USER RELATIONS?! OH MY!

A computer is one of the most advanced pieces of technology due to its continuous improvements and constant improvements on capabilities. When Lupton compares a computer to having a comparable personality to a human it sparks debate, but ultimately has a good point. I found a website that allows people to type anything they want and have a voice recognizer repeat this entered phrase at ease.

http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal

I am bringing up voice recognition software due to our in class discussion on the Mac computer having various tones and possible sexism associated with it. In this video I thought of adding for this particular topic, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkEw1rsBUak. The commercial isn’t necessarily for a computer, although the attractive woman mentioning the available features for the car that has interactive hard drives and software “turns her on”. This is an example of how computer user relations can flourish to even more than a desktop.

Lupton has a very concrete form of justification for his arguments. The way computers are being made, deploy the “user friendly” terminology. This term is made up to have a personalized computer to relate with and show your unique persons attributes. Most of the processes in a computer can be altered in some way by changing the appearance, system, storage, performance, appeal, etc. These additions continue to build and shape our arguments along with Lupton that these relationships will only continue to grow stronger. The whole I’m a Mac, or “I’m a PC” is a concrete example of the foundation of this bond.

Every day in class we discuss and argue whether or not the makeup of a term of phrase can relate to the entire realm of Digital technology. The Iphone and Blackberry debacle or the sexist, stereotypical processes that make up the technological advances are examples of our in class relations. I look at every connective device in a whole new way because of the in depth research we continue to relate to. I will probably use the voice recognition software I found in RL. http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal. Relating the in depth meanings of vocab in our course work will help me understand and explain more thoroughly if need be in RL. 

"Text to Speech." SitePal. SitePal, n.d. Web. 23 Sep 2010. <http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal>.

Virtual Confidence

-The peg communities described in Bell and Bauman’s notions of virtual communities are interesting opinions when considering the meaning of just that.  “Sites where people can hang their interests or obsessions, their enthusiasms or worries, and around which they can - or might - try to build up something collective, albeit instrumentally and ephemerally”. (Bell p.257) In my opinion, I agree with their statements. People can use these communities to discuss with others to voice opinions with fellow members and similar attitudes. When a collection of thought can manifest itself into a group, it becomes a collective notion, forming a community of similar beliefs. The emergence of this can generate a protest of thoughts and opinions that could inevitably cause a persuasion of others opinions. This is a positive setting, instead of critical messages; everyone seems to have the same general opinion of someone or something, causing positive generalizations, virtually.

This virtual setting allows people to express themselves with zero judgment from friends and families. Having a virtual community allows us to be our own person without fear. Many people can be much more confident expressing beliefs and opinions with the use of a messaging system like AIM, texting, and facebook chat because virtual communication does not require face to face interaction that makes up for almost all the embarrassment and shy attributes of a conversation. Everyone in our DTC class has a personal opinion on each and every subject we discuss; many just choose to listen for numerous reasons. If everyone was allowed to post an anonymous message in response to each discussion, I’m sure everyone would be much more involved.

-For my selection of three online communities of the same type for assignment two would be the comparisons and similarities between Fantasy Football and the makeup within these internet gaming sites. Millions of people are now using the realm of fantasy sports to further interact with their favorite sports and players. A few of these sites include;

     1.    

         http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage

     2.    

         http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy

     3.    

         To follow.

    -The strategies of these sites are almost polar opposites of one another. At this time in our sports seasons, football is the most talked about and popular choice to follow and get involved with.

Bell, David. The Cybercultures Reader. 2nd. 1. New York, NY: Routledge, 2000. 254-63. Print.

Web Tastic

Blog #3

These readings are very interesting considering they portray the original media pertaining to our most advanced technological inventions like the internet and computer software. Over the years of course, the continuous advancements in display, technology, words, fonts, picture, adaptations, and imaginative processes show this. “it was the Apple corporation that provided some of the key developments that made the computer graphic user interface (GUI).” (82, Burnett/ Marshall). This example shows the advancements of computer language dating back to 1977. From the early stages, terms like these, unique and new languages of computer digital technology began to take shape.

          

        When hypertext and hypermedia began to evolve, this caused the general euphoric relationship between the internet and the world wide web. CERN, URL’s, http’s were a new type of integration that linked us to the new found WWW. Gophers, navigation, cyberspace, virtual, modems, and convergence are all unique terms that have held up in our present culture. Sure many words have been added to help describe this technical era, but we still use and relate information from the web using some of the very first definitions linked to the digital beginnings.

        Over the years, the web became a place for everyone to get a product out in the market most efficiently. Purchasing, publishing, and realizing the potential for income related with the internet began to boom. A multibillion dollar possibility at the click of mouse began to become a reality. Banner advertisements are a coined ad attached to sites, made to add income. Search engines like Google, yahoo, and now Bing, are probably the most efficient way to find information all over the web. These corporations are worth ridiculous amounts of money. All reaping the benefits of the newly found internet and its potential.

Burnett, Robert, and David Marshall. Web Theory: an introduction. 1st. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003. 81-104. eBook.

When is Gates coming to Tri??

1.  1.  -

The digital divide is a classy way of describing the true meaning in all facets of the digital world. When the word digital comes up in conversation and or technology, many people have differing perspectives of its meaning. Ranging from cultural barriers, age, personalities, and opinions create a whole new realm of technology as well as our digital advancement. In other words, various people that are made up in differing cultures all view technology as a different identity. Obviously the age of 30 and younger is an excellent age for entirely grasping the marketing side, personalizations, and digital advancements. The Iphone, like discussed heavily in class whether or not it’s a phone or a computer is an annoying way to dig so deep into something for a pointless solution. The Iphone is a phone end of story, it says so in the name. I understand the technicality involved with it, and other programs, but it’s a phone… Other than that, I feel as though the digital divide is a definition can describe an endless world of technology and advancements in our lightning fast world we live in today.

2.  2.  

For companies like apple, Microsoft, and windows, the core marketing techniques are made up to appeal to all ages, especially demonstrating the ease of use for these machines and or products. I found a website that has the perfect example of the fued between these super powers.. Enjoy..

“Macistan is the dictatorship I choose to live in because the trains run on time.

It’s beautiful, vibrant, growing, simple, and there is virtually no crime. You don’t need to worry too much about security; daily maintenance is basically nonexistent; and when you need something fixed, there is a government sanctioned organization to deal with the problem. The trouble with Macistan is that it has a crazy, egotistical, and self-important dictator. He rules Macistan with an iron fist, and if you don’t play by his rules, he will excommunicate you. The government repair station is far from perfect, in spite of outside appearances. These sanctioned experts are frequently bureaucrats without useful skills, knowledge, or the ability to actually help. It’s also expensive to live in paradise. The costs are high in both money, and the loss of freedom. You can only install the software that is OK with the authorities, and the authorities are becoming prone to censorship of “obscenity” as they define it this week. It’s a nice and easy life, but freedom is dwindling in Macistan. Eventually it will probably become too oppressive to abide.

Windowsland is the land of the established superpower.There is an overabundance of just about everything in Windowsland: software, population, productivity, and crime.There are some costs associated with living in Windowsland, but they aren’t astronomical, you can actually live fairly well without spending much money. You also have a fair amount of freedom to do as you wish, there are restrictions, but they aren’t too heinous.The main problems with living in Windowsland is the insane crime-rate. As a result of the freedom and immense population, Windowsland is hive of scum and villainy. There is a sizable population of jerks looking to profit off of the ignorance and misfortune of others. The other issue with Windowsland is that the government is slow to improve the infrastructure of the country. The government is constantly struggling to be all things to everyone. As a result, everyone suffers. In Windowsland a lot can go wrong, but the taxes are low, and there is quite a bit of freedom.”

I lol’d when reading this because it lays out the hilarious counterpoints that people can understand in an everyday culture.

Hope you enjoyed, it's all digital after all..

-Bruce

Spira, David. "windows vs. mac vs. linux explained in metaphor." Macistan / Windowsland 21 March 2010: n. pag. Web. 1 Sep 2010. <http://geekwhisperin.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/windows-vs-mac-vs-linux/>.