Chapter 1: Why Computers Matter to You: Becoming Computer Fluent

1.	This chapter’s Currents section discussed the topic of wearable technologies. It introduced you to "Poma" and "Smart Thread." Another wearable product is discussed on the Web site http://www.howstuffworks.com/. This product is a universal translator, created by Via. In this project you will research the Via universal translator and create a PowerPoint Presentation to help others learn more about the product. Along with any other Web sites you can find, visit the universal translator article on the How Stuff Works page to learn more about this product. You should determine the need that sparked the development of this product. What hardware is required to use the product? Describe how the product works. Compare prices to find the best deal on the product. Finally, create a PowerPoint presentation that incorporates everything you have learned about the universal translator.   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.
2.	This chapter's Impacts section discussed speech recognition and gesture recognition. In this project you will visit a web site devoted to gesture recognition and research current products in that field. Then you will create a PowerPoint presentation detailing the information that you discover. Visit The Gesture Recognition Home Page, which contains an enormous amount of information pertaining to gesture recognition. You need to focus on the Commercial Products and Demos sections. After reading about the software in these two sections, select the two programs you find the most interesting. Describe these two programs and their applications. Also describe the technology behind these two software programs. Which of these two programs do you think will be most beneficial in the long run? Create a presentation that incorporates your answers to these questions.   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.