Mobile And Technology

Jim decided to vote on his way to work to try to avoid the long lines that would be forming later in the day. He walked over to the machine after a very brief wait and proceeded to use the touch screen to record his vote. Later, he stopped at the ATM machine to withdraw some cash and followed the directions to use the multi touch technology it required. He really did not bother to consider that many other people had also used these machines before him and was not at all concerned that he may have picked up some germs that could make him very sick. In fact, as he got his coffee in the employee snack room, he picked up a donut from the giant box on the table without even washing his hands. This is just one way that the flu may be spread to other people. Every day we are hearing that the flu is spreading at an alarming rate and that we must be careful about how we are protecting ourselves against it. Five of the most talked about and useful ways of avoiding this illness are as follows:

1. Hand Washing: This should be done well and often to be effective. We have all heard that we should sing a little song like “Happy Birthday to You” to ourselves to ensure that we wash our hands for at least 20 seconds. Letting the water get to a warm temperature is also advised for the best results.

2. Hand Sanitizer: This is also a good option when it is impossible to actually wash your hands because there are no facilities nearby. It is a good practice to use a hand sanitizer after making contact with anything that other people are also using in a public way and that includes phones, revolving doors, and ATM machines.

3. Avoid touching your face: It has been found that germs can easily enter your body through the practice of touching your eyes, nose and mouth and that people should make it a habit not to do so when in a populated place where someone could have the flu or a cold.

4. Sneeze into your elbow: It used to be an unofficial rule that people should sneeze into their hand but when you really think about it that is a guaranteed way to spread germs to others. Sneezing into your arm around the area of your elbow allows a person to isolate droplets that might otherwise end up making someone sick.

5. Stay home: When you have any signs that you may be coming down with a cold virus or the flu it is important to stay home from work to avoid exposing others. A minor cough or a low grade fever can turn into a bad case of the flu in just a few hours and it is kinder to stay home than to take your illness into the office. For the first time in many years employers are encouraging their employees to use sick time even if they do not appear to be seriously ill because they do not want all of their work force to be exposed to the flu.

Much of the new technology today is dependent on a direct human contact application and is highly sensitive. Such technology as capacitive touch screen and FTIR multi touch sensing techniques are currently quite popular. Both of these applications operate by finger access to a picture or word display and we can find them being used everywhere.

Every time we use an ATM to withdraw money from a bank account we are employing the use of this kind of technology. It was not many years ago at all that a person had to actually go to their local bank and either walk inside to conduct business with a teller or wait in a line of cars to interact with a bank representative at a drive through window. It is now extremely easy to make check deposits, withdraw money from a checking account, and check current balances on bank accounts all using the convenience of an ATM. They can be found at many locations so finding one close by is really easy to do. And because they are available at all times of the day or night there are no deadlines to meet to accomplish your transaction.

Many voting machines are also now using the human interface method as well. The use of digital manipulation is relatively new to this application but it has gained in popularity as each voting season rolls around. Many people like the computerized method of casting their ballot and it is believed to speed up the process to allow for a better flow of voters. The old fashioned paper ballot was somewhat of a pain to complete and voting in this way is accomplished with just the touch of an index finger. Interestingly, a printout is offered to the person casting his or her vote before they make the final decision to submit their choices. This printout is contained within the machine and is not available for the person to tear off and keep, but it does show in black and white exactly what the computer has recorded from the voting choices that were made. This feature is very popular especially with older people who may have a hard time trusting in computers at all and are reassured by viewing their voting record before casting it.

Contact application is used for hand held video games quite successfully too as can be easily seen by their popularity. These video games are quite varied and appeal to young children, teenagers and even adults. Many parents find themselves relishing the quiet atmosphere when their child is involved in playing with a video game. Although many professionals have cautioned parents that there can be too much attention given to playing these games, there is another argument that they can really cause a child to focus for extended amounts of time and can have a good effect in that way. So like almost anything else in life it is how they are used that will determine if they are a positive or negative influence on a person.