Friday, August 28, 2009
Second Life
I find it interesting how they talk about second life. I think there are people out there who take this stuff too seriously and just exist through these programs. they say if you don't like something about yourself, just change it. in the real world thats not how you solve problems. its giving people bad habits that our world should be like second life because second life is apparently utopia. people in this world never have a bad day and everything goes perfectly and people start to wish they actually live in this world. but experiencing different emotions is how you become a well adjusted human being. The other thing this documentry shows is that these women are on second life and designing clothes however they don't limit it just to this program. as part of second life the money made in the program can be converted into american dollars and this is what they live off. they don't have a job! im not entirely sure how to comprehend that. Mainly, where does this money come from?? i guess i'll have to test out this program to find my answer..
Tutorial 5 3D Worlds
Besides the obvious differences (such as ActiveWorlds is 3D and MSN isn"t, etc) what are the qualitative differences between the regular IM program and a 3D environment?
What is different about the kinds of socialising that happens in these spaces? Does the 3D aspect make much difference?
I haven't really tried a 3D world before as far as i can tell its a lot like sims but your interacting with another actual person not just the program. I havent used second life before but all that i have heard about it has been all bad. You always hear about these people who fall for the stories people make up on the internet
to suck them in, I think these 3D worlds allow those people to take it that step further because you creating a being that has a personality ambitions and you can basically live through this being if you have nothing better to do with your time but i think the problem even with the regular chat rooms shows evidence that people who have nothing to do all day can be extremely distuctive people if they can find others to fall for their crap. but for the casual people who visit i'm sure its a good time waster and there would always be plenty to check out. In answering the question i think the biggest difference between the chat rooms and 3D worlds is just that you can expand the limitations on the being that you make in 3D world in a more creative way and you can go deeper and make the character very much like someone who would be in the real world in a visual way that you can control.
to suck them in, I think these 3D worlds allow those people to take it that step further because you creating a being that has a personality ambitions and you can basically live through this being if you have nothing better to do with your time but i think the problem even with the regular chat rooms shows evidence that people who have nothing to do all day can be extremely distuctive people if they can find others to fall for their crap. but for the casual people who visit i'm sure its a good time waster and there would always be plenty to check out. In answering the question i think the biggest difference between the chat rooms and 3D worlds is just that you can expand the limitations on the being that you make in 3D world in a more creative way and you can go deeper and make the character very much like someone who would be in the real world in a visual way that you can control.Week 5 Lecture
Was on New Media, Internet studies and social media.
The Lecture starts with Technology and Media and how they link. Technology is the foundation and is the scientific study and how that can be applied to the world. Media is how the Technology is presented in a social or cultural setting for the purpose of co
mmunication.
mmunication.Internet Studies goes into virtual community and Individual Identity and Indentity Play in relation to online chat society. It seems like in these social situations on the internet people are complusive liars and no one is who they say they are.
Web 2.0 is the new era in web history. the emphasis is placed on the users experience.
We were asked to think about our social netweorks and who owns our pictures and thoughts and what we would think if it was taken.
Obviously we legally don't own the stuff we put on websites owned by other people. Thats why theres a terms of agreement or whatever it is when you sign up to any of those social network sites. I guess I would have a few issues with people taking and using my ideas and photos etc. but thats the chance you take with the internet. They do give warning.
Week 4 Tutorial Task
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
By location and frequency. And I think also how many words match in the search.
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?
What are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
I generally only use google. I dont have many problems with it and i assume if I cant find it on google I probably cant find it on other search engines. From experience, other search engines seem to be more sensetive to wrong spelling and dont seem to locate relevant sites as easily.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Scavenger Hunt
1. What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park?
A gas mask. I found this on www.bing.com after looking for what seemed like a century for an answer that wasn’t on a blog from this course
2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
20 October 1969? Between UCLA and a computer at Stanford.
(Found at www.search.com)
3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
28 october 1955 and aged fifteen when he sold his first software in 1970
(Found with www.yahoo.com)
4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), in Switzerland.
(Found with www.hotbot.com)
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?
6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
8lbs
(Found on www.yahoo.com)
7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
1840
(www.yahoo.com)
Tweed head is in NSW
(I know where tweed is located)
8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
Severe cyclone
(www.ask.com)
9. Why is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
The Black Assassins. His name is Stephen Stockwell
(www.yahoo.com)
A gas mask. I found this on www.bing.com after looking for what seemed like a century for an answer that wasn’t on a blog from this course
2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
20 October 1969? Between UCLA and a computer at Stanford.
(Found at www.search.com)
3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
28 october 1955 and aged fifteen when he sold his first software in 1970
(Found with www.yahoo.com)
4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), in Switzerland.
(Found with www.hotbot.com)
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?
6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
8lbs
(Found on www.yahoo.com)
7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
1840
(www.yahoo.com)
Tweed head is in NSW
(I know where tweed is located)
8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
Severe cyclone
(www.ask.com)
9. Why is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
The Black Assassins. His name is Stephen Stockwell
(www.yahoo.com)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Week 3 Part 2
Part two of Week three is to talk about how I communicate with my friends and family socially with new communication technology. There are two main technologies i use to communicate.
Mobile
I probably use my mobile the most out of any new technologies for communication but even so I don’t rely on it and my family and friends get frustrated trying to contact me because I’m never around when it rings. I bought my first mobile phone at the end of grade 10 (2004) which was quite late compared to the people around me. At the end of grade 9, I had moved to Brisbane from Atherton, a small country town where no one but business owners had mobiles and no one was interested in them anyway. On further reflection, maybe it was growing up in Atherton that influenced my disinterest in technology. In the end it was my change in environment that influenced me to buy a mobile because I was in a place where socialising or at least organisation of socialising was not done over a landline phone.
Computer/ Internet
I don’t use the computer anywhere near as much as other people in my generation. But like most others I have been using a computer since the 90s and started out playing kids games on a black screen with green lettering and display.
In a way, I’ve kept up with the change of the internet and social networks. From the when msn started out and you could see what people were saying as they were writing it to the modern day msn that keeps updating every few months, to the live spaces accessed through msn to MySpace, facebook and twitter. I’ve never been truly excited about any of these trends but have tested them anyway and quickly deserted them.
I think the biggest turn off for me with new technology is that privacy is almost nonexistent. I love convenience and easier ways to do communicate, but I’m a private person as well and the fact that on facebook you can’t do a single thing without every single person on your friends list being able to see it on the news feed.
I don’t like that many people value communicating with a machine as the middle man over speaking to them in person. It may be easier but I think in a certain way we are turning into an anti-social world. And a computer may be able to let off heat and keep you warm at night but it could also set fire to the bed.
Mobile
I probably use my mobile the most out of any new technologies for communication but even so I don’t rely on it and my family and friends get frustrated trying to contact me because I’m never around when it rings. I bought my first mobile phone at the end of grade 10 (2004) which was quite late compared to the people around me. At the end of grade 9, I had moved to Brisbane from Atherton, a small country town where no one but business owners had mobiles and no one was interested in them anyway. On further reflection, maybe it was growing up in Atherton that influenced my disinterest in technology. In the end it was my change in environment that influenced me to buy a mobile because I was in a place where socialising or at least organisation of socialising was not done over a landline phone.
Computer/ Internet
I don’t use the computer anywhere near as much as other people in my generation. But like most others I have been using a computer since the 90s and started out playing kids games on a black screen with green lettering and display.
In a way, I’ve kept up with the change of the internet and social networks. From the when msn started out and you could see what people were saying as they were writing it to the modern day msn that keeps updating every few months, to the live spaces accessed through msn to MySpace, facebook and twitter. I’ve never been truly excited about any of these trends but have tested them anyway and quickly deserted them.
I think the biggest turn off for me with new technology is that privacy is almost nonexistent. I love convenience and easier ways to do communicate, but I’m a private person as well and the fact that on facebook you can’t do a single thing without every single person on your friends list being able to see it on the news feed.
I don’t like that many people value communicating with a machine as the middle man over speaking to them in person. It may be easier but I think in a certain way we are turning into an anti-social world. And a computer may be able to let off heat and keep you warm at night but it could also set fire to the bed.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Week 3 Task Part 1
Part of Week threes task is to find a video clip with something to do with new communication technology. I chose this Iphone ad because it is the epitome of the mobile world. As I said in my summary of Lecture 2, I prefer Apple products to its competitors. The future of mobile phones has so many uses that if not made correctly they become faulty extremely fast. I do think Apple puts the research into products that is needed. It is just the next step in evolution of the mobile phone. One day we will be able to watch cable tv on our phones instead of doodling during lectures.
Rule of Thirds
The Cina-speak lecture notes intrigued me. I’m very into photography and Visual Arts and those rules in the lecture notes can be applied to art and photography. In previous courses of art and my personal hobby of photography I have always known about the rule of thirds but not exactly followed it which could explain a few things about some of my art but i think i still to the rule of thirds pretty well with my photos.
The process involved in the rule of thirds is to break the image down into thirds both horizontally and vertically so there are nine parts. The point of this is that the frame then four intersections through it. The rule of third theory is that if the focal points fall over these intersections or along the lines it will make the frame more balanced.
Lecture 3, Cine-Speak
I didn’t attend the week 3 lecture as it was the Ekka holiday but I checked out the power point for this week’s lecture. It’s about the language of the cinema and talks about the type of shots that make up different frames in scenes e.g. Long shot, Mid shot, Close up shot, etc.
It’s broken down into who, what, where, how, why and when, and what types of shots are associated with each.
“Who” is related to the close up shot, I’m guessing because with a close up shot, the character is all you can see so it’s up to the “who” to tell the story in that type of shot.
“What” is mid shot because it’s far back enough to see some kind of action related to the character so the action/what is telling the story.
“Where” is a long shot because it shows so much in the frame, not just the character and their actions but where they are can explain a lot. It’s usually at the start of a scene to establish where the story is and where it’s going.
“When” – Time is hard to capture but depending on the scene, a wide shot may help more to catch it or a close up can explain it better.
The big close up can help answer “why” it can help reveal more about a character and their actions.
“How” – Single medium close up or several close ups can explain how an event came to be.
Head and Talking Room – The subject must balance in the frame. A goo
d amount of space on both sides, and appropriate to what direction the subject is facing.
Rule of Thirds – Is a process of dividing the frame and the focal points following the lines to make it more balanced.
The 180 Rule – is a technique with the camera coming over the persons shoulder depending on who is talking it will focus on them from the point of view of the listener.
It’s broken down into who, what, where, how, why and when, and what types of shots are associated with each.
“Who” is related to the close up shot, I’m guessing because with a close up shot, the character is all you can see so it’s up to the “who” to tell the story in that type of shot.
“What” is mid shot because it’s far back enough to see some kind of action related to the character so the action/what is telling the story.
“Where” is a long shot because it shows so much in the frame, not just the character and their actions but where they are can explain a lot. It’s usually at the start of a scene to establish where the story is and where it’s going.
“When” – Time is hard to capture but depending on the scene, a wide shot may help more to catch it or a close up can explain it better.
The big close up can help answer “why” it can help reveal more about a character and their actions.
“How” – Single medium close up or several close ups can explain how an event came to be.
Head and Talking Room – The subject must balance in the frame. A goo
d amount of space on both sides, and appropriate to what direction the subject is facing.Rule of Thirds – Is a process of dividing the frame and the focal points following the lines to make it more balanced.
The 180 Rule – is a technique with the camera coming over the persons shoulder depending on who is talking it will focus on them from the point of view of the listener.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Lecture 2
A Short History of Computing and the Internet
Lecture 2 was about computer history and the evolution of computers and the internet. the foundation of computing history started with adding devices which were defined as the first digital computers, even though it was more mechanical then electronic. These machines sound basically like the average calculator as their functions were to calculate and print math equations. Charles Babbage was a major figure in this creation and therefore holds an important place in computing history, but his achievements were not fully completed during his life.
In the 1950s, computer were produced commercially by IBM and only available to the govt and corporate business' at a high price and oversized. Over the years, computers became smaller, cheaper and quicker at a phenominal rate.
Apple
The creation of Apple as I understand was a team effort by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. They produced a machine with only a single circuit board and no keyboard and no case and sold 50.
From the late 70s, theydesigned machines that looked like consumer product. The next few years that followed, the popularity of Apple grew to a point where neither had to work again. Personally i prefer Apple computers and other apple products. I think Apple is a thing of the future and doesnt seem to get outdated at the same rate as their competitors
Introductory post
hello all, my name is Vanessa. I'm doing this blog as part of a University course called 'New Communication Technologies. I have never done a blog before and to be completely honest, I don't relish the thought. But I'm capable of trying new things which is good since i don't have a choice in the matter. I do love to write but not so much a fan of everyone in the world being able to access my thoughts. so this is task number 1, introduce yourself. now i just have to figure out how to do the rest of the tasks. so goodnight all.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
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