The Legacy Steve Jobs Left Behind

By: Daniele Ruch 

BLUE BELL, PA--Steve Jobs helped design and develop modern devices that are still used all over the world today. He was an Entrepreneur, and the Chairman, Co-founder, and CEO of Apple Inc. Jobs met Steve Wozniak while in high school, and the two connected immediately.  When he was 21 years old, Jobs, along with his friend Wozniak started Apple Computers in the Jobs’ family garage.  Jobs and Wozniak created computers that were smaller and cheaper for the everyday customer.  In 1980, The Apple Computer became a publicly traded company, with a market value of $1.2 billion on the first day.  However, with the release of newer products, consumers grew disappointed, and as IBM became Apple’s newest competition.  In 1985, Jobs was kicked out as Apple’s CEO by his closest friends, and founded a new software company called NeXT, Inc.  Jobs then purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios.  Jobs invested $50 million into the company, and Pixar’s films have since acquired over $4 billion.  Apple eventually purchased NeXT Inc., for $429 million in 1997, the same year Jobs returned as the CEO for Apple.  Since that time, Apple has introduced revolutionary products such as the MacBook, iPod and iPhone, all of which helped shape modern technology.  On October 5th, 2011, Jobs passed away at the age of 56 after battling Pancreatic Cancer for almost a decade.  Despite this loss, Steve Jobs’ spirit still lives on through all of his contributions to modern technology as Apple still remains one of the world’s most powerful companies with a net worth of $185 billion.  

Digital Media as Opposed to Film

By: Derek Bartlett

BLUE BELL, PA--Digital and film photography have been through a lot of debate over the years. Media in the twenty-first century has been dominated by digital film, getting good results from digital cameras. Although, there are still users who prefer old-fashioned film and photo methods. Christopher Nolan shooting his Dark Knight Rises movie is a good example. Movie studios today are forcing Hollywood to abandon thirty-five-millimeter film, though some people are choosing digital supposedly because it is easier to work with.

When asked, students at Mont co responded to whether or not they prefer digital or thirty-five millimeter film. Two-thirds of them said they preferred digital, saying that it’s “cheaper”, “widely used and accepted”, has “more detail” and “better production quality.” Some of the best-known digital movies they gave examples of were Avatar, Iron Man, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The other students preferred film “for the aesthetic” and because it’s “old school”, with some good examples like Jaws and The Lord of the Rings.  But digital media is apparently the most popular in media today, because it’s easier to edit and has sharper picture than film. So someday, based on the surveys and current media changes, there may be no actual film left.  But there have been some really iconic movies made with it over the years, so even then people will probably still remember what film is.

Indie Video Games Carry “Made in Pennsylvania” label

By: Aaron Berstein 

BLUE BELL,PA--This past weekend, CipherPrime Studios had their grand re-opening after remodeling their studio. Because of this occasion, a bunch of independent game designers were invited to show their recent creations and were able to share how they developed their ideas into full blown games and how things are done in small companies like these.

Zenas Bellace is one of the programmers over at QuadraTronGames. The game he was displaying is called “Monsters!” It’s available on desura.com for all computer platforms for $4.99. “I wanted to make a game with a simple idea, a cool concept, and make an easy to learn game of it”. The game was originally inspired by the arcade game “Robotron: 2084” where the player has two joysticks, one that controls the player’s movement and the other determines the direction of firing his weapon, where the goal is to rescue the last surviving human family while destroying an infinite amount of waves of robots.

Also, an award winning indie developer, Greg Lobanov of Dumbandfat.com and his game called “Coin Crypt” were being displayed, along with his award winning game “Perfection”. Both games are available on PC and Mac on Steam Early Access for $5 and “Coin Crypt” is still in its development stage. “My friend wondered what a game would be like to have jelly beans be currency and the items and the weapons. I took that idea and changed it to coins, making it ‘Coin Crypt’.”

Montco and Other State Schools Sparked by MLB Tobacco Abuse

By: Jordan Ly

BLUE BELL, PA--Students who play in the National Junior College Athletic Association, known as the NJCAA and National Collegiate Athletic Association, known as the NCAA both agree that the MLB tobacco policy affects World Series viewers, other avid baseball fans, and college players, when professional baseball players are seen with smokeless chewing tobacco substance. The influence of MLB players’ abuse on chewing tobacco has been a problem for a long period of time now, and is one of the oldest traditions and rituals from the mid-19th influences of players like Babe Ruth, who lost his life to throat cancer, is still at large in baseball today, which is why most of the players today do it. “I do it because it gives me a buzz, like a sudden burst of energy, and makes me feel like the pros,” says the Bloomsburg Huskie first baseman Joseph Casselberry. “It also helps me keep stress off my mind and focused on the game when I’m waiting in the dugout.”

ESPN says in 2011, the policy limits the use of chewing tobacco, but does not expel it from games. The chewing tobacco problem was brought up during the 2011 World Series by fans, health officials, and the MLB congress. It restricts them from carrying tobacco tins in their pockets and uniforms during games, and also from being strongly visible to fan events like autograph signings, in game interviews, and post-game interviews. These rules are to influence and prevent college players from using the substance before entering the pros. In the 2013 World Series, players like MVP David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is easily seen at bat with the century. From the tobacco in his lip, or MLB all-star catcher of the St Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina spitting out brown substance in the dugout from his jaw. The usage can still influence young children or aspiring high school baseball athletes because it is very visible on television screens, whether they are permitted to carry the tins.

Even the baseball managers, like Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, and hitting coaches in the dugout have been spotted on live television, The substance has been linked to gum and throat disease and having warning labels on the tins that are usually ignored. Both the NJCAA and NCAA have ban the chewing tobacco known as “dip” and crack down hard on student players who are visibly caught during games or practice. The punishments are harsh and can get you in to a lot of trouble in the future. Some college athletes don’t share the same rituals as the MLB players. “If you get caught with that stuff, you yourself can get suspended and kicked out of a game, even the coaches can get in trouble,” says pitcher of the Montgomery Community college Mustangs, Chuck Delagol. “College players still do it all the time, but I don’t think it is worth the risk.” Though the MLB congress and labor deal has made more strict rules: the old tradition looks like it will stay and bring it on the new generation of present and future baseball players.

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