Area of technology-Part 2

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6234558.html

As we already know, technology is advancing at an unbelievable pace. There are few areas in which this is more obvious than the videogame industry. Just compare something like Gears of War to Space invaders, and you'll see my point. Typically, a console has a rather short life and is usually replaced by its parent company with a successor about five or six years later. Hell, Microsoft replaced the Xbox with Xbox 360 after only four years, and that itself happened about four years ago now. Yet not only has Microsoft not replaced the 360 yet, they haven't even unveiled plans for a 360 successor yet. One can't help but wonder why exactly they haven't yet, but this article makes a suggestion. Simply put, the current generation of games consoles haven't yet proven themselves to be profitable. To kill off the current consoles so soon, simply to get a headstart on the competition would be suicide from a business perspective. It's interesting to note that so far Nintendo, creator of the phenomenly successful Wii, are the only ones even considering a next gen console at the time. Perhaps they have reached market saturation point, and aren't able to milk the older technology anymore. In the mean time, all three consoles have a few price drops left in them, and great software to come as developers get more comfortable with their abilities, in order to remain competitive. Next gen could be a long way off.

Area of technology-Part 1

http://news.discovery.com/space/warp-drive-spaceship-engine.html

The ability to travel faster than the speed of light. We've all heard about in shows like Star Trek, movies like Star Wars, and so far, it remains confined to fictional universes such as those. However that could all change in the future, if the above article is to be believed. According to it, despite the fact that you would think that such a concept more or less completely contradicts the known laws of physics, it could be done in theory, but just not easily.It suggests that rather than having the ship move at such unimaginable speeds, it would instead be possible to manipulate the space time continuum itself, by creating a bubble around the ship and shrinking space time in front of the ship. The ship wouldn't actually be moving. Instead, space itself would be moving, as hard as that might be to believe. The argument the article provides is that technically, space did move faster than the speed of light on at least one occassion (the big bang), so if it happened once, then it must possible for it to happen again. The ship could reach its destination faster than a beam of light moving to the same destination from the same starting point, without violating any of the laws of physics (ie that it would take an infinite amount of energy to accelerate matter to the speed of light) as the matter (the ship) isn't actually moving at all. However, as exciting as all this may be, there are a few problems that prevent it from becoming a reality any time soon. In order to create this bubble, scientists would need to figure out a way to manipulate something they refer to as the "11th dimension". According to what we know about the laws of physics, manipulating the 11th dimsension would have the desired effect, but how exactly we would manipulate at all, unfortunately remains a mystery. Another problem is that despite the fact that infinite energy isn't necessary, the amount of energy needed is still a huge amount, more than what is currently possible to generate. Despite these issues, as a sci-fi fan, I think it's exciting to think that faster than light travel may very well be possible one day, even if it isn't in my life time. Maybe they'll figure out time travel instead if we're lucky.

Essay on what to look for in a computer

When purchasing a PC, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration. With the technology advancing on a constant basis, it can be very difficult to keep track of just what is necessary for you. It is important to know in advance just what exactly you want to use your computer for. For example, if you only intend on using it for simple things, such as typing stuff up, then having a top of the line computer isn't all that important. However if you intend to use it for things like playing games or editing videos, then a top of the line PC is more or less essential.
The first thing you need to consider is the processor. The processor is what is responsible for the computer's calculations, and seeing as all data is broken down into binary, having a good processor to deal with all those numbers is essential. With a processor, the most important thing to look at are the cores. Multiple cores are better than one, as having just one working by itself, runs the risk of it getting extremely hot and causing the computer to break down. With multiple cores, the workload is spread out, meaning that it is less likely to overheat. It is adviseable to check who manufactured the processor as well. Intel, for example would be a very trustworthy brand. Finally, you should check how many bits are in the processor. 64 Bits is a good amount to have.
Next, you should find out how much RAM (random access memory), the computer has. Ideally, the more, the better, though one gigabyte (the current minimum) should be enough for the average user. Just to be safe, an amount of three or four gigabytes might be a good idea, though any more than that probably isn't necessary.
An essential part of pretty much any computer is how good of a hard drive it has. The more information you plan on storing on your computer, the bigger a hard drive, you will need. Nowadays there are Terabyte hard drives, which means that, unless you plan on saving your entire movie collection onto your computer, you'll have a difficult time, using up all available space.
As already mentioned, if you intend on using your computer for gaming, a top of the line computer is necessary. An essential component of a top of the line computer is a good graphics card. The graphics card is what displays everything on your computer's screen. The better the card, the better the quality of the images you see.
Perhaps most importantly of all though, protection for your computer is an essential consideration. With all the virusus going around these days, good anti-virus software is an essential purchase. Norton is an example of such software. It might also be a good idea to get an extended warranty due to how fragile technology can be. Hopefully this essay has given a brief but detailed insight into some important things to consider when buying a PC.

Something different.

As part of my CA in ICT, I am required to post links to a few useful sites for my course, so this entry won't involve me whining about retail for a change.

These first two links gives tips on photoshop which is useful for multimedia design.

http://www.good-tutorials.com/tutorials/photoshop
http://photoshoptutorials.ws/

This next one is the Psychological Societey of Ireland

http://www.psihq.ie/

Finally I have a link to a page that has various useful psychology related links on it.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/dept/resources/psychlinks.html

Interesting video

I'm not sure if will work or not, but I guess I could at least give it a try.

So a woman was overcharged the other night.

She bought a pair of gloves, that were marked as 1 Euro, but scanned for 1.50. Rather than telling the member of staff who served her at the time, she instead walked away, and came back a few minutes later with a pile of gloves, just to prove a point. She came up to me and said she had been overcharged. I co-operated and decided to fix it for her, but somehow this wasn't enough. She basically threw a fit that she had been overcharged by 50 cent, and acted as if I had done something wrong, despite the fact that I'm not the one who enters the prices into the system, and I'm not the one who served her. I bit my lip and just fixed the transaction. She then threatened to return to the store to make sure the gloves were scanning for the correct price, the next day. Why do they treat us as if we are a single entity? Why should I get the blame for someone elses mistake, just because some fat old skank is feeling pissy? Unfortunately, I have to take the abuse at work, but I would love to meet that bitch on the street. Anyone sees her, give her hell for me. You should recognise her from the picture I posted.

And so, the Christmas shopping period begins.

So I was working on Saturday, which as you may know, was Halloween. Next morning I was in work again, and already the God damn Christmas decorations for the centre were up. Have they no patience? Is it any wonder that Christmas has lost so much of its magic for me, ever since I started working?

So I watched this video

*video has since been removed from youtube*

While I agree with her, I think she is being pretty unrealistic. The vast majority of companies tell you to just take the abuse, as the customer can do no wrong, apparently.

So the Christmas rush is coming

And finally, we're starting to hire more staff. Don't get me wrong, we're still really short on staff, and unless we get more, we're fucking screwed. Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction. Now I just hope they hurry up and train them on the tills so all the whiners who shop here, stop complaining about the queues.

Customer-"I know my rights", Me *facepalm*

The company I work for has a strict policy regarding refunds. In addition to honouring the statutory rights of our customers, they are also quite happy, to give customers a full refund on an item within 28 days, provided they have a valid receipt, and it is in a resaleable condition, just because they change their mind. They are under no legal obligation to do so, but they do so anyway, in order to provide a good service. However, time, and time again, we get idiots in demanding a refund, several months after an item has been sold out. Apparently 28 days isn't enough time to decide if they want it or not. Or we get people who come in without a receipt at all, also demanding a refund. A lot of them claim it is their right to get a full refund, but it is clear that they don't know their rights at all.

FACT-You need a valid receipt (ie within 28 days of purchase)
FACT-Changing your mind does not give you a legal guarantee of a refund. There has to be a fault.

People like these make me lose faith in humanity.

Why I'm here

Hello everyone, I am Vladimir (not really). As part of my continuous assessment for my ICT module, I am required to make a blog, on something of significance to me. I have chosen to base my blog on working in retail. I will tell stories of my own personal experiences, and offer my opinions on the numerous problems in the retail industry. Watch this space, and see how I progress as a blogger over time.