Technoculture and New Media 2007

Pacman

2007-10-17T16:24:00.000+13:00

Just a final word on the video games affecting kids issue. I saw a quote on a drum and bass forum from a DJ earlier that I thought was pretty funny.
"Videos games don't affect kids. If pacman had affected my generation everyone would be running around in darkened rooms with flashing lights, munching strange pills and listening to repetitive electrnic music."
Thats all I have time for guys.
Farewell.

Trends in Korea-NeoWize Games released New' FIFA Online 2 'VIP

2007-10-17T15:44:00.000+13:00

Neowize Games,released new soccer game 'FIFA Online 2'
'FIFA Online 2' is claiming that EA Games developed with 'FIFA Online' FIFA 07 has been applied physics engine and the latest roster.
Users are more realistic graphics and real-world experience to be able to play football like a natural.
In addition, new players and the endless ways to bring growth and the introduction of the system, online games can only feel your own dream team for the fun of decorating and athletes foster further enhanced the company said.
In addition, the renewal negotiations, bingo cards, including cards richness of a uniform system to collect the fun of introducing the card players to strengthen his condition was added to the same concept of the game also pits unexpected variables can occur.
In particular, the ability to assess decorating with others players can make their own distinguishing features will be added.

google.com.cn

2007-10-17T15:28:00.001+13:00

What’s the difference between you search the same thing on web page www.google.com and www.google.com.cn? Cn stands for China, so sometimes at the bottom of www.google.com.cn, you will find something like: "据当地法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。(According to local law and policy, part of searching results will not show on the page.)"This is an example of the censorship of internet. It examines the degree of freedom we actually own over internet. Internet is not free all the time. I feel it’s hard to define whether the censorship is good or bad.Google as an American company only follows the US laws and polices, what will happen? In fact, “it is not technically just China that does this. Google has been asked and obliged many countries that certain words have altered search responses.”

Tin toy

2007-10-17T15:28:00.000+13:00

I just can’t tell how much I like about this short animated film. I even feel its better than the Toy story.
Babies are hardly monster-like unless you are a toy. Tin Toy worked the first time a character with life- like bendable arms are knees, surfaces and facial components was animated digitally. In order to animate the baby, Pixar had to create software which could handle complex facial animation. They created a muscle model to work on a set of 3D points which represented the baby’s three types of muscles: linear, sphincter, rotational. The articulated, hierarchical skeleton of the baby was made out of simple cylinders. The animation technology used on the tin musical toy was much easier. Like many of the famous Pixar films, it focused on creating good eye motion, good mouth motion etc. Because in reality, tin toy made from plastic, so Pixar used this point, combination with simple facial animation, created an incredibly stark sphere as tin toy in the film. Somehow it gives more believable effect than the baby. Even the baby still looks unreal with the unfit diaper on, Pixar worked very hard to balance its cartoon look with a real human face. It was rewarded as the best animated film in 1989 Oscar.

Another recommend short pixar cartoon film is the lamp one. Luxo.Jr http://www.pixar.com/shorts/ljr/

E Waste

2007-10-17T15:23:00.001+13:00

E waste is a huge probelm. Electronic products are built with obsolescence dates pre planned. That means that a product is built with an expiry date after which a new product will replace it. This is a probelm because old pcs and mobiles etc pollute our land fills with toxins and carinogens. It is criminal for companies to be allowed to plan for their products to be replaced when it's predesessor pollutes our earth. Action needs to be taken by us the consumers or the governments of the world not just in the recycling part but in an implemention of grantees by companies on their products shelf lives. We should be told how long our products will function adequately.

E Waste

2007-10-17T15:23:00.000+13:00

E waste equals electronic waste. E waste is a big probelm. When we throw out our old mobiles, computers and pretty much any thing with a circut board we release toxins and carcinogens into the enviroment. Attempts to solve e waste are pathetic and dont deal with the real probelm. Sure you can have your old pc properly dissmantled and recycled but such an action does not deal with the root of the probelm. the root of the probelm is we live in obsessively consumer orientated society where the electronic products we buy are out dated in a years, 6 months or even a months time. Many electronic products have planned obsolescence dates. This means that a company plans for it's product to be obsolete at certain date and for a new product to replace it. Companies who do this show a complete disregard for the enviroment. I was thinking about this whole situation and came up with this thought; companies sell us electronic gadgets with the intention of them being expenses and not assests. If a computer or a cellphone was an assest it would be far cheaper for them to be upgraded when they are out dated. They are not, so called state of the art technologies are sold to us as consumables which are just as disposible as toliet paper. Parts in pcs and cell phones are very dangerous or even fatal when disposed of improperly. I think its criminal for companies to actively plan for us to throw out are cellphones and pcs when they know how dangerous it could be. Action needs to be taken either by us the consumers or the governments all around the world not in just the end of the products cycle but at the beginning. Companies should have to ensure us of how long a product will be in date. Electronic products should be built to last and be able to be upgraded.

Dot ASIA (. Asia) domain, 'more' popularity in Europe

2007-10-17T15:18:00.000+13:00

Asian regional integration oversee top-level domain (. Asia), is ironically popular in European companies.
Dot ASIA accredited registrars to the domestic Via (NYSE gimhongguk, http://www.gabia.com/) will oversee the program during the remodeling of a domain Pioneer 48% of European companies, which had announced on April 8.
Via According to protect the trademark or brand name, except for the dimension in the proposed Company Name General noun domain business in Asia than in Europe and 20% more companies to apply for the number.
Pioneer program is a plain nouns and international trademark rights against certain qualified subscribers only formally introduced former top priority registration and the registration process can be used to grant privilege. Domain preemption and prevention in addition to its purpose, it is easy, and a clear identity through normal noun domain of corporate marketing activities in the Asian region to facilitate that purpose.
For example, in Asia due to the upcoming Beijing Olympics'2008olympic. Asia ''2008olympicgames. Asia 'Olympic-related domains, such as by the application of this, and common nouns in the domain' money.asia '' bank.asia '' funds. asia ', such as financial products and the company's major financial institutions and Company Name brand, brand extension, in protecting the dimension this week had been the domain.
In contrast, European companies' luxury.asia '' jewellery.asia '' travel.asia '' hotel.asia '' casino.asia '' shopping.asia '' bag.asia '' watch.asia '' diamonds.asia 'etc. shopping and leisure, travel associated with a tendency to concentrate on the General Law 1996 showed.

Socialising the Arts

2007-10-17T15:15:00.000+13:00

I have been struggling to write an essay on copyright, all of my arguments are easily broken and stand on weak legs; only because I am trying to protect us consumers, and if I want to do that I need to try and balance the current hierarchy, producers and distributors in place number one, established artists following in second place, and us consumers and emerging artists with a big gap follow in third place.

I really like listening to music, watching movies and reading books, but if I want to have access to these kind of content, I need to spend huge amounts of money, putting me as a consumer in a very tough situation.

Now, one of the biggest problems of copyright from my point of view is for the new artists. They need to create something completely new, from scratch, never made before, otherwise they will easily be braking copyright laws. It is relatively easier for established artists to create new work, since they have the backings of big corporations that are ready to pay the right to any copyrighted material if they need to use it. So if a new artist creates something by taking little pieces of music from different artist and wants to bring his hard labour into light, he maybe give up his dreams because he is to afraid he will get a law suit.

So after a lot of thought I came up with an idea that may help to solve the issue. Socialising the arts; nowadays people is very concern with their wellbeing specially with their physical health, and the government spends millions every year in order to look after our health. But what about our mental and social health? Arts is very important in this aspect, it helps with our education, it helps us expand our minds and think more critically.

However, now all we get is a flood of external culture, and little by little our own culture and our own issues are being neglected. The point I am trying to make in this post is a call for the government to spend more money on local artists, generating a safer market for them, without forcing the need for them to compete so much with 50cents, Kristina Aguilera…etc for our attention. And at the same time allowing the work generated by these local artists to be more accessible to consumers, without the need for us to spend hundreds of dollars in order to access their work.

Introduced in four years' SimCity 5 'is the theme of environmental protection

2007-10-17T15:11:00.000+13:00

US Electronic Arts (EA) and the British energy giant BP duhoesaneun 10, 2007 (local time), a city famous for its construction simulation games' SimCity 'latest series of' SimCity Society (SimCity Societies) 'through the game on Earth cause and effect on learning nanhwa that allows customers to learn announced.
Society is coming from North America and Europe SimCity November and will be available from September 15 'SimCity 4' yieun fifth in the series in four years, that the new year.
For example, the real world and SimCity Society Similarly, the low cost, you simply build a building is the most common greenhouse effect gas emissions has been set. Therefore, in order to save funds for the building's only low-cost architecture, the effect of greenhouse gas emissions levels are rising. And when it reaches a certain level, floods and natural disasters caused alarm mudeowideung bail.
Conversely, BP effects of greenhouse gas reduction options or natural gas, wind power, solar energy, and so if you choose, maintain prices of natural disasters occurring around some reduction in the probability sections.

Sony Ericsson, a 10% reduction in third-quarter profit

2007-10-17T15:05:00.000+13:00

Emerging offensive spur the mobile phone market, Sony Ericsson has had disappointing third-quarter report to the governing.
Sony Ericsson's third-quarter net profit of 200 million euros 6 million in 1700 to 2 billion the same period last year 9 million euros in 1800 compared to a 10% reduction in The Wall Street Journal on April 11 (local time). In contrast, during the same period last year was 29 billion 10 million euro 31 billion in sales by 6.7% to 10 million euros.
The third-quarter profit 10% from last year, it is selling mobile phones, Sony Ericsson said the price had fallen to another.
During the same period last year was 147 euros Sony Ericsson mobile phone handsets in the third quarter of the average selling price has dropped to 120 euros. The Sony Ericsson income countries, such as India and Latin 16.08 Kawabata is influential due to its focus on them.
Sony Ericsson's handset shipments in the third quarter of last year increased by 31% to 2 million units in 1590 Aggregate said. Accordingly, Sony Ericsson's mobile phone market share of 9% as compared to the same period last year, an increase of 1 percentage point.

MS, released UC 2007 version

2007-10-17T14:32:00.001+13:00

Microsoft (MS), 16 (local time) to deliver unified communications (UC) suite of enterprise communications software to software market. According to Information Week, Microsoft is the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Office Communicator 2007 Microsoft plans to release a live meetings, and more. These products companies with their own communications network for voice, video, instant messengers easily can be added to help the company said. The company has put UC 2007 versions are private companies exchanger (PBX), telephone calls from the Internet, including a variety of digital communication equipment, so that they can easily be relocated, it said. UC is the latest version of MS especially considering the importance of these products directly to chairman Bill Gates, who said he plans to disclose. Bill Gates, chairman of UC products to the public that he will be broadcast via Web cast.

Final blog..

2007-10-17T14:32:00.000+13:00

Last blog... what to write about..

firstly i can't belive that its already the end of semester..and exam time! its just gone soo fast. first exam is for technoculture. to be honest, i didnt really like this whole blog, thats cause i'm forgetfull and kept forgetting to write on it! but everytime i do sign in a read through all the posts. it is quite a good and diffrent way to be assesed for a paper, and finding out intresting stuff.

hmm so.. technoculture .. "A characterisation of contemporary cultures in which technology (especially but not only information and communication technology) has so deeply saturated into cultural practices that the two preciously distinct spheres (of technology and culture) are seen to be inseperarable". This is a definition of technoculture that I found while doing my assignment. it can clearly be seen that the 2 culture and technology are inseperarble. and that technology is diffently become a big part of culture, hey we even get assesed through a class blog these days!

i'm not really big on new technology. i was shopping for a birthday present the other day when i cam across a digital photo frame..you can store all your photos on it and it'll sit there and flick through them all, rather then just having one photo in a fram you can have heaps! This was new to me as i had never seen one before..even though they've been out for quite some time.. i never new! Somthing as simple as a photo frame can be turned into somthing technological. Can definatly see how technology has saturatud our culture.. and after this course i can see the relevance of the term technoculture! and see the whole lot of new media coming through..

i remember talking about the iphone and the begginging of the semester.. i think it was in the very first class? Anyway, since then which was not that long ago.. i've seen 2 new phones similar to the iphone. guess the whole touch screen thing will be the new thing for cell phones.. one was a prada one, and a LG one i think.. pretty cool though.

anyways, i better find all my olther blog entries and go hand them in! goodluck for exams!

Trends in Korea-Items Bay, the site repairing the 'trust' in recovery?

2007-10-17T14:29:00.000+13:00

Market items in the 'market dominant carriers' items showing signs of shaken this phase of the bay.
'DDos zone' in about two weeks to walk door firmly lock the users who suffer inconvenience to the appropriate bulletin item Bay and criticism did not receive a clear explanation of his recovery compared to other sites because of delays.
The regulation prohibits transactions as 400,000 items of legislation enforced by the blow to the entire market trading after volunteers' DDos zone 'in the middle of the biggest users from the same sector, according to 22 tem quite a blow to the mouth Bay is likely.
Last year, during the 2006 Bay items amounted to over 15,509 items in the amount of approximately three thousand transactions amounted to 900 billion won. Nearly 400 million people in the Bay members holding about eight items worth up to 100 billion won estimated that the entire transaction in the market with a share of close to 50% are evaluated.
More than 2 million cases of trading transactions in the amount of 5%, 2 million or less if a transaction fee of 1,000 won to collect the items through the Bay last year, it recorded sales of 183 billion won.
Online game revenues are produced, the professional services firm, the entire online game industry in comparison with the corresponding ranked 15. Many of the professional staff hired and services for a long period of crustal development progress, unlike many of the loans are necessary because the investment earnings rate, which is higher than loans.
Many items to the bay from external attack is not limited to the mountains since inconvenience to users who give ISPs to move this situation does not disclose the exact cause of the tax due.
For about two weeks, the situation persists, disability services, the items Bay why 'high traffic' is called out more large users who will be caused suspicion. Disability does not resolve even simple services that users have failed to convince even the leakage of personal information were 'hacking' to conceal the 'misunderstanding' to the mountains.
Items related to the fact that the Bay Information Protection Agency notified 11 days of this month. The first obstacle to the point that it was considering the Thanksgiving holiday, waited too cope with the intellectual. Prior to September of Yangcheon police to request the investigation, but insisted that item Bay when asked to confirm whether the date does not even situation.
Homogeneous makers of the so-called 'best play' concentrated attack on the site, which was due to host the site, blocking traffic 'emergency measures' to the items taken after Bay's opening statement.
Because of this, users who are growing dissatisfied with service and the majority of users are showing signs of a summit with other sites to use. Korea's game market 'peculiarity' business performance, while Pago Bay's monetary items shaking up phase.
The online game industry in the initial items traded market growth has fulfilled a long time MMORPG genre that formed around the game yiyongcheung between the naturally formed.
Violence and fraud in the process transactions between private users and a variety of side effects, some of the space in a secure Internet transactions Bay's first item was a unique business model that emerges successful. Based on the results of these items Bay last July 18, the entire stake of 64.58% (340 million), sseomtek to sell.
Game developers have rights to items made in a situation that when these transactions are clearly forming market 'problem' is pointed out. In reality, however, already clear that it is cracking down on market transactions stunning realistically would not crack down on whether the whole game market, the government will consider the impact of legal and illegal between long concluded that the circumstances did not allow it in fact.
Bay realistic role as a substantive due recognition items received outstanding performances from the same industry are expected this' crisis' position as a significant part of its preparations. More than anything, the situation of 'reality' as distinct from the recognition that the space can believe trade is because a considerable part of the preparations.

Virtual Identities

2007-10-17T14:27:00.000+13:00

Whilst researching for my last assignment I met a young man who found solace in the internet by creating virtual identities to escape his real life. It began at fourteen: he was 5’3, 105kg, with terrible acne, was tormented at school and had few friends. His first foray into the world of online chat rooms was not successful as he signed in as himself with a webcam and experienced the same vicious bullying and persecution from the other users as he had received in the real world. Upset and angry, he signed out of his account, spent five minutes creating a new one and logged back in. He was a hit. Guys and girls were eager to chat; treating him as an equal and more importantly as a friend. He explains that this was due to the fact that his new identity was in fact that of a seventeen year old girl, whose interests included cheerleading and computer games. He created this persona based on what he himself found desirable in the opposite sex, someone who was not only sporty and popular, but was also a bit of a computer geek. From this moment on, the internet became a sanctuary for him, where he experienced acceptance and respect. It was a means for him to converse and interact with his peers, free from the social persecution he had previously experienced. From here on he created and used many different online personas, from doctors and lawyers to artists and students. Although he was pretending to be someone else onscreen, the opinions, thoughts and knowledge he expressed were all his. He explains that virtual identities provided him with the opportunity to work through and explore personal thoughts and issues. The internet was a therapeutic tool, within which he could express himself totally whilst maintaining complete anonymity and control through his virtual identities. It was an outlet for him, as it is for many others, which provided respite from his problems and daily frustrations in his real life due to the constant tormenting he received at the hands of his cruel and shallow peers. He created different virtual identities that mirrored certain aspects of his personality, allowing him to fully express and explore his true self. By working through his issues online, he was able to alleviate his anger and frustration with the real world through conversation and interaction with like minded people. This emotional therapy was, in no doubt his saviour from becoming bitter, resentful and self-destructive. Through his many virtual representations of his self in cyber space, he found the respect and love he was denied in the real world, which suggests that the internet has much more value to our everyday lives than we had previously expected.

Trends in Korea-"IT-based future, a personal trust is important to the emotional value emerges"

2007-10-17T14:20:00.000+13:00

The Ministry of Information, held sixth future strategy committee .

Ministry of Information and Communication in Seoul Lotte Hotel on the morning of October 16 Sixth future strategy committee to be held in the 'Mega Trends Research 2007' and 'ACE IT Strategy 2007' said.
Commission on future IT strategy based on the development strategy for the last year miraeguk June 1958 Advisory Agency, the Ministry of Information and Communication minister and chairman of troubled FTA domestic measures (former president of Korea University), co-chairman of the academic world, empower, contributors, including 16 journalism two members are participating in the program. The sixth conference of the future strategy of the above companies' 2007 mega-trends research 'underlying theme of the evolution of the Internet and new business open paradigm of the future society participation in a shared outlook for the future system building, it was chosen based on the 10 future issues of the study.
This research strategy in the future spread of broadband services, content place is the shape of the consumer, and there is a change in accordance with changes in points solutions are emerging as a new business model for digital convergence technology, bio points to the expansion of business opportunities, depending on the point that attention. .
The future strategy will also place the paradigm of openness and participation in everyday life, as well as the spread of government, journalism, the power to change culture on the Internet would be subject to suffer. It also changes the structure of employment through IT will suffer predicted.
The above strategy is the key to the future through a keyword future worth of personal injury sensibilities increasing importance of enhancing trust and bring In other words, the future, all of the knowledge society by participating in the production of expert opinion from the General personally vary, based on experience in the use of tender sensibilities are increasing knowledge, and take advantage of peer-to-peer market knowledge search of knowledge, people, a system for the trust it will be important.
The above strategy is the future 'mega-trends research', in addition to 'ACE IT Strategy 2007' with the discussions. 'ACE IT Strategy 2007' is a mega-trend, the Ministry of Information is based on research by the national IT challenges in order to establish a long-term strategy of technology infrastructure (Advanced IT), Economy and Industry (Convergent IT), 00 community ( Expanded IT), including three in the field of strategic objectives and details for the challenges it presented.
Yuyounghwan Minister at the Ministry of Information in the "social networking integrated sustainable levels of personnel to share and develop future initiatives or to go, and the role of miraejeonryakwi the cornerstone," he said. Co-chairman of the troubled "miraejeonryakwi to discuss details of a large consensus among widely advertised to the public needs to be formed," he added.
The Ministry of Information and Communication from the Commission discussed the 'mega-trends research' and 'ACE IT strategy' to the axis of two major IT-based national strategies, future plans will continue to evolve.

Trends in Korea - "Switching to digital terrestrial social interest!"

2007-10-17T14:14:00.001+13:00

The Korean Broadcasters Association, the national specialty regular terrestrial digital conversion legislation calling for a special law "When the transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting analog terrestrial environment has been constrained by the hierarchy for the moment but did not marginalized welfare viewers also can be easily implemented.
High-definition digital TV is actively being advertised as the world's best country to the level of HD content creation digital broadcasting transition is the fact that wind speeds are progressing. The hierarchy of alienation welfare viewers switched to digital even as soon as the National Assembly passed a special law should be. "
The morning of May 16, Seoul, Korea Broadcasting Association of Broadcasting Hall in a news conference at the open area 'of digital terrestrial television broadcasters and the transition to digital broadcasting on the activation of a special law' (the digital transition special law), the parliament must deal with claims.
The digital conversion of government legislation through a special law to the National Assembly over the past two days, but the current legislative process is not proceeding. Joint Commission and the Broadcasting Act to the Information and Communication Ministry's jurisdiction seonganhan respectively, Culture and Tourism Committee and the Standing Committee of Science and Technology Information and Communication Committee decided to different assignments to standing committees because they failed.
At the press conference, attended by MBC and KBS, SBS and EBS, including four terrestrial broadcasting associations affiliated to resign policy team and policy officials have special committee of digital terrestrial broadcasting for a transition government support or social interest, it is too pathetic said.
Broadcasting Association, "terrestrial digital conversion for all popular with the people who mean the shutdown of analog terrestrial TV Medium important issues, the overseas transition to the digital terrestrial television broadcasting policy as a top priority, and set up enforcement" and that "the other hand, Digital broadcasting was started six years our country has passed, but bangsongwina relations policy institutions, including the Ministry of Information website bulletin is not even a separate state, "he said.
Switched Digital Broadcasting Association * a special law and legislative departments will switch to digital terrestrial * KBC and the government departments and accurate guide for the digital transition * need for a cooperative and practical execution system needs to be added.
Broadcasting Association lesson planning, "other countries are ongoing transition to digital broadcasting analog to effectively shut down the government in order to proceed, broadcasters, the champion, distributors, manufacturers and officials of the receiving equipment installation gathered together in a separate room, organic cooperating in Iowa City, "" South Korea is also the end of the year, these international organizations run a separate corporate entity composed of a special committee for policy dimension in the market, "he explained.
Media-related civic groups have scheduled a special law digital conversion processing, emphasizing the country deteriorated. Technology in Korea Broadcasting Association and the Citizens Coalition for Media Reform, the nation's labor unions have 15 days to take a statement simultaneously digital transition to submit a special law to the National Assembly, immediately demanded.
The group, "the National Assembly into a special law in the digital transition or raise fees yicheopdoen TV all you need information, regardless of factional interests, and to handle the end of the year and does not significantly reduce the effectiveness of Industrial and profits," he said

FAREWELL????

2007-10-17T13:58:00.000+13:00

There were good heated debates the whole semester more like left wing vs. the right wing; liberals on the right of the class and hardcore techy fanatics to the left.... damn I missed a few of these heated exchange of emotions cause I ended up trying to pull off few jackass stunts and cracked my leg. I don’t think the whole ball game ends here, there’s a bigger show to put on for the exam. I will be good and thank Kevin and Luke only if I get good marks. Or they probably might fail me for writing stuff like this. So I guess it’s not FAREWELL time yet.

I still have to thank Kevin and Luke for mashing up my brains and getting me into this blogging stuff. I thought facebook was more than enough for expressing my techy brain or on windows live spaces which I haven’t used for more than a year, hope bill gates has not deleted it yet. This whole new tecnhoculture paper gave me more deep insight on the scary road of technology, well I guess you could draw your own line of fate and be a luddite or a technophile or sail in the boat of techno-realist. I sure did figure out by the end that I am a cast away with technology having a love and hate relationship. I hope few of you have seen my video on the first ever blog post of mine where I was smashing my laptop with a golf club, you can call me an idiot but it sure did feel good when I did that, the video clip shown in the class from the movie office surely justifies the hatred with technology. I cannot live with out little gadgets like mobile phone or a computer, but it’s hard to think how my life will be without them as well. Can’t believe my life revolves around technology more than I know. So for all the luddites it’s a harsh truth to accept that you are at least a techno realist.

I am not going to give out any more philosophy on choices - what the hell you guys can decide!!!!. So yeah I am gonna buckle up and face the saga over the next one month trying to fight my evil brain which wants to drink more alcohol over the saint sane brain which encompasses the notion of me being a good guy and pass my papers and then get wasted when I fly down to Cuba and drink the real rum. Cheers ….

the show must go on...

2007-10-17T13:49:00.000+13:00

So farewell to ftvms203 but technoculture does go on. What we have learnt this semester will most probably become obsolete even before we sit our exam, so it becomes somewhat a kind of history that Luke and Kevin will be teaching next year as old media. Humorous.

Technomedia and culture is growing exponentially, and the rate of this growth is perpetuated by the media savvy generation that we fall under, and even more so of the up and coming generation who most definitely have put me to shame with their amount of technology knowledge. So where does it end? Well that's simple. It doesn't. No matter how much we despise technology sometimes, it has become apart of the air we breathe.

A Real University Paper

2007-10-17T13:32:00.000+13:00

As someone who's not technologically inclined, and who wants to work in the media after graduating, I have found this paper infinitely useful, and enjoyable - everything from Luke's lectures and a blog as part of the assessment.
Because of the the increasing amount of time that us students spend online, I would love to see more departments at the University enter into the 21st century and use blogs to assess students' work.
As for the classes, I have never taken a paper where the students were so vocal in their opinions. This was great to see. Although I definitely didn't agree with some of the views, (often those of some technophiles, because I feel technophiles - not necessarily the ones in this class, but in general - can sometimes lack perspective on certain issues, such as the vast number of people in this world who don't have access to basic life necessities such as water and food, let alone the Internet, video games etc,) it was great to see so much intelligent debate, because after all, isn't that what doing an Arts degree is all about!
Thanks to Luke and Kevin and all the students for the always-interesting class times. All the best to everyone for their exams.

Reflections

2007-10-17T13:17:00.000+13:00

I've really enjoyed this course and the blog. Although i haven't engaged with the blog as much as others I guess its been a good forum to not only vent my frustrations and ideas about technology and technoculture- a form of therapy if you will, i've also enjoyed some of the cool stuff that people have put on it as well as seeing other students thoughts in the techno-heavy media frenzy of the world today.
The tutorials in themselves have probably been a highlight for me and the lectures have been interesting and engaging.
Anyway, cheers Luke and Kevin and all the folks from the tut on thursday, 1-2. As well as those that have kept this blog relativly entertaining and though provoking.
Rock on.

well done

2007-10-17T12:35:00.000+13:00

Would just like to say thanks heaps to Luke and Kevin. I really enjoyed this course. The lectures were the most interesting lectures I've ever had while at Uni...I have an accounting class before every Monday and that puts me to sleep, usually a two hour lecture after this would be torture, but this lecture woke me up and was enjoyable to be at...

I hope to see many more lectures taken by Luke in future FTVMS papers I take...

Cheers guys

the end...

2007-10-17T11:56:00.000+13:00

Right so now we're done, final class over, final tute over...bring on the big bad exams :) But really crying inside...
Anyways... this class has been both intriguing, slightly strange and revealed a whole lot of things that i never knew technologically possible. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Blog assignment, so shot Kevin and Luke for coming up with such an innovative way to assess our learning. Even though I'm sure half my posts have been anything but relevant... Anyway moving on... i thought the idea of using a blog as a way of recording your learning is actually a really smart idea come to think about it. Not only is it quicker than writing something out, putting it on turnitin, and then paniking that you're not gonna make it to HSB or ARTs before the deadline, you can type it all out, send it in and its all done JUST LIKE THAT! And then at the end of semster you print and hand in all in one go :) Its also really good to interact with other students and share ideas, especially when you're not a particularly open and out there person.

I was also thinking about the whole debate on second identities and cyborgs, avatars etc. how far has society gone to create whole other selves that we can live out completely seperate to out normal everyday lives!! And what exactly does this say about people as a whole society. I mean you can never really know someone entirely, think about the number of cases on Jerry Springer
(aha, sorry bad example) or mothers who had no idea their sons were on heroin!? And then all of a sudden we can now have virtual affairs, marry people we've never met and probably never will, over the net. And I mean if you really wanted too, you could probably order a child or liver over the net if you looked in the right places! Strange times we're living in... is their even only one world anymore, can you count the virtual world as encompassing a whole nother globe?? The theories and ethics surrounding new technology are multiple and extreme and yet still interesting when comparing to real life...

So yeah now that i've wasted some more time and space on the blog, I'll be off. thanks too the lecturers for extending my knowledge of technoculture and new media, thanks to the class for the interesting debates...

All the best for exams...

Lena

Learnings from FTVMS203

2007-10-17T11:37:00.000+13:00

Not being an active blogger in any other blogs online myself i have found that this particular calss blog has been a good opourtunity for me to either speak my mind relatively freely or a great channel for procrastination. I really should be writing my Film 202 essay on the interrelation of politics and aesthetics in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" however i want to blog about what this course has taught me, and there have been quite a few topics that have caught my attention.....

Firstly, i didn't know the extent to which agency in a game can be used to create such a huge fandom culture which essentially create a new game or media to consume. e.g the series developed using the halo game. I totally agree with the point that although agency can sometimes constarin our actions it also gives us a structure to work from.

I found it intereesting to know that one of the reasons behind zoning on DVD's is to stagger the release worldwide and so they can control who gets what when.mmmmmm

The extent to which the technologies involved in prosthetic limbs has developed and where the technology is heading. More importantly the implications this has for the human race and the possibilities for those pondering the decision of amputation.

The point that Luke brought up about the irony of those who want to become more beautiful and more 'natural' looking however they do so by undergoing surgery that involves technologies that are so intensely designed and crafted that 'natural' would be the last word to describe them. Nevertheless, i still watched the sawn when it was on TV as it simply amazed me at how much these people pyshical appearance did change.

I still dont know what on earth that lecture on music was supposed to achieve but whatever.....

I learnt a lot in this course and throughly enjoyed it, as it gave me a break from my saturation of japanese papers that im taking for my major. Finally id just like to say that before i took this course i had no idea that i could play out the role of a bunny rabbit or whichever animal i wanted really and have virtual sex with other humans using our virtual animals.......mmmmmmm.... thanks shery turkle for making me aware of that.......

Thanks to Luke and Kevin, interesting course....

take care everyone over the holidays and goodluck for your exams!

Peace, David Dunlop

Well, It works.

2007-10-17T10:02:00.000+13:00

I was thinking about the posts people had made about procrastination. Now I'm possibly one of the worlds worst procrastinators myself, the internet being my main tool of distraction. However sometimes having a short attention span pays off. I was recently participating in an online marketing "game" type of a thing for the most recent Bourne movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. Now it involved going to different websites solving clues etc. At some points it got really challenging. I had forgotten about this until a few weeks ago when I received a phone call from a woman named Kelly for a company called Performance Australia.

Now I had a particularly bad hangover on this day, and this phone call was not expected. The conversation went along these lines:

"Hello?"
"Hello, my name is Kelly from Performance Australia, is Sam there?"
"Yeah, Thats me...."
"Oh, hello, I'm sure somebody's already contacted you about your prize but...."
"Ah... No...."
"Well you did that Bourne Ultimatum thing right?"
"Yeah..."
At This point I was thinking, sweet, I've won me a DVD or something (there was about 500 up as prizes for participating).

"Okay, well you've actually won a trip to New York.."
(I drop the phone, and pick it up again)
"Really?!"
"Yep"
"Awesome!!!!!!!"

Etc. etc. etc.

Moral of the story? Procrastinate my friends, because in my case procrastination = free world travel, accommodation, insurance and transfers.

Btw, If you ever need to get rid of a particularly awful hangover, this is without a doubt the best way to do it. Without a doubt.

oh dear

2007-10-17T09:16:00.000+13:00

well this is my last post, no one has ever commented on anything I have written. Except for the first one which I cant find, which I need to complete my six posts!!!! loving this blog right now!!!!! it was a comment on Liz Shaws post about violent video games. I wonder if anyone really feels like they became apart of a community, what does that even mean anyway? I think the problem for me is that I find faceless interaction way to impersonal. I guess virtual "reality" Isnt my real of choice. I don't no maybe its because computers scare me...... I know, I know placing human qualitys on inamimate obejects. Just because something isnt 'living' doesnt mean you cant feel anything for it. I mean I have made six posts on this blog, well 4 posts and 2 comments and I still have to recover password every time I want to make a post. Now, this is not because I forget my password, but rather because I simply cant figure out the 'normal way' to do it!! I've been to embarrised to mention untill now because I no how rediculously easy it probably is, and therefore I 'should' be able to figure it BUT I CANT, JUST LIKE I CANT FIND MY FIRST BLOG!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I admit it I am technologicly challenged, and this is why technology scares me. Fear of the unknown? My grades, thus my life hang in the balance in this technology, so the prospect of not understanding it is very overwhelming!!! If this is a community, its a very uncomfortable one for me. However it has been a worthwhile experience in that I have heard and learnt from my peers in a manner that would not normally be such an accessable resource.

Evolution

2007-10-17T09:12:00.000+13:00

My final blog entry features an advertisement by Dove called "Evolution". Considering our recent focus on perceptions of beauty I thought this would be a nice way to close. This advert attempts to makes us feel guilty for coveting the plastic beauty of billboard models. The degree of mediation needed to create one still image is revealed in fast forward. This level of mediation extends far wider than the grounded context - this is the current norm for the pre-packaging of all new media products. Who is Dove to take such a moralistic stand anyway? Owned by the conglomerate Unilever, which also owns Lynx... Bom Chicka Wah Wah anyone?

Cleanup sumthin...

2007-10-17T02:12:00.000+13:00

As i was signing onto my blogger account, the first thing i was greeted with was sumthin about a Cleantech day, or such, and this was like, a day to acknowledge all these Green-party approved blogs/ blog accounts. Wow, everything is online nowadays...this kinda thing doesnt hit you or clicks in your head, until you actually stop, look and think.. something you tend to forget to do once you sit infront of the tv.... ...... ....... ..... ...... .... what was i saying (typing)? or in front of the bebo machine?

Anyways, like how i said earlier? i mean, TYPED earlier! you see??? Can our fingers SPEAK? as in can our fingers SAY things? wait, dont answer that...last thing i want is a debate on the last week of uni. lol but yes. computer and internet use is soo ingrained (is dat even a WORD?) into society nowadays that it becomes a daily routine, something a couple of years ago wouldve been eye-browraising?it was predicted..and im just being a repetitive idiot haha. anyways, my point being, that everybody is online nowadays. even the power-conserving green-fingered people (thats just a stereotype btw).. yeah yea, part of our lives too...i know, you know.. but hmmmm what are we to do, but wait.... for disaster to strike? or a breakthrough in technology advances?

i want WORLD PEACE...Maybe that can be achieved via online?? think about it...lol nah dont. im just kidding....or am i? lol

Moral Panic

2007-10-16T23:00:00.000+13:00

I was going to spend this last post discussing how well I think the blog assignment worked and what steps could be made to make it better but came across two other topics I wanted to discuss. Firstly it must be said that this was a great idea for an assessment and a lot more fun/relaxed than your regular essay. However, I think it could have worked better if it was done in a forum/message board setting rather than blog. The reason for this is that I think that a message board facilitates discussion better than a blog and is easier to navigate around. I don't think there was as much feedback/discussion about posts (I'm guilty of this myself) as there would have been on a message board.

Another topic I wanted to briefly mention is the role that new technology has played in helping to spread moral panic in regards to the present 'terrorist' threat. It seems that the internet in particular has played a major part in this story. It probably played a big part in capturing those involved, in particular those such as cyber_ hoary whose military gear purchases were pulled up on Trademe.co.nz. Blogs such as Aotearoa Indy Media, Kiwiblog and the Herald 'views' section have also provided a forum for the public to share their (uninformed) views and spread panic/conspiracy theories. Points made in Bomber's post on the Indy Media site made the front page of Stuff.co.nz and seemed to be more concerned with self-promotion and scaremongering than contributing anything positive. These comments then get circulated like Chinese whispers and the next thing you get is a Herald comments page where the majority of posters are grateful the police have saved them from a 'terrorist' threat that may not have existed. My point here is that it is dangerous when public opinion is formed from information gained from a blog on which anyone can post.

The final issue I wanted to address is what happens to new technological devices once they reach the end of their lives and become outdated. The answer to this can be found in the latest issue of Vice magazine. 80% of the worlds electronic toxic waste ends up in the southern Chinese town of Guiyu (see photo). The result is that the air is heavily polluted by chlorinated dioxins and furans from burning cables to extract copper, the local river contains 2,400 times the recommended level of lead and is black from print toner which is highly carcinogenic. This toxic waste is taken apart by children who breath in toxic fumes in unventilated rooms and the locals wash their clothes and food in the river. My point here is that this is a negative effect of new technology but I guess this is a problem that has existed since at least the Industrial Revolution.

Cheers Luke and Kevin. Great course!

Why do it when you can think it?

2007-10-16T22:46:00.000+13:00

We all know if your sick of your normal life you can sit down at your computer and log into your "second life" and run around and be the person you want to be. Wouldnt it be better if you could just sit down and thing about the person you want to be while it happened? Well now you can!

With this!

You can live your second life in your head while your avatar does it all for you. You can create your whole virtual identity without even having to conventually interact with a computer interface. Your own mind just makes the identity.
Which makes you wonder just how virtual is this identity where you havnt really made anything on a computer youve just thought about it and the computer has created it for you.

If making your brain the computer doesnt make you a cyborg then i dont know what does.

Anyways thats me signing off. Thanks to Luke and Kevin for an enjoyable class and to everyone else for some enjoyable reading on this blog.

Stephen.

MY FINAL BLOG

2007-10-16T21:15:00.000+13:00

Although i have not been the most avid blogger in the class, i have (as amazing as it sounds) learnt alot about the world both through the screen and around. My "dream job" is to become an art director in creative advertising. attending the new media and technoculture class has really given me an insight into how my (fingers crossed) future customer base thinks, and the needs and wants of those who consume. My curiosity about the tehchnoculture has been increased through the paper, and has gently reminded me that I'm not as technologically savvy as i once thought. i find it amazing that some people live online, that a person grows a freakin ear on his arm, and that there were 30,000 people at the unveiling of a new PC game. the media class was an eye opener

Cyborg society (Final blog^^)

2007-10-16T18:37:00.000+13:00

Innovation comes from people's imagination, movies and novels created numerous scientific and technological imagination; Today, people’s dream come true because of scientific and technological development; Both are mechanical technology, network technology, advances in biotechnology have move forward speedy, reinforced by technology, the ability of human beings increased than before, a new concept-Cyborg emerged, the original concept of Cyborg only relate to individual, yet, with the so-called virtual invasion, the integration of Internet the whole society, Cyborg seems to be extended to the whole of human society, can also be used to predict the present and future of the world. Some ideas such as ‘Cyborg’, ‘Cyborg Society’ and the ‘Global Brain’ became well known.

The development of technology and network expansion may be both good and bad. In the bright side, through development of technology and networks, the global brain can be a substitute of human thinking, and deal with daily affairs for human, people's live will be more convenient and abundant. On the other hand, to achieve such a convenience, we have to give up part of the individual differences, so that the flow of information among individuals can be "compatible", and be able to provide sufficient information to the agent; Unconsciously, people are losing the ‘self’ gradually , and the global control of the human brain is strengthening step-by-step, even to the last, significance of a person may remain a group of code or a chip only.

In the future, the global human brain generated by internet, is created by human and our modern society, it will also have the power of dominance and control, and it is not only dominate the individual, but the whole community created by human, will be under control; In the movie ‘The Matrix’, wearing a ‘helmet’ linked with the brain to generate phantom images, have social intercourse with people, may be the future of human life?! Someone said that scientific fiction and film are writing the history of future.

*There is an interesting philosophic statement: We are Cyborg; Cyborg is not ‘human’; Therefore, we are not ‘human’!

--Xiaofei H

Story of a Blogger

2007-10-16T18:16:00.000+13:00

This personal publishing journey of the media 203 blog has been intriguing. At first I did not understand why people would be interested in joining new age phenomenon? To recite your day to day trials and tribunes was an activity that I could not understand people participating in.

Is it boredom?

A non-existent social life?

Or maybe an Agoraphobia?

After I got over my initial prejudice and found that I actually had to get onto starting this assignment. I found the blog gave me an opportunity to have a voice and opinion about anything I want; gaming, life, movies and society.

The blogs appealing nature stems from its ability to provide the ‘blogger’ with an identity in which can faithfully represent the user or be a distant caricature of someone the blogger might want to be. This new age journalism can also be seen to be an integral part of societies ever changing public sphere, taking over the place that was previously held by older mediums of communications such as newspapers and television as watchdogs of New Zealand society.

Blogging has had an addictive effect on my internet use. Since starting the media 203 blog it has seen me continually read and write blogs on many differing communities for instance MySpace.

Thanks Luke, Kevin and fellow 203 bloggers.

and may we chat again in another world?

Ben

Euro dance crazzzzze....

2007-10-16T11:51:00.000+13:00

Check out this music video by Yelle...

Yelle is a french female beat maker, producer, artist, call her what you will...

She fuse's genres to create original dance music. Her style is taking over the Paris club scene which is at the forefront of cutting edge dance music right now.

This music video started a dance trend that has taking the entire continent of Europe over... I saw kids popping these moves in clubs and on the streets...

This is another example of new media not only influencing social trends but leading them... I mean this video has European kids dancing like spastics... Having said that, it looks like fun...

Andrew...

The end of of FTVMS 203

2007-10-16T11:31:00.000+13:00

I have nothing to gain from making this post as I've already done the minimum (thats not a gloat - just a statement) and selected the ones I'll hand in (again, not a gloat - just a statement hahahhaahhaha) but I'm mainly doing this post because this has honestly been a really awesome class.

For those who don't know, there is a stage 3 version (that now has a technological ring (no pun intended but definitely deliberately kept) to it doesn't it) of this paper but unfortunately Luke isn't taking it:-( The stage 3 version is offered in semester one.

Some Clarifications on Handing In The Blog

2007-10-16T11:23:00.001+13:00

Hi folks, I've had some emails come in on the subject of handing in the blog hard-copy, and thus thought I'd answer them here for the good of all.

Further updates might happen as more questions come in.

1) The blog should be handed in tomorrow by 4 pm.

2) You will need to sign a cover sheet. It may well be that there are no coversheets specifically for the blog, in which case just use one from the Essay assignment.

3) You print out your six posts in six different weeks - or if you have made more than 6, you can choose your favourite ones. Ideally, please include the dates of each post. You can use the same techniques discussed in tutorial for finding your posts to find the dates, if you need to.

4) Do not panic about going over the word-limit. This assignment is designed to be representative of your contributions to the community over the semester. 1000 words is the effective minimum we're looking for, and from prior experience I can say there's no point getting worried about it and editing down your posts.

Anyone with more questions can throw them up here.

Best of luck.

- Kevin.

Ahhhh! False (kind of) Advertising!!!

2007-10-16T10:59:00.000+13:00

I was really upset yesterday...

We bought a new computer last week, and Dad had been messing around getting it all sorted, but my little brother and I noticed the on the side of the box for the computers graphics card there was shiny advertising all over the box and all over every one of the manuals inside advertising a game called Neverwinter Nights 2... Now I knew nothing about the game, but we looked it up and got really exited because apparently its a really good game, and we thought we got it for free! So we set the computer up, installed the graphics card software and then... No game. My little brother was so very upset, and so was I. It turns out that the graphics card COULD run the game and thats all... But still they covered everything in the game even though it doesnt have anything really to do with it. FFS >:(

As I Tip My Hat to the end of Techno-culture (at least the class)

2007-10-16T10:21:00.000+13:00

This has definitely been one of the most interesting classes that I have been in. And the tutorials would have been judging on the first one if my lame job (which I have since quit) did not coincide with the tutorial time that I had. The class has been an interesting exploration in to the increasingly technological dependency that the globe is in turn evolving into despite if one likes it or not. It is both a scary avenue (such as making your hand actually function as an ear) but also in a artistic sense very interesting path due to the rise of digital music and also filmmakers adopting the use of a digital camera in response to finding the "idyllic" film production redundant (David Lynch "Inland Empire).

I think that since I have taken this class I have increasingly looked out for more examples of how new media is being integrated into functioning as a means to create art. It has been interesting to me how I have found so many examples of how people are not giving those old ways of creating say art but rather using technology in ADDITION to the old forms of media production so create a more expansive and varied form of the same artistic goal.

Before I go around in circles I will just provide an example. In a New York Times interview Bjork speaks of how she made both her last two albums Medulla and Volta on Pro Tools in the comfort of her own home. I think it is an interesting fact considering both albums (especially Medulla) deal with very human and organic themes and exploration of vocals whilst both extensively using products of a new media world in order to realise and accomplish that very goal. She herself raises a point on how these issues can be discussed especially the visual nature of how music is being created.

“Is music getting too visual?” she asked. “We could open a bottle of wine and talk about that for five hours.”
Stripes of color, each one a sound or an instrument, crossed the screen, starting and stopping. “It’s like doing embroidery, like when I used to knit a lot as a teenager,” she said. “You just sit and noodle all day and have a cup of tea and make pretty patterns.”

This does not make her statements less valid or even inferior in any way it is just a new way in approaching art whilst using new forms and techniques. It is just like the way Bob Dylan shocked the folk world when he used an "Electric Guitar" or when Pop Artists proposed that art that was filled with references to commercialism such as the Campbell soup tin does not belong to a low brow form of art and that it can be viewed upon in the high brow art world.

I think in this exploration of technology in an optimistic point of view we can all further possibilities in different arenas of our life

Anyway Thank you for an enjoyable class !!

Let's have some fun with HRTF( Head Related Transfer Function) technology!

2007-10-16T02:12:00.000+13:00

Technology seems to be one of the major sources of delivering you a digitalized type of amuzement in around this periodic circumstance of today.

I believe that this piece of technology called 'HRFT' will surely be used as fundamental in various kinds of media within the near future to allow us able to feel a sort of 'hyper-realism' through our auditory organs.

Imagine how it would be nice when this kind of sound with a a sense of realistic spatiality will be applied to a video game, VR, music (maybe already in use?) and cinema, so that it gives you feel more 'immersed-in'! Try them all by clicking each of the play button.

* Notice: when you want to maximize the feel of 'hyper-realism', try listen to them with your ear phone pieces.

1. a match box

2. a scissoring

3. an electric shaver

* Original source available from:
www.holophonic.ch/test.php (Attention: This site is not English!)

"To do two things at once is to do neither" - Publilius Syrus

2007-10-15T23:46:00.000+13:00

Most people with an Apple computer are familiar with the option to make the corners of your screen hot spots. When I was working on the many essays I have had to write recently, I realized how often I used the hot spot function to bring up all my open windows into view at once. I used to be fascinated by this part of the OSX interface, but now it seems very transparent--almost to the point where I could make a metaphor between it and how my brain flicks between different thoughts. These realizations were inspired by Luke's lecture on interfaces, but I actually have another route in mind.

While my "hot-spotting" shows an almost checkerboard like pattern of all my open windows, I couldn't help thinking of how much multitasking is being built into new interface features. Luke mentioned multitasking in the lecture on audiences, commenting on how the new generation of avid tech users may not be as good at multitasking as they think. I don't know whether it can be said that new interfaces encourage multitasking or cater to an increased demand by users for the ability to multitask, but either way multitasking is a under-realized part of how we use technology. It seems natural that a cell phone or a computer can do more than one thing at once. However, that is a part of their technology and their "brains" aren't like our brains. I wonder about the effect the ability to multitask on computers has on the human brain, since the constant use of interface technology is transforming the way we think about, and deal with, everyday tasks (for example, Microsoft word, or any word processor, has become the way many think about writing--automatically knowing that a 1000 word assignment will be about 4 pages double-spaced).

I did some research on multitasking and found some interesting information. I discovered a case study on laptop usage during classroom lectures--something we are all familiar with. The study noted a serious decrement in memory for lecture content for a group with their laptops open (with no boundaries on how they could be used, and with WiFi available) compared to a group with their laptops closed. Interestingly, those who spent more time browsing class-related material (PowerPoint, websites, notes, etc.) scored lower on recall/recognition of the lecture than those who spent more time browsing completely unrelated sites (Facebook, AIM, etc.). And when compared, those who did un-related browsing didn't show much difference in their scores from those who didn't have their laptops open at all. What they found overall is that new information, such as that presented at lectures, is more likely to cause students to need or want to discover more and more information quickly through the use of their computers, and it is the unfamiliarity of the material and speed at which the browsing happens that makes it less likely that the information will stick. Those students who did the stuff we are all used to--emailing, IMing, etc.--seemed to have a balancing act in place and could multitask better, thus retaining more of the lecture.

Another study also suggests the same--that switching to unfamiliar tasks, such as a new YouTube clip or an exciting web page, takes more time and effort. This is because our brains have to switch over in a more disruptive way, as they were still thinking about the last task and have no predefined plan for the next one.

After further research, I learned that computers don't actually do more than one thing at a time. All their operations are serially done, it's just that they have become incredibly fast so we do not realize that uploading pictures and checking email are being constantly traded on and off by the computer as we use them. Even so, multitasking has allowed us to mix business with pleasure, writing assignments on laptops while watching video clips or flipping through photos. And although some research suggests we do neither thing well while multitasking, the activity of doing two things at once is not new at all. Mothers, in particular, are known for this skill, as well as any successful professional who works in a high-powered job, such as in finance or business.

The conclusion may be that the multitasking that goes on on our computers is a simpler version of what we can already do, we just have to keep our eye on it (and something else) while it continues to improve. After all, computers haven't been around for all that long. But another issue arises in that we are so attached to new technology and new interfaces, and tend to accept them without thinking, causing us to be duped into acting as though multitasking gets more done. Although multitasking is sometimes a necessity in the outside world, it almost never is in the computer world. That point can be debated, but I believe that we should all slow down and start devoting ourselves to one thing (and/or one person) at time. In the end, I think we'll all get more done.

techno spread

2007-10-15T23:29:00.000+13:00

the (kind of) latest news about Google is that they are currently spreading to mobile phones. Although this may not be much of a surprise to any, its quiet the surprise to me. It has occured to me lately that media colonialism is the latest trend i the quest of total control of the technoculture of today. Who would have thought that a search engine is now planning to compete with the iphone? Google not only dominates the search engine realm, but now is planning to dominate the cell phone market. dubbed the "secret" the article discusses google's unique aims as "Google wants to extend its dominance of online advertising to the mobile internet". The interesting word here is dominance its become very much like a testosterone driven tech war.

How to find your posts

2007-10-15T22:42:00.001+13:00

If people are having trouble finding posts they've written, try this:

Go to Google Blog Search and paste the following into the search box:
blogurl:technoculture07.blogspot.com inpostauthor:Name
—replacing "Name" with your username on the blog. Press Search, and you should see all the posts you've made.

Since this is my last post, I'd like to extend thanks to Luke and Kevin for running a really enjoyable fun class. It's the only class I've consistently enjoyed all semester! :) Thanks guys!

Cheers,
Hugh.

hmm...

2007-10-15T20:45:00.000+13:00

perhaps now would be an appropriate time to look longingly into the eyes of FTVMS 203, kiss it long and hard, and get on that plane leaving casablanca behind. trust me I am directing the orchestra as we... well not speak, but you get the jist. That brings me to my last blog, and last point before I bid you farewell and god speed for the ever nearing exams. What has the new media done to the human voice, our ability to speak, and more importantly our ability to stay silent.
People are using the internet, the technological world to talk, to blog, to reach the world, to make contact, but in all honesty...no one talks anymore. No one speaks. I could send fifty texts a day to my boyfreind each saying I love you, but its just pixles. I can send a thousand emails a year to friends far and wide, but they are also jsut pixles. My dad saw my nephew for the first time the otherday via webcam, but even that is just pixles.
Here is my history, if anyone would care to know, it is relevant I swear. I was born in new zealand, within three years my parents divorceed and I moved to the UK with my mum and who is now, to me, my dad. We left out entire family behind, my mum, sister and I, but found a new family. From there we moved to Egypt for siz months, Holland for 9 months, Nigeria for three and a half years, pakistan for two years, where I was when the towers fell, so I was evacuated to NZ for three months, on our second evacuation we left for good moving to Singapore, and I finally moved here a year and a half ago. My family and my freindships have and always will operate around the globe. Technology brings us together.
There are alot of people I know I will never see again, despite my best intentions. There are people thousands of miles away that I care more about than people I am an arm's reach from, and my life has always been like this. The foundations of my abiltiy to interact with both my past, present and future relies on technolgy and it scares me.
As you all may have noticed, I am not techonologically savy, despite my reliance on it. I am also a romantic for old days that aren't my own. I never lived in the time of written letters, and when I did I was too young to care. I feel cheated out of all the humanity lost to the techonolgical cool of our existance. Yes, i get to talk to all my freinds and family in a heartbeat, but waht ever I say to them would be nothing in comparison to waht I would say having travelled the world to find them, to be reunited with them. I beleive there was a time when death and war were honorable, and life was sacred not statistics.
You cant' find yourself online.
All of the trials of life have been removed for our demographic, and with the loss of the care that goes into hard effort, hard work all our interactions are steel. cool, efficiant, and unmoving.
perhaps the biggest irony is that this should be written and posted on the back on the very beast on which I rely but despise.

De Ja VU..... Final Blog i promise

2007-10-15T17:25:00.000+13:00

And so i had thought i finished my blogging yesterday... but nope. Kevins handy little reminder informed me that i had actually made 6 posts... but in 5 weeks. Damn. So this is my final blog, kinda kills my last farewell.

Anyway so todays lecture was very helpful indeed with laying out whats in the exam, maybe i do have some hope after all.

This whole blogging thing has really opened up my mind to the world of ...well blogging. I find my self searching google for all sorts of blogs that would interest me. Actually my mum was saying that she even wants to make her own blog, saying that others may like her so much that she may turn into one of those "normal" people who get discovered on the internet and turn out to be Bazillionaires!

Anyway im just rambling on about nothing in order to make up for that 6th post in a different week!

I really am getting used to this whole technology business, and have learnt so much in FTVMS 203, even about things that don't usually interest me... ie Videogames.

Ive Discovered theres a whole other world out there and maybe i kinda like it!

Minnie Singh

Matt's final blog :O

2007-10-15T16:22:00.000+13:00

Wow. My final blog. What to write about...

Well i remember Luke Goode and the Cyborg lecture. He made a really strong point that i wrote down in the lecture. He mentioned the point about communication. This is what i wrote in my notes:

Communication - The engagement in communication is not just about plugging themselves into technology. But into social networks and communication"

This really appeals to me. Because it has influenced my own sense of communication and understanding of technology. And is generally a great point. So ill break it down to unpack this statement.

O.k so the first sentence is this underlining discourse of individuals plugging themselves into technology and carries a negative undertone when thinking about the critics who claim technology as the absolute burden and end to society's set moralistic norms.

Perhaps it is just plugging our selves into technology. Well, it is at the most basic level. But many people fail to understand why?

Why do people plug themselves into technology and become cyborgs...

Well the answer is in the above statement, for myself and i hope for many others. It is to plug ourselves into a social network of/ and communication. Why restrict our human capacity to be involved in the great inventions that increase our ability to interact and create new worlds. That is the best form of moving forward as a society, as culture and as a world.

Through plugging myself into technology i have reached strong social networks. And these involve a lot of communication that does not stigmatize myself but it actually allows me to extend my mind and body to other places most importantly it enriches the spirit of what it means to communicate as a human being through interactivity and motion / mobility.

Let me give three examples. The first is my passion for computer technology. Just being able to communicate with people on the internet allowed knowledge to be passed on through a chain of communication and social networks. I had learned all my knowledge about computer technology from people on the internet. And thanks to people on websites who then became msn contacts, cell phone contacts and then people of business I have crafted my own skill in building high end computers.

I can now build computers for my friends and family and fix problems. I myself own an extremely high end computer in which i built for myself. Simply by plugging myself into technology and learning. It can better knowledge around a set trait of skills. Why do critics claim the internet and social networking from computers as a negative outlet... it is a place to learn.

Second example is my gateway to video gaming. I do plug myself onto my high end computer and play Counter Strike Source competitively. But it carries negative discourses in society. However playing online games is simply fun. I enjoy coming online and having a match of competitive counter strike with my "clan". They are all respectable citizens in society as well. Competitive counter strike players are not out there shooting people in the streets. We are doing it on the compounds of our "plug in" technology. What many critics do not understand is the sense of community with video games.

Community in present society has almost been lost. It is not portrayed like it use to be in the 1950's. In a way online video gaming has replaced this notion of community building. Counter Strike Source provides a great community basis. Everyone contributes interactively and shares ideas, open to learning other topics as well. Its not about just a bunch of nerds going to a lan. It is about that community like atmosphere. Being part of a social network is very important for many people in this narcissistic society. Carrying such a close minded stereotypical view will only make a person boring. That is why i cringe at some of the comments in lectures. I mean. we dont live in cardboard boxes anymore. Life is interactive.

My last little example is about my new interest in photography. Just through the internet i have learned a heap of a lot and built strong social networks by the simple communication between technologies and myself... I have gotten tips from top photographers for DSLR. And even have joined a group of photographers called GKPE where we meet up and take photos. They also teach me and give me a lot of advice. This is all for free. Once again, knowledge is being passed threw just by allowing myself to become a part of technology. Letting my life be evolved around technology. It really does open the flood gates to a fantastically INTERESTING world. Things do simply get boring. And that is what these technologies are here for. All sorts of things. Why shut off technology.

In conclusion i absolutely agree with Luke Goode and his point that it is not about just plugging yourself into technology. But there is more to it. Such as communication and social networks. It is a huge eye opener to the capabilities of a single person. Almost, pretty much life changing. It is about discarding what friends might say or think about yourself as being a techno-culture nerd. And experiencing this world yourself. No longer should people be afraid. They should embrace technology and despite its undercutting discourses produced by the cultural elite.

Final Post

2007-10-15T14:52:00.001+13:00

I thought it would be appropriate to write my final blog on what I have learnt from taking this Film 203 course. The main thing I have realised this semester is that I am much more technologically dependent that I first thought. I never knew I relied so much on technology, old or new, advanced or not, and it has come as a shock to learn I am so subconciously addicted.

- Firstly and perhaps most obviously, automatic spellcheck on word? I never realised my spelling was so bad until I paste my blogs straight from here into word and my page is covered in red lines... what makes these squiggles so unnerving?
- Cellphones of course, mines an extension of my hand.
- Facebook, myspaces cooler older sister. I dont know why I feel the need to 'poke' my friends but its almost an addiction also.
- I wouldnt remember ANYONEs birthdays if a little box didnt pop up on my computer and remind me, is this just me?
- Online blogs, I never thought I was a blog-reader (a bleader??) until someone pointed out that I read pinkisthenewblog.com and perezhilton.com religiously everyday and even know exactly what time the authors post.
- I scoff at these other people who are addicted to online video-gaming but then realised I watch episodes of my favourite shows that havent come out in NZ yet at the same time, same day every week at mtv.com? Im just as bad!
- Friendships can be made or broken over 'top friends' arrangments on myspace. Why is this? Maybe I should rebel and make it alphabetical.
- ALL my photos are on my computer, Iv never had any printed off. My memories are stored somewhere in cyberspace. If I lose them, it's like I never existed!

And there's just so much more. Please feel free to add your own!

I've learnt to much more then I thought I would in this class and am constantly impressed by the knowledge that comes from my classmates!

Consider my mind expanded.

Sex, Sex and More Sex

2007-10-15T14:22:00.000+13:00

Don't let the title fool you. There is no sex to be found here, for this is just a computer blog. Yes, a blog can do many things, it provides a medium for discussion and debate. It hosts speculation, information sharing, arguments, compliments, flirtation, idle chatter and in-depth exploration. However, it does not lead to sex. Basically - one cannot achieve the same level of satisfaction talking on a blog that they can reach when talking to others in person. Interacting in person can lead to sex. Blogs cannot.

Humans 1. Blogs 0.

Don't let the above score fool you. Just because the blog does not share important features that face-to-face social contact has, does not mean it does not excel at what it does best. Connectivity. Through this blog, I have learnt many things from many people that I might not have, had I been told about them in a real life discussion. Through this blog I have been instantaneously connected to sites, news, videos and pictures with the simple click of a mouse, and through this action I have been able to share a media experience more intimately than would be achievable had someone just described the site to me face-to-face.

Humans 1. Blogs 1.

Don't let this short blog fool you - there are many more avenues for competition between human and technology. For the most part, this blog has made the points it has needed to make:

1. People will click on or read anything with a title as simply appealing as the title of this blog. (This could prove dangerous in our new media age - with viruses and other harmful content hiding behind simple slogans or abusing Google's search system. What we think might be a simple link to an innocent game, blog or news site could really be a much more dangerous bag of evils. Do not judge a book by its cover!)

2. Computers for all their many joys and spectacles cannot equal the appeal that adequate human social contact can present.

3. Computers for all their many joys and spectacles can prove to be very helpful when they are needed. They have their place in our lives for certain. The idea of the cyborg is very much shown by all of us who use the computer as a way of communicating, stimulating and storing our thoughts and emotions in a way that cannot be done otherwise.

This blog, 203, is exemplary of all of these. "We can continue this conversation in the class blog" should become a common closure for lectures and tutorials in the future. It is the future for all of us intellectual cyborgs.

If you want to continue the spirit of this class blog onwards - I found this site http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/ which is pretty much a clone of ours minus the redeeming factor of "hey, I was sitting next to the person who wrote this blog this morning!". It also has nice updates on new technologies and their inherent issues (eg. Hybrid cars are too quiet - blind people have no chance!) which are just fodder for debate and speculation that this class seems to relish.

I apologise for the false advertising of this blog title, it might be overdone, but it still gets your attention! It's another point for the blog though - it lets you unleash some creativity!
Til' next time 203,
Stay classy, and good luck for exams and future blogs!
Alan

Response to Digital Natives

2007-10-15T11:25:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I had an enriching experience whilst viewing the digital native website. I don't ususally put too much faith into Wiki's but as it was referenced in lecture 9, I thought perhaps it was worth a look. It was able to help clarify the term "Digital native" which i hadn't really got the grasp of. Rather than anyone born post 1982 being a digital native it is only those who digitally savvy who are incorporated in the demographic. The narratives to do with identity lends insight into the life of a modern teen girl:

http://www.digitalnative.org/Digital_Identity

Using Elizabeth as an example it depicts the everyday life of a middle class American teen including every encounter with technology she has. Throughout the day Elizabeth comes into contact with Cellphone (text messaging, photos and calling), viewfinder with built in camera, AOL emails, FLICKr, Adobe photoshop and an Apple ipod. This is merely an average day, but despite this soo much technology has been used. Its only gonna get better! or is that worse? issues still exsist but even so we are embracing technology like never before.

Tickets and community

2007-10-15T11:12:00.000+13:00

On Friday i decided that before i attended uni for the day i might as well pick up my big day out tickets while i still had the money. This turned out to be the first time that i have ever queued up to get tickets for something as soon as they came out.
This got me thinking about the sense of community and purpose you get when actually physically waiting for tickets in line with other people who are persuing the same goal.
Previously, the only tickets i have coveted enough to try and be bang on time in attaining them was when the Red Hot Chilli peppers were last in town. That time however i managed to get the tickets online, whilst sitting at home.
The major difference i found in actually being there to physically get tickets at real groovy was the sense of celebration to it all.
There were journalists asking people why they were buying them, who they were going to see, camera crews, and best of all there were marketing people there giving away cans of v and kit kat bars. it was awewsome.
So is technology taking away some of this fanfare as more and more people simply hovering on the net, constantly refreshing their browser to get their tickets?
I don't know about that, but i found lining up for them to be infinitly more fun that messing about with internet explorer.

Being wireless

2007-10-15T09:56:00.000+13:00

Many of you may have noticed that many of the wireless devices around your home such as cordless phones, laptops and wireless internet routers that have '2.4ghz' written on the front. Bluetooth headsets and gaming handhelds also use this frequency. This is no coincidence. The 2.4ghz frequency spectrum is not able to be sold commercially as it is the same frequency that microwave ovens use to raise water to boiling point. Thus the frequency often encounters interference and is free to use for consumer items.

As the technology leaps have granted us more and more toys in such a short time we are exposing ourselves to a massively higher amount of high power broadcast radio waves. The studys into the safety of this immersion are still at very early stages and no-one really knows for sure what we are doing to our bodies. People were quite worried when the issues began with cellphones in the 90's but the concern seems to have died down. A friend of mine recently had a brain tumor removed which they were told by their doctor was quite possibly due to high cellphone use. It is important that governments support further studies into these wireless networks and the effects these may have. The next gen of Wifi, WiMAX is just now being rolled out across the US and they will have in their pockets modems that are broadcasting up to 30 miles away at data rates of 70Mbs. Time to buy some lead underpants?

The British study is optimistic about their results so maybe we are not in too much danger, but as we fill our homes and streets with wireless devices don't forget the invisible symphony that is pounding your DNA. Research helped them lower the radiation in cellphones and will help keep them at reasonable levels for these new generation of devices as long as companies see consumers are worried about the effects.

British give Wifi study Go-ahead

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7042334.stm

See how to cook an egg with your cellphone

http://www.rense.com/general72/cellcook.htm

The End Be Nigh.

2007-10-15T09:42:00.000+13:00

Hi everybody.

We enter the final phases of the blog. I don't have any admin to launch forth with on this occasion, so it's mainly a reminder that this week consists of today, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

And that since the assignment is due in on Wednesday by 4pm, that imposes a certain structure on how much of Wednesday it's advisable to use.

So here we go.

A fair number of people still need to post this week in order to hit the target, so I imagine it's going to be an interestingly busy three days.

Good luck, folks.

- Kevin.

Technological Spa

2007-10-14T23:17:00.000+13:00

Have just got home from a mates place where i enjoyed a very relaxing spa to wind down from what has been a relatively large weekend!

Typically one would associate a spa consisting of the occupants and hot water. However whilst i sat there wondering what i was going to talk about for this weeks blog i realised that my mate and i were redefining what it means to have a spa.

We were enjoying the inbuilt massagers whilst we watched videos on youtube through a wireless network on a laptop that sat on a table fixed to one corner. From what traditionally is known as a relatively quiet and unengaging experience, we turned the spa into our own little technological paradise. Not to mention we were both texting, therefore not only talking to eachother but also our friends therough mobile phones. Truth is, no matter where you go or what you do, technology will increasingly play a pivotal role in your life. We are continually relying on it to get by in our day-to-day lives, and from the example of my spa experience, we are incorporatig it into activities that were originally designed for a different purpose.

Sometimes i wish i could bring myself to throw my mobiles at a brick wall because i simply rely on them too much...

Anyway, i know that would never happen. How else am i going to kep in contact right?

Peace, David Dunlop

Communists Armed With Computers

2007-10-14T22:49:00.000+13:00

Reading Lev Manovich's The Language of New Media, I was fascinated by this point that he puts forward - 'The interface comes to play a crucial role in the information society... In this society, work and leisure activities not only increasingly involve computer use, but they also converge around the same interfaces. Both "work" applications (word processors, spreadsheet programs, database programs) and "leisure" applications (computer games, informational DVD) use the same tools and metaphors of GUI. In this respect information society is quite different from industrial society, with its clear separation between the field of work and the field of leisure. In the 19th Century, Karl Marx imagined that a future communist state would overcome this work-leisure divide... Marx's ideal citizen would be cutting wood in the morning, gardening in the afternoon, and composing music in the evening. Today the subject of the information society is engaged in even more activities during a typical day: inputting and analysing data, running simulations, searching the Internet, playing computer games, watching streaming video, listening to music online, trading stocks and so on. '
This train of thought made me wonder - has our current information society been the catalyst for the overcoming of the work-leisure divide - one of Marx's criticisms of the industrialist (capitalist) society where workers went to labour all day for someone else, working in an assembly line, creating only part of a product?
Information society has given us the tools and the abilities to create something from start to finish, whether it be designing our own website, composing a piece of music, authoring a blog, whatever. And as the article says, it also allows us to bridge that work/leisure divide.
At any given time, when I'm online, even when I'm at work, I have my emails open, I'm playing Scrabulous on Facebook, I'll be checking out what's on at the movies, what gigs are on over the weekend etc, etc.
My fiance, who owns an independent record label (www.sugarlicks.com) works out of our home. He commented the other day while working, 'It's amazing how much of my work I get done online now.' For those in the media, fortunate enough to be able to work for themselves, information society has provided them with their very own workplace, their office, all contained within the computer.
Again, as Lev Manovich explains, '...the computer's public image was no longer solely that of a tool but also a universal media machine, which could be used not only to author, but also to store, distribute, and access all media.' People are able to create their respective form of media from start to finish, distribute it, make a living from it.
The dichotomy of course is that the people who could most use the Internet to liberate themselves from oppressive, assembly-line-like environments, such as sweatshops, where the work they do is greatly exploited and the people who most need to bridge the work/leisure divide are the furtherest away from the advantages of the information society.
Perhaps the digital divide is the largest barrier in the materialisation of Marxist hopes. Perhaps all communists should arm themselves with computers...

The Liquid Society

2007-10-14T21:59:00.000+13:00

I remember that Luke mentioned about ‘Liquid Modernity’ during the lecture and how the continuing developments of modernity is portrayed using liquid in TV commercials, creating emotional association with liquidity and mobility. However, the term ‘ Liquid Society’ is also being used to convey the idea of social mobility, the way in which people are hooked into networks. This phenomenon leads to the blending of business categorizations and it works for the online industry. Cyworld has become the biggest web community in South Korea, and through servicing ‘mini-hompy’ (mini-homepage) other than just blogs (it is a bit similar to MySpace and Facebook but more functions) and selling various items for ‘mini-hompy’, Cyworld made a daily revenue of approximately $300000(USD) during 2003~2005. But the sales started to decrease from 2005 and the major cause was believed to be the online game called “Cart Rider”. Many internet users who would have spent most of their time on managing their ‘mini-hompy’ started to spend more time to play “Cart Rider” (since “Cart Rider” was such a big hit with its easy interface with cute graphics and loved by all ages) and therefore less sales on Cyworld’s sales. Leaving the ‘market share’ behind, the advent of ‘time share’ has already shown off in online market.

Do you know who chat with you now?

2007-10-14T21:46:00.000+13:00

Virtual identity is a really complex and important issue for the Internet or cyberself world. Communication is the essential aspect of the Internet, but how do we know the one we communicate with is honesty or deception?This is an interest game, which called “The Turning Game”, and this game call “tell” you whether you are a male or female. For instance, “Here's a sample Q & A from people trying to portray women: "What's your best beauty tip? Nicky says: Mix your own concealer with Oxy10. It's a better colour than the one that comes out of the bottle. Rhonda says: Always blot your lipstick with a piece of tissue." Who was really a woman? Nicky.” (The example here is from the internet.).There is a question, do we really care who we chat with?For me, I do not. The reason we chat on line is not to find out what the reality is, but on the other hand, is what the fantasy is!In the chat room, we can be everyone. The very important reason we are here, is talking to someone we’d like to, we do not necessary to know who we talk with. Is she a really girl? Is he a really doctor? I do not care.
However, this sort of carelessness is based on no hurt, the deception is not acceptable!

the state of art 07

2007-10-14T21:38:00.000+13:00

This post was inspired by an item on 3 News the other day about a women in Christchurch animating and projecting graffiti art onto buildings. The above video shows the same sort of thing being used in Rio. I think this is a great example of new technologies being used as creative tools and helping to make public spaces a lot more interesting. I came across a similar way that technology was being used to help publicly display peoples art back in London in 1999. On the corner of a building in Leceister Squre was a huge screen hooked up to the internet. Artists of all sorts were able to upload their work (e.g short videos) to a site and they would be shown on this screen. Some of the benefits of projection graffiti art over the real thing is that it can be displayed on historic/important buildings without damaging them and can be animated.

Evo Morales

2007-10-14T21:28:00.000+13:00

There is nothing I can really say; please watch and enjoy.

Pretty lady robot? do u wana marry her/this?

2007-10-14T20:13:00.000+13:00

this afternoon, I was just sufin da net doin my usual stuff~ checkin email and some news articles. and this catched my attention this lady <------- is a robot. she looks real and talks real perhaps little unnatural when she moves but deffinately, anyone may think she is a human. The title of this article was, " Soon Human will marry Robots"=....= thats so crazy,, its what I thought.. I read many articles with this robots being made and becomin more real and real and couldnt stop to think 'why are they making a robot looks like a human and talks like a human? why are we trying to make them same as us?"

Dr David Levy from The Maastricht University in Netherland announced a thesis and he said Robot is becoming so similar to human being in characteristics, appearance and also ability. he added that many people could have feeling to the robots and this feelings may develop to the marriage.

Dr Levy's thesis is based on the research and verifications of psychology,sexology,social science and robotics and 450 other areas. He also mentioned that not only the relationship between human and the robot but also relationship between robots can happen in near future.

I guess he is a doctor,, he knows alot.. and this article was really interesting but.. kinda.. freaky.

Who wants to marry a robot????? but its more scary because I feel like this strange things will happen someday.. maybe not while im alive but, someday ^^;;

I think technology has turned me slightly anti social

2007-10-14T20:08:00.002+13:00

Although i have a largely positive view of technology, i cant help but think about the ways it has made me anti-social. The number one way that technology has made me anti-social is through my ipod. I get catch the train into uni all the way from Papakura and i'll spend a whole hour listening to my ipod and sometimes i pretend not to see people i know so that i dont have to talk to them. I also seem to be talking to mates in the UK on MSN more than i do physically talking to my friends in New Zealand. This is mostly because it's easier to talk online than in person.
As well as making me slightly anti social, technology has helped slowly eroded my self control. I saw this because i cant help but find out what happens in the end of shows i watch that have already aired overseas. I did it for the Sopranos and know im actually watching clips of the Mighty Boosh on Youtube during my spare time.Aggghhhhh

a censored generation

2007-10-14T19:30:00.000+13:00

Last night saw about ten of us girls all out on the town celebrating our friends 22nd birthday. We all had dinner at a restaurant and then headed into town for a dance. This is typical of a saturday night for many of us today. However, I found myself reflecting a lot that night on the amount of pictures being taken and also the comments made as these pictures were taken. One common phrase was "smile and say facebook".

So what is so profound about the statement "smile and say facebook"? Well it led me to think about the creation of social networking sites and the effect they have had on our social situations and how we behave. Have these sites led to us censoring ourselves even more due to the fact that the potential audience of these photographs can reach the thousands, even hundreds of thousands, well the potential audience is anyone with access to the internet. Therefore, this possibly has huge consequences for the behaviour of many participants of these sites. Acting a certain way and being a lot more aware of the way we look in photos is even more so heightened because of the possibility of it being seen by all your friends and all their friends. A scary thought.

My Sidekick and My last post (what a sad day..!)

2007-10-14T19:24:00.001+13:00

Finally my last blog post, i never thought the day would come. I mean it was something new for me but i never felt too in tune with this whole technology business. However, after taking FTVMS 203 not only have i disovered that there ARE real computer wizzes/nerds (i admire ur smartness) in New Zealand but i have learnt many a thing about tehnoulture and new media.

Firstly, looking back on the course there are several areas that i felt wer the most interesting for me.

1. Our first lecture, mainly listening to the heated debates between those who would soon become regulars with interesting topics that really got everyone talking.

2. Learning that there is an imaginery stock market thingy or whatever it was on the internet? - or was i completely mistaken, therefore explaining my confusion.

3. and Tintoy still fascinates me. Why? i dont really know. However, i do feel sorry for Tin toy till this day.

Anyway moving on... My brush with technology in the last couple of weeks has been with my new phone! woop woop! I just purchased a new sidekick 3 on the internet and i love it! known as the phone of celebrities, i must say i do feel rather famous... although im unable to connect to the internet yet... however i did find a friend of a friend who knows some 'special' people that can help me out! so soon ill be all go! - and to complement my new phone ive purchased some accessories via Ebay! - u have got to love the internet huh!

So thats all from me, I guess ive learnt another thing through FTVMS 203 and thats blogging, despite my fear that i didnt sound 'smart' enough. However im just glad i managed to say something, anything at all without being frightened away!

Goodluk for exams - Hope i didnt bore u guys to much!

Minnie Singh

IPOD TOUCH

2007-10-14T18:25:00.000+13:00

I guess everybody knows about the new Apple ipods that have hit the market recently. I was lucky to have a go with the new ipod touch at an apple's meeting, this version of ipod is due to hit the newzealand market probably in less than a week when the stock arrives. For all the gadget freaks this is a must to have device. Its interface and flipalbum art covers blows you staright away. Its is an iPhone minus the calling features and the GPRS facility.

I was excited to have a go with all the feature it had to offer, few that really caught my attnetion was the pinch which can help you zoom into a picture by smiply distancing your finger on the screen, secondly the notion of walking into starbucks or in any wifi zone you have access to and download music staright of itunes. You donot have to be gutted when you download a song you dont like you can preview the song for 30 seconds before you like to buy it.

Apple has always been on the firing line from microsoft that it does not endorse any 3rd party brands in relation to its ipod line up, the new ipods is going to be a kick in the face for microsoft. Not only do the the new ipods endorse the products of EA games which you can download from itunes, the new ipod touch has teamed up with Youtube, Facebook and Myspace to create unique interface for their ipod touch customers. Facebook and Myspace interfaces are in the making and hopefully it will be out soon, i had a go with the youtube interface and it is pretty cool with fast streaming videos - hope Newzealand govt breaks the jinx over the fast broadband net accesss. The only negative aspect was the absence of bluetooth, well we could contradict it to sharing files illegally which Apple is probably trying to block, but it will be great if we can have that feature in its newline up next year.

Iwill be waiting to buy the Ipod Touch when it hits the market, i do agree it is a bit expensive comparing it with the amount of data you can store on it but it is certainly a gadget freaks manna.

Fifteen things I could be doing instead of writing this blog.

2007-10-14T16:51:00.000+13:00

1. Drinking heaps of beer (Peroni) and watching the league
2. Picking off my nailpolish and repainting (my new favourite bad habit :)
3. Starting my Film 202 essay thats due on Wednesday (sacrificing one course for another)
4. Sleeping or just lying in bed
5. MySpace spying :)
6. Taking my dog for a walk (or thinking about it, deciding against.. and sitting on the couch with my dog)
7. Preparing for MAN Vs. WILD at 5.30!!
8. Cleaning my car (bahaha..)
9. Calling the boys and listening to their drunken Saturday night stories (thank you blog!)
10. Studying...eeek
11. Making the trip to BURGER FUEL!!!
12. Cleaning my room
13. Handwashing my silver tights (they've got CODE all over them)
14. Job hunting, Im sick of being a nanny (not a fan of kids)
15. Pimping my Facebook

But this is my fifth post and it's sunday afternoon in the second to last week of uni (you do the math) therefore I must post a blog (any blog..) so instead, my nailpolish is still intact, my dogs giving me evils from across the room, my film 202 essay is a lost cause, my car looks shocking, I havnt talked to my friends, my room looks like nam, my facebook is still boring (Im not a pirate OR a ninja),Im starving and Im not drunk.

Cheers
Maddy Simpson

Granted from the gods.

2007-10-14T16:25:00.000+13:00

What satifies like mowing down zounds of cesspit spawn hellbent on your demise? Mowing down zounds of cesspit spawn in your armchair! "Heavenly sword" is a multimedia experience using state of the art gyrotechnology commonly known as SIXAXIS. My first experience using gyrotechnology was the thrilling "Excite truck" on the Nintendo Wii so that had set the presidence and raised my expectations of the Sony version. Centered around the journey of "Nariko" ,a cursed heroine whos birth was her ticket to visit a cruel world. Apart from Gameplay, "Heavenly Sword'' displays polished graphics eveidence in the facial details. Only the most up-to-date technology avaliable from NZ's WETA studio was used to fabricate a final product worth of commendation. Media commentators have put there two cents in and the general concensus is that "Heavenly" sword is one of the most impressive games to drop this year. The gaming market is always feinding new improvements and gyrotechnology present in "Heavenly sword" is just that new improvement.

Cyborgs Of Today

2007-10-14T16:16:00.000+13:00

Whether we like it or not; the dependence in which we as humans have on technology has got to a point where their is no turning back.

This throught came about through my unfortunate experience of watching Die Hard 4. Admist cars flying into helicopters and Willis' one liners, a definate underlying discourse of humanity's reliance upon technology was ever present. So are we turning into cyborgs? Has society got to a point where we have forgotten how to live without the aid of our technological companions?

I think so.

The dependence we put on technology nowdays is so great that one malfunction and an entire city could lose electricity. (Or the snapping of a wire for that instance.) Our lives have become so intertwined with the use of technology, I beat half of us couldnt survive one week without a kitchen.

However technology is not just being used to aid the lives of humans in society, it can also be seen to define them. Everywhere and everyday we are using technology to help portray an image of ourself to the world. Mobile Phones, Cars, the latest computer are all items that are being used by us and affecting the way we interact, socialise and work. In doing so creating a hybrid cybord as we see the development of a person identity based around the technology they use within their lifestyle.

Technology is here to stay and as it develops and becomes more advanced, more opportunities are going to be available to us. However with its advancement only means new forms of destruction with come about.

U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi Virtual Humanoid

2007-10-14T14:32:00.000+13:00

Researchers at Yokohama National University have been working on a 'mixed reality avatar' which consists of a human sized robot complete with touch sensitive skin and a large range of motion. The operator wears a head mounted display which places a 3d virtual reality avatar over the robot. The operator can then move at will around the robot and interact with it in a 3d space while holding a conversation and interacting (Shaking hands etc) with it. The researchers want to commercialize the technology so that it may be implemented in arcade games and other applications such as in the home.

Combined with AI advances such as ALICE and Jabberwacky there will be some opportunities to create some convincingly realistic virtual people. For a laugh, try a chatbot at ... http://www.jabberwacky.com/. The responses may surprise you!

Check it out! Creepy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-hg4qCaR74

Human vs Technology

2007-10-14T13:57:00.000+13:00

Interface in our mundane life is unavoidable as we are constantly interacting with technology. Medicine, vaccination and cosmetic surgery all include interacting with technology and human. It is very hard to set a boundary between human and technology, technology has become so mundane that it is hard to separate it with human. Day after day we engage intensively with technology unnoticeably as it has become a part of human life. Technology offered us efficient ways doing variety of things as comparing to the old days. Coming to the question of losing technology, this is unthinkable as we rely heavily on technology. Many people are becoming cyborgs yet unaware of it. The boundary of technology and human will eventually disappear as technology is advancing rapidly. In the future, there won’t be any boundary issues between technology and human as we will all become part of technology as technology will become a part of us.

Interfaces on the move.

2007-10-14T10:47:00.000+13:00

The idea that an interface reaches out further than just your computer screen is one that has been talked about a lot in the last lecture and tute. Saying that anything that your interacting with to manipulate technology my example is driving a car.
When your driving a car your interface is your dashboard and your steering wheel etc. You can drive cars in Video games as well. This changes your interface into more of a H.U.D. (heads up display) this normally holds all the aspects of a normal cars interface but superimposed in front of what you would see while normally driving.
However what happens when you mix these two interfaces together. Giving your normal car an extra interface normally only seen on computers. Jason Bradbury has done just that. Hes given his car a H.U.D to try and improve his driving experience.
With his new tackle on changing interfaces in regular technology how long will it be before windows or OS is the operating system for more than just our computers.

My first time blogging!

2007-10-14T07:39:00.000+13:00

This class was actually the first one in which i've ever blogged, and i must say i find blogging a little pointless , yet in some way satisfying. For me , blogging is not a very fulfilling way of expressing ones thoughts. For some reason, i dont find typing on a key pad to convey an idea to others in a forum is a legitimate form of "voicing" ones opinions. I mean, how do you know its even going to get any replies or even be taken seriously. People in the blogging world have the choice AND power to disregard a blog with ease, should this be the case? However an upside to blogging for me is if one was too shy or quiet to voice opinions in a public (face to face) forum , they can do so in the blog. Where someone is bound to react and therefore start a dialogue.

D-War

2007-10-13T12:49:00.000+13:00

D-War is a Korean film and directed by Shim Hyung Rae. It is a fantage action film that was its nation's largest-budgeted as of 2007. He completed to film, the D-war in seven years. This is the first time that Korean movie showing in Hollywood. He's a comedian originally. However, he started to make some movies. He has having hard times, but he had come back over and over again. He suffered countless criticisms but he stood up again like a tumbler. So he had done his job, coming to us step by step, to show them the very presence of Korea and himself. No one dare to challenge his efforts, passion, and devotion to this movie. I deeply owe to him, Director Shim, the one who stake his own life for his job in this small country.

There was a Korean subject matter and an atmosphere and from multi report it came out. Based on the Korean legend, unknown creatures will return and devastate the planet. Reporter Ethan Kendrick is called in to investigate the matter, and he arrives at the conclusion that a girl, stricken with a mysterious illness, named Sarah is suppose to help him. The Imoogi makes its way to Los Angeles, wreaking havoc and destruction. With the entire city under arms, will Ethan and Sarah make it in time to save the people of Los Angeles?

When the movie came out and the director Sim was successful endeavored as the D-war. However the contents compared in the expectation and it was behind too much and it was disappointed plentifully. The director Sim, will be evaluated and to afterwards to make a better work

Kim, Hye-In

One week till endadayz!!

2007-10-12T21:27:00.000+13:00

So yeah I really have nothing knowledgable to say this week... Anyway here are a few interesting thoughts I've come by lately...

I found some article on the net about the creater of Limewire being taken to court by the music industry... see here if you care http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/14589/
Anyways, he's basically a little cocky over how the Courts will see him as an advocate for the people and he won't be in any trouble for the sharing files etc. As far as I'm concerned, why would I buy a CD if I'm really only going to like 2 or 3 songs... And its not stealing its 'sharing'. not that I do anyway, Lime Wire etc is just a bit too far past my radar anyhow. Prefer to burn CDs with downloaded music off friends anyway :)

And then in the Herald online theres an article about CSI moving into Second Life.. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10469502 So an episode of CSI actually shows one of the detetives going into the game to kill off a serial murderers avatar. Acombination of medias but also a intro for CSIs new developments of having actual episodes played out in 2nd Life... STRANGE world we're living in I tell ya...

Another hot topic lately, the All Blacks loss to France, unfortunately, YES THIS DID HAPPEN! So whats it got to do with our class, well... Pre and during the world cup, well up until that horrible day TV3 had exclusive rights over the World Cup coverage (it still does) but yeah Sky and some advertisers were getting a bit huffy over this so SKY started plaing games with the clips and eventually got warned by TV3 to BACK OFF. And then advertisers get huffy because they're losing out on PrimeTime... So TV3 find some loophole to let them show more ads, much to my disagreement. So yeah since the All Blacks have lost and Dougies playing drunken warrior in London, what happens now?? Will the ratings fall or will half of NZ be watching intently hoping that France will lose? Mind you small condolence.. Aussies out too!

Right and lastly to end my pointless ramblings.. Has anyone seen the new Prada phone being sold by Vodafone?? What a beautiful piece of technoloy that one is... Yes I sat stunned for a full 2minutes then realised that wow, it has no special features that are worth getting overly excited about, and really other than looking pretty its not that great... So yeah pretty vs. technologically savy?? Which would you prefer, I know my little old Samsung has lotsa special features and yet I only really use it to txt, and call and maybe the calculator every now and then... So maybe the Parada phone would suit me just fine...

Over and out

Lena x

20/20

2007-10-12T18:26:00.000+13:00

This is a kinda random blog, I dont' realyl know what to write bout this week, the only thing that comes to mind is stuff iv seen on 2020! I'v been watching 20/20 lately as there's nothing else on tv on a thursday night, but sometimes they have some quite intresting stories on. yesterdays one with the guy that draws amazing pictures with that etch a sketch thing was crazy.. and he records himself and puts it on utube. They've had quite a few stories to do with technology, like the effect of technology on kids. it showd 1 year old kids with 2 cell phones, and experiance on the net. My little sister has more stuff then i do, ipod, laptop, 2 fones, more than i do! someone who did a thesis on young girls and popular culture argued that kids are growing up to fast and that they're skippinig childhood. which they kinda are i guess with everything thats avalibe to them.. wonder what it'll be like in 10 years time. It was kind of disturbing though as some of these girls meet people on the internet and think they're in 'love' when they're only 10 and one of the girls pretend to be a boy to trick one girl into commiting suicide..hmmm... i guess technology effects kids more than we realise. shows quite a few utube videos of a few things, like that unama(cnt relally remember what its calld) video. of that guy singing to the song on his webcam, i remember seeing that quite awhile ago, cant belive how popular that guy is now just from that!also the utube video of that prison that dance to michael jackson and they show it on the net. haha. kinda cool, but mean as it sed they're forced to dance or sumthing. anyway... i really dont know what to write this week, almost forgot again.. this blog things kinda a hassle sumtimes when you have heaps of other work on and when u cnt think of what to say. oh well, thats me for the week.. 1 more week to goo :)

Technologies with personality

2007-10-12T18:06:00.000+13:00

Hey there 203. The discussion on Monday about how people are increasingly anthropomorhising technologies got me thinking. Although I had experienced it myself I had never thought very deeply about how a person could ascribe human emotions to an inanimate piece of technology. When I thought about it more the example of the man getting angry at the computer (prime example here by the way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBVmfIUR1DA haha) seemed completely absurd. I began to wonder what kind of creature qualities, if any, do these technologies have to justify this emotion?

This question instantly reminded me of a report I had seen on TV recently (20/20?) about Tamagotchis or digital pets. I had long ago forgotten about these strange little egg shaped toys from my primary school years. But apparently the little bastards are making a comeback. The report discussed a variety of issues surrounding the seemingly harmless digital pets.

By their very design tamagotchis are made to be anthromorphisised. They are fed, housed, walked and basically share all the attributes of a real life pet (with the exception of physical form of course). This is where the problem lies. Children would take them to school in order to make sure their virtual pets were being cared for. Some versions of Tamagotchi would reputedly die if they were neglected for more than 30mins, therefore they required constant attention. many schools have attempted to ban the product entirely. However the more disturbing issue is when the tamagotchi 'dies'. Because many children treat them as real they are naturally devasted when it passes away. One mother claimed that her son even became clinically depressed after the death of his Tamagotchi. When asked why he did not just buy a new one the boy replied "because it just wouldn't be the same." This is evidence that people really do feel that their technologies can possess personalities.

I believe that the resurgence in popularity of the virtual pet is closely linked to the overall trend of people becoming more accustomed to the idea of technologies with personalities.

Stelarc in the news today

2007-10-12T09:05:00.000+13:00

From the BBC: An Australian performer who has had an ear grafted onto his forearm in the name of art has sparked controversy.

SimCity: the melting polar icecaps edition

2007-10-12T01:07:00.000+13:00

From BoingBoing, the next iteration of the SimCity franchise, SimCity Societies, will incorporate Global Warming. Produced in conjunction with BP, the collaboration "brings together world-class game building skills and industry expertise on energy, electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions to highlight the impact of electricity generation on the emissions of carbon dioxide that are linked to climate change. The low-carbon electricity choices and monitoring of SimCity's carbon emissions provide an entertaining, fully-integrated and accurate look at some of the causes and some of the major solutions available to combat rising levels of carbon and to help address the threat of global warming."

The University of Free Culture

2007-10-12T00:18:00.000+13:00

In the NYT, File-Sharing Students Fight Copyright Constraints, detailing the rapid growth in recent months of campus groups like Students for Free Culture at US colleges. “The technology has outpaced the law,” said Brown University sophomore Zachary McCune, one of countless students in recent times to have been charged in illegal downloading cases in the States. Click below to visit the Free Culture site and learn more.

Interactive Filmmaking

2007-10-11T23:58:00.000+13:00

A group of crazy Belgians is making an interactive movie, putting each scene on YouTube as it comes out of post-production. So far they've got two scenes. Here's how they describe the project:

"IP is a no-budget free-to-download movie that is being made scene-by-scene chronologically. Each time a scene is finished, it is put online so that people can already see the movie up until that point.

This way, the community can interact with the filmmaking process: we always have a good idea of where the movie is going in the next scenes but people on our forum can also discuss the scenes, give feedback and inspire us to deviate from our own script in the next scenes. We're going to try to do a new scene every week."

They have an RSS feed available, and apart from YouTube higher-def files are available at the site.

The first and second scenes have already been completed and put up on the tube; here's the first scene:

Curses

2007-10-11T08:48:00.000+13:00

Alas, for i am also usually very guilty of Alan's aformentioned 'blogstination'. The last 1000 words of the last history essay i did- which should have taken me about half a day to do properly, actually took me almost two because of that damned internet. You know how it goes..... just typing away, then i need to use the net to check a date. then while im on the net i might as well check my e-mail. Ooh whats that link? hey cool video, are there any more? and next thing i know, two hours have gone by and my essay is still far away from completion. curses.
The problem is that the internet is too damned tempting. The fact that you can look up just about any topic means that it can cater to any random train of thought that cascades around the interior of my cranium. This is a good thing. Just not when ive got other things that i need to do. I mean, the way my mind works cannot really be fathomed, but often i have random thoughts of random things, like i'll suddenly realise that i must know all there is to know about say, defensive formations in American football. This WILL take hours to research. Even when im looking up stuff that is important to my uni work, it just takes a couple of links in the wrong direction before im totally off track and lost with little to no hope of returning to the straight and narrow for at least an hour. Curse the person who decided that the PC can have both the internet and MSWord. Curses to all.

Blogging and Technological changes.

2007-10-10T20:27:00.000+13:00

Today I had a taste of technology. I went for a job interview only to be told that it would be a teleconference with people in Melbourne. My first thought when I went into the office and realised this was "here's something to blog about for 203". I know its going to sound really weird but it was more nerve wrecking than a face to face interview and it just felt so impersonal. I think technology is definitely going too far. On the other side though, it was good because they couldn't see my nervous gestures (which as you can imagine were quite high because going into an interview and then being told that you're going to be interviewed by two people in Melbourne with a note taker in the room) and it didn't matter what I looked like. They do say though that communication is 70% body language and so therefore the communication was reduced.

Alan I completely agree with your post about having a file open (hell I have one open right now saying "semester 2 - 2007" and it feels like I may do some work eventually - though I am now but unlike you I have no essays to write) and procrastinating through the internet. I do it all the time, but it teaches us. I would say that my writing skills have improved a great deal through the use of the internet and I'm sure the same could be said for other people.

Damn this paper, I'm really starting to enjoy the blog and it gives me a justifiable excuse for it. Earlier today I read Perez Hilton's website and I thought it was so trashy but about 10 pages later I was still in the website still reading. It is very easy to get caught up in things on the net and keep reading. And on that note I am heading to wikipedia...

Blogastination

2007-10-10T16:14:00.000+13:00

Like every theorist, company and two year old is doing these days - i too am making up a hybrid of two words into one all encompassing word (or three words into one if you count 'blog' as a mash-up of 'web log'). For you media students you might have noticed recent classics include 'domesticom' - the contraction of the words 'domestic' and 'comedy' into one and yeah, that's all I can remember for now... (i-Phone?) Ha!
Anyway, yes I too have made a word. BLOGASTINATION. It is the mix up of the word 'blog' and the idea of 'procrastination' into one. How very original. Yes, I do have a point, now where did I put it? Ah!
Blogs, web communities, online gaming. When do we interact and interface with such entities the most? I will say it, you're all thinking it, we all do it - when we're procrastinating!!! Indeed, the surge in popularity of such gigantic web phenomenons as Facebook and Wikipedia can probably be narrowed down to the fact that, for the 21st century human being who requires the computer for most or all of their work, these sites are in the most appropriate place - right in front of us and only a mouse click away!
We write blogs, play, and socialise online with people just like ourselves - they should be working too - heck, it feels like we're all working because the Microsoft Word tab is visible clearly at the bottom of our screens - we might even open it now and then to stare blankly at the empty page that is entitled "Media Essay #2". However we are 'not' working because work is dull. We are told to do it - forced even - and we do not like this as typical human beings. We should be and are (thanks to the internet) FREE to do whatever we want.
Does it not seem odd then that, for the most part, when we blog we are in fact writing anyway? We write a blog as a form of procrastination - as a means of avoiding having to write an essay. So we are writing to avoid writing! It is quite intriguing, if not a little irresponsible.

Blogastination, my friends. We all do it. Perhaps that's why this blog might not be as successful as it could be. Why? It's because this blog is assessed - and thus, it can be considered work. Work is dull, and anything else is better. Perhaps, to really assess how well we use this online blog as a medium for class interaction, then, would be to instead check our facebook accounts. Many of them contain delightful, consistent blogging and online social interaction because Facebook is not work, and we all blog on that in order to avoid blogging on this. To assess how well we interact online as a class, then, one need only look at how well we blogastinate.

Til' next time - Stay classy, 203.
(Note: I wrote this as the lesser of two evils - as a form of procrastination from doing a larger, much scarier assessment - so this is my theory in practice!)

bloggy blog blog

2007-10-10T04:13:00.000+13:00

the first thing i do when i wake up (apart from the usual stuff) is read my links of favourite blogs. then i check my email, facebook and so on. (sometimes, its facebook first though.. hahaha)

and yesterday i stumbled on this absolutely hilarious blog. it is a space to record your funniest and most absurd way of breaking something or hurting someone or something with your Wii controller or Nanchuk. (note: i don't own a Wii, but i have tried it out and all that) i think this possibly has happened to more of us hen we care to admit..

another blog i read often is Karen Cheng's blog. she is a mother of two sons, but also used to be a graphic designer, an artist and a photographer. her style and sense of creativity is amazing. plus, i really like the layout of her blog.. which obviously she designed herself.

being a typical girl, i like the typical trashy, gossipy and mindless blogs like Perez Hilton, Pink is the new Blog and the Superficial. they are mindless and 'plasticky' (if you've seen Mean Girls, you'll get it!) and for me, they just past time so quickly. useless information, but release in such an inviting, pleasing and entertaining manner.

of course, i also read my own friends personal blogs, but let's not get into that. mostly, i tend to read blogs more then i read the newspaper. the newspaper is so boring, and wordy. not enough pictures (can you tell I'm quite shallow..) I have been accused of being ignorant, because i have no idea whats going on in our country or the rest of the world, but i only or usually always know who is dating who and who went out on Friday night..

my point? blogs are great, mainly because they connect us to everything and everyone, but maybe blogs should now include the news. with nice layouts. and pretty colours, then maybe I'll enjoy reading the news in a blog version as well.. or maybe a visual version of the newspaper. with nice colours!

Wikipedia and Mac vs. PC

2007-10-10T00:28:00.000+13:00

Oh my god, I totally agree with the post about Wiki being a great source of info. I have spent many hours on wikipedia before going from article to article, so much easier than having an actual encyclopedia where you have to go from page to page and find the article you are searching for. I love the way Wiki can be edited by anyone, anywhere at any time. It certainally makes info a lot more relevant and up to date.

Yes, Mac is different to PC. The desk top lay out and other programmes. It's weird though coz today my computer seems to be running a lot faster and better but I'm still fearful it will die on me. I use it first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed, who am I kidding? I use it in bed. I did change the security settings yesterday so maybe that has something to do with it and I won't be downloading from any sites that haven't got the security certificate.

Has anyone else had problems on this blog with posts not being able to be posted if they are not saved? Its so weird.

PC & MAC

2007-10-09T22:38:00.000+13:00

Liz I suggest that don’t throw any expensive mobile to the wall, please. It will be definitely broken no matter what brand it is. For LCD screen mobile it may be ok, but not for TFT-LCD I supposed.

My first laptop’s brand was LEGEND, now it is called LENOVO. It is a Chinese brand. This laptop’s quality was great. It fell from my table down to the floor twice and got a crack on the keyboard panel, it was still working very well. The hardware is quite good and it is running very steady. I filled it up with many ‘indecent’ softs – piratical or cripple stuffs at that time, it seldom made me down. Now I still keep it as an antique. Yeah, I have to admit that it is not just a machine to me but more like a pet. LENOVO or IBM now is like a freak as some people comment - it has a big ‘head’ and a small ‘body’ which may relate to its compatibility. I don’t know it is true or not, I don’t have one.

I have got an ‘apple’. Soon after I bought it I was facing a big problem – how could I get the softs. I have never thought about to purchase them or all of them as being a contented ‘thief’ for many years. Liz you may need to think about it if you are a game lover or you want to make best use of your computer. However if you are a good cracker, you can ignore this problem. Mac is good looking and good for doing graphic editing, such as running PS, especially editing big photo, the speed is faster than PC. But some files you made in your Mac may not be read properly in PC or some printers, it is another issue. Also, if you buy an Mac, that means you join a new community - Mac World, where some people make Mac a part of their identity. As you know it is framed by the marketing strategy.

Anyhow, new technology is great. But don’t let idealistic bankrupts us. Liz, all the best to your new computer.

ten reasons why tech haters like me love the internet...

2007-10-09T22:16:00.000+13:00

1. Wiki!!!!!
wiki should be added to Bart Simpson's lil' Bastard kit for essay writting. many a fact have i learned, many a plagerized essay have I seen, many a... wiki dance of wiki rain of knowledge and useless facts have I done!! Wikipedia is God. Sure it is blasphemy, sure I am making a false idol...but wikipedia helped god plagerize the earth remember???
2. talking internationally for free
if my grandparents can do it, so can you. save your self hundreds of dollars a year, on phone bills and acutally be able to see the person you are talking to, making faces at, etc (apparently girls strip on cam for you in the states...news to me)
3. Youtube...
I can't help it but I am it's slave!! I must watch mroe flight ofthe conchords, more skins .more oh random link!! boom five hours gone!! music videos, sreies episodes, daft punk girl everything amusing I ever needed to see is there!!!
4. Facebook.
no instruction needed, easy to use, and evenus neo luddites needs some sweet sweet online social networking/community building in our lives. I'd know I wrote an essay about it, and read about it on Wikipedia.
5. Porn
I'm not going to lie, porn online is awsome. mainly because it is always in your face, in your inbox, playing when your mum walks in, oh wait...waht ha ha ha awkward turtle. but on a side note, people can now annonymously buy pornography, saving themselves the embarassment of purchasing smut in from wierdoes that work in sex stores.
6. online comics
funnies delivered straight to your montier every day. need I say more. well I will... is your clock set to tokyo time so you always know when to drift race??? (If you get it I love you)
7. easy access to music
everything is better when it is free, escecially sweet sweet tunage for low low, or rahter non existant prices. I can buy the good tracks from an album, I can only buy the b-sides. I can affordable open my eyes to new artists, and never worry about wasting anything but my time.
8. Google
simply becuase it is now a verb. anything with kind of affect of the english language is okay with me.
9. lolcats.
one word...monorailcat.
1o. ha ha ha ha this guy!!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/Spiritshot/Randomly%20Funny/I_Beat_Anorexia_T-Shirt.jpg

technology makes people even lazier

2007-10-09T21:54:00.001+13:00

This post was originally going to be about the iphone but as stuff is my home page I stumbled across an article about a new car Nissan has created which will mean that people don't need to reverse if they don't want to. the article can be found here. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4231423a11275.html

I was reminded of the Simpsons episode from the 90s in which Homer's brother creates a very unpopular car. Look at the design. It has that same asethetics that the car in the episode had. Hopefully it will be unpopular in real life. I say this because I don't want people relying on technology and then not having the same driving skills that were once required.

RIM Blackberry 9000 Touchscreen Phone leaked?

2007-10-09T21:41:00.000+13:00

The Boy Genius Report published a slightly blurry image of a BlackBerry phone that is supposedly the rumored BlackBerry 9000.
As there are no buttons in sight this would be the first touch screen mobile phone from RIM. It would compete head on with the Apple iPhone.

Nokia vs. Other Brands - the power of marketing

2007-10-09T01:38:00.000+13:00

Li Guo I'm sure that if another brand of mobile was thrown against a wall it would also work. My last Sanyo phone for example got dropped several times. It even got liquid on it and still went. The second time it got liquid on it it did die but it was a pretty sturdy phone that was excellent quality. I have just never understood the appeal of the Nokia but I guess that people have different preferences and motivations when buying phones.

If we are comparing brands thenI think its time to compare computer brands. My last three lap tops over the last 4.5 years have been Hewlett Packard but I think when I get my next one I will go for an Apple Mac. They just seem more reliable (maybe thats the marketing) and have better features than Microsoft ones (that combined with my hatred for Microsoft seeing as my Word 2003 has a virus:-(

In one of the early lectures Luke talked about the fetishisation of technology and I thought it was such a ridiculous idea but I have to confess that I myself do the same - my last Sanyo died 2 months ago and I still miss it (the fact we even say "died" humanises it and shows our attachment) and the thought that I have to buy a new lap top shortly is making me cry a little inside. I can't live without it. This is a communications device that makes our life so easy.

Isn't it sad that we live in a day and age when we personalise technology?!

NOKIA

2007-10-09T00:51:00.000+13:00

Liz Shaw once a friend of mine was going to sell his ‘three years old’ Nokia to someone. He threw it harshly to the wall, after hitting the wall the phone bounded back to a table and fell on the floor. Then he picked up the phone and switched it on, it worked perfectly. The buyer paid the money immediately. Quality is universal.

Random thoughts,

2007-10-08T23:50:00.000+13:00

Interfaces have been constantly enhanced with the improvement of technology although every new ‘improvement’ created it seems there are constant let downs or disadvantages created. Whether it is the cold hard surface of a glass screen or the retro version of an appliance. A machine solely controlled by mind sounds exciting although it doesn’t give in to the satisfaction of all our senses.
I wonder when the day will come when we are all wondering around in high tech transparent bubbles that mould with our body while we walk, sheltering us from the rain. As for treating machines like equals, I’m pretty sure my car hates me at the moment the orange light appears regularly due to lets say…rise in petrel prices, poor guy!

Live well, mobile phone well.

2007-10-08T23:36:00.001+13:00

The history of mobile phone development does not only represent the progress in science and technology, but also gives the witness to the development of human civilization. From stimulation to GSM, from GMS to GPRS, from single frequency to dual frequency, from sound to message, from the terminal to media……the speed of mobile phone development is growing day by day. Mobile phone has not merely been considered as personal communication tool, it has become a new media form influenced people’s daily life. By using the mobile phone, you can surf on the internet, manage the information, conduct stock transaction, make a credit payment, take photos, record sound, play games, listen to mp3, and watch movies, mobile phone has been closely connected to people’s life and become a multi-functional tool.

Having said a lot of advantages of mobile phone, I have been thinking some disadvantages of it. Perhaps different brands of mobile phones have different functions, so there is no necessary to discuss any particular disadvantage on function of mobile phone. But I have some personal experiences, for example, I lost my mobile phone last month, and nearly lost all my contact numbers, saved documents, photos and videos. My friends tried to find me, but they failed to dial my number. I was so upset. Although I have bought a new mobile phone, my budget only allows me to buy a cheap one. This one can only text messages and make calls. So now I realized how important the mobile phone to me and the disadvantage is you can not live without it.

Issuing ‘Cyworld’

2007-10-08T21:31:00.001+13:00

Those of you would not so familiar with 'Cyworld', unless you are Korean background or have read my recent post about the typeface usage in the web world. For a simple and easy explanation for the majority readers expected to read this post, (who I guess would be non-Korean contexts), 'Cyworld' is a Korean version of MySpace. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is also known with its reputation as one of the most popular websites amongst Korean people and is having more than half of its whole population as its member. (so that means, there are about 22,000,000 (it's 22 millions) people who are 'regularly' using a certain amount of ‘acorn’ (a cyber money circulated in buying items and using services provided by Cyworld) to adorn their own ‘blog-like’ personal sites. That's a huge industry.

Just as what MySpace and Facebook are for English users, Cyworld provides a fine environment for creating and managing a social network for individuals with tones of other services suit to the interest of teenagers and young generations between twenties to thirties, or barely even forties (these services are mostly having a considerable relation with the trends from both the on and off line worlds, such as UGC clips and real time news about the celebrities and international issues)to make them 'bound into the portal for 24/7'. Although MySpace is obviously having better quality in its quantitative aspect (in terms of the number of joined members for service use and the scale of fame in the world wide), at least in my point of view, (not simply because I am Korean) Cyworld seems to have a lot more interesting point and better quality service in regarding ‘more intense human network management system’.

Having heard about a commentary for hundreds of time might not quench the thirst of curiosity in judging which sites actually has the better functions and quality; so I suggest you to visit Cyworld USA (http://us.cyworld.com) to find out more detail. Or else if you are deeply interested in searching of a fine social network system apart from MySpace and Facebook, I suggest you to visit www.cyworld.com so that you will have an exploration yourself to feel the 'shock of the new!'

ps. do not worry even if you do not understand the Korean language. What is this for is all about for you to wide your perspective from a limited vision of Internet navigation; just as there are hundreds of good places in around the world that we could not see and could not find, there are even more numbers of fine web spaces that you can not see and find under the cultural and social contexts.

Digital natives

2007-10-08T17:04:00.000+13:00

The first “digital native” I really noticed was my friend’s two-year-old (this was five or six years ago) who would actually bodysurf the net by lying on the keyboard, which was not much shorter than she was, in order to peer at the monitor and reach the mouse. She would then navigate around children’s websites and print things out. I was astounded. Since then, most children I know have become capable of similar feats. My nieces have all used the internet before learning to talk. My five-year-old niece has her own PC, distinguishable from those of her parents by the amount of jam and mashed banana stuck to the keyboard. A friend of mine who has teenage kids told me “Jazmine doesn't really do email it's all msn or bebo. I tried emailing her but whenever she replied to me I needed an interpreter to decipher the cyber speak she uses. The kids use strange symbols and letters when talking on msn and bebo.” This is definitely a new generation gap. I’m in my thirties, but there is a technology gap between me and my elders as well. A few months ago I had a call on my mobile from a woman in her late forties whose number I had saved in my phone. When I greeted her by name, she was shocked and asked me how I knew who was calling, as if I might be psychic. I was shocked in turn that this technology that I have taken for granted for the last ten years could still be unknown to someone living in a tech-savvy country like New Zealand.

Mobile phones

2007-10-08T14:48:00.001+13:00

Li Guo I don't personally hate motorolas but can relate to what you are saying. I have a hatred for Nokia phones. The Nokia phones aren't designed well and their menus are often hard to navigate. They also have horrible buttons and don't make flip top phones. I used to have phones that weren't flip top but the flip top is just so convenient to use.

Sanyo phones on the other hand, they are brilliant. They often have excellent features such as the flip top, an easy to navigate menu and excellent web browser. I haven't really used web browsers in mobile phones for anything other than email but I don't think they'd be able to support other websites.

Kevin, what day are we getting the essays back?

Week 11 is upon us.

2007-10-08T10:13:00.000+13:00

Hi everybody.

We're in Week 11, which means that the semester is simultaneously winding down while the stress levels are rising.

Reminder: The blog assignment is due on Wednesday the 17th of October, which means that Week 12 is short. You will have Monday the 15th, Tuesday the 16th, and Wednesday the 17th until 4 pm, to contribute in Week 12 itself. Don't forget.

I'd also appreciate it if everyone remembers to treat the other students on the blog with respect. I've edited a post this morning to remove inflammatory content, and I'd appreciate not needing to do it again. The blog has been well behaved so far, and respect is required throughout the whole semester. It's particularly appreciated towards the end when we're heading into what is likely to be its busiest phase, and where arguments could actively get in the way of contributions by other students.

To summarise: It's been good so far and I'd rather it not burn around us now, of all times.

I have some resources which people have been interested in over the last week or so:

1) "Another Cold Morning," Transmetropolitan #8, written by Warren Ellis. This is the single-edition comic of the series I mentioned last week as relevant to anyone interested in the whole question of the internal cellphone, and other issues of mobile media. "Another Cold Morning" is a good introduction to the series.

2) I've had requests for the reading I mentioned for the DVD, discussing the possibility of preferred readings being encoded through the extra-texts. Here we have: Hiding Homoeroticism in Plain View - The Fight Club DVD as Digital Closet, by Robert Alan Brookey and Robert Westerfelhaus.

3) Information regarding the update for iPhones rendering them inoperable if they've been unlocked.

Interestingly, here's an article from Wired arguing that it isn't happening for malevolent reasons.

I have been unable to find any sites from which The Fanimatrix can be downloaded at the moment, but I'll work on it.

Good luck for all your assignments, and play nice.

- Kevin.

Typeface in the digital age

2007-10-08T02:17:00.002+13:00

(Picture: Hangeul (Korean alphabet) is gradually taking importance in the design sector both from on and off-line world market of Korea)

Preface to this post:

The following post under this preface does not require you any extra knowledge in Hangeul (한글, Korean writing system) and understanding of the Korean web culture. It is posted purely because it is one of the ‘issued’ phenomena arose in and out of the web culture of Korea, where my home is based, and the place known as one of the ‘leading edge’ industrial countries with the highest proportion of Internet usage (80% of the whole population, according to the provided source from a news agency). I believe you will find the content of this post very interesting. : )

Here we go!

Digital age made us not to learn how to write a letter (English Alphabet for English language users) in a legible format, but instead allowed us simply learn how to type the keyboard in order to communicate with others. However, the ease of communication via the technology piece (computer) eventually resulted in the birth of a market that is sometimes necessary but sometimes unwanted. Observing a recent phenomenon arose in the web culture of South Korea does reveal about this very clearly. Today, I want to talk about the story of the typeface and its raison d´ tre in this digital age by introducing a case of South Korea.

SK Communication, one of the largest media conglomerates in South Korea responsible for servicing Cyworld*, launched a service of selling a ‘purchasable typeface’ (유료 글꼴, indicates not those genreally known and used typefaces like Arials and Times New Roman, but which are rather intentionally produced under SK Communication and other subcontractors working in this sector of business. See below)

(Picture: this is a screen capture of some 'purchasable typefaces' provided by Cyworld Blog service. The total number of 'purchasable typefaces' is close to few hundreds)

that is only applicable to their blog service since the dawn of the new millennium. Although in inception of this service was a little breakthrough to a blog culture of Korea (because there had been no case of categorizing ‘typeface’ as the purchasable item in a public use level), however, what SK’s got back from launching this unexpected project was an unexpected success; users soon enthusiastically embraced this commercial stratagem and became the most faithful consumer of it. According to a recent statistic reported about the tremendous success of Cyworld Blog service, the estimated profit earned by selling of the typefaces is now reaching close to one million dollar (US) every month, and a cumulative number of the download service up to the present day is approximately over 3.5 millions...

When typefaces were partly became purchasable in a Cyworld Blog service, it was more of less issued between Koreans (since typeface was not recognized as an important sector than other graphic formats of computer software), and this at least revealed one thing very clear to them; that the typeface as the most popular and freely used ‘language’ in the web culture is now requesting a credit card number in order to use it, and thereby typeface in on-line world is no more an essential part of a web language input through a key board, but rather a fashionized item of expressing yourself, your mood on time, and your uniqueness from others. The real problem here was that in the year 2000 when this service was opend to Korean general public, they were hardly believed the success of this business sector and had a great skepticism over the more and more commercialized web culture..

However, looking back in the history of mankind does reveal us about the fact that it is undeniable that human being has been spending money on purchasing clothing, music and diaries to express or emphasize their moods and selves. In this sense, some people are advocating that it is no a surprise that typeface must be recognized as one of the businesses that makes money under the idea of capitalism.

But as an opposition this idea, some says that the process of merchandising ‘what had been prohibited to be purchasable’ has always been regarded as a great shock too, just like the contradiction of selling and buying a bottle of water in the modern society; same way applies to the issue of purchasable typeface to our web culture (along with the bulletin board and blog sectors). Typeface to the web culture is as fundamental as the water to our physical bodies, simply because it is not just a piece of graphic format for fansy users but rather it is the representative writing format that governs the way of 'speaking out' (more precisely, typing out) our sayings and ideas to the others. You don't really pay a license fee to those ancestors contributed in creation of the English alphabets, simply because it is not only representing your uniqueness from others through a manner of usage but it is the basic requirement of you and others for communication.

Despite all these debates on going, sadly we are now facing the era where these necessities are already became purchasable. (although not all typefaces are became purchasable yet) But above all, it is very important to notice that the advent of purchasable typeface is something more than issuing the effort input by those typeface creators who contributed weeks to do this; what is the most important to recognize is that the complete commercialization of our web culture is on going its process, and this typeface issue is just a starting point preface to the prediction. First it was just a typeface, but who would guarantee that all other essential formats of today will become not useable unless you are purchasing a license fee?

Regarding this point lefts us a moot point that whether the developmental phase of our web culture is becoming too faithful to the theory of commercialism, or is it must be recognized as one of the rising phenomena in the true space of liberty and freedom.

So, here I ask you for your opinion. What do you think?

Extra source:

Here is the direct link to the Cyworld Korea, selling font service as one of the main profit earners: http://www.cyworld.com/mall/mall5_decoration_index.asp?effect_cd=35&decodir=edititem

Those who are interested in Cyworld rather than MySpace can also join to Cyworld USA! : http://us.cyworld.com/

* Cyworld is the most popular Blog service in Korea that almost half of the Korean population (that’s almost 22,000,000 people!!) is registered as a member. I will bring this issue in my next post!

ps. I've checked a comment left to my post and as a result, some contents and words are corrected now. Thanks for your advice!

2007-10-08T01:44:00.000+13:00

Ok,
Mobile Phone: essential
technology:essential

It is the 21st century' things either improve or become extinct.
It is the new evolution, the strongest/savvy survive. I mean literally if you are not adept in technology you will always be two steps behind. For Auckland Uni, you need to constantly be checking your email for updates, mini-tests, appointments, then cecil provides you with class notes and even video lectures. Touch typing is also an essential skill given the typed essay format you need to comply with so either you learn fast just to be involved here at uni. or you fall behind and are always the only one that didnt know turnitin was down or the test you were suppose to take today had been postponed to yesterday.
This use of technology has curtailed plagiarism, has zero tolerance to ignorance and found a way to keep time synchronized with that of the Uni. and its students. Leaving no gap for slackers to fall into without being recongnized. And if you were a paranoid conspiracy theorists you could speculate academics were trying to separate the educated from the uneducated by trying to implement technology so it was being used and learnt and therefore creating another barrier to the two types.( or it may just be my imagination getting ahead of itself? at 2am, its quiet...)

Ive also noticed that being an 80's child and being exposed to computers at the age of 10 which its only use was to play games and draw awkward straight lined Microsoft pictures. As well as only graduating to the Nintendo with its 2D SuperMario Bros I am less savvy than my 90's generation sister and brother. They jump on the net and search what I had been looking for previously to no avail, and because they have been brought up in this new era know what to type to get specific results and from there can get me a better site sort of like they have been programmed better. They did however get internet access at home and the Sega which then graduated to the Playstation although it could again just be the economic situation in my family which could have a part to play.

Blogging, I would not have one simply because I dont think what I have to say would be of interest and because it would again let people see how much I dont know. And it also opens you up to either disagreement or perhaps agreement for me this is a bit scary just cause Im like, someone took time to read my "stimulating" blog. However when reading others blogs you learn from what they have posted or you wonder why they would care to share their thoughts. It kind of feels like your reading their diary of thoughts on subjects or their email to friend done publicly.

Cyborgs:hyper-human?

2007-10-07T23:56:00.000+13:00

Many sci-fi films have presented the ‘cyborgs’ in such extreme ways where always catastrophes involved. One of the dominant discourses of science dystopia is human getting harmed by the cyborgs; the man-made cyborgs are the ones who attack the humans after all. However, not all cyborgs are portrayed in bad ways. Based on the noble Cyborg by Martin Caidin, an American TV series The Six Million Dollar Man depicted a cyborg as a heroic figure and became a major pop cultural icon of the 70s. I remember back in the days I wanted to be a cyborg just like Steve Austin and tried to mimic his slow-motion action sequences (although there was no “electronic” sound effect available). Who knows? Maybe, one day, humans could ‘evolve’ as technologically integrated organisms that have supernatural power just like the Six Million Dollar Man.

Orkut

2007-10-07T23:37:00.000+13:00

We are all part of a brand new globalized world, in which frontiers are almost inexistent. If you are from Japan or New Zealand you can buy a ticket today and tomorrow you are in a plane to Australia, US or England, hassle free, travelling has never been easier.

Now, I am not sure about you guys, but I love watching that program on TV, Border Security every Monday at 8pm on channel ONE. The reason I love it is because it plays with stereotypes so well it’s amazing. And if you are from Australia and watch that program it makes you feel proud of your system, how well it serves to protect you from unwanted people that may come from overseas. But remember something, like in physics, for every reaction there is a counter-reaction.

Finally after two paragraphs I reach the topic that I am really interested in telling you guys; a little Internet community with over 8000000 Brazilian members, Orkut, I will explain this a bit later. But as I told you before travelling has never been easier, but only if you come from a rich developed country; truth is for most people in the world travelling has never been more difficult than now. Take for instance myself; I was staying in Australia before I came to New Zealand. I bought a return ticket from Brisbane to Tokyo to Sao Paulo, but before I got into Brazil I had to stay in New York for a couple of hours in order to change planes, so far so good. But on my way back is when all the trouble starts; I already have a return ticket that will take me all the way to Australia, so all I have to do is buy a ticket from Brisbane to Auckland and I will e soon ready to start Uni. But now, if I want to stay two hours in New York I need to apply for a US Transit visa; that will cost me around USD$180, I will need to bring a whole bunch of documents and queue for almost five hours and have an interview with an Immigration agent in the US consulate in Sao Paulo, after I have told my life story to this agent I may wait for about 10 working days in order to get my passport back, with hopefully my visa stamped to it. Now I am ready to go to the Japanese consulate, luckily I don’t need a transit visa to Japan, I can even stay there for three days if I am on my way to a third country without a visa, but I wanted to stay there a bit longer; unfortunately my visa to Japan was rejected. They don’t need to give you a reason to reject your visa, but they told me that I am will potential overstayer; even though I am already enrolled and have paid my fees to study here in Auckland; does it make sense to you? That’s ok, I don’t need to stay there for a week or two; I can just stay there for three days while I wait for my plane to Australia.

I think this is becoming too long and you can get the point, travelling has never been easier, all you need to do is fill in the stereotypical image, that is why Orkut is so good. This internet community tells you everything you need to know, from the point of view of Brazilians living around the world. Take for instance New Zealand; inside Orkut you will find a community called “Brazilians in New Zealand”. Over there they will give you all sorts of tips, how to get a job once you get in, how to renew your visa, where to live… absolutely everything that you may possibly need, even how to cook a Brazilian dish if you are either homesick or would like to impress a señorita(o). But one of the most important things that it tells you is how to get through border security in the airport; it even gives you all the tips of what you need to tell an immigration officer if you are unlucky enough to be interviewed.

So next time you are in an airport and you see a Brazilian with a backpack, a camera hanging from his neck and a lonely planet on his hands, be sure to know, he isn’t a stereotypical tourist, he has just been reading Orkut.

My Cell Phone

2007-10-07T22:44:00.000+13:00

Below I would honestly describe my personal experience of using cell phone as a reference for cellphone case study.

I have two cell phones, one is sleeping in the drawer, and the other I use it more often as a MP3 player. When I was working, I actually hated to be called. Because that means I have got more works to do. Even now, I am still quite lazy using my cell phone to contact people unless I have to. I am not a social person as I know. But cell phone is kinda of pushing me to associate with others, such as I have to answer the call or text. I use the camera function quite often. I like to use it to make my personal visual diary. It is a great function I explored from cell phone. Sometimes I play game when I am queuing or feel bored in lecture. Now I am using a PDA. I am going to use its PowerPoint to review and enjoy my Art History lectures and the artworks. I am not going to use it to connect Internet, because it is quite expensive right now. But if the price goes down, I would like to enjoy this function. My cell phone brand is Dopod. I stick to this brand for three years. For me, it is the best choice. By the way, talking about cell phone brand, I somehow hate Motorola, it is like a ‘playboy’ to me. Why? I just feel that way.

More Human than Human

2007-10-07T22:22:00.000+13:00

This talk of cyborgs and amputees with prosthetic limbs got me thinking of a computer-game I played a few years ago and which im pretty sure was talked about in class called Deus Ex. The game is set in 2052 in a dystopian kind-of society where the world faces overpopulation etc etc. At this point humans have achieved nano-augmentation where they can (through technology) become physically and mentally enhanced - (see in the dark, jump extremely high, resist injury etc). I think it ties in with what that Australian artist talked about: that the body is limited and we can make it better even if it means through foreign material, like metal.

It makes you think, if we could become more advanced, even if it meant through artifical augmentation would people do it? I sure as hell would. Imagine where we would be in the future if we evolve side-by-side with with technology.

Post-humanism.

Mobiles and Myspace etc

2007-10-07T22:12:00.000+13:00

This blog is really in response to some of the blogs that other people have made today in relation to both mobiles and online networking sites.

Personally I'm a recovered blogger and myspacer. A few years ago before it was all the rage I had bought my own domain and was going to set up my own online magazine (which failed because my heart just wasn't in it) and I posted on around 20 forums while having several blogs which I would blog on daily if not several times a day. I don't understand why though. I don't understand people doing it so much these days. I know what you're thinking, "but you used to do it all the time". I did, and it interfered with my life, not just online but offline as well and affected my social life in a really negative way. I gradually saw the light and stopped posting.

I wonder if they will set up a bloggers anonymous or something. I just don't understand why people would want to post details about their lives to strangers. It seems utterly pointless to me and yet I used to do it, before the craze kicked in. It's kind of weird to think of it.

I would definitely say that my life is better now that I don't have an online presence.

The notion that our blogs could be passed on in our will is a ridiculous one. I mean it is plausible that someone would want the blog of someone deceased, but for what reason? I mean you can access most of the entries by simply going to their page so why the hell would you want to own someone's blog. It's almost as ridiculous as the idea of buying pixels online or buying fake money in an online game.

Mobiles, mobiles mobiles? I agree that people used to get by without having mobile technology a few years ago, but I disagree with the statement that mobiles give people a chance to monitor us. They only do if you let them. Most mobiles have a lock function and you can delete messages you don't want people to read and also if you are having a conversation you want to keep private then texting is the way to go. In a way they have given us more privacy. it just depends on how you look at it.