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Get Disconnected With The NoPhone

Posted : 10/28/2014 12:00 am by admin

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The newest hot cell phone isn’t an iPhone–it’s a NoPhone.

The NoPhone is a battery-free, camera-free. technology-free “smartphone.” Yes, this “phone” doesn’t do anything at all.

Want to take a selfie? Apply the reflective sticker to the phone’s face and hold it in front of you!

Don’t worry about dropping it in the toilet or shattering its screen– NoPhone is immune to all of these problem!

Its creators are aiming to save people from ruining dates, movies, and concerts, and clogging up sidewalks. The NoPhone allows you to “stay connected with the real world” while still allowing you to “always have a rectangle of smooth, cold plastic to clutch without forgoing and potential engagement with your direct environment.”

So far its creators have raised over $11,930 on Kickstarter (more than twice their original goal) to put the NoPhone into production.

You can preorder a plain NoPhone for $12 or one with a selfie upgrade (a reflective mirror sticker) for $18.

The NoPhone is not a joke, although it is meant to help people realize how much time they spend looking at their phones and to encourage them to observe the world around them.

Do you know someone who could use a NoPhone instead of a cell phone?

Now watch this video? look at the reaction of the people in the " No Phone Challenge ", what are the advantages to having no phone, what are the disadvantages? , could you live with out your phone for 24 hours? for a weekend? a month?????

Welcome, Cell Phones

New York City will soon end a ban on cell phones in schools, which inspired phone-storage businesses

OCT 13, 2014 | By Kelli Plasket with AP reporting

RICHARD DREW—AP

Before school, students from nearby Norman Thomas High School pay a dollar to store their electronic devices at a van parked near the Empire State Building, in New York City.

When Bill de Blasio ran for New York City mayor last year, he promised to end a controversial, citywide cell-phone ban in public schools, which is not equally enforced in all schools. Now, under his leadership, the city is preparing to end the ban. It will be replaced by a policy that allows phones inside schools but tells students to keep them packed away during class. That brings New York in line with the rules at other large school districts, such as Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Atlanta, Georgia.

MIREYA ACIERTO—GETTY IMAGES

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose son Dante attends school in the city, plans to end a citywide ban on cell phones in schools.

Mayor de Blasio admitted to reporters recently that, in spite of the ban, his son, Dante, brings a mobile phone to his high school in Brooklyn, New York. “I think it is, for parents, very, very important to know how to reach their kids,” de Blasio said.
Many schools like the one Dante goes to have a rule about enforcing the ban that says, “If we don’t see it, we don’t know about it.” That means teachers are OK with students bringing in cell phones, as long as they stay out of sight and inside bags and pockets.
But at the 88 city schools with metal detectors, the ban has been strictly enforced. The detectors were installed to keep weapons out of schools, but the scanners can also detect cell phones. So students at these schools must leave their phones at home or pay someone to store it for them.
The End of a Ban—and an Industry
The ban was put into place in 2007 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Ending the ban will also likely end an industry that has sprung up near dozens of the schools that enforce the ban. Workers in vans that resemble food trucks store teens’ cell phones and other devices for a dollar a day. Local bodegas and other businesses also offer similar services.
For students paying to store their phones, the costs add up. They can’t wait for the ban to end. Adam Scully, 16, stores his phone at a Pure Loyalty Electronic Device Storage van parked near Washington Irving High School in Manhattan. "This costs a dollar every day and it's a pain to get in that line just so I can get my phone back so I can go home," Adam told the Associated Press. Adam says he chooses to store his phone rather than leave it at home in case his mom needs to contact him before or after school.
Critics of the ban say cell phones are important safety devices for kids during an emergency. They also say that enforcement of the ban is uneven and discriminatory. Where the ban is enforced, it puts a disadvantage on students who can’t afford to pay to store their phones.
Before putting an official end to the cell-phone ban, city education officials are working on creating a new policy. It will include rules about not using the phones during class or to cheat on tests.
The phone-storage operators, who saw a need and created an industry to solve it, say they know their days are numbered. “There’ll be a lot of people who will not be working. That’s never a good thing,” said David Perez, a Pure Loyalty employee.
Another van operator, who wouldn’t give his name, says, “It’s going to put me out of business, but what can I do?”

After reading:

Write your opinion about this article, do you agree that phones should be banned in schools? What policy does your school have on mobile phones?

Read the article well, make a list of 5 new words and use each in a sentence.

Get ready to discuss this article on your next class!

Malala Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The young Pakistani activist is awarded one of the world’s greatest honors

OCT 10, 2014 | By Cameron Keady with TIME and AP Reporting

CHRISTOPHER FURLONG—GETTY IMAGES

Malala Yousafzai, 17, is the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

Pakistani youth activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 10. She is the youngest Nobel winner in history. Malala shares the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a 60-year-old man from India who has helped lead a movement to end child slavery around the world. Both winners were recognized “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.

CHANDAN KHANNA—AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Kailash Satyarthi greets journalists at his home office in New Delhi, India, after learning that he won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10, 2014.

A Voice for the Voiceless
Malala Yousafzai has never been ordinary. When she was just 11 years old, she started blogging about the Taliban takeover of her hometown of Mingora, in northwestern Pakistan. Taliban members follow an extreme version of Islam, and believe young girls like Malala should not go to school. Classrooms throughout the Swat district of Pakistan, where Malala was living, were closed for several months. Malala spoke publicly about her desire to go back to school. “All I want is an education,” she told one television broadcaster.
When the Pakistani government regained control, Malala was able to return to class. She continued to blog and speak out about girls’ right to education. But on October 9, 2012, the Taliban tried to silence her. A gunman boarded her school bus and shot her on the left side of her forehead. Malala survived, and showed great courage and optimism during her long recovery. During this time, she became a symbol of the struggle for girls’ rights all over the world.
Prize for Peace
Now, Malala has also become an international symbol for peace. Each year, the Nobel prizes honor excellence in medicine, literature, chemistry, promoting peace, and other fields. It is one of the highest honors in the world. Malala and Satyarthi will split the award of $1.1 million.
The Nobel prize is named after Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite in the 1800s. Nobel left his fortune to reward people who work for the "good of humanity" in the sciences, literature and world affairs. In 2011, Malala won Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize, which has since been renamed the National Malala Peace Prize.
Malala’s mission for peace is unstoppable. Nine months after she was shot, she gave a now-famous speech at the United Nations. “They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed,” she said. “And then, out of that silence came thousands of voices. … Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage was born.”
The Nobel prizes will be presented to the winners on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

Answers About Ebola

TFK answers some key questions about this serious disease

AUG 13, 2014 | By Nicoletta Richardson with TIME and AP Reporting

ABBAS DULLEH—AP PHOTO

A man in Monrovia, Liberia, washes his hands with water in an attempt to stop the spread of Ebola.

You may have heard a lot about Ebola lately. A new outbreak of this disease has spread through the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and, most recently, Nigeria. Researchers think this outbreak began in December 2013. Since then, nearly 2,000 people have become infected with the Ebola virus, and more than 1,000 have died from it. Scientists and doctors are working to stop its spread, and to care for the people who are infected.
In late July, two American aid workers in West Africa became infected with Ebola. They were brought back to the United States for treatment. Many Americans are wondering if the virus could become a problem here. Experts say there is no need to worry. Read on to find out why, and to learn the answers to some other common questions about Ebola.

MICHAEL DUFF—AP PHOTO

Health workers at the Kenema Government Hospital, in Sierra Leone, wait to check patients for the Ebola virus.

What is Ebola?
Ebola, or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF), is a contagious and life-threatening disease. It affects humans and other primates, including monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Ebola gets its name from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease was first reported in a village on the river in 1976.
What are the symptoms of Ebola?
The early symptoms include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, chills, difficulty breathing, and a sore throat. As the disease becomes worse, diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding inside and outside of the body may start to occur. The first signs of infection can appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus.
How does Ebola spread?
Experts are not sure how an Ebola outbreak starts. The virus spreads from direct contact with bodily fluids—including blood, saliva, sweat, and urine—of infected people and animals. Animals in Africa believed to carry Ebola include other primates, fruit bats, porcupines, and forest antelope.
Doctors and nurses are at a high risk of infection because they come into physical contact with Ebola patients. Also, family members who care for infected relatives are more likely to catch the disease, especially if they don’t wear proper protective equipment, such as gloves and masks.
Can Ebola be treated?
Yes. Most people who become infected with Ebola need special care in a hospital. Treatment includes making sure they get plenty of liquids and oxygen, keeping their blood pressure steady, and addressing symptoms and complications as they come up. Patients also need to be kept from the public to help prevent the disease from spreading.
There is no cure for Ebola, but doctors are working on a vaccine to prevent it. Some experimental drugs have been developed to treat the disease. They have been effective in animals, but have not yet been approved for testing on humans.
Are we safe in the United States?
Yes. There have been no reported cases of Ebola spreading to the U.S. The two American aid workers who recently became infected with Ebola in West Africa were flown back to the U.S. and hospitalized immediately. While Ebola is contagious, it is not as contagious as the flu. Special medical planes and vehicles were used to transport the infected patients to prevent the disease from spreading.

ABBAS DULLEH—AP PHOTO
A man gets his temperature taken before he is allowed into a business center in Monrovia, Liberia.

Can the Ebola outbreak be stopped?
Yes. Experts know how to control Ebola. They are now working to stop the outbreak in West Africa, which is the best way to protect people in the U.S. and around the world. Once Ebola is brought under control in the infected countries, there will be no new cases and the virus will stop spreading. However, experts are unsure of how long it will take to end the current Ebola outbreak.
How is the U.S. helping?
Disease specialists have been sent to West Africa by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help slow the spread of Ebola.