My Tech Diary

Before I completed one day of my tech diary, I realized just how much technology I use on a daily basis. For nearly my entire day I have some sort of device in my pocket whether it is my iPod or smartphone technology is now at anyone's finger tips at all times.

Looking at my usage the device I used the most throughout my day was my laptop computer. I spent about an hour surfing the web and two more hours using my laptop to complete my homework. For the most part I was able to complete my homework without any distractions. This is amazing because when you are using a laptop it is very easy to get off task; you could surf the web for hours or just burn time by procrastinating on social network sites. That being said I have had times in the past where I have found it hard to complete homework on a computer because it is very easy to get off task. Looking back at it I can't believe how fast time goes by when you are surfing the web, there are much better ways I could be spending my free time other than being a zombie behind a computer screen.

The next device that I used the most throughout the day was my television, I spent about two hours watching TV. All of my time watching TV was done after I had completed my school work, I have found in the past that if I start watching TV when I need to get work done I usually end up doing a poor job or end up not getting any work done. I'm not a huge fan of TV in general, the only time I use my TV is when I have nothing else to do and I just want to kick back and relax. In my opinion TV is the ultimate way to burn time inefficiently you are just staring at a screen for hours at a time. You have to learn how to use your time properly or technology will find ways of distracting you a lot like the next device I will talk about.

Another device I found myself using the entire day was my smartphone. We talked about it in lecture Fox, Jesse. Lecture Notes Comm 240/The Ohio State University. 11 Oct 2011. Digitization has lead to convergence and that is the perfect example of today's cell phone. Now you can access the internet, take pictures and video, listen to music, and use applications. Instead of carrying around an MP3 player now you can just purchase a smartphone and have all of your music stored on your phone. While I am not one of those people it is becoming more and more popular that you use one device for all of those functions. I have not added any music to my smartphone but I still use the phone throughout the day to view twitter and occasionally browse the web. A smartphone can be a very convenient device if you use it when you are supposed to. I found myself checking my texts and my twitter timeline at times when I should be focused on something more important.

After completing a tech diary for a day it made me realize that if you are not careful technology can be a huge distraction and can hinder you from getting work done. The last thing anyone wants to do is get so distracted by a device that they completely forget to do any work. Also it's amazing that most people do not even realize how much time they're spending using any device. After completing a tech diary you may realize that you need to spend your time more wisely. With the convergence of many devices continuing we will see more and more people using them and that can only lead to more distractions at everyone's fingertips.

Gears of War 3 Review

Information about the game: http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-360/games/gears-of-war-3/77663

The third and final installation to the Gears of War series is everything I thought it would be and more. Epic Games had a giant budget for this game due to the success of the series, and they show it in Gears of War 3. Epic does not disappoint with their blockbuster conclusion to the heralded series.

The game plays the way you would expect, it's still the same Gears game with the same controller layout. They have built on their strong foundation with some new additions to the game, like the use of user controlled mechs. The graphics on the Unreal engine continue to impress and build upon some of the best graphics on consoles. Now there is much more space on the screen for more action because the new engine can handle hundreds of enemies on screen at a time without any performance issues. Gears has never been a fast paced shooter like Call of Duty, but it leads to some unique situations you wouldn't be faced with in a game where you just fly in guns blazing. Every now and then during game play I felt as if  the game became a scary movie. The story mode and multi-player provide you with some moments that will make you jump out of your skin. That has been a unique thing about the Gears series no other shooter can offer that.

You find yourself advancing through the unpredictable story line until you reach the spectacular ending. Throughout the ten hours of story mode game play I found myself wondering what kind of twists or turns would happen next. Video game story modes seem to be slowly getting closer to matching the depth and creativeness of today's movies. Gears continues the growing trend that companies continue to increase the hours of story mode game play and provides some moments gamers will never forget.

Epic seems to have improved their cover system once again, now when you hit the A button to take cover you hardly ever find yourself mounting to unintended surfaces. The new moments in story mode where you must fight off hundreds off enemies at a time show off the new game engine. Epic added plenty of new enemies and weapons that will please any fan and give them some spectacular looking enemies to shoot at.

Gears three is the perfect ending for a revolutionary series that has shaken up the video game landscape. Most players will be happy shelling out the $60 needed to purchase the game and it is very hard to say a game is a must buy in today's market, but Gears of War 3 is just that. They will be stupefied while they are exploring the huge world that Epic Games has provided us. Epic has continued to smooth out the game play and also expand on the Gears universe while also ending this legendary series in rightful fashion, with a large gory bang.