This is a news story about a group of uni students who created a drug to cure hangovers.
Riket - Avarter (Scarecrow Records)
8 years ago
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
week 7 lecture
This lecture was about creative commons and free/open source software.
CREATIVE COMMONS:
sites like creativecommons.org (started in 2002) provide tools so that people can make their works available to the public with licenses that are more flexible. It enable "some rights reserved" rather than "all rights reserved". The creator can allow people to use their work under certain conditions; for example they could specify that it can't be used for commercial purposes.
The idea of creative commons comes from the free software movement.
FREE SOFTWARE:
First of all one needs to understand what source code is: it is the intructions written in programing code that tell the computer what to do.
Historically software was free becuase there was no market for it so creators shared their work. Anyone could take someone elses software and access the source code to change it to fit their needs. Then when Microsoft started producing and marketing software they stopped people from accessing the source code. One couldn't change the product they were sold.
Richard M Stallmab started the Free Software Foundation in 1981 because he believed people should be free to:
0. run the program as they wished, for any purpose
1. study how the program works and adapt to thier needs
2. redistrible copies of the program to help thier nieghbour
3. improve the program and release it to the public.
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE is a new name for free software that makes it more marketable to busieness. It is called open source because the source code is open for people to access. PROPRIETY SOFTWARE on the other hand is closed source as the source code is confidential. Legally you can't change propriety software like windows or copy it for a friend.
This week we were challenged to try a free software program.
I already always use Firefox because I prefer it to Explorer. One great benifit of it being open source is that people are always creating new applications for it. Like the Stumble toolbar which takes me to sites that it thinks I might find interesting. It's terrible when I'm procrastinating over an assignment. I think Firefox is also easier to understand than Explorer. I feels like it was made by people who use computers and understand what propriety software is lacking.
I decided to try Gimp the photo editor too. I've never really used a photo editing program but I found Gimp easy to understand. As with Firefox it feels like it was created by people who want an easy, workable and useful program; not some programmers in a big office who's job it is to create something people will buy.
I also use VLC media player all the time. Because it will play anything. Oh and because it's free.
CREATIVE COMMONS:
sites like creativecommons.org (started in 2002) provide tools so that people can make their works available to the public with licenses that are more flexible. It enable "some rights reserved" rather than "all rights reserved". The creator can allow people to use their work under certain conditions; for example they could specify that it can't be used for commercial purposes.
The idea of creative commons comes from the free software movement.
FREE SOFTWARE:
First of all one needs to understand what source code is: it is the intructions written in programing code that tell the computer what to do.
Historically software was free becuase there was no market for it so creators shared their work. Anyone could take someone elses software and access the source code to change it to fit their needs. Then when Microsoft started producing and marketing software they stopped people from accessing the source code. One couldn't change the product they were sold.
Richard M Stallmab started the Free Software Foundation in 1981 because he believed people should be free to:
0. run the program as they wished, for any purpose
1. study how the program works and adapt to thier needs
2. redistrible copies of the program to help thier nieghbour
3. improve the program and release it to the public.
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE is a new name for free software that makes it more marketable to busieness. It is called open source because the source code is open for people to access. PROPRIETY SOFTWARE on the other hand is closed source as the source code is confidential. Legally you can't change propriety software like windows or copy it for a friend.
This week we were challenged to try a free software program.
I already always use Firefox because I prefer it to Explorer. One great benifit of it being open source is that people are always creating new applications for it. Like the Stumble toolbar which takes me to sites that it thinks I might find interesting. It's terrible when I'm procrastinating over an assignment. I think Firefox is also easier to understand than Explorer. I feels like it was made by people who use computers and understand what propriety software is lacking.
I decided to try Gimp the photo editor too. I've never really used a photo editing program but I found Gimp easy to understand. As with Firefox it feels like it was created by people who want an easy, workable and useful program; not some programmers in a big office who's job it is to create something people will buy.
I also use VLC media player all the time. Because it will play anything. Oh and because it's free.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Lecture 6
Lecture six was all about our consumption of media (or content). Two types of ways in which we consume content created by traditional media producers, and increasingly new types of producers, were outlined. These are the 'big' and 'small' screens of life. 'Big' screen refers to the older cinema, TV and PC. While new personal media players, mobile phones, and smart phones are 'small' screen. The 'big' screens traditionally meant that viewers were passive - the media was broadcast to them at a certain time and they had little control over the media. However increasingly consumption is becoming more personal with the use of small screens and as the consumers become involved in the production process.
In the lecture we looked at fan films such as 280 days and also 'Trailer Mash'. These forms of entertainment show how fans and consumers within a 'niche-market' are involved in the production of media.
Mobile phones are playing a large part in the changing way in which people interact with technology and media; especially when it comes to the news. Consumers can now receive updates on their phone and also participate in the production of news. For example we are beginning to see mobile phone footage on actual news programs. Though it must be said that the footage recorded on mobile phones is rarely good quality.
In the lecture we looked at fan films such as 280 days and also 'Trailer Mash'. These forms of entertainment show how fans and consumers within a 'niche-market' are involved in the production of media.
Mobile phones are playing a large part in the changing way in which people interact with technology and media; especially when it comes to the news. Consumers can now receive updates on their phone and also participate in the production of news. For example we are beginning to see mobile phone footage on actual news programs. Though it must be said that the footage recorded on mobile phones is rarely good quality.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Week 5 - Field Trip
In my opinion 3D IM environments are drastically different from the regular MSN style IM programs. In the 3D virtual reality environments people behave in a way that mimics real life. They can get jobs and make money, meet people and get married, buy and sell, and socalise in environments that are similar to the clubs, parks and shops of reality. Regular IM on the other hand is merely a form of conversing. People can lie in conversation about who they really are but in virtual world the lie extends to behavior and appearance.
It is possible for the events in a 3D IM to cross over into reality; more so than in a program like MSN. For example people can spend real money in these created worlds; they can invest, go bankrupt and make real money. This opens up the possibility of businesses within this worlds. People can also engage in sexual behaviour that goes beyond the boundries imposed by regular IM's. It has been seen that the trauma of rape within this 3D world can cross over into reality and effect the person sitting in front of a computer. So should the laws of reality be enforcable within a 'game' or program?
It is possible for the events in a 3D IM to cross over into reality; more so than in a program like MSN. For example people can spend real money in these created worlds; they can invest, go bankrupt and make real money. This opens up the possibility of businesses within this worlds. People can also engage in sexual behaviour that goes beyond the boundries imposed by regular IM's. It has been seen that the trauma of rape within this 3D world can cross over into reality and effect the person sitting in front of a computer. So should the laws of reality be enforcable within a 'game' or program?
Week 5 Lecture
Social Media and Web 2.0
I found this lecture thought provoking. The idea that people are creating alternate lives for themselves in virtual social media sites makes one ask a lot of questions about why and what it means. It seems to challenge the idea of individual identity that has remained unchanged for so long. As the Turkle quote in the lecture slides says, in these online social sites "we self-fashion and self-create". We have compete control over what others on the web see of us and how we are to be perceived.
I'd never heard the term web 2.0 to describe the modern web services that are all about the users experience and their input such as pictures and text. Media scholar Henry Jenkins refers to this as “Participatory Culture” (2006).
All this poses questions like, "who is contributing to the web?"; "who is viewing my contributions?"; "has this online virtual world become as much of a community for some people as the real world?"; " what brings groups of people together on the net?"; and many more.
I found this lecture thought provoking. The idea that people are creating alternate lives for themselves in virtual social media sites makes one ask a lot of questions about why and what it means. It seems to challenge the idea of individual identity that has remained unchanged for so long. As the Turkle quote in the lecture slides says, in these online social sites "we self-fashion and self-create". We have compete control over what others on the web see of us and how we are to be perceived.
I'd never heard the term web 2.0 to describe the modern web services that are all about the users experience and their input such as pictures and text. Media scholar Henry Jenkins refers to this as “Participatory Culture” (2006).
All this poses questions like, "who is contributing to the web?"; "who is viewing my contributions?"; "has this online virtual world become as much of a community for some people as the real world?"; " what brings groups of people together on the net?"; and many more.
Week four task - Search engines
Search engines search for the keyword(s) in your entry in websites. They decide whether the page is going to be relevant based on things like how many times the word appears, if it's in the heading etc. They rank them based on how relevant they seem to be, the content, and also the search engines use information about how websites and documents are arranges. The relevance or usefulness also takes into account whether the page has any links. I found when researching this that there are lots of ways businesses can change their pages to give them a higher ranking in the results - crazy.
I use Google mostly. It's in my toolbar so it's the most readily available and usually provides the answer I want - even if sometimes I have to alter my search a couple of times.
I use Google mostly. It's in my toolbar so it's the most readily available and usually provides the answer I want - even if sometimes I have to alter my search a couple of times.
Week 4 Questions
1. What did Alan Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park?
Hahaha: I pasted this question directly into dogpile and got a page of links to New Communications students blogs. This course is obviously creating a web presence. I assume I shouldn't take their answers even though I found them online.
After sifting through the links to blogs I found a link to:
http://www.historyarticles.com/enigma.htm
A gas mask.
2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
I'm not sure if this is right because it's two router-linked computers - I don't know if they communicated in some other way before then.
"To those who claim that the Internet and the World Wide Web are synonymous, then the Internet/Web was born on April 30, 1993, when the scientists at CERN declared that Web technology, including the Mosaic browser, would be freely available to everyone, with no fees being payable to CERN."
OR
"On Oct. 20, 1969, the refrigerator-sized Interface Message Processor, which worked as the world's first packet-switching router, communicated with a computer at UCLA, seven weeks after they were first connected."
Both found with http://www.altavista.com/
3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
DOB: October 28, 1955.
Found with ask.com
4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
the CERN nuclear physics research facility in Switzerland.
ask.com
5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago?
6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
8 lb 6 oz
ask.com
7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
June 6 1859 http://www.about-australia.com/facts/queensland/history/
8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
9. Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
Lord Byron is still remembered in Venice for his active role in the revolution at hand and many of his famous works were on or inspired by Venice itself. http://www.nndb.com/people/856/000024784/
10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
The Black Assassins and Stephen Stockwell – the convenor for this course.
Hahaha: I pasted this question directly into dogpile and got a page of links to New Communications students blogs. This course is obviously creating a web presence. I assume I shouldn't take their answers even though I found them online.
After sifting through the links to blogs I found a link to:
http://www.historyarticles.com/enigma.htm
A gas mask.
2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
I'm not sure if this is right because it's two router-linked computers - I don't know if they communicated in some other way before then.
"To those who claim that the Internet and the World Wide Web are synonymous, then the Internet/Web was born on April 30, 1993, when the scientists at CERN declared that Web technology, including the Mosaic browser, would be freely available to everyone, with no fees being payable to CERN."
OR
"On Oct. 20, 1969, the refrigerator-sized Interface Message Processor, which worked as the world's first packet-switching router, communicated with a computer at UCLA, seven weeks after they were first connected."
Both found with http://www.altavista.com/
3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
DOB: October 28, 1955.
Found with ask.com
4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
the CERN nuclear physics research facility in Switzerland.
ask.com
5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 30 years ago?
6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
8 lb 6 oz
ask.com
7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
June 6 1859 http://www.about-australia.com/facts/queensland/history/
8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
9. Why is is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
Lord Byron is still remembered in Venice for his active role in the revolution at hand and many of his famous works were on or inspired by Venice itself. http://www.nndb.com/people/856/000024784/
10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
The Black Assassins and Stephen Stockwell – the convenor for this course.
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