The current offered operating system, OS X Lion, was an attempt to add a few of the aspects people loved about their portable devices to their home computer, and only a year later, Apple has done it again.

Mountain Lion has adopted even more iOS aspects to make the new operating system even more user-friendly. This includes changes to old apps and brand new apps such as iCloud, Messages, Reminders, Notes, and Notification Center.

I am going to touch on a few of the various differences that come with OS X Mountain Lion.

iCloud

For those of you who have an iPhone 4 or 4S, you will be at least slightly familiar with iCloud. This application allows you to access files, emails, contacts, documents, and more on multiple devices simultaneously. So basically, what you have on your computer at home can be easily retrieved by iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad a hundred miles away.

Messages

With the newer versions of iOS, there is a facet called Messages. It’s similar to the current version of iChat, but like the iPhone, you are able to see when parties are replying to your messages, switch to FaceTime, and send photos and HD videos on all devices. All of your conversations are accessible through Mac, iPod touch, iPad, and iPhone at all times.

Reminders

On the newest software update for the iPhone, a new app was placed front and center: Reminders. This app allows you to make multiple lists set with due dates, alerts, and deadlines. Now, it also will be available on your Mac and will sync to the rest of your portable Apple devices.

Notes

Notes is not a new facet to Mac OS X, but that is not to say it isn’t new and improved! Notes provides an easy way to jot down anything from recipes to photos to other attachments. This app also provides various fonts and Rich Text Format for the most convenient use, and like many of the new facets of Mountain Lion, your notes on your home computer will automatically sync to all of your devices so you have all the information you need on the go.

Notification Center

Most users have many things running on their desktop all the time, including Twitter, e-mail, App Store notifications, reminders, and special calendar events. The Notification Center allows users to see all new notifications all at once. It is available in a small panel that is easy to organize, depending on your personal taste. For those of you who are more intimately familiar with Macs, the Notifications Center is basically like a new and improved Growl, which allows you to know what’s going on in all your applications.

AirPlay Mirroring

This is a brand new feature in Mountain Lion. With AirPlay Mirroring, you can immediately stream what’s on your Mac to your HDTV using your Apple TV. This is great for classroom lessons, job presentations, and even streaming movies at home!

I have left out a few new exciting changes, but you can read all about them and even watch a video about the changes happening in OS X Mountain Lion on Apple’s website.

Technology is changing, and Apple is keeping up with it very well. If you enjoy the user-friendly interface of your iPhone or iPad, you may want to look further into OSX Mountain Lion. According to Apple, OS X Mountain Lion will be available this summer. Even though Apple has not released the exact date or the price yet, this is one of the most anticipated changes coming to Apple products since the iPhone 4S.

–Amanda

What is autism spectrum disorder you ask? According to Autism Society, it is a “complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects the person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.” This disorder affects roughly one out of every eighty-eight children born in the United States alone.

With these statistics, it’s obvious that lengths need to be taken in order to better the learning of children with ASD, which is exactly what these doctors and researchers have tried to accomplish.

In an article by Walter Pacheco for the Orlando Sentinel, he wrote about  4-year-old Christopher Gómez who had the opportunity to use a new form of learning that incorporated 3-D, interactive pictures and words. This new use of technology in the special education classroom helps “the school’s fifty autistic children overcome the challenges they encounter when learning to read.”

Because the 3-D images move along with the accompaniment to an audio recording, it makes a long-term impression on the learners, providing them with an easier way to read.   However, where some children with ASD are learning how to read, there are others of whom their ASD is more severe, meaning they have a difficult time communicating on a more social level.

Generally speaking, children with autism are less likely to engage in socializing or be around large groups of people. Instead of being socially interactive, they have found that movies or games played on a screen are much more entertaining. However, due to their fixation with seemingly mindless entertainment, what little social skills they possessed were worsening with their lack of practice.

Janet Maragioglio wrote of various ways for parents to help use technology for the benefit of their child in the development of social skills. She found Smartphones and tablets, more specifically Apple’s iPad, would be able to help in this field. The wonderful facet of these devices is they are portable, and they also have applications (otherwise known as apps) that have the ability to help refine learners’ social abilities and improve their sensory motor skills.

Research has proven  “the same features that make smartphones and tablets interactive… can double as therapy devices for people with autism and other developmental disabilities,” which makes this new technology an invaluable tool for children with cognitive disorders.

An example of this is the story of 3-year-old Sharia Siddiqui. She was diagnosed with a clear case of autism, and would sit transfixed in front of the television for hours at a time. Because of this, both her parents worried about her. Sharia was completely non-verbal, and the only way she could communicate was through crying.

In 2010, when Apple’s iPad was released, Sharia’s father bought it so she would be able to communicate. Now, instead of crying, she points at pictures and words, giving her the control to communicate without resorting to other methods.

Through these stories, it is seen quite clearly that technology is being used to transform the lives of children with ASD and their families. There are well more than 700 apps for children with autism found in Apple’s App Store, including applications such as Proloquo2Go and First Words. This accessibility to programs such as these provides parents with new avenues to explore in order to better the lives of their children.

–Amanda

The tattoo will be completely customizable in appearance, as will the vibration from the tattoo itself. This could allow people to integrate body art into social connectivity.

Our technology has continued to get smaller in size as it has become more and more advanced. Now, however, we are at an impasse of wanting large screens, but smaller products overall. This is just one of the ways people are attempting to shrink technology: Inserting it into our skin.

The medical field already has been looking into this type of technology. There is a Glucose-Monitoring Tattoo that would help diabetics test their glucose levels without having to prick themselves for blood samples.

Some people, however, feel this technology is more trouble than it is worth. After wading through all of the comments on how this is clearly the mark of the beast spoken about in the Bible’s Book of Revelation, I found several comments suggesting other avenues that could have similar benefits without having to go to such drastic, and permanent measures.

Commenter Jillicentix suggested a vibrating bracelet or ring instead of a tattoo. Many felt a tattoo was far too drastic a measure to take for the simple purpose of not missing alerts from your phone.

Another commenter, Matthew Denniston, made an astute observation when he brought up the issues of putting metallic ink in your skin when you may need an MRI. The specialty ink could be an issue when dealing with not only this medical issue, but also an issue with X-rays and getting through metal detectors at security checkpoints.

People are willing to take drastic measures when technology is involved. People have made jokes about how humanity is quickly falling into the world of Wall-E when it comes to dealing with technology. (Just look at the photo used for this blog.) Not only this, but people put all of the information in their lives into one little computer, sometimes just a mobile device. If they lost that, or had it stolen, the repercussions would be huge, but the convenience factor always seems to win out.

Where this line between convenience and obsession with technology gets drawn is up to the future developers in these technological fields. There is certainly nothing wrong with desiring convenience in your technology, but is there no way to integrate convenience into a product without propelling us into a future of obese, lethargic, chair-ridden humans?

We must learn how to develop technology that is not only built for quicker processing, ease of access, and multitasking, but also built with our body and health in mind as well. We must not only keep our bodies fit, but also our minds. If we get too connected to technology, in situations where we are unable to use it – such as it being broken, under maintenance, or out of reach – we will be completely lost.

Balance is one of the things humanity must comprehend. Balance, in all things, is what will help us gain our convenience, but also increase our productivity and health. We must not throw away things we take for granted now, like our health and vigor, and replace them with speed and ease.

The people who will be in charge of this are the technologically minded. People tend to gravitate to new products without thinking about their possible repercussions. It falls to the people putting out the products to follow their own moral passions and convictions. Will you want to be remembered in the future as the person who developed the technology that caused humanity to fall into lethargy, or the one who propelled us to new heights as a species?

Those entering careers in technology industries have the opportunity to develop new tools that will shape our future. A technical education can lead to new inventions and patents like this one, or possibly one responsible for the well-being of millions. It’s not too late to start your technical education. Take a chance and see if you can affect the future.

—    Brian

Few women are taking advantage of the growth in green energy industries, and Austin Community College is seeking to change this. According to an article on the Austin, Texas, website, Culture.com, and as part of its Environmental Awareness Month, ACC presented a session April 11 on opportunities for women in clean energy.

The session introduced successful women in the energy field to show support for women working in the industry. Shelly Attix, coordinator of continuing education workforce special projects at ACC, said female role models in the industry is very important to getting more female recruits. As an example, she said hiring a female instructor for an introductory solar energy class increased female enrollment from nearly none to 75 percent.

Women have a place in this growing industry and should take advantage of the increased job opportunities. The U.S. Department of Energy predicted in the George W. Bush administration that wind energy would support 500,000 jobs by 2030.

To have a successful career in wind energy, or any other technical field, education is essential. “The more math you take, the more money you make. Technical skills equal money,” said Mick Normington, a business specialist at the Texas Workforce Commission.

TSTC Publishing’s TechCareers: Wind Energy and upcoming 2012 release Introduction to Wind Energy tell readers how to get started in a career in wind energy. These books include industry outlook information, career options, average salaries, required skills, and an extensive list of educational programs around the United States. These books give a comprehensive look at the wind energy industry and prepare the reader for a fruitful career.

To learn more about the wind industry, pick up a copy of TechCareers: Wind Energy Technicians by Mike Jones. Women interested in going into green energy should look into wind energy and education options like that at ACC.

— Emilly