Are Wii the Children of the Revolution? (#6)

In my opinion, the Nintendo Wii is just another craze that will soon die down. I say this because just like the walkman, Playstation, and the IPod, the hype of the product raises the sales, but after a few months the need for one quickly diminishes. Yes, the Wii has new technology with its new cordless hands on motion feature, but what do you expect, times are changing. Very soon, other gaming systems will pick up this technology and it would come as nothing but hype for the new product that would be released. I myself have not yet tried the Nintendo Wii but I'm not falling head over heels just to get my hands on it. This is why I believe that this is just hype, a craze that would soon pass by. So in conclusion, I believe that the Nintendo Wii is a technological innovation with its new feature but it is still just hype that will eventually die down.

Reading in Cyberspace?!? (#5)

Google Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans and stores in its digital database. This kind of tool once open to the general public, would either spread like wildfire or quickly diminish. Google's relationship with publisher's I believe would grow because the service only publishes books in their full content only if the publisher agrees. Otherwise, they take what they call "snippets" from books that’s copyright date have expired and uses them as a reference whenever someone "googles" that books title. Having such a tool, Google is now reigning as the king of all search engines to date. But other search engines such as Yahoo are trying to keep up with Google by making similar tools. This project will become a great reference tool to many. An example of a group of people that this would help out are students. It will become a great studying tool for them. But they have to know the limits of it. If they copy, it is plagiarizing. With this new development, librarians would not need to worry. Many of the books that are on Google Book Search are not copyrighted anymore. So Google saw this as an opportunity to create their own little library. But they are many books that do not appear on the site including "Harry Potter", "To Kill a Mockingbird" etc. These types of books are what people go to the library for. So if I were a librarian, I would not worry because with the vast variety of books being published daily, there will always be a new book that Google would not be able to put on their website. In conclusion, I think that Google Book Search is a wonderful, helpful tool that can help many people on a daily basis.

The Genographic Project (#4)

In partnership with IBM, National Geographic has taken on a project that would change the world. Together and with the help of many scientific experts, they will find the true answers to where we have come from and how did we get here. This project is titled "The Genographic Project". The Genographic project is a project that involves worldwide participation. Scientists have been placed around the world where they will encounter indigenous groups of people trying to find an answer to their question. They will do this by taking a sample of DNA from people from these groups hoping to find an answer. They would also need as many samples of DNA from people around the world so that they may build a family tree of sorts so that we may trace our existence back to the beginning. Scientists believe that when DNA is manipulated through the life cycle, many change while others stay the same. If they could find those strands that stay the same between us and the many other people around the world, they will be one step closer to finding out this mystery. This project has just come to par with us because now, we have the right advancements in technology to accomplish a feat such as this. This has also come under great timing because with the world now mixing and the indigenous groups of people diminishing, scientists have to work fast if they hope to get the answers they want. Without the indigenous groups, we would have none or a very little to start from. So in conclusion, this project in my mind is a great idea that should be monitored more seriously by the general public because I believe you don't really know who you are unless you know where you came from.

When War meets Video Games (#3)

Images by Google.ca

War video games are so popular nowadays because of the current events happening around us. Many of the war games are about World War II and the setting in recent war games are played in Afghanistan. It is also popular today because other video games are becoming cheesy and old. People get tired of playing the same thing over and over. War games seem to look like it would get old quickly but it doesn't. All war games have many different missions and tasks to do. People enjoy playing these war games because you must do strategic methods and military tactics in order to complete missions.

I think war games do desensitize people to the horror of war because after playing many games of this content it becomes addictive to the person and they no longer find it horrible or care. When people witness too much violence they too begin to become violent as they grow. Many people want realistic games and war game designers have stepped up to the challenge. The war games now show a lot of blood flying everywhere, first-person shooting so it seems like you’re in the game, and detailed deaths.

I personally like war games. It’s exciting and challenging. I always have a thrill just playing them because I need to think of how to attack the enemy or lure them out. I find it really fun. My favourite war games are Counter-Strike and Call of Duty. Every time I play war games I sometimes actually get nervous and scared because if I’m almost dead I have to do the impossible or if an enemy suddenly pops out of nowhere and kills me. But war games don’t really have an effect on me. I love playing war games but I’m not addicted to it.

iPod Classroom (#2)

In my point of view, I think that I would learn well using an iPod, if only I had one. Learning with an iPod gives the students the ability to multi-task. They can do units while being in a seminar at the same time. Also with the iPod, the student is able to pause, rewind or repeat what the teacher is saying. It’s a great idea for a school such as Mary Ward. But there is a problem with this idea. In order to learn from the video or audio in the iPod, the teacher must tape and record and check to see if they have missed anything. In addition, if the teachers have many seminars then the result is that they would have to record a lot of times, every week! Mary Ward's system is completely fine and it doesn't need to be replaced by the iPod learning technique.

I think that Mary Ward should not embrace such technology for education even though it is an interesting idea. There are little advantages and many disadvantages to this. Some advantages are teachers can record the seminar once and not worry if a student missed a mandatory seminar because they can give them the file. Another advantage is that the teacher can upload the file onto e-class and not be bugged to know when another seminar will be offered. Disadvantages to this method are that students can use this as another excuse to procrastinate. Students can also pretend to look like they're watching a seminar on their iPod when in fact they can be watching a video unrelated to education or just listening to music and slacking off.

With the GOOD, comes the BAD (#1)

Communication technology has significantly evolved and it has unquestionably changed the way we communicate with one another. We have cell phones, computers, pagers, portable video game consoles, cameras, etc. These pieces of technology are very helpful to everyone and to some it is something they cannot live without. Yes, today's communication technology has many advantages but there are its disadvantages that should not be pushed aside.

ADVANTAGES
So let's start with the advantages. One example of a communication technology is the cell phone. The cell phone is probably the most useful piece of technology right now because people can use it anywhere at anytime and you can even put it in your pocket. If there's an emergency you can easily get the phone and start dialing as opposed to running to a phone booth and inserting quarters. Another example of communication technology is the television. With the television, companies are able to advertise their products to millions of people everyday. Not only products but also services, like Bell's internet solution.

DISADVANTAGES
The list of advantages can go on but I will also focus on the disadvantages. If there are advantages there will be disadvantages. The cell phone for example. Yes, it can be used anywhere but conversations are less private because you will be talking in public around a number of people. Also, since the cell phone is portable and small, it is easy to get stolen or lost. The disadvantages of television include addiction and exposure to negative content. Television is addictive because when there is a dramatic show, people continue to watch as they want to find out what will happen next. How does it expose people to negative content? Well, since all ages watch television, they can flip to any channel and see many different commercials. Commerials about clothing or weight loss, send negative messages. Clothing commercials make the viewer want to purchase the advertised product, even if it may be expensive. The weight loss product or service tells the viewers that being thin is healthy and it is the "in" thing.

In conclusion, communication technology does have its advantages but at the same time disadvantages. People should use these pieces of technology carefully and wisely.

Intro

Hello, my name is Mark and welcome to my blog for Media Arts.