Holidays '07: Tech Talk

RICHMOND, Va. – It’s that time of the year again folks. Christmas lights are no longer a tangled mess. Stockings are being hung and filled . Mom and dad are making early trips to Best Buy and Circuit City with gift cards in hand. Thousands of people will be squatting in tents and sleeping bags Thanksgiving night, trying to score that new big-screen TV on Black Friday.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, it’s the holiday season, and there are a ton of new games, gadgets and gizmos consumers will clamor for during the next three weeks. Here are a few items consumers will be interested in this year.

iPod, iTouch: New Generations, New Features

Since November 2001, consumers have seen more than 10 different models of Apple’s flagship MP3 player, the iPod. The company’s newest model, the iPod Touch, features wireless Internet access and a multi-touch screen seen on the iPhone, Apple’s popular cell phone.

Apple’s iPhone tops E-bay’s list of Top 25 sellers for this holiday season and has been in high demand by consumers since its launch June 29.

Virginia Commonwealth University student Scott Kennedy owns an iPhone and has used the Touch. He says the two products compare in interface and web-surfing, but he still loves the iPhone’s sleek look.

“It’s sexy,” Kennedy says. “I can do most things I was able to with my PocketPC and I can also download songs from iTunes Store just like the Touch.”

Available in either 8GB or 16GB, the Touch offers wireless downloading from Apple’s iTunes Music Store and Internet surfing through the Safari Web Browser.

YouTube and Starbucks content looks to be the Touch’s coolest attributes. If you are inside a Starbuck and like a song on the loudspeakers, the player can instantly recognize the song and download it with the “touch” of a few buttons.

A special YouTube built-in player allows users to search and watch featured videos on the popular Web site right from their Touch. Users also can bookmark their favorite videos for future viewing purposes.

Available now, the Touch starts at $299 for the 8GB and $399 for the 16GB.

The sixth generation of the Apple’s iPod also has arrived. Dubbed the “classic” version, the MP3 player comes with either 80GB(20,000 songs, $249) or 160GB(40,000 songs, $349) of storage. The player also sports a slimmer design and a brighter screen.

A new feature being touted by Apple is Cover Flow. Users can flip through album covers using the click-wheel, selecting songs from the track listing located on the back of the cover.

The key difference between the two models, besides capacity, is battery life. The 80GB allows up to 30 hours of playback time, 10 hours less than the 160GB version. Both versions come in either black or silver colors with an all-metal design.

Plasma Vs. LCD: What’s Best For You

You just purchased a new XBOX 360, HD-DVD Player and a few games and high-def movies. You arrive back home, hook everything up to your 10-year-old, 32-inch Zenith tube television. You expect a huge leap in graphics and picture quality. But you are disappointed. Why does my game look like a blown-up photograph? Why do the colors look washed out?

The answer is simple: Your TV’s isn’t High-Definition (HD). It doesn’t matter whether or not your sources are HD, like the 360 or DVD player, when the picture isn’t up to snuff. So now comes the big question: Which type of TV do you need?

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Plasma are the two major technologies competing for flat panel dominance, and consumer’s opinions vary on which on is the best.

Michael Schneider, a Best Buy Home Theater Salesperson, says plasma is better than LCD.

“Better color, better reaction time, less expensive,” Schneider said in an interview. “I don’t like losing color when it gets bright outside. You don’t get as much fade in plasma as you do in LCD.”

Last year proved to be the “year of the LCD,” according to a January 2007 press release from The NPD Group. LCD TV sales took in more than $900 million, while Plasma TVs barely missed the $400-million-dollar mark, being outsold by MP3 players, notebook computers and digital still cameras.

When asked why LCD sales won out last year, Schneider said it was a matter of selection.

“You’ve got more to choose from,” Schneider said. “You’ve got a range of LCDs from 15 inches to 50; Plasmas start at 42 [inches].”

VCU student Daniel Neville looks forward to purchasing an LCD.

“I want to hook my computer up to it,” says Neville, 20.

Neville, a junior, also owns last year’s XBOX 360 Core version, the basic model of the popular gaming console. Current generation systems like the 360 and Playstation 3 are better suited for LCD screens because of Plasma’s “burn-in” effect.

“Burn-in”, or image-retention, occurs when static images like news tickers or paused game screens are left on the panel for more than eight or nine hours. After turning off the TV, a faint outline of the image could be literally “burned” into the screen, ruining the panel’s picture and shortening its 60,000 hour life-span.

The NPD Group report indicates that 32-inch LCD screens sold the most last year, agreeing with Schneider’s analysis. Forty-two inch plasma televisions were second and 40-42 inch LCD TVs rounded out the top three.

VCU marketing professor Michael Little says big-screen retailers, such as Best Buy and Circuit City, have reported substantial revenue increases in Plasmas and LCDs, but he predicts less spending on those big-ticket items this year.

“With the slowdown in the economy,” Little says, “and the sub-prime crisis… that could slowdown consumer purchases of expensive items.”

Rock Band Simulation Generates Holiday Hype

Videogames are still popular among students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Ashley Tipton, 21, wants to pick up a new Nintendo product.

“I really, really want a Nintendo DS,” Tipton said. “There’s a karaoke game or sing-a-long game I saw on TV, and I was like ‘Oh, I want that.”

If Tipton is looking for a sing-along game, she may want to consider Harmonix’s Rock Band. The multiplatform game created by the same studio that made Guitar Hero will sport a Stratocaster-inspired guitar controller, a microphone and a drum set complete with the kick-pedal.

Chad Greenaway, a Best Buy Media Supervisor, compares Rock Band’s hype to last years release of the Playstation 3. He says one of Rock Band’s coolest features is its online capabilities.

“You can actually put ads out saying that you need a bassist, or you need a drummer, people will answer those ads and join your band.” Greenaway said. “You can hire and fire people. It’s going to be awesome.”

Rock Band will feature more than 50 songs, with the majority being original cuts, from established bands like R.E.M, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Retailing at $169.99, Rock Band’s Special Edition will hit retail stores Nov. 20. The package will include the game, a microphone, drums and one guitar. Guitars from the Guitar Hero series will also be compatible. The game itself retails for $59.99 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Ghanaian Minister is On a Mission (CT Version)

Ama, 15, lives in Accra, Ghana. She has no money, food or shelter. She dropped out of school five years ago. Her mother died from AIDS-related complications two years ago. She never knew her father.

Ama's tired, hungry and alone. She walks up to a man and asks him for $4 for food. In return, he wants sex. She obliges and takes the money. She repeats this ritual throughout the day. It's her only means of survival.

In the United States, prostitution is illegal and punishable by law. But in Ghana, said the Rev. Eric Kwasi Annan, scenarios like this happen every day, often involving girls younger than Ana, a fictional example. Why? Because it's legal, and it pays well.

For the past 15 years, Annan and his wife, Felicia, have been on a mission to end such problems and other issues affecting their native country. The Annans co-direct Sovereign Global Mission (SGM), an organization that seeks to reduce poverty, provide education and meet the needs of Ghana's people.

SGM was established in 1992, Annan said, because of a governmental push to decrease poverty and respond to the increase of "street children" in Accra, Ghana's capital city.

"The government put it on us (the churches) to go out in the communities and make a difference," Annan, 40, told students in a VCU journalism class on Wednesday. He came to the U.S. for the first time to raise awareness about SGM and attend "For Africa" benefit performances sponsored by Chris Burnside & Dancers and Peacework. The three-day, sellout event took place this past weekend to raise funds to help build an educational center for children in Accra.

SGM has instituted several programs since its 1992 inception. The Homeless Street Girls Project assists girls like Ama. SGM will provide medical care, food and education in basic skills such as sewing, hairdressing and secretarial duties through apprenticeships for participants. The organization also will locate foster homes for the girls, ages 12-15, or provide a room for pregnant mothers so they can care for their children while they search for employment.

"We provide them with what we call a 'single room,' " Annan said. "It's a 10- by-10 foot room where the mother can raise her child and live her life safely."

Orphan sponsorship is another SGM program. For $130, a child can attend school, wear a uniform and shoes, buy books and supplies, pay exam fees and afford food for an entire year.

Randi Buerlein, the School of Social Work field director, has been closely involved with SGM since 2002. She said child sponsorship is an integral part of the organization's success in keeping Ghana's children off the streets and in the classroom.

"While 65 percent of children attend primary school in Ghana, 45 percent of children still drop out," Buerlein said. "Because of costs and materials … $130 a year is just not possible (for students)."

In 2004, two years after Buerlein's initial experience in Accra, the School of Social Work students started traveling to Ghana to volunteer with SGM. For twoand- a-half weeks during winter break, students assist the Annans in educating, feeding and caring for orphans while also assisting in the Homeless Street Girls Project.

Volunteers also help build the child development center in the nearby village of Adoteiman. Buerlein said the center, which broke ground in 2001, is about a third of the way finished.

Annan praised VCU's efforts during his lecture.

"They've really been the workhorses of this project," Annan said.

Although SGM's work with children has been beneficial and successful thus far, he thinks that a completed center would be optimal for future efforts.

Students now walk five or six miles to school, walk back home to eat lunch, then walk back to school before heading home at day's end. Annan said the two-story, $60,000 center will have dormitories and 18 classrooms for students to learn in a comfortable environment without having to trek 20 miles.

"The best thing is to have a (center)," Annan said. "That way we can make sure (the children) are well-cared for, well-fed and taken care of."

Van R. Wood

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth professor Van R. Wood loves traveling. He’s flown to Sudan, lived in Latin America and sailed to Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. He’s taught in Melbourne, Marseilles, San Juan and Honolulu. This is partly why Wood is the Phillip Morris Endowed Chair of International Business.

But don’t mistake him as the chairman of Philip Morris USA. The 56-year-old professor of international marketing holds the chair because of the $2 million Phillip Morris gave to the VCU in order to create this position.

Wood applied for the office and was chosen by the Richmond-based conglomerate because of his previous roles in the academics of international business, marketing and management.

According to his biography, Wood has specialized in international business, global marketing and trade for more than 25 years. His relationship with the firm CIDEME in the late ‘70s led to work in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the Middle East.

During 12 years at Texas Tech University, Wood developed international programs and guided seminars on global business strategies. He consulted and presented his work in almost every continent with the only exception being Antarctica.

After accepting the Philip Morris Chair in 1994, Wood has produced and moderated 13 international forums. Topics ranged from conducting business in China, Russia and Latin America to “The Role of the Community in Sustaining Global Competitiveness”. He’s received VCU’s School of Business Award of Excellence in 2000 for “outstanding research, teaching and service” and also the Award of Distinguished Teaching in 2006.

Department of Marketing Chairman Frank Franzak speaks highly of his colleague’s work.

“He’s always out in the community, talking to companies, talking to organizations both in Richmond, Washington D.C. and beyond,” Franzak said.

Wood’s travels and international experiences serve as the reasons behind him promoting students learning overseas.

“Travel is the one experience that allows for great change in a positive way,” Wood says. “Do yourself a favor go and study abroad…learn another language…immerse yourself.”

Wood remembers his experience living in Latin American for five years. Not knowing the language completely was a hurdle for him that he later overcame.

“During the first six months I didn’t have the language,” he says. “You had to take your ego and put it in your back pocket. But then the spider webs started taking pattern. Then I started teaching Spanish. It really skyrocketed my proficiency.”

“I feel most alive where I’m truly most illiterate,” Wood said. “I don’t read, I don’t speak and I don’t write…You start seeing what your worth. It’s a real fine experience.”

A successful student in international business not only travels. They must understand all aspects of business such as marketing, accounting and economics. Wood also believes successful students must possess certain “attributes.”

Attributes are not taught here at VCU, Wood says. They are learned before you come to college, during your stay and forever afterwards.

“You learn those throughout a lifetime,” Wood says. “Those things include a sense of right from wrong, moral values, ethical standards. They include high energy and the ability to work all day and work all night. They include the ability to truly be a globalist or cross-cultural person”.

Wood also believes that the majority of VCU’s current business students, whom he calls his “raw material” to groom and shape, now possess such attributes, skills and knowledge.

“It really is a completely different entity than what we were what it was 14 years ago,” he says. With the changes in curriculum, what we teach, the technology we use to teach it with, the breadth of knowledge, and insights we bring to the table…we have improved dramatically.”

Despite the improvements made during his tenure at VCU, Wood still sees room for improvements. He hopes to merge departments within the business school.

“Instead of having a marketing class, you have a class with a marking professor, accounting professor; a financing professor and they’re all integrated together saying here this is what you need to know,” Wood said.

Wood encourages students to not limit themselves to their major or concentration.

“What do you know about engineering? What do you know about life sciences? What do you know about computer sciences? What do you know about history? You should be fully educated.”

Haskins Promotes Political Engagement

RICHMOND, Va. – Now more than ever, it’s important for journalists to be credible and knowledgeable, says a former blogger.

Conaway Haskins believes professional journalists, specifically broadcast journalists, are essential to informing the public about politics. However, they don’t always correctly relay the information to the public.

“You can look at this when you watch CNN,” Haskins said. “They parade out a democrat and a republican and the journalist basically moderates…Nobody asks the questions of how or why. I think that does a real disservice to the public.”

Haskins remarks came during a lecture to students in a Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) journalism class.

The founder of Southofthejames.com, he attributes the lack of providing correct information to a lack of understanding.

Haskins believes the general population is not as attuned to political issues as it is to issues involving sports or entertainment and cites the highly publicized Britney Spears and Kevin Federline relationship as an example.

Math was also a notable part of Haskins lecture.

“Did you know that black males who don’t earn a high school degree have a 60 percent chance of going to jail,” Haskins said. “And a 30 percent chance if they [black men] graduate with a degree.”

Haskins encouraged future journalists to educate themselves about politics and global issues.

“No generation can afford not to be engaged,” Haskins said.

Conaway B. Haskins III is currently the Deputy State Director for U.S. Sen. James H. Webb (D-Virginia). Haskins’ job entails a number of duties. His department aids citizens when problems arise, secures grants, and nominates students to service academies like West Point. Haskins’ blog, titled South of The James, delved into topics concerning culture, media and politics in Metro Richmond, The Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond, according to the blog’s web site.

In Five Years

In five years, I plan to be a reporter, editor or anchor, working in the sports department. My dream job: an anchor on the 10 p.m. newscast on ESPN. I wouldn’t mind working on the NFL Network because of my love for American football. A six-figure salary would be optimum. Hopefully I’ll attain a paid internship with ESPN.

I will attain these goals through hard work, dedication and a positive attitude. I will excel by studying all of the major sports played nationally and internationally. I will also read essential literature concerning broadcast writing skills, print journalism writing skills, grammar, punctuation and style.

I will become proficient the latest audio and video software through hands-on experimentation and thorough research.

I will build contacts through networking, communicating with veterans of the business and gaining as many references as I possibly can.

What I truly want to be, though, is financially secure and independent. My parents have preached that fiscal responsibility is the key to success. I plan on using this golden rule and other lessons I’ve learned throughout my life so I can live cleanly and comfortably.

DeShonda Overby: A Profile

Overby

Leonard Spencer

9/7/2007

MASC303/Davis

RICHMOND, Va. – DeShonda Overby, an aspiring TV news anchor and award-winning pianist, certainly fits the bill of a mover. But instead of shaker, she would be better defined as an achiever.
An only child, Overby has lived in three different places during her lifetime. The twenty-one-year-old was born in Weisbaden, West Germany and moved to an army base 40 miles outside of Salt Lake City when she was 17 months old. She later moved to Richmond.

Overby doesn’t recall many memories of her stay in Weisbaden, but she does remember being happy in Utah.

“I loved it in Utah because everyone was so nice out there,” she said.

When Overby became old enough to attend public school, her parents decided to educate her the best way they knew how: inside their own home.

At age 8, DeShonda and her family moved again for a third and final time to Richmond.

Her parents continued educating their daughter until she asked them to let her attend public school.

“I literally begged them to let me go to public school,” she said. “My mother wanted to keep teaching me until I entered high school … I wanted to go much earlier than that.”

Overby got her wish and began the fourth grade at Baker Elementary School in Henrico County.
The transition into the public school system was at first difficult for Overby.
“It was hard at first because of the lack of attention,” she said. “I was used to always being the one to answer the questions or get the help first. But everything worked itself out after a while.”

While attending Varina High School, Overby became heavily involved in extra-curricular activities. She was president of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the Spanish Club and participated in SADD.

“My favorite years were definitely during high school because of all that I accomplished,” she said. “I also learned a lot about relationships and who my true friends were.”

Overby also is an award-winning member of her Varina girl’s tennis team. The success of the Williams sisters’, Venus and Serena, is why Overby said she began playing tennis. Currently, she still plays, but only for recreation.

Overby’s mother, Yolanda Overby, says she is proud of her daughter’s high school accomplishments. Yolanda is also proud of what her daughter has become as a person.
“DeShonda is caring…witty, funny, and she holds herself to a high degree,” she said.

After graduating from Varina in 2003, Overby began her collegiate career as a broadcast journalism major at Virginia Union University. She left the school after her freshman year because the university lacked the resources for her major.

Overby enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004. She believes she is ready to accomplish the long-term goals she has set for herself.

“In 10 years, I want to be an anchor on the “Today Show”, married to a doctor or lawyer, and have two kids,” she said. “I just want to be happy.”