29/3/2011 Digital divide.

It seems wherever you go technology and the internet is evolving in front of our eyes.When the internet was created it seemed as it was limited.You either had the choice of using your landline or the internet,and even when accessing the internet sights were limited and lifeless.



In previous blogs i have talked about web 2.0,this is where the 21st century really began with the creativity of the users are expressing themselves in ways which didn't seem the norm in web 1.0.Whereby over the top graphics and bright colouring was used to draw in various target audiences.As we live in a society whereby the internet plays a huge way in the way we live our lives from social to running a business.We don't think twice about logging onto the internet to check out emails either on a computer or on our smart phones.But how has such a great creation divided the world in such a way.


Raymond Williams stated the three idea's of culture are;

1. A general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development

2. A particular way of life

3. The works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity

(Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction John Storey)

but when looking at the present climate can we really complain about the boom of the internet.It has allowed us to access such great and wider products.From shares all over the world for businesses to communication with long distance relatives for free.

                                         But without the internet what would we miss?

(www.dailymail.com 8.4.2011)

12th March 2011,the day the world sat in front of their televisions and watched of what could only be called the worst earthquake in the history.Whereby thousands of innocent people were swept away from their homes for miles on end.But what does technology have to do with this natural disaster?

'A powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Japan on Friday, causing widespread power outages, fires and a severe tsunami that was reported to be up to 10 meters high in places. It was the seventh most powerful earthquake in recorded history.The reaction on Twitter, quickly becoming the go-to service in emergencies, was immediate and intense. Less than an hour after the quake, with the country’s phone system knocked out, the number of tweets coming from Tokyo were topping 1,200 per minute, according to Tweet-o-Meter.' (www.mashable.com 8.4.2011)

This just shows the impact the internet has on the society that we live in,with the ability to update a status just to assure family and friends that after such a disaster that we are safe,is mind blowing.What would have happened if this earthquake his before the invention of twitter? 

Citizen journalism is whereby the public has their say on topics,this is mainly down to blogging and status updates.Citizen journalism played a huge part in the broadcasting of the earth quake on the 12th march,mainly down to the fact that it happened so quickly that the only news feed was eye witnesses account.This would have also not been possible without the use of technology and the internet.So is the internet a positive or a negative? and are we being controlled or are controlling?

Social change also plays a huge role in the way that we think about the internet.As the growing popularity of technology lovers,why is there really any need to school the digital divide from happened?

We are living in a society where the norm of reading a book is being taken over by an electronic tablet and that we don't have to meet up with friends anymore we can just log onto a social networking site and communicate with no emotion or sense of satisfaction of meeting loved ones anymore.With the majority of people know using Facebook, is the divide really make much affect from the society that we live in or is the only impact that is happening is the way in which we think about ourselves.

22/03/2011-Privacy and Surveillance.

echnology is all around us,from you reading this blog you are already using two.But no doubt you have the TV talking to itself and your mobile phone by the side,Thats already 3 things not to mention the basic living arrangements in which technology plays a huge part.But where would we be without it? Living in a dark room bored out of our brains.There is no doubt,we are dependent and whoever denies it they are lying.From checking your emails in the morning to listening to the radio on the way in uni,technology has created the person we are today.

But where does privacy come into such a great invention,shopping is stereotypically a girls best friend.But shopping in the comfort of your own home has become a world wide success.With the accessibility of products being at a click of a finger is a bonus,without even stepping out of your front door.But where there are such great inventions,there must be falls.

Fraud and Identity theft is at an all time high with the increasing amount of personal data being on put on the internet on a daily basis.But are these Paypals really all that they are cracked out to be or are we still putting ourselves in any real anger?

Cookies are the main corporate of lack of privacy on your computer,many people are unaware of them building up until your banging your keyboard to make the computer go that little bit quicker.But they are easy and quick to remove just by deleting them you are removing all of your information and personal details that you are putting on your computer on a daily bases,but what exactly do they do?

Cookies track the websites and pages which you have been on everyday,from browsing Facebook on a cold winter evening to book your 2011 summer holiday abroad.Cookies are that little stalker you love to hate lodged into your computers mechanism.But on the Apple mac this is where it gets even more simpler. In previous blogs i have talked about the way in which Apple have adapted their desktop to icons which can be represented in the real world.For example,The bin where all unwanted files and documents are disposed of.

Most people have adapted themselves to technology in day to day events,such as checking emails the weather and traffic updates.But whats the next step,Online banking!

its great,no more waiting in line to talk to a grumpy cashier and being embarrassed with your horrific student loan balance...the simple,quick and affective solution is online banking.With the ability to swap around your money on the comfort of your own home.But how does it really work and is it safe?

Barclays is a great example of online banking,the bank sends you a keypad whereby you enter your pin and every time you use it a new 8 figured code appears to allow access to your account online....As simple as that.But should people really put their hard earned money in the hands of a computer chip or should we continue spending our days in hot sweaty banks.

But with the invention of the Iphone, the use of surveillance is a positive. With the ability to have an application which will track where you are so you never loose a car to be able to have the map of the world for your random adventures to a new destination.There is no doubt that surveillance is sometimes a pain but on the other hand,can be very helpful in unpleasant situations.

So,from looking at the way in which technology has adapted our humanly nature to only be confident using paper and pen technology has beaten us again with the fascinating capability of change our humanly instinct to keep our personal details to ourselves and that bank tender rather than putting important information on the corrupted source,we call the internet.

18/03/2011 The Open Source Movement.

Free Source,is a great way of accessing information without putting your hand into your wallet.But should we take on the role of Brazil and ensure that every information which is set on the internet is free,or should we stick to the old fashion ways of copyright and regulation?


So many websites in the 21st Century have become free source,maybe its the manufacturers accepting that whether there are copyright laws put in place,we can still get around them.For example,music download.Musicians plea to their audiences to ensure that they buy their music rather than illegally downloading their albums for free.But in an economic state that we are living in,does the average working person opt for the free 'illegal' download or to log onto their Itunes account to purchase an album which would isn't even a hardcopy.

 2.bp.blogspot.com

Facebook,the biggest social networking site of today.But why?  is it because it is an Open source,whereby the target audience don't have to pay to access or use the site or is it just mainly down to the convenience that 1 in 4 people state that they communicate more online than they do in person.It seems in the way in which we live our lives in the 21st Century that technology has taken over our ability of communication.From the simple ways of communication from talking to a friend to automatically picking up your phone and texting,technology has adapted us into being dependent on them.

Have you ever read the small print on your facebook page,and when you upload that drunken picture of your best friend on a night out,is that picture still infact yours by the time that little bar reaches 100%?

                                                          The answer is NO!

Facebook states, 'You retain the copyright to your content. When you upload your content you grant us a license to use and display your content. For more information please visit our Terms of Use, which contain a link to our Copyright Policy and other important information about your privileges and responsibilities as a Facebook user.' (www.broadstuff.com)

This basically states in simple terms that when you put information and pictures on the internet,the internet owns it.For example,if you put your name into google images,there will at least be a picture of you from your Facebook account.This is mainly down to the fact that Facebook and being the biggest social networking site,there could potentially be a few.

                                                         

                                                      (www.geekologie.com)

Steven Levey stated in his book 'the birth of hacker culture' that all software should be free and that computers can change your life for the better' but is this really true,and does the accessibility of new and advanced software achieve that?                                        

 But wherever there is a great invention there are always faults,in softwares case this is bugs and viruses.Microsoft is the most used software in the competing world,but if its so popular with the audience then why is there still hackers picking away at the genius invention to corrupt files.and with the increasing likability of Apple,But why are macs so immune from these viruses?

Richard Stallman stated a great quote in defining what free source really is,to the concept that free source is like free speech not free beer?  This pinpoints the main aspiration of Stallman in the ways in which he speaks about free source,that the industry of competing is just money hungry.With the exceeding costs of Microsoft Word costing around £80,which is hardly a small cost to students.But this is where free source comes in,with the ability to access software with just a click of a button.

11/3/2011-Nobody likes a cheat.

As presented before in previous,the magic circle is a pretty bizarre place,with the ability to capture the imaginations of the target audience into a game which to me frank,would never be able to happen in the real world.But what happens when these 'magic circles' get invaded with glitches and cheats which wish to destroy their perfectly designed stories.


“A glitch, or a ‘bug’ as it is sometimes known, is a generic term for the result of a programming error. Glitches vary significantly in their scale and severity and range from graphical artefacts or anomalies that do not dramatically affect or alter gameplay to those that can crash the game, and even the system on which it is running, or corrupt save data, thereby eliminating a gamer’s recorded progress" P. 114 –Playing with Videogames, James Newman, Routledge, 2009


Glitches are a great way of indicating that not everything is perfect in the realm of gaming,whereby the game is of such a detail with a huge platform resulting in substantial problems.A prime example of this is Fall out New Vegas.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMa-CGhXahw)

But forget about the moonwalking dogs or the floating Dr.Mitchells head in Fall out New Vegas,why are people creating cheats and why cant we all just learn to play a game without having to thrive for victory.Many may say that we are living in a society where top dog is all that matters and that we all will take the easiest route to get to the destination the quickest,but are these rules still followed the same in the gaming world?

Thousands of webpages appear with crafty cheats to complete a level on search engines,But to what extreme do these gamers go to defeat the gaming world.Whereever you go few games are being produced whether its the latest call of duty game to lego harry potter,there are always parts that you feel are not humanly possible.

Steven Poole stated in his book of Videogame Incoherence that there were three main types of incoherences in the gaming world.

          Incoherence of Causality.                                     Incoherence of Function. 

   

                                                         Incoherence of Space.

But what do all these games have in common......glitches and thousands of cheats which are created by the so called 'gaming fan'.But to what expect is gaming now about the enjoyment and satisfying feeling that you have completed a game.Many people would say that they do it for the experience,but truthfully,its all about winning.But still there are cheats and glitches being created to show that the human kind are trying not to be sucked in by the gaming world,with the time and brain power that technology lacks.With the conclusion that We can think we are winning,but really its a loosing battle.