Did you Know?... - Internet Titans

"Did you Know?..." - "Internet Titans; the Websites that changed the World"

- YouTube

- We all know that YouTube is one of the most visited sites globally, along with Google, Yahoo

and yes... Facebook. But what is the story behind YouTube?

This site was developed by three regular guys that were working for Paypal. The site was activated in 2005, on February the 15th; it was in development until May of that same year, when its creators offered the public a preview of the site, and six months later, Youtube made its official debut. It was not long before investors placed their eyes in this site. In November 2005 Sequoia Capital placed its hope on YouTube and invested 3.5 million dollars, and in April 2006 watching the success of the site, they invested another 8 million green.

In just months the site had already become one of the most popular,

visited sites in the US following the trail of MySpace. By October 9 2006, it was time for the king of kings to lay its eyes on YouTube; they announced the site was to be purchased for 1.65 billion USD in stock, by Google. In November 13 that very same year, after some rough negotiations, Google officially made its second largest acquisition.

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen & Jawed Karim, developers of YouTube are today, millionaire former Paypal Employees.

- Nowadays, as one of the most famous sites in the world, YouTube has become an indispensible website and its been talked it could officially become an ally in today's education. Deals are being made to create a new "section" in YouTube to be used in schools in order to encourage learning through interaction. If this happens a

new era will arrive for YouTube, and worldwide education.

Today, there is another site who has been fighting its way up the food chain, and today it has already reached a high ground in top visited sites. Yes... we are talking about Facebook. Stay in touch with our posts to learn a little bit more about this and some other Internet Titans; Websites that had changed the World.

"Did you Know?..." is a private section in this blogger and if used

you must add this image & tag Roberto Arrizon (A00957551).

On the contrary you'll be violating a trademark and your post

will be submitted to trial, with elimination as a possible result.

Please respect this trademark, follow the rules established,

and then feel free to create your own "Did you Know?..." posts!

Read More......

Did you Know?...

"Did you know?..."

... well, most of us are expecting the arrival of the movie called 2012. In this film by Roland Emmerich (yes, the director of "The day after Tomorrow" & "Independence Day") our world comes to an end, according to the Mayan prediction... or at least, an interpretation of this prediction. It is said that by the year 2012, that means in less than 3 years some sort of apocalypse will end the world. But how does this Mayan prediction really works? Did they actually predicted the end of the world by 2012?

There are many theories about what the Mayans meant when they talked about this year. The actual "prediction" of the Mayans does not really mention that earth will be destroyed, or that it will end; on the contrary, it talks about a new beginning. Some sort of revival for the world as we know it. It was said, that our "biological process is transforming" and it is approaching a culmination of a 26,000 year evolutionary program.

"This Grand cycle of evolution will culminate winter solstice, December 21, 2012 AD."

Unfortunately I cannot explain the entire prediction of the Mayans in one post, but if you're curious feel free to read more following this link to learn more about it:

http://www.13moon.com/prophecy%20page.htm

With this post I wanted to explain that, apart from this predictions, people have developed their own or ideas of what could happen. Some say the earth will end, such as in the film; some say aliens will visit the earth, maybe to help us, or maybe not. Others believe nothing will happen apart from some big natural event; an eclipse a huge thunderstorm, a volcano erupting etcetera.

We cannot know for sure. Whatever is going to happen, will happen, and we'll be here to witness what the Mayans predicted, that will change our world as we know it. We'll just have to wait and see.

Feel free to post your opinions on the subject; What do YOU think, will happen in 2012?

"Did you Know?..." is a private section in this blogger and if used

you must add this image & tag Roberto Arrizon (A00957551).

On the contrary you'll be violating a trademark and your post

will be submitted to trial, with elimination as a possible result.

Please respect this trademark, follow the rules established,

and then feel free to create your own "Did you Know?..." posts!

Read More......

Did you Know?...

It is funny to see that after so much time working on this blog, no one has actually established a "Did you Know?" section. So why not start now? Of course I'm going to have to set some copyright or trademark or something like that.

So now, I'm officially beginning this "Did you Know" section, and stick with us for further posts!

"Did you Know?..."

...that Hong Kong belonged to Great Britain some time ago. We are starting to talk about this in class, so I decided to post a brief introduction to this topic before we get deeper in class.

China lost Hong Kong to Great Britain during the Opium Wars of 1839 and it was in 1997, in Pekin, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Chinese counterpart Zhao Ziyang signed the "Joint Sino-British Declaration"; an historic agreement returning Hong Kong to China. Finishing a British rule of over 155 years and transferring Hong Kong from a British colony to a communist China marking a historic change and launching a new era in trading and diplomacy between this two countries. The Chinese president at the time Dent Xiaoping greeted Mrs. Thatcher and further celebration took place in the Great Hall of the People with several guests from Hong Kong.

Today, Hong Kong is one of the biggest, most powerful and populated cities in China & the world. City of opportunities, money & power, Hong Kong is... "The Crown Jewel" of China.

"Did you Know?..." is a private section in this blogger and if used

you must add this image & tag Roberto Arrizon (A00957551).

On the contrary you'll be violating a trademark and your post

will be submitted to trial, with elimination as a possible result.

Please respect this trademark, follow the rules established,

and then feel free to create your own "Did you Know?..." posts!

Read More......

Israeli-Palestinian - The Oslo Accords

If you followed our last post which talked about the Israeli-Palestinian Water Issue, you probably read a term you were not familiar with; the Oslo Accords.

In case you were left with a doubt about what this could be, this post will give you a brief introduction to what the Oslo Accords are.

The Oslo Accords

It was in 1993, September the 13th when representatives from the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and the State of Israel signed in a Washington ceremony hosted by American President at the time Bill Clinton, the "Oslo Accords", also known as "Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements"(Quite long isn't it?). This agreement was meant to end so many decades of rivalry between Israelis and Palestinians, but it wasn't exactly like that.

The Oslo Accords contained a set of principles agreed by both parts, which established a Palestinian self rule period, which was supposed to last for 5 years, but issues were not to wait, and at the third year they were already knocking the door. They were deferred though, to later negotiation that would lead to an agreement that would take effect at the end of this interim period.

The main points of the Oslo Accords were:

1. Transfer of Powers to Palestinians
   [The Oslo Accords included an agreement regarding a transfer of power and responsibilities to the Palestinians in the regions of West Bank and Gaza.]
   
   
2. The Oslo Accords do not prejudge the Permanent Status:
   [The Oslo Accords specifically state that permanent status issues are to be excluded from the interim arrangements and that the outcome of the permanent status talks should not be prejudged or preempted by the interim arrangements. During this period, the Israeli government retains sole responsibility for foreign affairs, defense and borders. Israel's position on Jerusalem remains unchanged.]
   
   
3. Security is still of Israeli responsibility:
   [In the Oslo Accords, Israel and the PLO agree that during the interim period, Israel will still be responsible for security along the international borders and the crossing points to Egypt and Jordan. Israel will also retain responsibility for and the overall security of Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli settlements in those areas, and freedom of movement on roads.]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   - This agreement later suffered some changes, due to disagreements. Even nowadays we can find some results of this agreement, like we mentioned in our last post, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian Water issue.
   
   
   If you want to learn a bit more about the Oslo Accords follow this link:
   http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_oslo_accords.php
   
   
   
   
   
   

Read More......

Israeli-Palestinian Water Issue - Opinion post

It is likely that some of you might know what this post talks about, but I find it quite interesting and I believe it could be an issue we can discuss about.

The Israeli-Palestinian water issue

In class we talked about this article from The Independent. Israel is being accused of denying the regions of West Bank and Gaza the access to usable water. They say there is a complete discriminatory control that gives Israelis access to four times the water that Palestinians consume.

An Amnesty International report, made by Donatella Rovera, explains how this situation goes. This report mentions that between 180,000 and 200,000 Palestinians in rural communities have no access to running water, and blames the Israeli military to "often" prevent Palestinians from accessing rainwater, by destroying water-harvesting cisterns, prohibiting construction of water wells, and even confiscating water tankers.

The report also mentions the unequal distribution of water coming from the mountain aquifer (which is the principal groundwater resource for both communities). At the same time, it talks about the donors and how they do not manage correctly the funding water-related projects in these territories. All these issues, have some sort of relationship to the Oslo accord in the mid-nineties which we will talk about in further posts. But in a few words, the Oslo agreement established a highly unequal distribution, but the author of this amnesty says that this situation has gone way beyond the establishments of the Oslo agreement.

By the other hand; what is Israel's position in all this issue? Well, Israel is indeed defending itself with certain aspects, such as the Oslo agreement. They say that they respect what this agreement established and they blame the wrong distribution of water by the Palestinians according the the Israel's water authority.

Whatever the truth may be, it is real that Palestinians are going through a very rough situation without the right access to usable water. So, what could be a solution for this issue? If the Israeli government really is denying access, what could the Palestinians do?

Please, feel free to give your opinion, of what a solution could be.

Read More......

New Tecnologies, to move the World: - Future Technologies -

Well, throughout these posts we have discussed about several new technologies that have been developed to move our vehicles in a much safer, more efficient, and less expensive way, but unfortunately we have reached our limit of posts, so I'm going to have to wrap it up. I have decided to make a brief presentation of several other technologies that have not yet been developed, but that will change our future of transportation.

We have already talked about Hybrid vehicles, but this technology has not yet been entirely developed. There is still more to do with this gasoline-electric hybrids; which, we hope they will someday become entirely electric-electric vehicles. We can already find several concepts of fully electric cars, but we can't find them in the market yet.

New technologies that will become more noticed as well, will be: liquid nitrogen based vehicles, hydrogen based vehicles and of course, they will have to fully developed the so known solar based technology. These and more technologies will appear in a near future. If you want to find out more about them, feel free to follow these links:

http://www.hybridcars.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle#See_also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_nitrogen_vehicle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid

Also if you want to know what future will bring us, YOU MUST WATCH, this video that I found...

BMW Concept Car: GINA from 12FRAMES on Vimeo.

We don't know what the future will bring us, but we can be sure that as you read this, new technologies are being developed, that, as we mentioned in previous posts, will try to make our lives easier, and to help and protect our planet.

Read More......

New Tecnologies, to move the World: - Hybrid Vehicles -

New Tecnologies, to move the World: - Hybrid Vehicles -

For this post we will talk about another technology, that is moving our vehicles today, in a more environment friendly way. If you have been following our posts on these new technologies, you will know what we are talking about.

You've already heard about this new "Hybrid" vehicles that are trying to make a revoluti

on in the automotive industry. But I bet many of you don't really know how these vehicles work. What is the secret of this "Hybrid" cars? How do they save our money, and on top of this, help the environment? They sound pretty cool don't they? Lets find out how they work.

The Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) combine an internal combustion engine propulsion with one, or several electric propulsion system. This combination is intended to get better fuel economy, in other words, save some green. There are several varieties of HEVs,but the most common, and is the one driven by a gasoline internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by batteries. The way they work together is actually very simple. The HEV works with the electric energy produced by the batteries, and although it does not produce the same efficiency (efficiency mostly meaning: speed), it does reduce pollution and is much more healthier for the planet.

But then, what role does the combustion engine plays in this mechanism? Simple, once the car is running out of battery, or if you just want to increase your vehicle's efficiency, the combustion engine, by the use of regular fuel, comes in and saves the day. Depending on the type of HEV, the combustion of the engine will either recharge the battery set, or start working as energy source in your car.

There are several aspects that makes HEVs a reliable, money saving, environmental friendly

etc etc option. For example, the braking mechanism of several models is a much more efficient and energy saving. Besides, although the gasoline engine is smaller in these vehicles, in several cases you have the option to use both engines at a time, making your HEV as efficient, and even more than a regular fossil-fuel vehicle.

You probably attribute the invention of HEVs to Toyota, with the release of their Hybrid Prius

in 1997; but the invention, of Hybrid vehicles goes back to 1917, in American soil. The Woods

Motors Vehicle Company of Chicago presented the first idea of a gasoline-electric hybrid car. But this hybrid was a complete failure, being way too slow for its price. Besides back then it was not very easy to find a mechanic for Hybrid cars. It was until Toyota presented the Prius, and later on Honda the Insight hybrid car, when

they came back to light. But still when they were released, they were not considered as necessary as they are now, for the price of gasoline and diesel was not so high.

Nowadays Hybrid cars are becoming, more than a sensation, a need. It is very likely that few years from now we will find a lot more HEVs on the streets... and this is not the only new technologies that we will find, running along on our streets in the future.

Keep Track of these posts to learn more about the new technologies, that are moving our world.

Read More......

China & India, "Two Economic Monsters"

We've all heard that China is becoming one of the most powerful countries, economically speaking, yet there is another country who does not want to be left behind, and it is a country not everybody is aware of; India.

Both countries have somehow found a way to improve their economic situation across the years. But, how have they done this?...

We can say China's Economic improvement started after 1978, after World War II was over. Before this, China's average growth per year was of roughly 6 percent a year. After 1978, it's average growth was of about 9 percent. There were also several years that it reached 13 percent of average growth.

Even today their economy is still on the rise. Though, today, China's impressive GDP growth might face a few threats, such as: Undervalued Currency, Nonperforming Bank Loans, Inefficient state-owned prices, and growing income disparities.But still, there is another fact, development, both economical and social in China go hand to hand; what used to be the lower classes can now we considered middle class. The countries' infrastructure has been improved as well, and there is a chance that China could stop being just a "very large industry" that supplies treats all over the world.This issue has created a worldwide doubt... Will China become a threat to the world? Especially, for its major rival, The United States.

"Per capita income has nearly quadrupled in the last 15 years, and a few analysts are even predicting that the Chinese economy will be larger than that of the United States in about 20 years". Say Zuliu Hu & Mohsin S. Khan in their article "Why is China Growing so Fast"

For more information visit this link: [http://www.imf.org/EXTERNAL/PUBS/FT/ISSUES8/INDEX.HTM]

China and India are countries recognized by all the world. Their economic growth has been really fast in the last century. Both countries have developed their economic situation using infrastructure, low labor and high trading range to raise their position in comparison with other power countries. Indiaprincipally started to trade with high industry products, not only with products of rawmaterial.This is how their numbers have increased since 1980.

To know more about the way India's economy has being managed visit: [http://www.indianchild.com/india_economy_growth.htm] and

[http://www.economywatch.com/indianeconomy/indian-economy-overview.html]

- Globalisation, a current issue.

How positive can Globalisation be? What are it's negative aspects?

In one hand, globalisation has really opened doors to new cultures in different countries. It is easy now to see anItalianin Mexico, a French in Tokyo or a Mexican in Los Angeles (haha).

Trading opportunities has also being encouraged by this matter. Countries are now basing its economy a little bit more in trading than they used to.

Also the appearance of new technologies thanks to globalisation, although most of the time you read in tags "Made in China", "Made in Japan", "Made in Taiwan" etcetera. But still, it has become a positive aspect in countries development.

But Globalisation is still not a fairytale. The mixing of cultures is slowly "destroying" them. This new technologies, well, if you've seen the film "I Robot", you might think about it twice before having a robot doing your chores.

Another issue of globalisation is the fact that countries have become more and more dependent to each other; and this, in the long run, could become worse.

Read More......

New Tecnologies, to move the World: -Bio diesel-

Wow, our last post was amazingly left behind with so many new posts... but if you read it, you will be able to keep track of these new posts that will be appearing concerning these new technologies, that are moving, and will move our world.

We've all heard about diesel, obviously. We used to relate it to big, monstrous trucks, made only for ranches and carrying or pulling big things. Then we started finding diesel in smaller cars. This was a breath of fresh air to many, since the price of gasoline was rising incredibly (and yes, it still is). But now, I want to introduce you to a "healthier" cousin of regular diesel; "Bio diesel".

But what is "Bio diesel"? Well, looking at the name you must guess it must be some sort of cleaner, safer type of diesel... and yes, it is.

Bio diesel is a type of diesel that is produced in, let's say, a healthier way. It can be extracted from vegetable oil, seeds, or animal fat; which are of course cleaner, and better for the environment. The products used during the production process are better than those used to produce regular diesel (in a sense of, better for the environment); making Bio diesel, completely biodegradable.

It can be used in any diesel motor and several tests have concluded that using Bio diesel will extend the life of your vehicle. Also many automotive companies have agreed that Bio diesel really helps the environment, and highly reduces air pollution.

If you would like to learn more detailed specifications of Bio diesel, feel free to follow this links:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiésel

http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/2006/biodiesel/biodiesel_1.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sSxZKoCCQ4&hl=es

...

But although "Bio diesel" is a healthier response for the automotive industry, and it does help the environment, it is still not the best solution, it still pollutes a bit.

However, there are new technologies being developed as you read this post, and they all share the same purpose; to help our planet earth.

Keep in touch for other new technologies, that will move our cars, and us in the future.

Read More......

Well, if it isn't future knocking on our doors...

Well, if it isn't the future knocking on our doors.

As we all now, we are going through a rough time. Everywhere we turn, we hear the words crisis, pollution, poverty, corruption, insecurity and a lot of other phrases not worth mentioning. The economic crisis is not bounded to American territory, this crisis has hit many countries all over the world. Whether we like it or not, America's suffering, is our suffering too. But still, we are hanging; and there are things now in motion that are meant to change this situation.

But this post is not to talk about this crisis, instead, I want to focus in one of those things in motion that is looking to improve our economy, and our planet.

Environmental issues are now of great importance for everybody. Thousands of environmental care programs are now set all over the globe, and the automotive industry does not want to be left behind.

"New times are coming, and behind them, new technologies".

Everyday new cars are being developed, those that use regular gasoline, those that use diesel (smaller and smaller cars everyday), the new hybrid cars that move with a minimum amount of fuel, and mostly out of electricity. These are the cars we find nowadays, but it won't be long before new technologies will reach the market. There are cars being developed, that are meant to run on bio-diesel (an even "healthier" version out of diesel), cars running on electricity that use even less, or no fuel at all, also new cars that will run on hydrogen.

All these measures are in development, in order to make a healthier planet, to deal with global warming and air pollution. But what will come along with these new technologies? Will they be as safe as they are supposed to be? Will there be any, secondary effects?

We don't know what these new technologies will bring along. But they will sure be more positive for our environment.

Keep track of this posts to learn more about these new technologies that will be moving our cars, and us in the future.

Read More......

A useful link to China's Economic Growth..

I was researching about China's Economic growth, and I thought it would be a good idea to post something in the blogger, along with the link, for this upcoming homework that we have. Use the link, it is actually pretty interesting what you can find. Here are some comments.

Chinese Economic growth begin around 1978 when China embarked in a on a program of economic reform. "In an effort to awaken a dorming economic giant" it says, it encouraged the formation of private businesses as well as rural enterprises; they liberalized foreign trade & investment, they "relaxed" state control over certain prices and they invested in industrial production and the education of its workforce. Quoting: "By nearly all accounts, the strategy has worked spectacularly".

This is somehow the way chinese government has found the way into a growing economic development. You will also find the way they measure this economic growth, and you will find several impressive numbers, such as annual rates of growth, and a comparison with (and this term will probably be new for you) the economic growth of the "Asian Tigers" (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, province of China).

It is a very useful source, if you want to learn a bit more about China's economic growth, and it might be useful for your upcoming homeworks.

Here is the link to the webpage:

http://www.imf.org/EXTERNAL/PUBS/FT/ISSUES8/INDEX.HTM

Read More......

Nazi Propaganda..

Here we have some examples of nazi propaganda...

And here are two videos...

For those who thought everybody hated Hitler...

Feel free to comment...

Read More......

Nuclear Weapons..

For those of you, who enjoy reading and learning about nuclear weapons (like I do), here is a very interesting link to a webpage called "The Nuclear Weapon Archive". In here you can find information about nuclear weapons that have been developed, used, lost and found, even according to different countries. Enjoy

"The Nuclear Weapon Archive"

--> http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/

Feel free to post any opinions about this site.

Read More......

Questions Debate...

Ok then... Like I mentioned before in a previous post, last class we discussed several interesting ideas based on some questions the teacher gave us. I thought that class was very fulfilling, and I would like to talk more about this... and why not all of us?... I'm opening this new space so we can discuss a bit more about this questions... Here they are:

1. What are world's strongest countries? - Why do you say that?

2. What is strong anyway? (What you believe makes a country strong)

3. Which countries wouldn't you want to be at war with?

4. Which countries "follow" others?

5. What makes a country GREAT?

6. WHO WILL DOMINATE THE FUTURE???

7. Will Mexico ever be a strong country?

Now, feel free to post any answers or ideas you have about this questions.

Let's make this a fun debate!

Read More......

Class Topics!

Alright, today we saw our first topics of the semester WWI & WWII...

These Post is intended for you guys to comment about the topics that we will be talking about during the semester. It would be easier if we divide this by dates and partials, making it easier to use. For example, today's topics, WWI & WWII (Aug.18.09 - Partial I). Feel free to comment whatever you think might be interesting or useful.

We can also start other topic for regular conversations. The point is we have to use this as much as we can, so let's think about it as another Facebook, only, without pictures or games hahaxD...

Read More......