'Wolverine' Piracy

This article from CNN discuses the recently leaked movie 'Wolverine,' and how millions of people have already downloaded it. In this tough economy, people seem to be more apt to download illegally.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/01/wolverine.movie.piracy/index.html

My Own "Incredible Shrinking Attention Span"

As I sit writing this blog, I am surrounded by way too much technology. My concentration is all over the place. One of my roommates is straightening her hair, "Something About Mary" is on TV, my phone is signaling a text message, and I am on Facebook. Now how in the world am I supposed to concentrate when all of that is going on? I basically don't. I believe this is why it takes me two times if not three times as long to finish a specific task. Yes, it is true in my mind that women can multitask and men really can't, but I think I am succumbing to "The Incredible Shrinking Attention Span," as each day goes by.

I fit into a lot of the categories described in the article. I think it helped me understand where I sometimes get my road rage from. Now, I am not proud of this side of me that appears when I am either frustrated with bicyclists or people who drive too slow. I think people, including myself, should not be in such a rush all of the time. We need to take it slow and enjoy what we are doing for what it actually is.

With that being said, technology is constantly in the fast lane. It is hard to avoid it and most of the time inevitable. But, I believe that if we try our hardest to concentrate on a specific task at hand attention spans will grow.

Sprint's What's Happening Commercial

I love this commercial! I feel like it is very applicable to our class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YhWNiRRblY

The GREAT Digital Divide

I thought a little help from Wikipedia was in order to understand a more simplistic definition of digital divide.

The term digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. In other words, it is the unequal access by some members of society to information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. The digital divide may be classified based on gender, income, and race groups, and by locations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide

Information and knowledge is all around us. It can be found in the person sitting next to us at lunch, a movie on a lazy Saturday afternoon, or on the screen right in front of our faces. The computer and it's respective technological associations is just one, single way to educate our minds. It's versatility and extent of knowledge compared to any other piece of technology is overwhelmingly exhaustive.

I do believe in the existence of the digital divide. However, I can't necessarily say it will be shrinking in the near future. There will always be those who cannot afford a computer or have the unlimited access to its educational features as some do. And there will be those who can afford it and choose not to be involved.

I feel as though there will always be a divide in society no matter the most recent technology. There is going to be lag time between those who have it and those who don't...it's part of the natural cycle. In my mind, the most important thing about the digital divide is providing educational opportunities to those who desperately seek them!

Privacy Invasion

Last semester I was a victim of identity theft. I never thought it would happen to me.

I was shopping before leaving for Texas v. OU weekend in Dallas. When I went to the counter to make my purchases, I was told that my debit card was not working. Of course I freaked out, because I had just checked my account hours before and knew I had sufficient funds to cover what I was buying. After getting on the phone with my bank I was told my account had been frozen due to a purchase that was attempted in Atlanta, Georgia that day. Luckily my bank red flagged it, because there would have been no way for me to get there physically between the time of my previous purchase and that moment. The woman on the telephone was very nice, and told me that the person had an actual card swipped that ran as my account. I have no idea how they got my debit card number.

What is even stranger is that both of my roommates and other people I know had the exact same thing happen to them, and the purchases were all made in Atlanta, Georgia! Unfortunately, there fund were actually withdrawn. I was able to order a new card with a new number and have no further worries except wondering how it all happened. Of course I had to go the entire weekend with out my card, which was very difficult to manage.

I agree with the definition of privacy given in the reading."Privacy isn't just about hiding things. It's about self-possession, autonomy and integrity." Not everything of our lives should be kept behind closed doors, but we should have the choice what is and is not made public. Therefore, it really scares me how easily our lives can be invaded, even if we do everything right and cover our tracks. It becomes harder and harder to trust the human mind and what it is immorally capable of.

Woman charged $220,000 for file sharing

http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6237195350&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6237195354&cisb=22_T6237195353&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=6742&docNo=13

This woman had to pay so much money. I am sure she wished she went to Wal*Mart and bought her CD's instead of having to pay over $9,000 per song now!

Kazaa

In my true and honest opinion, I think the idea behind Kazaa is brilliant. People sharing their love for music with one another is one way to view it, yet another could be the exploitation of artists and their music.

After reading about the way Kazaa was set up among the different countries and extremely decentralized, I thought to myself how smart these people are. They know what a majority of listeners want and how to get it to them...free music that is easily downloaded.

Throughout the reading, I did get confused with a lot of the technical aspects. However, one major question that was proposed was does the "power to kill Kazaa ultimately rests solely in the hands of the service's users?" In my opinion, I believe that it really does. As hard as the article led me to believe about tracking down the right people for a lawsuit, it really does come down to the users themselves. I agree that until something better comes along, Kazaa will hold its power. That principle lies within so many aspects of life. People are like lemmings at times - they will stay on one train until someone discovers something bigger and better and then they will jump to another. It is more or less a humanistic quality.

What does Google not control?

http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3590756

This article really makes me wonder how much control Google has in our technological lives. I didn't realize that even the non-profit organization, Mozilla Firefox, is being paid by Google.

The Spark in Firefox

I am not the most technologically savvy person. Usually I just go along with the trend, or what is the most popular piece of technology. Unlike some people in our class who must have the newest, coolest edition of a gadget, I just follow behind at my own pace. For example, I didn't purchase an iPod until years after it was released.

As for web browsers, I continued along my same pattern with technology. To be honest, I had no idea what the difference was between one browser from the next, except for its initial appearance. Now, I have become enlightened from reading "Face Value: Firefox swings to the rescue." It is all starting to make more sense!

I started using Firefox last year. Before that I used Safari as the default web browser that came on my Mac. I really didn't know otherwise. Firefox is all I use as of now. A couple of its features that I love are the most visited web pages placed under the url, and the ability to open separate tabs. As of right now I have four different tabs open ranging from our blog home page, to Wikipedia, to looking up flight plans. It is so nice, because there is less confusion and it saves space on my desktop. Plus I don't have to minimize everything and play the guessing game when I try and figure out which site is which. I also love that Firefox is a non-profit organization, and that it is countering the Microsoft monopoly!

Before this class I didn't realize the abilities of the technology I have been using right in front of my face!

POWER in PowerPoint?

To be absolutely honest, I am not the biggest fan of PowerPoint. I don't say this without reason either, I think I have a pretty good explanation for my feeling of overwhelming annoyance.

Ever since I was in elementary and middle school, PowerPoint was forced upon me and my peers. With every school project that was related to the computer or research presentations, my teachers were somehow psyched about using this program over and over and over again. This is where it all began for me. With the click of a button, text could zoom and swirl across the page in front of my peers. As letters changed colors or pictures danced on the screen, I could even add music to the background. And what was the point of all of this? To gain attention I suppose.

Of course I am one to always get frustrated with technology, so not getting along with PowerPoint added to my anger. Plus, I found the reason behind such presentations quite meaningless as a young girl. Today, just to get someone's attention you have to keep everything brief, yet somehow entertained.

Now, as I am halfway through my undergraduate degree at The University of Texas, PowerPoint has yet to fade away in the classroom. I honestly don't believe it ever will either, because of its ability to impact an audience with bullet points. The power behind PowerPoint lies within its attention-grabbing, information-giving characteristics. Some might like it, and find it useful in classroom and business situations. I on the other hand relate quite well to the two girls in the readings whose mother made them sit through an entire presentation about cleaning their bedrooms and doing their chores. I would have also burst into tears at the thought of having to listen to my mother give a PowerPoint presentation.

Too Much Technology?

Coincidentally, as I was finishing up reading the article "A human-centered technology," by Donald A Norman, my roommate informed me that "for the first time in history young kids will die sooner, because of the rise in obesity which is suspect from not playing outside as much and sitting in front of the TV."

I feel as though this has a lot to do with Norman's comments on the positive and negative aspects of technology. He argues that there are a lot more pros in technology unlike what Jerry Mander says In the Absence of the Sacred. I do agree that with everything in life there are good and bad point of views. However, when I hear that for the first time kids will be dieing at a younger age, technology scares me!

I remember when I lived in a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, there was this crape myrtle tree outside on the corner. I would always pretend I had a fort and a secret hideaway. I absolutely loved this tree...I had made a world of my own. Now, when I drive through the neighborhoods in Austin I hardly ever see kids playing outside with their friends, because they are constrained to the walls of their houses, sitting in front of the television, playing video games.

Technology is a catch-22. No matter what there will be ups and downs. But how far can we take it? When is too much technology a hindrance on our lives? My answer: when a person's life is cut too short because of it.

When to Call Him...

http://ezinearticles.com/?Phone-Call-Rules-For-Women---When-to-Call-Him&id=1120261

I laughed after seeing this article about women and the rules of calling men. I think it is so ridiculous how women have to be the ones to keep up with all of the rules. How are we supposed to do that without making a mistake? Why are there so many rules?

Is He Going To Call?

"Is he going to call?" It seems to be the question on most single girls mind's my age who have just given out their phone number to a cute guy they met the day before. For me, this was the case just a few weeks ago...

I had just gone out with some friends and stopped at a party for a little while. A guy came up to me and we began talking. We had a decent conversation for the setting we were in. I didn't think it was a big deal, just a casual talk with someone new. But before I knew it he was asking me for my phone number, and I just stood there watching him punch into his iPhone. Then, he called my phone so I could add him to my contact list. I convinced myself later on there must have been some sort of "connection" or else he wouldn't have asked me for my number.

The next day I sat and contemplated...repeating over and over again the scene from the night before in my head. Questions were constantly coming to my mind. "Is he going to call?" "Why would he take the time to ask for my number if he isn't going to call?" "Should I call him?" "Is it okay for me to add him to Facebook, or is that too weird?"

As the weekend passed it hit me that he wasn't going to call. He didn't even care. It wasn't so much of him not calling that pissed me off. It was the fact that he had asked for my number. To all of the guys in the class, "Why even ask for a girls number if you already know you aren't going to call her?" In my mind it is just a waste of both people's time.

After reading "Making the connection: Single women's use of the telephone in dating relationships with men," I realized that the telephone is a piece of technology that can be used as an excuse. I agree that the power lies in the hands of the most disinterested party. In our societal world, the telephone can get you in and out of situations you do and don't want to be in.

Exhausted by Technology

This weekend I went to the movies with a group of girlfriends to see the newly released film, He's Just Not That Into You. I am sure you are wondering what in the world this has to do with our class readings for this week, but I promise it has a connection.

In Bree Nordenson's "Overload!" she writes about how we have news and information coming at us through all different directions and modes of technology. It becomes quite difficult to differentiate between signals and interpret what is important and what is not.

This reminded me of a scene in the movie when Drew Barrymore's character is in the store and recollects her recent date with a man and communicating with him. "...just to be rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting," she said.

I thought this was such a great line, because it is so true on so many levels. It's like we try and make communication easier for us every day by releasing new technologies, but in the end it sometimes makes things more confusing, complicated, and tiring. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and the conveniences that it brings, but it does have its cons just like everything else.

I agree that the many technologies that feed us news on a daily basis ultimately strain our attention spans, because we are often left with skimming just to take the important information in quickly enough to move onto the next task at hand. It's hard enough already to just make it through one news source at a time without having to stop and switch over to another medium!

Electronic Books

After our discussion last week, I thought about how reading has been transformed into the electronic format. People are no longer turning actual, paper pages with their hands, they are scrolling with a mouse.

I came across this website that appears to be pretty popular by people who like to read online. You can change the fonts and colors of the background for the book you are reading. I thought it to be pretty interesting... http://www.classicbookshelf.com/

"Watching its evolution, we can catch a glimpse of what lies ahead."

Roots of Revolution provides a nice foundation for our class and the impact technology has made on society. I read it with wide eyes and great understanding, but there was one line that really stuck with me, "watching its evolution, we can catch a glimpse of what lies ahead." To me, this last sentence completely encompasses the role of the Internet in our lives.

When you think about it, the Internet has been a guiding light into the future. Its progression matches the advancements in our lifestyles. Throughout the years we have come to know more conveniences, and spend less time enjoying one activity at a time. We have transformed into multitasking, "computer chip" oriented people with faster and faster calculations per second.

This relates back to the previous three articles. With faster Internet connections approaching, we are less likely to keep our concentration to one mode of communication. It is rare to find someone completing one task at a time from start to finish without the interruption of another technology.

My fear is that as the Internet becomes more faceted, humans will overload themselves. The revolution continues and will for some time. I just don't want people to lose touch with "real" communication, and get lost in the computer screen.

Mountains and Technology: Reading Week 2

A few summers ago at about 4 a.m. you could find me ascending the peak of a mountain in Colorado. The sun had just risen above the horizon. Shades of pinks and yellows consumed my vision. The air was crisp at the dawn of a new day.

Those few days will never escape me, because there is something strangely intimate about being out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing. There were no cell phones ringing to the latest music hit, no internet around to distract my mind for brief, fleeting moments. Technology was nowhere to be found. Interestingly enough it is always times like those in Colorado that I have been the happiest.

We live in an age where you have to drive for miles upon miles just to escape the realm of technology. Because people have inundated themselves with information and "easy access" through Google and other search engines, minds seem to lose grip when it comes to actually reading and enjoying articles and books. I completely agree with the comments about skimming information that is more than a few paragraphs long and not absorbing it made by Bruce Friedman in "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" I can honestly say that I do the same thing. My attention span has become shorter and shorter through the different outlets of the internet. At any one moment I could be reading an article from The New York Times, and then switch over mid-sentence to Facebook to look through newly posted pictures of my friends. It amazes and scares me how quickly my mind seems to shift gears, and not truly soak up the information at hand.

As much as I am distracted, I will never stop loving the act of reading a great novel I can hold in my hands as I turn the pages one at a time. I know this because every time I finish a book I always want to know more. I become so overwhelmed with the sensation of actually feeling like I am a part of the story, witnessing every scene. To me, that will never fade. No matter what sociologists and academics say about losing touch due to technology, that feeling when a book comes to a close is so much stronger. It is like reaching the peak of a mountain, overlooking everything else in sight.

Great pieces of information and beautifully written articles or books will always be there. It is just filtering through the falsities to find them that is the hard part.