Check the tech

Winter 2013

the tech The

Tor Browser and Online Anonymity 16

The Uncommon Cold and ways to stay Flu Free 6 How Solar

Energy Works 18

The New Tech 8 Recent advances in technology

Introducing the new

Beats Pill

Portable Loud and Bluetooth Now Starting at $199 Order Yours Now!

Check The Team Millah Erwin Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Millah Erwin moved to Texas when she was seven. Millah wants to be an epidemiologist, and work at the CDC in Atlanta Georgia when she is older. Her interest in science started when she read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston in seventh grade. She likes to write, read, watch TV, take care of her horses and learn about science. If she was a kitchen utensil, she would want to be a spoon because according to Millah, “Spoons are cool.”

Kyle Sheth Kyle Sheth loves to learn about new things and in the world of technology, new things are always happening. He wants to pursue biotechnology, biochemistry, biophysics, or the medical field in the future. In his free time, he plays League of Legends with his brother and his friends, and he also likes to pet cats (even though his parents won’t let him have one). If he were any kitchen utensil, he would want to be a spork because he can multitask really well.This Fall, he participated in marching band with fellow clarinetist and marcher Eduardo Hernandez. His favorite technology at the moment is the Raspberry Pi.

Eduardo Hernandez Eduardo The Best

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Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Eduardo Hernandez loves to play video games on his Playstation 3. He prefers games such as CoD and GTA 5. When he’s not playing games, he’s practicing his clarinet, perfecting his “skills”. An interesting fact about Eduardo is that he likes dogs for the sole reason that Kyle likes cats. If he was any kitchen utensil he would be a spatula because you can say it as Spa-too-la. When he is not playing video games he is playing his Bass Clarinet. He does marching band and also wrestling. When he grows up he wants to be a civil engineer. He loves to read about new technological breakthroughs.

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Contents 03

Biographies

Recent technological advances

05 06 08

Introducing the new iPhone. And the new iPhone. Which is for you?

10

Letter from the Editors Uncommon Cold

Ways to stay safe in cold and flu season Millah Erwin

The New Tech

Eduardo Hernandez

iPhone 5S v 5C for Teens

Kyle Sheth

Pollution Solution

12

Staying Anonymous in the Modern World

16

Why should I care about Solar Panels?

18

How pollution is a major health problem, why and what can be done to reverse it Millah Erwin

How to keep your anonymity on the Internet.

Kyle Sheth

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Solar Panels are the future, how you can contribute Eduardo Hernandez

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Letter from the Editors Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing to read the Check the Tech magazine. We the editors of the United

Checkers of Techers, have fine tuned the stories in the magazine to benefit you intellectually and entertain you. Our magazine consists of technological breakthroughs and new gadgets and gizmos to make your life easier. We check the tech so you don’t have to!

From the Checkers of Tech, Millah Erwin Eduardo Hernandez

Kyle Sheth Photo by Check the Tech Staff

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Image from phil.cdc.gov Scientist in the lab at the Center for Disease Control, CDC, in Atlanta Georgia.

curable cold

By Millah Erwin

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A cold is a mild respiratory illness. It begins with a sore throat, which will progress to a fever, aches, a cough and congestion. Symptoms last for about a week, but an infected person is only infectious during the first three days of contracting and displaying symptoms.

The cold has a mild fever, and cannot be treated with antibiotics as it is a viral infection. The most important thing to remember during the cold season is to always wash your hands.

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Head pounding, fever and chills, nausea, aches, runny nose and fever.

Do

you want to exhbit these symptoms during the cold and flu season? Chances are, you will get the common cold three to seven times this year, with over one billion cases of the cold in the United States annually.

No cure or treatment for the cold exists yet, however the symptoms can be treated. The cold, one of the oldest viral infections known to man has scientists and researchers searching for a cure.

Cure to the uncurable

Antibiotic treatments for the cold have been found not effective, as it is not a viral infection. New technology has shown that the flu virus and Common cold share similar symptoms, but the Flu can progress into serious health issues and require a rest period of at least a week.

While no cure has been officially found, in 2011, Doctors from MIT released a report about Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizers, or DRACO. It was said to have efficiency against a wide spectrum of diseases, including Polio, the cold, and others. MIT News released a report on DRACO on http://web.mit. edu on August 10, 2011. This research, while still in the lab, shows progress in the medical field.

History and Epidemiology

The common cold, also known as rhinopharyngitis or nasopharyngitis is Corona Virus, which is responone of the oldest viral infections known sible for many common cold to man. It is a type of Rhinovirus, which infections. From cdc.gov Image of cold virus treated with is one of the most common viruses. The Sources: DRACO. From MIT cold can be transmited air, as well as http://www.lung.org/ lung-disease/influenza/ direct contact with infected persons. The in-depth-resources/ myth that one can contract a cold by facts-about-theprolonged exposure to cold weather or common-cold.html water stemed from some truth, as many http://www.cdc.gov/ viruses are seasonal and some occur in getsmart/campaignthe cold cold weather of winter and fall. materials/info-sheets/ adult-nurti.html Annually, adults contract two to five colds annually, while children contract http://www.flu.gov/ six to ten cases. There are over one about_the_flu/virus_ Representation of a Rhinovirus, the changes/index.html billion cases of the cold in the United dark grey parts represent proteins. http://ohsonline.

States each year.

Image by Quibik.

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com/blogs/the-ohswire/2012/10/fluseason.aspx

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The New Tech

Curious about the new upcoming gadgets, gizmos and doodads that will make that horrible plane noise disappear on your next vacation.

Looking for a way to show your favorite child you love them? Pick up their Christmas present here.

By Eduardo Hernandez “ I have used [Bose Quiet Comfort] on a 4 hour plane flight and in a variety of other conditions like a noisy lobby of a major hotel. Overall the noise cancelling achieved with this small form factor is excellent”--Dave M. Sources

1.“Features & Specs Overview.” MyCharge. N.p., n.d.

Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

2.“NEWQuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling

Headphones.” Bose. Bose, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

3.“PD233.” LG. LG Electronics, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

4.“Recon Instruments Shop.” Recon Instruments Shop.

Recon Instruments, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

5.“SW2ACT - SW2ACT Review | Sony Store U.S. Sony US.” Sony US. Sony, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Bose Quiet Comfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones These high quality headphones will keep out the annoying humming noises and also give you a great quality sounding music. It will fit in your ear comfortably.

Don’t worry because it comes with a rechargeable battery. $299 Courtesy of Bose

LG Pocket Photo Mini Mobile Printer

This handy tool will print out memories straight from your phone. No hassle with importing and exporting. Can be used on iOS and Android. This will print to scale so you will not deal with seeing all the pixels in your image and having a blurry picture. $TBD 8

Courtesy of LG

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My Charge

This case will keep you at ease when you get a notification that your battery is at 20%. The MyCharge Freedom 2000 Case will double the battery life of your phone. It makes a good gift for your friend who just cannot get off of Candy Crush and when you eventually drop your phone it will be protected with this case. $79

The Recon Jet

These glasses, an upgraded version of google glass. Lightweight and durable these glasses will survive your lifestyle whether it is outdoors or indoors. They come with a built-in camera Bluetooth, GPS. The sensor can tell you your speed, elevation and even distance traveled. Will even connect to your phone. $599

Courtesy of MyCharge

Cortesy of Recon Instuments

Sony Smartwatch 2

The new Sony Smartwatch 2 is an adaptation to the Android watch.

This watch will connect to your phone via Bluetooth. It will allow you to answer calls, read messages and also listen to music. This device is also waterproof and has a battery life of 3 days, so you can use it on the go.

This is compatiblve with any Android device that has Android 4.0 or later. $TBD WINTER 2013

Courtesy of Sony

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Introducing the New iPhone. And the New iPhone. Which is For You?

Courtesy of Apple.com

story by: Kyle Sheth

A

16-year-old

idles at home.

The date: Sept. 20, 2013 the iPhone 5S and 5C debuted.

He’s indecisive: the simple, colorful and more affordable iPhone 5C, or the 5S, with a faster processor, hi-res camera and a built-in fingerprint scanner.

“

He Googles some reviews. However, very few sources are based on teenagers’ opinions. He decides to get a $199 iPhone 5S. He makes the purchase and as he leaves, he asks himself, “Was it worth it?”

Courtesy of Apple.com

The Golden iPhone 5S, in limited supply, has a high consumer demand due to its flashiness. People want this new device because “it’s new and shiny,” as Georgia Tech student Chance Shafor says. He was one of many waiting in line for this new device when it debuted.

Courtesy of Apple.com

In general it seems that the 5C has been overshadowed by the 5S.

”

-Peter Richardson, research director at Counterpoint Research

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The many colors of the iPhone 5C tend to attract teens who don’t already have an iPhone, especially because of its lower price.

The fingerprint scanner feature of the iPhone 5S utilizes the redesigned Home Button to scan your fingerprint for authentication.

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The iPhone 5S:

This iPhone sells in space gray, silver and most popularly, gold. This iPhone features an A7 processor (with 64-bit architecture), a fingerprint scanner and vs a hi-res camera with face detection, f/2.2aperture and auto image stabilization. The starting price with a 2-year contract: $199.

The iPhone 5C:

This iPhone sells in green, blue, yellow, pink and white.

This iPhone features an A6 processor (with 32-bit architecture), fast wireless connection and a hi-res camera with face detection, f/2.4 aperture, but no auto image stabilization. The starting price with a 2-year contract: $99.

Info from Stephanie Chan on ReadWrite.com, Taylor Hatmaker on ReadWrite.com

Many people, such as “Kelly” on iPhoneHacks.com (a website where people can blog about iPhones), concluded that the best iPhone for teenagers in college with a moderatly tight budget and a short list of “demands” and “expectations,” should get the iPhone 5C, because of its relatively cheap price and not too many “distractions” built in to the device. However, the decision is up to you.

Courtesy of Apple.com

The iPhone 5C is the third most popular phone in the world, after the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the reigning king of the phone market: the 5S.

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t

Pollution

he World Health Organization (WHO) says air pollution is giving people lung cancer. It is even more dangerous than smoking-according to research done by the WHO, in partnership with The International Agency for Research on Cancers.

While carbon emissions in the US are the lowest they’ve been in 19 years (http://usatoday.com) other parts of the world aren’t doing as well, such as Iran, who has four cities in the top ten for air pollution. This article shows the numbers, the cities and how pollution affects you.

Ten Most Polluted Countries in the World 1. China 2. Unites States 3. Russia 4. India 5. Japan 6. Germany 7. Canada 8. United Kingdom 9. South Korea 10. Iran

Sources: http://science.time.com http://apps.who.int http://actionforourplanet.com

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solution

Ten Most Polluted Cities in the World 1. Ahwaz, Iran 2. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 3. Sanandaj, Iran 4. Ludhiana, India 5. Quetta, Pakistan 6. Kermanshah, Iran 7. Peshawar, Pakistan 8. Gaborone, Botswana 9. Yasouj, Iran 10. Kanpur, India

Solution The ten most polluted countries and cities all share multiple things in common. They have all been industrialized, and are very densely populated. China, number one has a population of 1,361,170,000. They have the largest population, followed by India, and then the United States. Already efforts are being made to reduce the effects of pollution, which includes Carbon Dioxide emissions, which harm the ozone layer and contributes to global warming. Many countries are recognizing that steps must be made for the betterment of the planet and life.

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Images from Wikipedia. Users Nilsy and Nightstallion.

What is Pollution?

Light Pollution

Marine Pollution

Noise Pollution

Artificial light affects nature, and while electric light are a convenience, it also wastes 2 million barrels of oil per day (from livescience.com).

It also effects astronomers.

When chemicals and harmful substances enter the water, it creates an unhealthy environment for all involved. There is a dead zone in the ocean the size of New Jersey.

Most noise pollution is created by machines and transportation systems. It can cause stress in humans, which will then contribute to high blood pressure and health problems.

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The New To IIHS Top

Now Starting at $16,000 14

Photo Courtesy of Toyota

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oyota Corolla Safety Pick

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Staying Anonymous in the Modern World story by: Kyle Sheth

Courtesy of Vincent Diamante

People appearing in public as Anonymous, a group of hacktivists who support online anonymity.

I

n July 2013, Michele Catalano googled “pressure cookers”, looking for one to buy. In the same timeframe, her husband researched backpacks at work. This led to a knock on their door. Six agents from the joint terrorism task force bombarded the couple with questions: where is Catalano’s husband from, where are his parents from, where Michele was from, where she worked, where her parents live, did they own a pressure cooker and did they have bombs? How did these agents find out about this information? It wasn’t the NSA. Her husband’s employer tipped off the county police department about his searches, which led to the agents’ visit.

In the past, problems like this have happened in many places in the world, even involving the U.S. Navy. So, the founders of the Freehaven project, a project that deploys a system for distributed data storage, created the Tor Project Courtesy of Flossmanuals.net

A diagram of how the Tor Browser works to keep users anonymous.

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(Tor stands for The Onion Router).

This free open-source software can keep you anonymous by routing your IP Address into many layers (hence “onion router”) which disguise you and give you a new address. People like Jacob Voss chose to use the Tor Browser because, “privacy in this day and age is getting harder and harder to come by and that’s why Project Tor is so important to the future of the internet and privacy in general.”

Tor isn’t only used by the common person. It’s also used by journalists, to talk to whistleblowers and dissedents more safely and non-governmental organizations use it to connect to their company’s website when traveling, without notifying everyone that they work for that company. Even the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF, a civil liberties group) joined forces with the Tor Project in 2004 and has continued to stay at its side. “EFF is a great organization to work with,” says Roger Dingledine, the leader of the Tor project. “EFF understands the importance of anonymity technology for everyone -- from the average web surfer, to journalists for community sites like Indymedia, to people living under oppressive regimes. With their support and experience, we can focus on making Tor useful and usable by everyone.”

Even militaries use Tor: it was designed with the U.S. Navy in mind, to protect government communications from eavesdropping.

Fastcompany.com, a media brand with a focus on innovations in technology, claimed that “the Tor Project runs a secure, anonymous network that is extremely hard to monitor and is beloved by free-speech activists worldwide … although footprints

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on Tor can be traced by intelligence agencies and others, it’s the best free solution on the market.”

your physical location by changing your IP. This black market runs anonymously in the Tor Browser.

However, there are other parts of Tor that are less known.

The Silk Road is an online black market that sells illegal goods, from drugs to guns and personal data and malware. This was started in February 2011, and was shut down by the government about 2 years later in October 2013. It was recently resurrected as ‘Silk Web 2.0.’ The FBIalleged mastermind of the Silk Road, Ross William Ulbricht, wanted to use Tor as its platform so that people trying to see who was using this black market had a hard time finding people because of Tor’s ability to hide

Besides a platform of these underground operations, the Tor Project is intending to continue its productive development. In the future, it plans to provide a usable anonymizing network, software that meets the user’s needs. This Project wants to keep its network up and running, and able to handle many users at once. As Tor becomes more effective and usable, it will attract other users, which increases the amount of possible destinations of each communication, which will improve the security of everyone using Tor.

“

Privacy in this day and age is getting harder and harder to come by and that’s why Project Tor is so important to the future of the internet and privacy in general.

”

-Jacob Voss, a Tor Browser user

Courtesy of Kyle Sheth

The check a Tor user can do to see if their browser is configured to use Tor.

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Why Should I Care About Solar Panels?

Written By: Eduardo Hernandez

D

o you want to save money on your energy bill while at the same time saving the environment? Well all you have to do is outfit your home with solar panels. Quick and easy installation will get you saving as soon as possible. Most companies estimate about 7 years to get a return on your investment. You can get rebates from Austin Energy just for having them.

Don’t forget about the environment when considering this investment.

Renewable energy (solar panels) are cleaner.

Right now is the best time to purchase solar panels for your home, according to Solar Austin because the price to harness solar energy is at an all time low. You can save your energy bill and the environment with these wonders of the world. Solar panel prices are at an all time low and now is the best time to buy and outfit your home. With all the rebates that Austin energy offers it is a good idea to upgrade.

Solar energy is an important technological advance. As Ed Eaton who has been in the solar energy buisness for about 30 years and proprietor of Our Sun Solar said “ For the benefit of our future generations we need to utilize all renewable energy source.” We should use everything we can to our advantage so that we are not relying on fossil fuels. Solar power is the new type of energy that can replace the polluting and limited coal, oil and natural gas.

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Right now is the best time to buy solar panels the lowest cost they have ever been. People are often put off from buying new things because of the price but with all the rebates that are offered in Texas and especially Austin it can pay pretty quickly. The current rebate from Austin Energy is $1.50 per watt. A typical system that has about 100 square feet of space can produce about 1,400 kilowatts an hour of electricity this is about $150 of electricity saved a year. The installation is quick and convenient Adi said “They do not need to be inside the house...they only work during normal business hours” so if you wanted to you could go to work and come back, it would be hassle free because they handle everything.

Certain companies have a 25 year warranty for the solar panels.

Solar panels are built to last and produce clean quiet energy according

“

For the benefit of future generations we need to utilize all renewable energy sources ~~Ed Eaton Proprietor of Our Sun Solar

”

Courtesy of US Dept. of Energy

Diagram on how solar cells work.

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to Austin Energy.

No matter what type of weather gets dished out solar panels are made with tempered glass and will not break and if it does break the warranty will most likely cover it.

Although solar energy has increased about 20 percent in the past 20 years due to low prices it is still a low amount. To have a nationwide use of renewable energy we need to have it be a national plan as Eaton said, “A national energy plan that includes a transition to renewable energies.” There would have to be a plan or project to get the country off of fossil fuel and on Renewable energy sources like solar panels are convenient and helpful. They pay themselves off and they help the environment.

Solar energy can be the new primary source of energy used anywhere there is sun but if people don’t know about solar energy then solar energy will not ever take off and can never be the norm as Eaton put it, “Mostly because having a fossil fuel type energy is already the norm.

Most homes in the US are on the grid which utilizes natural gas, coal, oil or nuclear to produce electricity.

The cost of a solar system on a house already on the grid is all upfront and this impedes sales.”

But since fossil fuels are more convenient for the populous with even natural gas being transported easily piped into every house or by a tanker truck. Because people think that solar panels are inconvenience to install people don’t install it, but in reality it is a simple task.

Renewable energy sources like solar panels are convenient and helpful. They pay themselves off and they help the environment.

Solar energy can be the new primary source of energy used

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anywhere there is sun but as long as people don’t know then solar energy will never take off and can never be the norm. “Mostly because having a fossil fuel type energy is already the norm. Most homes in the US are on the grid which utilizes natural gas, coal, oil or nuclear to produce electricity. The cost of a solar system on a house already on the grid is all upfront and this impedes sales.”

Courtesy of Fish and Wildlife Service

Picture of a solar set up on the roof of a house.

Courtesy of Petr Kratochvil

A solar farm.

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Inspire the World, Create the Future.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch

Photo courtesy of Samsung