OBS Recording
Trinket Projects
Throughout the 2023–2024 school year, we have learned skills on Python, and implemented those to create coding projects on Trinket. Here are my two old projects, as well as the two new ones.
Project 1: Rock Paper Scissors
<iframe src="https://trinket.io/embed/python/b843b46a6c" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Project 2: Guess the Number
<iframe src="https://trinket.io/embed/python/60f9c25b0a" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Project 3: Exploring a Cave
<iframe src="https://trinket.io/embed/python/7639780e8c" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Project 4: Turn based fighting game
<iframe src="https://trinket.io/embed/python/492f8e99c3" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>NHL Predictions Chart
From February to April of 2024, we made predictions for the number of points of 25 NHL players. We made these predictions in Google Sheets, using a variety of skills to accurately calculate how many points each player would have about 2 weeks later, and then compared these to the actual values. Here is the chart with my differences.
<iframe width="600" height="371" seamless frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSjkShsl5O9ozsl-F5TsI1qyPRhquJHnz3nhWD1h_VNWlfmXXyZJFX_nDXMBMH3Bmc3Iiw543mificc/pubchart?oid=822651764&format=interactive"></iframe>Photoshop Project
For my final project, I created something on Photoshop.
Tech News
Tech News 1
Apple Event -May 7, 2024
Ipads have long since been a very popular device, suitable for all kinds of users. On May 7, 2024, Apple announced what might be their biggest ipad event since. New ipads are coming out, and there is nothing quite like them.
The ipad air is now available in 2 sizes, both 11 in and 13 in. The larger display allows for many more possibilities to express oneself through numerous apps. As well, the front camera is now on the landscape edge. With the M2 chip and other factors, the new airs are said to be over 50% faster than the previous models. Its liquid retina display is beautiful to see, and now supports apple pencil hover.
The ipad pros are also available in an 11 inch and 13 inch model, both of which are extremely thin. The 11 inch is 5.3 mm, and the 13 inch is 5.1 mm, making it the thinnest apple product ever. They are both extremely light, and feel great to hold and use. The display features two OLED panels to create great brightness and colour. Together, they can support 1,000 nits of brightness for SDR and 1,600 nits of brightness for HDR. This new display is named ultra retina XDR. The new ipad pro also uses the all-new apple silicon M4 chip to boost power from the previous generation while keeping the thin design. This new model gives 50% faster CPU than the M2 in the previous ipad pro, and 4x the rendering performance. This new chip also has the neural engine, or NPU. This quickens the artificial intelligence operations, and combined with all the other things, offers a huge leap in performance. In addition, the ipad features 20% better thermal performance, reducing discomfort while using many of the improved apps on ipad, such as logic pro and final cut pro. The camera is also a great aspect of ipad pro, featuring a 12 megapixel camera that has been moved to the landscape edge and 4 great microphones. Also, it has a new adaptive flash to get rid of shadows that may be in the way.
Beyond the ipad itself, the accessories have also been improved. The apple pencil now also has a pro version. There is a new sensor in the barrel that can do many things, like squeezing it to bring up a tool palette, which also produces haptic feedback. The apple pencil now also supports find my, and with the other features, offers a great experience for professionals as well as enthusiasts. Ipad has been called “the most powerful device of its kind.”
My Thoughts
The new ipad has had many significant improvements, and though the price is quite steep, it may just be worth it. I don’t consider myself a tablet guy. I use a smartphone, a touchscreen laptop, a smartwatch, but I just never saw the appeal of an ipad. After all, why carry around something that does what an iphone does with the amount of space as a laptop that doesn’t do what a laptop does?
Back when phones were just released, they were incredibly small and couldn’t do a lot, which shows the need for a tablet. However, in recent years, phones have gotten so much larger and more powerful with the ever-growing tech industry, lessening the appeal of a tablet. However, these new ipads, especially the ipad pro, seems to have bounced back.
Personally, I think their weight and size have been a huge improvement. A few weeks ago, when I went to the apple store to actually check them out, I was amazed by the slim design and how it still has such a strong chip inside. Ipads have gotten to the point where they could potentially replace my laptop. With the new magic keyboard and fast design, the ipad has started to feel less like a big phone and more like something I could use as a laptop. However, it is still missing some of the performance and perks you get on a laptop, which I suppose is the point. If they were the same, why need two separate products? Thus, I think that the new ipad is finally at the point where it could perhaps replace a laptop for a less professional user, as it covers most of the basic needs in a lighter, touchscreen design.
Another thing is that many apps are just designed so much better for ipads and iphones. An obvious example is games, for which an ipad would be so much better than say a macbook. As for the screen, I typically don’t mind the display quality as long as it isn’t grainy or too dull. However, with this ipad, I was able to immediately see the contrast presented by the double OLED panels. Finally, the ipad gives you much better cameras than a laptop, and obviously have cameras in the back.
All things considered, the new ipad release has complete changed the tablet industry, to the point where it may even rival laptops for the position of powerful yet portable.
Tech News 2
First Neuralink Patient -CBC News
Neuralink is essentially a computer that can be inserted into your brain. It allows you to control an invisible device wherever you go, essentially combining man and machine. This is a company started by Elon Musk, the wealthy entrepreneur and businessman. On January 29, 2024, Musk posted on the platform X that “The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.” The chip is connected with threads thinner than a human hair, and “spike detection” refers to the ability to recognize what the brain is doing. Neuralink records the brain activity down to what individual neurons are doing and use those patterns to determine how the brain controls things. Generally, when we control a cursor, we use our brains to control our finger, which then moves across the trackpad or mouse to control the cursor. However, with neuralink, we skip the middleman, and just get our brains to control the cursor.
The first patient is Noland Arbaugh, who suffered a spinal chord injury in a swimming accident, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. His mother was his caretaker, and needless to say, this was a difficult time for both of them. However, Nolan reports that his life has gotten so much better with neuralink. He can now control a mouse on a laptop with his brain, and use a computer just like anyone else can. However, neuralink has been facing some problems concerning its safety protocols, and was reported to have been fined for “violating U.S. Department of Transportation rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials,” according to Kanjyik Ghosh.
My thoughts
Personally, I think that Neuralink is a step forward for most people, but definitely not the whole world. Firstly, it is a great way to better the lives of the less fortunate. It allows them to use many of the tools that are a daily thing for most, and perhaps even more than that. Allowing people to truly feel the world again is a great thing, as stated by Nolan, the first patient. I truly believe that it is a huge benefit to the world right now, as has the potential to give them so many more opportunities.
However as we know, technology often grows at a pace much faster than most of us can imagine. Personally, I think that neuralink may advance in the coming years to incorporate an actually computer that can be seen in one’s brain. In this way, patients will no longer need to carry a laptop with them, but can instead just think something into existence in their mind. While this seems great, it can, first of all, allow students to easily cheat during tests. Also, if and when AI gets incorporated into neuralink, what will stop computers from completely taking over our brains. Since they literally control how our neurons fire, they can easily just override our circuits. Even if this doesn’t happen, there is still a privacy concern. Personally, I wouldn’t want something in my brain that tracks how I think. Also, since neuralink is still relatively new, there may be some challenges that will eventually arise. We still do not completely understand how brains work, so it is understandably risky to try something like this.
All things considered, as more and more people start to use it, Neuralink will become a great boon to many people’s lives, but it may also have some problems that are yet to be discovered.
