E-mail etiquette

By Kristin Vorce

It’s finals week. Plopping down at her desk to check her e-mail, anthropology professor Karen Rosenberg scans her messages, opening one from a student. The student sent the e-mail to the entire class, and unknowingly, to Rosenberg.

“The student said: ‘You know it’s kind of a waste of time to study for the final knowing she can only test us on part of the material. Well, there’s no way I’m studying. I’m going to Mug Night.’ ” she says.

Rosenberg sent an e-mail back to the student saying, “Well, I guess it’s your call.”

Facebook charities

By Adam Asher

Back in the 1960s if young people were angry, they were not quiet about it. Students would pick up their signs, strum their guitars and start a protest. Today, they have traded in their guitars for a mouse, their songs for computers, and their protests for the Internet. In only a few short days, you can raise hundreds of dollars, spread awareness to thousands, or start a virtual riot and you only have eight letters to type: F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K.

“It’s a great way for people to feel like they’re helping out without actually going out of their way to do anything,” says Beth Mason, an eighteen-year-old industrial design major at Auburn University. Mason is currently raising money for Alzheimer’s via her facebook group, “for every 10 people I will donate $1 to the Alzheimer’s Association.”

“Things like that persuade others to jump on the bandwagon,” she said.

“Can you tell me how to get?”

By Jena Levy

Recall the scene from The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy asks which way to the Wizard, and the Scarecrow points to the left. And then to the right. And everyone is extremely confused.

Remember those days when one had to depend on others for directions to get places? Or wait, insert big gasp here, use a large, fold-out map of the entire state?

Those are days no more. GPS navigation devices have become the technology of choice when needing to get from one place to another. Whether it’s from here to the supermarket, or here all the way to California, a soothing British voice can tell you how to do so.

Images “Shock” magazine readers

By Becky Polini

In a two-page photo spread, 11 Pakistani children are captured on film being pushed on a dilapidated Ferris wheel anchored in a pile of trash. Their toy is surrounded by the slums they live in, but the smiles on their faces reflect an undeniable charisma.

Flip a bit further for another two-page photo spread, this one showcasing a timeline of the tragic decline of Tara Reid’s looks and her addiction to bad plastic surgery.

From national tragedies to juiced-up celebrities, the pages of monthly Shock Magazine deliver uncensored, unapologetic photographs with brief captions describing the contents of the pictures.

Cat got your tongue? Well I found it, on the Internet

By Maria Michelli

In a post-Facebook and Myspace world, it should not be surprising to college students, like myself, that many Web-based social networks exist on the Internet.

However, even as a pet owner of about 15 years, the idea of an online community for pets seems surprising, dare I say, absurd.

After checking out a few of these Web sites — Catster, Dogster, Hamsterster, and Petster.com — I quickly realized I was getting in over my head. I bit the bullet, and created a page for Patch, my 15-year-old feline, on Catster.com.

Students fight addiction…to video games

By Dane Secor

There is a new addiction spreading across the globe. It can cause sleep deprivation and loss of appetite and lead to negligence of work, school, families and loved ones. The addiction has already been a reported cause of death in South Korea.

The addiction is World of Warcraft.
When junior Annie Rizzuto created the Facebook group, “World of Warcraft Has Stolen Away My Friends and Significant Other,” it was a joke between her and a few friends. It grew to include people she hasn’t met, and she says through the group she has heard many stories of addiction.

“You hear things like, ‘My boyfriend turned down sex because he wants to play World of Warcraft for eight hours because he’s level 60 now,’ ” Rizzuto says.

Tom Tom, the mapper’s son

By Sonia Dasgupta

Lost. Great. The nearest sign of life was about 20 miles back. Even better.

In situations like this, Betty may become your best friend. She a character voice available through Tom Tom One’s automotive navigation system.

Navigation systems became a popular feature in vehicles in the last five years. Now they can be found in cell phones as well. Verizon, Sprint and Nextel have all released phones with navigation capability. Most navigation systems like Tom Tom are costly, ranging anywhere from $250 to more than $1,000, depending on the performance and features available. So is it more valuable to get the navigation feature put on your cell phone for about $2.99 per month?

Smells like a seller?

By Stefanie Gordon

While walking in the mall, you notice the usual retail gimmicks. Giant signs in bright colors, trendy music blasting from inside stores…and different scents grabbing your nose’s attention in every direction?

Advertisers have recently turned their attention to a new field apart from sight and sound: smell.

Stores have begun to place strategically engineered scents into their stores to attract customers, and hopefully increase sales.

Jeffrey Rosen, university professor of neurobiology of emotion, believes the sense of smell has a profound effect on humans, a source that has recently been tapped by advertisers.

Gamers with lipgloss and tampax?

By Kaitlyn DeRoy

Podcasting renews learning experiences

By Lori Goldson

Released in October 2001, iPods have transformed from minuscule music mechanisms to full-force media machines. The constant revisions of iPods have relieved commuters, students and other users of portable CD and tape players after enabling the small device to carry thousands of songs and videos.

Podcasting was created in 2003, allowing consumers more flexibility than simply watching visual media and listening to music. In three short years, the podcasting phenomenon has become an essential tool for mass marketing and advertisement. In 2006, Pixar Studios director John Lasseter used the medium to promote Cars.

Aside from promotion, the revolution has altered learning experiences as well. Since its release, multiple universities across the country have adopted the new technology, including the University of Delaware.