Pacman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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..

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?

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

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"

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!"

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????

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

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.

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

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

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...

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

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?

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

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^^)

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

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....

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

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

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!!!

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)

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!

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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

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.