Week 12 - Electronic Civil Liberties / Creative Commons / Free and Open Source Software

This week Adam spoke about Copyright issues, creative commons and the ethically challenging dilemma surrounding civil rights. He basically plugged open source software - software created by a community of programmers for free use, modification and redistribution. Creative commons has similar ideals of re-mixing and redistributing, but not for monetary gains. We watched Lawrence Lessig's speech which dealt with the creative commons philosophy and the history of property rights. He contended that copying and recreating is part of the learning process for children. He spoke about the need to change the way media can be re-mixed, by using the creative commons law, rather than petitioning the government to change copyright laws.

Week 11 - Is downloading Movies/Music wrong?

The lecture this week was mainly about the ethical dilemma of whether its right to download movies and music. Steve asked for peoples opinions on this matter, and the general consensus was that downloading music was alright, however some had opposing views. Adam thought it was stealing. We watched a movie called Steal this Film 2, which explored the pirating phenomenon that has close ties to the middle ages, when certain information was strictly controlled by the powerful groups of the time (especially the clergy). Back then, the Bible had to be copied by hand, until the Gutenberg printing press allowed easy mass production. So today, it could be argued that we have a right to access information.

The reading this week dealt with similar ideas from the lecture. It was from a blogger who used to work in the recording industry. He said that record companies wasted lots of money on albums - thus their exorbitant price. But the main point he drove home was that the record companies stubbornly stick with an archaic system of CD retail selling, instead of embracing the new norm of peer to peer sharing - or more appropriately for them - online mp3 sales. It goes to show that one way or another, technology will shift methods of distribution of information - and no corporate fat cat can stop it.

This week I the tutorial there was no assigned task, however we still had a good discussion on the issue of downloading games and movies. Chris the tutor was especially pointed about his opinion on downloading. He contended that we do in essence pay for music we download from the internet because we get charged for our downloads. Unsurprisingly, only one person thought downloading music was wrong. Downloading is embedded in our culture now, and despite its questionable legality, people do it en masse. Record companies need to cater for the online generation – though it might too late.

Week 10 - Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a cyberpunk genre movie based on P.K Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It's message is that humanity relies on empathy - the one emotion that the replicants in the future world struggle to replicate. The more advanced replicants, however, such as Rachel and Roy Batty, start to learn more and more in their attempts to be considered human, prompting the question what makes someone human? If technological advancements in the future mean we can create artificial consciousness, the gap between human and robot will change, and the definition of what it means to be human will likely change as well.

The reading this week touched on the issue of what it means to be human. It analyzed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Androids emotions were artificial – yet some like John Isidore and Rachel Rosen had the ability to feel empathy, a basic human quality sucked out of life in this post apocalyptic world. This seemingly paralleled with the 1960s of real life society. Other parallels could be found – the government and their propaganda and drafting of minority groups for war. In the book, the government is apathetic, proliferating propaganda and dominating the people. Likewise, today’s governments wield such power, mostly through technology and arms, that they could destroy the world if they lose empathy, just as it was in the fictional book mentioned.

Week 9 - Cyberpunk

In this weeks lecture the complex theory of Cyberpunk was discussed at length. Cyberpunk is the amalgamation of cybernetics and punk. It is part of the broad science fiction genre, and focuses on the ideas of computers and technology, body enhancements and powerful corporations the rule the world in an often anarchistic, dystopian society. These ideas make up the themes that are part of cyberpunk. It’s a theme that is being used more and more in Hollywood movies. Humanity seems to rely so heavily on technology that it seems it is held to ransom by it. That's what I got from the lecture

The reading this week, from William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, was a prime example of cyberpunk, manifested in this book of short stories. Burning Chrome encompassed the idea of a world where technological advancements have allowed people to have biological implants and body parts. Databases and networks in this fictional world are virtual – and often exploited by hackers such as the two that lead the story. It touches on several issues like this. While it might seem far fetched it’s easy to see how the future of technology could transform the world into one like Burning Chrome. We already have implants of sorts, and our world is becoming more reliant on databases.

Week 8 - Are games a waste of time?

Video Games - the great time waster? This weeks lecture was all about video games and the theories about them. We briefly looked at the first ever video game Spacewar. In just 30 odd years games have rapidly advanced from what Spacewar could achieve.

But more important was the theory or studies dedicated to games. For instance, the idea of Narratology vs Ludology. Narratology defines games as being another medium of story telling and gives them textual significance. Ludology believes that any narrative or storyline in the game is decorative or incidental and the most important part of a game is its game play. If i were to agree with only one of these theories, i would go with Ludology because i think games are merely for entertainment purposes and the kinetic reactions to the game are what makes if challenging and fun.

The reading this week discussed the flawed realism that games employed - and the advantages that come with this. For example, it brought out the ways in which physics are exploited or changed in virtual worlds to suit gaming interests. A laser beam in real life would be instantaneous. You wouldn't have to take into account your targets speed or allow for the lag of the laser beams you are firing. But in games such as Freelancer or Star Wars games the lasers you fire are anything but instant.

The reading also discussed the coherent or incoherent nature of games. Games can have rules and objects that are applicable only in certain situations. For instance, Lara Croft in the game Tomb Raider can destroy enemies with a rocket launcher. Yet this same explosive device does no damage to a door - you need a key to get through that. Despite advancement in gaming technology today, there is always a place for flawed realism in games - it makes them fun.

Unfortunately our first tutorial task this week had nothing to do with games or testing games. We were required to create a mail merge in Microsoft Word, and also a table in excel that would update itself relevant to the data input by the user. We had to make formulas that allowed this dynamic updating. There isn't much to say about these tasks, i followed the instructions carefully and everything worked. It should keep me in good stead for future careers that require basic and some advanced knowledge of these widely used programs.

Our second task was more interesting. We had to download some sort of 3D chat client. I chose Active Worlds.

After finally figuring out how to start the client, i got in and wondered around the default starter world. Without having much clear direction, i just said "what the hell do you do here?" One person said i could do whatever i wanted, or make friends. Another, called NurseMommy, started giving me helpful tips and hints on how to play the game. That was noticeably different from simple message services like MSN messenger. Whereas with MSN, i only add who i want - Active Worlds was a community of people from all over the world. Active Worlds was somewhat limited in its graphical capabilities and the avatar that represented me - a man in a Hawaiian touristy t-shirt was not like me. However those that could chose who they wanted to be or look like (by paying $6.95 a month, a complete rort) could better use the 3d aspect of a chat engine like this. In Active Worlds you can walk, gesture dance and play games - its more interactive than MSN. As i walked around i asked a question to some in my world (the most populous one, yet there were only about five or six people i saw and only a few of them were talking). I asked what an application like this could be useful for in the future. The only real response i got was from NurseMommy, who said it could be used to usher in world peace. While she said it tongue in cheek (she put a smiley behind it), it is possible for programs like this to break down racial and cultural barriers.

However if i was to use my brain i would say it could be used practically as well. Business partners could have virtual board meetings. Or better yet - you could virtually walk around in a town that has virtual online banking, an eBay auction center where you could bid on real items and see who you are bidding against. You could also use it to do online shopping - the possibilities are endless.

Week 7 - Cronenberg: Cinema and Technology

This week we watched eXistenZ, a movie by David Cronenberg. It focused on the idea of virtual reality gaming - specifically gaming inside a game. The surreal feeling implemented in the game created an eerie setting. Real, but contrived in its most basic binary state. This perceived realism creates an abundance of ethical and social issues that challenge the normal rules and principles that govern our society. Killing is acceptable in the sense that their are no repercussions to the user of such a game. Likewise, immorality, loose conduct and other vices and unacceptable practices are allowed by a game that might admittedly have rules to counter such things, but cannot inflict severe penalties on those who engage in such.

Fortunately these issues and themes should help me greatly in my essay about the issues concerning the virtual reality medium.

The reading this week was interesting. Apparently not all we see on the news regarding wars is unsanitized and unedited. Journalists may be the messengers of such wars, but they are fed a relatively small amount of information from the military, and thus are limited in the amount of fair and balanced information they can transmit to the media.

Entertainment too warps the view of war. War's realism is someone plasticized by the demands of the entertainment industry. Certain advantageous maneuverers by the army are scheduled to take place in the prime time for TV. Entertainment and military interests have become synonymous with each other. Gaming especially has created a new medium for the military to spread its propaganda and has gone some way to desensitizing the common public who play such games.

Topic 6 - A brief history of the Computer and Internet

The lecture this week covered the history of computers and the internet – rather briefly of course. The actual idea of ‘computing’ is not just a modern concept. Ancient nations have used an Abacus to compute large numbers. More recently, Charles Babbage created machines and engines that could process mathematical tables. The commercial computers we have today are derived from his innovations.

Computer companies are responsible for the commercialisation and mass production of computers. Originally, main-frame computers were used by the military, and then only large companies that could afford them. Similarly, the internet was developed in its infancy by the US Department of Defence. ARPANET was spawned, and overrun by hackers who used it for personal gain. But the internet only really became accessible to the not so tech savvy person in the 1990s.

The 1990s saw the creation of the operating system which allowed users to see a graphical representation of the contents of their computer. Companies such as Apple and Microsoft were instrumental in developing these systems, which were very profitable. Another graphical user interface was web browsers, which allowed people to look at web pages created with HTML.

The required reading covered new media. Its message is basically that media is only new if it transforms a medium, or if it provides something new for society. For instance, the DVD is a new development in audiovisual technology, but it’s only a marginal improvement on the VCR. Conversely the internet has been arguably the most significant change in media. It has revolutionized the way information is dispersed and communicated.

Roughly one week after reading about new communication technology, i decided to finally start my tutorial task. It was again related to Wikipedia, and the articles i chose to read were on the indoor version of football called futsal, and one of my favorite TV shows: Arrested Development.

The article on futsal was short and concise. It covered the basic history behind the game and some of its rules. Despite its brevity, it did have an abundance of links to other articles about futsal. I suppose its lack of references could be forgiven for this very reason. Besides, it seemed accurate enough - however certain historical facts were unnecessarily omitted. It failed to respect or give any attention to the background of this game - its origins in Brazil and its existence and popularity in times before this game became officially administered. This was disappointing. Nevertheless, it did cover the important facts. The article thoughtfully linked to other articles related to futsal, which prevented it from becoming overtly large. It stuck to this and most of the other Wikipedia guidelines effectively. It also showed no bias and was largely objective.

So for this article all that i would add would be a bit of background information as to how futsal started.

The second article i read was on the cancelled television show Arrested Development. My first impression was that this was going to be a big article - and it was. But it was clear and concise and certainly kept me interested. I couldn't say how accurate the article was, because there is a lot of background information on the show - but for the most part it seemed accurate. It was fair in the sense that it outlined its commercial failings, however the part about the critical acclaim it had received could be considered biased. Out of the 6 reviews it showed in the article, only one was negative (it was written by Germaine Greer, go figure.) Other than that i would consider it a fine Wikipedia article - it did this great show justice without being overtly one-sided. If i was to change anything, perhaps i would have a relatively even number of positive and negative reviews (Greers' might be the only negative review written on the show, maybe it is unbiased after all.)