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Contributor name: awakened

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Contributor since: Dec 10, 2006

Last seen: Dec 13, 2006

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What awakened thinks of other contributors' views

56% (9 votes) agreed

What other contributors thinks of awakened's views

100% (9 votes) agreed

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Pricing simplicity

awakened thinks: Simpler pricing usually favors the seller, not the buyer. Some European Union citizens will understand what I'm talking about. Remember the shift to the Euro currency? The price on everything changed to correspond to euro, and the prices seemed like well thought of. But in the end, the consumer was paying MORE than they should, just so that the prices were more "rounded up" and "convenient" to people.

I also hate carrying change around, but I don't think change is MY problem. It's the sellers' problem. And whatever change I gather up during the day, I simply save it in a piggy bank at the end of the day, until there's enough in there to take it to the bank or a local convenient store or mini-mart and change them up for notes. They love it when you take them change, especially middle-day or a few hours before they close. I'd hate to think that I'm paying even a cent more, just so that the price is more "convenient" to pay for.

How can we avoid remembering passwords?

awakened thinks: Biometric recognition sounds like a very reasonable choice, but it's not exactly there yet. There are many areas that the use of such a technology is economically impossible at the moment. I think that some time in the future biometric security methods will become much more wide-spread, but for now, try to use tools like a password wallet. Many phones are equipped with this feature, a place where you can store user names and passwords, using one global password for all of them. If you manage to find a secure enough phone, and keep a backup list somewhere really safe (in case your phone is lost or stolen), you might stand a chance. Also, it would be a good idea to avoid describing what each user name and password saved in your password wallet is used for, so in case someone does manage to access them, they wouldn't know where to use them. Again, some security issues arise from this, but it beats passwords retrieval every time you forget!

Can computer gaming make you smarter?

awakened thinks: I believe this is heavily dependent on the game, and on the age of the player. I have a younger sister and she likes playing those little harmless nifty computer games, like one that gives her a set of objects in writing, and she must locate them inside an image. To her, this is very educating since English is not her primary language and some of the words she needs to look up in a dictionary in a very limited time. This prompts her to learn new words in English, tests her ability to locate shapes inside of an image (don't get me wrong, this game is tough, even for me and I know the English language very well). Games like these (and even a few fps, or any kind of game) DO contain educational factors of one degree or another. On the other hand, MMORPGs' I strongly dislike, since the only brain activity they require is the mental command to click your mouse.

Are ugly websites easier to use?

awakened thinks: To me, the level of design of a website is sometimes the first sign of its' quality. Of course, as soon as I dig into the site, my main concern is functionality. I guess to me, a web site needs to be functional while maintaining a visually appealing style. I enjoy graphic design as a hobby, so I can tell when an image has too many things going on inside of it, or too little.

A successful site (in terms of usability) will have just enough graphic inside of it to accentuate the parts the user needs to see first. To me, a great mixture of usability and design are sites like flickr.com or google. Sites like craigslist previously mentioned simply hurt my eyes, AND my brain.

Is physical media now absolete?

awakened thinks: I think that physical media is a thing of the past. Not because they are of no importance, I believe that physical media can have a greater sentimental value than files on a computer, but of their environmental impact. Almost every house has huge clutters of CD, VHS and photographs. Their sentimental value is great, but I think that in some point in our lives, they end up in the dumpster, which saddens me even more, because that means the information contained in them is lost forever.

I agree with thoughts like "there's nothing like grabbing your newspaper" or "a good book", but these are things are being slowly replaced by equal technologies, like digital ink (see sonys' new e-ink reader). I think that physical media still has a long way to go, but not that long!

Latest comments agreed with

Pricing simplicity

jonathanmarks thinks: I am not fooled by the .99 marketing trick. In Holland, prices are usually show with tax included. I want the ability to show appreciation through a tip. So I am dead against adding 20% automatically to a restaurant bill as a service charge.

Pricing simplicity

badmojo thinks: Give me the final price in an itemized fashion so I know what I'm paying for and I'm happy. There's no need for overused gimmicks and marekting ploys. Let's keep things simple.

Pricing simplicity

deisel thinks: It's a tricky issue. If we round everything up to me nice and even, doesn't that mean I'm paying more in the end? So, am I actually just paying for the convenience of not dealing with change?

Can computer gaming make you smarter?

pawn thinks: This is a tough call because I believe both are valid. Gaming does increase a child's ability to problem solve although this is highly dependent on the game. On the other hand, playing computer games can also be a mindless waste of time. Again, I think it is all dependent on the game they are playing. Either way kids should be outside playing and not in front of a television or computer for hours on end.

Can computer gaming make you smarter?

BigCheez thinks: Computer gaming seems to motivate children to learn more than traditional learning. I think that's safe to say. Teachers should spend more time researching how children gaming can be incorporated into learning. I have no doubt that it will not only ecourage learning, but make it more fun.

Latest comments disagreed with

Pricing simplicity

simpleenough thinks: simple pricing, simple accounting, simple bill paying. It works for me!

Pricing simplicity

innov8 thinks: I agree, the easier the pricing scheme, the better. It would be nice to not have to worry about carrying around excessive amounts of change. While we're at, let's make prices even numbers. No more 4.99 when it could just as easily be 5.00. I don't think this marketing gimmick is fooling anyone.

RFID, help or hype?

Aos thinks: A great example of how RFID is making things easier, a hotel RFID wristband as your key. You'll never have to worry about losing your room key again.

Can computer gaming make you smarter?

philipsfan thinks: Children need to learn to use their imagination which is something that is not done while playing computer games. When I was a child, I used to play with a pile of dirt and a shovel and was content to do it all day. I don't have anything against gaming as an activity, but a childs life should involve much more than hours in front of a television playing computer games.

Is physical media now absolete?

simpleenough thinks: vinyl has certian appeal that cds just don't have. vinyl has a certain raw, analog quality that is lost in digital media. I can see why it is a collectable. I can't see the same future for what i consider sterile digital CDs. they just don't have that kind of history to them. just like the old saying, "they don't make them like they used to".

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