Course Review
The most important thing I learned this quarter is how the ability to link has changed how we surf the internet. Before this class I took that concept very much for granted and thought it was just another random feature of the internet. But it is what differs the internet from things like the newspaper and books. I liked how this class made me realize that. What I would have liked more time to study was the idea of access. I would have liked to have been able to look more into 3rd world countries and see how they were communicating and see how this might change over the next few decades. I found this so interesting because I think it is common for Americans (myself included) to just assume that everywhere is like it is here and that everyone has computers and access. I also really liked talking about how the internet was effecting polotics. The topics that was least interesting to me was RSS feeds and technical information like that. These topics I found to just be really confusing and they didn’t make any sense to me. They might be good things to talk about, but I think you first would need to make sure people really have a good grasp on the more basic concepts before jumping into something confusing like that. But overall I really liked the class and enjoyed taking it!
3 comments March 6, 2007
Vonage and Speakeasy
On the Vonage site I would pick the $24.99 plan that would allow me unlimited long distance and local calls a month, but they also offer a $14.99 plan where I would get 500 minutes (the first plan is a much better deal!). The first month is free with the $24.99 plan. The service is available at my home address (in Issaquah). it does offer for me to keep my current phone number which is something I would definitely want, just for convenience. But the actual phone I would need is not included in the monthly plan price. I would probably chose the Mortorolla VT2142, because after the rebate you get the phone for free, it works with 2 vonage lines and it connects with one computer. but other devices are as expensive as $109 (without tax), so it can get expensive! So the total would be little or nothing for the first month (considering I get the phone for free after rebate and I get the first month free). Before I bought this service I would need to be sure that my phone service would be very high quality. I am not sure how they would demonstrate this to me, but it is something I would have to know before I bought it. Right now I am not sure. As of right I don’t think I would buy this service because I am happy with my cell phone service and don’t want to go through the trouble of having to get a new service and having to cancel my own one. Maybe later though!
The Speakeasy service was actually not available for my home address. So if I did want to buy some VoIP service I would be stuck with Vonage (or maybe another service I haven’t heard of yet). I did find their website to be very informative though. it described exactly what the service was and how it worked. I really appreciated that. Their cheapest price for home VoIP is $83.90 a month, but that is VoIP and Broadband. This is more expensive than Vonage, yet it offers a package including Broadband. Looking at the chart for prices was much better laid out that the Vonage site was, everything is very clear and I know exactly which features I would be getting. If I had my own house, and it if was offered there, I would actually consider getting the site. I am pretty sure that currently my cell phone bill plus my broadband bill are higher that $83 a month, so I would be saving money (which is important for broke college students!).
Add a comment March 1, 2007
Reflections for Group 5 Presentation AND Summary!
I thought my presentation went very well. The two groups I got to present my article on the Quantum Computer to seemed very interested and intrigued. They asked a lot of questions and I was glad I was able to answer them. We also had an interesting conversation about how our lives would be different if the quantum computer replaces our traditional digital computers. I wish I would have had the opportunity to go around the room and see what the rest of my group did for their emerging technology. I guess I will have to just look it up on their blogs! If I could give advice about this project to another student I would advise them to know their article very well, because people in the class really do want to learn about it and it helps a lot if you are educated enough to be able to answer all of their questions. Overall the presentation went extremely well!
Summary
My Powerpoint was based on the Quantum Computer. It is brand new technology and was first displayed just this month. It has the ability to create simulations instead of just calculated responses. This is the point of difference from computers we use today. It has the ability to solve problems which are multi-demensional and have many elements. They see this new technology having a huge impact on the sciences and medical fields. Currently they are planning on leasing out ‘time’ on the machine, since there is only one. A corporation will send the company their information and then they will compute it and send it back! This connects to communication because it encourages people to communicate in order to gather all necessary data in order to create the best solution. Scientists and doctors will collaborate world wide and work together to solve many of our problems, like diseases. We would all benefit by their communication.
Add a comment February 28, 2007
Week 9 Reading Response- VoIP
I agree with Valdes when he says that VoIP will replace the telephones we use today. The glitches the VoIP system is experiencing right now are only temporary, and as the internet increases in quality and reliability the VoIP system will become more attractive. None of the flaws are going to prove to be detrimental to this new technology. The issue of having no internet service when the power goes out will be remedied by how electric companies are constantly upgrading so these events can be avoided. I think the cable companies are going to try and quickly increase the quality of their services in order to attract customers. In the near future I think the speed and quality are going to be deciding factors for buys because they will be basing their decision on which company can provide them with the best connection to enable them to ‘talk’ over the internet.
I am actually planning on using some sort of VoIP service while I am studying abroad next quarter, so I actually gained a lot of valuable information about how the whole process works by reading this. A lot of my friends who have gone abroad have used this service and they have all liked it. It is way better than having to pay $5 a minutes to call long distance back at home. This brings me to my next point, I foresee this technology having a huge impact on how often people communicate. Presently I think there is a huge price barrier that keeps people from communicating with friends and family who they would like to speak with. It is simply unrealistic to pay so much to talk to someone long distance. I personally will be calling home/talking through my computer way more often once I get this service than I would have without it. I think this is a positive effect. People naturally want to communicate and doing so will have positive effects on our societies well being. Once VoIP is heavily adopted we will see many positive shifts in the way people communicate.
Questions:
- Why do you think that VoIP has not been more heavily adopted by users? What factors may be contributing to this?
- How could they possibly fix the flaw of not being able to trace an address to the VoIP caller in an emergency?
- Do you think as more people adopt this new technology we will see an increase in people “listening in” on conversations? How might VoIP make this practice either more or less common?
5 comments February 22, 2007
Emerging Technology Powerpoint for Class
Here is the link to my powerpoint presentation on the Quantum Computer !
And here is the link for the original article on the computer!
Add a comment February 22, 2007
News Search Experience
I had a frustrating experience with searching the newspapers. I ran into the same problems that a lot of the other students were confronted with. Only one of my newspapers I found to be very well organized, which was the Charlotte Observer. It had an easy navigation bar on the side of the site and labeled the section where I could find “Blogs”/”Forums” and it even had a internet only area where they had “RSS” labled. It was very easy to get into each of the areas and find what I was looking for. The other three papers were not so organized. I had to spend at least 15 minutes just trying to determine if they had Blogs at all. With the Fort Worth paper I was just about to give up and then I stumbled across one, which made me search even longer because I thought I had possibly missed another one. Overall it was discouraging. I feel like the only reason the Charlotte was so organized was because it had SO many Blogs/Forums/RSS info. The rest of the papers had just a few or none. If they had just a few I am sure they were not as concerned with organizing them. There must be some “rule” out there that determines that if you have have under ‘x’ amount of Blogs you don’t need to organize them, but if you have over ‘x’ amount you need to. I think in the future we are going to see a trend where news sites are going to get more and more organized to meet the demand of the comsumers.
1 comment February 15, 2007
Week 8 Reading Response- Universal Access
I really enjoyed reading this article, aside from the fact that it was very “techy” and at times hard to follow. What I did like was the positive information it yielded in reference to 3rd World/ developing countries’ potential of having the ability to get online. This article made me realize that our world is in fact much closer to having everyone be able to use the internet than I had previously imagined. Michael Best talked a lot about 802.16 standard and corDECT as possibilities to provide wireless access. The key features of these are that they happen to be very cost effective. I think cost is a huge factor when discussing poorer countries getting the internet; they simply could not do it if it was above a certain price. I was also excited to learn about how technology manufactures are trying to get around the problem of PC’s being expensive by introducing ‘stripped down PC’s’ and hand held devices which are easier to use and require less electrical power. These solutions are much more realistic than providing all of the countries with expensive software and hardware like we have here in the US and
Europe.
It is clear from the article that there are many positive effects from spreading the accessibility of the internet. But I think the positive effects with go far beyond what can be forecasted. Having the ability to get online could help people in a multitude of ways. Think of it in terms of women’s rights. Women in countries where it is acceptable for their husbands to abuse them would be able to get online, share their experiences and possibly get help. They could also see that this is NOT an acceptable practice and it could lead to informed movements. Also it could give small communities to ability to voice their distress and a way to reach out for help. If a community is suffering from any ailment they could get online and bring attention to their problem. It would be a great way for poor people’s quality of life to be elevated. Once again I really enjoyed this article and was pleasantly surprised by how close we are to allowing universal access.
Questions:
- By when, if ever, would you predict all countries will have wide-spread access to the internet and ‘universal access’ will be accomplished?
- Do you think having the internet is really as ‘essential’ to developing countries as this article leads you to believe? Why or why not?
- What could be some negative repercussions of having ‘the whole world’ online? Are there any?
Add a comment February 13, 2007
PodCast Update
I am still planning on focusing on the effects of illegal downloading. I am thinking that I, during some point of my presentation, will give a timeline over the past few years and talk about the number of sueing insidents and problems people have run into. I will also look at how sites/programs are trying to keep people from downloading illegally and how the media has given attention to the possible consequences of downloading has effected the number of people who are actually doing it. Has more attention/awareness caused people to reduce their downloading or has itbrought more attention to the practice and therefore people are begining to explore it? Hopefully I will be able to confront this question!
2 comments February 13, 2007
Week 7 Reading- Internet and Politics
These two articles show that technology is definitely having an impact on politics. The “Organizational Man” article by Noem Schieber, really demonstrates how these changes have occurred. The way I see it, the internet has resulted in totally new approaches to reaching voters. It is a much better alternative to having to physically go out and meet with random voters and is much less expensive than running huge campaigns. And I think people will/do respond more favorable to things like candidate websites because the voters are not being forced into leaving the comforts of their home or encouraged to have awkward phone conversations with supporters. We can merely get online and do all the research/exploring we desire on our own time schedule. How the candidates should reach out to at home internet users is so emphasize the existence of their website through the more ‘traditional’ methods of campaigning. Instead of having a billboard with all of Kerry’s goals on it, they should have some catchy phrase and then direct people to their website for the real information. They could also do this on TV during commercials and mention it at the end of debates.
The “Race” article by Kathy Gill I found to be very interesting. I never really consider how the micro-organization of a website effects my surfing ability/success, but once she started pointing out flaws with the web design I realized that these things do bother me. Before now I used to just get this underlying feeling of frustration when trying to search through poorly- executed sites, but now it makes sense why I felt this way. I am surprised that each of the sites had so many ‘errors’ on them, I would have thought that all of these mistakes would have been worked out by a professional since the candidates appear to have so much money and resources to do so. I think Professor Gill has the potential to make a lot of money if she wanted to assist in the web design of future campaigns!
Questions:
- How do you think web design will be altered for the 2008 election?
- What other features could the candidate’s websites include to further involve voters in their campaign?
- Do you think things such as blogging and You Tube (where ads can be re-run and speeches re-played) are helping or hurting politicians? Do you think the negative effects out weigh the positive possibilities?
Add a comment February 7, 2007
Week 6 Reading Responses
Even though this was not the central focus of his work, what really struck me in the ‘Blogs’ reading by Dan Gillmor was his comment about how news organizations misrepresent/warp information for mass audiences. He attributes this back to the consolidation of news organizations and then later to corporate ownership. I think the fact that so many news outlets are owned and managed by corporate giants is a big problem in our society that often gets over looked. People typically don’t think about how this effects all of the information we are presented. In reality the news organizations warp how we see the world, and if the organizations are all managed by one headmaster then we are really only seeing the perspective of one man/group. This could be dangerous and keeping us from obtaining well-rounded information. Yet amidst this flawed system, blogging has surfaced and, I believe, is working to right the wrongs. People now have a way to openly discuss issues which are relevant to them, and if news organizations are going to try and deceive the public they are either going to have to be very discrete about it or they will get called out. This is one implication blogging has had on our society and the information we are fed on a daily basis. Blogs are keeping our media outlets truer to their word and holding them up to high standards.
In regards to the ‘NPR’ article I think the increasing demand for podcasts reflects a general trend in society: The need for personalization. People now want their favorite shows to be on their schedule not the stations, which are responding by giving the listener exactly what they want. We as a group are moving away from the static and inadaptable to the fluid and dynamic lifestyle. I was pleasantly surprised to read that NPR is now incorporating non-traditional shows into their podcasts, such as the “Youthcast”. I think this is a very smart move for them and puts them one step ahead of the competition, who is simply podcasting their traditional shows. I would predict that over the next few years podcasting will becoming even more popular and soon we will be able to log onto itunes and download a much more diverse array of casts.
Questions:
Who/What would you consider to be todays “Muckrackers” in our present society?
Would you say that blogging is diminishing the importance/power of more traditional journalism? Or are blogs simply making traditional journalism appear to be even more official and credible amongst a sea of amateurs?
Over the next few years, do you think companies will be able to track podcast downloaders? What types of non-invasing technology would allow them to do this?
Add a comment January 29, 2007
