Final Exam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZhCY9FF608

1. The way Google Living Search approaches the news differently is that they set it up in a way that it is constantly updated. They have the timeline for people to look at and they can read the parts that interest them instead of having to read the whole article and maybe getting nothing out of it that they wanted. They unify coverage on a single page with a consistent URL and they organize information by developments in the story. They also call your attention to changes in the story since the last time you viewed the page so you can easily find new material.

2. I think that this approach is trying to reduce bias in the news, but I'm not sure that it will because they are only pulling information from certain news groups. When you are getting information from only certain places it is hard to make it unbias. They are getting information from more than one source but these sources all seem to have the same view on the subject matters. I think that as the project develops more than it will become less bias.

3. I don't think there is really anything Google needs to add to their pages. I think that they sort of already have to much going on in one place. They need to make it more organized. It isn't hard to follow what is going on on the page but there is a lot going on and if it was a little more organized it may be easier to follow and look at everything.

Screencasting Final Project

Here is my screencasting for the final project. I did mine on women's softball-rules, regulations, history, and different games plans that can be used.

Check it Out! :)
Screencasting Presentation

Black Friday

I did not go shopping on Black Friday, but my mom did go out and she said there were people everywhere. There was one shopper who completly skipped Thanksgiving to sit outside Best Buy to get whatever deal was inside.

I think that there are good deal on Black Friday and I did hear about some of them and see them in the ads. I saw a newsreport that had exectutives from Toys R Us and Macy's. They said that all their inventory was out on Black Friday and if it wasn't there when shoppers arrived it was gone and there would not be anymore of that item before Christmas. Stores such as Macy's and Toys R Us are cutting back on purchases this year because of the economy. They are not buying as many of products to sell to buyers.

Online shopping does seem more effective because you do not have to go to the stores and risk getting into the fights that happen on Black Friday or wait in the horrible lines. Also there are sometimes sales online that are not in stores. A friend of mine said she bought a whole series of books from Barnes and Noble for $35 online and it was $65 in the store, shipping and handling was also free. So if you look there are also deals that happen online that aren't in stores.

Pros of online shopping are no lines, and less comotion. Also you can shop in the comfort of your home and not worry about all the crazy shoppers at stores. The cons of shopping online consists of not getting some of the deals that are in stores, and your gifts maybe no arriving on time. Also a lot of sites may charge for shipping and handling and if you buy the wrong size it is harder to return.