VR technologies are becoming more and more prevalent in households, especially during this pandemic. People are missing out on some of their fitness classes at their local gyms and some have turned to using VR to keep in shape. Devices like the Oculus Rift include games that make users move quickly to slice blocks or other obstacles. Users have to move their whole bodies sometimes to reach the obstacles, which really gives them a full body workout.

Immersive experiences make people lose track of time and their actual surroundings. VR can take a person anywhere- a tropical island, or maybe outer space. Doctors have even started letting cancer patients enter a VR world during chemotherapy to distract them and help the time pass more quickly. Some patients have even thought the same sessions were shorter in duration because of their immersive experience.

The use of VR technology for recreational use may go down slightly after the quarantine is over, but experts expect people to still use the technology for exercising, especially when there are factors that hinder someone from wanting to go to the gym- like bad weather and laziness. People with chronic pain or health conditions also feel better when using VR technologies because it distracts them from their pain.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-vr-home-workouts-can-make-time-fly-by-11587664338?mod=tech_lead_pos13 

Digital Agriculture has been around for approximately twenty years, when farmers started attaching GPS systems to their tractors. Bruno Basso is the author to a research paper released this month titled, “Nature Sustainability”. This paper explains the need for technological advancement of agriculture in America, so that this agriculture can be maintained for many more generations. By using large data systems, farmers can use that data to grow crops more efficiently, and use less land and resources in doing so.

Digital agriculture is achieved through an Internet of Things model, where information from soil, fertilizer, and weather sources is sent to the machinery to create the best input possible for the crops. This technology allows for better maintenance of crop land, as well as the land outside of the farm. If too much fertilizer is added to the crops, the runoff will stream into creeks and then larger bodies of water, which kills the wildlife in the water areas. By limiting and monitoring these inputs, the environment is better maintained and so are the crops.

The problem is that researchers, scientists, policy makers, and farmers need to agree on what is best for the crops, environment, and the future of agriculture in America.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2020/04/22/welcome-to-the-new-world-of-digital-agriculture/#26b9ceda10ce 

Amid this global pandemic, many people are ordering food, clothing, and other things like games off the internet. Columnist, Shira Ovide advises people to think first before they buy. She advises that we think about the struggling businesses around us. Large corporations like Amazon and Walmart will not go out of business because of this crisis, but the local boutique or restaurant down the street just might. She recommends people buy products online directly from local or non corporate businesses in order to keep their doors open in the future.

As someone whose family owns a small local business, I understand the financial hardships this pandemic is bringing to small business owners. When people purchase goods directly from a small business online, their money goes to that business, rather than more money going to corporations like Amazon.

Shira advises everyone to think before they shop. She recommends people think about the local businesses they care about and trying to help them as much as they can, so that that businesses doors can open again after the quarantine is lifted.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/technology/coronavirus-ethical-shopping.html 

Recently, Zoom has received a lot of new users due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Zoom is very easy to use and has very good call quality compared to many other applications similar to it. But this easy to use software has opened the door to users misusing the software. People have been found using slurs during calls and joining calls they are not meant to be a part of, thus threatening the privacy and safety of the people in the chat. Zoom has started to combat this by adding passwords to calls so that lecturers and teams can have their private conversations without being interrupted and having information possibly compromised.

While the security measures Zoom is taking to increase safety among users is annoying and a little more time consuming, it is worth it for the safety of the class and information shared within that setting.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/technology/zoom-security.html

The new iPad Pro has many software improvements from the previous model. Users experience faster loading of larger applications. It also has many new features added to it like a mouse and a camera which uses LiDAR technology. LiDAR is used mostly in AR devices and it surprised me when I first read about it. The camera finds where the users finger placement is to speed up where they click on the screen. Apple is also intending to release a keyboard equipped with a touch bar, making using the device a lot more user friendly.

I think this is very interesting as I am learning more about AR and LiDAR technologies in one of my other courses. I was also interested in using an iPad for some of my work within my major and although this version is out of my price range, I think this technology is really advanced and I cannot wait to see what other advances Apple and other tech companies will make in the tech world.

URL: https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/ipad-pro-magic-trackpad-review-laptop-replacement/

Children are told to stay away from strangers in order to keep them safe. However, some social media platforms encourage strangers to interact. New apps like Yubo and Hoop have recently been designed for teens to meet other teens on the internet. Yubo is not intended to be a dating platform, but rather a place for teens to meet other people around the globe. This app and others similar to it have raised controversy over how necessary this app is too teens. Teens as young as 13 can use the app- with parental permission. Yubo’s primary feature is live-streaming and users can be matched with other users by swiping like on Tinder. Then, users can share similar interests together. Hoop is also designed a lot like Tinder, but is also not intended to be used as a dating platform, but rather a platform for meeting new people. These apps have the benefit of meeting new people, but there are also safety concerns for younger users. As of right now, developers are using facial recognition and age estimation software to protect younger teens from potential threats, but is that enough?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-talk-to-strangers-these-apps-encourage-it-11582347631