Penalties for illegally downloading music

Everybody knows the penalties for illegally download music, but why do people still do it? Music is available to purchase on the internet and also on itunes. Although illegally downloading music is easy to get away with, the consequences, if caught, are outrageous! On June 18, a 32 year old lady in Minnesota was caught downloading music and was fined $80,000 for each song. Even though she only had 24 songs, she had to pay a total of $1.9 million. Even though I agree that illegally downloading music is wrong and is technically stealing, i strongly disagree with the consequences. I feel that whoever is in charge should stop the downloading at the source and not penalize people so much for downloading. To be honest, I would still be downloading music if i wouldn't get my internet taken away by the school.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/18/minnesota.music.download.fine/

Mac or PC

Now that I am in college, everybody i see is always using a laptop. The debate arises several times a week... what is better, a mac or a pc? I have always had a pc and find them much easier to use than a mac, but I seem to be in the minority here at school. Everybody seems to think that Macs are much easier to use than PCs and are much faster. I have never owned a mac so I feel that nothing can get easier than a PC. The Mac commercials have basically turned the mac/pc debate into a competition. I'm not sure which one is faster, cheaper, or better, but since I am more comfortable with a pc I think I would always go with that and not a mac. Which one would you choose?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/reviews/4258725.html

Evolution of social networking

I feel that everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY has a Facebook now and relies on it for just about everything. Social networking has never seemed so popluar as it is today, and I feel that people are becoming less and less social in face to face conversations. When I was younger, the only way of online communicating that i was aware of was AOL instant messenger, Yahoo messenger, and of course e-mail. Eventually it turned to myspace when I was in middle school and in the beginning years of high school. Then Facebook came around and was all the rage. Everybody got a facebook and that was the end of actual live conversation. Even phone calls aren't popluar anymore, everyone just uses text messaging. The most recent of these communicating tools online is Skype, which is the closest to actual conversation, and is actually very useful when communicating with somebody who is not within talking distance. Social networking sites have come a long way in the past decade from email and blogging to video conversations, but I feel that they are taking away peoples' abilities to hold a face-to-face conversation.

http://www.sociableblog.com/2009/05/20/evolution-of-social-networking-sites/

iphone popularity

Tonight at dinner, a conversation between two of my friends arose about how each of them liked their iphones. This conversation made me wonder what the appeal to the iphone was compared to other high tech phones. I have never used an iphone in depth so I'm not very familiar with the apps or other programs that are available for them. To me, the iphone seems no more high tech or any better than a phone such as the blackberry. I have been told that what makes the iphone so much better than all the other phones are its features that other phones don't have. Features like a touch screen, Google map, weather, notes, and what seems to be an endless amount of games that are available for free or for purchase. The fact that the screen on the iphone basically takes up the whole phone is also very appealing. It's not like any of the other phones that have small screens, this screen makes it very easy to see everything. Another pleasing feature of the iphone is that everything is so easily accessible. Every application, contact, or song is right at your fingertips and can be reached with one touch of the screen. After reading about the iphone and being shown all of the features, it is easy to see the appeal in them over any other phone. They are basically computers, mp3 players, and phones all in one device.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4060195/Broad-Appeal-Of-iPhone-Applications-iPhones-are-one-of-the

Could Wii Fit solve obesity-related problems?

Nowadays, it seems as if people are looking for any alternative to traditional exercises. This has lead to a very large increase in the population of obese people in the United States and even throughout the rest of the world. As the population gets fatter and unhealthier, it also seems that they are getting lazier. It is becoming obviously noticeable to me that people, especially kids, are starting to stray away from exercise and turning to video games as the main source of entertainment in their everyday lives. One alternative to exercise today is the Wii Fit. I think the Wii Fit is no replacement for actual exercise, but it is a step up from other video games in terms of fitness. Some people say that the Wii Fit could not have come at a better time. Supposedly it can help people lose about five to 10 percent of their bodyweight, decreasing their chance of diseases and weight-related sicknesses. Although i do agree that losing that much bodyweight can help people, I don't think that video games are the way to do it. I feel that other forms of exercise would be much more beneficial. Some people also say that the Wii Fit brings families closer while exercising because the whole family can play. I would argue that families can play sports such as basketball, baseball, tennis, bowling, and others just as easily as they could play video games. I just feel that video games and exercise should not be intertwined and should serve their own separate purposes.

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Could_Wii_Fit_Solve_Obesity_Related_Problems_18065.html