Lecture
The lecture this week discussed the history of computers. The first computer was invented by Charles Babbage and since then the computer has become almoast a daily necessity for people. The first commercially produced computers available were manufactured by IBM in the 1950's, that were mainly for use in the military or government departments. Xerox PARC was then founded and produced the first PC called Altair. Shortly after Bill Gates founded Microsoft, after he wrote a language called BASIC for Altair. It was from here on that PC's became an industry in their own right.
Apple soon came on the scene, producing their own make of PC's that was more advanced than Altair and took over the market. IBM was still manufacturing computers meant for the workplace decided to break into the PC market by pairing up with Microsoft and building a new operating system to be used on PC's called Windows. Apple was unprepared for this market shift and soon their company began to slide, causing Microsoft to take over the industry. All this happened in the 1970's and 80's and it is only quite recently that Apple has made a comeback with their new imac range. There is still a healthy competition between Apple and Microsoft, yet as they are both popular operating systems, it seems they are doing all they can to make it easy for people to swap between the two.
Without delving too much more into the history of the computers, the lecture also dicussed the differences between the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW), that being that the internet is made up of lots of different applications including WWW and Email.
Readings
The reading this week is called "What's New About New Media?" Basically this article discusses how much digital media has progressed over time and how there is always new media available. For example, these days music is readily available to us. All we have to do is log onto iTunes and download the mp3 and its ours. However 50 years ago, the only way to hear music was on a record player, 20 years ago it was a cassette tape which morphed into a CD and now we have mp3's. It's pretty much revolutionised how we listen to music now. This is relevant to New Communication Technologies as the Internet is ever expanding and developing, becoming a form of new media.
Tutorial
This week we needed to find an article in Wikipedia on a topic that we were experts on. Now I had a hard time thinking of anything, since I don't think I'm that knowledgeable about any topics to call myself an expert. However I was watching FRIENDS on TV and realised I own the entire series on DVD and should at least be somewhat knowledgeable on the subject.
Is this article accurate?
The article was accurate, I found that most of the information about the television show FRIENDS was in fact correct and true. I didn't notice any outlandish statements or false rumours about the cast members that you so often find on the internet and in the tabloids
Does it cover all the basic facts that you'd need to understand the topic?
The article was pretty good, it included a lot of the information one needs to be able to understand what the TV series is about. My only problem with it is that it seems very rushed. I could see the article being confusing for people who didn't know the story or relationships between the characters. Even though it explained it, it was not written in a way that was easy to comprehend, it seemed more like it was trying to cram as much information as possible into a paragraph without any thought towards flow and language choices. Other than that though the article seemed accurate and informative.
Does the article cover Wikipedia guidelines for useful articles?
The article is useful, it has a lot of information on the show itself as well as information on each of the cast members other acting work. There are many references listed on the bottom of the Wikipedia page and all the edits that have been made to the information on the page appear to have been done with good intentions rather than to cause confusion.
Is this article fair and balanced or is it biased towards a particular side or argument?
It's hard to argue about a TV show. I don't think you can be necessarily biased one way or the other. The article was favourable about the television show as well as the actors and characters.
Changes I would make to the article would be maybe making the passages a little bit more coherent and maybe more detailed with the story line of the show. The article explains only the very basics of the relationships of the characters and their journeys. I would maybe just add more detail.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Topic 5 - Why I Hate Wikipedia
Lecture
In the lecture this week we discussed Wikipedia. Now I personally have nothing against Wikipedia. I think it's a great site for finding out the basics of a topic and sometimes the information can be very accurate. However, the fact that anybody can log in and change any information that's posted on there, is slightly disconcerting. I can't see why someone gets enjoyment out of putting up fake information, as it doesn't really benefit them and it's basically a big time waster. I think though, that most of us decided Wikipedia was a great starting point when trying to learn more about a new topic, however it is not a reliable academic resource.
Readings
The reading this week was a short story by Jorge Luis Borges titled Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. The story was about how easily people can be manipulated into believing anything. Borges story has elements of facts and fiction in them which consequently, has raised discussion about what is real and what isn't. The story describes what happens so often in our society, people are so easily swayed into one opinion. When being informed by someone on a subject, as long as some of the facts are true, people will quite happily believe everything that that person tells them on the subject. This reading is relevant while examining Wikipedia. Since anyone can add anything on Wikipedia, when mixed with some truth, people will believe it.
Tutorial
How do the ideas from Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply to contemporary digital media?
In today's society, it is very easy for people to replicate art, especially digital media. Movies and music are mass produced already and I think most people know how easy it is just to copy these yourself. Today digital media is more available to people and art can be made easily by anyone that owns a camera. To coincide with Benjamin's theory, digital media lacks unique existence. Because there are often so many copies, it's individuality and aura is gone. This is more of an issue now than in Benjamin's day, but the similarities are not unfounded.
There was a time when "Art" was made by artists who were skilled professionals. Now that anyone with a computer can create things digitally (music, images, videos, etc), what does that mean for "art"?
Now that people are able to create things digitally, I think it can impair those who want to create 'real' art. That is not to say that because something is created digitally it isn't art, but it brings about issues of plagiarism, of 'borrowing' or potentially stealing someone else's work, as it's harder to prove who exactly the author is. It also means that absolutely anyone can create art and does not need to be labelled an artist or be a skilled professional. I don't know whether this demeans artistic expression, if it makes art less special because absolutely anyone can do it but it certainly can change the definition of what art is and what it will become.
Is a photo shopped image "authentic"?
No I do not believe a photoshopped image is authentic. On the one hand it is a creative piece. Someone has chopped and changed an image around in order to suit their own needs and used it for whatever purpose. And yet, to photo shop something is to alter another piece of' 'art.' The base of something that is photo shopped is already a piece of art. That is the authentic image. When alterations are made and the piece is edited it then becomes another piece of art, but because it has come from something else I would argue that it is not authentic.
Do digital "things" have an "aura" (in Benjamin's terms)?
Benjamin believed that only the original piece of art, or authentic image had an aura and the more a piece was reproduced the less "aura" it had. Something that is made digitally is copied over and over again - it's mass produced. For example, when a movie is made and released on DVD, the copy that you have is not the original and therefore does not have the "aura" that comes with the original. That applies to most digital things. These products are so readily available to us, that when stocks run out, they just make more. In Benjamin's terms, the original piece of digital media certainly has an "aura." Any reproductions however, do not.
In the lecture this week we discussed Wikipedia. Now I personally have nothing against Wikipedia. I think it's a great site for finding out the basics of a topic and sometimes the information can be very accurate. However, the fact that anybody can log in and change any information that's posted on there, is slightly disconcerting. I can't see why someone gets enjoyment out of putting up fake information, as it doesn't really benefit them and it's basically a big time waster. I think though, that most of us decided Wikipedia was a great starting point when trying to learn more about a new topic, however it is not a reliable academic resource.
Readings
The reading this week was a short story by Jorge Luis Borges titled Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. The story was about how easily people can be manipulated into believing anything. Borges story has elements of facts and fiction in them which consequently, has raised discussion about what is real and what isn't. The story describes what happens so often in our society, people are so easily swayed into one opinion. When being informed by someone on a subject, as long as some of the facts are true, people will quite happily believe everything that that person tells them on the subject. This reading is relevant while examining Wikipedia. Since anyone can add anything on Wikipedia, when mixed with some truth, people will believe it.
Tutorial
How do the ideas from Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply to contemporary digital media?
In today's society, it is very easy for people to replicate art, especially digital media. Movies and music are mass produced already and I think most people know how easy it is just to copy these yourself. Today digital media is more available to people and art can be made easily by anyone that owns a camera. To coincide with Benjamin's theory, digital media lacks unique existence. Because there are often so many copies, it's individuality and aura is gone. This is more of an issue now than in Benjamin's day, but the similarities are not unfounded.
There was a time when "Art" was made by artists who were skilled professionals. Now that anyone with a computer can create things digitally (music, images, videos, etc), what does that mean for "art"?
Now that people are able to create things digitally, I think it can impair those who want to create 'real' art. That is not to say that because something is created digitally it isn't art, but it brings about issues of plagiarism, of 'borrowing' or potentially stealing someone else's work, as it's harder to prove who exactly the author is. It also means that absolutely anyone can create art and does not need to be labelled an artist or be a skilled professional. I don't know whether this demeans artistic expression, if it makes art less special because absolutely anyone can do it but it certainly can change the definition of what art is and what it will become.
Is a photo shopped image "authentic"?
No I do not believe a photoshopped image is authentic. On the one hand it is a creative piece. Someone has chopped and changed an image around in order to suit their own needs and used it for whatever purpose. And yet, to photo shop something is to alter another piece of' 'art.' The base of something that is photo shopped is already a piece of art. That is the authentic image. When alterations are made and the piece is edited it then becomes another piece of art, but because it has come from something else I would argue that it is not authentic.
Do digital "things" have an "aura" (in Benjamin's terms)?
Benjamin believed that only the original piece of art, or authentic image had an aura and the more a piece was reproduced the less "aura" it had. Something that is made digitally is copied over and over again - it's mass produced. For example, when a movie is made and released on DVD, the copy that you have is not the original and therefore does not have the "aura" that comes with the original. That applies to most digital things. These products are so readily available to us, that when stocks run out, they just make more. In Benjamin's terms, the original piece of digital media certainly has an "aura." Any reproductions however, do not.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Topic 4 - Old Communication Technologies
Lecture
The lecture this week looked at many of the previous communication technologies that the human race have used in the past and how we have evolved to what we have now. Back in the old days, people obviously didn't have the ability or the equipment to write letters or send an email, so they resorted to other means. Things such as Rock Art - etching messages on walls- people did this to communicate with others and also to keep records. Since then, society has continued to bring out new and improved ways for us to communicate with each other. Things like the telegraph, phonograph, telephone, printing press, type writers, radio & television have all helped us communicate more often and with more accuracy so much so, that now in the age of computers, we are overloaded with information. Email, mobile phones, PDA's, mp3 players, digital cameras and if you're really lucky, you can get one gadget that has them all rolled into one.
Readings
This week the reading was by Walter Benjamin written in 1936. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction discusses and analyses the idea of art in different contexts and whether or not it can be defined as "art." It also looks at people reproducing someone else's artwork and why someone may replicate your work. People may be practising their skills, or looking to gain credit elsewhere, for something that is not theirs. Benjamin also goes on to discuss the concept of "aura," it being "that which withers in the age of reproduction is the aura of art work." I interpreted this as, the more replicas of a piece of art, the less valuable that piece becomes, whereas the original piece of art with always have the "aura" surrounding it, as it is a true piece of art. It also raises the question of whether or not someone creating a replica of someone else's artwork can be called a true artist.
Tutorial
Our exercises this week included using different search engines other than Google or Wikipedia to answer questions set by our tutor.
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
Reomel Ramones created the "lovebug" virus - (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/740558.stm)
The lecture this week looked at many of the previous communication technologies that the human race have used in the past and how we have evolved to what we have now. Back in the old days, people obviously didn't have the ability or the equipment to write letters or send an email, so they resorted to other means. Things such as Rock Art - etching messages on walls- people did this to communicate with others and also to keep records. Since then, society has continued to bring out new and improved ways for us to communicate with each other. Things like the telegraph, phonograph, telephone, printing press, type writers, radio & television have all helped us communicate more often and with more accuracy so much so, that now in the age of computers, we are overloaded with information. Email, mobile phones, PDA's, mp3 players, digital cameras and if you're really lucky, you can get one gadget that has them all rolled into one.
Readings
This week the reading was by Walter Benjamin written in 1936. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction discusses and analyses the idea of art in different contexts and whether or not it can be defined as "art." It also looks at people reproducing someone else's artwork and why someone may replicate your work. People may be practising their skills, or looking to gain credit elsewhere, for something that is not theirs. Benjamin also goes on to discuss the concept of "aura," it being "that which withers in the age of reproduction is the aura of art work." I interpreted this as, the more replicas of a piece of art, the less valuable that piece becomes, whereas the original piece of art with always have the "aura" surrounding it, as it is a true piece of art. It also raises the question of whether or not someone creating a replica of someone else's artwork can be called a true artist.
Tutorial
Our exercises this week included using different search engines other than Google or Wikipedia to answer questions set by our tutor.
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
Reomel Ramones created the "lovebug" virus - (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/740558.stm)
2. Who invented the paper clip?
John Vaaler a Norwegian Inventor invented the paperclip in 1899 (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm)
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The Ebola virus is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm)
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
John Vaaler a Norwegian Inventor invented the paperclip in 1899 (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm)
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The Ebola virus is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm)
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
Southern Chile on the 22nd May 1960 (http://asc-india.org/lib/world10.htm)
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1,073,741,824 kilobytes in a terabyte (http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/)
6. Who is the creator of email?
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1,073,741,824 kilobytes in a terabyte (http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/calculate/)
6. Who is the creator of email?
Ray Tomlinson invented email in 1971 (http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/email.htm)
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The storm worm in computer terms is a family of Trojans (a virus), that uses email to infect peoples computers. It does it in the form of spam and has infected as many as 5 million computers. (http://what-is-what.com/what_is/storm.html, http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/a/stormworm.htm)
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
To download a contact form and send it through to Kevin Rudd over the Internet. Or you can post a letter via Australia Post (http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/contacts.asp)
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
The Black Assassin (Courtesy of a student in 2005 doing this very assignment!) (http://www.users.on.net/~lenus/nct/2005/04/nct-week-6.html)
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
It is a new and improved version of the original interactive web program, that allows us to interact with different websites so much easier than we could 10 years ago.
Bonus Questions
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines use automated software agents to explore websites and read the information. The agents then go on to index what they find and rank them in order of frequency of the keywords in each of the websites.
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?
A website that contains the key words that you use in your search over and over again is more likely to be at the top of the search results than websites that do not have them.
What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like more than others?
I like Google, because it's easy to read and understand and it usually provides the results I want. It also nearly always brings up Wikipedia as one of the first results which is not a great bibliographical source, but is awesome in giving you a basic information on a particular topic.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Topic 3 - Alphaville
Lecture
So this week was all about Alphaville and French New Wave Cinema. Alphaville. I hardly know where to start. A French Film Noir with a futuristic storyline set on another planet. It was oddly intriguing and the thing that struck me was that I actually enjoyed it! The film tells of a world of dystopia, a world taken over by a computer that controls everything in the fictional world of Alphaville. No one may display emotion or have any idea of individualism or ask 'why?' The whole movie was in French which I found to be more effective than had it been in English, though I'm not sure how much of a conscious decision that was by the filmmakers seeing as French was their first language. The film is definitely not for everyone especially these days with so many action-packed blockbusters around. However, I found it intriguing and really enjoyed the old school method of story telling.
Readings
The readings this week focussed on different film terms and information that had relevance to Alphaville. It particularly highlighted how this movie was one of the first of it's kind and was quite the evocative piece, breaking free from all stereotypes of the era and presenting new ideas about technology. It also discusses the release of French New Wave Cinema and the new filming techniques that came with it. Alphaville made quite the impact on audiences and the film industry alike and it's interesting to see modern day cinema try to emanate that.
Tutorial
The main task is to write about my use of New Communication Technologies in communicating with friends and family. I use my mobile phone everyday to text and call my friends - it's been like an extension of my arm since I was 12. I use the computer everyday and am obsessed with Facebook. As much as it's a somewhat unhealthy obsession to be on the computer everyday, I couldn't possibly talk to my friends in Canada and in the UK as much as I do without it. Privacy is an issue, and I make sure that my profile is private and I only ever add people I know. I never put my personal details anywhere on the Internet and use it purely for social means. Without these technologies, my life would be very different and to be honest, I like having all these things available to me.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Topic 2 - Is email dead?
Lecture
This week's lecture was called Is Email Dead? We discussed certain disadvantages regarding email- like spam (junk email.) Most of the class had received some sort of email about penis enlargements, competition entries to win the new Apple iphone and the ever-popular Nigerian money scam where con artists take you for all you've got. We then looked at the results of the survey we took in class and discovered that 65.5% off people said email has it's place and that 0% of people never used email. We decided that email was indeed not dead and despite all the junk sent to us, email definitely has a huge impact on our lives. We also watched an excerpt from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show that discussed Internet bloggers and whether or not they were real journalists. While funny, it made a good point which also tied in with our readings for the week.
Readings
When people blog they can say whatever they like and can have an opinion on anything. They are there to inform the masses of people on the Internet yet they are not necessarily bound by the ethical journalistic laws that the people in the "real" media are. The readings questioned whether or not bloggers should be recognised for their work. In my opinion, I prefer it when people just say what they want, when they want, rather than have something manipulated by editors and government officials. You get the real news from the people on the street, experiencing the things they write about, rather than have someone on the sideline trying to give an objective viewpoint to please the powers that be. As long as no one is inciting hate or falsely accusing people, I say go for it.
Tutorial
After discussing all this, it seems only right that we would set up a blog of our own. We logged on to blogger.com and set up accounts. Each week I'll post a summary of my lectures and tutorials, for assessments purposes (I obviously don't want to fail!) but also it's just a really good way of organising your work (as well as feelings, ideas and opinions). It's quick, easy and painless and while the content of my blog may not be as riveting as those writing about politics or celebrity gossip, it serves it's purpose. I'm informing the masses of people on the Internet all about New Communication Technologies. :)
This week's lecture was called Is Email Dead? We discussed certain disadvantages regarding email- like spam (junk email.) Most of the class had received some sort of email about penis enlargements, competition entries to win the new Apple iphone and the ever-popular Nigerian money scam where con artists take you for all you've got. We then looked at the results of the survey we took in class and discovered that 65.5% off people said email has it's place and that 0% of people never used email. We decided that email was indeed not dead and despite all the junk sent to us, email definitely has a huge impact on our lives. We also watched an excerpt from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show that discussed Internet bloggers and whether or not they were real journalists. While funny, it made a good point which also tied in with our readings for the week.
Readings
When people blog they can say whatever they like and can have an opinion on anything. They are there to inform the masses of people on the Internet yet they are not necessarily bound by the ethical journalistic laws that the people in the "real" media are. The readings questioned whether or not bloggers should be recognised for their work. In my opinion, I prefer it when people just say what they want, when they want, rather than have something manipulated by editors and government officials. You get the real news from the people on the street, experiencing the things they write about, rather than have someone on the sideline trying to give an objective viewpoint to please the powers that be. As long as no one is inciting hate or falsely accusing people, I say go for it.
Tutorial
After discussing all this, it seems only right that we would set up a blog of our own. We logged on to blogger.com and set up accounts. Each week I'll post a summary of my lectures and tutorials, for assessments purposes (I obviously don't want to fail!) but also it's just a really good way of organising your work (as well as feelings, ideas and opinions). It's quick, easy and painless and while the content of my blog may not be as riveting as those writing about politics or celebrity gossip, it serves it's purpose. I'm informing the masses of people on the Internet all about New Communication Technologies. :)
Topic 1 - Second Life
In the first lecture the concept virtual games was discussed. Something called Second Life, which is a virtual reality game, is seemingly in the process of taking over the world! It basically involves people logging onto a site and creating avatars and the best thing is, you can choose everything about your virtual personality. Choose your own traits, hair colour and for the very particular, you can even choose your own genitalia. People are using this game to live a pretend life through a computer screen. You can buy and trade land, build houses and go to events thrown by other residents. Scarily, this is something that users are doing every single day instead of experiencing actual reality. It is just another reminder of how much technology is taking over in the 21st century.
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