Wiki: FaceTime

FaceTime was invented by inventor Steve Jobs before his death

(well, obviously)

 

 

 

FaceTime was released in conjunction with the iPhone 4.

FaceTime allows users to see the person on the other side of the phone through the usage of video software devices.

 

 

 

This application is also available on the Ipod 2.

The person on the otherside must also have a compatable Apple product in order for facetime to work

This is kind of like a webcam for phones if you think about it. 

WIKI: "The Hopper"

Chances if you've seen the highly annoying commercials, you know what the Hopper is.

or the "Hoppa"

(insert the annoying Australian accent here)

But the hopper isn't the first system to allow viewers to watch tv where they want, when they want.

More and more, people are recording television instead of actually watching it.

They can fast forward through commercials,

they can pause live television if they need Doritos from the kitchen

or whatever the instant need is...

No longer do we care if we get home by six to watch our show,

because we can dictate when we watch things.

It's that control thing.

We like it.

That is, until media controls us.



Wiki E-harmony

As long as everything else in our life is turning media based, our dating habits might as well turn that way too...

Whether it's E-Harmony,

Match.com,

or even Christian Mingle

 

People are moving to the virtual world in order to meet people online

Sometimes, these people date in the virtual world for years and years before meeting their

boyfriend or girlfriend.

 

 

 

A new show on MTV brings together the people from these relationships to meet for the first time,

however, with the internet,

you can be who you want to be,

and often times, they get caught in the act of lying... or cheating. 

Wiki: Craigslist

Oh, Craigslist

The site that everyone uses

and not everyone admits to.

Craigslist is a site that allows people to buy, sell, and advirtise products

It also involves personal sections, pets and jobs.

 

 

 

This internet invention replaces previous Classified Advirtisements from the newspapers

 

 

People can post resumes that may connect them to area jobs

This is a faster way to build the economy,

which is a very effective growth method

 

However, people can also post personal ads:

 

 

AGING CAB DRIVER. M. 52. WANTS TO FIND HIS FOREVER SUGAR MOMMA>

 

Really? You're suprised that didn't work?

 



Wiki: Youtube

Ahh... giving the power of film production into the hands of average americans.

This is really cool

and really destructive

 

You can be awesome and post hilarious videos of your children:

"Charlie bit me... and that really hurt"

or

"I only like you when you give me cookies"

 

 

You can share your own music:

 

Justin Beiber was discovered off of youtube, ya know...

 

 

Or you can act like total idiots and shame entire colleges

like those dumbass girls from UMD just did

 

 

Either way, it's very cool that something once reserved for film directors allows us to share our videos with the world, in a suprisingly good quality

 

 

 

 

 

 



WIKI: Reality Television

Reality television has become increasingly popular in television

These shows are generally shown on Bravo, TLC, MTV, and A&E

 

However, viewers always question if the shows are "real"

or if they are staged.

This brings up the question of honest media

and how much you can trust what you see

 

 

 

Arguably the most famous Documentary series that are tied to reality television include:

The Sixteen and Pregnant and Teen Mom series.

Camera crews follow the lives of expecting teens or young mothers with their trials of partenthood. 

Wiki: Television Series

As televisions became more easily accessable

and tv's were common in households,

the range of viewers changed as well as the purpose changed

Televisions began to offer series for entertainment.

Some early ones include:

MASH

Leave it to Beaver
The Brady Bunch

(Marsha, Marsha, Marsha)

 

Successful television series featured complex characters that were either serious or humorous.

Viewers grew to rely on the good television series that they enjoyed watching with friends and family

 

As television continues to focus more and more on reality television,

which I will discuss in my next post,

Viewers still value a good television series

Some (more) recent hits include:

(Within the last 20 years)

FRIENDS

The Simpsons

Pretty Little Liars

George Lopez

Full House

How I met your Mother

Big Bang Theory

House

Law and Order



Wiki: Man on the Moon

In class, we focused a portion of our time on conspiracy theories

including the theory that we did not infact land on the moon

and that it was just some giant hoax

 

 

 

The United States Apollo 11 was the first manned flight to make it to the moon.

There have been six manned flights total, but Apollo was the first to land smoothly.

 

 

People believe it is a hoax because moon landings are not common,

like they were once claimed or expected to be.

 

 

However, they claim that anyone with a telescope and a correct laser can see the proof because it will reflect off of the mirrors left by the Apollo 11 crew. 

WIKI: Dictionary

Many forms of dictionaries were created throughout time,

but it wasn't until Samuel Jackson's A Dictionary of the English Language

that a reliable, factual book was created.

 

 

 

According to Wikipedia:

American Noah Webster published his first dictionary, A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. In 1807 Webster began compiling an expanded and fully comprehensive dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language; it took twenty-seven years to complete. To evaluate the etymology of words, Webster learned twenty-six languages, including Old English (Anglo-Saxon), German, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic, and Sanskrit

 

Could you imagine working on a book for twenty seven years?

Although, it must have been worth it,

considering Webster is still the most common dictionary around.

What a stud. 

Wiki: Freedom Writers

1. If you haven't seen the movie, Freedom Writers,
2. than I really suggest it.
3. The movie shows the power of writen media at it's purest form:
4. Journals.
5. (it is also based on a true story, which makes everything cooler)

 

 

 

Troubled students wrote down their own stories in journals for their teacher to read

The teacher did not come from the same background as the students.

As the teacher was used to high-living and pearls,

the students were used to dropouts and gang violence.

 

By writing their stories and sharing their voice,

they used media to carry their stories

This not only enlightened their teacher,

but created bonds that lasted through gangs.

WIKI: Spoken Word

Media is a form of expression, or communication

One hobby that people have picked up as a form of communicating their feeling is through spoken word.

Rather than publish poetry in newspapers or reviews, poets are starting to make events out of it.

As newspapers and books, lose popularity, poets are changing in order to not get lost in the shuffle.

Their new kind of poetry is called "Spoken Word"

It's crazy how that aspect of media has gone full circle.

First stories were spoken around the campfire or at gatherings,

then the printing press came along.

Now, as printing is becoming outdated,

we are back to spoken word...

 



WIKI: 3D movies

This type of motion picture enhances the depth of the film

Viewers may feel in the scene, or feel objects from the scene flying towards them.

Users must wear a pair of three dimensional glasses for the 3D aspect to work.

 

 

In 2009, Avatar was released as the first real successful 3D film and recieved raving reviews.

Disney caught wind of this success and rereleased some of their best movies in 3D,

raving that it was a brand new experience.

They started with the Lion King, and continued on to:

Beauty and the Beast

Finding Nemo

Monsters Inc

The Little Mermaid

 

 

 

So far, these rereleases have had amazing success at the box office.



WIKI: Pandora

Pandora Internet Radio is the leading internet radio in the business.

It is fully available in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Poor Canada... at least they have cheap meds.

 

 

Users are able to suggest a song, artist or genre for Pandora to create a radio station for.

Pandora plays similar musical selections for the user

The user can provide either negative or negative feedback for songs

If a user gives a negative feedback, the songs are taken out of the radio station and won't be played again.

Ever again.

It's pretty damn serious.

 

 

Over 400 musical attributes go into picking the next song

These attributes include rhythm, harmony and tonality

WIKI: Honey Boo Boo

Although Media has contributed many positive things to our society

it has also introduced us to some negative things as well...

Such as...

HONEY BOO BOO CHILD!

 

If you don't know her, She is worth seeing...

Not because she is good at anything

but TV has fallen so damn far

 

 

 

What happened to shows that made you think?

What happened to shows that held important references to life in general?

 

This TLC show follows the life of Alana, a rolly-polly girl who loves beauty pageants, farting, and being a redneck.

Gosh.

Go on, educate yourself.

This is a downside to media...

Wiki: LIFE magazine

LIFE magazine was founded in 1883 as a general-interest magazine

It was generally viewed as light entertainment:

It was heavy on cartoons, jokes and social commentary

It often featured illustrations.

 

 

 

Years later, it took a different tone and began to write movie reviews of the films being shown in New York City.

You know, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of?

That one.

Those reviews featured different colored bullets:

green for good

Red for bad

Yellow for mixed reviews

 

Although I'm sure you could've figured that one out by yourself.



 

The most famous cover photograph was most likely the V-J day kiss



Wiki: Kindle

The Kindle, produced by Amazon is the major brand of e-reader

It's main competition is the Nook.

 

 

 

These e-readers allow people to hold an entire library in their hand.

People are able to have their magazines sent directly to their e-reader.

They can also hold books, blogs, and newspapers.

 

E-readers have gained popularity within the last few years.

It is similar to the tablet computer, such as the Apple Ipad.

 

 

 

It is predicted that tablet computers will most likely absorb the e-reader technology into its device to create a more powerful, useful device.

Wiki: Google

Google. It's cool enough to have it's own  verb.

I just "googled" something.

Although that sounds sexual slightly, everyone knows you looked something up on the internet.

 

 

Google was created by two Stanford University students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Today, they own about 16 percent of the company.

Google became a publically owned company in 2004

 

The mission statement of Google is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

 

If you don't believe me.... just Google it.

Wiki: Twitter

Tweet. Tweet.

It seems I am the only person left on the planet without a twitter account.

I don't see the purpose, I guess.

I also hate the crowd... I am very stubborn about that...

For example, I won't get a twitter, I will not like "I'm Sexy and I Know It" or "Rolling in the Deep", I will not read - nor see- The Hunger Games, or watch "How I Met Your Mother."

 

Anyway... Twitter involves sending messages that are only 140 characters long.

Just because it doesn't have a long attention span, I guess.

 

 

Twitter is one of the top 10 visited sites on the internet and grew to 500 million users in just six years.

 

340 million tweets are generated daily.

Wow.

 

People often use Twitter to interact with celebrities.

It helps them feel like they are friends.. like Internet friends.

 

 



WIKI - Dell Computers

As I type away on my computer, creating these Wiki's,

I felt that I should dedicate at least one to my (not so) trusty Dell Computer.

 

 

The company was named after its founder, Michael Dell.

It is one of the largest technological corporations worldwide.

It employs 103, 300 people total and is listed in the 44th spot of the Fortune 500 list.

It ranks as the 3rd largest PC vendor in the world, falling behind just HP and Lenovo

 

Much of Dell's power was gained by merging smaller companies, such as Alienware and Perot Systems into it's control

That makes it sound evil...

It's really not.

 



WIKI: GameBoy

One of my most prized possessions through my childhood was my GameBoy.

I didn't just have any GameBoy though..

I had a GameBoy Color and the power light was Pikachu's cheek.

Yeah, I'm awesome.

 

 

 

Perhaps it was just a 90's kid thing, but GameBoys were our bonding tool. We watched others play Gameboy, we played them in the car, on the bus, everywhere....

That is, until the lights were too bright and your screen had terrible glare problems.

 

It was released first in Japan, then in the US in 1989 by Nintendo

It sold over a million Gameboys in a matter of weeks.

They seemed to be the first very successful handheld game.

 

With advancing technology, like Nintendo DS, the GameBoy seems incredibly bulky...

But the moment someone pulls out those little square plastic games,

you know...

GameBoys will always hold a special place in 90's kids' hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



WIKI: Apple Company

Apple Company is a multi-national corportation.

Some of its most famous products include the Mac computer line, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iTunes.

 

 

Apple is a fairly new business, as far as corporations go.

It was founded in 1976 as Apple Computers

In 2007, it dropped the "computer" part of their name, because they began to focus more on electronic devices - not a bad idea by them at all.

 

They are the third ranked communication company, after Samsung and Nokia...

Although I would expect Nokia to be dropped fairly soon.

Unless you can name the latest Nokia phone.

I bet you can't. That's why I say that.

 

 

Apple cap is bigger than Microsoft and Google combined

It boasts an impressive 394 stores in 14 different countries

Apple is not going away anytime soon

In fact, I should probably buy stock in them...

You should probably too.



WIKI: Xbox Kinect

Video games have sure come a long way.

For this time this Halloween,

I played "Dance Central" on an Xbox Connect.

 

 

 

The Kinect is a motion-sention device made by Microsoft 

It allows the player to not have to use a controller.

The user must just simply stand in front of the kinect

and it picks up on the user's movements

The Kinect does this through user interface which implements gestures and spoken commands.

 

XBox created this system not only because it is technically awesome, but because it reaches out to a larger audience that might not normally 'game'

 

 

The Kinect holds a Guiness World Record for the fastest selling consumer electronic device by selling a whopping 8 million copies in just 60 days.

Just 60 days!

That is impressive.

Not only impressive, but unheard of.



WIKI: The Typewriter

I am very unusual for my age...

Why?

I own a typewriter.

How awesome is that?

The typewriter was the gateway for the computer, laptop, and ipads, even.

 

 

Typewriters were invented in the 1860's and became popular to use in buisness settings

Although, it didn't become long before the public began owning their own at-home typewriters for personal use.

 

The typewriter featured keys that printed ink characters when pressed. 

After awhile, the shift key was implemented, and allowed writers to write with more continuous flow.

 

Personally, I wish we still used them..

Although it stinks that there aren't backspaces,

It reminds me that there was true literature before 50 Shades of Grey.

 

 

WIKI: The Sims - Virtual Reality

I wasn't allowed to play the game The Sims when I was younger

The reason involved having the Sims "woohoo" and making a baby

All though it never showed anything, my mom still deemed the flying blankets and fireworks inappropriate.

 

So, it wasn't until college, actually that I ended up buying it.

I know, I'm a kid at heart.

After playing it for a while, I stopped and asked:

Why do I like this so much?

Which brought me to another question about role playing type games in general...

Aren't we getting away from the real world by involving ourselves in a fake world that is just like ours?

How does that even make sense?

As media advances more and more, we crave the virtual world.

I think, in a weird sense, and for lack of other words..

We like to play God.

We like to have control.. even if it is just in our own media.

We like to be 5'8" 120 pounds with a perfect hour glass figure if we really want...

Sigh.. if only...

Perhaps that is what draws us in  to this type of media.
For once, we can be who we want to be - which is usually what the media, ironically, is pressuring us subconsiously to look like..

Twisted, isn't it?

 



WIKI - arche

In class, we discussed the greek word "arche"

(pronounced R-K... also sounds like arcade. Kind of.)

Arche means beginning or origin.

 

 

 

We discovered that origin is very important to media

Although sometimes, the beginning is not at the beginning at all...

Sometimes the beginning is at the middle

This connects back to En Medias Res

 

 

 

Sometimes, beginnings occur at the start of something new, something great

For example, the arche for the iphone was en medias res, in a way...

It was at the beginning of a discovery and a crucial technological chain,

but it occured in the middle of the timeline of cell phones

Critical Inquiry: The Federal Reserve

"Only one candidate believed in gold-backed money... and everyone called him a fool."

- Rob Larson, October 24th, on Ron Paul, Federal Reserve

 

In class, we discussed the power of the Federal Reserve and watched a great youtube video on its origin, operation system, and corruption.

I really wanted to write about the Federal Reserve for our Lulu publication...

However, there are almost no websites with FACTUAL data on the Federal Reserve.

I couldn't find any hard numbers

or graphs

or charts

or reports

Information about the Federal Reserve is well hidden... is that for a reason?

 

Here is some of the information I did manage to find after class:

The Federal Reserve: America’s Toxic Relationship with a Fiscal Gold-Digger

The United States of America prides itself on being a nation founded and praised on the principle of freedom. However, the Federal Reserve has the United States bound in oppressive chains. The Federal Reserve, a privately owned bank, controls the actions of the United States Treasury. How can our citizens feel the glorious rewards of freedom, when our government does not know true independence?

According to the Federal Reserve’s website, their mandate is “to promote sustainable growth, high levels of employment, stability of prices to help preserve the purchasing power of the dollar and moderate long-term interest rates." However, the purchasing power of the dollar has declined immensely and the mounting debt restricts the economy’s growth. The Federal Reserve was created in December of 1913. Approximately half a year later, on July 1^st 1914, the United States debt had already reached 2.9 Billion dollars. In fact, during the span when the Federal Reserve was first created, from 1910-1920, the value of the American dollar dropped over fifty percent. In just the first few years of its operation, the Federal Reserve failed on many counts to withhold its promises. Rather, it singlehandedly destroying the American economy, debt rating, and value of the dollar.

The United States created the Federal Reserve as the country’s central bank to study the trends of the economy so that it runs to its maximum efficiency. Ironically, while the nation experienced its worst economic trends during the Great Recession, the Federal Reserve soared to its highest revenue seen in history. According to page 131 of the audit, Federal Reserve loaned out 16.1 trillion dollars to over a dozen banks during the Recession. 

Feel good about the Federal Reserve yet?

No?

Me neither.

 

 



CRITICAL INQUIRY - 3D Printing

 [With 3D printing,] we can actually create structures that are more intricate than any other manufacturing technology — or, in fact, are impossible to build in any other way.

— Lisa Harouni

 

In class, we saw a video about three dimentional printing.

To be honest, before we saw the TED video and Rob just mentioned it in class,

I shook my head.

No way.

I didn't believe it. Not one bit.

I'm a stubborn girl, but I'll admit this one.... I was wrong.

(I hate saying that)

 

Seriously though, Lisa Harouni gives an incredible talk on the realistic aspects of 3D printing and where it is going in the future.

 

 

 

What really blowed my mind was that 3D printers have been around for 30 years!

What?? 30 years!

That's insane - I'm just hearing about it now.

This is crazy.

 

The only reason why it isn't more popular now is because people have to make the code to make the products...

However, once those codes are easier to produce and understand,

every home may have a 3D printer.

Critical Inquiry: Inception



"The chance that we are living in the real world is highly unlikely."

-Rob Larson, 12-5-2102

 

One of my favorite movies of all time is the movie, Inception

This movie focuses on these people that manipulate dreams and create another reality for that person

The dream reality is very realistic - it has to be

However, sometimes it is too realistic...

The main character's wife kills herself so that she can leave what she believes isn't real

in order to live in the dream world

She lost sight of what world was real and what was fake

 

 

In class, we have been talking about similar ideas

Rob has brought up that we are probably living in a future 7th grader's science project

Which is really weird to think about

At first, I was like, "yeah right"

 

Now,

I feel differently.

 

With the technology that is arising, the media would have no problem creating a believable alternative universe.

No problem at all

They only have to manipulate our reception of the world

They always say that humans can get used to anything...

but can we?

Can we get so used to an alternate universe so much that we think it's real?

Could this be happening right now?

 

Perhaps it is like Inception and we are in a dream

What if... I'm in a coma right now...

Just ponder that question again....

What. If.

Critical Inquiry: The Boy Kings

Rob Larson was kind enough to lend me "The Boy Kings"

which was a tell-all book about Facebook written by a prior employee, Katherine Losse

I had found this book while researching my post about Facebook stalking us.

I was shocked to find out that there was a master password that could get into any facebook account

But after the reading the book, that was just the start of the Facebook scare...

 

 

Losse was hired as the 51st mployee of Facebook.

She experienced a frat-like environment like no other in this media-based company

What I read in this book was absolutely crazy.

It actually made me feel uncomfortable that my facebook page/my private information

was in the hands of a bunch of horny frat guys.

Seriously though....

 

 

Losse described how women at the office were treated very poorly.

They were judged and hired based on appearance

The men often asked their women colleagues for "favors"

That's creepy. Really creepy.

That's not the kind of person I want having control of my information.

 

Not only that, but Facebook team members are able to see who views their site and for how long

People are tracked

People are watched

Their information is never truly deleted.

Now, doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?

No. Not at all.

Good, interesting book... I enjoyed the read and strongly recommend it to anyone who has a fFacebook.

 

Which is everyone. 

WIKI: Qumi

In class, we viewed this invention called a "Qumi"

And no, it's not a new kind of pokemon

It's a projector - and it's very different from the bulky ones in classrooms...

 

 

This one is small.

Really small.

So small, in fact, that in can fit in your pocket

 

This projector shows a screen that displays 90 inches

and it has a light life of 30,000 hours

That's pretty dang impressive

 

The Qumi also offers 3-D receptors

This advances this projector beyond it's competitors. 

CRITICAL INQUIRY - When are we human?

"The moment you carry yourself around in a suitcase, you aren't human anymore."

-Rob Larson, Nov. 30th

 

 

We've done a lot of discussing in the class on what it means to be human

When do computers become human - or do they ever?

If we get computer implants, when do we stop being human?

 

That is a great question.

When do we stop being human?

 

I thought about it for awhile. I thought, what if I lost my legs in a car accident?

I would definitely want fake, mechanical legs.

I'm still human, right?

Right.

 

What if I then lost my arms too, in a fire?

Sure, that's  a bout of bad luck, but I'm not about to live my life with no arms.

So, I'd get fake arms. Those nice, machine kind that work like real arms.

I've got fake arms and fake legs. That's not my fault.

I've been in tragic accidents. 

I'm still human, right?

Right.

 

But what if I needed a mechanical heart or eyes?

At what point do we stop and say that I'm not human?

When we are merely machinery?

I don't know

I really don't 

 

 



WIKIS: IPODS

Ipods.
If you don't know what they are, you are either over the age of seventy or amish.
Either one.

In class, we have discussed how new technology replaces old technology often.

Our 12 year-old music player, the ipod, is the next to go

Seriously. They're outta here.

 

 

Generally, everything that the ipod could ever dream of offering

is already offered by your smartphones.

Music? got that.

Video? got that.

Games? got that.

 

So why spend your money on things like ipods when you could just use your smartphone or ipad?

There's no reason to, really.

 

 

 

Even the experts agree, see for yourself.

It's not just my wacko opinion - this is legit.

 

 



Critical Inquiry: Run, Forrest, Run.

In class, we discussed the possibility of nanobots

having the power to make us run without ever getting tired.

 

Some students were very opposed to this idea:

"I don't want anything unnatural in my body"
(12/10/12)

Umm... okay. Because that Red Bull in your hand is so damn natural.

 

 

I, on the other hand, would be the very first person in the line for that nanobot.

Being able to run without getting winded or tired would be the best thing ever.

 

I have this syndrome.

It's terrible really.

Here's the thing. My face gets incredibly red when I run.

No matter what the distance. Seriously, like tomato red.

And with bleach blonde hair, it goes from red red to white white.

It's like a pimple.

And as attractive as that is, I would like to not look like a zit.

Muchas Gracias.

 

But, there are many other reasons why I would be #1 fan of this nanobot:

 

1. SCARY MOVIES

 

You know the ones I'm talking about.

The ones where a group of college students are somewhere totally stupid.

Like an abandoned house or a cabin far away from any civilization.

And then they do something stupid. Like venture outdoors.

Anyways, I'd be the first to go.

Because everyone would run away from the evil axe murderer as fast as they could

Which for me, is not very fast.

Which is why a nanobot would be very handy for me.

I hate being last in anything.

 

2. FOOTBALL PRACTICE

 

At the end of every football practice, we do conditioning

and I'm slow

Painfully slow

As I'm sighing, heaving, panting, and turning red

Every one is sprinting ahead of me

Approximately 40 yards ahead of me

If anything could help me, it would be the nanobot.

Let's hurry up and get those.

 

3. JAMES BOND

 

I recently saw the new James Bond movie "Skyfall"

That's when I was really sold on the whole nanobot idea.

Why?

Because if I was put through any of the events that he has to go through,

I would die.

To put it simply.

Seriously? Running miles on a moving train?

I'd run one train car length before starting the deep breathing.

And, those flights of stairs they always seem to find?

I couldn't run them without turning red and fainting at the top.

If I ever want to be a super secret awesome cool spy,

I need that nanobot.

Not want. Need.

 

So, you still don't want that nanobot?

Good. Less competition for me.