graceC300

Course Overview

2006-05-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Taking Concepts of New Media was more beneficial than anything. By taking this course, I’ve learned so much more about technology and its advancements. We touched on most key technologies that, stepping back and looking at them, will (and already does) affect not only our communication, but on a broader aspect, transform our economy, environment, social interactions and how we respond interpersonally. This is probably the most important thing I learned in the class, that technology affects people in all arenas of life, whether it be our personal relationships or our health. New media like VoIP and WiFi will alter the way people interact, transforming us into more or less relational people. Additionally, I’ve realized that there are always two sides to a new technology: a good and a bad. I wish we had more time to cover technologies in this aspect – looking at how technologies negatively and positively affect society. I believe that covering both approaches to technology would have created insightful discussion. From the discussion, people could have developed a better understanding on where society (an incremental portion) stood on certain issues of technology.
The topic that was the least interesting to me was the “Finding and Evaluation Online Communications,” week 3 discussion. The reading did cover the information overload, where the reading elaborated on the good and the bad aspects, however, the good and the bad topics dealt with information overload more than an in depth look on how technology affected interpersonal, political, or environmental interactions. I felt the discussion to be important, but not as interesting as the other topics we studied in the course.

VoIP take over?

2006-05-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

VoIP offers “free phone calls” through the Internet. Anything that appears or is offered for free is definitely a call for more consumers, especially if you consider the new medium to be reliable. The VoIP service will lure more consumers to replace their prefer method of communication from the telephone to online communication. The cable and telephone networks will, in time, suffer dramatic losses and have to adapt to new methods of service. However, at the present time, if cable and telephone networks are creating and forming new approaches to adapt to this new technology, than they probably will not see much dramatic change, since people will tend to stick with companies that they’ve worked with before. This brings up a major topic: the integration of cable and telephone services. If say, Comcast, were to offer VoIP services to their customers, than not only would Comcast have a large population of cable consumers, but a new “telephone” aggregate of consumers. There would probably be a shift in the way the cable and telephone industries provide service to their customers, and inevitably, only a few companies would enable their customers to have satisfaction of both. Therefore, potentially, there may not be much of an impact on cable and telephone networks.
A concern, however, is for the infrastructure of the VoIP network and immediacy. Existing telephone networks, since working on phantom power, would supply service, even if the power went out, whereas VoIP would fail being dependent on wall power. Emergency calls would be a challenge since VoIP would be using IP-addressed phone numbers, and not NANP phone numbers. These are major issues that cannot be ignored. On that note, telephone and cable industries may offer packages that are separate or integrate VoIP services along with traditional communications. I’m not positive how that would work, but it could happen to make sure that a companies consumer base would rise and not fall.

Discussion Questions:
1. Would you trust VoIP services? How does this relate to your concept of the Internet and the telephone and their security?
2. What type of social ramifications do you see with VoIP?
3. Do you weigh reliability as more important than easy access? Why or why not?

Public Space & Access

2006-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Should the Internet be available and accessible for everyone, as in everyone in the world? The answer is yes! The cyberspace is a public space, meaning that it’s a place for anyone and everyone to enter, communicate in and use. However, there are limitations depending on one’s demographics. For cyberspace accessibility, the desired user needs to have several things. For one, there needs to be connectivity. A great example in the reading was the Connectivity of Wireless Networks diagram. In a rural area, radio tower A to tower B would need to have point-to-point connection, because it supports just a single radio and antenna on either side of the link.
Radios and antennas would then make a set of point-to-multipoint connection to the radio towers thus emitting a blanket of signals to cover a specific area. An individual personal computer from another close-by location (within range) would be able to access the signal, allowing all personal computers with simple wireless network interface cards to connect and access the Internet. Though it may seem as though extremely rural areas or developing areas may experience difficulty, financially and structurally, new and low-cost technologies, especially “terrestrial wireless infrastructure” are being created by small enterprises that provide “locally tailored value-added services.” Also, the relationship between cyberspace and accessibility standards is political. Policy-makers, from the issuing government to the service provider must “view rural and universal access as drivers of development and not sources of government revenue.” The right and freedom to have access to the web is a right and freedom for all people.

Discussion Questions:
1. What do you predict will happen to the culture of nations that adapt and integrate new technologies - ones that never had technology before?
2. Do you think it's benefical for cafes or coffee shops to offer free WiFi?
3. Do you see the whole world going wireless at some point in time? Why or why not?

Cantwell Versus McGavick

2006-05-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times article about Maria Cantwell gave me the impression that she was a strong, independent, and motivated character with several political aspirations. While the article stated Cantwell’s firm stance issues like the environmental (a big concern for me), Mike McGavick’s coverage made him appear as a family-oriented man whose political agenda concerned more local issues. McGavick’s persona was written to seem more manly and strict with statements regarding his business background and his remarks on Maria Cantwell.

On Cantwell’s home page, immediately you’ll find on the right-hand side the option to add yourself to her e-mailing list, an opportunity to attend an event with former President Clinton and Cantwell, a method to contribute financially, and a petition for a bill regarding the environment. However, an actual opportunity to interact with voters directly on her web page is absent since she lacks mediated communication like blogs or forums on her website. The only way to respond to Cantwell is to leave a comment in the comment box. On the other hand, McGavick’s website incorporates blogs, an audio and video gallery, and archives. Visually, a viewer can interact by watching videos of his past speeches or audibly listen to his campaign ads or interviews. This way, I believe, is a strategic approach in enabling a viewer to stay on his page and experience more thoroughly his campaign.

An important issue for me is conservation, or the environment. For Cantwell, her concern is easily visible on her website. She states is upfront on her home page with a link to aid her in her petition for a bill. She also discusses her point-of-view on her “About” page. But, Cantwell’s site fails to include a direct link to her main issues. You would have to find her concerns by reading through her “About” page and scan for the topics. The same does not hold true for McGavick. He includes a direct link to his “Issues,” therefore it was extremely easy to find his views on the environment. Cantwell descriptions are more thorough, but McGavick is short, concise and easily accessible.

I trust Maria Cantwell more than McGavick. But I agree with McGavick more so on some topics than Cantwell. One main reason is because she holds more experience in the political field. I want to also side with her more since she is particularly interested in involving her political efforts towards sustainability in the environment.

Bush verus Kerry

2006-05-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Why did the Bush web-designers create a site that basically required the audience to have up-to-date technology with speedy access, when the “red” states, where Bush received a large chunk of his support, were in large rural populations with slow access? Though this question cannot be explicitly answered, the compared sites between Bush and Kerry reveal that the democratic spectrum hired smarter web-designers that applied a navigation-friendly interface that included consistency and efficient usability design. Additionally, Kerry’s site produced time-stamped blogs, which to a viewer, is extremely essential since the whole election is time-sensitive. And although both sites failed to receive the Section 508 approval, the Kerry site was the overall cream of the crop.
The description of how both web-pages were laid out leads me to question what the intentions were behind the design. If Bushes site was more linear, less user-friendly, and incorporated several usability failures, what does this state about their political party? Same question applies to Kerry’s site as well. If the people of the government, whom hold so much power cannot hire decent IT people or web-designers, then that says to me that these people in our government cannot even be excellent with a simple site! I’m hoping to see sites that are more simplified, have specific and concise information with excellent navigational tools. I mean, come on – if you want people to vote for you, make it easy!

Internet & Politics

2006-05-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

Internet technology has created a new pathway for timely, easy access and quick viewing of information. Whether the information revolves around news, entertainment or weather, the Internet is a common source used and potentially the primary source in the next couple years (sooner than later probably). The Internet has changed the way people look for information, particularly the news or information regarding the political agenda. What is amazing is that for the 2004 election, the Washington Post and the New York Times provided real-time coverage of the primary and general election campaign. Real-time media coverage online represents a form of online television but intermixed with a TiVo-like option. In the long run, I see more video coverage online than ever before – especially with software and applications like YouTube and MySpace Videos steadily growing and being used more frequently in addition to similar software. Furthermore, information, political or not, may be updated as frequently as one wants. During the campaign, updates were hourly, and public opinion polls were visited more frequently and viewed first before print versions were available. Readers may additionally view secondary sources and related links on political websites that allow them to bypass print and television media altogether. People also access Internet news, which tend to be more national and international than what is found in their local newspaper, that influences their views more narrowly than openly. For example, on a page for a political issue, you will find hyperlinks to related sites that either go more in depth or give a visual diagram about the issue. The related sites can potentially enhance the information obtainable and the psychological engagement people develop with the issue. Therefore, the point-of-view a reader initially held could potentially become more extreme or totally obstructed by using the Internet as a source for political news.
Joe Trippi, a.k.a. the Organization Man, had the right idea of gaining public awareness and support by creating a public discussion/chat board with Wavoid. Although I don’t agree with how he manipulated voters during his Kennedy aide, he had the right approach of creating a group atmosphere. I also agree with authors of the article in Journal of Online Behavior that the “Internet news sources best explain[s] political knowledge among those who use them and suggest that Internet news may surpass newspapers as the select political information source of the future.” Because of the availability for immediate feedback, multiple resources, and public opinion, the Internet will dominate the political media. The only concern is the idea that political media via Internet will create constricted ideologies and perceptions of people, candidates, issues etc.

Discussion Questions:
1. Has the Internet influenced your perception of a specific political party? If yes, How so? If not, why don’t you think so?
2. “The people who say they're definitely supporting your candidate are assigned a "one." The people who say they're leaning your way get a "two." And the people who say they're for the other guy get a "three." Your job is to convert all your twos to ones and to keep your ones from sliding.” Do you believe that blogging is now the method for persuasion or is calling still more effective?
3. Will you vote online in the future or will you vote at a physical polling station? Why did you choose what you chose?

in-class exercise

2006-05-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

PART ONE
source:english.ohmynews.com
13 TOTAL FEEDS
Stories include:
1. Main News
2. Korea
3. World
4. Technology
5. Arts&Life
6. Entertainment
7. GlobalNews
8. OhMyNews at a Glance
9. Sports
10. Asia Pacific
11. Africa & MiddleEast
12. Americas
13. Europe
No sponsored blogs
No archives accessible, since no database of archives.
Free to view material.

Source:pbs.org
12 TOTAL FEEDS
Stories include:
1. Frontline
2. Frontline/World
3. I, Cringley
4. Mediashift
5. NerdTV
6. NOVA
7. NOVA scienceNOW
8. NOW
9. Online NewsHour
10. PBS Ombudsman
11. Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
12. Tavis Smiley
Sponsored Blogs = 3
1. www.typepad.com
2. www.lithium.com
3. www.squarespace.com
No archive database
Free to view material

Comparison
Acknowleding that most online mainstream news requires a login, subscription, fee or all the above, sites like PBS and OhMyNews are probably viewed more and thus drawing in more readers because of the exclusion of a "login" barrier. Furthermore, this growing trend is likely to affect the method in which mainstream media will attract more viewers and persuade them to subscribe as paying consumers. My guess is that eventually, mainstream media will have to offer more information or reduce their pricing to attract more readers or influence people to believe that their news source is the most accurate and reliable as the popularity of blog news becomes more prominent in society.

PART TWO
- If you sort by the quotations, whatever you put into parathesis shows up by whatever the search engine found. Whatever word you choose to put in parenthesis, the searh engine will find that specific word.
- When I clicked on the tag section, related tags, such as technology, digital-divide, Internet, E-Government, and development came up. Therefore all the articles relating to those tags that the search engine could find popped up.
- WEIRD. When I clicked on the "Blog Finder" tab, my results took about 30+ seconds to search, but what actually came up weren't results, but this:
"There are no blogs tagged digital divide yet.
However, I changed my search word to "digital-divide," adding the hyphen, and then there were results.
People who had blogs related to my topic included
1. Jonathan Schwartz's Weblog
2. Morph-The Media Center conversation
3. Media Metamorphosis
- There were 18 posts within the last 12 hours. However, altogether, there are 11,336 links to Blogcritics.org. If there is an average of 18 posts per 12 hours, than in a day, there is an average of 36 posts. With my topic however, there are 18,744 related links. This is not surprising for my topic, since it is one of the more popular topics dicussed on blogs throughout the world (since it affects a majority of people).
- Using Google, for "link:blogcritics.org" found 23,900 related links. Google found more related links than Technorati. I believe they are different because Google is a larger search engine that may include links that also include the actual word blogcritics.org. I also believe that Google may have found more sites because they are a more advanced and popular search engine.
- Blogrolls help you find other sources on similar topics because they provide links that are related to similar topics immediately. Usually, you can find them on the sidebars.

Side Kicked

2006-05-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

Blogging has created an outlet for expressive news where a writer’s employer or salary does not limit their style of news telling. Because the root of established media in terms of communication and information is from a corporate point-of-view and influence, people are looking to blogs to find information that is closer to the truth. Hence, blogging is the new alternative source for information. There are two major types of established media that blogging effects. One Big Media blogging effects is newspapers and the second is radio.
The newspaper industry, like a human body, includes many parts. Each part plays a specific role that affects another part. Within the industry, you have editors, writers, producers and more. However with blogging, one person has all the choices and makes all the decisions. Information is therefore less filtered, you can say, or raw. Furthermore, blogging is more personal. With the September 11th attacks, people in New York City used the power of the publishing tool to post links to articles from various news organizations to provide more information and context than the Big Media. People were posting the life status of specific individuals to let others know that they were okay.
A similar media like blogging, called podcasting, affects the other Big Media, radio. Radio actually was a precursor to the blogging phenomenon since “regular people” were invited to give their opinions. However, podcasting has changed the options of listening to radio all together since it provided people with the choice of, with one click of a button, to receive a 30-minute segment of the days news, automatically downloaded when it was available. The news in those 30 minutes were of the highlights around the world, not just local news.
The implications of blogging or podcasting on the established media are substantial. Over time, the concept of choice will indubitably affect the means of communications for news corporations, radio broadcasting companies and the like. I foresee the diminishing of smaller news companies, the radio being solely dominant for real time events and entertainment and blogging and podcasting maturing to a higher level of standards that in turn will increase its use and audience.

Discussion Questions:

1. "A shallow citizenry can be turned into a dangerous mob more easily than an informed one." How has blogging contributed to "shallow citizenry"?
2. Most people will never meet except online. How has blogging contributed, will further contribute and potentially hurt people groups from different areas of the world?
3. Information technology, will lead—among many other things—to mass customization, disintermediation (elimination of middlemen), and media convergence. Do you believe this to be true? Why or why not?

Open Source Software Movement

2006-04-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

The open source software movement suggests that programs and applications should be free for all for the sake of social contribution. My assumption is that as this movement advances further into the future and more open source software becomes available, people will not only see a rise of public discourse, but a more technologically knitted society. If people had choice, imagine the creativity, flow of ideas, and intermeshing of various forms of communications without the barriers. Communication scholars would see a rise in online community groups or social software, and new trends of mediated communication would probably arise.
Another arena that would have considerable change is the political and business realm of online discourse. Companies or markets would have to begin involving social software standard to sell their business because the method of reliability would become more so dependent on the feedback from some sort of an online public bulletin than anywhere else. On the political side, authorities may see a rise in the second superpower, where there is an overwhelming retaliatory force from the public.
One thing to caution however is the potential for chaos and disorder. A question to consider is how the open source software movement will negatively affect society. Communication scholars must look ahead to this movement and see the pros and cons of how the public could benefit or take advantage of the movement. Is this movement ultimately for good or is it for rebellion against a larger issue? People’s social interaction will change as well as their perception of what is “allowed.” There will be no more copyrights or patent laws of any kind if this movement progresses towards its desired state.

Discussion Questions:

1. How will this movement affect businesses such as Apple and Microsoft?
2. Do you see the movement as a unifying approach (movement) or a chaotic approach (movement)?
3. If open source software movement was accepted in the next few years, what do you predict would happen to public discourse?

Social Software & The Politics of Groups

2006-04-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Looking back on history, immediate, fluid and largely demographic social dialogue was unseen and unheard of until the Internet was introduced. Social software, such as blogs, Chat or Instant Messaging, function as a pathway for evocative conversations. A concentrated depth, breadth and frequency of the conversations have a chance of creating a strong potential movement and/or commotion to stir up physical action for which the discourse is placed upon. As a result of the birth of the Internet, social software evolved the concept of groups to become entities themselves, which is different than any other tools of communication. Furthermore, the Internet allows for people to speak freely to a considerable degree. This allows for less censorship over sensitive topics and thus creating a raw and unified community of beliefs and goals among an aggregate. Therefore social software is virtually political science in “executable form.”
Though I personally have not participated in political discourse over the World Wide Web, I foresee myself initiating conversation in the near future. I do also acknowledge the power of social software and how it empowers the politics of groups. Everyone encompasses beliefs and values and for some, their values are so important that they must be shared. To make known a value to eventually develop a collective group is an action that I believe is essential for anyone who has goals and desires to express their ideas. Social software has designed a new platform for individual expression and collective agreement to truly enhance one’s experience of sharing of ideas in a quick, responsive, and reciprocal way.

My computer & I

2006-04-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

I use my computer and my cell phone on a daily basis; there was not one day within the past 2 years where I did not check my email or use my phone. After reading the Norman article, I realized that my computer and cell phone brought more order to my life than I had initially assumed. Thus I began to understand why Norman called humans “analog devices following biological modes of operation.” Humans are compliant, flexible and tolerant to varying degrees and furthermore, we are subject to change constantly whereas machines are rigid, fixed and intolerant. I plan on purchasing a Blackberry or a PDA within the next year because I cannot rely on my own memory or a paper-based planner to contain all the information about meetings, dates and events that are going on in my life. I need the capability, functionality and speed of a digital device that can ‘remember’ for me. I am fallible – prone to error, forgetful, imprecise, and hold a short attention span. To a degree, I wish to be more like a machine – accurate, punctual, detailed and capable to hold a larger capacity of memory. Because of this, I view of my relationship with machines as a reciprocal relationship.
My machines (computer & mobile phone) cause me to be reliant on them because they keep order in my life. For this very reason, I am able to live without the stress of worrying about what I have to execute next. However, I give the computer life because I store information in it. I make use of the phone because I use it to talk to people. I feed my machines information and they store the data and keep it the way I had originally inserted it. I go back to my machine when I need information that I cannot remember on my own. My creativity, thoughts, poems, art, and music – things that in a way define me – are inhabited in my machines. Machines like my computer can be seen much like a mute study partner that knows a lot about you – orderly, precise, undistractable, and logical.
Overall, machines and people are opposites, yet this is the very reason why we need each other. People are qualitative while machines are quantitative. One value cannot exist without the other. Machines give balance to humans and to all of our “bad things.” Ultimately, I see myself being engulfed in the latest technologies in my future more so than now. I own a PowerBook G4, a video 5G iPod, a video/photo capable mobile phone, a PDA, and digital cable. Soon enough, I will own far more. I question myself though – will I become entirely dependent to the point where I cannot function normally without these machines? I hope not. One thing I’m afraid of with the advancing of machines is whether or not one day they’ll encompass creativity and resourcefulness to the point where I’ll go to my machine for such ideas. A scary thought indeed.

Discussion Questions:

1. “Yes, digital is good for our contemporary machines, but analog might be better for future machines. And analog is certainly far better for people.” Do you believe that analog will be more beneficial to people in the future? Why or why not? Which do you prefer, analog or digital?

2. People hear what is intended, not what is said. With face-to-face communication, people ask “real questions that have real answers and real meaning.” In your preference, does it matter that you just get the point of the message or that you understand accurately the message being conveyed? How has accuracy affected you in computer-to-person compared to person-to-person communication?

3. Foreign, developing countries like Nigeria are capable of having only transit agreements whereas countries like Europe and the United States have peering agreements. This is causing less economically stable countries like Nigeria to pay a major outflow of capital to send “domestic traffic” over international connections, thus effectively subsidizing the largest, richest ISPs. Do you view the Internet as a type of growing commodity that could be somewhat like what oil is to America to developing countries? Explain.

Do I Get Technostress?

2006-04-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

No, not really.

I personally feel fortunate to have the plethora of information readily available via Internet. In retrospect, people spent more time and energy to find information because they lacked access and quantity. I enjoy the comfort of being able to retrieve information quickly and with minimal travel. However, I do not ignore the negative aspects of the excess of information, which leads to a dubiousness of the quality of information presented on the Internet. I’ve encountered (and still do) a few issues with the density of information on the Internet. Let me elaborate.
Fine and Newman point out two distinguishable types of information – “information” and “real need knowledge.” Majority of the time, I am specific in my search for information, thus I experience less of “information” but more of “real need knowledge.” Yet in a couple circumstances, like researching for a paper that requires an extremely specific topic, I experience difficulty in finding the exact information that is needed. I read copious and various kinds of dialogue and discussion on the Internet, yet each piece of information hold its own value and credibility, which is ultimately subjective. Thus, I try to practice what Fine and Newman emphasized in their article about how “an individual must be willing to sacrifice the possibility of “instantaneous response” for greater accuracy of retrieval.”
Another issue I come across is with recall. Because “recalling information requires more cognitive effort than recognizing information,” I, at times, struggle with remembering what I had just read or seen. This leads to confusion and distortion, which unfortunately causes me to become disorganized.
SPAM has become ubiquitous and has affected anyone with free email. This type of unnecessary information needs to be controlled and regulated better. In the case of newsgroups or networking companies, emails should be protected better and with a higher level of service. If AOL blocks 780 million pieces of junk e-mail daily, than in combination with other e-mail service providers, the number must be outlandish.
Furthermore, all the jobs I’ve applied to, or will apply to will require from me various technical skills. I am included in the 71 percent of workers who say that their main job is tracking down information. The amount of information on the Internet does affect my efficiency in terms of accuracy as well as my time.
Overall, I rarely experience technostress because I am wise in my research, but I would rather have the ease of accessing information on the billions of websites that come with the technostress than having to look for information by physical travel.

Discussion Questions:

1. In the Carlson essay, he states that, “Objectively, the amounts of readily available information have increased exponentially in each of the last five decades. There is no indication at present that this rate of increase will not
continue to apply in the foreseeable future.” Every 1 second, 17 new websites are being formed and new information is constantly being found. What is your projection for the next five decades? What are your thoughts?

2. Carlson also continues to say in his essay that, “Excessive emphasis on technology-based solutions should definitely be avoided.” Referring back to question one, do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

3. What are some possible solutions to reduce junk e-mail? What are some ways junk e-mail can be regulated?

"INTERNET: Making the Connections" Overview

2006-04-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

The acceleration of technology, specifically with the Internet is ever increasing. With what originally started for military and government use, now a day, a large portion of the world uses the Internet on a daily basis for various methods of communication and information. The creation and maturity of the ARPANET has led to the birth of the Internet, which has become since its initial vision what Licklider laid out – a "communication medium between people." A multitude of communities exist and are constantly being created via Internet. The demand for the Internet has led to the demand for faster connections. With a rising number of users connecting everyday for everyday needs, companies like Comcast, Qwest, and Verizon are competing for consumers. Within the last half-century, “broadband subscriptions rose over 50%, with an additional 48% growth in 2003.” Furthermore, reports have shown that “39% of adult Internet users have broadband access at home.” There is a high probability that the trend will only grow over time when even broadband connections will be “too slow.”

In light of the evolution of the Internet, and myself being a college student who uses the Internet daily, it would be interesting to see if in the future there would be no use for classrooms, but that students and teachers would communicate via live Chat using web cameras to dialogue. As classrooms are become more reliant on Internet technology and web presentations, this change in teaching style could possible come about. Moreover, businesses are already using this type of technology for global communication. It’s only a matter of time before people will no longer need to meet together in a building to talk, but will use digital technology and the Internet to communicate.

"As We May Think" Reflection

2006-04-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

Machines including the typewriter, movie camera and automobile, back when Bush wrote his essay were acknowledged to have great reliability. In recent times, this still holds true for all technology Bush mentioned and for technology now. Consider the cellular phone, PDAs, digital cameras, and wireless phones – each technology is believed to be reliable. In view of the frequency of usage, like the cellular phone, one could argue that aside from its reliability, people have become dependent on some technologies. When Bush states that, “something is bound to come of it,” which he was referring to our great reliability on technology, dependency is what I believe he foresaw.

Bush mentions a scenario that discusses a potential (at the time) technology beneficial to consumers at department stores. With copious customers, he suggests that there be some method of rapid selection of cards being slid and read. Totals would then be computed by their dry photography and read by photocell and electron beam. Fast-forwarding to the present time, I think of credit card machine readers and scanners used at retail or grocery stores. Almost every transaction is recorded electronically. The “rapid selection” Bush mentions is when we choose what credit/debit card we use to complete the transaction. Computers allow all records of the transaction to be taken without human aid. Therefore the scanner scans whatever item by an electron beam, the total is read and transmitted to a central machine, and lastly, the magnetic strip acts as the “dry photography,” and records the total of the whole transaction. If Bush thought of this technology about 60 years ago, 60 years from now, a simple transaction may be as complicated technologically as it was thought to be back in ’45, but become incredibly faster than we know today in 2006. We may possibly begin giving fingerprints, voice commands, or retina scans 60 years from now – all are possibilities.

The “Memex” Bush refers to in his essay compares to today’s modern computer in terms of his vision of speed and flexibility. The computer does function like a “mechanized private file and library.” It is capable of holding massive amounts of information including “books, records, and communications.” Laptops are an example of the “Memex” Bush explains to be like a desk that can be operated from a distance, like a piece of furniture. Laptops are flexible in terms of mobility – it can move as easily as a piece of furniture. You can use the Internet to view readings that are, say, 5000 pages long, by simply downloading files and viewing them on PDF. We have the option of turning to an exact page by entering in the page number. There are a plethora of shortcuts on keyboards or software that act like the “special button,” where it would transfer anyone to an index of a reading, like for the 5000-page essay. The Internet also allows a person to look up something specific, like the bow and arrow example, in an instant. However, if Bush were alive now, he would see the awesome amount of information readily available – in the billions in fact – that can be accessed via Internet. The Internet and its importance and usage is growing at an exponential speed, where major corporations in stock exchange consist of technology based companies, children at a younger age are learning how to use computers, and the media where people look to for information is narrowly becoming via online. The Internet in 2045 years will be drastically altered – it will be ubiquitous in all arenas of life. Every day life and all of our routines will be based around the Internet. We will live in a exclusively digital based world. Our trips to the grocery store, to the mall, through car washes and our personal banking will be connected to the usage of the Internet, but extremely more frequent than today. The change in the Internet will affect businesses, jobs, academia and all forms of communication.

Discussion Questions:

1) In respect to reliable (or dependable) technology, what are the social ramifications of our modern machines?
2) There are environmental benefits from the advancement of technology, specifically from computers. If in the future, all of academia (from grade school & beyond) required only computer-based work, what would your response be to the change? Why?
3) Do you think print-based newspapers will exists in the next 10 years? Why or why not?

COM 300 Is Amazing

2006-03-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hello COM 300 -

My name is Grace. I hope you enjoy my work.

Cheers --