaning about something so thought this would be a nice change.

Dora has been a regular tv series since 2000. In every episode Dora goes on an exciting exploration in order to find something or help someone. Dora's best friend is Boots the monkey he acompanies Dora on most of her trips and helps her to solve clues and puzzels. However it's not all fun and games, skulking around the corner is Swiper the sneaky fox he always tries to swipe key items that will help Dora on her quest, thankfully most of the time Dora and Boots catche him before he can swipe it. Another good friend of Doras is Isa the Iguana, Boots best friend. The three of them along with Tico the squirell and Benny Bull they have many fun adventures while also teaching us some spanish :) Basically she's just amazing!!!!!
Adios Amigos

The dreaded 75

Up untill now i made it my job to avoid the 75, id scab a lift somewhere or beg someone to give me a lift. But now the 75 bus controls my life. I get it 5 days a week goin to and from college and now also at the weekends to get to work. It wouldnt be so bad if i wasnt travelling too far but to get to college i get off at one of the last stops and work is just a few stops before that. It also controls what should be my "relaxing" time as the 75 is the only bus from my area that goes to Dundrum so with the 75 involved relaxing time becomes not so relaxing time. It leaves the terminis every half an hour, even at peak times!!!!! Dont even get me stared on sunday times. Every hour and a half!!
I will always ever be really late or really early for college, its rediculous! To make sure i dont miss my bus i always leave my house the time the bus leaves even though it takes 20 minutes to get to me but any day i try leave after i always somehow miss it and then im left waitin about 40 minutes for the next one.
http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/75/

Spelling

Oh spelling.... the bane of my life!! I apologise now for any mistakes i may make or already have made. Spelling has NEVER been my strong point. And now I'm in college I plan on typing everything so spell check all the way, WoooooHoooo. Apologies again.

XFactor

It’s that time of year again where Saturday nights are temporarily put on hold and Monday morning classes, staffrooms and chat rooms are filled with chat about the amazing and some not so amazing acts the judges put through to the next round. After weeks of amusing, exciting and crazy auditions 200 or so acts get put through to boot camp where they must fight for a place in the final 12.

This year however proved to be one of the most exciting and shocking series. For starters Judge Dannii Minogue was pregnant during the first stage auditions and therefore a number of guest judges filled in for her, these included spice girl Geri Halliwel, Pixie Lott, Natalie Imbruglia, Katy Perry and Nicole Scherzinger who filled in for Cheryl Cole after she was diagnosed with Maleria and headed to boot camp with Simon and Louis.

 Boot Camp itself also held it’s surprised for the contestants. Not only would the contestants have to sing their way to the judges houses but would now also have to learn a dance routine to perform in front of the judges. Another change was the age limit, the group normally know as “the over 25’s” would now be the over 28’s it was also decided that 8 acts would now be sent to the judges houses instead of the usual 6, a relief to all contestants as they all now had a slightly bigger chance of going through. After the 8 acts for the Boys and Girls category had been chosen many walked with shattered dreams, however there was another twist 4 girls and 5 boys were called back out to the judges to be informed that they weren’t good enough on their own but were too good to be let go and so they were given the choice if they would like to be put through as groups.

Judges Houses

The Boys: Aiden Grimshaw, Matt Cardle, Paige Richardson, Nicola Festa, Tom Richards, Karl Brown, Marlon McKenzie and John Wilding                                                                                                             Judge: Dannii Minogue

The Girls: Gamu Nhengu, Keri Arrindell, Trayc Cohen, Katie Waissel and Cher Lloyd,  Anastasia Baker, Rebecca Ferguson and Raquel Thomas                                                                                                                                                               Judge: Cheryl Cole

The Groups: F.Y.D, Twem, Belle Amie, Princes and Rogues, One Direction, Diva Fever, Husstle and The Reason                                                                                                                                                      Judge: Simon Cowell

The Over 28’s: Justin Vanderhyde, Stephen Hunter, Mary Byrne, John Adeleye, Storm Lee, Elesha Moses and Wagner Carrilho and Yuli Minguel                                                                                                                                                                Judge: Louis Walsh

The Irish

This year’s final 12 plays host to 3 irish contestants. Mary Byrne from Ballyfermit who is in Louis Over 28’s,  Rebecca Creighton from Tallaght and Niall Horan from Mullingar who were both given a second chance in boot camp when they were asked along with 7 other hopefuls who had been called back to the stage and were given the opportunity to go onto the judges houses as groups. Personally I don’t see the newly formed groups going far in the competition but would gladly be proved wrong, however I give Mary my full support and can see her going a long way.

                 

Wild Card

We’ve FINALLY reached the live shows and they have brought perhaps the biggest twist of all a “wild card”. This is something never seen before on xfactor in which each judge is allowed to bring back to the competition one of their final 12. It wasn’t the well best secret but a very exciting one. Louis brought back Wagner, not a good choice i thought but as it was Louis it didn’t surprise me. Simons choice on the other hand did surprise me, he brought back Diva Fever although I love them and always enjoy their performance I wouldn’t call them amazing singers or see them as the next big thing in the music industry, something I thought would be the deciding factors for Simon when choosing his wild card. Dannii chose to bring back Paige Richardson and Cheryl brought back Trayc Cohen.

Final 16

After weeks of auditions and after many tears and forgotten words and much controversy mainly centred around Cheryls choices we now have our final 16. The Over 28’s, Mary Byrne, Wagner Carrilho Storm Lee and John  Adeleye. The Groups, One Direction, F.Y.D and Belle Amie. The Boys, Aiden Grimshaw, Matt Cardle, Paige Richardson and Nicola Festa. The Girls, Trayc Cohen, Katie Waissel and Cher Lloyd and Rebecca Ferguson.

The Live Shows

Saturday 9^th October kicked off the beginning of the live shows with the 16 finalists singing for a place in next week’s show. The theme was number ones. I felt many of the acts were given really bad songs that did not show off the contestants’ real talent. I for one am not a fan of Nicolo Festa but I feel that Dannii’s song choice for him was his downfall and let to him being kicked off the show much earlier than he deserved. I originally was shocked by Nicolos first audition expecting him to be mediocre if anything but when he sang “a song for you” I was pleasantly surprised and expected him to go far. Another act I was disappointed with was Cher’s. Once again I feel it was the song she was singing, it did nothing to show off her voice. It wasn’t all disappointments though, I had been really looking forward to Mary and Aiden and was not let down. I loved Marys performance of “mans world” it was a fantastic song choice, I couldn’t take my eyes off her and her voice gave my goosebumps, throughout the show I looked forward to seeing her and now cant wait to see her again next week. Aiden was also far from a disappointment, I’ve loved him from his first audition although he does make some strange facial expressions when he sings there is no doubting that he has raw talent. Another person who really stood out and was for me was one of the best of the night was trayc choen and not only would she have been performing extremely nervous as she had to wait around because she was the last act to perform but she also had the added pressure of being a wild card and needed to prove that she deserved to be there and she definitely proved that. Her version of “you’ve got the love” was fantastic, Trayc is definitely going to be on our screens for many weeks to come.

The Results Show

Week One: Week one saw two contestants being eliminated with the act with the least votes being eliminated immediately leaving the next two acts to battle for a place in next weeks show with a final sing off. This week saw Nicolo being the contestant with the least amount of votes and therefore was immediately eliminated. F.Y.D and Katie then faced a sing-off. As usual after the performances the judges then got a chance to save an act of their choice. Obviously Simon and Cheryl saved F.Y.D and Katie as they were their acts. Both acts fate was then placed in the hands of Danni and Louis who both chose to save Katie therefore eliminating F.Y.D much to my disappointment as I cant stand Katie.

i dont know wat to write...its just so AWESOME

Words cant describe my appreciation for the creator of this....pure GENIUS so please witness for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4

This is just one of many.... Enjoy :)