Tag: tech

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The (hero’s) journey into Trust and Safety

Graphic by Finn Grosu @tesdoncbenfinn

Communications professionals and recent graduates are taking a closer look at one of the most prominent fields of the digital age.

The number of recent graduates in arts and communication in Quebec has increased in the last few years. According to Statistics Canada, 6,177 students graduated from the program in 2021. With 84.6 per cent working full-time jobs related to their education in 2022, there is still a significant unemployment rate for those who haven’t started their professional lives after university.

As Sarah T. Roberts points out in her book Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media,, working with commercial content moderation (which is part of Trust and Safety) is an open door for many recent graduate students to start their careers. Considering a journey into the so-called T&S before touching the diploma can be a nice strategy to get off to a good start in a prominent field.

Briefly explained by Inbal Goldberger, T&S is the practice of ensuring the safety of users and the integrity of online platforms. These professionals are responsible for minimizing the risk of users’ exposure to harmful content and ensuring acceptable behaviour. Commercial content moderators screen user-generated content posted to internet sites, social media, and other online outlets. This may take place before the material is submitted for inclusion or distribution on a site, or after material has already been uploaded.

The Trust & Safety Professional Association states that more than 100,000 T&S professionals play a critically important role toward a shared goal of ensuring online safety around the world. They deal with commercial content moderation, guidelines, legal compliance, strategic implementations, and much more. As social media and digital communities are growing each day, companies need to figure out what online behavior is fair and what is not. They need new minds.

The first advantage to this field is the enormous sense of community. These T&S professionals are often connected among LinkedIn organizations, events, and webinars, which have become  essential digital places to share knowledge and experiences. 

As this field is a relatively new one within the digital sphere and there’s no degree requirement (yet), the mission of sharing knowledge is part of the spirit of these professionals. They come from different fields, they have different perspectives about the digital space, and they are open to sharing their journey. It’s very common to see them suggesting paths for beginners who seek training or guidance to eventually apply for T&S positions. 

Besides bringing visibility to digital threats and knowing how to face malicious behaviors and harmful content, T&S is also influenced by global events and technological advances as highlighted by Active Fence, one of the biggest companies of the sector. It’s expected for communicators to be alert to events, another asset for arts and communications graduates. 

In this progressing sector, a migration from different fields is needed to win the war against negative digital practices. Professionals and students who want to invest in it should be aware of the community’s accessible offerings. Career opportunities are available for professionals to find a valuable path toward making the internet a better place to be. It’s clear how open T&S professionals are to bringing newcomers closer to their own hero narrative with braveness to face the challenges from the online universe. 

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Student Life

Not all superheroes wear capes

Graphic by @sundaeghost

An increasing number of grocers have taken to offering online ordering services.

The consumer can add food items to their cart, and either pick it up in store or have it delivered at a cost. But what if you could do this and contribute to eliminating waste at the same time?

Montreal-based startup FoodHero offers a virtual market, allowing merchants to sell food that would have otherwise ended up in the garbage – products that are still consumable. But FoodHero is not a food company.

“We are actually a technology company,” said Alexandria Laflamme, a FoodHero representative. “We developed an application with the primary goal to counter food waste.”

It is no secret that many food merchants dispose of food items that are still good. As per Second Harvest’s 2019 The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste report, nearly 60 per cent of food produced in Canada is wasted annually. In fact, Canada is among the top emitters where food waste is concerned. According to the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition’s (BCFN) 2018 Food Sustainability Index, Canada ranks fifth for overall food loss and waste.

“Our interface gives the consumer a chance to go give a second life to these products,” said Laflamme, adding that the products are offered at 25 to 60 per cent off their original price. Customers can search for products by store proximity and filter through food categories, allowing for them to shop accordingly to their diet, whether it be vegetarian, lactose-free, Halal or Kosher.

“Consumers are always thinking ‘oh, I don’t know what I can do,’ but FoodHero gives them the power to do something,” said Laflamme. “We act as an intermediary agent between the consumer and the merchant, and use technology to give them power.” She added that this technological aspect allows for their collaborators to still feel as though they are in charge and contributing to the issue at hand.

Being primarily a tech company, FoodHero worked on an algorithm within the application that allows the consumer to see the amount of emissions that were prevented through their cumulative orders and the kilograms of food waste saved. “The consumer can actually see their impact,” explained Laflamme. “This allows for them to make sense of what they are doing.”

FoodHero’s primary mission is to reduce food waste in grocery stores, which is currently at around 40 per cent worldwide, according to Laflamme and statistics found on the FoodHero website.

“Our goal is to work with many agents in the food industry,” said Laflamme, referring to producers and distributors. “Currently, we work only with grocery stores, which, in itself, is already a place where there is a huge amount of waste.”

“We are starting off. The statistics are still being accumulated but we are growing,” said Laflamme. “We started off collaborating with one IGA, three months ago, then six, and currently, we have over 100 IGA stores on board and are approaching the 200 mark.”

While the app has only been active for six months, the company has grown exponentially since their debut over the summer, due to a business model developed by the FoodHero team over the course of two years, and will soon be expanding to include Metro grocers.

“It was a very well thought out prototype,” said Laflamme. “It was thoroughly tested because it is a complex idea. Because of this, we are working well, and growing quickly.”

However, FoodHero is not the only player in the game. Flashfood, a similar app by Loblaw Companies Ltd., is currently partnered with 139 Maxi and Provigo locations throughout Quebec.

But what change does FoodHero hope to contribute to the overall problem? “Our objective is to have all our collaborating merchants be zero food waste by 2025,” said Laflamme.

While there is still a lot of work to be done in regards to waste in the food industry, Laflamme  said that it is the everyday details, like shopping apps, that will contribute to making a change.

“It’s small steps that will allow for us to have a real impact,” said Laflamme.

More information about FoodHero can be found on their website https://foodhero.com/. Their app is available on the App Store and Google Play. 

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Student Life

The MUTEK international festival of digital creativity turns 18

The TouchDesigner Workshop gathered technicians to learn more about audio visualization techniques. Photo by Sandra Hercegova

Inviting media artists from around the world to discuss the future of creative spaces in cities

The evolution and future of creative spaces in urban cities was the focus of the 18th edition of the MUTEK international festival of digital creativity and electronic music. Top artists within the digital media realm from London, Mexico City, Barcelona and Berlin gathered in Montreal from Aug. 22 to 27.

The festival featured panel conferences, an exhibition focusing on subversions of reality and electronic music parties. There was also a digital lab workshop set up by TouchDesigner, a real-time visual development platform used for creating interactive media systems, such as visuals for music. The workshop allowed digital technicians to learn more about audio visualization techniques on the TouchDesigner platform.

Immersive technology, visual art and live music performances under a stratosphere at the SAT for MUTEK. Photo by Sébastien Roy

On the second day of the festival, the focus was on the city of London and its creative spaces. Londoners who play a role in their local digital art or music communities were invited to participate in panel conferences to discuss their projects and challenges. One speaker was Marie McPartlin, the studio director for Somerset House Studios, which commissions one of those more well-known series of events in London. McPartlin explained how this creative space, Nocturnal City, plays a big role in London’s nightlife and pushes the boundaries of underground culture.

Alongside McPartlin at the panel conference was the director of Montreal’s Never Apart, Anthony Galati; Oliver Baurhenn, the curator and organizer of the CTM Festival in Berlin; and Danji Buck-Moore, a collective member of the creative events space, La Plante, in Montreal.

The panelists discussed the need for spaces that allow artistic experimentation in urban environments and how new, creative spaces can foster diversity and inclusion.

Galati is the music director at Never Apart, a non-profit organization in Montreal which aims to bring social change and spiritual awareness through cultural programming.

Galati has been helping creatives in Montreal gain visibility by providing them with resources to evolve their artistic endeavours. According to Galati, access to creative spaces is difficult and venues in Montreal are lacking. “People are creating more, but access to creative space is a bit tougher nowadays, and this is why we need spaces that promote and perpetuate artistic behaviour and endeavours,” he said.

While there is a general need for creative space in the city, Galati put a particular emphasis on providing such spaces for low-income families and teenagers. The reason is that price is another limiting factor for participants. “It’s expensive to make music, it’s expensive to make art — more collaboration is what cities need,” Galati said.

Immersive technology, visual art and live music performances under a stratosphere at the SAT for MUTEK. Photo by Sébastien Roy

The second panel conference discussed the present and future of audiovisual practices in music festivals, film and digital arts. The panel invited the senior director of the British Film Institute, Tim Stevens; Montreal-based digital artist Myriam Bleau; Antonia Folguera, a content creator for the Sonar Festival in Barcelona; and multidisciplinary artist Paul Purgas from London.

“It’s a very fertile time for art because everyone has a story to tell — we want to support experimentation in the U.K,” said Stevens, who has more than 16 years of experience in film, live cinema and digital media. This was his third time attending the MUTEK festival in Montreal. According to Stevens, creative expression is currently too focused on technological mediums rather than the story itself. “We’re at a time where people are thinking, ‘I want to tell a story, now what’s the best form of technology to use to tell this story?’” he said. “I think my biggest advice would be: don’t worry about technology. Think of the story that you want to tell because that’s where the emotion, passion and the drive comes from.”

“When you are telling a good story, it doesn’t matter what you use,” he added. “I think people obsess too much about the form that they are using when they should just focus on their story.”

Furthermore, the panel discussed the role of immersive technology in the future of audiovisual practices, such as sound and visual aesthetics in movies. According to Stevens, at the moment, VR is only monetized through video games. As it transitions to film and art, people are trying to work out what that means for the future of these mediums. “My biggest concern about VR is that it takes away community experience,” Stevens said. “There is no audience there — it’s just an experience that one person is having. What I love about visual and audio stuff is doing live cinema and seeing everyone’s reactions.”

Stevens also made a point to reflect on the challenges creativity faces in his city. “London is a big city, and there is a lot going on. There [are] a lot of problems with the culture there when it comes to art because you need to make a very loud noise and spend a lot of money to be able to cut through.”

The common thread that emerged throughout the festival was the need to include more space for creativity in urban cities and to make these spaces more accessible and inclusive. “In an ideal world,” Galati said, “there would be cubes everywhere that people can use as multi-purpose spaces.”

Feature photo by Sandra Hercegova 

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Student Life

My personal experience having a YouTube channel

Graphic by Thom Bell

How YouTube taught me life skills and how to be confident

I started my YouTube channel four years ago. In the beginning, the purpose was basically to post random music video covers of some of my favourite songs. Now, my YouTube channel has evolved and completely shifted focus—I now film and post videos about beauty, food as well as lifestyle-type videos. I’ve also recently started filming videos of my travel getaways and story-time videos. I plan on expanding on more aspects of myself for others to see.

When I started out, I was definitely nervous about filming videos and having them posted on a platform as big as YouTube. However, I knew that, if anyone could do it, I could. I’ve always had the courage in me to do anything I want. I’ve never really been afraid of what other people think.

However, I faced some disapproval when I first started out. My mom and sister judged me for the videos I posted on my channel. They called them stupid and useless. For a while, I felt discouraged about this negative feedback. Recently, I saw insulting comments posted on my videos. I deleted them and pretended they never existed. Of course, deep down, it hurts.

When you film videos and post them online, you need to be prepared for any comment that may come your way—the good, the bad and the ugly. You need to shrug off the hateful comments and keep moving forward. This is my current mindset for my YouTube journey, and it feels good. I have gained enough self-trust and confidence through YouTube— I know I am doing this for nobody else but me.

My YouTube channel means a lot to me. It’s the place where I can truly express myself with people around the world. Filming videos has definitely boosted my confidence. I can see myself evolving and becoming more “social” online by reaching out to people from all over. It makes me feel free to say and do whatever I want.  It has also helped me practice speaking aloud and in front of a camera. These skills translate well in my academic life. My channel has also forced me to be more socially-active with friends and when meeting or talking to strangers.

I also like the idea of helping people through my YouTube videos. I want to be a role model for others. Making these videos has made me want to help others overcome the same struggles I’ve dealt with in my life, including bullying and issues with self-image. I also want my YouTube channel to be a light, fun environment where I can also post funny skits, travel adventures and videos about makeup.

If you’re thinking about starting a YouTube channel, be yourself and do not be afraid to express yourself and branch out. This will help you develop a thick skin and ignore hateful comments because, at the end of the day, you are doing what makes you happy. There are always going to be people online hating on your channel, but use it as motivation to make your content better and take more risks through your videos. As Walt Disney once said: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

Graphic by Thom Bell

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Student Life

Live on the edge with Driveclub

Press photo

The thrilling, realistic, virtual experience of road racing packed into a game

It all started with one word in Netflix’s search engine: Road.

It was late at night and I was surfing Netflix, looking for something exhilarating, dramatic and inspiring. I ended up coming across a documentary my brother had recommended, so I decided to watch it. The film was centered around the story of an Irish family of motorcycle road racers.

The sport of road racing takes place on closed public roads. The racers zip around at speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour on roads lined with trees, garbage cans and driveways.

Press photo

Today, this traditional form of racing is not as common, and really only survives in places like Ireland or on the Isle of Man. The documentary details the rise of two brothers, Joey and Robert Dunlop, who sacrifice everything for their passion of the sport. Completely unafraid of death, the brothers choose to live on the edge doing something they believe in. Both are unanimously worshipped by fans of the sport, and now Robert’s sons, William and Michael, have also become champions.

The documentary left me feeling utterly worthless and craving an opportunity to live my life with such fervour as the Dunlop boys. Although I’m chasing my dreams in real life, I don’t feel like a road racer, I thought to myself. How could I become a road racer? I knew I had to be in class the following morning, so I settled on pursuing the answer in my PlayStation Store—that’s when I found the game Driveclub.

For $16, I got the entire racing game, including hundreds of car choices, and for an additional $16, I got the bike expansion. This is the kind of thrill I needed.

Driveclub Bikes is the perfect concoction of thrill, challenge and, most importantly, fun. The game features 20 bikes from 10 different makers, including BMW, Agusta MV, KTM, Kawasaki and Yamaha.

The motorcycles are astonishingly detailed and come in an array of colours for you to customize exactly how you please. The technical part of the game is to be admired just as much. The racing is challenging and highly realistic. Players have to take corners at the right speeds, brake perfectly, switch gears and avoid colliding with the 10 other racers. The best part of the game is the six camera angles that the player can choose from while racing. Driveclub has improved upon traditional first-person views by adding a camera that sees directly out of the racer’s eyes, as if you are looking out from the helmet.

The game has a dimension of realism, achieved by the changing weather which ultimately makes it hard to see through your helmet.

The game includes six country choices as well: Canada, India, Chile, Norway, Japan and Scotland. The resemblance is amazing.

All in the all, the game matches up to competitors such as Forza, if not surpassing them. With similar games selling easily for up to $80 today, Driveclub is a refreshing addition to the market.

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Student Life

Tech your discrimination elsewhere

From left to right: Behrmann, Palluet, Gendron, Godoy, Testaouni. Photo by Elisa Barbier

Queer Tech MTL hosts a panel on identifying as LGBTQ+ within tech industries

Getting together. Networking. Breaking free from isolation.

This is what Queer Tech MTL is all about. It’s a group that invites people who self-identify as part of the tech and LGBTQ+ communities to gather at monthly events.

The meetings, which started in October 2016, explore elements of the workplace for members of the LGBTQ+ community. They also offer many networking opportunities.

Attendees arrive for the panel. Photo by Elisa Barbier

On Jan. 18, the group gathered at the Keatext office in the Mile-End. Keatext is a text analytics app that helps businesses quickly review customer feedback.

At the meeting, attendees were welcomed with snacks and beverages to hear about “creating the authentic self at work.” Luc Plamondon, who has worked at Keatext for four years now, offered up the space to Queer Tech MTL.

Queer Tech MTL was launched in September 2015 by Naoufel Testaouni, who was soon joined by Jason Behrmann. Testaouni has been working for tech companies on and off over the last five years, and is now a customer experience manager for the data services company, Local Logic. Behrmann completed a PhD at McGill, focusing his research on assessing the social and ethical implications of technologies in healthcare for the LGBTQ+ population. He now works as a communication corporate strategist for FinTech.

Testaouni said the idea for Queer Tech MTL came when he found himself looking for the LGBTQ+ community within tech corporations, but was unable to find anyone. Queer Tech MTL is made up of 400 members who attend events on and off.

“We encourage startups to come, to learn how to promote diversity in their companies,” said Testaouni.

The meeting featured a panel composed of Marie Isabelle Gendron from Pratt and Whitney Canada, Carlos A. Godoy L. from TD Bank and Elodie Palluet from Keyrus Canada. Before starting, Behrmann presented the crowd with statistics on the LGBTQ+ community within the tech world.

“Nearly half of transsexuals do not get promoted, hired or get fired,” said Behrmann. “And, 63 per cent of graduate students go back into the closet when they get a job.”

The panelists discussed their experiences with coming out at work. Gendron said Oct. 7, 2014 was “like a day of resurgence” for her. That was the day she came out as transsexual at her job.

When reminiscing about her experience, she said she remembers it was a shock for her boss, but she was accepting of her nevertheless. It was a big challenge, Gendron said. “Being transsexual is not a choice, but coming out is the choice to live,” she said.

Godoy came out while working for TD Bank. He said TD bank is known for their support of LGBTQ+ clients and employees. “I have it super easy—I am a white French-Canadian, born in Montreal. I am a man mostly interested in men, and I am a banker,” said Godoy. However, he said he has, nonetheless, lived through instances of discrimination in the workplace. He recalled once being called “the drag queen” by one of his former employers.

Testaouni introducing the panelists. Photo by Elisa Barbier

Palluet said she had a more complicated coming-out experience. She has had to resign from two positions because of her boss’ behaviour. Now, however, Palluet said she is at a job where she does not experience discrimination.

The panelists described the tech environment in Montreal as “very friendly” and “young.” However, Katherine Chennel, an aerospace engineer who attended the meeting but is not a member of Queer Tech MTL, told The Concordian she experienced something very different when she came out while working at Bombardier. She said she was coincidentally offered a retirement package soon after coming out as transsexual.

The panelists also discussed measures taken by their corporations to further integrate the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. Gendron said she has seen Pratt and Whitney take measures to help all employees of the community feel safe, and she has received a lot of support. The company has psychologists to educate people in the workplace and implement anti-discrimination policies.

“I want my employees to be happy at work,” said Godoy, quoting William Edmund Clark, the executive chief of TD. Godoy added that TD sent a controversial and revolutionary memo in the early 90s to all its employees. The memo read, “We know that there are gays and lesbians. Some of you may have a same-sex partner, and we want you to know that your partner is entitled to the same things as another employee’s wife or husband.”

Attendees during the panel. Photo by Elisa Barbier.

Gendron talked about Fondation Émergence, an initiative to educate the public on the LGBTQ+ community and the problems they still face today. The initiative will be presenting a documentary showcasing the LGBTQ+ community within three different companies in two months. Palluet added exposing the problems the community still faces is an important part of the education process.

Godoy, Palluet and Gendron concluded by saying that listening to oneself and being one’s authentic self are the keys to living a happy life.

The next Queer Tech MTL event will be held on Feb.16 at 5605 Ave. de Gaspé, second floor.

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Student Life

The unbalanced world of technology

Photo by Alex Hutchins.

President of the Harvey Mudd College discusses women in tech programs and careers

Concordia’s Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering invited Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College (HMC) to discuss the lack of women in the tech world, the progress that is already underway and what still needs to be done.

Harvey Mudd College president, Maria Klawe. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

HMC is a private school located in California, dedicated to the study of science, engineering and mathematics. At the lecture on Nov. 7, Klawe discussed the lack of gender diversity in the tech industry and how HMC is finding innovative ways to change that.

According to a 2013 Atlantic article, “We Need More Women in Tech: The Data Proves It,” women’s participation in the tech industry has decreased over the last decade. Similarly, Klawe’s own research found that, more than any other STEM discipline (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), computer science programs in North America have seen women’s enrolment decline from mid-30 per cent in the 80s to approximately 15 per cent today.

In an effort to recruit more students, Concordia offers small amounts of award money to incite top students to enroll into technology programs.

Klawe said there needs to be improvement in the enrollment process for female undergraduate students in computer science and engineering programs worldwide.  That being said, she also believes the problem goes beyond school, and into the workforce.  First, to successfully recruit female candidates, Klawe proposed that hiring committees be  trained to avoid gender biases.  “What we all need to accept about ourselves is that we grow up in a culture that makes us more likely to think that nurses are going to be female and engineering and computer scientists will be male,” said Klawe.

According to a 2010 research report from the National Center for Women and Information Technology, authors Catherine Ashcraft and Sarah Plithe found that 56 per cent of women working in the tech industry leave their organizations at the mid-level point of the careers, in other words, after 10 to 20 years. Klawe said this is because of women’s own perceptions that they lack the same advancement opportunities as their male colleagues. Therefore, she said, there should be more effort made to keep these women in the tech industry.

“If we make learning and work environments interesting and supportive, build confidence and community among women and demystify success, women will come, thrive and stay [in tech careers],” said Klawe.

The demand for people graduating with computer science and engineering degrees is higher than Klawe has seen in her lifetime. The jobs within the computer science discipline are flexible and pay well, but Klawe said the most important reason more women are needed in tech careers is because they provide different backgrounds and perspectives. She thinks this would lead to more creativity and better solutions to problems.

In addition to her work with HMC, Klawe is also the co-founder of the Computer Research Association (CRA), which was founded in 1991. CRA’s goal is to find ways to get more women in computer research institutions. The association also developed the Distributed Mentor Project (DMP), which allows female undergraduate students to conduct a research project in their field of interest with the guidance of a female mentor from a university faculty different from their own.

“We need more women in academia because, from research, we know that it is important for young women to see role models, and, often the faculty that they are going to interact with are those role models,” Klawe explained. Indeed, a 2015 Higher Education Statistics Agency report found that, globally, only 22 per cent of university professors are women.

HMC has increased its percentage of female computer science majors from 10 per cent to 40 per cent since Klawe’s arrival at the college in 2006.

Maria Klawe. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

The college’s department of computer science revamped its program in 2005, grouping students in computer science introductory classes depending on their prior experience and knowledge in the discipline. This initiative was created in an effort to make female and male students feel like they belong, and can work together on the same level, within the tech industry.

HMC also arranges for first-year undeclared major students to be taken to the annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference, where 90 per cent of attendees are women. The conference is the world’s largest annual gathering of women from the technology industry. Klawe said this conference is a good way to expose students to successful women from the industry. “[Students] will be inspired,” said Klawe, “and no matter what they major in later on, they will know that there are tons of technical women who have great experiences in their careers.”

While advocates like Klawe strive for more balance between women and men in the tech world, she emphasized that this is not a solo mission for women. “It is not the women that need to fix the imbalance,” she said. Ultimately, Klawe said entire communities need to decide if the representation of women in the tech world should be a priority.

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Student Life

Keep Geekin’ on the cheap

Indie bundles keep your geek on, and your wallet full.

Gaming, comic books and even digital copies of novels can get pretty hefty as a hobby. Let’s be honest, the average high-end game release usually runs for $60, comic books can be $10 an issue and books, well, that’s all over the place really. Either way, keeping up with those hobbies can be pretty taxing on your wallet, especially if you’re always looking for something new.

If the previous paragraph got your attention, you’re in luck! There’s a handful of ways to keep your geek on, on the cheap, with the help of some great websites. For starters, the most prominent of the bunch is HumbleBundle. The site features weekly sales in the shop, with deals on games for PC and Mac going all the way down to 75 per cent, and bundles for games, books and comics going up every week or two for a “pay what you want” price. Better yet, you can divvy up whatever you’ve decided to pay between charity, developers and the site itself.

If you’re into indie games, then sites like Indiegala, Bundlestars and BlinkBundle might be right up your alley. Often throwing in five to 10 games together for under $10. Another great resource is isthereanydeal.com, a site that can keep track of specific titles and whatever sales they might be involved in. Either way, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to get some games on the cheap to sandwich between some study sessions.

Fancy yourself as more of a book person? Well, check out the StoryBundle site, which usually rotate a handful of books per bundle on specific categories like mystery, horror, cyberpunk, and what have you.

There are literally hundreds of amazing sites like these that can keep your hobbies on the cheap. Having grabbed hundreds of issues of comics from Valiant and Dynamite publishing off of humble bundle, and over a hundred steam games from other bundle sites. I’ve accumulated well over a lifetime’s worth of stuff. Bundles are great, and there’s so many around that it’s impossible to cover them all in just one short article, but if you keep your finger on the trigger, and use a bit of Google magic, you can keep geekin’ on without resorting to eating ramen for the rest of the month.

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Student Life

One step closer to The Matrix

Little robot Jibo isn’t just a pretty face; it walks, talks, and thinks

Ambient objects have been slowly infiltrating our homes. Simple innovations like The Clapper, an electric switch that responds to sound, may have started the revolution of leaving our households in the capable robotic hands of artificial intelligence. Technology has evolved since The Clapper, though. The first household robot, bunny-shaped Nabaztag, came around in 2006, and could give you the weather and time, aggregate your RSS feeds and even retrieve your email. The little rabbit never did gain a ton of popularity, however, and came upon hard times when the central servers ran into crippling slowdowns in December of its launch year.

Now that we control speakers, lights and door locks with tiny computers and smartphones, the world of ambient objects seems to be going silent… Or is it?

Meet Jibo, a robot that’s set to do a bit of everything. Unlike other artificial intelligence of its kind, it is compatible with apps that can improve its functionality. All things said, Jibo’s a little creepy. With the ability to take pictures, track faces and the option of remote control from a smartphone or tablet, Jibo’s list of features aren’t just useful, they’re downright terrifying.

We all remember the media scare that came with remote-hacking into laptop webcams. Walk around campus and look at how many students have a post-it note over their webcams, or have otherwise blotted them out. Being able to take photos without pressing a button or a timer is great, but how much privacy and safety are we willing to sacrifice for convenience? The truth is that, despite the scare tactics, few people become the intentional targets of hackers. The worry here comes more from the software used to improve Jibo’s functionality, and the nefarious purposes regular people could put it towards.

Face-tracking and movement-tracking aren’t new in automated devices. Microsoft’s Kinect is another example of the impressive technology little Jibo showcases, and its only downside is the lackluster selection of games it supports. Jibo could easily become a household name, then, even with a hefty price of $599 US.

But fear-mongering aside, the potential of these ambient objects is limitless. Imagine having Jibo act as a security camera for your apartment, reporting to your smartphone any unauthorized entry and catching it on video. Sure, there are already ways to set this up with basic webcams, but ease of use would increase the adoption rate of these security measures. Like all things tech-related, keep your credentials safe and your password lengthy and complex, and you’ll avoid trouble.

We’ve come a long way with tech in the past quarter-century. That being said, I’d love for Jibo’s voice to sound like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Creepy? Sure! But think of the geek-potential!

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Student Life

Another Windows out the window

Out with the old, in with the new: Windows 9 is already on the way

It’s only been two years since the last major version of Windows was released to the shelves. Only one year since its major update with version 8.1. But the rumor mill’s been churning, and a handful of tech sites have already reported Windows 9 as being in the works, with a hopeful release date in 2015. But is it too early for another major change in the way we run our PCs?

Let’s be honest, Windows 8 had a very rocky launch. Users complained about the touch-friendly interface being poorly implemented into traditional laptop and desktop users. To add to it, Microsoft’s decision to remove the beloved start menu had very few supporters. In truth, the decision to merge its touch-friendly interface with the “metro” styled start screen (which is already well implemented into the Xbox360 and Xbox One platform) emphasized on users switching over to Microsoft’s “Surface” PCs. Unfortunately the sales on Surface hardware didn’t go so hot, leaving Windows 8 in an odd limbo state between what tablet users want, and what traditional PC users have been asking for. The Windows’ 8.1 update provided some welcome changes in stability and strength, as well as compliance with a lot of older software.

The announcement of Windows 9 – rumored to be released in mid-2015 – comes as a bit of a shock to a handful of people. Given Microsoft’s presence on campus and the strong push to advertise the strengths behind Windows 8, it almost feels like the release date is premature. There isn’t much we know about Windows 9, but a bigger focus on the start menu has been leaked to several online tech sites.

The move to release this early after Windows 8 suggests one of two things; Either Microsoft’s bad press on Windows 8 is forcing them to push out a large content upgrade under a new name in hopes of refreshing its brand, or the company is planning on a tighter release schedule for its future operating systems. The latter option is, quite honestly, a little disturbing to say the least. Given the heavy price of buying a new operating system, students may be left behind on support for popular applications they use for courses.

Regardless of their reasoning, users who are planning on buying an upgrade kit can still expect a much smaller deal — comparable prices can be expected. With the student edition of Windows 8.1 currently going for about $70, the only question to answer is whether or not users using Windows 7 will have the opportunity to upgrade directly to 9, or if they’ll need to purchase a brand new licence.

Mainstream support for Windows 8.1 will continue on until January 2018, so if you aren’t in a hurry to upgrade, you don’t have to worry about being left too far behind in the long run.

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Student Life

The pixels, the lenses and us

Courtesy of Lazy Nuke

 

Courtesy of Lazy Nuke

It’s chic, it’s beautiful, it’s futuristic: it is the world’s most popular search engine’s groundbreaking invention, Google Glass. For those who may not yet be aware of what this is, let’s cross off the obvious and tell you it has nothing to do with drinking. The Google Glass is an eyewear computer that takes commands like Siri and functions like a hands-free smartphone.

While they haven’t yet designed a collection of shades suited for every type of face shape, Google is currently offering a choice of colours from charcoal to tangerine to sky blue, each with a colour matching rectangular-shaped computer at the top right corner of the frame.

No matter your age and how aware you are of technology, the Google Glass is very easy to use. Through simple phrases like “Okay Glass take a picture” or “Okay Glass, record a video,” the Glass acts out any command beyond just searching. It allows the user to text, call, share what you’re seeing with others in the moment, record, take photos, translate your voice, answer any question you may have, offer directions and display any relative information that you may need in the moment such as weather, the time or a flight schedule.

If this isn’t mind blowing enough, Google is talking about one day offering Google Glass users the ability to control household appliances and recently applied for the rights to an application called “Wearable Computer with Superimposed Controls and Instructions Device.”

There is no denying that this is an exciting moment in history to be a part of and that this type of technology is quite incredible, but as consumers we do need to ask ourselves the important question: Will it be disruptive or will it initiate a positive revolution in human social interaction?

Google co-founder Sergey Brin spoke at the TED talk conference at Long Beach in late February and told the audience that one the motivations behind Project Glass was to remove the social isolation that comes with the obsession with smartphones; to offer people the ability to communicate and connect without your hands and eyes bound to a device.

“I whip this out and sit there and look as if I have something important to do or to attend to,” said Brin. “[Google Glass] kind of takes away that excuse . . . it really opened by eyes to how much of my life I spent secluded away in email or social posts.”

While Brin does bring up an excellent point, there are other concerns that come with technology such as our mental health and the negative consequences that may come from constantly being connected to the internet.

Dr. Andrew Ryder, an associate professor in Concordia’s psychology department, explained that throughout history, startup inventions begin as a fad used by a small network of people, then slowly filter into our daily lives as what feels like a necessity. He uses Facebook as a contemporary example.

“[Facebook] was a neat, practical tool. It had a goal to help meet up with like-minded people using our real name,” said Ryder. Today, however, “it’s used in a different way, and not in a way that Facebook could’ve predicted. It’s the same way I feel with Google Glass.”

Ryder explains that when we use inventions such as Google Glass, it becomes a representation of ourselves. We become so dependent on social technology, that if lost, it’s like losing a part of ourselves in the process.

“At some point psychologically, [a new gadget] becomes part of your extended mind,” said Ryder.

Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, explores in his book how digital distractions could have a negative impact on our concentration, memory and comprehension.

“Be aware of your core values rather than let the technology drive you and your priorities,” said Ryder. “It’s easier said than done, but thinking along those lines can help.”

Another issue that people are concerned with is privacy. Google Glass users will be able to record everyone and everything around them without anyone being aware of it; a privacy dilemma that is continuously being discussed since the introduction of social media sites.

Chad Vachon, a Concordia University sociology and anthropology student, has a critical view of how Google Glass might bring more repercussions instead of benefits.

“As individuals, we have to have some privacy. It’s intrinsic to different cultures and spheres. Technology can infringe on that,” said Vachon. “The world is becoming more of a complicated place. We need to develop an in-depth understanding of privacy.”

 

The device is set to be released to public in early 2014. There is yet to be an official price, but the developer version goes for $1,500.

 

 

Categories
Student Life

Are you afraid of the dark?

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

Sleep deprivation has increased in the last 50 years. Aside from an the abundance of caffeine in our daily diets, the likely offenders are

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

the technological advancements since this date. The exponential increase of electronic technology is exciting yet simultaneously disturbing. With smartphones, computers, video games, high definition televisions and iPods, access to stimulation is overwhelming. Current studies are focusing on the addiction to media and this obsession can lead to a decrease in time set aside for sleep and exercise.

Douglas Cane, a psychologist at the outpatient rehabilitation clinic in Halifax, N.S., suggests that, besides the possible risk of cancer, electronic technology itself does not cause health problems. It does however influence a person’s behaviour which, in turn, affects their health.

Sleep deprivation is a major factor in maintaining good health. Cane told The Concordian that the fixation on cell phone use, gaming and other tech habits extends people’s waking hours, and decreases the allotted time for sleep.

“This is an extension of an ongoing problem where technological advances, electric lights, television, cell phones, [and the] Internet, have reduced the amount of time we are willing to devote to sleep,” says Cane. “Since our biological need for sleep has not changed, we are left with a society that is chronically sleep deprived.”

According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2011 Sleep in America poll, there is a clear correlation between sleeping problems and the use of electronics during, what is meant to be, your downtime.

After surveying a random sample of 1,508 Americans between the ages of 13 and 64, 63 per cent of the participants stated they were not getting a good night’s sleep on weeknights, while a whopping 95 per cent admitted to using technology in the hours before bedtime most nights during the week. These nightly habits of surfing the web, texting, emailing and vegging in the front of the television are robbing us of our sleep.

According to Dr. Charles Czeisler of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the brain needs about two to three hours of downtime before sleep in order to be prepared. Artificial light affects the production of melatonin which is the sleep hormone. Light-emitting screens from gaming, texting, and television enhances alertness, which can contribute not only to the lack of sleep, but the quality of bedtime rest as well.

Cane suggests that mood disturbances, difficulties regulating weight, suppressed immune responses, difficulties learning and processing new information, and increased rates of accidents have all been linked to sleep deprivation. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that one in seven American licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 admitted to falling asleep on the road at least once in the past year.

“It’s all about making sleep a priority by devoting a period of time for sleep and respecting that period of time by eliminating competing activities,” advises Cane.

With exams around the corner, it can be tempting to fall asleep on our laptop and coat our keyboard with drool. It is necessary to make effort for the sake of our health and take the occasional nightly break from our technological buddies.

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