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.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
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.
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.)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Topic 5 - Why I hate Wikipedia
Why does Steven our lecturer hate Wikipedia? Because it distorts reality. This concept of distorted, or contrived realities was the main theme of this weeks lecture. A key idea of this theme was the contention that reality is just a construct. Facts can be constructed, and accepted as truth. For example, Wikipedia is a case in point of reality or facts being tampered with - to create a believable yet ultimately untrue piece of information. Anyone can edit Wikipedia's articles, and the Wikipedia community is the only real vanguard of truth, it is given the task of fixing others errors, whether incidental or not. The lecture also covered the ideas of conspiracy theories as being given credence when information concerning these theories is proven as truth.
Virtual Reality was another form of reality discussed. Not just in the Virtual Reality apparatus that started in the 1980's, but also computer games - where an alternate reality is produced on the computer screen. But the real key to this reality existing and performing is you - the user of this reality.
This silopsistic philosophy was one touched on in our reading for this week. Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, written by Jose Luis Borges, is a fictional story about the discovery of an imagined world called Tlon, where psychology is the only practiced discipline. A group of intellectuals have conspired to create a a series of books about this world, even going so far as to create an entry in a real encyclopedia about one of Tlon's countries: Uqbar. Eventually, knowledge of these secretive books about Tlon is made common, and subsequently this knowledge is taught in schools to the point where the real world is being overtaken by it.
The information age we live in reflects the message of this short story pretty well. The internet has allowed people to get information on pretty much any subject imaginable. Yet nobody regulates what information is made available - anyone can claim to be an authoritative source. Sites like Wikipedia have had people take advantage of them because they know the articles of information they post could be potentially false.
This week our task was to discuss Walter Benjamin's theories in relation to contemporary digital media. Digital media has enabled artists to create art that can be distributed and copied perfectly - mediums such as film, CGI, Photoshop etc. It's easier now than it ever was to let the masses see your work. Youtube, for instance, allows anyone to create a piece of "art" which can be viewed by people all over the world. In Benjamin's terms, an artwork's aura is somewhat lost by mass reproduction. Does this mean Youtube videos have no "aura"? It is hard to say really, but according to Benjamin arts' cult value is entrenched by the audiences appreciation for its creativeness, its everlasting value and the mystique attached to it. In this way, you could see art created by average people to retain little relevance, unless it has attached to it a higher meaning or significance.
For instance, if one was to edit an original piece of art or any type of image using a computer program like Photoshop, it would no doubt lose its intrinsic value. The creator could try and give it new meaning and life to the edited image, but they could hardly lay claim to its authenticity or aura. Which leads to the question - do digital things even have an aura? In Benjamin's terms artistic works with unique existences had an aura due to their complexity and meanings only understood by the creator. The inquisitiveness of the observer and their appreciation of its mystique gave the art its aura. In this sense digital media could have a certain type of aura, though it would be better suited to the definition of art if its context and meanings remained clouded to the observer yet explicit to the creator. In modern times, this seems unlikely.
Virtual Reality was another form of reality discussed. Not just in the Virtual Reality apparatus that started in the 1980's, but also computer games - where an alternate reality is produced on the computer screen. But the real key to this reality existing and performing is you - the user of this reality.
This silopsistic philosophy was one touched on in our reading for this week. Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, written by Jose Luis Borges, is a fictional story about the discovery of an imagined world called Tlon, where psychology is the only practiced discipline. A group of intellectuals have conspired to create a a series of books about this world, even going so far as to create an entry in a real encyclopedia about one of Tlon's countries: Uqbar. Eventually, knowledge of these secretive books about Tlon is made common, and subsequently this knowledge is taught in schools to the point where the real world is being overtaken by it.
The information age we live in reflects the message of this short story pretty well. The internet has allowed people to get information on pretty much any subject imaginable. Yet nobody regulates what information is made available - anyone can claim to be an authoritative source. Sites like Wikipedia have had people take advantage of them because they know the articles of information they post could be potentially false.
This week our task was to discuss Walter Benjamin's theories in relation to contemporary digital media. Digital media has enabled artists to create art that can be distributed and copied perfectly - mediums such as film, CGI, Photoshop etc. It's easier now than it ever was to let the masses see your work. Youtube, for instance, allows anyone to create a piece of "art" which can be viewed by people all over the world. In Benjamin's terms, an artwork's aura is somewhat lost by mass reproduction. Does this mean Youtube videos have no "aura"? It is hard to say really, but according to Benjamin arts' cult value is entrenched by the audiences appreciation for its creativeness, its everlasting value and the mystique attached to it. In this way, you could see art created by average people to retain little relevance, unless it has attached to it a higher meaning or significance.
For instance, if one was to edit an original piece of art or any type of image using a computer program like Photoshop, it would no doubt lose its intrinsic value. The creator could try and give it new meaning and life to the edited image, but they could hardly lay claim to its authenticity or aura. Which leads to the question - do digital things even have an aura? In Benjamin's terms artistic works with unique existences had an aura due to their complexity and meanings only understood by the creator. The inquisitiveness of the observer and their appreciation of its mystique gave the art its aura. In this sense digital media could have a certain type of aura, though it would be better suited to the definition of art if its context and meanings remained clouded to the observer yet explicit to the creator. In modern times, this seems unlikely.
Search Engines
How do search engines rank stuff? Quite simply they apply an algorithm that sifts through Webpages looking for the key word or words you searched for. Actually it's not that simple, but in a nutshell it's basically what Search Engines do. If a search word appears in its html tag, it is considered important, thus boosting its rank. It also checks to see if the search word is in the title, or top of the page or paragraph. And the Webpages that contain your search word more frequently are also given more importance. Smart Search Engines can detect whether or not a word is frequently placed in a Webpage just to gain rank and notoriety.
Webmasters still attempt to reverse engineer the Search Engines to get a better rank, so the actual rankings themselves have more to do with the Webpages rather than the actual Search Engine. Webmasters can place artificial links in their Webpage to boost its search status and popularity. Search Engines also change rankings in regard to their popularity, as higher ranking Webpages can be switched with a lower ranking Webpage if it doesn't attract many visitors.
I'd have to say the Search Engines that can screen out obvious attempts to improve their rankings are the ones with the best reputation. This is why Search Engines like Google are so popular. They're fast and reliable, and easy to use. Google is my favourite Search Engine, and i can honestly say i don't use others at all. I used to use other Webpages such as Yahoo! and AltaVista, but now i realize everything i want to find in these Search Engines can be found in Google. Images, News, Groups - Google has it all, though for video search i go to YouTube. I honestly cannot see myself switching over to another Search Engine soon, and Google's stranglehold on this market is sure to be long lasting.
Webmasters still attempt to reverse engineer the Search Engines to get a better rank, so the actual rankings themselves have more to do with the Webpages rather than the actual Search Engine. Webmasters can place artificial links in their Webpage to boost its search status and popularity. Search Engines also change rankings in regard to their popularity, as higher ranking Webpages can be switched with a lower ranking Webpage if it doesn't attract many visitors.
I'd have to say the Search Engines that can screen out obvious attempts to improve their rankings are the ones with the best reputation. This is why Search Engines like Google are so popular. They're fast and reliable, and easy to use. Google is my favourite Search Engine, and i can honestly say i don't use others at all. I used to use other Webpages such as Yahoo! and AltaVista, but now i realize everything i want to find in these Search Engines can be found in Google. Images, News, Groups - Google has it all, though for video search i go to YouTube. I honestly cannot see myself switching over to another Search Engine soon, and Google's stranglehold on this market is sure to be long lasting.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Topic 4 - Old Communication Technologies and Theories
This weeks lecture was about the history of communication technologies, and the accompanying theories and philosophies that went with them. Early on, smoke signals, rock paintings and cuneiform tablets were the most advanced methods of communication. These were the staple forms of communication up until papyrus was 'invented'. The Chinese were the first to use paper, and the Europeans followed shortly after. The next big invention was the Gutenberg movable type, which allowed mass production of books, and has been used in the printing press until recent times. Technological innovation has really sped up in the 19th and 20th centuries. Key innovations in this time period include - the telegraph, radio, television and of course video.
A key Critic and Analyst of Art was Walter Benjamin, whom Steven talked about. He was one of many to philosophize on the impact modern technology had on society, and in this case Art.
The Lecture cleared up the meanings behind Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Benjamin argued that the aura in art was cheapened, or falsified, by the mass production of paintings and other forms of art. His contention was that the history, cult and magic behind the painting was diminished by reprinted copies, which watered down their relevance. However, he did see the mass production of art as liberating, as now not only elitist groups and rich people could afford important works of art.
Benjamin also looked at film, and pointed out that film is more easily analyzed because certain parts can be more easily isolated. The immediacy in plays is different to the immediacy in film. The actor in a play tends to be more vulnerable, and his emotions cater to the live audience, whereas in film, the actor is always wary of his presence on camera - thus giving the filming medium more chance to get certain scenes right.
After reading Walter Benjamin's piece on mechanical reproduction, it was time to start my tutorial task. This week we had to answer the questions below, with the catch being we weren't allowed to use google or Wikipedia. So i just used Yahoo! Yahoo was the go-to search engine before Google as i remember, but slowly and surely Google became the premier search engine. I didn't find the inability to use Google Frustrating and i certainly wasn't inconvenienced by this. However, not being able to use Wikipedia was a greater challege. Wikipedia has become the encyclopedia for the new generation in a way, and it really is an open slather information service, as anyone can add facts and info. Some facts are totally bogus too. Anyway, despite this minor hindrance i did manage to find the answers to the questions below, despite being stuck on question 5 for a while. I had to use a calculator to find this out, as there weren't any pages showing how many kilobytes made up other memory units. After answering these questions, i realized that most of the sources i used looked considerably more reliable than Wikipedia, though i can't say more convenient. Here are the questions i answered:
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus? Onel De Guzman from:
http://www.ausgamers.com/?commentsid=1848560
2. Who invented the paper clip? William D. Middlebrook from:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/paperclip.htm
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name? It is named after the Ebola river, in Zaire from:
http://www.crystalinks.com/ebola.html
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake? Chile from:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/10_largest_world.php
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte? 1,073,741,824 kbs from:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-terabyte.htm
6. Who is the creator of email? Ray Tomlinson from:
http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/email.html
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it? Storm worm is a virus that has affected a network of computers, numbered at roughly 50 million computers from:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/22/Storm-Worm-now-just-a-squall_1.html
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of australia directly,
what is the most efficient way? You can use the Prime Ministers website: http://pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm or post to him at:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP Prime Minister Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School
of Arts) a member of? The Black Assassin from:
http://www.users.on.net/~lenus/nct/2005/04/nct-week-6.html
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe the new, information, application and community based internet that is considered a more functional version of its predecessor.
A key Critic and Analyst of Art was Walter Benjamin, whom Steven talked about. He was one of many to philosophize on the impact modern technology had on society, and in this case Art.
The Lecture cleared up the meanings behind Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Benjamin argued that the aura in art was cheapened, or falsified, by the mass production of paintings and other forms of art. His contention was that the history, cult and magic behind the painting was diminished by reprinted copies, which watered down their relevance. However, he did see the mass production of art as liberating, as now not only elitist groups and rich people could afford important works of art.
Benjamin also looked at film, and pointed out that film is more easily analyzed because certain parts can be more easily isolated. The immediacy in plays is different to the immediacy in film. The actor in a play tends to be more vulnerable, and his emotions cater to the live audience, whereas in film, the actor is always wary of his presence on camera - thus giving the filming medium more chance to get certain scenes right.
After reading Walter Benjamin's piece on mechanical reproduction, it was time to start my tutorial task. This week we had to answer the questions below, with the catch being we weren't allowed to use google or Wikipedia. So i just used Yahoo! Yahoo was the go-to search engine before Google as i remember, but slowly and surely Google became the premier search engine. I didn't find the inability to use Google Frustrating and i certainly wasn't inconvenienced by this. However, not being able to use Wikipedia was a greater challege. Wikipedia has become the encyclopedia for the new generation in a way, and it really is an open slather information service, as anyone can add facts and info. Some facts are totally bogus too. Anyway, despite this minor hindrance i did manage to find the answers to the questions below, despite being stuck on question 5 for a while. I had to use a calculator to find this out, as there weren't any pages showing how many kilobytes made up other memory units. After answering these questions, i realized that most of the sources i used looked considerably more reliable than Wikipedia, though i can't say more convenient. Here are the questions i answered:
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus? Onel De Guzman from:
http://www.ausgamers.com/?commentsid=1848560
2. Who invented the paper clip? William D. Middlebrook from:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/paperclip.htm
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name? It is named after the Ebola river, in Zaire from:
http://www.crystalinks.com/ebola.html
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake? Chile from:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/10_largest_world.php
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte? 1,073,741,824 kbs from:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-terabyte.htm
6. Who is the creator of email? Ray Tomlinson from:
http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/email.html
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it? Storm worm is a virus that has affected a network of computers, numbered at roughly 50 million computers from:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/22/Storm-Worm-now-just-a-squall_1.html
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of australia directly,
what is the most efficient way? You can use the Prime Ministers website: http://pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm or post to him at:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP Prime Minister Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School
of Arts) a member of? The Black Assassin from:
http://www.users.on.net/~lenus/nct/2005/04/nct-week-6.html
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe the new, information, application and community based internet that is considered a more functional version of its predecessor.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Topic 3 - Alphaville + New Wave Cinema
This week we watched Alphaville (1965), the French new wave film directed by Jean-Luc Goddard. The movie is supposed to be set in the future, in a place called Alphaville, but the whole movie is shot using real world locations in France.
Jean-Luc Goddard apparently filmed the movie, in then modern day France, to criticize the cold, heartless buildings and architecture prevalent. He also plots Technology as an enemy of the people, through the form of the totalitarian computer system Alpha 60. Its purpose is to control peoples' emotions, permitting only logical and quantifiable thoughts, rather than raw human emotion. This can be applied to our reliance on technology and the control it exerts in our lives. We are also alienated from real people and social situations because we tend to use online social networks, Mobile Phones and other forms of communication to talk to others.
The readings this week were all related movies and to Alphaville. The first reading i went through, the Film and Screen Glossary, defined technical words used in the film production industry. It was a good insightful read that helped me understand the more technical side of film making.
The other readings were about French new wave cinema, specifically Alphaville. It seems Jean-Luc Goddard was one of the Pioneers of the movement, and didn't mind alienating his audience from the character and the narrative.
The readings this week definitely helped me to understand and appreciate better the motive, narrative and general complexity of Alphaville.
They briefly went through the history of new wave French cinema.
In the accompanying tutorial we were instructed to get the weblog addresses of at least four other classmates. This seemed slightly daunting for me as i am an admittedly reserved character. Nevertheless, i got the four required web addresses, before classmate Clinton decided to create a new course forum thread where we could post our weblog addresses.
Secondly, we were asked to consider how we use new communication technologies to communicate with friends and family.
Undoubtedly, new communication technology has made the world a global village. We can use the internet to chat to people we have never met, from all parts of the world.
I have people on my MSN Messenger contacts list who i have never met. One such person is my uncles' friends' son. Another is someone i met in an online game. There are a few other random people on my list who i only know through the internet.
Amazingly i still feel like i know a person if i get to know and talk to them online. However, it is certainly easier to create an online persona, as i have talked about in an earlier post, than it is to talk to someone face to face. This is the major difference between real social interaction and using online messaging programs. Even someone reserved like myself can feel more confident knowing that i am relatively anonymous using MSN.
MSN Messenger, of course, has been around for a while and has become the most popular instant messengering program in Australia. I can remember using this program as far back as 2002. As is the case in High School, students are easily pressured or willing to indulge in what is popular at the time. This was probably the deciding factor in my choosing to use MSN Messenger like my peers. That and the fact it made it easier and cheaper to chat with mates after school.
Of course, it took we a while to realize that my conversations were recorded by MSN Messenger, and kept in a conversation history folder. Some of my conversations were considered inappropriate by my parents, who found the transcripts of my conversations on my computer. To me, privacy is an issue as i can see how sensitive information might be leaked to eavesdroppers and others not supposed to received this information. This being said, i am happy for my parents, and parents only, to monitor my conversations, as i respect them and want them to trust me.
Jean-Luc Goddard apparently filmed the movie, in then modern day France, to criticize the cold, heartless buildings and architecture prevalent. He also plots Technology as an enemy of the people, through the form of the totalitarian computer system Alpha 60. Its purpose is to control peoples' emotions, permitting only logical and quantifiable thoughts, rather than raw human emotion. This can be applied to our reliance on technology and the control it exerts in our lives. We are also alienated from real people and social situations because we tend to use online social networks, Mobile Phones and other forms of communication to talk to others.
The readings this week were all related movies and to Alphaville. The first reading i went through, the Film and Screen Glossary, defined technical words used in the film production industry. It was a good insightful read that helped me understand the more technical side of film making.
The other readings were about French new wave cinema, specifically Alphaville. It seems Jean-Luc Goddard was one of the Pioneers of the movement, and didn't mind alienating his audience from the character and the narrative.
The readings this week definitely helped me to understand and appreciate better the motive, narrative and general complexity of Alphaville.
They briefly went through the history of new wave French cinema.
In the accompanying tutorial we were instructed to get the weblog addresses of at least four other classmates. This seemed slightly daunting for me as i am an admittedly reserved character. Nevertheless, i got the four required web addresses, before classmate Clinton decided to create a new course forum thread where we could post our weblog addresses.
Secondly, we were asked to consider how we use new communication technologies to communicate with friends and family.
My Experiences with New Communication Technologies
Undoubtedly, new communication technology has made the world a global village. We can use the internet to chat to people we have never met, from all parts of the world.
I have people on my MSN Messenger contacts list who i have never met. One such person is my uncles' friends' son. Another is someone i met in an online game. There are a few other random people on my list who i only know through the internet.
Amazingly i still feel like i know a person if i get to know and talk to them online. However, it is certainly easier to create an online persona, as i have talked about in an earlier post, than it is to talk to someone face to face. This is the major difference between real social interaction and using online messaging programs. Even someone reserved like myself can feel more confident knowing that i am relatively anonymous using MSN.
MSN Messenger, of course, has been around for a while and has become the most popular instant messengering program in Australia. I can remember using this program as far back as 2002. As is the case in High School, students are easily pressured or willing to indulge in what is popular at the time. This was probably the deciding factor in my choosing to use MSN Messenger like my peers. That and the fact it made it easier and cheaper to chat with mates after school.
Of course, it took we a while to realize that my conversations were recorded by MSN Messenger, and kept in a conversation history folder. Some of my conversations were considered inappropriate by my parents, who found the transcripts of my conversations on my computer. To me, privacy is an issue as i can see how sensitive information might be leaked to eavesdroppers and others not supposed to received this information. This being said, i am happy for my parents, and parents only, to monitor my conversations, as i respect them and want them to trust me.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Topic 2 - Is Email Dead?
In week 2 we looked at the idea of email being a passing fad or form of communication.
Again, the subject of Email being used to exploit people came up. Chris told us how scammers can just mail bomb millions of Email addresses with their shady scams, with a small percentile of those likely to fall for them.
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