The blog is dead! Long live the blog!

Sadly, the time has come to draw a close on this particular blog. Good luck with your all your exams, folks - and enjoy the warmer months to follow. Kevin and I have really enjoyed hanging out on this blog and have learned a lot from so many of you. Hopefully you feel you've learned a lot from your peers on this blog as well - and hopefully the course itself has been interesting and thought-provoking. Either way, do please let us know by taking the online CECIL course and tutoring evaluations. Whilst many of you will now have blog burnout (temporarily, at least) some of you may begin to get withdrawal symptoms and start your own blogs. If so (and the theme is suitable for our eyes!) do please bung us a URL as we'd be interested to look at what you're doing.

For now, at least, all the best,
Luke and Kevin.

Have A Good Life

Last post for the year from me. I found a cool site my younger brother pointed me to, http://www.maidmarian.com/, it's the perfect site for anyone wanting to experience a MUD. It has heaps of cool little chat enviroments and a quest based game called Sherwood Dungeon. Check out Moon Base, its fun :)

Byeeeeee
Karl

Le Future

So, years from now, will our childrens children use BrainWiki to scan the history of the year 2006, and laugh at our feeble technology? Will our children say "Daddy, can you tell us about when music came on CDs, and the internet was only on computers?" "Why yes little Timmy, we had to log on at 56K a second! Why, back then, that was good enough for a few WoW patch updates, with enough leftover to have a blurry webchat with my friends." Will music downloading become a thing of the past, not because people have seen the error of their ways, but because all music will be created by one big computer and streamed out through the internet at great speeds? Will virtual reality iron out all of the sci-fi/horror wrinkles to let us interact with each other? Will iPods store four thousand GBs and remain the size of a frozen pea? Will we all have our own TV station online, where our thoughts and visions are broadcast over the net? Will cellphones be able to look after our children?

I don't know what creepy things the future has in store for us. But one element will surely thrive in such an environment. Pornography. I guess that's all we have to cling to as the world changes around us.

PS I don't know if we can keep posting, or when the Blog ceases to exist, but I just got back from Hawkes Bay and let me tell you, I certainly look back at Dial Up and laugh.

Best of luck with the exam everybody!

Best of luck with the exam everybody!


Here are some web addys with tips for exam taking! They might help somebody?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/education/index.shtml?exams

http://www.allenandunwin.com/estudy/examtips.asp

http://owll.massey.ac.nz/te_examquestions.htm

Some suggestions from OWL.COM...

Strategies for Answering Questions:

· Keep your answers to 2 or 3 sentences, including key words or phrases.

· Organise your ideas logically.

· Think of what points, key words, ideas or phrases the examiner may be looking for.

· Answer the questions given. Do not just write about the topic.

· Leave 1 or 2 lines after each answer in case you remember something important later on.

Have a good exam…!

bests,
Andrea

Computer mediated communication and gender studies.

-the ambivalent characteristics of cyber space

The internet was expanded geograpically in the 1980s, but men have stood to benefit from internet. The percentage of the female users increased along with this expansion, nevertheless, access remained a stumbling block for gender equality. Women and men still do not have equal access to the creation and control of what take place on the internet. Computer-mediated-Communication (CMS) techologies embody attributed which have important ramification for gender studies. Technologies which rely on textual information can diminish biases resulting from physical cues . CMC　also democraticized communication and mitigate gender difference. At the same time, gender display pursuits in anonymous CMS situation shich allegedly renders gender invisible . However, is CMC new possible place which gender equality can be represented? CMC still evoke stereotypical responses when cues are limited to such information as feminines as well.


In my opinion, the argument that internet is a equal place and all users can be same is just a mere ideal logic. To become an equal space, the process of communication must be equalized , We need to consider these questions ; does the difference between gender exist in terms of their forms of using internet ? Is the stereotype in physical space also represented on the internet space as well? Can women freely express their opinion and expose themselves in the internet? How women use internet?


Internet space is considered to be a 'perceptual realism' world. It is an utopian place which blurs the gender, age and race. All groups are homogenous and they can participate in communication process without barrier. However, the representation of the social realism world which have been acquired sill exist on the CMS text . Men are represented as 'technophiles' and women are regarded as technophobia ( Mckenna, 1997) The number of the female users is still increasing, however, female communities are still existing as minority.


Can internet space exist as the emancipation space social context cues are neutralized? I am still skeptical. Of course, in virtual space, the cues for judging people'e gender become ambiguous , however, sexual identity cannot be hidden in CMS text as well. The sexual discriminative ideology still works in CMS text. Thus, inequal communication is performed in the discriminative paradigm. Internet is ultimately related to the real world and another transformation of the social relation of the social world. Social relation and hierarchies are reconstructed in Internet space . Rather than embodying the perceptual characteristics of the virtual space, it blurs the boundary between the virtual space and real world.

For example, in the online game MUD, female characters the objects that need to be treated by chivalry. They are depicted as dependent character and sometimes sexually harassed as well. If the characters in online games are turned out to be female character, it is probable that they are vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence. Female characters in online games are subordinate of sexually harassed object. It flames the male style and reflects the stereotype in real world.


Of course, Cyberspace can be the medium of gender equality, though. Women can create their own cyber community which make them bond together. They can set their own agenda which can solve the problems of the social world. However, if the community can be isolated if is exclusive , degraded into their own 'ghetto'.


Cyberspace is such an ambivalent world. Free speech, anonymity and neutrialization of social context cues can get rid of the discriminative factors in social real world, however, they reproduce and justify the dominant ideology as well. Women are still remained as minority in online space. Cyborg is an ideal term for the liberation of gender. Cyborg orients its characteristics toward the imagination. Cyborg is the obect free form biological, social and cultural factors. If we pursuit cyborg factors in CMS text, then, we can expect the path to the gender emancipation. Still, long way to go...

Back to the Beginning

My very first blog post was about the distress I experienced upon buying my first cell phone. Did I throw part of my ‘true’ self out the window on that day? Did I sell out to a techno-obsessed culture; was I just not strong enough? Or was my anguish just ridiculous, alarmist, and arrogant? Should the fact that I incorporated a teeny tiny digital device into my daily life mean anything to me or anyone else? What’s the big deal? Who even cares?

After a few months of reflecting on the role that digital technology and new media play in social life and individual lived experience, I have to admit that I do care. Maybe my nostalgia for the pre-digi-tech days is misguided and my vision of participation in some misty-eyed resistance movement- (“I was part of the hold-out vanguard!”)- is far too holier-than-thou to be relevant, but I am still hesitant to wholeheartedly accept new technology into my life.

Sure, my cell phone has served as an invaluable tool in finding a place to live, in keeping in touch with friends and family, and in helping an old woman on the day that she slammed her Camry into a Hummer and rolled over on the motorway just in front of our car. Yes, I have benefited in many ways from the convenience afforded me by having a cell phone and yes, I have enjoyed accessorizing my mobile (cute charm!) and accessorizing myself with my mobile (its bottom-of-the-lineness was cool to me), but no, it is not all good. I do not want to become a person-phone hybrid. I do plan to abandon my phone upon returning to Canada in December, but I also want to challenge techno-culture’s influence in my life by remaining critical of the role the device (cell phone, mp3 player, laptop, lipstick, or otherwise) plays in how I constitute myself as an individual and as a member of society.

Game, Ludic factor or narrative?

The established computer game studies have dealt game as a narrative of as a system of rules. According to these studies, the pleasure from computer games comes from the practice following the narrative which is made by game developers or the infinite possibility of game practices by gamer. However, in my opinion, I want to focus on the points that these points are neglecting in terms of the gamer.


The theoretical effort to analyze the game comes from the debate ; is game another structure of Narrative or Ludic factor? These two perspective are the main points of viewing and analyzing games.

Ludologists, who focus on the simulation factor of computer game . argue that simulation in games turns actions into the simple rules , which provide pleasure. Audience feel pleasure by representing their simulated ruled in virtual space. The pleasant factor is the 'system of rules' which make it possible to feel satistied and excited. The pleasure of game can be obtained by the infinite repetition of game performance based on the game system.

Narrotologist, however, insist that the source of the pleasure in game is due to the aesthetic the story which game provide. All games have their own story and the narrative of the game itself gives the audience to feel pleasure. This aesthetic experience is the main factor of the pleasure. By solving problem by believable agent , they feel like they are part of one story. Thus, the narrative of the game is very important in the pleasure of the game


Can these two perspectives of the game explain the pleasant factors and dynamics of the game? I want to focus on the 'gamers' who play the game .


These two perspective; game as a ludic factor and game as a narrative, do not reflect the practices of the gamer. In fact, gamer cannot feel the enriched aesthetic experience provided by the game producer because of the constraint of the games. They are just trying to find the most effective strategy . Rather than learning the simplified and simulated rules , they are searching for the ways which are known as the most effective way . They repeat the effective strategies and perform . It is not embodied with the narrate, they are reproducing same theme based on repeated play.

Contrary to Narratologist's view, the performance based on certain rules are just representation of the predictable story, which are well prepared. Narrraologist ignore that gamers can convey another meaning regardless of the narrative .
Ludiologist just focus on the possibilities of the infinite performance and replayablilty. They neglect the productiveness of the play . Certain discourses are reproduced by the similar patterns of the play.


We need to consider the action of the gamer . The binary approach to game neglect the dynamic factor of the game. Computer games can be explained beyond the pleasures by ludic factors and narrative. Those are reproducing the similar form of the discourse and ideology of the game. We need more diverse views of seeing game .
How can the gamer's behaviors be explained? It remains me as a question.

copyright restirictions

Universal has filed a law suite against two of the main video sharing websites "Grouper " and "Bolt". These are sites are rival to that of Youtube which has recently been bought like myspace by google.com. If universal are sucessful Youtube will be the main video sharing web site. Bootleged copies of artists videos have been circulating the pages. This raises the question once again who is responsible for the copyright infingement. The company itself is getting sued yet videos obviously are uploaded by a person. In Groupers Privacy Policy you give permission for your personal details to be used if "(3) if we believe it is necessary in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, fraud, or situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person;"(http://www.grouper.com/support/privacy.asp) Keep your eyes open for what you sign up for and how you use sites. You could not only loose your membership but could gain a criminal record also. Without clear internet use and copyright laws, its tough to tell what is copyright and what is not.

taking on bits of martin lister's digi-cinema

In the course reader article for week four, Martin Lister talks about the 'virtualisation' of the modern world. In his introduction he states that "There is great excitement about the future possibilities of immersive or interactive entertainment, but also the fear that digital technologies are leading film into a descending spiral of spectacular superficiality."
I think that there are a number of films in which special effects or CGI's are made because they have an availability to and not to enhance the creativity or narrative of the film. For example eight legged freaks, kung pow enter the fist and date movie. whteher its just because i don't like those films that i find the spectacle superficial or whether they'reintentionally superficial, the special effects and the movies are depthless.
However there are so many more films in which the simulation and hyperreal improve narrative and genre, more commonly in sci-fi and fantasy. With favorites such as Lord of the Rings and Terminator in which the special effects and image manipulation are not vulgar or explicit.
I think that people sometimes need to escape the real world and do so via all technologies where digitally enhanced films or programming or even games invite them to do so and enter worlds of the fantastic. Therefore i don't think that the spectacular realism of CGI are necessarily meaningless or depthless nor do i think the audiences are merely duped. seduced and exhilarated maybe, but hasn't all creation of new media produced that?

Blogging experience

I have never blogged until this course. I thought about blogs as a diary that you write and share with people on the internet. However, after I participated blogging during this course, I realised that blog is a very controlled environment. People choose to write about what they want people to know about them. Therefore blogging is not as personal as sharing your diary with other people. Adrian Miles suggests that we should think about blogs as documentaries. I think he is right. Blogs are like documentaries that reflect the outside world. For example, this FTVMS 203 blog has allowed me to see how people in my own age are engaged with technology. It has opened my eyes. This blog is like a documentary that shows how young people are living the digital age.

Miles also suggests that blog has an unmediated quality. I partly agree with him on this. Blog gives ordinary people the opportunity to share their lives with others. However, this unmediated quality is not always so pure. It is a controlled environment. People naturally choose materials that they want to publish on their blogs. The unmediated quality of blogs is also challenged by people’s high expectation of authenticity. People have the freedom to choose how they want to presented in blogs. Therefore, although blog reflects the outside world, it doesn’t necessarily represent the reality.

The FTVMS 203 blog is not a personal blog. Its authenticity is not challenged because everybody is sharing ideas about techno-culture rather than their personal lives. I have learnt so much about techno-culture and new media from blogging. It has made me want to continue blogging and maybe start one of my own. I think it is a great idea that we are learning about technologies by using technology.

The day of Mr. Holic

-This is the imaginary scenario of the guy who are addicted to internet.

Mr. Holic, 30 years old, is just an ordinary employee. He wakes up in the morning. But still image of pornography moving clip is haunting him.

He wants to sleep more because of the fatigue . After waking up, he accesses to the internet again. He scan through the news , weather, accident .stock market . He used to check those kinds of news through morning news before, however, it has been quite a long time since he turned on the TV. Now, the computer is his good fried, sometimes substitutes his lover!!
　
In a bus on the way to the company, he access to the internet through his mobile phone. He chats with his friend through the messanger installed in his mobile phone. Time passes so fast while he is chatting . He often misses the bus stop which he should get off.

During office,hours he furtively logs on the messanger and chats with his friend as well. He pretends to do the work through the internet, but most of his work is logging on to messanger , checking his blog. He gets a little bit depressed after discovering a just few comments on his blog.

After work, he accesses to the gambling site. He cannot understand the people who go to the casino these days. Just downloading the program and recharging the game money are all of the process. He thinks it is more convenient "to just play poker.
Today, he loses a lot of money in gambling, so he accesses to the game. The new game, MMORPG (Massive multi player Online Role Player Game ) is his favorite one these days. He feels excited at item hunting and character level-up. He is satisfied his ability in online game these days.

Now it is over mid night. He logs on to internet site only for adults, This time is the peak of time flowing erotic images and moving clips. While downloading the pornography clip, he logs on to the chatting site and chats with the women . They are usually having erotic conversation He keeps giggling, seeing the monitor. Now, downloading is finished . He lies on bed and sees the pornography moving clip. Today he is more aroused at the moving clips.　He fells asleep imagining the online games and moving clips. What exciting site is waiting for me tomorrow?


-The routine of Mr. Hollic is not a special life thesedays. What do you think?
Is he fetished to the internet techonology? Does technology determine our everyday lives? Is it another part of culture as well?

invasion of privacy or just downright cool?

I have been thinking over the last week of all the advancements in technology, and how the have infiltrated almost all aspects of society. First came there was the invention of the car, and 50 years later came the computer, who would have thought the two would have been combined. Now on almost every new car you buy there is at least one computer on it. GPS has been an advancement in technology that is changing the world we live in. With GPS you can know your position on the earth within centimeters. It helps give you driving directions, it guides the flights you are on, it helps sailors not get lost at sea. But who else knows your location, with the internet sending data to everywhere in the world it is inevitable that the two be combined. Cell phones which almost everyone has now are coming standard with GPS recievers and transmitters that are smaller than the discontinued 5 cent coins. In Japan there is a new interconnectedness between GPS cell phones and the world they live in. If you make yourself available on your cell phone as you are walking through town your phone keeps track of your position and sends it through the internet. As you pass your local pizza shop you might get a text message saying, show this text message in the next 5 minutes for half off anything on the menu. Sure if you like pizza, this is very cool, but it has an Orwelian ring about it.
The possibilities, it seems, are limitless. With everyone having these phones you can make yourself in a friend web much like you would see on Facebook or Myspace. You would know when friends are nearby, in fact you could know their position within centimeters. It takes the fun out of hide and seek, and takes away your privacy, but do the benefits outweigh the loss of privacy? People said the same thing about cell phones, they didnt want people to be able to contact them whenever they wanted, and now there is no sacred places in the world. I have heard cell phones ring in classes, churches, cemetaries, the wilderness, and pretty much every inappropriate place on earth. I believe it is inevitable that this technology will take over our lives, and who knows how far reaching it will be.

Next time a teenager sneaks out their window from their parents, their parents may know exactly where they are. Next time a secret love affair gets made public due to technology and forces the romance to go away. Next time you cannot be alone, think of how things were 10 years ago, 20 years ago even, and think if you want things back the way they were. Personally I like the way the world is going, but I think an ever watchful eye is needed to keep the technology from becoming our life.

Kakete

Talofa Lava

Wow I am so not over how fast this semester has gone! You that saying "time fly’s when you're having fun" is almost entirely correct, apart from the fact that exams aren’t exactly 'fun'. I’ve really enjoyed this paper, you see, at first I was a bit skeptic about taking it because I had never really been that interested in technology and new media. Luke’s' last lectures on Cyborgs, for me, was the most mind opening. It made me ponder the many ways in which we as humans are also machines in a way. Myself, as well as many people, forget just how much we rely on our computers, internet, cell phones ipods and the media in general. It seems as though we need these forms of media to communicate, socialize and satisfy our psychological needs. By psychological needs, I mean for example that time in your life when you are just feeling so incredibly depressed, that you turn on your ipod for that one song that lifts your spirit and helps you conquer through the day.

I really do wonder what technology and new media have in store for us, will there really be a day when we actually become like Arnie in Terminator? Will humans literally become robotic and will our physicallity actually become fake and eternal? Ahh it scares me to think about all the possibilities that the future has to offer or to some extent, take away. Are we really becoming less human or are we just giving in to a society where technological advancements produce new ways of understanding the world. With this in mind, it also seems that new forms of society are then being produced; techno-capitalist society maybe?

Anyway, it has been such an awesome semester. You guys take care over the summer holidays and enjoy the sun while you can, oh wait, that’s if it stops raining.

Peace
Rachael

From all the insights and thoughts that this course has generated, the biggest one that I've picked up on is the 'double edged blade-ness' of digital technology. Luke's first lecture discussed the power of technology, and how different sects/different people respond to it. With the conclusion of this course, it is hard to narrow in and identify as being either this or that; Amish or Transhumanist; Luddite or Futurist. Like all things, techno-culture has many positive aspects, but it has its limitations too.

Key ideas of democracy and equality are heavily contested in regards to blogs, gatekeepers, music and even user identity. The persona that the net is given of being open and free-for-all is usually taken for granted by a lot of people (I know as I was one of them), but this is a key limitation to the internet. DVD's may seem like a boundless disc of movement and interaction, and actually do evoke participation between fans and special features, but again we can find this is restricted, and know that it is restricted because of production costs and profits. Mobile phones and Mp3 players do link various people together, but they can also produce an unsociable behavior for those who use them. Public and private spheres are becoming more blurred and the 'individual man of print' is becoming more 'tribal and common'.

Having said all this though, the value of all these pieces of technology is too numerous to mention. The information learnt and the people I have met on the internet; the long nights I have spent watching out-takes and deleted scenes on DVD's; and the fact that I have owned more than one mobile phone and reguarly use my MP3 player on the bus to and from school, all point to the hypocrisy of this post. However, the point of this post wasn't to run techno-culture down, it was to explain the 'two sided-ness' of technology that I have learnt from this paper. I can't really see myself as living in an Amish community, or going back to the industrial revolution and smashing up machines with the original Luddites, but I can see why they would want to resist technology. The power that it holds has transformed humans, society and the world since its creation, and will continue to do so well into the future.

I Heart Cyborgs

Finally its over. Its 10:30 am on Friday and this blog stuff is due in a bit. But, I still have one last thing to discuss. Wednesday, Kevin divulged his dreams of becoming a cyborg to the class and someone started talking about cyborg wombs and cyborgs are just so frieken cool i can't get over it. When will they be here? I have so many questions to ask.
But the thought of a cyborg womb stays with me. It is similar to the concept of Gattaca, a movie about the future and technology turning it into a dystopia because of the accuracy of predicting health deficiency in people and their potential measured at birth. A person's future being decided for them at birth....woah. In a cyborg womb, we could eliminate health problems and create the ideal future for any person (cyborg...i guess). But I think it would be unfair to limit a person because of the quality of life they will be "capable" of but haven't actually lived. It would be like getting graded for an assignment that you haven't started yet, or paying for admission to a place that doesn't yet exist.
Cyborgs are just really awesome, that's what im getting at. The potential for them is unlimited, and i can't wait till they show up, or evolve, or emerge, or whatever sweet entrance into existence they will have. But don't ever let them try to limit your potential...thats what they want you to do.
Thats it guys, last blog, last words. See you on the other side.

Peripheral Digs

I was thinking about a recent episode of ‘The Simpsons’ (last year I think, which according to the seasons is way behind schedule in America) in which Snake* has a combination pistol and mobile phone (in the future). My initial thought was that it was similar to the television gun from a prior glimpse to the future and in related series Futurama, but then I became a little curious as to why many of the objects we keep today have been combining elements from other gadgets. It is becoming common to find cameras on phones, solitaire on MP3 players, and USB drives on pocket knives (which is more of an old-fashioned ‘Get Smart’ idea that people used to think about when combining shoes with phones).

I remember when PDAs were all the rage (Personal Digital Assistant, not Public Displays of Affection which apparently still are). Now most phones have all the functionality of that plus more. Most people will still have a normal camera on hand, but are more likely to show off their phone’s camera to impress people. I realised that while it is cool to have the singular base type items like an Ipod and professional camera, the way to attract real attention is to bundle as many purposes into the one piece of technology as possible, normally sacrificing quality for quantity and aesthetics. It is the pocket knife effect in play: if you can throw out as many tools and implements you can on your knife or multi-tool, you can get all the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ you want. There was never a better time to say “But wait! There’s more!”

*Snake being Springfield’s resident violent criminal and jailbird.

My final post

Here's my last post people. It's intentionally metaphorical to disguise rather serious concerns that I have with well, I'd rather not say more. I'm fully aware that being such a bad egg myself I'm in no position to express such concerns but then again I should at least have the right to propose my thoughts as a separate entity detached from my own personal self, right? For all its worth it could prove useless but who knows if there's a slight chance that it could benefit others or even promote change. Well, here goes:

I recently found out that my 450w PSU just doesn't quite cut it for my system. So I bought one that's 600w to replace the other one and now it seems that my system is running as it should or does it really? Without doing much research and out of laziness I just opted for the cheapest one and now I begin to think that it's probably a bad idea to do so. I can't go back to the store to replace this one because I have no money or the time to do so. Besides I wouldn't think the store would let me as it’s "against their policy". I envy those people who have better, more expansive branded 600 watt power supplies. The reviews I've read show that theirs have higher performance and would assure a top performing computer. In fact what I've read makes me think that with my power supply my system would actually fail. It is arguable that I can produce similar or better tangible work out of my system i.e. I could possibly make better music or digital art with my system compared to the other person with a better power supply. Yet this point is irrelevant as the initial assumption based on the power supply that I have "clearly" shows that my results would be mediocre at best. I really regret not having a good power supply. Obviously having one gives a "clear" indication of one's computer performance and capabilities regardless on whether such performance or capabilities are utilized or not. I guess with power supplies, just like many other things in life, it all boils down to the same old widely accepted notion that "if it looks good on paper, then it sure is."


p/s: do look for and "mind" the irony and sarcasm... at the least.

Final thoughts on the irony of the pre-digital age

Now, I don’t mean to criticize, simply to observe on the ironic nature of digital media in the form of it’s reliance on previous forms of media system, specifically those epitomized in the form of this course. Has anyone noticed the irony, for instance, that we are encouraged to conduct lively and academic discussion through the form of this blog, but that in order to glean any marks for it we have to turn in a hard copy. Or that we are encouraged to discuss academic concepts, but the rigid and correct academic voice is abandoned in favour of looser colloquialism. Don’t these things only work to undermine the very strengths endowed upon this form of communication (i.e. first it is stripped of it’s existence as a merely electronic entity and then of it’s authoritative academic tone.).

Then we come to the irony of the course itself. Lectured face-to-face. We are encouraged to discuss digital identity while being stripped of the opportunity to adopt one. Our essays return to us marked by hand. We discuss concepts as a group more effectively verbally than by electronic means. Everywhere in this study of the digital medium the spectre of the corporeal and the analogue sits in judgement, and indeed the controlling factor of this course is by and large not facilitated by the digital medium. Hand-outs, course readers, even Manovich’s work comes to us in published, printed form.

Now, I reiterate, I comment on this not to criticize, because I see the logic to all of this, I merely mention the ironic nature of this approach even to the academic understanding of the digital to highlight that we are approaching it from a very mutable and mixed angle and that our understanding of the digital medium is still firmly fixed in pre-digital modes.

(P.S. Thanks for the recaps Wednesday Luke, they’ve been a huge help planning study)

2010

Well I guess we are nearly at the end, I was going to write some nice concluding blog like many have already done, but as mine wouldn't look half as good as theirs I decided against it (nice blogs by the way guys :)), instead I thought I would briefly talk about an interesting book that I discovered on my bookshelf when I was boxing some books up to make space for alcohol (as one does...).

The book is called "2010" by Geoffrey Hoyle, written in 1972 and consists of a story which predicts what the writer believes the future will be like, what technology will run our lives etc. What amazes me about it is, although there are some things in it that seem so totally "Jetsons" and might still be a long way off (such as waking and watching a series of machines make your breakfast for you, automatic showers that wash and dry you afterwards and air travel of 4000 mph) they do appear to get some of their predictions right. For example buying groceries from a computer and getting them delivered to our homes (although we are not quite up to the stage of signing the bill with our fingerprints... yet...), computer banking, 'vision phones', digital books, electric cars... It is almost uncanny to believe that 35 years ago these technologies that seem so everyday to us now were in the same category as breakfast making machines and automatic showers... I'll have to drag the book out again in 2010 and see how good the predictions really are...

Lessons from Lessig

In his article Lessig doesn’t agree that a complete legalization of media is the best option, but at the same time believes that having a zero tolerance would also be a mistake. Lessig provides a number of different points both for and against each option and there is a particular example that relates to the later that I wish to discuss. Lessig suggests,

“The technology of digital “capturing and sharing” promises a world of extraordinary diverse creativity that can be easily and broadly shared.”

Lessig goes on to say that those participating in this creativity are able to express, criticize, contribute to the culture all around. These sorts of opportunities have in the past only been available to small groups and as technology develops this has exploded into wider groups of people.

I think that whoever is in charge of enforcing a zero tolerance system (if it ever comes tho that) runs the risk of destroying new types of art and creative cultures, a creative culture that could have positive impacts on industries and popular culture on a whole. “In the next ten years we will see an explosion of new technologies.” (Lessig P.184) It’s kind of like the world around us is developing all these cool new things but then saying, “…but hey, don’t use them to their full potential.”

special feature overload

Recently I acquired two of my favourite films on DVD. Garden State starring and directed by zach braff(scrubs fame) and the life aquatic with steve ziwzuo(sp)... if you havent seen these films check them out, great post modern mudanity, if thats even a word.

But one thing I loved and loathed at the same time was the special features. The making of, the trailers, commentary etc. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed these aspects i can easily see how these repakaged forms of the big screen version work in a reproductive cycle of commercialisation. In garden state for example they have an advertisment for the soundtrack telling you how great it is and that you should go out and buy it. No actual full songs from the album, just an ad. I felt like i was cracking deeper into the film and tried to acquire a greater knowledge of the film but little things like this show me we are duped into expecting interactivity but really all we are getting is a product surrounded by small re-marketing. Now I dont mind buying a film and it being seen as a brand/distinct product, but i dont feel the need to go out and buy the cd or a t shirt if I have already forked out 20 odd bucks for the DVD. Therefore I dont believe value is being added by having excessive amounts of special features. Gimme a behind the scenes and a commentary and Im content. Dont push it!!!

myspace schmyspace!

Now this topic is going back of a lot of weeks now but I have only just started to understand the aspect of the immersion of myspace.

After discussing myspace in class and the suprising number of people in the class who actually have pages I decided to set one up, and hey, all those millions of people cant be wrong i guess. With minimal effort input into my page i slowly accrued a small contingent of friends. What i felt excluded me from the whole aspect of the virtual community however was that my friend base was primarily made up of existing friends who I share regular banter with on a social level, with the small exception of some local bands. What I found strange though was that i was part of a virtual community but the only difference to my real world was that the page is on the internet, it was no different from my cellphone or txt msg convo. Am i still part of a virtual community if I do not contribute. At first I didnt feel immersed in anything.

few weeks went by....

Suddenly I find my self regularly visiting my page to see how things were going. The page become a stable place to visit on my regular internet rounds. However I was not testing any social boundaries, i was not interested in meeting new people and denied friendsships with people who i didnt know as I felt this to be abit fake. However one thing i did agree upon with relation to the virtual commnity was the friends or acquantices i did have reinforced my indentity through the similar interests. music, social experiences and similar acquantices in the real world. So i wasnt expanding my horizons just keeping up with the fast moving technological society as i saw it as mould and change before my eyes. However this realm did not open my eyes to the plethora of action happening around me as I did and always will see face to face presence paramount in a socialised society.

Human Robots

Robots that become as clever as humans and then seek to destroy us. Not a new idea, its been the theme to many movies. My question is why are people so quick to laugh this idea off as though it could never happen? I think it could. I mean, why not? If in years to come robots become as clever as humans, and can think like humans, then I see little reason that they wouldn’t seek our destruction. Take humans for example. We go to war with each other all the time. Since before the Romans we’ve fought wars, murders are constantly on the news. People kill. People have wars. Creating Robots that think like people is not necessarily a clever idea.

Robots could well be made from a material stronger than humans, and therefore they would be stronger. Great!! Intelligent beings physically stronger than us, just what we need! So once they realize they are stronger, they can build themselves (more robots) we become the wink link. Us humans become the weak, we become the what slows progress, and then we have a problem. Full scale war, human vs robot? I don’t think so. But a phasing out perhaps. As global warming, and other environmental problems cause humans grief, it may be that robots are un phased by it, able to function in any conditions.

People talk about inelegant robots as this great thing, something we strive to be able to create. But, human-like robots are the last thing we need. One could argue there are more than enough people on the planet, consuming enough power, water, gas etc. Human jobs being lost to the current level of technological advancements is already very high, imagine the redundancies that would occur with the arrival of, what are essentially humans that need no sleep, no food, no rest etc. I personally can see no gains from human like robots. They really are unnecessary, and would cause more worry and harm than they would good.

The End

Hey,
Guess my last post is a good chance to reflect on these past 3 months. A few years back I was quite the technophobe, it seemed that everyone was abandoning the past and their old-fashioned tech and sprinting towards the new millennium/post-millennium promise of futuristic, far-out technology. In the past, my view of hi-tech and technology enthusiasts was kind of coloured by "nerd-o" silicon valley (remember Revenge of the Nerds!) and early-mid 1990s hacker pop culture mythology a la Weird Al Yankovic's "White & Nerdy". With 203 I've acquainted myself with Wikipedia 3 times for the terms "neo-luddite" & "retroist", and that's after vowing never to touch the site. I'll admit that it's good for terms not yet in the "official" vernacular, but it's still coloured by way too many opinions. One idea that's been reinforced is the (not without its flaws) hi-tech-corporate equation: big idea + big money = big tech = en masse tech consumption (population of corporate, literally branded, mobilised media cyborgs/flesh-tech personal identity) = producer (corp) surveillance = ? of freedom and if tech constructing or deconstructing us = keep some healthy distance from tech, jump out of that 'loop' for a lil while. Back in July I was pretty scared about posting as I'm not exactly a techie but I've learnt that retro values and hi-tech can co-exist, and that a more low-tech view is just as valid and can keep the techies in check (maybe). Thanks for the cybermemories.
Stella

First and last post

So...this is my first and last blog. By reading this it will probably be assumed that I haven't "interacted" with the course and so on and so forth, YET I have! I have been a regular READER of the class blog but have never felt confident enough to post something. Perhaps this is due to the majority of the blogs being so intimidating to a new comer of techno culture such as myself? Or could it just be because I value good old face to face interaction.
Remember at the start of this course when Luke asked us if we considered ourselves to be Futurists, Amish, Luddites or Transhumanists? Well I started off possibly under the catergory of 'Amish', as I felt a deep seated resistance towards technology. However, after learning so much about new technologies I think it is safe to say that I am not so ignorant.
I now see that new technologies are profoundly transformative and can definately be used to our advantage. I guess its just that I like human interaction, I prefer practices such as tutorials where people get to sit down with one another and discuss and debate. So much emotion and meaning (I feel) is lost when it is just presented like this.
In conclusion, I felt that the blog was very interesting yet very intimidating. I enjoyed reading certain posts but donot regret not posting until now.

Interfacing

Last weeks lecture and reading on interface culture was very interesting one, something I that is pretty much around us from our computers, cell-phones, and even everyday items like televisions and speed-o-meter in our cars. We are pretty much immersed in a world of interfaces. In Luke’s lecture he listed a web-site www.dontclick.it , a site which offered a different view at interface. This site broke the conventions of the internet site with the mouse that moves around and leaves pencil marks and with an option menu which was pretty much all over the place.
A large part of our culture revolves around this notion of interface.

-RiX

Globalised Ethnicity?

How well can an indigenous web-site promote its own culture, while at the same time protect it? This question came to mind when I was surfing the "Main maori site on the net" http://www.maori.org.nz/. The site is dedicated to getting Maori culture out into the online world and producing a cultural awareness for surfers who may not be maori. But, I was thinking that the website faces the risk of Marshall Mcluhan's 'Global Village'. All the information that it displays about Maori customs, rituals and traditions could easily lead to a cultural dissolution; the rites, beliefs and practices that define Maori ethnicity and identity won't be lost, but they will be 'universalised'. Anyone could potentially form a Maori identity by reading and watching videos, not through skills passed down by generations, or through ingrained memories of experience. It also gives surfers the opportunity to choose and pick at what it means to be Maori. To welcome what they like or are comfortable with, and to discard what they think may be wrong or don't like.

I think it's good that the site is Maori controlled and operated, as are its intentions. However, it has to be careful, just as other indigenous websites do, because it may control a means of communicating Maori culture to outsiders and other people, but it does not necessarily mean that it has control over perception and response.

Cyborgs-what is it to be human?

Cyborgs.The word itself represents a collosile of meaning yet it is this very thing which is fundamentally changing the way people think about the human condition and what it really means to be human.

This idea of artificial humans goes back to at least to the Middle Ages when the Golem, a clay creature brought to life by Jewish mysticism, defended the ghetto in Prague. And back to 1818, when Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus."

Also as we saw in our Cyborg lectures, we saw Hollywood bring cyborgs to frution in RoboCop, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator," the chilling Borg Collective on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a rakish collection of villains and flawed heroes respectively gunning or pining for humanity.

You yourself, or someone you know could probably be technically, in pun like terms, a cyborg. Things such as pacemakers, breast implants, contact lenses, a polio vaccination can be considered human 'add on's' that transition the term. Thus this can highlight how over time humans are becoming less oblivious to the combination of flesh and metal to the point where it becomes naturalised such as the use of contact lenses as such.

"The line between human and computer at some point will become completely blurred," predicted Alvin Toffler in his 1981 book "The Third Wave." This hasn't come to frution altough the possibility is worrying. This want and need by people to suffice cosmetic surgery or having a botox treatment in their working lunch hour highlights how humans somehow seek to be an immortal epitomy of perfection where the possibilities become endless. This relates to how an increasing 'cyborg' world could be due to human's fears of death and age and that by becoming more machine like we are enhanced.

If in the future, the uptake of having bionic arms and such becomes naturalised, will those whom don't have any modification feel the need to comform by doing so? Will it become the case that, like cell-phone dependency, people will only uptake to stay in the social loop?

I think that there must be a seperate distinction to the point where humans were born naturally to function the way we do- but with faults of course due to our imperfections. But the point where humans are devising machines means that these machines cannot be perfect, because humans are the ones idealising them.

The idea of the cyborg encourages us to thing beyond the binary of master and slave .They see us potentially working in partnership with our machines to discover and attempt new things. The term Cybernetics is this idea of a dialogue or symbiosis between humans and computer. Yetthinking along these lines, away from the idea of mastery of machines we have another problem. Anthropomorphize machines is giving technology human feelings, and ideals. Yet this is silly and possibly dangerous to imagine machines having human like status. The point of acknowledging that we share our environment with non human entities is that point exactly, they are non human. We cant look at/ study them as if they were!

~Sarah McElwain

Work Interface

I read an article in the Herald the other day entitled “Here come the digital natives.” The article discussed how many young employees are video gamers, meaning they bring “different expectations about how to learn, work and pursue careers” into a workplace environment. The article refereed to an essay (http://pewresearch.org) by Lee Rainie – This website contains many interesting reports as part of the “Pew Internet and Modern Life Project” with many of the topics relating either directly or indirectly to topics covered in this course. This herald article suggested that “Jobs may have to be redesigned to harness the ingenuity kids pour into video games.” I think this is an interesting example of interface whereby people's relationships with one technology could be re-articulated within another environment through a re-arrangement of the interfaces used in everyday working life in order to mimic the way young people interact with video games.

An Ode to Computer Games part 2

In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Kojima questions abstract ideas like a "national identity" and "Patriotism" and examines how these themes have been utilised to manipulate citizens and servants to achieve their own ends. In this game The US government sacrifice their greatest operative (The Boss) as a double agent, dishonouring her name for all time in order to secure a top secret account with $100 billion in it. Playing as Naked Snake (a.k.a Jack) you are assigned to recover this account and assasinate your former mentor The Boss. By the end of the game Snake discovers how his government manipulated him through ideas of "duty" and "Patriotism" to go so far as even assasinating the woman who he respected, loved, and fought beside for 10 years.

"Enemy? We were together for 10 years, and now you tell me she's my enemy?"
-Snake

This is an especially relevant issue to us today in a time when the "enemy" is changing as government interests and policy change. The United States involvement with Iraq and Iran since the post WW2 period till the present is a real life example. Once the shah of Iran was removed to establish a fundamentalist state Iran, formerly supported by the CIA, became an enemy of the US. Iraq who was warring with Iran therefore became the new favourite supported by the US. That is until they invaded Kuwait and they became evil again.

"Just because soldiers are on the same side right now doesn't mean they always will be. Having personal feelings about your comrades is one the worst sins you can commit. Politics determine who you face on the battlefield. And politics are a living thing. They change along with the times. Yesterday's good might be tomorrow's evil."
-The Boss

The Boss makes an interesting point when she identifies the living nature of politics. Snake is asked to choose between his loyalty to the Boss and his loyalty to his nation.

"Which will it be, Jack? Loyalty to your country, or loyalty to me? Your country, or your old mentor? The mission, or your beliefs? Your duty to your unit, or your personal feelings? You don't know the truth yet. But sooner or later you'll have to choose."
-The Boss

But what constitutes this nation he is loyal to? Is it defined by geographical borders, race, religion, citizenship? This abstract idea of a national identity is constructed and propelled by the government to control a large group of diverse people to achieve their goals. Snake realises too late that he has killed the only thing he ever cared for, and for what, a medal of honour and a government concerned with money that would soon as do the same thing to Snake. You only have to think back to Vietnam and the governments rabid campaigning for the young fit men of the USA to go abroad and defend her from Communism. Yes they were heroes at the time but soon government policy changed and you can see it in the lack of care they provided for their war veterans who were widely viewed as warmongers by a new free loving generation.
Kojima questions the sensibilty of a soldier giving up their personal opinion and sense of morals to follow orders or "point and shoot". Is it right to have an army of men and women to go to war for politicians under the guise of "Patriotism" when that government and their allies/enemies may change within a few years?

"People's values change over time. And so do the leaders of a country. So there's no such thing as an enemy in absolute terms. The enemies we fight are only in relative terms, constantly changing with the times."
-The Boss

Kojima forces people to question what they are told by the media and government and make their own decisions based on their morals, because the minute one gives up their right to choose they have given up their freedom. I guess this is what soldiers do when they join the army, they give up their "personal beliefs" to follow "duty" and effectively become a human weapon. Personally I believe its important to follow your personal beliefs because in the end you are responsible for your actions but at least you know you chose to instead of being ordered to. In 1966 Muhammad Ali refused to go fight in Vietnam because it conflicted with his personal beliefs. This resulted in Ali being banned from fighting in the US. Things have changed alot since '66 and Ali is respected for being a conscientious objector to an unjust war but at the time he was considered a coward and "un-Patriotic".

"I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong"
"no Vietcong ever called me nigger."
-Muhammed Ali

Kojima's game lends credibility to the idea that Computer Games have great narrative potential on par with both Film and Literature. So for those of you who are searching for a Computer game with more story than Pacman I recommend you check out the Metal Gear Solid series, (even if they are a little confusing at times).

Other recommended Games:
- Max Payne 1&2
- XIII
- Half Life 1&2
- Halo 1&2
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask, Twilight Princess
- Fallout 1&2
- Shen Mue 1&2

just to name a few, but there's a game out there foor everyone.
Ok enough with the ramble, time to play some PSP wi-fi Tekken DR

-Caleb (is hungry)

Interfaces and web page design

Just to follow on what others have said, I also agree that Jakob Neilson's idea of the ideal web page design is very staid. I feel that his views on the design of web pages, are conservative to the point of stagnation.

This kind of conservative attitude almost contrasts the whole kind of ethos that new technology and the web is based on. The idea of pushing boundaries, challenging what we know, and forward thinking.

On the subject of design, I found it interesting to read the other day that more and more car manufacturers and designers ( I think this article was on BMW in particular) are moving away from the idea of having test groups of everyday people critique and input in to their new designs. Instead they are leaving the design to the designers, the consumers only avenue for critique is in the sales figures.

The thinking behind this is that in these test groups, people were expressing a strong preference for design cues and features that reflected contemporary trends. They liked what was cool now, and did not think about pushing the boundaries or what would be cool when the car was released. In short they were very conservative in their ideas, reflecting what they already knew, this was leading to conservative, re hashed car designs.

When leaving the design in the hands of designers, they could drive new trends and ideas rather that simply reflecting existing notions.

In the same way we could draw links (oh sweet puns...) to Neilson's ideas on web design. If we stop pushing new ideas, driving trends and coming up with new solutions to problems (in this case creating a clear, yet interesting interface) and simply follow what we already know (eg Neilson's 'ideal' web page) we just end up reiterating what we already know and the internet will denigrate into a stagnant pond of dullness. Easy to read, best way to get info across... dullness.

Thank god not everyone subscribes to the same idea of web page design, here are some interesting sites about web designs and interesting pages:


www.thebestdesign.com

www.theworldsbestwebsites.com

www.webbyawards.com

.VIRTUAL.

Is digital technology seeking to create reality? Over the semester we have learnt about widescreen TV’s and home theatre systems where you can get lost in a film. We have learnt of games which can take a player into another world, of virtual reality, of the cybourg and the belief that the human can be modified and at some point in the future possibly even created. It seems that technology is endlessly striving to advance from the virtual, the representation of reality towards the actual.

Luke mentioned that we as humans have this inbuilt prejudice against something that is virtual, something that aspires to be real. Yet, at the same time I think we have a fascination with it as well that is not always negative.

Fond memories start wafting back of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the book that is… where towards the end they are in the TV room and witness a chocolate bar being transported through the air by television… that’ll be the day. Where virtual can become actual and I can take that Wendy’s burger that looks so good, strangle Goldstein and his American Boss and procure myself one of those flash new Sanyo phones.

Until then we are stuck with the virtual with all its short comings. Stuck in reality where you have to use your imagination. We can escape reality to an extent through technology and imagination, or through drugs or the milk of Shadows… yet I don’t know if well ever be able to overcome it.

PrIvAcY iN a TeChNoLoGiCaL wOrLd

Over the past weeks we have talked of modifying the body using modern technology to improve or customise it. A concept where in the future the cell phone would be implanted within the human ear at birth was raised. These ideas left me thinking of our, the human’s relationship with privacy and the impact technology has had upon it.

We are obsessed with being able to be contacted and communicated with at any time and in any place through a variety of different technological mediums. Yet, if you are anything like me you wish to (and can to an extent) get away from them at times and find some personal privacy.

In a world where everyone had a piece of technology implanted within their ear, my fear would be that I was being used or tracked without my knowing. A few months ago I was stopped by a cop who wrote down my name, address and phone number. Without thinking I gave him my cell phone number before realizing that with modern technology and government or corporate consent, the cops could, if they so desired locate my phone and therefore track my own movements.

The west is so intent on keeping its freedom, yet surely such bodily modifications would be an intrusion on this front. How would one be able to accurately know whether their own modification was not spying on or gathering data for someone else? While technology can at times be used in creating privacy, such as through security or surveillance technology, where does it cross the boundary of privacy and intrude into an individual’s life? Maybe I have just watched to many movies…

The Internet is bad and evil

The positive effects of the Internet have long been documented. Social, cultural, communitative, political - this list is ever expanding. However every now and then an issue comes up which stains the Internet's beneficial image.

The article I am refering to discusses how a student ordered a professionally written assignment online, submitted it, and was caught plagarising (I wonder what Turnitin would say - in fact it would be amusing to see its response).

So, the war over the Internet commences.

Quoting the article:

"The internet has given students access to reams of information, made it cheaper to keep in touch with faraway friends and family and even allowed students to attend universities remotely. But it has also given a new lease on life to an old plague of academia - the term-paper mill."

Some examples are Custom Research Papers, ThePaperExperts.com and Term Paper Relief.

Trends in the article suggest the ease and accessibility of material is why so many students just cut and paste off the Internet. This is interesting, if not a paradox - yes the Internet allows access to a plethora of information, but it has also given rise to a new form of plagarism. Technology, and the popularity of the Internet continues to rise, but consequently so does the appeal of using this medium as a cheating tool.

Examples like the above once again provide ammunition for those anti-Internet people out there. As a society, it is healthy to embrace technology. Will the next generation grow up on using the Internet as their main portal of gathering information? Not every institution will use Turnitin. As raised in the tutorial today, they make money too.

So my question remains: is the Internet's rise as a medium of communication detrimental to society? Or is this example just an exception in an otherwise free-flowing information pool that is the Internet?

Interesting Interface

I know the interface lecture was last week but I found it quite interesting so I thought I’d do my final blog on it.

According to Wikipedia an interface is vital in enabling a user to interact with a system. “To work with a system, the users need to be able to control the system and assess the state of the system.”


A successful interface takes into account familiarity and usability. Jakob Neilson takes web design usability to the extreme and I don’t think this is the right way to go either because its snuffs out all that is creative and interesting. The more people familiarise themselves with interfaces the easier the things are to use! (Increasing usability obviously!) The way people familiarise themselves is through learning. Jakob Neilson wants to assume we are all dumb (or lazy) and don’t want to learn which will ultimately produce web pages that are the same and are boring and not interesting….. just useful.

I leave you with a website that would I’m 100% sure Mr. Neilson would have a fit over. Its interface is so unfamiliar I had a very hard time getting around it. After a little play around I realised that is was a visual replication or a web page reflection of the drop down tool bar. Now you would think that this is familiar and very usable… it’s a major part of most of the programs on a computer for gods sake. Have a look fellow class mates and see what you think.

P.s Insight is a clothing company by the way and they also run that short film competition 300 seconds. Just thought I’d familiarise you a bit so you didn’t completely jump into the deep end.

www.insight51.com

realness in advertisement

Resontly when i was going on my msn, i saw a friend of mine has his name saying" go support my Vodafone advertisement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCLxh8v_W-4 "; as he plays one of the dancer in the ad. The advertisement consist of lots of popping techniques while features various dancers from different age group , nationality. Since i am a very good friend of his i ask him" when do you learn to dance like that?", and he told me that he simply need to do the dance movement; while all "popping" action is done by computer modified effects. Brings me the question of the modelity within advertisement, as dancer often needs years of time to master the moves, with the help of computer animate; it only takes 1 hour of training for my friend to do the action. As realising in what the effects can do to make the dancer look so strong on their popping action, makes me think the professionalism within the model use on television; again maybe their job is just to look good.

Interactive Fiction

A cross between a pick-a-path book and dos prompt, text adventures (or what are now called interactive fiction, henceforth known as IF) have actually kept a rather steady following in recent times. I was made aware of this fact by taking the above link and playing through the games 'Photopia' and 'Narcolepsy' (by Adam Cadre in '98 and '04 respectively). I had played through a few of these games in my youth and was astounded by the complexity and depth that could actually go into a game like this should the person try (I hadn't played the likes of Zork or anything with a big name).
I recalled most of the basic commands you could do to:
n, s, e, w - north, south, east, west
i - inventory
x- examine
q - quit

More complex commands required two words; a verb and a noun. By today's standards, this looks rather stupid and so obviously planned to demand the appropriate response. With some of these newer games however, it can be ascertained that a lot more work has been put in to deal with the growing curiosity that goes with expanded worlds. The interface of Doom won't let me do anything but shoot imps with an assortment of weapons. I was able to telepathically attack a crazed doctor with a remote control in Narcolepsy though, perhaps proving that there is still fun to be had with words. Moving words perhaps, but describing your planned actions for your in-game avatar is satisfying (even if your in-game avatar does things in a completely unlike fashion).

ringo voyeurism

Just gonna re-write a post I lost...

Ringo is a photo sharing website that has become a stable for me and my extended group of friends at home and abroad to see what everyone is doing with their spare time. However after being a member i find this sort of virtual community to be slightly wierd. When i post pictures of outrageous adventures with me and my friends anyone who I have as a 'friend' can voyueristically view my photos. Now this is a double edged sword for me. Am I giving in to everyones voyueristic tendencies by posting sed photos? or should I just submit and post these pics for my own voyueristic libedos exchange value..

Is this the new realm for conspiring gossips all around the world.... Now some of my friends dont have any photos on their profiles but they can still look at myn and i feel slightly short changed. Why should they be able to perve at my life without me getting even a glimse of their ongoings, or am I wrong in the first place for fuelling their voyuerism by posting my own pics?.. I am in a dillemma, should i revolt against this site and not add any pictures or am i a complete hypocrit.... i beleive the latter, for some reason people are not content with their own lifes (myself included) and want to see what others are doing, not so much in competition, but rather in an anonymous perversion that is so common place these days through gossip magazines and television.

WWW.RINGO.COM

Strongbad the great

Last night I was lying on my bed reading a book, when I heard a strange sound coming from my flat mates bedroom. I was some what startled by the abnormal voice that was coming from her room. As I snuck my way towards her bedroom, I came to the conclusion that maybe there was some sort of alien creature that had just landed on planet earth. So, I knocked on her door lightly, and then harder a second time, there was no answer. I finally gathered the courage to fling open the door, whilst at the same time holding my breath and closing my eyes. To my surprise, my flat mate was laughing silently in hysterics and watching some sort of red alien with big horns and a voice like cookie monster/mexican thing, on the computer screen. I exclaimed "What the hell??!" only to have my flat mate explain to me that this website in her words is an "so random" and at the same time "amazingly funny". With this in mind, I ran to my computer and started creating my own path to follow on the same website. I spent about an hour navigating it and I must tell all of you to check it out. Whenever you are sad, angry, or just really annoyed, go to this website it's so hot right now.

Rachael

Essays

When are our essays ready to be picked up?

cyborg and struggle

cyberspace and its struggle.
Cyberspace is a fictional term coined by novelist Wiliam Gibson (1984) to describe a virtual reality where people log their minds into computer technologies capable of entering perceiving and exploring the data matrix. However, in the nonfictional world, cyberspace is a metaphor - a consensual hallucination that refers to a virtually incomprehensible and seemingly endless array of computer-mediated electronic communication and supporting technologies.
D. Haraway argues that the boundary between the Science fiction novel and the reality is just mere visual illusion and cyberspace blurs the boundary between the physical world and non-physical world . She put high value on Cyborg as a hybrid creature which is a combination of the mechanism with organism in the post -gender world. Females can have new possibilities by combining with machine, increasing their power . The shift of the concept from female object to Cyborg represents the shift from the passiveness to activeness . It has gone through changes ; from controlling to being controlled. It is the reiteration of 'the second gender' what Simond de Boubour said, The female cyborg is disintegrated and remanufactured persona, challenging the existing discriminative order. Women who are feeling oppressed can resist in cyberspace. The movie Matrix represented the cyber world. In cyber world, the boundary between manufacture of the cyber world and the objects being manufactured. The mechanic world is transformed into system world and cyborg. Between ARCHITECT, the manufacturer and SMITH , NEO is struggling for its identity and free will. It is the representation of the desire for new world without oppression, free from control. We need new point of the view of the world in cyber world. The developing new technology has to bring about the change of the paradigm of gender. Cyberspace is a good space for representing the oppression in the real world. It has new possibilities to create the concept of changes of gender, otherness and equality. Some Hollywood movies such Matrix depict the struggle between computer world and human world and resistance to the limit of the ego and its recognition. Now they are still going on ..

strange question

Hey,
I know this is quite an odd question, but do any of you remember hearing about a computer user dying from exhaustion & dehydration, or possibly a heart attack after 50+ hours straight use earlier this year? I can't remember where it was, but I think the person was very young & it might have been in an Internet cafe. In one of my classes last week there was a discussion on the effects of tech addiction and too much immersion in computers and video games: seeing stars, RSI, social alienation, etc. Anyone remember hearing about it? I hope I'm imagining it.
Stella

death of the book?

How many times do you read a book in a month? If you feel quite awkward on this question, then , how often do you surf the net? With the rise of digital contents and internet, some people started to predict the 'end of the literature'.


Friedrich Kittler, theorists of the media, wrote "The dream of a real, visible, or audible world arising from the word is over. " The book lost its monopoly over the storing and dissemination of cultural material.
Some people criticize that digital technology undermines the filed of literature, however, digital technology influences the change of the form of the text, which gives new possibilities of literature.

Then, what are the positive possibilities of literature in digital age?

Internet technology expands the base of literature by making readers participate in constructing text. It makes literature as a more active genre. Literature has been considered as one-way communication .Digital author and find an anonymous murmur in the links of hyper texts on the web. Now, many authors post their work on the web and readers give their feedback to the authors. Well-known Korean female author, 'Han Gang' said ' the responses from readers on the net give her a lot of guidelines to proceed my work . Some readers even start to write their own story on the web. Digital technology also broadens the range of writers. Literature is not limited to expertised and skillful writers. All of us can share our story and enjoy it. 'The Association Of Writers For Nation Literature (AWNL) is a very authorized organization of Korean literature, but it is now opening doors to general people on its web site(http://www.minjak.or.kr) An author begins to write some part of story, and people one by one participate in continuing the story, which is called 'Relay Writing' . It gained many positive responses and the quality of the work was admired also.

Internet technology and the change of the form of tex make new territory of literature through active participation from readers. In Printed age, the relationship between author and writer is linear. In a digital world. texts are mobile and changeable. We can move a digital text around the world in an instant. Pages of digital text have the stability of liquid. They may be altered in their material arrangement of traces as they are read. They may be combined with other texts. reformatted in size and font. have sounds and images added to them or subtracted from them. Digital texts thus have more permanence than paper in the sense that they may be distributed or copied without alteration . Many Scholars have noted that novelty of hypertext in comparison with printed books and its implications for theory and literature .


Literature is the product of our live. All of the changes in our society ultimately literature. The changes of 21st century -rapid development of digital technology expand the territory of literature. Literature will never disappear as long as human beings who express one's feelings through language . It is not a crisis of literature. It is now jumping steps.

predictive text

So, it amuses me that my cellphone knows "vagina" but not "penis".

Also, I find a certain poetry in the slippages of meaning that can occur because of predictive text.

In a lazy text to someone with whom you share a wavelength, you can call someone a citag, or tell them that the essay you're handing in is a piece of shiv, and they'll know what you mean.

But my favourite is the doomboust. My old boyfriend and I used to meet at the doomboust all the time. It's supposed to be text for 'foodcourt' but it's actually what you get if you're overenthusiasticwith the o button.

sms.ac

In regards to the reading on Mobile Phones by McGuigan Towards a Sociology of the Mobile Phone (2005), it had brought to light some aspects I never thought about mobile phones and it's users in regards on how they interact in society and they're feelings towards the use of mobile phones in public and private spaces. The notion of outies, innies, tradition directed users, inner-directed users and outer-directed users provide very interesting ways a looking at how we use mobile phones and maybe a social stigma we place on the use of mobiles. As Mcguigan describes mobiles as a 'prosthetics', a once luxury item turned into an item of neccesity nowadays; its everywhere.
I remember when I was in college (many moons ago) about sixth form and there was a minority of people who had phones and now even my little cousins in intermediate have mobiles. We can see the importance we place on mobiles in keeping us in the loop increasing with various txting deals being offered and webistes such as sms.ac which offer a networking site to send txts over the internet to mobiles world wide, the site lets you have 10txts month when you sign up but anything over that you have to pay for, well click on the link enjoy and let me know what you guys think of the site.

-RiX

Wireless Internet and Woosh sucking

When i first heard the words mobile media, the first thing that came to mind was wireless internet, more specifically Woosh. I recently had the displeasure of being duped by these horrible bastards into signing up for one of their plans. What i first noticed about their wireless 'broadband' was that the download speeds were actually not too bad (i got up to around 250kbps), but the rate on which Woosh loaded the regular web page (such as www.trademe.co.nz, another example of some horrible bastards) it went slower then my old-old dial up connection. I assume it takes a little while to find a suitable and stable connection from the wireless network tower to the little plastic nob-antena-thingy thats connected to my laptop (through a highly developed sucktion cup of course). By now ive learnt to deal with the slower speeds than my old broadband connection, and ive come to appreciate some of the pro's to wireless internet such as being able to transport the laptop without having to de-cable as much stuff as i would normally have to.

I dunno though, if i'd join with them if i could go back in time, there arn't really that many pro's for the everyday consumer to have wireless internet, at least on a laptop anyway. Perhaps when they can get a good enough keyboard on a mobile phone so we can actually use that stupid web function. I guess as the technology increases so will the demand for internet on the go, and once when we all have internet on the go (in a useable form, unlike my cellphones shitty little web function), i guess it will be just like our ipods and needed as if it were attached to ourselves.

Another thought, would anyone agree that perhaps it's time to move on from the old keyboard? I know we have the mouse and thats all good, i like the mouse...but what about the keyboard? cant we change that? or are we doomed to live with it? I mean, our fingers arnt gonna get any smaller so keyboards are going to have to stay roughly around the same size as they are now. Maybe in 30 years everyone will type on the numpad like a big text message, and keyboards will just be a little numpad in the centre and everyone will type crap text slang. Then the languages of the world will have to change to adapt to the new slang as nobody will know what the old language means, no one will know what 'because' means as everyone will be typing 'bcos'. Maybe grammar will be more important than spelling in the end, and microsofts stupid little green squiggly line will be more importand than the red one (you know, that horrible green line that always recommends stuff that doesn't make any sense), thus microsoft will actually need to put some effort into making the green one work, and why not their products at the same time.

Cyborgs

Are we all ludits to one degree or another? Do the majority of people share an inherent fear of technology and technological progress?

This fear of technology has been aparent in many areas of pop culture. It has appeared in science fiction writing and the theme has been heavily played on in movies. Examples like Blade Runner and the Terminator movies immediately sping to mind, as well as more contemporary examples like Minority Report. The idea has certainly been a major area of fascination in Hollywood.

But is this same fear of technology and specifically cyborgs that is put forward in movies and writting mirrored in our daily lives? On one hand we are now so ready to adopt and rely on new technology, how can we then fear it?

It seems like quite a paradox , but I think it still exists. An example of this occured in class. People were almost all uneasy about the idea of a cellphone being embedded in their heads, even if it performed exactly the same functions of a normal cell phone.
What it comes down to is the idea of being in control. Although we rely more on technology than ever before, we still like to tell ourselves we dont. We like the idea that we can just stop, throw our phones and ipods away, smash our laptops, burn our clothes and go live in a cave.

But I dont know if we can. An this is were the fear comes from. It is a very uneasy idea that we are actually in some way controlled by our technology. This is why the concept of cyborgs is so fascinating, an overt , physical manifestation of the control battle between man and machine or man and technology. It blurs the boundaries, that we like to think are so clear.

1 week to go!

So I'm sitting here thinking crap it's like sunday... and I have to think of something to post before the week's up but I really can't think of anything that will be worth anyone wanting to read. So I'm pretty much going to ramble on about nothing... So I'm warning you now you might want to stop reading here :P

Something interesting my mate was talking about yesterday, apparently her flatmate was bored the other day so he googled his name and found this dude in America with the same name as him and somehow got hold of his email (coz I think his name was somehow linked to a business website or something) and sent him an email pretty much saying "hey mate, you have the same name as me" and he got a reply too. How cool is that?! So me in all my preparation for 3 weeks of procrastination (I study inbetween...) decided I'd see if anyone existed with my name... I found some woman who died a couple a years back so don't think I have any chance of getting a reply from emailing her :( ahh well was worth a try. It's amazing what the internet allows us to do really. 20 years back you'd never be able to contact a complete random on the opposite side of the world simply because he/she shares your name and you thought it would be kind of cool to let them know that you exist. But then again people probably really had no desire to do so either...

Guess it links to the whole technology determinism argument... whether we create it because we have the desire for something and require it to help us fulfill this desire or whether the technology itself tells us that we have a desire for it. I think it's probably a bit of a combination of the both. All one really needs to do to prove the latter is flick through one of those mail order catalogues that mysteriously end up on your doorstep (and then they tell you what day to leave it out so they can come back and collect it... what's with that?!) and suddenly realise how much you have always needed heated slippers, a fluffy toilet seat cover and defluffer device for your shirt - but you never knew you needed them until you knew they existed... and people say that marketing is a challenge...

Well that wasn't really all that bad was it? You did read to the end after all.

Does online anonymity really exist?

In the process of pimping my myspace profile (yes I’m into it please don’t slam me), I came across a number of sites solely dedicated to profile tracking, such as www.trackmymyspace.net and www.whosonmymyspace.com. Such sites claim to be able to give you information about who has visited your profile, ie. when they visited, the ISP they’re using, and their computer’s unique ID! I investigated this tracking thing and it seems we’re never completely anonymous when surfing, that our computer’s ID is transmitted with every click... A BBC article used the term "Big Brother" to describe how every online move we make is recorded (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/column/column050104.shtml). Kinda frightening I think...

Technology, love it? Hate it? Both?

It seems that we have a bit of a love-hate relationship with technology. We have this tendency to make cyborg type figures in films etc the ‘bad guy’, etc. and yet we are increasingly moving towards the other end of the spectrum, towards a technology obsession. It’s an odd polarisation.
I found a website a while ago which is pretty cool for those of use who like gadgets and other little technological bits and bobs, its www.gizmodo.com, and I think the tagline says it all: So much in love with shiny new toys, it’s unnatural. The funny thing is, it’s not all that ‘unnatural’ anymore.

internet for me

Internet is a revolution of our lives.
Today, my friend ask me if I know a company’s phone number, because she is not quite sure what type is it, she can not find its number from the Yellow Pages. I told her, why she dose not search on line, it is a really convenient way to find information. Cyber world is full of information, and it is different from the “print age”. For instance, people can get a new job on line, like SJS (student job search), there are hundreds of job vacancies here and members no need to read newspaper to ask for a job, they only need to choose what kind of job they want and where is it they prefer, it is really a good way to save time!On the other hand, the Internet cannot take place the feelings of some “prints”. Nowadays, people send and receive “letters” much more easier than before. And in my opinion, the paper letter is much more serious and emotional than the cyber E-mail, as you can read the letter and understand how the sender’s feel through the handwriting.

cultural interfaces and mobile phones

In the chapter ‘The Interface’ from The Language of New Media (2001) Lev Manovich talks about how cultural interfaces on computers try to strike a balance between the conventions of general-purpose Human-Computer-Interfaces and conventions of traditional cultural forms. In using a computer and its interface we want to know that menus and icons are the same in each application so we know what we are working with, but also want there to be originality, an important factor in modern culture, in the display cultural media objects. I think there is a similar thing with mobile phones . When buying a new phone, we want to know that the menu and certain icons will be familiar and easy to use but at the same time, wanting it to be original in its features with the latest media technology.

When i think of cyborgs i think of the awesome Mala Brajkovic and her last season titled 'Cyborg's rule, ok!' (http://www.thread.co.nz/article/1682) and the numerous movies with fembots, talking computers or machines. Mala Brajkovic's collection made me think of how the line between human and cyborg or technological beings is dissolving. Even our fashion is technology capable with haute couture developing pockets for ipods smaller than the pockets for their mobile phones.. even bags that can accomodate their lap-tops or burberrys. technology is ritual to our lives and we're becoming more and more reliant on it and even more unsociable. our language is technology-driven , shorter n txt stlyd. people are even having sex via technology.. on the computer.. via text messaging.. hey at least its safe. people like Stephen hawking have the capability to speak when their disability otherwise would've prevented. we no longer ring each other to make plans its a text message c u @ 7 @ counterstrike?.. I think it was Sadie Plant i could be wrong that said that mobile phones and other technology are extensions of ourselves. could it be that we are morphing into cyborgs, luke talked of an implant that could be inserted into our ears that could translate into every language. maybe thats the next cosmetic surgery. like the cosmetic cyborg i think someone has bloogged about. eventually we'll be implanted with more efficient computer-like qualities. maybe mala brajkovic's title had an intentional pun.. either cyborgs are awesome, ok! or really cyborgs do rule.. a thought. MOvies seem to embrace the cyborg as innovative evil as we see in Terminator with both man always coming through, Austin Powers and the fembots with nipple guns, 2001: Space Odyssey- Hal etc making people afraid of 'the cyborg' because of its human'like capabilities and their intelligence that could erase humans and take over the world.. blah. i think luke or the doco mentioned that cyborgs and machines though capable of talking moving an other human activity they will never feel or be emotive. therefore they're revenge or appetite for power could never occur. also 99% of human understanding is through the body expression, cyborgs could therefore never fully be responsive to humans. George Lakoff said in an interview with Iain A. Baol that ' there is no reason whatsoever to think that the kinds of computations that are done in artificial intelligence programs are "intelligent" in the way that human beings are. All they can do is follow algorithms'.


Body Brain and communication, Iain A. Baol in Holeton, Richard. 1998. Composing Cyberspace: Identity, community, and knowledge in the electronic age. McGraw-Hill. United States of America.

Interface? Network?

I have been looking up different definitions of the term ‘interface’, roughly narrowing it down to a point of interconnection between entities. Yet, an interesting point is that most definitions seem to list it as an interconnection between two entities. Can interface occur on a larger scale and take place between more than two things, or is that a network containing many individual points of interface?
In a conversation between a group of people, whether it be face to face or online, they are interfacing on a plane where one individual can speak forth something to the group as a whole which can in turn be answered by any or all of its other members. Is this a network of communication with multiple points of interface or an example of interface between many entities?
On the human/machine relation scale, I can interface with a keyboard and screen at the same time (as I am now), in this way there is interconnection between more than two entities where I am interfacing with them all at the same time. Yet are ‘we’ also networking? Where does one end and the other begin? Are they different or essentially the same… ?

Google life

I was reading this article called "More Google Products" in Time. It's very interesting. Evan Eisenberg gives Google a few can't-miss ideas that it should introduce.

In the search category, Eisenberg suggests Google should introduce:

Ex Search
Find out if they're seeing anyone

Soul Search
Browse and organize your sins, vices and failings

Senior Search
Find out what you went upstairs for

Oogle
Stare for hours without seeming rude

Koogle
Find recipes for potato or noodle pudding

Beagle
Find your lost dog

Afterlife Search (Beta)
Find friends and relatives in heaven and the other place

Heavenly Piecework
Earn big bucks censoring Chinese websites in your spare time

and many more such as Gray Matters, Wet Bar, Freudgle and Schadenfreude Alerts.

In the Communicate, Show & Share category, Evan Eisenberg suggested things such as,

Germie
Share illness with friends through your computer

Name Drop
Generate and forward e-mail from people you wish you knew

Walkle
Use your mobile browser in real time to decide which foot to move next

Garble
Translate ordinary speech into legalese, adspeak, Bushspeak and dozens more

Shoulda-Calendar
Organize events you've already missed

Blobber
Impose your consciousness on the rest of humanity - it's easy, fast and free

I am sure that you all found that Google has made your life a lot easier in terms of being able to find information really quickly. However, with Google's insane success, they have gegun to expand their horizons. they started making search engines that have less practical values. For exmaple, Google Earth. You may be able to see what your old house looks like, or where your favourite celebrity lives. It does not have any practical applications. This article just suggested a few more useless but perhaps mildly entertaining search engines that Google can expand into seeing as it has so much time and money on its hand and they are so hell bent on controlling every aspect of your life.

Beta World

I've been writing my essays on a new online word processor called Google Docs and Spreadsheets - the program is still in beta which has made using it an interesting experience as it has completely changed over the period of a few weeks I've been using it. Originally the service even had a different name, "Writely" and was accessed from the URL www.writely.com now the writely webste simply re-directs to Google Docs and Spreadsheets, this is the same program but with a new name and graphics. The Beta meter was at 63% when I began using it but the program seemed quite functionional. - Whilst handy it has been slightly unerving having my work entirely stored in some rapidly changing internet world... Still I recommend the program if you want to access your documents from anywhere with an internet connection.

Gaming pants

I found this picture of a pair of gaming pants from a website today. Nintendo could become a fashion brand too perhaps. What do you guys think?