Blogger #6

                                                                    Yard Sale App

Yard sales can be fun, but they are often tedious and can take long to track down. There are many apps out there that can lead you to local yard sales and some even gives you hints as to what it is they are selling. Yard Browse is going to change the game by working as more of a location based, yard sale catalog. In establishing the app I will establish an interface that will be seamless in every way and that will be completely immersive. It will start out by creating users who can log on as buyers and sellers and change when needed. The app will allow users to view yard sales around them based how far they are willing to travel­–something that it hardly new. It is after this feat where the magic will begin. If the user is a seller he or she will be able to upload everything they are selling and create an online catalog. Buyers will then be able to view every item from the comfort of their own home or wherever they may be and will then be able to message the buyer directly. This will allow both users to save time and will allow them to talk prices, quality and even reserve items. The app will also allow users to review one another. This will create an online community where the customer and customer service is key. Users will be able to determine if as seller is trustworthy, known for selling good items or just plain cheap. It is through this app that we will make yard sales more convenient and make all other yard sales obsolete by creating a direct link between seller and buyer.

Blogger #6

Snapchat is a free app where you share a story and direct messages with contacts on your phone. Which can provide 10 second videos and pictures of all kinds of activities you do during your day. It will only stay up on the app for 24 hours and after that it will automatically delete itself from your story. Snapchat has come a long way from adding all kinds of filters, and also different videos off events that are happening around the world as well. Not everyone is allowed to see your story only if you add them to your contacts unless the stories are being shared on the general story which the app give you the option to do depending on where you are located.

Blogger #6

The market I am focusing on is transportation by researching the Uber car service application. Uber has made car services accessible to all who have a smart phone. Car services tend to be a luxury for most while taking a cab is more common. Having made a service that was simpler and less expensive, it became a hit in large cities. Uber became known in March of 2005 in the city of San Francisco as UberCab that allowed one the opportunity to text for a car. Uber changed its name a few months after their debut due to licensing issues with the city of San Francisco. Dropping the Cab suffix dropped the scandal. Uber currently operates in 58 countries and is estimated to be worth at over $10 billion. Uber has made several advances such as offering UberX which markets rides at 35% cheaper. The app also offers a food delivery service to a location and a Rush service for deliveries of any sort. In some cities, like New York, Uber has a Cargo service that transports larger sized goods for the customer to another location. 

Uber has had some difficult times throughout the past 6 years. They have been sued a staggering number of times with 50 cases in 2015 alone. There has been suits within cities and states for taxicab licensing issues which have been dropped according to sources. The ultimate trial has been deaths and assults that occur while Uber is around. A number of unfortunate circumstances have occurred but Uber has stayed quiet about most incidents. Not publicizing any events besides those that are virally known, Uber has kept a nice image. While researching, http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents provided a list of all incidents since Uber has been in service. 

Blog #6

     Metro.net is a webpage used for determining what time your bus comes or gives you information on TAP cards, Maps, Mobile, Code of Conduct, and Nextrip. Metro.net exists for people like me who aren't the app type and just would like to look up when the bus is arriving on the web. Or one could text them your bus code and they will text you back within seconds the time your bus is arriving. "A directional line serving a stop influences the number of passengers boarding the line at that stop, controlling for various other established factors affecting demand. This cross-sectional analysis of the variation in line boardings across about 1300 sample schedule time point bus stops served by about 300 directional bus lines over a six-month period uses a historical archive of real-time geo-referenced vehicle location data, and focuses on five different time periods, peaks and off-peaks, of a typical weekday," quotes Chakabarti, Sandip. My bus stop for example, is quite randomly put there and it's in front of a busy street so most of the time when a bus is coming, they will either miss me or stop and realize a block away that there was a person standing there (usually they keep going). The bus may not stop due to the fact that my stop doesn't attract many people because of its location and usually there isn't people at the stop at any time of the day which would explain why the buses usually don't look twice at the stop. My websites purpose is in case one doesn't have the metro app, people can look up the website and if they have the code, they can input it in the Stop # and fill in the rest of the information to access the time your bus will be arriving. 
     Metro.net's Nextrip is usually unrealiable. Dozens of people who rely on the bus to get them places know how important it is for the buses to come at a good time without them being an hour and thirty minutes late as well as how frustrating it is having buses pass a group of people for no apparent reason. While on the bus, I've heard complaints of various people, usually older women on how late the buses come. Most of them do have smart phones or at least a flip phone that is able to send text messages so it would be really fantastic if the Metro system provided each stop or at least every other stop a little plaque of information on how to access the timetables of the  bus they are taking. That way they won't have to  wait for their bus for an hour or more. Sandip says that depending on how reliable Metro is, it will affect how many people will continue to ride the bus in the future. What he says it true. Others will look for alternate ways to get to their destination like Uber or Lyft but older women who don't know how to navigate those kind of things and little kids who also rely a lot on the bus, will have a hard time getting to their designated destination if the buses keep coming late. 

blogger #6

                Netflix is a great alternate to those who watch television. Netflix is mostly a TV streaming service, but it also offers DVD rental service options as well. When the company first started out in 1997, it was the other way around. It offers many titles to choose from, and gives the viewer a great experience. The application or site is always ad free, and personalizes the users like and dislikes. With Netflix’s growing success, the company has made enough money to create their own original series, such as Arrested Development. “Netflix deliberately positions itself as similar, but also decidedly different from other media, by looking specifically at the case study of Arrested Development season 4, the concept of independent scheduling and binge watching” (Jenner 2).

                  Netflix’s main purpose was to share older media with the public in and easy way. Netflix does so by using the U.S Postal service for their DVD Rental service. The user just has to make an account to make a que of DVDs they would want to see. There was no return date for the DVD’s which gave the consumer less pressure. There was a limit to how many DVDs could be checked out at a time, so if the watcher wanted something else they would have to send a disc back. It further has the more popular streaming service which allows the users to watch any movie in their library instantly.” The majority of its business is still to stream content that was previously shown in cinemas or on television. As such, Netflix has always been more associated with the medium of DVDs and the internet (as the name already suggests) rather than broadcasting and original programming” (Jenner 6).

Blogger Entry #6

Due: Wednesday 4/20 

In-Text Citations & Weaving Sources 

Review the In-Text Citations and Weaving Sources handouts and then complete the following.  Respond using information that you will use for your research project (these paragraphs should be able to work in your research paper).  All should be MLA formatted.

1. Contextualizing
1. Introduce the market you are focusing on according to one of your sources.  Here you are to paraphrase and include 1 direct quote. Use this to build a context for your readers to understand what your market is, why it exists, etc.  (1 paragraph 8-12 sentences).
2. Defining Key Items 
1. Using direct quotes & the summarizing technique, introduce
1. your application's purpose
2. 1 major accomplishment/milestone 
3. brief history
3. Supportive Source 
1. Create a paragraph that is either highlighting the successes or critiquing the failures of a specific event or service your application has provided.  This paragraph needs to include at minimum 1 source supporting your claim (direct quote, paraphrasing, or summarizing).  

Blogger #5

Ticketmaster

I was online to purchase tickets for a concert, I selected the seats and price and when I was up to check out I was told there was a problem with the order. I was banned and when I went back in the tickets were twice as much. How can this happen? It was so frustrating since the tickets were the only thing my 12 year old daughter asked for her birthday and I couldn't afford the new price.

I would improve the online purchase by having an online chat, many online consumers want help from a live person while they are shopping online; in fact, online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a Web site can offer.  People want to feel secure and at the same time want the web page to communicate effectively. 

Victoria Arciniega

Professor Reyes

English 100

2016 January 1

Long distance

                Growing up in the 90's was the best thing ever I actually spent time outside playing with my friends or neighbors. We had the best cartoons. I actually did my homework and I wanted to learn. I was nine years old and I already had a mindset of being the best in school. I wanted to be the best in class. I was a very smart and friendly girl. Mathematics was my favorite subject. I was always the honor student of the month. Until one day my life made a dramatic twist.

“I received a call today, “My mother explained with a depress look in her eyes. “It was one of your aunt from Mexico telling me that our grandmother is very ill and my mother cannot take care of your great grandmother on her own.”

I didn’t know how to react to the news because I never seen my great grandmother in person. I was sad because I knew that for elder people is harder to recover and because I knew she was my great grandmother. But I didn’t know how she looked or sounded like. I didn’t know if she would like me or how to treat an elder person. I could picture me walking towards her with all the shyness of the world to giving her a pleasant warm hug and calling her great grandmother for the first time. So beautiful. I was so excited that I was finally going to meet her, my cousins, and aunts. But what I did not know was the next.

“Mija, we need to move to Mexico until my grandmother gets better” my mother said.

I thought they were coming to our house not the other way around. I was happy in a way, but I didn’t want to leave my friends behind. I mean I’m use to moving from city to city, but this was a complete different country. I was freaking out. Questions that I didn’t have answer for came to my head. Do I know enough Spanish? Where are we going to sleep? When are we going to come back? Are we coming back soon? How do I contact my friends? Am I going to school? I was more stressed out because I didn’t know how I was going to contact my friends. We headed out the next morning.

“Don’t worry Victoria, you’re going to have a good time with your cousins” my mother said with a delight smile on her face.

Finally, we made it do my grandmother house. There was food and color everywhere, it felt like home. But there was still something missing and that was my friends, what a bummer. A couple months later my mother approached me with an exited face expression. She introduced me to a block of screen with a moving click thing and a bored with letters, numbers, and lots of other stuff that had no meaning to me.

“What is that?” I asked my mother confusingly.

“It’s the solution to your misery” my mother laughed.  

I had no idea what my mother meant by this, but I kept an open mind. A girl walked in with a shy look and introduced herself to me.

“Hi, my name is Gloria” she said “I’m teach you how to use the computer” she explained.

I had no idea that the thing I just seen was a computer.

“What is a computer” I asked concern.

She pointed at the piece of block my mother had just showed me. How was that thing going to help me in anything? She taught me how to turn the computer on and off, how to connect the internet to, and how to download apps. I was so mind blown of what that piece of block could do in a matter of seconds. After I had learned everything about a computer she helped me download the Facebook app. I made an account and started searching for my friends. Yay! I was so happy after months of being at my grandmother’s house I had an opportunity to communicate with my friends. Yes! I found my friends Jenifer, Brianna, Raina, Melissa, Janet, Jovany, and Jose. The whole squat was on Facebook I was glad I found them. They were surprised I knew about Facebook since it was like a new thing for everyone and after all I was in Mexico. Everything worked out perfectly for everyone. My great grandmother over passed her illness, I got to know my mother’s family, and I had a way to communicate with my buddies. From that moment on I never passes a day without connecting myself to Facebook or other apps. That tripped to Mexico really changed my life. 

Blogger #4

Blogger #4

Breaking Bad vs. Lost

Breaking Bad is one of the best characters development series seen in television in a very long time, it was relatable and had many plot twist. The main character Walter white is a struggling high school teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Together with his former student, Walter White turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystal meth to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world. Walter White started as a good guy by the end of the series he was a full-blown bad guy still trying to justify his actions by saying it was all for the good of his family and friends.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/

Vs

Lost had many characters that the show focused on. Lost is a drama containing elements of science fiction and the supernatural. It follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet, flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. One specific character that tries to help all the other characters survive in the island becoming their hero.   

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411008/

Blogger #5

I was looking into applications that will benefit students during their college career, I came up with a few good ideas. The one idea that stands out for me is a “TRIVAGO” style application for buying books. Let’s say you are indeed for a specific book for a class. You would write the name of the book and the application will present a list of who is selling that book personal or business, how much, if it’s for rent or sell, and how long will it take to be deliver or if a nearby store has it in stock. With this application you would have the option to price check other websites and people who are selling the book online.         

Blogger #5

So I'm creating improvements to an app that already exists which is called MakeupAlley. This phone app is an app that is beauty advice on the go (that's how it's described on their web). MakeupAlley has access to more than 2 million reviews on beauty products of all kinds and all brands from the high end makeup to the low end makeup. This app is a connection to over 1.8 million beauty lovers around the world whom you are able to connect and share not only on beauty but also lifestyle boards. This app is completely easy to navigate through and as a woman who loves and has a passion for makeup this is the perfect app to use and, isn't too far from reach since all you have to do is pop out your cellphone and you have access to it that easy. You know when you walk into a makeup store and you come across a product that you are completely new to and then you become a little indecisive about purchasing because you're afraid to purchase it and then finding out the unfortunate way that your skin doesn't react to it in a good way or it just wasn't worth your money. The MakeupAlley app is your go to and find reviews on that for instance all you have to do is search up the name or brand of the product you're interested in or to make it even easier all you have to do is scan the barcode on the product and just like that you are able to read the reviews on any beauty related product. My idea for improvement would be to create an alternative to a beauty product that had bad reviews to a one who has good reviews and not only that but it will give you the option to purchase it then and there as it links you to the web page that sells these products. If they are not available to purchase online then it'll give you the option of finding a store near you that carries this product and have it mailed to you instead of going from store to store to look for a beauty product you are really in need of, this will make your search a lot more convenient and easier for you.