Skateboarder- Nyjah Houston

The 2009 & 2010 X Games SKB Street silver medalist, Nyjah is like an avatar, ticking off tricks as if controlled by a joystick. The 16-year-old is annihilating the field at Street League events, winning the first two stops on the 2011 tour, and is a favorite forX Games gold. He was just 11 when he first competed at X Games, still the youngest athlete in X Games history, and he eats, breathes and lives skateboarding. After getting his driver's license in April 2011, he bought a white Mercedes CLS63 AMG. Cut off his signature dreadlocks in June 2011.  Nyjah sarted skating when he was just 4 years old.  He won his firt pro competition at 11 years old. He is probably the best skateboarder in the world right now.

Skateboarder- Danny Way

Hello everybody i am now switching back to my blog about skateboarders and skateboardu=ing because our teaches has told us to.  By six years old Danny was already frequenting Del Mar Skate Ranch with his older brother Damon and skating with the likes of Kevin Staab, Steve Steadham, Billy Ruff and Tony Hawk. While tagging along with Damon and Damon’s friends, Danny spent a lot of time skating street, but was also bullied into skating pools, vert, and mini ramps by the Vista Skate Locals (VSL as Damon’s crew was known) in order to make Danny multi-terrained. “Danny was trying gay twists on vert when he was twelve years old, before he could even do decent airs or inverts. I think after years of that, he figured out how to eliminate fear from his mind,” says Damon. By ten years old, Danny was already sponsored by Hosoi and Vision. He was small, but an obvious talent and there was a buzz going around California about the up and comer. By twelve, Danny Way was asked to turn pro for the newly-formed, soon-to-be-legendary H-Street skateboards. Danny refused and joined as an am. Once on H-Street, Danny produced two video parts for “Shackle Me Not” and “Hocus Pocus” easily two of the most important skateboarding films of all time. At fifteen, Danny was collecting paychecks in the range of $20,000 for board sales. Most importantly, Danny became close friends with Mike Ternasky, who supported Danny’s decision to leave H-Street for the greener pastures over at the newly-formed Blind skateboards, sister company to Steve Rocco’s World Industries. Which soon, with the help of Mike Ternasky, formed another sister company known as Plan B. Danny joined Plan B and “The Questionable Video” was soon released.
Danny became the first person to jump the Great Wall of China on a skateboard. He did it four times too, and did three legit and distinct tricks over the 60-foot gap. Less than a month later, ankle still bruised and battered from the Great Wall slam, Danny returned to Los Angeles to win his second Big Air Gold Medal at X Games XI. It’s hard to believe Danny could even skate well enough a whole month later to take Gold at the X Games. He repeated Gold again in 2006, making three straight Golds in the Big Air event. In April of 2006 Danny bomb drops 82 feet from the top of the neon guitar outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The feat earned Danny another world record: highest Bomb Drop. Danny is currently busy filming a Plan B video part, and is in the process of putting together a full feature documentary about his life. It seems like everything Danny does is packed with evidence of astronomical progression, larger than life skateboarding, and unmatched talent. To anyone who wouldn’t already acknowledge that Danny Way is one of the greatest skateboarders ever: he actually isn’t. Danny way is the greatest skateboarder ever–period. – DC Shoes

Samsung files injunction against iPhone 4S sale in Japan, Australia

Samsung Electronics filed preliminary injunction motions in Japan and Australia on Monday to block the sale of Apple's iPhone 4S there.
The South Korean company is accusing Apple of patent infringements dealing with wireless telecommunications technology.
In the Japan filing, Samsung also wants the court to bar the sale of iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

 

Apple announced the latest incarnation of its smartphone -- the iPhone 4S -- on October 4.
The next day, Samsung filed preliminary injunction motions in Italy and France to ban its sale in those countries.
The two companies have been at odds, suing and countersuing, for several months -- both accusing the other of patent infringements.
Apple claims Samsung's Galaxy tablets and smartphones have copied its own successful iPad tablets and iPhones. Samsung denies the accusations and have made several of its own.
In a separate filing Monday, Samsung appealed an Australian court's decision last week to grant a preliminary injunction over the sale of the Galaxy tablet.
Apple filed that injunction, claiming Samsung had infringed on its touchscreen technology patents. i got this article from CNN.

Typing in Braille is tricky, requiring clunky and expensive dedicated devices--some costing as much as $6,000--with limited functionality beyond their primary design parameter. But a team of researchers at Stanford, including an undergrad on loan from New Mexico State University, have created a touchscreen interface that brings the ability to write in Braille to tablet PCs.
The team had originally set out to create a Braille character reader for the Army High-Performance Computing Research Center, which invites undergrads from across the country to its stanford center each summer for a two-month advanced computing competition. But as New Mexico State’s Adam Duran began working on the challenge, he and his Stanford mentors realized that the killer app was a Braille writer, not a braille reader.

That’s because, as noted above, the current electronic means of helping blind people write are pretty cumbersome. Things like penning a quick email require what’s basically a specialized laptop good for little beyond typing on the specialized eight-key keyboard format used to type in Braille. A touchscreen Braille writer could deliver the same functionality at a fraction of the cost via tablet PCs or iPads, which also have the added functionality inherent in the entire app universe.

But there was a key challenge. How would a blind person be able to know where the keys are on a flat, texture-less glass touchscreen? The solution they came up with is both smart and completely simple: design a system in which the keys find the fingers rather than the other way around. The user simply puts eight fingers anywhere on the glass, and the app calibrates the keys to match where the fingers are resting. The user can then type away; if the user loses his or her orientation to the keys, simply lifting all fingers from the screen for a moment and then touching all eight fingers again re-calibrates the keys to the fingers.
Beyond being utterly simple to use, the app is also completely customized to each user’s specific hands and fingers, accommodating their natural typing styles and differences in their finger sizes. There are a few more technical obstacles to be overcome but the app could soon land in app stores, making writing in Braille portable, more functional, and easier than ever before. I  got this article from POPSCI.com

Apple releases IOS.5

After a four month wait, Apple released iOS 5 to consumers this morning.
The new software, which powers Apple'siphone ipadand ipod touch, comes after seven beta versions of the software, dating back to June when iOS 5 made its debut at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.
iOS 5, which is available as a free update, brings an overhaul to Apple's notifications system, alongside a new messaging platform called iMessage that lets iOS users text and chat with one another free of charge. The software is also deeply tied to Apple's iCloud service, which ferries photos, applications, and settings back and forth between iOS devices, and serves as a built-in backup solution. Perhaps most important of all, iOS 5 lets iOS devices stand on their own, removing some of the ties to Apple's iTunes by letting users update their software and edit media right on the device.
The new version of the software can be found by plugging your iOS device into iTunes. It's compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches, and both the first- and second-generation iPad. Users with older iOS devices remain on older versions of the system software.

SMELLIT?

Hey everyone my teacher told me i have to change my blog to things about recent technolgy, so here you go.  SMELLIT is a new device that is going to give you the experience to watch movies or play games and smell the things in the movie.  It will release scents during the projection of a film.  SMELLIT isnt ready to hit the stores yet but it will appear at the 2011 Libson Design Show in Portugal this month. I personally think that this thing is going to be cool.  If i would ever have a chance to buy it, i would.  I would like to try it at least because i think its going to be cool.  What is your opinion on this new device?

Skateboarder- Bam Margera

  Bam first broke onto the national scene as a 13 year old pro-skater known for his creative street style and wild antics. As a teenager he created the CKY video series, which featured skating, pranks and stunts, all filmed in his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. The combination of Bam’s unique on-screen personality and the tremendous grassroots success of the CKY video series became the platform for the hit   MTV “Viva La Bam” series.  Bam is creator and star of the CKY video series, which has sold over one million DVD and VHS copies worldwide.  Bam is sponsored by leaders in the skate boarding industry; companies like Element, Destructo, Fairmans and Electric. He has been on the cover of many magazines like Rolling Stone, People, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Mag, Complex, Revolver and more. Bam is very well known in the world and is one of the best proffesional skateboarders out there.

Skateboarder- Chris Cole

Chris had made the determination that he would go to college and make his way in life by skateboarding full-time. Chris was raised in Levittown, PA outside of Philadelphia. He holds the Northeast corridor and the makeup of the people residing there near and dear to his heart. He likens their notorious rudeness to a hardened exterior shell. Once penetrated, the shell makes way for deeper and much more meaningful connections. While in the Philadelphia area, Chris entered into local and regional skateboarding contests starting in his pre-teen years. He won them early and he won them often. He quickly established himself as an elite talent and landed corporate sponsorships by the age of 16. From there, it was like a jet fueled propulsion with only momentary stops to collect a trophy or receive an award. Chris credits the development of his riding style to his willingness to shred and skate all physical obstacles that present themselves in the realm of street skating. He never wanted to be limited to just being great on ledges or handrails. He wanted to crush gaps, ramps, and anything and everything there was to conquer. It was this approach to street skating that garnered him a string of accolades, yet to cease or slow from being bestowed upon him. He has received honors from the industry and direct praise from the fans like Transworld Skateboarding’s "Readers Choice Award". He has the rarified distinction of being only one of two skaters twice named Thrasher Magazine’s “Skater of the Year” (2005 & 2009). The Dew Tour, Maloof Money Cup, and Battle of the Berrics 2 are just a partial listing of contests he wrapped up for victory. There was also the back-to-back gold medals he won in consecutive years at the X Games, ESPN's elite action sports event. The multitude of victories and mounting press coverage of Chris swung the door of opportunity wide open for him. He became a featured rider in the smash hit video games "Skate" and "Skate 2" while also making numerous appearances in videos such as "Bam Margera: CKY2K". In early 2011, Chris was brought into Zero Skateboards as an official shareholder. Chris, who has been a long time Zero team rider, will now have an active role in the future direction of the brand. Chris also announced another major piece of news in 2011, as DC Shoes signed Chris to their elite skate team. Chris and DC are already busy at work together developing signature footwear. While the physical expressions that Chris was able to display on a board clearly played a major role in all these triumphs, he attributes the success to something much simpler than that - Fun. If Chris is not having fun, then he is not winning contests. The foundation of his career advancement has been the passion and pure joy he has in his soul for skateboarding. It is a wholehearted desire for riding and competing that words on a page fall short of describing. It is the kind of infatuation that can make a 14-year-old boy be acutely aware that instead of college, his future belongs thrashing through history.

Skateboarder- Tony Hawk

   Tony Hawk is probably the most well known skateboarder in the world.  He is also probably one of the best skateboarders in the world. He was born May 12, 1968.  Tony was 9 years old when his brother gave him his first skateboard and he has loved skateboarding ever since.  Tony Hawk is very well known for being the first skateboarder to complete a 900, which is a 900 degree spin.  He has many sponsors but his biggest sponsor is the brand he made, Birdhouse. Tony Hawk is a very good skateboarder and will always be remembered in the skateboarding history.  He has changed the skateboarding world and is Known to be the best skater in the world.

Skateboarder- Ryan Sheckller

  Ryan Sheckler, stepped onto an old board belonging to his father when just eighteen months of age. In 1995 he came across his first quarter pipe. Within a few years, Sheckler joined the CASL (California Amateur Skateboarding League) and proceeded to win one state championship after another, picking up eye wear sponsor Arnette. In 2003, at the encouragement of World Industries, Sheckler turned pro at thirteen years of age. He immediately put an end to any uncertainty of his ability with first place finishes at the Gravity Games, the Vans Triple Crown, Slam City Jam and the X Games. In fact, his success in the Skateboard Park event made him the youngest participant ever to earn a gold medal at the X Games, 13 years old.
  In 2005, he successfully defended the title as National Street Champion and added World Street Champion to his long list of accomplishments. That same year, Ryan not only took the overall title in skateboard park at the Dew Tour but he also earned the title "Athlete of the Year" by accumulating the most points of any athlete in all disciplines on the tour. In 2006 and 2007 Sheckler also claimed the overall Dew Tour title.
  Ryan Shecklers recent sponsors are: Plan B Skateboards, Etnies,Independent Trucks , Fkd Bearings , Oakley , Nixon , Kicker , Ethika , Grizzly Grip , Red Bull, and CCS
 

Skateboarder- Chaz Ortiz

       My second blog will now be about the skateboarder Chaz Ortiz and his career.

      At just 13, Chaz competed in the Free Flow Tour, which is the premier amateur tour. Chaz dazzled the crowd and judges with a vast array of tricks. In the end, he was the 2007 Free Flow Champ! That year, he also took second overall in the Volcom Damn AM contest. He had his first pro contest in June 2008 for the AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open in Baltimore, where he had a podium finish, placing third behind superstars Sheckler and Rodriguez. Chaz improved the next month by placing second place at the Right Guard Open. As of August 2008, Chaz is has a second place ranking in the AST Dew Tour with 160 points! He was the youngest skateboarder to win a professional event at the age of 15.

Skateboarder- Paul Rodriguez

      This blog is going to be about skateboarding, skateboarding tricks, and skateboarders. I will give you the history on one professional skateboarder a day or tricks that skateboarders can do.  My first blog is going to be about Paul Rodriguez.
     

Rodriguez was born on December 31, 1984, to stand-up comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez and Laura Martinez. Rodriguez bought his first skateboard in December 1996, just before he turned 12 years old. Rodriguez got his first sponsor at age 14 in 1999 with DNA Skateboards, after sending a tape to them. He turned professional at age 17 in September 2002, after his Transworld  In Bloom video part. Since then he has been one of the best skateboarders in the world, winning the Dew Tour, the X-Games and also the Street Leauges.