Bullogna's Back-To-School Shopping Guide: Laptops

        While some students may have already returned to school, it's never too late to consider purchasing new technology for out-of-school schoolwork. And it may seem odd, but right now is actually the best time possible to buy new tech before it becomes old tech, and the reason for this is as follows: Google Nexus 7. The new tablet is quicker and more proficient than Apple's no-longer-new iPad, and comes at a cheaper cost too. (So you don't have to sell your limbs on the black market to buy the Nexus 7) In this back-to-school shopping guide, we'll take you through every type of tech you may find useful for school, recommend the best possible device/software, then compare its most mainstream competition, explaining why our choice is better than the popular choice. Are you ready kids? I can't hear you! Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!

Laptops

        I assumed since this is a no-name article from some random guy who apparently has a weird obsession with Spongebob gags, that most readers won't read past the first paragraph. That's why I decided to make the first paragraph the most helpful by guiding readers through the exhausting process of picking a new laptop. I'll start with the cheaper low-end laptops in which I won't exactly be able to compare to the "popular brand" per se, yet I will compare to some of the mid-range tablet PCs.

        The Asus X401A-RGN4 caught my eye at my local Best Buy the other week, and did so for a fairly good reason, aside from me being a geek and all things with a battery catching my keen eye. The 14" laptop computer packs a 2.3 GHZ Intel Pentium processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive for only $329.99! And if you have no idea what I was talking about in the previous paragraph, just ignore it and assume I know what I'm talking about as I assumed you wouldn't read past the first paragraph. The X401A-RGN4 is available in Matte Lime Green, Matte Pink, and Matte Deep Blue Square, because square is an outstanding color.

        You can get that 14" Asus, or you can get the year-old iPad 2 for about $70 more. This is supposed to make you feel less bad about purchasing the Asus laptop, as the iPad 2 is incapable of running x86 programs, and still to this day lacks a decent word processor for everyday writing tasks. Although, the iPad does look nice, and look, you can slide your finger across the screen and your apps jiggle!

        On the higher end of things, you have the more expensive gaming PCs, which are great for video and photo editing as well as, erhmm, gaming and you have the less proficient, but more portable and stylish MacBook Pro.

        Look it's a bird; no it's too loud to be a bird... It's a plane; no it's too small. It's Alienware! My choice for a high-end PC is a quite obvious one for friends/family readers, and that's mainly because I recently purchased one myself: The Alienware M14x. Now if you get the M14x, I recommend you get the i7 version with 8 GB RAM, otherwise you're better off with the M17x. Now, I've heard all the Alienware horror stories, but somehow I'm always brought back to this PC-game-centered line of high-end Dells because no matter how it's worded, they're still the most powerful PCs money can buy! And for people who care about style, they're also quite beautiful. The 8GB Alienware M14x is normally $1,499, but since the M14x's are $100 off for a limited-time-only, you can customize your own Alien FX laptop for just $1,399, and that's a bargain you don't want to miss. (I don't work for Dell, I'm just really excited now!)

        And then there's the Macbook Pro.... I don't want to down it too much since I'm supposed to be non-biased, so here I go. (Ugh!) You can get a 15-inch Macbook Pro with Retina display equivalent to the M14x for $2,199 or a standard 15-inch Macbook Pro for $1,799, but unless you like the all-glamour-no-proficiency style that the Macbook Pro constantly shows off, I recommend looking into Alienware. You've been warned.

        If you want a high-end PC, but you don't want anything fancy-looking, I recommend clicking here. Until next time, my friends, when we'll be taking a look at smartphones and tablets, see ja!

        

Why I Love Video Games and What They Represent

       Why I Love The Industry

        Although I'm not sure why, video games are often frowned upon by most parents. Gaming takes their children away from everything and places them in front of a screen with a controller for hours on end. While that may seem like an isolated and fattening hobby, it's actually great to a certain point. And the reason for that is: video games represent the advancement of our culture. If you're anything like me, you've grown up with games and have become familiar with the industry from early on.

        The truth is, I'm not in love with video games. There are merely a select few video games that are great in comparison to the many works in the film industry considered the best. But movies have been around much longer than video games. While the first films were projected in the late 1800s, video games didn't become mainstream until almost 100 years later. In 1972, Pong was released by Atari in arcade-form and didn't see a home release until 1975. The video game industry represents a new, more advanced innovation of technology-generated media. That's why I love the video games industry and what it represents, and better yet we don't even need to think about this complex idea. Typically, those who play video games don't understand why they have so much passion towards the simple concept of a game, but they certainly notice a form of satisfaction in the idea that they're continuing to achieve in a digital escape from the real-world. 

        But that can't be all there is to the gaming industry, can it? Is it all about achieving something that isn't there? Is it all about the advancement of technology; about becoming stronger than the film industry? No. I can't explain all there is to video games; why people like them, or why people line up on the release day of a new blockbuster title. What I do know is this: The video games industry is based on community. Not everyone understands this, and I'm sure there are even many gamers who don't, but I'm no gamer. I'm simply a story-teller who digs deeper into a subject that interests me more than it probably should.

        The Console Wars

        The video games community is like no other. You can read as many forums as you'd like from any other media industry, but you'd never see any group of people argue such strong, valid points as the video games community, and quite honestly I find this to be truly a beautiful thing. The console wars continue on and on without end, without interruption, and as much as PC gamers deny that they're involved in the console wars, the PCs are the most brutal. 

        There are currently four groups who participate in the console wars, and every group is built up of fanboys and those who deny their fanboy-ism, but are still biased towards one side. (No one isn't biased towards their favorite console!) There are the PCs, the Xbox 360s, the PS3s, and the Nintendos. (I didn't consider the PS3 fanboys as "Sonys" because of the lack of interest PS3 owners have in the PS Vita handheld, nor do I consider the Xbox 360 the "Microsoft Crowd" due to the fact that PC games are Games For Windows)  Each group of fanboys (and "fangirls") believes their system is better than the other three, and before this year I actually believed you could conclude that the console with the best system specifications is the best, but that's far from true. If you judged a console by its specs, the PC would be the superior gaming console by far, but you can't base this judgement primarily on specifications. The PC may have the highest specs, but a PC with better processors, a better graphics card, and better RAM than a PS3 or Xbox 360 would cost an ordinary consumer over $1,000, while the PS3/Xbox 360 are roughly around $250 (unless you buy the $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect that also charges $15 per month for two years costing you around $600 in the end.)

        I'm not going into anymore detail as far as specifications are concerned because I don't want to bore my readers, I just do, but the point is there is no superior console. That's right! Wii = PC = PS3 = Xbox 360; and that, my friends, is my favorite way of doing math. I'm not saying this is an issue. I'm only emphasizing the point that consumers are so passionate about their favorite console that they're willing to argue that their system superior with anyone at any time. And here's what I mean when I claim the systems are completely equivalent. The Wii offers the first mainstream motion-controlled console experience, but is graphically inferior to all other consoles (including iOS at this point). The Xbox 360 offers the best third-party support and considerably the best online community, but lacks variety in first-party support. The PS3 offers great first-party support, but fails when it comes to graphical capability in third-party support (although this seems fishy) and online community. And the PC has the best graphical capability (depending on your computer specs) but doesn't have as large a library as its console companions and is more costly for average consumers.

        So... How Does This Relate To The Title?

So here's why I love the video game industry and what it represents. I came here to write a short article about what video games represent and my entire article completely changed subjects after the second paragraph. Video games represent our freedom to discuss, produce, and consume, and most of the time doesn't incorporate politics (like everything else) while doing so. Regardless of the previous paragraphs where I spoke of specifications, consoles, and arguments, video games are about simple fun, bringing us back to our childhoods, thinking less about the worries life may bring, and helping us to enjoy achieving something even if it's not real, because if we actually did the things we did in video games, we'd all be in prison.

Fin.

Why Teachers Fail When It Comes To Technology

Why Teachers Fail When It Comes To Technology

By Gabriel Carey

Throughout the previous school year, I made it a point to point out flaws when it comes to my teachers. Maybe it's because I'm sixteen and becoming rebellious, maybe it's because I've critically analyzed every video game, tv show, song, and even commercial I've seen in the past year, or maybe it's relevant to the fact that there are so many teachers whose flaws outweigh their benefits. Now, before I continue, let me tell you that I've had a few good teachers in the past. A few. Do taxpayers really want their money to go towards a few good teachers, but an overwhelming number of people who are just plain awful at what they do? It doesn't matter who you are, what your political stanpoint is, or even what you ate for breakfast this morning, (yeah, I went there) if you are satisfied with your tax dollars going towards the salary of a teacher who can't teach, then you're one of them. While I won't be able to discuss every detail of why so many teachers can't do their jobs right, (because I don't know) I'll just highlight some points as to why they fail when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom. 

Students Can't Aren't Allowed To Use Their Resources

Sure, every kid who's still in school complains about not being allowed to use their cell phones, and while I disagree with the typical reasons students give for this outrage, I do think students in school should be allowed to use their cell phones in school for educational reasons. Android-based smartphones have one of the greatest applications of all time built-in to their OS, usable the second you turn the devices on. QuickOffice is a great alternative to Windows' Microsoft Office. (QuickOffice is built-in to Android tablets as well, which don't require a monthly data plan.)

Teachers Don't Understand Technology

Here's a hilarious topic. When I was in 9th grade, I signed up for a photography class where the students learned how to create photographic composition, edit photos, and create professional-looking photographs using Adobe PhotoShop CS5. The only problem was.... I had to teach the teacher how to use PhotoShop. You would think they would train teachers to use advanced programs when they are required to teach them. Now this, truly, is an outrage. I can't imagine what the class would have done if I was not there to teach PhotoShop. None of the other students had a clue how to use the program, and the following year, the art teacher was forced to stop teaching the class due to lack of resources. I don't blame the teachers for their lack of technology understanding, but I do often wonder: what do these teachers learn when they're absent from school for "training"?

The Conclusion: YOU SAVE MONEY!!!

Board of Education systems don't realize it (what else is new?) but by switching over to new technology such as tablets, smartphones, and/or Ultrabooks, parents will actually save money! Most kids already own smartphones, and those who don't can get an efficient tablet for as low as $199.00 (Google Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, etc.) That's only about $100 more than a graphing calculator, which can only do one thing! With a tablet or smartphone, you can get a free graphing calculator app, download cheaper-than-paper eBooks and even use the QuickOffice tool I mentioned earlier for free! Now that you don't have to buy Microsoft Office for $130, you can buy yourself a bluetooth keyboard which can be found for as low as $20 on Amazon.com. I know this sounds like an ad for tablets, but it's only the truth about technology. A total of about $220 doesn't sound that much cheaper than the $230 you would otherwise spend on a graphing calculator and Microsoft Office, but that $220 will be a lot more useful to students than a graphing calculator and a document-processing application will be in the long-run. I challenge every parent and every student to write a letter to their Board of Education, reinforcing what I've just explained in this article.