Motoglyph

In build up to the digital music lecture... I thought I'd post this link up for those interested to have a nosey... http://www.digitlondon.com/motoglyph/ it's a pretty wicked kind of concept :) and also linked to the whole mobile technology craze...

It's a pity the codes don't work so you can't listen to the mp3s created, but if you flick down to the Development Videos down near the bottom of the page they show how it's all done. It does make you wonder what people will come up with next...

~Loz

Hackers misunderstood?

The aspect of hackers is an aspect that has always intrigued me, the only information I have on them were from the media; movies, t.v programmes, books, etc. Sources which pretty much look at the negative stereotypes and stigma's that media had attached to hackers as the 'bad-guys' breaking into on-line networks and systems to try and steal top secret information or money from banks.

In my endeavour I wanted to take another look at hackers, from a hackers point of view. While googling hackers on the net I found this interesting website: www.tlc.discovery.com/convergence/hackers/hackers.html, a site which had a 'hall of fame' for hackers, in which I found that some of the hackers in the hall of fame aren't the sinister-minded criminals portrayed in the movies, although most of them did look like nerds and geeks. Some of the hackers featured on the website like Ian Murphy, John Draper and Mark Abene granted have done some un-lawful, more annoying things like hack into AT&T's (American Phone Company) internal clock and changed the time so that costumers ringing during times of discount got charged the normal calling fees. They have also helped in working as technicians at companies to break through their security programmes to find vulnerabilities which can be fixed so they inturn don't get hacked into and they have also created software programmes we use today in stopping the spread of computer viruses.

Another website I came across that I thought was interesting in providing a view into the world of hackers is : www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker~howto.html#what_is, is a site set up by an editor of the Jargon File (a sort of New Hackers Dictionary), on learning how to become a hacker. The author descirbed the 'hacker community' as a shared culture of expert programmers and networking wizards. The interesting fact I took from this site is the differentiation between 'hackers' and 'crackers', that in the hacker culture it is the 'crackers' that are doing the damage in spreading viruses and breaking into or 'cracking' into networks for criminal activities such as stealing money from banks. On the website it describes the 'crackers' as getting their kicks out of breaking into computers and phreaking phone systems and seen as outcasts in the world of hackers.

Another website that I thought quite intresting is: http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/hacker_ethics.html , a site which looked at the ethics of hackers, the main tennents being that all information should be free, that bureaucracy shouldn't be allowed to get in the way of doing useful things and so on, theres more on this on the site.

What this leads me to think is that maybe Hackers are misunderstood, and that a differentiation should be made between hackers and crackers to help change the way we view them, as some are offer an invaluable service by helping to shape new and better security software technologies and networks , and the others namely the 'crackers' who are the real problem.

-RiX

Article: 'Designed to 'effectively frustrate': copyright, technology and the agency of users" by Tarleton Gillespie

I read an article about copyright, technology and the agency of users which talks about the big US movie and music companies attempting to shift copyright enforcement from the ‘code’ of law to the ‘code’ of software . This means using the actual technologies to control or prevent the use of content usually controlled by the usual law.
The article talks about ‘compliance rules’ to be carried out by manufacturers that state what a user can or cant do, and ‘robustness’ rules, which mean manufacturers need to make products that cant be tampered with.

In looking particularly at the Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption system and the ‘broadcast flag’ that’s been recently put forward for digital tv, the author of this article says that in trying to put a stop to piracy, these systems could undermine the agency and creativity of user’s with their own technological devices.

I thought this was an interesting article that relates well to the course material about the impact of copyright on users of technology.

Check it out through the uni's 'Learn' website, e journal called 'new media and society', vol 8(4), 2006

ART?

What is art? I love this question, and I think what I love and find so fascinating about it is that I don’t know. Everyone who is interested in art - speaking very generally here, and covering most of the population of the world I’d say – seems to have their own slightly personalized view or concept on its definition and all that it encompasses or defines.

I have just turned round and asked a person sitting near me what they think of art and what ideas they think surround it. Her immediate statement was that it was an ‘expression of self’. To her (this has been condensed), art invoked the concepts of creativity and structure, structure which had to communicate a message or intent. This intent gives art parameters she said and separates it out as a human activity of communicating an idea.

Some valid and interesting ideas, however, I think art can be broader than that. Does it have to have purposeful structure; can’t it be more random than that? If I step in wet paint on the way out of my front door and saunter down the road, subconsciously leaving a trail of footprints behind me… is that art? Staying with this ‘footprints’ idea, if I walk down a deserted beach leaving my footprints in the sand, then turn round, notice that the trail of footprints look beautiful and take a photograph of them... is it the footprints, the object that is the art, or is it the actual physical, intentional process of pushing down on the button that will open the shutter of the camera that is art? Can one exist without the other? Does art have to have this two part process, not only of creation but also of recognition to make it art? Does art have to be recognized or can it just simply be created? And finally, the big question today, is it plagiarism if someone recognizes and then uses art someone else has created… someone else’s footprints in the sand…

RIAA

Back to what we were talking about in tutorial about the RIAA...
No singing songs around the camp fire?

What about that video clip I made of a (unnamed NZ band)'s song for an FTVMS application?

online storage such as rapid share- end of p2p?

Lots of people argued of the end of p2p through it's illigal to copy rights, but thats not my main concern.
Resently there has been alot of online file storage space such as rapid share, Badango, file bank etc. for those people who are not aware of the use of this websites, its that people simpliy can apply for an account, and upload files to the storage space; and other user can use the link to down load it from the server.
Today lots of internet user uses online file sharing fourms to post the file they have upload to the space and free for other user to down load. this type of file sharing has been very vital to me, as xtra only gives me a very limited of 10 GB per month( upload+ download). But by up loading to the online storage space, means the exsistance of the file will be longer; because its always avaliable if the server is still running. which than makes file sharing a lots more easier. Also means the longer your hard disk is going to last, what do you guys think?

So Flash

I just wanted to say something small about flash sites, even though I wasn't at the lecture...
I have been designing websites for quite a while and my biggest angst on the web is with flash sites.

While they break new ground for web design that can't be done with the usual html code I still can't be bothered waiting for them. Even with fast internet connections, every sub section must pause while it loads and every page must move and be interactive.

I have only made a small handful of totally flash sites for bigger businesses who want the style, while most companies would rather the ease of use and sophistication of the traditional text and image tabled effect that most sites give. I find most people want their information to be read, not clicked on and played with.

Flash within sites seems to be the way to go, small sub sections or menu's in flash but I still stear clear from it. It seems strange that I feel left behind while I continue to make money from an old form of web design, I don't know whether the lecture covered it, but what do people think about flash taking over? personally I don't think so but I have talked to people who are certain everything will have elements of flash as the web moves forward.

Net Space

When I was updating my msn space, I really find it a great invention. It really provided a great place for us to write about anything. There are poems, music lyrics, mtv, and all other sorts of materials been posted on the msn space. Many are personal, some even used as a site to sell their goods. Other than this, msn space atually created a network of friends. This network is huge and you can meet new people from it or even find old friend. Like few days ago, there was something left in my comment, and it was by a friend that I haven't met for nearly ten years. She find me from her friend's friend's link. This really made me think the invention of internet and the msn space is so amazing and lovable!!! The net created a space for us to do many thing that we can't do in the real life, also it narrowed people's distance betweent each other.

A Random Post

Browsing the site for Kiwi fashion label Huffer, I found it rather interesting the way it attempted to fabricate an image for this diverse nation and incorporate ‘New Zealandness’ into the feel of the brand via the web.

The interface, aesthetics, information architecture and content of the website all work to illustrate the brand as youth driven, Kiwi, and a little left of centre. The navigational cues are intuitive, displaying clichéd hip-hop jargon that adds a satirical twist to its street style clothing: “Experiment yO! That’s where the collections at.” Similarly, the information is organised in a random fashion, which invites play, also illustrating its appeal to a youth market. The content of the website, particularly the unusual images used to display its clothing reinforce its satirical take on conventional fashion marketing. These aspects express humour that is typically Kiwi, especially the idea of ‘randomness’ and ‘taking the piss’.

Such techniques are characteristic of Kiwi corporate websites. Being from a multi cultural background (as many New Zealanders are), I feel like this particular conception of New Zealand is being imposed on me, and its aggravating. People have different tastes and different ideas of what makes us ‘Kiwi’ and that’s “sweet”. It’s what makes us unique. We don’t need a standardised notion to bind us together and one should certainly not have to wear Huffer to feel part of this country.