The post How Ukraine is divided appeared first on MBC Times.
]]>The chaos that is taking over Ukraine in recent time spreads the fear that the ethnic, political, economic and linguistic division of the country will lead to a real split of its territory.Eastern Ukraine, which includes the regions of Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Lugansk and Zaporizhie, is the most industrialized and economically developed area as well as the most urbanized part of the country. Here are the main industrial centers of coal, as well as companies in the aviation industry, automotive, military and energy. Here lives the most significant part of the Russian- speaking population of Ukraine, in some provinces where the percentage exceeds 80% .
The region covers the provinces western Ukraine predominantly Ukrainian -speaking Lvov , Ivano- Frankovsk, Ternopil, Volyn and Rovnensk, no large industrial entities and a significant part of local budgets thrives on federal grants.
Kiev, the capital, belongs geographically to central Ukraine, which is also composed of the provinces of Poltava, Cherkasi, Chernigov, Sumi, Vinnitsa.
Differences between East and West became more palpable after the disintegration of the USSR and Ukrainian independence in 1991. The presidential and parliamentary elections voting intention divided the country into almost two equal parts, reflect this trend. Thus, in the previous presidential elections in 2010, Viktor Yanukovych ‘s candidacy was voted mostly in the eastern regions, while his main opponent, the Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, got their full support in the west.
Historically Ukraine has always been a country with many different nationalities. According to the 2001 census, the Ukrainian population is 77.8% more than the 45 million citizens of Ukraine. Russians are the largest ethnic minority in the country, with a percentage of 17.3%. Most of the ethnic Russian population resides in the city of Sevastopol ( 71.7%), the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Simferopol capital (58 % ) and in the industrial centers of Donetsk ( 38.2%), Kharkiv ( 25.6%) and Dnepropetrovsk ( 23.5%).
In addition to Ukrainians and Russians, Belarusians residing in the country ( 0.6%), Moldavians ( 0.5%) and Crimean Tatars (0.5 % ), among others.
Given the ethnic, cultural and historical structure of Ukraine, Russian is the most important minority language and the second most common in Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian, two languages of Slavic origin closely linked, are spoken in almost equal proportions, although prevalent in the western Ukrainian regions, such as Lvov, Ivano- Frankovsk and Cherkasy, among others. The extensive use of Russian language aroused controversy over its status as a second official language. In May 2012 the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada after a nasty fight on the floor, passed a law granting the Russian and other minority languages the status of regional languages in areas where 10% or more of the population speaks those languages. This law was repealed on February 23 after the change of power.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/ukraine-divided/feed/ 0The post This is One Hair-Raising Advert ! appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> This is what we could express as taking the advertising to a whole new level. Swedish pharmacy Apotek Hjärtat teamed up with innovative advertising agency Clear Channel to make this stunning quintessential hair product commercial in Stockholm’s subway. Doesn’t it just take your breath away…The post This is One Hair-Raising Advert ! appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> https://mbctimes.com/one-hair-raising-advert/feed/ 0The post Plea to the President to fight against the unemployed appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> Plea to the President to fight against the unemployed – A helping hand to the laid off With the sluggish growth in the unemployment rate, an increasingly large number of people in the US are spending their lives without any kind of jobs and salaries. While Congress seems to have forgotten about the unemployed, Ed Schultz is rather taking notice of the damage that is being done to the mass of unemployed people within the nation.This is no longer a Tier 5 issue but it is something that involves the unemployed as Congress doesn’t seem to agree to push forward H.R 4213 that contains the unemployment extension legislation. According to reports, Ed Schultz sent part of this program where he mainly spoke about the long-term unemployed people. He had interviewed a Congressional advocate of the unemployed and then he also spoke with Rob C, who is someone involved with long-term unemployment issues for a couple of months and has also been in contact with the EdShow regarding such issues related to the unemployed and their lifestyle. It was Rob C who mentioned in the radio program meant for the long-term unemployed that a group of them have written a letter to President Barack Obama that asks the President to take certain actions to extend unemployment benefits for all those who have exhausted the benefits.
The letter represented some hard facts and figures that proved that there’s a need for a Tier 5 extension benefit. This particular group is asking the Representative Jim McDermott to deliver the letter to President Barack Obama on behalf of all those who are long term unemployed.
McDermott is the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and he held a hearing of the long-term unemployment crisis. The huge group of unemployed people is all hoping that Rep. McDermott will show enough courage to deliver the message to the President since he has first-hand knowledge of how the long term unemployed are actually suffering due to no jobs and salary.
As the Senate has been extremely ineffectual in handling and passing the unemployment legislation, this is important that the long term unemployed have a particular avenue where they can easily express their needs and wants. This step has been taken by Ed Schultz in order to help the unemployed class of people to live up to the expectations of the entire nation. They should also have the right to live life in the best way possible.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/plea-president-fight-unemployed/feed/ 0The post Abortion – The fundamental right of a Woman appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> Aborting is a topic of great debate around the world, due to its political, moral and ethical debate. I believe it is the fundamental right of any woman to decide as to whether or not she has children and to have control over her own body. A number of countries deny a woman the right to abortion due to religious doctrine. Politics and religious doctrine put these laws into place, some would say to control and dominate woman. We are supposedly living in a world where woman have equal rights but this is sadly not the case in some countries where the right to abortion is denied. According to the World health organisation the Abortion rate worldwide has dropped due to increased use and understanding of modern contraceptives, however abortion rates are similar in countries where abortion is legal and illegal. Currently seven countries in Europe and the Americas ban abortion entirely!Recently Ireland was in the middle of such controversy when a 31 year old Indian lady Savita Halappanavar died from blood poisoning after being denied an abortion at 17 weeks citing Irelands Catholic social policies. Dr Katherine Astbury, was unable to authorise the termination as under Irish law there had to be a “real and substantial risk” to the patient before termination could be carried out. She believed there was still “a small prospect the foetus would be viable” when Savita first began to show signs of ill health. Savita was made to wait for three days until the foetus died, she then died four days later in intensive care from multi-organ failure from septic shock and E coli. The inquest ruled that Savita died from “medical misadventure” “Medicine is all about improving patients’ health and life. And look what they did. She was left there to die. It’s horrendous, barbaric and inhuman the way Savita was treated in that hospital,” said husband Praveen Halappanavar.
This case has highlighted a two decade long debate that has been active in Ireland regarding abortion law. A 1992 supreme court ruled that termination was necessary and legal to save a woman’s life, however no actual law has ever been passed due to successive governments in Ireland fearing voter backlash, with many catholic members professing to lobby against it with backing from the Catholic Church. It also leaves doctors in fear of prosecution for murder if they carry out terminations.
Prime Minister Rajoy has also come under pressure by the Catholic Church to repeal the Abortion laws currently in place in Spain. One of Rajoy’s election pledges in 2011 was to repeal the abortion law making it illegal to abort a deformed foetus. However there has been an outcry from socialist members of parliament. Deputy secretary-general Elena Valenciano was quoted as saying “And women, that is to say mothers, don’t they have a word in this? Ministers, judges, bishops, scientists are going to decide what we should do with our motherhood. They know. We obey and shut up. Amen”. According to a poll published in El Pais in 2012, 81% of Spaniards agree with the right to terminate a foetus when it is malformed. Could Rajoy’s hesitation be because he is actually listening to the voice of the people?
Once again Opus Dei has reared its head in Irish Government with Dr John Crown a Seaned member of the upper house, calling for all members of the two houses of parliament to declare their allegiance to any secret organisations stating “there are potential conflicts of interest if one believes that one is answering to a higher authority than the parliament of the republic”. He believes Opus Dei are a “major player” in preventing abortion laws being put into place. I believe it is a sad state of affairs when politics and religion dictate whether women live or die. | Picture: Haiti Adoption Program
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/abortion-fundamental-right-woman/feed/ 1The post Ceuta and Melilla : Last colonies in Africa appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> Contrary to most people’s beliefs that the age of colonialism ended in 1994 with the end of apartheid in South Africa, Spain still to this day colonizes a part of Morocco. The city of Ceuta and Melilla, along with a chain of small islands off the coast, make-up the lands of the Spanish colony in Morocco. Also we shall not forget the Canary Islands. These two cities and islands are the oldest surviving Spanish colonies in the world.The Moroccan government claims this land belongs to Morocco and considers the land to be under foreign occupation. The Spanish government claims the lands rightfully belong to Spain. The Spanish government insist that Spain has been the historical rulers of these lands. The city of Melilla was conquered by Spain in 1497 and Ceuta was inherited by Spain in 1580, with the union of the Spanish and Portuguese monarchies.
In 1912, France and Spain established a protectorate over Morocco. Under this agreement, Spain inherited an area of land stretching from the almost the Atlantic Ocean to Moroccan-Algerian border, and the Western Sahara. In addition, Spain continued its control over Ceuta and Melilla.
In 1956, Morocco gained its independence from France. Spain surrendered most of territory acquired under the French-Spanish protectorate. However, the Spanish government did not surrender the cities of Ceuta and Melilla; instead it insisted that Ceuta and Melilla are not colonies since Spanish people have been living there before the existence of Morocco.
Today, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are home to about 75,000 people each. The cities attract thousands of people daily. Moroccan labourers and merchants go to and from each city on a daily basis. African immigrants come seeking an easy way to get to Europe since Ceuta and Melilla are officially part of Spain.
In response to the immigration problem, Spain has built three parallel electrified wired fences, reminiscent of the Berlin Wall (Wall of shame), to reduce the illegal immigration. The 19 feet high fences are equipped with infrared cameras, tear gas canisters, noise and movement sensors, and control towers. The Moroccan government has objected to the construction of the fences.
In addition, Moroccan nationals have reported that they have been subjected to racism when entering Melilla. In August, Moroccans protesting against racism and police abuse in Melilla recently conducted a blockage of the border crossing, stopping trucks from making food deliveries into Melilla.
As history has shown, Spain’s refusal to relinquish controlled over all of its territories in Morocco to the Moroccan government will undoubtedly lead to future conflict as Spanish influence continues to diminish worldwide.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/ceuta-melilla-last-colonies-africa/feed/ 0The post 14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> Illogical But True. 14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization. Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what. In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said: “Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”.
Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that: ”Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”.
When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from french colonization.
Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.
The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.
Slowly fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”
Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.
He didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization.
It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.
The financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the french colonial money FCFA (the franc for french african colonies), and issue the country own currency.
On January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first elected president of newly independent Africa. Olympio was killed by an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit man job.
Olympio’s dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country. But the French didn’t like the idea.
On June 30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided to withdraw from the french colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12 newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.
On November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.
In fact during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex Foreign legionnaires to carry out coups against elected presidents:
In fact, during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in Africa, 16 of those countries are french ex-colonies, which means 61% of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.
Number of Coups in Africa by country
Ex French colonies : Togo (1), Tunisie (1), Cote d’Ivoire (2), Madagascar (2), Rwanda (2), Algeria (2), Congo – RDC (2), Mali (2), Guinea Conakry (2), Congo (3), Tchad (3), Burundi (4), Central Africa (4), Niger (4), Mauritania (4), Burkina Faso (5), Comores (5),
Other African countries : Egypte (1), Libye (1), Equatorial Guinea (1), Guinea Bissau (2), Liberia (2), Nigeria (3), Ethiopia (3), Ouganda (4), Soudan (5).
As these numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what.
In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said: “Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”
Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that: ”Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”
At this very moment I’m writing this article, 14 african countries are obliged by France, trough a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo and about 13 other african countries still have to pay colonial debt to France. African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people endure extreme poverty, and desperation.
It’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury year in year out.
We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behavior. They behave so because they are afraid the be killed or victim of a coup. They want a powerful nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.
African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by colonial countries.
In 1958, scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence; they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”
From then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France educational system, military and commercial preferences.
Below are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:
The newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France in the country during colonization.
I still have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the african countries, but we are working on that (help us with info).
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/14-african-countries-forced-france-pay-colonial-tax/feed/ 0The post Xbox One vs PS4 vs Wii U appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> All the three consoles have revealed their vision for the future of gaming and home entertainment to the public. It looks like Microsoft has done a great job this time at least in the presentation.The Xbox One will compete with Sony PS4 and Wii U Nintendo. It is not going to be an easy match this time.
It’s a difficult choice. Initially we will put a picture with the characteristics of each console and then the conclusions. The three consoles use Blu-ray optical media as their choice.
Nintendo still using PowerPC technology on the Wii U, Microsoft and Sony have changed to x86 based processors and AMD GPUs. Both are more powerful than the Wii U.
The Xbox One and PS4 have an 8 GB system RAM instead of the 2 GB in the Wii U.
The three consoles are very good and have good hardware. The more limited one is the Nintendo but is also be the cheapest. The fastest one is the PS4.
In the end of the day is not the hardware but mostly the quality of the games and the user experience that will make the difference, so this will be our suggestions:
All this without even knowing the real power of the PS4 or Xbox One but a higher speed memory suggests that the PS4 will be the most advanced in technology.
Time will tell who the winner in sales is, what we can say is that they are a great improvement over the previous generation. Let’s the party starts…
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/xbox-vs-playstation-vs-wii/feed/ 0The post The 8 mental illnesses of the Internet age appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> The connection to the Internet, social networks, to instant messaging services is part of everyday life, and has become a sequel in human life. A study reveals that there are at least eight mental illnesses, accepted by the medical community, linked to the use of new technologies.This list includes; nomofobia, the fear of having no mobile, phantom call anxiety, internet addiction to online games, the Cyberchondria , the cibermareo , the Google effect , the Facebook depression, all appear in this list of mental illnesses suffered by numerous people, as published by TechHive technology portal.
Have you ever had the phone vibrate in your pocket , and you realize that you have been silent all the time, or worse, do not even have it in your pocket. Do you have a moment of panic?
70 % of people who are defined as heavy mobile users have explained that feeling the vibration of the phone in your pocket is comforting, but sometimes can be imagined. It’s all thanks to the response mechanisms being out of place in our brain, according to Dr. Larry Rosen , author of iDisorder.
“We created our social world tied to this box in our pocket. So whenever we feel some sign in the leg you get a burst of neurotransmitters in our brain that can cause anxiety or pleasure,” says the expert.
In the future, it is possible that new mobile formats, such as Google Glass, will visually notify us of incoming data, and that our brains would see things that do not technically exist.
The anxiety you feel from not having access to a mobile device . The term ” nomofobia ” is an abbreviation of ” non- mobile phobia”.
You know that horrible feeling when your phone runs out of battery and there are no outlets in sight? There is a fine line between that uncomfortable feeling of deprivation and the subsequent technological anxiety attack.
“We are like Pavlov’s dogs. We see people pull out their phones and two minutes later they do it again, but they did not make a sound. It is powered by a reflex action, as well as the anxiety of not wanting to miss anything,” said Rosen.
Expression coined in the 90′s when they made the first virtual reality video games, that caused dizziness and disorientation in users, a sensation similar to that suffered by people traveling at high speed.
The depression caused by social interactions, or the lack of it.
A study by the University of Michigan reveals that depression among young people is directly proportional to the amount of time they spend on Facebook.
One possible reason is that people tend to publish only good news about themselves on the social network: Holidays, promotions, party photos, etc. . . . This may erroneously lead to think that everyone is living lives happier and more successful than our own.
Is excessive Internet use or need to be connected always, to the point that it interferes with daily life.
There are 8% of the Korean population, aged between 9 and 39 years that suffer, according to official data. The Government has promulgated the “Cinderella Law”, which cuts access to online games from midnight to six o’clock to users under 16 years.
In the U.S. an online gamer’s organization has promoted a 12-step program to “disengage” from the game on the network, similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Those who suffer from this disorder, at the first sign of a headache, are convinced that they have one of many serious illness that they have seen online, researched and read on forums and pages of medical doctors.
“The Internet can exacerbate existing feelings of hypochondria and in some cases lead to new anxieties”, experts warn.
Unlimited access to information ensures that our brains have no reason to retain information. We get lazy.
” Somewhere in our mind, we think: ” I have no reason to memorize this, because I can Google it later.”
Humans still have much in common with the less evolved creatures. In evolutionary terms, we have been exposed fairly quickly to a new digital world, to which our brains are quick to adapt.
According to psychiatrists, some of the hardships we suffered may reveal that the adaptation process is not yet over.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/the-8-mental-illnesses-of-the-internet-age/feed/ 0The post Google Glass: Will they change our lives? appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> Google Glass is an attempt to free data from desktop computers and portable devices like phones and tablets, and place it right in front of your eyes, essentially, Google Glass is a camera, display, touchpad, battery and microphone built into spectacle frames so that you can perch a display in your field of vision, film, take pictures, search and translate on the go.The principle is one that has been around for years in science fiction, and more recently it’s become a slightly clunky reality. In fact, the “heads-up display” putting data in your field of vision became a reality as early as 1900 when the reflector sight was invented.
Google Glass uses display technology instead to put data in front (or at least, to the upper right) of your vision courtesy of a prism screen. This is designed to be easily seen without obstructing your view. According to Google the display is “the equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away”. There’s no official word on native resolution, but 640 x 360 has been widely mooted.
Overlaying data into your vision has obvious benefits; many of which are already functional in Google Glass. Directions become more intuitive (although it sounds like there is no GPS on board so you will have to pair it with your phone), you can view real-time translations or transcriptions of what is being said, and you can scroll through and reply to messages – all on the fly.
The embedded camera obviously does not need a viewfinder because it is simply recording your first-person perspective, allowing you to take snaps or footage of what you are actually seeing.
Any function that requires you to look at a screen could be put in front of you.
Controlling this data is the next neat trick. With a microphone and touchpad on one arm of the frame, you can select what you want to do with a brief gesture or by talking to the device, and Google Glass will interpret your commands.
Google Glass can also provide sound, with bone-induction technology confirmed. This vibrates your skull to create sound, which is both more grisly sounding and much less cumbersome than traditional headphones.
“Is Glass cool and entirely novel? Yes, it certainly is. Is it a device that will change the life of, or even just prove useful to, the average consumer? That’s doubtful.” / Techradar
for some, is only a passing phase, a simple invention like hundreds of others, despite their media impact at the time of their appearance, and they will eventually fade into oblivion as hundreds of others before it, while for others it is an invention inviting to escape and revolutionizing the way we perform many tasks, as Skype has changed the way we communicate according to Le Meur Loic, CEO of LeWeb.
Revolutionary for some, a total loss of privacy for others … Thequestions and opinions multiply and differ, but an idea still kept unanimously: Google did a wonderful marketing campaign of its product.
Most users have paid the sum of 1,500 dollars for obtaining the revolutionary pair of glasses which are capable of augmented reality, “Cloud” connection and facial recognition.
However, the bad reputation of Google regarding users private data many suggest that the use of these Next-Gen glasses will have the same purpose: to spy and steal network data linked to the use of this new gadget, threatening once again the privacy of users.
“Do not think, even for a single second that you have control over these glasses. You’re just a pilot for data stalking”, said Nick Pickles to the BBC.
Pickles believes that Google’s strategy is to offer free products and convince users that they are privileged clients while these data are the product they use to gain their benefits.
“MedRef for Glass” is an application that identifies patients, while displaying their medical file in a text form or in audio stream. This application seeks the medical teams, given the difficulty of the doctors and nurses at the time of recognition of each patient’s case they treat.
The application stores medical records of patients and their photos taken earlier with the camera built into the glasses.
Based on this idea, Thad Starnet of the Georgia Institute of Technology believes that Google Glass will succeed to merge more technology to our lives.
“A device of this type with a well-designed interface can help the user to pay attention to reality instead of having to withdraw in order to check data on their computer or laptop. Having an interface that puts less than two seconds to access any kind of information can reduce the margin of time between intention and action”, says Starnet to the BBC.
Jolie O’Dell, a journalist working for the magazine VentureBeat still hesitates. She believes that the device can be quite useful, but not for everyone: “As the owner of the glasses, I see that they can be useful for doctors, mechanical engineers or any other activity practiced in the field. Apart from that, I think it is a device for geeks, used to make us less aware of the world around us, and leaving us more disconnected than ever from real people we encounter daily”.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/google-glass-will-they-change-our-lives/feed/ 0The post The QR code: Chronicles of a failed technology appeared first on MBC Times.
]]> The QR code is an information storage system in a matrix of black and white dots or two-dimensional barcodes. They can contain many different types of information such as URL, SMS, text, links with audiovisual content, a web page and also lists of contacts, phone numbers and even map locations.It is possible to recover the encrypted information in the QR code with a mobile device by simply downloading a QR decoder application and point the camera at a QR code panel. Once scanned, the data will automatically appear on the screen of the used device, without any need to take pictures or fit well the QR object.
This technology is not recent, since the patent bar coding was recorded in 1952, but it was not known until the 80’s, when the technology was a great commercial success, causing it to be applied to virtually all product packaging used daily.
With the advent of QR coding, few users have joined the system, considered too artificial: Few users use their smartphones to perform analyzes.
Designed in 1994 by the Japanese firm Denso Wave, the idea was to store more information in comparison with the traditional bar coding, but this attempt to connect the physical world with the virtual to give a before edge feeling and implementation yet successful in the industry, its use is still too low among smartphone owners.
Public authorities and tourism institutions have adapted their recent year’s prospectus to be compatible with this technology in order to promote tourism to do the same in order to achieve virtual tours, among other services. Some cemeteries in Barcelona have launched in 2012 a service that allows traditional tombstones to contain information about the deceased in QR code through a free mobile device, gaining access to his biography by text and pictures.
This technology seems to draw its strength from museums. In Spain, several works currently own QR code frames containing all the necessary information in order to not clutter the work itself with text. Indeed, Spain is the country where QR codes are the most read in the world: 21% of the population has access to this service, followed by the United States.
One of the main explanations of experts to justify the lack of use of this system: Companies that incorporate the QR code in their promotion strategies provide no information.
The Barcelona City Council has launched an application for smartphones, a system that provides information about the 43 municipal markets, downloadable via the QR code in all markets and in Apple and Android stores.
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]]> https://mbctimes.com/the-qr-code-chronicles-of-failed-technology/feed/ 0