Assignment... Please note

For some reason or another one of my posts for the assignment does not show up unless you search "buying a new pc" into the search bar.

Thanks

Buying a new Computer

Factors to consider when buying a new PC

By Patrick Murtagh

 

I myself have never had the difficulty and stress of buying a new PC, however, if I were to advise anyone on how to go about it, this would be it.

Firstly, how much are you willing to pay for a computer? It is very easy to spend too much on a computer with programmes and hardware that you do not need. This will cost considerably more than a basic computer. At the same time, it is easy to get left behind. I would advise that you buy something that is up to date as technology is growing, fast. Ask yourself how long you think you will need the computer. If you plan to add new applications, ensure that the computer is expandable, so that you can add new components such as a printer. Make sure that there are expansion slots so that you can connect these.

 Secondly, ask yourself where will the PC be used? If it will be kept at home, then a desktop computer would be sufficient. However, if you will be needing to bring it to work or college, I would advise that you buy a laptop. Laptops cost a bit more, but are worth the freedom of bringing it wherever you please, if that is what you need.

 I would also advise you to ask yourself which applications you plan to use on your computer. It is a good idea to know whether the computer will be used for writing essays, letters and e-mail, or whether it will be used for analysing numerical data.

I would strongly advise that you research the manufacturer’s and sellers reputations and warranties. Become familiar with a variety of brands and models by talking with friends and classmates about their pc’s. Ask questions about the performance of their computer and recommendations they might have. You can never know enough about the computer you are buying.

Eventually you will need to have your computer serviced. Ideally your seller will have a service department where you can have the computer repaired, if not, you will have to locate somewhere else to provide this service.

Birthday

I turned 20 yesterday... This means that I am no longer a teenager. For the first time, i feel like an adult.... And i don't like it.

I saw an advertisement for a holiday company on the train which read "Teenagers go free". I though "Cool, maybe I'll take a free holiday to the Bahamas.. Oh wait, I'm not a teenager anymore... Shit." 

Social Networking Article by Sarah Carey

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0902/1224253663035.html

Social Networking

Social Networking by Patrick Murtagh

 

 

The article that I found was to do with teenagers and social networking. The article, however, is not talking about how much teenagers’ lives are being taken up by Facebook or Myspace, but informing us that teenagers are actually a minority of people on these social networking sites.

The article begins with a reference to The Irish Independent’s headline which read “Twittering teens add hundreds of words to the dictionary.” This is half right and half wrong, according to Sarah Carey. It is true that due to social networking sites, such as Twitter, 267 or so new words have been added to The Collins Dictionary.

 Words that describe feelings such as “meh” and “lol” (laugh out loud) were added to the dictionary due to their great use on the internet.

 However, the use of the word “teens” is incorrect. Teenagers make up a minority of the people actively using these social networking sites. Many people will read bout Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and Twitter and get the impression that the entire world except themselves is using social networks and so set one up to see what all the hype is about. Upon realising that it is completely useless to them, they forget about their account and never use it again. Thousands upon thousands of the figures we read about that make up the users of these networks are dormant, and so, while millions of people do in fact use them, many of these figures do not represent the amount of people using the networks on a daily basis.

On Facebook, for example, teenagers make up a mere 9% of its users. Half of Facebook users are over 26 and the majority rises to people over the age of 35.

This article shows that the panic and concern over teenagers using these networks is a flawed logic. While many teenagers do use social networks to post inappropriate pictures and so on, most don’t. Most teenagers who use social networks do not come in to contact with paedophiles, and most who do, realise and leave the conversation.

 What I would like to know is: why is it that teenagers are branded as the people who use social networking sites religiously, when according to the figures from these sites, they are in fact the minority of users?

To view the article by Sarah Carey...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0902/1224253663035.html

For the assignment...

I have made an introduction, video, link to a useful website and image further down my blog, to view these you can click on "older posts".

Useful website for applied psychology students

Psychology Encyclopedia

http://www.psychology.org/