United we stand, digitally divided we fall

The digital divide, to some it means nothing, the most likely of these candidates being Jack Thompson. To others, it represents the growing hole between those who have a computer and Internet access and those who don’t. In a world that is continuously growing more reliant on the Internet and its abilities to transmit data from thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye, it is quickly becoming necessity for modern humans to have access to the Internet. And yet even with the costs of the materials that are needed to obtain Internet are going down, Surveys and Censuses dictate that the number of people who have Internet access is actually going down. This is especially worrisome for School students, who often require large amounts of time on the Internet in order to complete their work, more then a standard school class can provide. Without Internet, a student is unable to work on assignments in a timely matter. For example, if a student had to do research about World War II, he or she would have to look up the information in massive elaborate textbooks. With so much information to sift through it could take hours for them to even get started, assuming that they even do when faced with the daunting task of looking through a textbook. The beauty of utilizing the Internet is that it provides quick and short summerizations of historical events and other matters of concern. One can often get all the information needed within an hour, or at least when it comes to a standard students work. There’s also the lack of quick and easy communication between students or teachers. When a student is able to email work or information between themselves, it allows them to more easily collaborate their work, therefore increasing efficiency and productivity. Without this boon, a student who is doing something like a group project is unable to readily discuss their ideas or work to their partners, which can lead to confusion and a disjointed effort. This is especially troublesome for those who don’t live near each other, which can make it even more difficult since they may only be able to see each other at school.

Searching for love in all the wrong places (And with google, no less)

There are literally dozens, nay, hundreds, of different search engines out there. There are many well-known first-party search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, and tons of lesser-known ones like Ask, dog pile and hot bot. Then there are the search engines that are hosted on a website, however most these are "powered" by the afore-mentioned first-party search engines. For this report, I will be covering Google, Yahoo, and the Dog Pile search engines.
The Google engine is clean and reliable, theres very little in the way of flash and pizzazz except at the home page in which the Google logo sometimes has a little bit of a makeover. This is the search engine that one wants when they don’t have time to mess around. When a search is made, it shows the site’s domain name in large, bold blue print with a small description of the page’s contents underneath. If there are other links or other main pages it will either list them in small blue hyperlinks or in a indented space that houses the original link. Advertising is kept to a minimum usually and the site looks that much better for it. Most of the advertisements (Known as "Sponsored results") are on the right side of the page and don’t usually get in the way of looking for an actual search result.
Next is Yahoo. Its main page, while it certainly has much more on it then Google’s minimalist approach, is still somewhat dreary with little colour other then the few pages that are underneath the search bar. The main page is choked with sponsored links and news, with alot of said "news" just being Tabloid-esque. A basic search turns up not only the search results, but also a bus-load of adverts, located at the top, right-hand side, and the bottom of the page.
Lastly, theres Dog Pile, which is instead of a stand-alone search engine, is actually a collection of multiple search engines, including Windows Live search, Google, Yahoo! Search, and Ask. The Main page is cheerful and bright while still not getting over-elaborate and usually features a group of dogs together. The search is similar to Googles, It collects searches from all of the selected engines (They can be shut off separately if need be) and profiles them on the page. When it finds a link that is shared among multiple engines it lists their names under the hyperlink and site description. On the right side is a small list of related searches that can be selected for a quick reappraisal of the current search.
Personally I find Google to be the best search engine, it gets the job done fast and it does it right, which is what counts. It lacks the multitude of adverts that Yahoo throws at you and is easier to navigate then dog pile.

LEOs,MEOs, and GEOs, oh my!

While there are a large number of different satellite orbits, the most commonly used ones for man-made satellites are the LEO, MEO and GEO.
The LEO is a satellite that orbits around the earth in relatively close proximity to the earth. The definition of a LEO states that any area between 160 KM and 200 KM above sea level is a LEO orbit, for example, the international space station operates at an area that changes from 319.6 KM to 346.9 KM above sea level. A LEO satellite moves at roughly 27,400 KM/hr, or 8 KM/s, which is ridiculously fast. In fact, it’s so fast that the LEO may become impassable due to a cause-and-effect known as the "Kessler Syndrome", which states that space-born objects that are orbiting the earth will slowly build up.
Eventually there will be such a build-up of space debris that it will become nigh impossible to pass it without your ship becoming Swiss cheese. Due to the fact that’s there almost nothing to slow down an object in space, (It’s been theorized that theres a few hydrogen and helium atoms per square inch in space) the Earth’s gravity will keep the material in orbit for a few thousand years. Until it naturally slows down by coming in contact with the thin atmosphere up at 300 KM and goes into a "graveyard orbit", the debris will remain up in space. It’s been theorized that it will take a few thousand years for any debris to slow down that much.
A LEO is generally used for communications that require near-instantaneous communication, such as Internet games. Since they’re too close to the earth to broadcast over large areas, there has to be networks of them set up, therefore allowing them to bounce a signal from one satellite to the next until it reaches its destination.
A MEO is an orbit that is located above a LEO (2000 KM) and below a GEO (35786 KM), and are used for GPS tracking and other navigational instruments. An orbital period of one will usually last about 2-12 hours. One of the most well known MEO’s would be Telstar, which was a forerunner in MEO experimental satellites.
Finally, theres the GEOs, which operate at 42,164 km and stay in synch with the Earths rotation almost perfectly. (Each revolution takes about 23.9421 hours) GEOs are normally used for communication purposes, however, since they’re so far away from the Earth, the power requirements go up. Not only that, but there is a noticeable delay in communications, as much as half a second of lag can occur when a GEO satellite is used for real-time communications.