Saturday, 24 September 2011
Friday, 23 September 2011
Week 9, Task 2
1) I have signed a petition to save the Mountain Gorillas living in the war-torn nation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These wonderful and gentle creatures are one species that really should not disappear from the face of this planet before its natural time. They are very social beings who care lovingly for orphaned young and have complex social hierarchies. They deserve to live!
Apparently my vote was sent to the American Embassy in Congo. I wonder how much an Australian signature counts to Mr. James F. Enwhistle
http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/takeaction/406/279/157/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/
2) I feel like an utter idiot for writing what I wrote, but my comment about wanting to know what a double sun looks like in real life can be found here:
http://scienceblog.com/47835/tatooine-like-planet-discovered/comment-page-1/#comment-27149
Under the name "Teryund"
3) According to his Facebook Page, President Obama is speaking in Cincinnati about the importance of the American Job Act (23rd Sept 2011) this is another stop of a tour that already lasts several weeks. As I think the President of the United States has more important things to do than reading a message by a German Uni student in Australia, I will refrain from bothering him. Even if I did, it is only possible to contact the White House and it is unlikely that they would forward my message to Mr. Obama.
http://www.facebook.com/lookingforfireflies?ref=ts#!/barackobama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
4) Clean Feed is a policy to block certain web-addresses nationwide, these addresses would no longer be able to be accessed by Australian computers. While the initial goal of this project, to destroy Child Pornography is very admirable it also plans to block any over 18 content or even suspected over 18 content and online games that are perceived as violent. I think that goes a bit far. Also in tests many sites who are absolutely clean are blocked by accident because of words used on them and many dirty sites go undetected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanfeed_%28content_blocking_system%29
http://nocleanfeed.com/
5) Censorship has a place in democracy when it comes to clearly criminal things; for instance statements and rallies by Neo-Nazi or other racist organizations should be banned, as should child pornography, as it is not justifiable in any way. Beyond that I don't see much point in it.
6) I have never heard of NBN before, but apparently it will provide cheaper and faster Broadband and Wireless for Asutralia. Brisbane is one of the Second Release Site and will gain access to this service some when in the second quarter of 2011which (if it did happen) I did not notice.
7) I live in Mt. Gravatt.
My federal representative is: Mr. Ross Vasta, the Federal Member for the Bonner Electorate, which includes Mt. Gravatt.
(His Website link is not working, neither is his facebook page)
My state representative is Mr. Cameron Dick, the State Member for the electorate of Greenslopes, which in this meaning of the term includes Mt. Gravatt.
http://www.camerondick.com.au/
And my local representative is Mr. Ian MacKenzie, the Councillor Holland Park Ward, which includes Mt. Gravatt.
http://www.ianmckenzie.org.au/
http://carindaleconnect.com.au/community/about-2/government-local-representatives/
Again I respectfully refuse to send these people any messages, I have nothing to say that is important enough to send a complete stranger a message.
8) I was unable to determine this. :-(
9) See above. Also I would feel very uncomfortable sending such a message.
Apparently my vote was sent to the American Embassy in Congo. I wonder how much an Australian signature counts to Mr. James F. Enwhistle
http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/takeaction/406/279/157/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/
2) I feel like an utter idiot for writing what I wrote, but my comment about wanting to know what a double sun looks like in real life can be found here:
http://scienceblog.com/47835/tatooine-like-planet-discovered/comment-page-1/#comment-27149
Under the name "Teryund"
3) According to his Facebook Page, President Obama is speaking in Cincinnati about the importance of the American Job Act (23rd Sept 2011) this is another stop of a tour that already lasts several weeks. As I think the President of the United States has more important things to do than reading a message by a German Uni student in Australia, I will refrain from bothering him. Even if I did, it is only possible to contact the White House and it is unlikely that they would forward my message to Mr. Obama.
http://www.facebook.com/lookingforfireflies?ref=ts#!/barackobama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
4) Clean Feed is a policy to block certain web-addresses nationwide, these addresses would no longer be able to be accessed by Australian computers. While the initial goal of this project, to destroy Child Pornography is very admirable it also plans to block any over 18 content or even suspected over 18 content and online games that are perceived as violent. I think that goes a bit far. Also in tests many sites who are absolutely clean are blocked by accident because of words used on them and many dirty sites go undetected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanfeed_%28content_blocking_system%29
http://nocleanfeed.com/
5) Censorship has a place in democracy when it comes to clearly criminal things; for instance statements and rallies by Neo-Nazi or other racist organizations should be banned, as should child pornography, as it is not justifiable in any way. Beyond that I don't see much point in it.
6) I have never heard of NBN before, but apparently it will provide cheaper and faster Broadband and Wireless for Asutralia. Brisbane is one of the Second Release Site and will gain access to this service some when in the second quarter of 2011which (if it did happen) I did not notice.
7) I live in Mt. Gravatt.
My federal representative is: Mr. Ross Vasta, the Federal Member for the Bonner Electorate, which includes Mt. Gravatt.
(His Website link is not working, neither is his facebook page)
My state representative is Mr. Cameron Dick, the State Member for the electorate of Greenslopes, which in this meaning of the term includes Mt. Gravatt.
http://www.camerondick.com.au/
And my local representative is Mr. Ian MacKenzie, the Councillor Holland Park Ward, which includes Mt. Gravatt.
http://www.ianmckenzie.org.au/
http://carindaleconnect.com.au/community/about-2/government-local-representatives/
Again I respectfully refuse to send these people any messages, I have nothing to say that is important enough to send a complete stranger a message.
8) I was unable to determine this. :-(
9) See above. Also I would feel very uncomfortable sending such a message.
Week 9, Task 1
As I love the cyberpunk genre I have chosen the William Gibson themed question. While I have yet to decide which other short story I will include I have been given some recommendation by my tutor and many of my friends. Also as a Literature student I feel more comfortable with this question than the more sociological, biological or technological questions.
Comparing two literary works is very easy, especially if they have common elements, such as the setting of the cyberpunk genre. As cyberpunk has over time grown more flexible it was no problem to find a work suitable for this task, but it rather is a problem to decide which one would be the best to compare to William Gibson and the most enjoyable to read. Perhaps post-cyberpunk would be the most effective sub-genre to contrast to classical Gibson-style, gritty cyberpunk.
Comparing a literary vision to reality is also common in literature studies and even causal readers will often compare situations in books to real life. It is easy to see how many of the gadgets introduced by cyberpunk are already in everyday use, even some of the sociological changes are either happening or loom in the near future. Of course about other things the authors of cyberpunk were completely mistaken.
Overall I am looking forward to this assignment, as I do to any other.
Week 8, Task 2
Yes, I own this production I have not used any content that was not produced by myself, as I rather stay away from anything that could get me into trouble for giving the wrong credits or giving the wrong kind of information on what to do with the content. The only problem is music; I am no good with composing and still have to decide whether or not risk it and include some CC available track into my video or leave it without sound.
Week 8, Task 1
It is not illegal to share food or clothes or recipes, why should it be illegal to share software?
Sharing is caring. That is true, it is completely normal and acceptable for friends to share a meal in a restaurant, for a young woman to share clothes with her sister or for cooks to exchange recipes. The difference between this small-scale sharing and the sharing of software across the internet is that while it won't hurt the clothing industry if two sisters share the expensive skirt one of them bought it will hurt the software industry if one user creates a torrent containing an expensive cutting-edge program and then makes it freely available for thousands, potentially millions of other people who have never paid for it. Many hours of work and hundreds of dollars in production costs are wasted this way. Most expensive software has the option for small-scale sharing by offering multiple licenses with one CD (Norton is installable on multiple PCs as is Microsoft Office). However, the price for this is that we can't install the product indefinitely anymore, meaning that, should Microsoft go out of business in a few years Word-files would quickly become useless if the Office line was discontinued.
Sharing is caring. That is true, it is completely normal and acceptable for friends to share a meal in a restaurant, for a young woman to share clothes with her sister or for cooks to exchange recipes. The difference between this small-scale sharing and the sharing of software across the internet is that while it won't hurt the clothing industry if two sisters share the expensive skirt one of them bought it will hurt the software industry if one user creates a torrent containing an expensive cutting-edge program and then makes it freely available for thousands, potentially millions of other people who have never paid for it. Many hours of work and hundreds of dollars in production costs are wasted this way. Most expensive software has the option for small-scale sharing by offering multiple licenses with one CD (Norton is installable on multiple PCs as is Microsoft Office). However, the price for this is that we can't install the product indefinitely anymore, meaning that, should Microsoft go out of business in a few years Word-files would quickly become useless if the Office line was discontinued.
Week 7, Task 2
The production of my video is a rather easy task which I happen to greatly enjoy. As I don't like to post photos or videos of me or my friends on the internet, no matter how safe it is claimed to be I had to produce a small number of pencil sketches to include into the video, provided I have the time I would like to colour them using the freeware program "PaintNet".
Meanwhile I have also familiarized myself with the usage of Windows Movie Maker. It is really very useful and user-friendly, I am unable to complain about it. I have already put together a string of screens containing text (similar to a silent movie) and all that is left to do is including the pictures.
Meanwhile I have also familiarized myself with the usage of Windows Movie Maker. It is really very useful and user-friendly, I am unable to complain about it. I have already put together a string of screens containing text (similar to a silent movie) and all that is left to do is including the pictures.
Week 7, Task 1
Of course Wikipedia is useful, it is a impossibly vast collection of information on every topic imaginable. While there are of course the dangers of misinformation, the better articles provide sources their authors have cited while writing them, and expanding one's research beyond Wikipedia is always advisable. It is actually not that easy to permanently edit a Wikipedia article, even more so as a non-registered user. As the database has a save backup of all its pages, acts of vandalism or changes that are seen as unnecessary or wrong by the administrators can be easily reversed.Sometimes even right information is erased, such as when I tried to correct a translation of a German word and found the change gone the next day, most likely because I am not registered.
It requires more work for the industry, but yes produsage can be profitable, sponsoring popular produsers for instance or charging fees on creative databases (Deviant Art is very successful in this field) Already shows and people have managed to jump from YouTube to regular TV and dozens of talented people have been discovered on the net before earning fame in the real world.
I am not a big fan of the concept of produsage, as to me it just sounds like a million people producing so much bad media that it is impossible to find the good stuff beneath all the garbage. The same I think is true for citizen journalism and I am very afraid that it will replace traditional journalism in the future, after all it is so much cheaper for a news website to provide space for people then for a newspaper to hire a journalist. Not only destroys this jobs, but it reduces the news, or source of information on recent events, to an unreliable pile of misinformation written by a myriad of uneducated, or simply not eloquent, people. While it is true that news agencies are not perfect either, I find it dangerous to make people rely on forums and user-edited databases for their information.
It requires more work for the industry, but yes produsage can be profitable, sponsoring popular produsers for instance or charging fees on creative databases (Deviant Art is very successful in this field) Already shows and people have managed to jump from YouTube to regular TV and dozens of talented people have been discovered on the net before earning fame in the real world.
I am not a big fan of the concept of produsage, as to me it just sounds like a million people producing so much bad media that it is impossible to find the good stuff beneath all the garbage. The same I think is true for citizen journalism and I am very afraid that it will replace traditional journalism in the future, after all it is so much cheaper for a news website to provide space for people then for a newspaper to hire a journalist. Not only destroys this jobs, but it reduces the news, or source of information on recent events, to an unreliable pile of misinformation written by a myriad of uneducated, or simply not eloquent, people. While it is true that news agencies are not perfect either, I find it dangerous to make people rely on forums and user-edited databases for their information.
Week 6 Task 1
On first glance, one would think that the protection of copy right is the biggest issue Hollywood has with the internet; as of today, there is simply no stopping internet piracy of movies. The services provided by YouTube and BitTorrent are too convenient for many people to resist them, the punishments not widespread enough, only a small percentage of the people who download movies illegally ever gets caught, the anonymity of the web does pose a problem to the police. Hollywood makes less money and is thus less eager to produce movies that aren’t boring, badly-written crowd-pleasers. Online distribution of movies is slowly gaining popularity, but as a person without a credit card and weary of online-banking I can’t really appreciate that. There has been live-streaming of movies into theatres and maybe the theatre experience will be lost completely if the industry changes to simply providing the movies in online data-banks where customers can stream the movies for a fee.
However, beyond the copy right issue, there is the fact that the internet with its easily accessible movie making and distribution tools make it, in theory and, much more seldom, in practice, possible for everyone to realize their vision and call themselves a film producer. Hollywood with its customs, established systems, studios and famous actors/directors is threatened in a world were over night everybody can become famous for their movies, completely outside of the established film industry. All this crowds the market, making the Hollywood producers again afraid to lose money. The result is that Hollywood tries to imitate the lacklustre, unsophisticated production techniques and often surreal, post-modern themes of many popular internet short and feature films. These results too tend to be rather bad (at least in my eyes). Overall the internet, with its tendency to provide everyone with the means to follow their dreams (without regard of any existing talent in other to achieve them) can be blamed for an overall drop in creative media (writing, music, movies).
Week 6, Task 2
1)To produce a short video I shall use Windows Movie Maker. The concept of the video will be something of a small fairy tale. It is very easy to add pictures into Movie Maker, all you have to do is dragging them into the window, same with music.
2)Of course, copyright is a very serious issue in this age and if I would use content I have not created in my video, i would risk having it, or the whole blog, taken down.
3) Defamation is a serious crime and someone could actually sue me if her or she feels that I have insulted them in my video, the easy way to avoid is simply not using real people in your video.
2)Of course, copyright is a very serious issue in this age and if I would use content I have not created in my video, i would risk having it, or the whole blog, taken down.
3) Defamation is a serious crime and someone could actually sue me if her or she feels that I have insulted them in my video, the easy way to avoid is simply not using real people in your video.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Week 5, Task 1
Because the protagonist of “Rubber” is the car tire Robert the introduction to our protagonist is a rather strange one, but in other ways very traditional.
One of the most important tasks to set up the first act of a movie is to familiarize the viewer with the protagonist, make him sympathetic towards the audience and explain why he, she or it begins the journey that comprises the plot of the movie. Now in “Rubber”, how do you make a mass-murdering car tire sympathetic? How do you even introduce people to a lifeless object and explain its motivations?
Simple; show how poor Robert, clearly animated has to watch helplessly as his friends and family are slaughtered by man via the use of fire. A traumatic experience for little Robert, who now rolls lonely away into the desert. The reason for the journey is stated; Robert has lost everything and must find a new home. However for those viewers who don’t get their eyes wet from those pictures we get a scene where Robert, seemingly happy races through the wilderness to joyous music. But soon anger returns to him, after killing a few animals Robert encounters his true enemy: man. A desire for revenge awakens within him, the journey has its true propose
Week 5 Scavenger Hunt
1) While there is some controversy what exactly can be counted as a university, Takshashila, an ancient town in Pakistan and former capital of the Buddhist Kingdom Gandhara hosted a candidate for the title "world's oldest university" that existed as early as 700 BC, students were admitted at the age of 16 and were able to study things like mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, grammar, physics and more, before graduating as scholars that were sought after in the whole of India. The university developed a early version of Pythagoras' theorem and even the theory of gravity! After numerous invasion the city and with it the university perished in the 7th century AD.
They even had a course for literature. And had all their work stolen by the Ancient Greeks.
http://www.hitxp.com/articles/history/takshashila-taxila-oldest-university/
http://www.indiaoz.com.au/hinduism/articles/amazing_science_3.shtml
http://varnam.nationalinterest.in/2010/05/takshashila-the-lighthouse-of-a-civilization/
2) Stephen Stockwell was member of a band called "The Black Assassins", a Brisbane based active in the late 1970s/1980s. Stephen played the keyboard, but also sang, just like the other three members of the group. They frequently got into trouble because of their "outrageous" behavior. Their songs included such positive and optimistic titles like "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight", "Fuck Me, Fuck My Dog", and "Drugs"
And they dressed horribly and apparently did not like to shower regularly (for a punk band they looked suspiciously like hobos):
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm
The Ramones were much cooler:
3) The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest machine with a length of 27 km, while I was unable to determine its absolute weight, one of its four detectors that operate this thing (the ATLAS detector) weights 7000 tons alone and it comprises about 38,000 more of other equipment, which hopefully at least gives a scale of the overall weight. It cost 7.5 Billion Euros to built and is a wonder of science that allows researchers to simulate cosmic environments and learn more about the universe.
Oh, and some day it tear a hole in reality and kill us all.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-builthttp://thesecularity.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8861
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Large_Hadron_Collider
4) Well apparently Justin Bieber shares his lawyer with another modern "pop-sensation", Lady GaGa. The name of the unfortunate man who frequently has to take up with these two "singers" is named Kenneth Feinswog. it is a bit curious that they have to share, after all Justin's bodyguards and mother all have their own lawyers.
Here is his contact information:
Feinswog, Kenneth A Attorney At Law
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Metro Area
Phone:(310) 277-8211
Man, talking 'bout being the devil's attorney...
http://www.zimbio.com/Justin+Bieber/articles/0-b7rziMaAT/Justin+Bieber+mother+hires+lawyerhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5770032/justin_bieber_and_lady_gaga_in_bed.html
http://www.manta.com/c/mms3lh1/kenneth-a-feinswog-attorney
6) Hatsune Miko is a Vocaloid (singing computer) and 3D animation created (and sometimes also employed by) by the Yamaha Corporation in Japan. Her birthday is the 31th August 2007, which makes the bubbly, blue-haired computer-idol nearly 4 years old, which means she is totally underage, so stop looking at her like that!!!
http://www.animevice.com/miku-hatsune/18-20703/
7) a) First of all: as a rule of the thumb: STAY AWAY FROM EASTERN EUROPEAN INTERNET, NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM THERE!
Second of all, here is the link to it in all its post-communism glory:
http://webcam.21.by/
It is a webcam in Minsk, the capital of Belarus looking at a very intriguing looking building and some gently swaying trees.
Source: http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/Belarus/Minsk/498.html
b) There is not really a way to stay on Antarctica itself, unless you are a researcher or a penguin, but you can do numberous 2-week cruises for ONLY US$5000 per person.
This might seem a bit much, but hey PENGUINS!!!!:-)
8) The awesome, if a bit whiny, Bryan Adams song "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" was at the top of the Australian Charts this week in 1991, where it stayed for eleven weeks. This song was part of the soundtrack of one of the most famous Robin Hood movies ever made.
Traduzca estas preguntas en español y entonces tradúzcalos atrás al inglés
Translate these questions in Spanish and then translate them behind to the English
What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?
¿Qué es llamada la banda de Stephen Stockwell y qué juega él? ¿Puede denominar un par de sus canciones?
What is called the band of Stephen Stockwell and what plays he? It can call a pair of its songs?
What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
¿Qué es el peso de la máquina más grande de mundo? ¿Cuánto costó construir?
What is the weight of the largest machine of world? How much it cost to build?
Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?
¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y qué son la mejor manera (más rápido, más seguro) contactar al abogado?
Who is the lawyer of Justin Bieber, and what they are the best way (faster, surer) to contact the lawyer?
What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
¿Qué es la forma más barata de viaje de la Costa de oro a Melbourne?
What is the cheapest form of trip of the Coast of gold to Melbourne?
Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿A qué compañía pertenece ella? ¿Qué es sus cumpleaños?
Who is Hatsune Miku? Why company belongs she? What is its birthday?
Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
Encuentre una webcam viva en Bielorrusia. Encuentre que un lugar para permanecer en Antártida.
Find a webcam alive in Belarus. Find that a place to remain in Antarctica.
What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?
¿Qué canción fue la cima del taponazo australiano traza esta semana en 1991?
What song was the top of the Australian pop outline this week in 1991?
What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
¿Qué tipo de coche es utilizado para hacer 'Vista de Calle de Google'?
What type of car is utilized to do 'View of Street of Google'?
http://www.freetranslation.com/
Ole!
They even had a course for literature. And had all their work stolen by the Ancient Greeks.
http://www.hitxp.com/articles/history/takshashila-taxila-oldest-university/
http://www.indiaoz.com.au/hinduism/articles/amazing_science_3.shtml
http://varnam.nationalinterest.in/2010/05/takshashila-the-lighthouse-of-a-civilization/
2) Stephen Stockwell was member of a band called "The Black Assassins", a Brisbane based active in the late 1970s/1980s. Stephen played the keyboard, but also sang, just like the other three members of the group. They frequently got into trouble because of their "outrageous" behavior. Their songs included such positive and optimistic titles like "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight", "Fuck Me, Fuck My Dog", and "Drugs"
And they dressed horribly and apparently did not like to shower regularly (for a punk band they looked suspiciously like hobos):
The Ramones were much cooler:
3) The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest machine with a length of 27 km, while I was unable to determine its absolute weight, one of its four detectors that operate this thing (the ATLAS detector) weights 7000 tons alone and it comprises about 38,000 more of other equipment, which hopefully at least gives a scale of the overall weight. It cost 7.5 Billion Euros to built and is a wonder of science that allows researchers to simulate cosmic environments and learn more about the universe.
Oh, and some day it tear a hole in reality and kill us all.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Large_Hadron_Collider
4) Well apparently Justin Bieber shares his lawyer with another modern "pop-sensation", Lady GaGa. The name of the unfortunate man who frequently has to take up with these two "singers" is named Kenneth Feinswog. it is a bit curious that they have to share, after all Justin's bodyguards and mother all have their own lawyers.
Here is his contact information:
Feinswog, Kenneth A Attorney At Law
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Metro Area
Phone:(310) 277-8211
Man, talking 'bout being the devil's attorney...
http://www.zimbio.com/Justin+Bieber/articles/0-b7rziMaAT/Justin+Bieber+mother+hires+lawyerhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5770032/justin_bieber_and_lady_gaga_in_bed.html
http://www.manta.com/c/mms3lh1/kenneth-a-feinswog-attorney
5) Logic dictates that flying is the cheapest way to get from Gold Coast to Melbourne, looking around I found a very cheap flight with "Tiger Airways" for sensational Aus$59.99! Departing from gold Coast and arriving in Melbourne-Tullamarine Of course I have never heard of Tiger Airways, so it might not be the best airline around
But it beats walking, as that would take ages and eat up heaps of money for (dirty, uncomfortable) accommodation in (dirty, uncomfortable) hostels and food.
Unless you want to eat bush tucker...
(The larva of the Goliath Beetle: High in proteins and still easier on the eyes and ears than Justin Bieber and/or Lady GaGa)
http://www.tigerairways.com/au/en/real_deals.php?ysmwa=2r_9RhPdFtJXkXGVapZPvCwZS8fGWx-ISt4y8j9BDexzda--3kX5EIEQORs1ZbdL6) Hatsune Miko is a Vocaloid (singing computer) and 3D animation created (and sometimes also employed by) by the Yamaha Corporation in Japan. Her birthday is the 31th August 2007, which makes the bubbly, blue-haired computer-idol nearly 4 years old, which means she is totally underage, so stop looking at her like that!!!
7) a) First of all: as a rule of the thumb: STAY AWAY FROM EASTERN EUROPEAN INTERNET, NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM THERE!
Second of all, here is the link to it in all its post-communism glory:
http://webcam.21.by/
It is a webcam in Minsk, the capital of Belarus looking at a very intriguing looking building and some gently swaying trees.
Source: http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/Belarus/Minsk/498.html
b) There is not really a way to stay on Antarctica itself, unless you are a researcher or a penguin, but you can do numberous 2-week cruises for ONLY US$5000 per person.
This might seem a bit much, but hey PENGUINS!!!!:-)
http://iguide.travel/South_Shetland_Islands
http://www.addictedtotravel.com/accommodation/countries/antarctica-accommodation8) The awesome, if a bit whiny, Bryan Adams song "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" was at the top of the Australian Charts this week in 1991, where it stayed for eleven weeks. This song was part of the soundtrack of one of the most famous Robin Hood movies ever made.
9) Apparently it was a unobtrusive, little, black Volkswagen New Beetle.
Fun Fact: Volkswagen, der is German for "People's Vehicle"
10) En Enspaniol:
Translate these questions into Spanish and then translate them back into EnglishTraduzca estas preguntas en español y entonces tradúzcalos atrás al inglés
Translate these questions in Spanish and then translate them behind to the English
(I Chose European Spain)
Where was the first University established and in which year?
¿Dónde estuvo la primera Universidad establecido y en que año?
Where it was the first University established and in which year?What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?
¿Qué es llamada la banda de Stephen Stockwell y qué juega él? ¿Puede denominar un par de sus canciones?
What is called the band of Stephen Stockwell and what plays he? It can call a pair of its songs?
What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
¿Qué es el peso de la máquina más grande de mundo? ¿Cuánto costó construir?
What is the weight of the largest machine of world? How much it cost to build?
Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?
¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y qué son la mejor manera (más rápido, más seguro) contactar al abogado?
Who is the lawyer of Justin Bieber, and what they are the best way (faster, surer) to contact the lawyer?
What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
¿Qué es la forma más barata de viaje de la Costa de oro a Melbourne?
What is the cheapest form of trip of the Coast of gold to Melbourne?
Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿A qué compañía pertenece ella? ¿Qué es sus cumpleaños?
Who is Hatsune Miku? Why company belongs she? What is its birthday?
Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
Encuentre una webcam viva en Bielorrusia. Encuentre que un lugar para permanecer en Antártida.
Find a webcam alive in Belarus. Find that a place to remain in Antarctica.
What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?
¿Qué canción fue la cima del taponazo australiano traza esta semana en 1991?
What song was the top of the Australian pop outline this week in 1991?
What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
¿Qué tipo de coche es utilizado para hacer 'Vista de Calle de Google'?
What type of car is utilized to do 'View of Street of Google'?
http://www.freetranslation.com/
Ole!
Week 4, Task 2
YouTube has a very interesting policy on content restriction; the way I understand it you can post videos about next to anything on it except advertisement videos for a product and/or service you offer (so no teleshopping channel here?) Posting copyrighted content can get your videos taken down (if the owner wishes to take action and your video is discovered) and (if you are a repeat offender) can get your Channel/Account suspended/taken down. The same happens if you post content with “18+” elements and don’t put an age restriction on the video. YouTube does not take any responsibility on the posted content beyond these means, its Terms of Service flat out state that it takes no responsibility for mental harm caused by viewing content on the site.
Privacy is another thing YouTube seems to have a hands-off approach to; beyond a few safety videos, the option to banish people from your channel and the option to make videos private and a few (optional) instruction videos aimed mainly at teenagers it does not offer much protection to you, videos can be found using Google (unless you made them private).
Finally, while you retain copyright of your videos, once you post them on YouTube, the service gains world-wide, free publishing rights to your content. So if we rethink the Twitter example, YouTube could produce advertisements using videos from its users even without getting their admission first.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Week 3, Task 2
Bulletin Board Systems
Buletin Board Systems (BBS) are a computer operating software that allows users to connect their computers and share data between them. Actually these programs were in use long before the age of the internet dawned. The first BBS was created on February 19 1973 by two computer scientists Ward Christensen and Randy Suess and was called the “Computerised Bulletin Board System” (Ballas, J "Bulletin board systems: a nostalgic look back." Computers in Libraries 13.5, 1993). In the beginning these systems were largely used by universities and libraries, but by the late 1970s many private users had appeared. A BBS worked by a central computer that connected the different members (System Operator/SYSOP) (Spencer, Bruce, “A brief history of the Internet “Aardsma, T L. Inside the Internet8. 8 Aug 2001) and sometimes this SysOp operated the BBS as a hobby and provided his service for free and sometimes charged hios members a fee for access to the BBS.
The 80s and early 90s were the heyday of the BBS culture with an estimated 1,56 million users in 1993 (http://www.livinginternet.com/u/ui_fidonet.htm). From a very basic system with white text on black background BBSes evolved into meeting places with sophisticated graphics (for its time). Early BBS were often a local phenomenon as people used their telephone lines to dial into the internet, later modems made it more widespread. Here people could come together to discuss everything from advanced physics to popular rock music. Only the rise of the internet as we know it today in the mid to late 1990s caused the BBS to decline in popularity, nonetheless it still exists to this day.
References:
Spencer, Bruce, “A brief history of the Internet “Aardsma, T L. Inside the Internet8. 8 Aug 2001
Ballas, J "Bulletin board systems: a nostalgic look back." Computers in Libraries 13.5, 1993References:
Spencer, Bruce, “A brief history of the Internet “Aardsma, T L. Inside the Internet8. 8 Aug 2001
http://www.livinginternet.com/u/ui_fidonet.htm
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Week 2, Task 2
I am actually a very recent arrival to the world of modern communication technologies. Only three years ago I did not have Facebook, my own Email address, regular access to the internet or even a mobile phone. The reason for that is the draconian restrictions and utter disregard for privacy imposed and displayed by my father, who did not consider it necessary for a teenager to have access to any of those. However I escaped, I escaped as far away as I could. With the new found freedom in my life I also slowly, one by one, discovered the various possibilities of modern communication technologies. The mobile phone was the first one and the most unsuccessful as I still forget to reload the batter of the "stupid thing" on a very regular basis. However living far away from my sister made it necessary to establish an Email address as well as a Skype account. Finally one and a half years ago a friend of mine more or less ordered me to get a Facebook account. I ghave regretted none of these decisions.
I have to admit I don't feel comfortable with neither Skype nor the various chat programs offered by Facebook or MSN, it simply can't replace the satisfaction provided by social interaction in real life, however Emails are just like letters and I always enjoy to receive, read and answer them. Facebook helps me a lot during the lonely hours in the evenings, it is nice to come home to find a few nice messages by friends or laugh about whatever happened at their homes. I do not have any friends over the internet which I don't know in real life, I am a very social person who needs to be among people regularly and do not believe that an Email friendship counts as social interaction. What Facebook is also very useful for is planing meet-ups or activities with your friends, my RPG groups would fall apart without that.
About the privacy settings of things like Google and Facebook I could not care less, I have nothing to hide, I am not ashamed of anything I do online or in real life and do not care who reads or collects data about me or who looks at my photos on Facebook. I do not do things that could throw a bad light at me and do honestly not care what complete strangers think about me. The thing I do not do is giving away bank information, which, while it does prevent me from playing MMORPGs, is not required for anything I do on the Web.
Altogether I find the communication technologies very much a blessing, of course you have to know how to use them and always be careful, but it makes interaction with your friends so much easier and more constant.
I have to admit I don't feel comfortable with neither Skype nor the various chat programs offered by Facebook or MSN, it simply can't replace the satisfaction provided by social interaction in real life, however Emails are just like letters and I always enjoy to receive, read and answer them. Facebook helps me a lot during the lonely hours in the evenings, it is nice to come home to find a few nice messages by friends or laugh about whatever happened at their homes. I do not have any friends over the internet which I don't know in real life, I am a very social person who needs to be among people regularly and do not believe that an Email friendship counts as social interaction. What Facebook is also very useful for is planing meet-ups or activities with your friends, my RPG groups would fall apart without that.
About the privacy settings of things like Google and Facebook I could not care less, I have nothing to hide, I am not ashamed of anything I do online or in real life and do not care who reads or collects data about me or who looks at my photos on Facebook. I do not do things that could throw a bad light at me and do honestly not care what complete strangers think about me. The thing I do not do is giving away bank information, which, while it does prevent me from playing MMORPGs, is not required for anything I do on the Web.
Altogether I find the communication technologies very much a blessing, of course you have to know how to use them and always be careful, but it makes interaction with your friends so much easier and more constant.
Week 2 Task 1
a) The Blogs I found are:
http://jcrab.tumblr.com/
http://gabriellamzb.blogspot.com/
http://paige-maree.blogspot.com/
http://blakebirt.blogspot.com/
http://newcommtechmusings.blogspot.com/
b) The video I found is "The Future of Communication" from 2007
A very unsettling depiction of our future that declares "man is god" (a statement I, as a Christian, find very offensive) It goes on recount how New Media slowly replace Old Media and then gives a vision of the future where virtual life completely replaces real life, in traditional Cyberpunk fashion it even places us under the rule of a single, almighty, worldwide company ( a fusion of Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Second Life, but strangely not Apple) However the horror this depiction causes is quickly dispersed when we look around us and realize that it is 2011 and we still don't have the promised virtual newspapers on plastic paper and books still exist. Let's hope they are wrong with all their depictions.
c) http://againbutslower.com/ is a wonderful website that, without registration or any download simplifies complicated wikipedia sites for you. I as a person who finds it difficult to understand Physics and Mathematics finally get what entropy means, or what a fractal is. However the main purpose of the tool seems to cut out the walls of texts these articles are often laden with.
http://jcrab.tumblr.com/
http://gabriellamzb.blogspot.com/
http://paige-maree.blogspot.com/
http://blakebirt.blogspot.com/
http://newcommtechmusings.blogspot.com/
b) The video I found is "The Future of Communication" from 2007
A very unsettling depiction of our future that declares "man is god" (a statement I, as a Christian, find very offensive) It goes on recount how New Media slowly replace Old Media and then gives a vision of the future where virtual life completely replaces real life, in traditional Cyberpunk fashion it even places us under the rule of a single, almighty, worldwide company ( a fusion of Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Second Life, but strangely not Apple) However the horror this depiction causes is quickly dispersed when we look around us and realize that it is 2011 and we still don't have the promised virtual newspapers on plastic paper and books still exist. Let's hope they are wrong with all their depictions.
c) http://againbutslower.com/ is a wonderful website that, without registration or any download simplifies complicated wikipedia sites for you. I as a person who finds it difficult to understand Physics and Mathematics finally get what entropy means, or what a fractal is. However the main purpose of the tool seems to cut out the walls of texts these articles are often laden with.
Tutorial Week 4 Task 1
What kind of video games do I find most engaging and what does this say about me?
Personally I find role playing games (RPGs) most engaging, Japanese ones more so than Western ones because unlike their European and American counterparts which focus more on giving the player the highest possible amount of freedom to interact with the world, JRPGs place more importance on fully fleshed out characters and a theatrical storyline. Another reason is the design, Western RPGs tend to be realistic, gritty and colorless, while their Eastern cousins often portray very imaginative, colorful and breathtakingly beautiful worlds and creatures.
But what both of these categories have in common, which is also the reason why I enjoy them so much is the way an RPG gives you the possibility of diving into another world, another life even, filled with beautiful princesses and giant monsters and enchanted forests rather than the stresses of the ordinary world. I do not deny that I am somewhat of an escapist, I love fantasy and science fiction in all fields of my life; games, books, movies, comics etc. Even when i was a child I was enchanted by tales of magic and aliens. Unlike some people I am actively interested in maintaining a healthy social and academic life in the real world. According to the article I have found on this subject "The Development of the Self in the Age of the Internet and Role-Playing Fantasy Games" (2006, Allison S., von Wahlde L., Schockley T., gabbard G. American Psychiatric Association) people who fall for fantasy themed games are often sensitive individuals that are socially awkward and seek a place to escape to. Fine, that's right no problem with admitting that I am all of that, but only a small percentage takes it so far as the boy in the article.
Personally I find role playing games (RPGs) most engaging, Japanese ones more so than Western ones because unlike their European and American counterparts which focus more on giving the player the highest possible amount of freedom to interact with the world, JRPGs place more importance on fully fleshed out characters and a theatrical storyline. Another reason is the design, Western RPGs tend to be realistic, gritty and colorless, while their Eastern cousins often portray very imaginative, colorful and breathtakingly beautiful worlds and creatures.
But what both of these categories have in common, which is also the reason why I enjoy them so much is the way an RPG gives you the possibility of diving into another world, another life even, filled with beautiful princesses and giant monsters and enchanted forests rather than the stresses of the ordinary world. I do not deny that I am somewhat of an escapist, I love fantasy and science fiction in all fields of my life; games, books, movies, comics etc. Even when i was a child I was enchanted by tales of magic and aliens. Unlike some people I am actively interested in maintaining a healthy social and academic life in the real world. According to the article I have found on this subject "The Development of the Self in the Age of the Internet and Role-Playing Fantasy Games" (2006, Allison S., von Wahlde L., Schockley T., gabbard G. American Psychiatric Association) people who fall for fantasy themed games are often sensitive individuals that are socially awkward and seek a place to escape to. Fine, that's right no problem with admitting that I am all of that, but only a small percentage takes it so far as the boy in the article.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Week 3 Task 1
1) Stockwell, S 1981 "Kuranda Police Shooting", Legal Service Bulletin, vol. 6 pp. 48-49
I used the Griffith Library Database
2) Governor Slugwell appeared "Flaming Carrot Camocis" he appeared in the issues no. 7, 10, and 11. The earliest time he appeared was issue 7:
Burden, B. 1985 "Flaming Carrot Comics, no.7", Renegade Press.
3) According to Bowditch P. the wavelength of the energy emitted by mobile phones, and even by the towers needed for them, cannot destroy DNA or the cells that surround it. (2011, "Are Invisible Rays Frying Your Brain?", Australasian Science 32.6, pp.44)
4) Leon is not very pleased:
"Leon looks shocked, surprised. But the needles in the computer barely move. Holden goes for the inside of his coat. But big Leon is faster. His laser burns a hole the size of a nickel through Holden's stomach. Unlike a bullet, a laser causes no impact. It goes through Holden's shoulder and comes out of his back, clean as a whistle. Like a rag doll he falls back into the seat. Big slow Leon is already walking away, but he stops, turns, and with a little smile of satisfaction fires through the back of the seat." ( Fancher H., Peoples D., Kibbee, R., 1982 "Bladerunner (1982) Draft Script")
5)Accodring to Soukup, P. Walter Ong saw it strange that while 20th century society still developed and still uses a form of communication that relies on sound and not on sight, when it at the same time is so surrounded by diagrams and other visual information. (2004, "Walter J. Ong, S.J. A Retrospective" Communication Research Trends VOL.23 NR. 1)
I used the Griffith Library Database
2) Governor Slugwell appeared "Flaming Carrot Camocis" he appeared in the issues no. 7, 10, and 11. The earliest time he appeared was issue 7:
Burden, B. 1985 "Flaming Carrot Comics, no.7", Renegade Press.
3) According to Bowditch P. the wavelength of the energy emitted by mobile phones, and even by the towers needed for them, cannot destroy DNA or the cells that surround it. (2011, "Are Invisible Rays Frying Your Brain?", Australasian Science 32.6, pp.44)
4) Leon is not very pleased:
"Leon looks shocked, surprised. But the needles in the computer barely move. Holden goes for the inside of his coat. But big Leon is faster. His laser burns a hole the size of a nickel through Holden's stomach. Unlike a bullet, a laser causes no impact. It goes through Holden's shoulder and comes out of his back, clean as a whistle. Like a rag doll he falls back into the seat. Big slow Leon is already walking away, but he stops, turns, and with a little smile of satisfaction fires through the back of the seat." ( Fancher H., Peoples D., Kibbee, R., 1982 "Bladerunner (1982) Draft Script")
5)Accodring to Soukup, P. Walter Ong saw it strange that while 20th century society still developed and still uses a form of communication that relies on sound and not on sight, when it at the same time is so surrounded by diagrams and other visual information. (2004, "Walter J. Ong, S.J. A Retrospective" Communication Research Trends VOL.23 NR. 1)
Friends, Aliens, Unicorns, the Blog is open!
Hello and Welcome to my Blog for New Communication Technologies (1510HUM).
My name is Andy and I'm an international student from Austria (Germany's Canada, only less awesome). When I first came here I was studying Environmental Science, but as I was very unhappy in that course I changed to Communication with a Mayor in Writing. Writing is my biggest hobby and I love to write Mystery, Fantasy and Science Fiction stories. I also like to write fanfiction once in a while. Another hobby of mine is playing pen and paper role playing games, I am currently playing in a "Mutants and Masterminds" game and soon I am going to be the Game Master for a "Changeling: The Lost" game set in West-Berlin during the Cold War.
This blog will be used for my class, which means I will post all my tutorial tasks here.
My name is Andy and I'm an international student from Austria (Germany's Canada, only less awesome). When I first came here I was studying Environmental Science, but as I was very unhappy in that course I changed to Communication with a Mayor in Writing. Writing is my biggest hobby and I love to write Mystery, Fantasy and Science Fiction stories. I also like to write fanfiction once in a while. Another hobby of mine is playing pen and paper role playing games, I am currently playing in a "Mutants and Masterminds" game and soon I am going to be the Game Master for a "Changeling: The Lost" game set in West-Berlin during the Cold War.
This blog will be used for my class, which means I will post all my tutorial tasks here.
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