What are the qualitative differences between the regular IM program and a 3D environment?
On the social networking sites that I have used, communication happened primarily between people who I know and who know me from real life. This means a level of social skill and etiquette is still required when communicating in MySpace, FaceBook and so on, unlike virtual reality worlds. Also, whilst I am sure some of the things that are posted on these sites aren’t true, because communication happened primarily between people who know each other, in my case anyway, there was (usually) at least an element of truth in what was posted. Another point is you have control over who can enter your world unlike 3d worlds such as Active Worlds.
When I logged into Active World I found the fact that these people were all strangers to me a little disconcerting. In social networking sites, I would never contact someone I didn’t know in real life unless I had a specific purpose for doing so. In Active Worlds you are expected to just walk up to someone and say ‘hi’, a process that for some reason I found a little embarrassing. Because you are in essence a completely different persona to the real world, you can be, act, say, look how you want, in other words, you are making your own reality. I think this is a difference between and social networking site and VR sites. Social networking sites are based in the real world, VR sites are based in a ‘made up’ version that people wish to project to the real world. Interestingly, I ask a user called ‘Mom_DJ’ what it is that she likes about Active Worlds and she said she had made heaps of wonderful friends. I then asked her if she knew any from the real world and she replied that she had never met or even seen her ‘wonderful’ friends in the real world and that she had no desire to.
Whilst I realize this is a subjective area, in my opinion VR sites are for people that for whatever reason wish to escape the ‘real’ world (not that there is anything wrong with that), whilst social networking are for people that wish to enhance it.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Lecture 5 - Virtual Philosophy
This lecture was on Virtual Philosophy. Initially it touched on the ground breaking movie the Matrix. The point of this was that our experiences in life are really only just electrical signals interpreted by our brain. If these signals or the receivers of them could be manipulated, then our ‘reality’ can be altered. It also examined several academic and philosophical perspectives on ‘reality’.
The Screen Age really began with the advent of cinema a century ago, but even before that there were technological advances that were setting the stage for virtual reality. These were the telegraph - which prompted the laying of cables around the globe so we could communicate; telephones - which were a precursor to the Internet communications we have today; the phonograph - which led to the development of cassettes, records, CDs and other sound-recording devices; the radio - which allowed communication to happen without the need for wiring; cinema – which allowed ‘captured’ vision to be available to the masses; and television. All these components have converged in Virtual Reality: a system that enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment.
The lecture then touched on the various elements of VR such as vision, sound, touch, taste and smell then some of the problems of VR. The most interesting of these I thought was the concept that VR could lead to a desensitisation / devaluing of 'real-world' experience.
The Screen Age really began with the advent of cinema a century ago, but even before that there were technological advances that were setting the stage for virtual reality. These were the telegraph - which prompted the laying of cables around the globe so we could communicate; telephones - which were a precursor to the Internet communications we have today; the phonograph - which led to the development of cassettes, records, CDs and other sound-recording devices; the radio - which allowed communication to happen without the need for wiring; cinema – which allowed ‘captured’ vision to be available to the masses; and television. All these components have converged in Virtual Reality: a system that enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment.
The lecture then touched on the various elements of VR such as vision, sound, touch, taste and smell then some of the problems of VR. The most interesting of these I thought was the concept that VR could lead to a desensitisation / devaluing of 'real-world' experience.
Tutorial 2 - Part 2
1.) How long have you been using these communication technologies?
In 1996 I went to New Zealand with a friend who wanted to start an Internet business. So that was when first I started using Internet technologies. These days I only really use email (and telephones) to communicate with family and friends.
2.) What influenced you to start using these particular technologies? How did you find out about them?
I was really introduced to these technologies from my friend who had been into computers for years, so it was his influence that started me using these particular technologies.
3.) Is privacy an issue for you when using new technologies? What do you think of companies like Facebook and Google who collect information about their users? (How do you deal with issues around privacy?)
Yes, privacy is an issue for me when using these technologies. I think it is appalling that companies like Facebook and Google collect information about their users, and then on sell our information to others. I do understand that we agree when we click accept, without having read the terms and conditions, but hiding underhanded tactics behind a bunch of legal jargon still doesn’t make it ‘morally’ right.
The main way I deal with issues of privacy, is through the use of two email accounts, one account is for ‘proper’ communication, and the other is for junk. If I visit a website that requires an email address (which often ends up on spam lists) I will use the junk email address so my normal email account doesn’t get clogged with spam. Whilst I have bought stuff over the net, I do try to keep this to a minimum, due to the credit card fraud you hear about all the time. To be honest I don’t really know if it is safe or not.
4.) Do you have friends whom you know only from the internet and have never met in person? Is this different to people that you know in person? Describe the difference.
I don’t have any friends that I only know from the Internet, because I am not really into using social networking sites such as FaceBook. When I first started using the net I did use chat rooms a bit, but soon tired of asking and answering the same questions all the time. So I stopped and have never really picked up the social networking buzz again.
In 1996 I went to New Zealand with a friend who wanted to start an Internet business. So that was when first I started using Internet technologies. These days I only really use email (and telephones) to communicate with family and friends.
2.) What influenced you to start using these particular technologies? How did you find out about them?
I was really introduced to these technologies from my friend who had been into computers for years, so it was his influence that started me using these particular technologies.
3.) Is privacy an issue for you when using new technologies? What do you think of companies like Facebook and Google who collect information about their users? (How do you deal with issues around privacy?)
Yes, privacy is an issue for me when using these technologies. I think it is appalling that companies like Facebook and Google collect information about their users, and then on sell our information to others. I do understand that we agree when we click accept, without having read the terms and conditions, but hiding underhanded tactics behind a bunch of legal jargon still doesn’t make it ‘morally’ right.
The main way I deal with issues of privacy, is through the use of two email accounts, one account is for ‘proper’ communication, and the other is for junk. If I visit a website that requires an email address (which often ends up on spam lists) I will use the junk email address so my normal email account doesn’t get clogged with spam. Whilst I have bought stuff over the net, I do try to keep this to a minimum, due to the credit card fraud you hear about all the time. To be honest I don’t really know if it is safe or not.
4.) Do you have friends whom you know only from the internet and have never met in person? Is this different to people that you know in person? Describe the difference.
I don’t have any friends that I only know from the Internet, because I am not really into using social networking sites such as FaceBook. When I first started using the net I did use chat rooms a bit, but soon tired of asking and answering the same questions all the time. So I stopped and have never really picked up the social networking buzz again.
Tutorial 2 - Communications and the Internet - Part 1
This is a very interesting video I found about the history of the Internet. Among outlining the history it also goes into how the various protocols that allow internet communication to take place, such as TCP/IP, were developed. Very interesting.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tutorial Four - Creating a Video
A video I created using a bunch of random and a soundtrack that I downloaded from Creative Commons. Its pretty dodgy... but anyway.
Lecture Four - Free Culture, Free Society
Today we examined ‘Free Culture and Free Society’.
We touched on copyright and how it is a tricky concept when the Internet is involved because the Internet is basically one giant copying machine. The problems of copyright again highlight how technology is moving faster than the law. We were then introduced to Creative Commons. This is a site that allows for relaxed copyright, for people who wish to choose the particular license that they wish to share there creative property with. These are as follows:
We touched on copyright and how it is a tricky concept when the Internet is involved because the Internet is basically one giant copying machine. The problems of copyright again highlight how technology is moving faster than the law. We were then introduced to Creative Commons. This is a site that allows for relaxed copyright, for people who wish to choose the particular license that they wish to share there creative property with. These are as follows:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for noncommercial purposes only.
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.
We also touched on Open Software which is software that is free or can be purchased for a very low price, unlike the software giants like Microsoft and Macintosh. Unlike Windows, this software allows access to its source code so it can be modified by anybody. Adam informed us of the very disturbing fact that MS & Apple are putting programs in their OS’s that are collecting our information, which they then sell on to third parties. Due to the illegality of reverse engineering there software in order to reveal this disturbing fact to the world. MS and Apple GET AWAY WITH THIS. I think these software monoliths should be more accountable to the people.
Very Disturbing...
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tutorial Three - Scavenger Hunt
1.) What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bike around the Bletchley Park?
He wore a gas mask to avoid hay fever. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-turing)
Yahoo
2.) On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they? On Oct. 20, 1969, the refrigerator-sized Interface Message Processor, which worked as the world's first packet-switching router, communicated with a computer at UCLA, seven weeks after they were first connected. (http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5842105.html)
Yahoo
3.) What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
Oct. 28, 1955. (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/bio.mspx). 'Bill Gates... sold his first software program at the age of 17.' (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/harvard-dropout-to-billionaire-gates-to-retire-from-microsoft-404266.html)
Yahoo
4.) Where was the World Wide Web invented?
29/09/2004 at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research ), in Switzerland. (http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/inventedwebwhere.html)
Yahoo
5.) How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago?
The first electronic digital computer was called "ENIAC" built in 1945 in Philadelphia. It used so much electricity that lights in the nearby town dimmed every time it was used! (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-25-2004-59721.asp). A computer in 1979 had an 8088 8-bit processor. A computer in 2009 has a 2.60GHz, 800FSB, 2MB processor. (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/pa-microhist.html)
AltaVista
6.) What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
A PARSNIP weighing 2.3 kilograms and measuring about 35 centimetres long was picked from the garden of Port Lincoln man Ken Holden. (http://www.portlincolntimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/holden-growing-more-giant-vegetables/1570577.aspx?src=rss)
AltaVista
7.)When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
Queen Victoria gave her approval for the State of Queensland on June 6 1859. (http://www.queenslandhistory.org.au/QueenslandDay.pdf) I was unable to find the information on why the Tweed River is in NSW.
AltaVista
8.) What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
I found that SE Qld had cyclones in 1954 but was unable to find out the weather on the 17 November 1954. (http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/cyclone/about/cyclones-eastern.shtml)
AltaVista
9.) Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
Because he swam from the Lido to the Rialto Bridges in Venice, Italy. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0126406/bio)
AltaVistaWhat band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name? The Black Assassins, keyboards and lead vocals. http://www.blackassassins.net/CourierMailReview.html. If he had a different name I couldn't find it.
Ujiko
Part Two: Answers the following questions:
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
All search engines use robots — also known as bots or spiders — to scan websites and catalog information. These bots index pages by reading text and following HTML tags.
Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?
The person who rights the html should ensure they use correct 'Title' and 'Headers" when designing page. Title and header tags are very important tags and should always contain your most popular key phrases in order for your page to 'come up' in searches.
What are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
I prefer Google (I know) because I think it returns more hits than the others.
Lecture Three - Media, New Media, Social Media
Today we were introduced to the some themes from Internet studies. Briefly these were broken down into:
Virtual Communities
Individual Identity
Shared Interests
Social Media
Virtual Communities: were first introduced by Rheingold in 1993. He identified how people, who may be isolated due for various reasons such as social awkwardness, could connect with similar people on the Internet. These became known as virtual communities.
Individual Identity: Turkle 1995 identified how the Internet allows people to be different to who they are in real life. For example people can misrepresent their attractiveness, their sex. This phenomenon has allowed people in ways never before available to be ‘whoever they want to be’.
Shared Interests: Since the late 90’s there has been a shift away from the shared interests groups of virtual communities to what is called ‘Egocentric Networking’ where ‘You’ are the common interest.
Social Media: These are essentially Social Networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace etc. as well content sharing communities such as Flickr, Deviant.art, YouTube etc. Due to the huge popularity of these sites, we spent some time on this area focussing on aspects such as privacy. Many people don’t know that the stuff they post on-line actually often becomes the property of the site not them. This has huge implications for intellectual property law etc.
We then discussed Twiter and the supposed mundane nature of the communication that takes place on Twiter. One point worth noting is that we generally have used technology in the same way. Meaning we don’t always talk about weighty issues when we speak on the phone to our friends, so why should Twiter be any different.
We also watched a couple of videos about social networking sites such as Twiter. The great catch phrase I took away was from this was:
I am talking to no-one and everyone…
Virtual Communities
Individual Identity
Shared Interests
Social Media
Virtual Communities: were first introduced by Rheingold in 1993. He identified how people, who may be isolated due for various reasons such as social awkwardness, could connect with similar people on the Internet. These became known as virtual communities.
Individual Identity: Turkle 1995 identified how the Internet allows people to be different to who they are in real life. For example people can misrepresent their attractiveness, their sex. This phenomenon has allowed people in ways never before available to be ‘whoever they want to be’.
Shared Interests: Since the late 90’s there has been a shift away from the shared interests groups of virtual communities to what is called ‘Egocentric Networking’ where ‘You’ are the common interest.
Social Media: These are essentially Social Networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace etc. as well content sharing communities such as Flickr, Deviant.art, YouTube etc. Due to the huge popularity of these sites, we spent some time on this area focussing on aspects such as privacy. Many people don’t know that the stuff they post on-line actually often becomes the property of the site not them. This has huge implications for intellectual property law etc.
We then discussed Twiter and the supposed mundane nature of the communication that takes place on Twiter. One point worth noting is that we generally have used technology in the same way. Meaning we don’t always talk about weighty issues when we speak on the phone to our friends, so why should Twiter be any different.
We also watched a couple of videos about social networking sites such as Twiter. The great catch phrase I took away was from this was:
I am talking to no-one and everyone…
Monday, November 23, 2009
Lecture Two - A Selective History of Computing and the Internet
Today we were introduced to a selective history of Computing and the Internet. We started from the first recognized construction of a computer by a gentleman named Charles Babbage in the 1700's. I found it fascinating that it was his wife who was actually responsible for fixing the mechanical calculators that Babbage conceived, and that she was actually the daughter of the famous poet Byron.
We then continued on through the history of the computer and onto the formation of the Internet. One overriding factor I took from all this was how much the military has been responsible for the development of computers and the Internet. Whilst it hasn't been the only factor as certain, as for want of a better phrase, 'geeky science types' where already developing such technologies such as the Internet before the military. The military injected the capital leading to its rapid expansion. It made we wonder what would have happened if we hadn't had the major wars that prompted this rather rapid escalation of technology. What would have happened if the military hadn't realized the potential benefits technology allowed for military domination, as the US did? These technologies would have developed, but were would it be if the military hadn’t spotted the benefits of using it to kill people?
Something to ponder.
We then continued on through the history of the computer and onto the formation of the Internet. One overriding factor I took from all this was how much the military has been responsible for the development of computers and the Internet. Whilst it hasn't been the only factor as certain, as for want of a better phrase, 'geeky science types' where already developing such technologies such as the Internet before the military. The military injected the capital leading to its rapid expansion. It made we wonder what would have happened if we hadn't had the major wars that prompted this rather rapid escalation of technology. What would have happened if the military hadn't realized the potential benefits technology allowed for military domination, as the US did? These technologies would have developed, but were would it be if the military hadn’t spotted the benefits of using it to kill people?
Something to ponder.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Introduction
Hello. Welcome to my blog. My name is Morgan and I am a third year student at Griffith University. I have created this blog for a course New Communication Technologies I am undertaking in an effort to finish my degree. This course investigates the 'information age' and the invention, adaptation and uses of communications technologies within this 'information age'.
Lecture One - Introduction to New Communication Technologies
Communication technologies encompass a whole range of mediums which are familiar to just about everybody. These include but are not limited to email, Facebook, blogs, Internet browsing, Twitter, EBay or e-commerce, downloading music, YouTube, the list goes on an on.
'Communication' was first defined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Simply, communication was defined as the passing of a message from a sender to a receiver. Shannon and Weaver expanded on this definition stating that a Sender uses a Transmitter to send a message to the Receiver. This process of transmission subjects the message to degradation from noise. For example, noise is in the form of electrical interference from other appliances, in the case of the older modem technologies.
This study introduces concepts that one may not have thought of, but of which they are aware. For example a pen or a laptop is a piece of technology that has no use until it is used. The act of using it requires knowledge on behalf of the technology user, so in effect technology on its own is useless. When a piece of technology such as a laptop is used in social or cultural context it becomes a medium of communication.
Our lecturer Adam Muir introduced us to a scholar named Marshall McLuhan who has studied media extensively. One point McLuhan made is that the 'medium is the message'. What this essentially means is that a newspaper becomes the message it is transmitting. Another interesting point was how McLuhan defined technology as an 'extension of the human body'. A way to explain this the wheel, which he defined as an extension of the foot. This is an interesting way to soften the logical contours of technology. For example a photograph becomes an extension of the eye as it allows us to see further than our human vision allows or to see things we haven't seen in real life.
Overall a very interesting first day.
'Communication' was first defined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Simply, communication was defined as the passing of a message from a sender to a receiver. Shannon and Weaver expanded on this definition stating that a Sender uses a Transmitter to send a message to the Receiver. This process of transmission subjects the message to degradation from noise. For example, noise is in the form of electrical interference from other appliances, in the case of the older modem technologies.
This study introduces concepts that one may not have thought of, but of which they are aware. For example a pen or a laptop is a piece of technology that has no use until it is used. The act of using it requires knowledge on behalf of the technology user, so in effect technology on its own is useless. When a piece of technology such as a laptop is used in social or cultural context it becomes a medium of communication.
Our lecturer Adam Muir introduced us to a scholar named Marshall McLuhan who has studied media extensively. One point McLuhan made is that the 'medium is the message'. What this essentially means is that a newspaper becomes the message it is transmitting. Another interesting point was how McLuhan defined technology as an 'extension of the human body'. A way to explain this the wheel, which he defined as an extension of the foot. This is an interesting way to soften the logical contours of technology. For example a photograph becomes an extension of the eye as it allows us to see further than our human vision allows or to see things we haven't seen in real life.
Another concept Adam introduced us to was 'convergence'. This is a term that is used to explain how all the various forms of media are converging on the internet. For example, one can connect to a news site and on the webpage use various forms of media in order to receive news such as writing (newspaper), sound clips (radio), video (television) and so on.Two interesting terms we were also introduced to was intertextuality and intersubjectivity. These can be basically defined as:
- Intertextuality: The interpretation of a message gains its meaning from all the previous messages the receiver has sent and received.
- Intersubjectivity: A listener interprets a message and changes it as it is sent along. This interpretation comes from the receivers own experience.
Overall a very interesting first day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
