| class discussion |
[Nov. 16th, 2006|01:03 pm] |
Second Life…wow…I have a hard enough time with my own real life.
When using Second Life, you can transform who you are, how you act, your everyday persona. In some ways, SL is more real than aim and other on line communities, but really it is up to the user to determine how close to reality they want to be when creating their avatars. It appears that Dr. Delwiche portrays himself as similar to that of his real life, but then there are others (the little green men or the half animal/half person) that stray from their actual physical bodies. One can then argue that maybe they are expressing who they truly are at heart. So what is reality? Is it who you think you are, your true physical appearance, how you act, or how you want to act?
With this said, I feel that SL is closer to reality than aim, for example. It adds a face to the conversation, even if that face isn’t their real physical face, it gives more options than just verbal, one can use gestures as well.
There is a commercial on TV that has animated characters (it is for some prescription drug). This commercial makes me think of the future of SL. People can tune in to SL as if they were watching TV, they can easily make commercials, and cartoon-esk shows. SL has the possibility of growing to extents that seem unfathomable at this current time (at least to me that is). As technology grows, so will SL. Only time will tell where this technology is headed and if it will continue to grow, or become extinct as other forms take its place. |
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| Second Life |
[Nov. 7th, 2006|10:12 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sick | ] |
I am always so lost on the internet, and this game was no exception. There are so many places that you can go, so many events, and I always seemed to find a place that no one else was at. I am not going to lie though…I really like flying around the open land.
I installed the program on my personal computer, and needless to say, the software might have surpassed the capabilities of my computer. It took too long for the images to load on my computer. If I was flying, I would have to stop to wait for it to finish loading if I wanted to see what was located in a particular area. There were also some areas that were off limits and had invisible walls around them not allowing access…those were fun to fly into.
When I became frustrated, I decided to close down the game and try again later, with a fresh start. I started the morning off with a swim (I would like to learn how to virtually swim…if that is possible). There I met some guy from France who was a little odd. I quickly became uncomfortable and flew away (he wanted to follow me around the game, and since I am fairly independent in reality, I felt that this should be no exception in the virtual community.
Next, I grabbed some coffee on the pier. There were several people there all talking, and most were new users. It was interesting listening and talking with them. I could not figure out how to dance though…as far as I could tell I would have had to pay to dance. Shortly thereafter, many people had to leave to go to work, so I followed suit. Overall I had a better experience than in previous trips to SL. |
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| MIC |
[Oct. 17th, 2006|12:50 am] |
The term Military Industrial Complex (MIC) was first used in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address in January of 1961. This term was not actually written by President Eisenhower, but rather by his speech-writer Malcolm Moos. The Military Industrial Complex refers to the “relationship between a nation’s armed forces, its arms of industry, and associated political and commercial interests.”
MIC is frequently referred to as the “iron triangle.” The iron triangle consists of The Pentagon (military), United States government (Congress), and defense contractors (industry). The fear of the iron triangle is that decisions will be made based on profit as opposed to the public interest. In this system (which leads to the fear of the iron triangle), “the military is dependent on industry to supply material and other support, while the defense industry depends on government for a steady revenue stream.”
For more information you can see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military-industrial_complex or http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Military-industrial_complex. (Wikipedia seemed to have the most condensed information about the related topic.) |
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| How to whistle |
[Sep. 28th, 2006|11:31 am] |
Growing up, I would often hear other kids whistling, and for the life of me, I could not learn. Over the years I have been able to develop one, but it is weak, and most people don’t think that it even constitutes whistling (it might not be…but it is fun to pretend). So when asked what I would like to learn to do…the answer is easy…How to whistle.
I have to say…that I tried for quite a while and still can not whistle. So I have come to the conclusion that I am not meant to whistle! But if you are interested as well, then you should check this site out http://www.ehow.com/how_4839_whistle.html. |
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| final project |
[Sep. 26th, 2006|12:35 am] |
I know the general direction that I want to take my project, from there, I am searching for a narrower field. Next year, I will hopefully be entering my dream job…I want to be a stockbroker. This field has changed with the increase of technology. My first option for my final project is how technology has changed this field over the past twenty years or so, and where the field is headed in the future.
My next option would be to look at the different web sites for different companies and find which one is the most user-friendly, or even combine the positive attributes from each site. They are not currently used by many professionals, but they could very easily be a valuable tool for future generations in this field. If I came up with a mock of one, I could link it to my future site that the company already provides for their brokers.
My third idea would be to create a know-all about a specific sub-field. An example could be oil and gas. I could link it to many other sites and talk about the recent issues with BP, Exxon, etc. Or I could examine the dot com stocks and where they are headed. With all three of these ideas, I am interested continuing my research for my Capstone next semester and adding it to my portfolio upon graduation. |
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| "The World is Flat" |
[Sep. 19th, 2006|11:52 am] |
“The world is flat.” Now that is quite the statement. When I first began reading Friedman’s work, I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical. Personally, I have gone from just learning how to turn a computer on, four short years ago, to learning that this is the direction that the word is headed, with or without me. It appears that technology and this leveling effect are inevitable as they are becoming more widespread every day.
It never occurred to me that outsourcing would become as widespread as it is. To think that the telemarketer could be sitting in any third world country is just fascinating. The person taking your fast food order can be thousands of miles away. I believe that this is great for the economies of other countries, but this does concern me in regards to our own country and economy.
With low, entry level positions being filled by citizens in other countries, where will people that have previously filled those positions in the U.S. go? I think that it is great that we are giving others a leg up, and quite often, businesses that could not have thrived on a strictly American market, can now find affordable labor to ensure their survival. So not only is it helping people of other countries, but it is helping many Americans raise their level as well. All-in-all, this appears to be a great trend towards globalization, but what jobs will the average high school student, or someone with out a high school degree now be able to attain. Where should our focus lie, towards leveling the playing field, or towards “looking after our own?”
I feel that only time will tell how this technology will affect us as a whole. I can actually foresee other countries passing us by, using the technology that we made available to them. Will we be the new third world country in twenty years? Will there only be powerful business people and homeless people left in the U.S? I can see this “leveling” going in many different directions, but only time will tell how this effects society as a whole. |
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| Predictions |
[Sep. 12th, 2006|11:54 am] |
When searching for web sites that predicted the future, I came across http://retrofuture.com/. I know that a few other people found this one too, but I was most intrigued with the information that this one contained. There are multiple examples on this web site of many inventions from the mid 1900s that all failed. The one that I found most interesting was that of rocketmail.
In 1959, the US Postal Service launched a missile carrying 3,000 letters. This was supposed to be the new craze in express mail. Forget to send mom a mother’s day card…rocketmail it to her and it will get anywhere in the world in just a few short hours. The first excursion was declared a success. Although this was a success, could you imagine having rockets carrying your mail across the world today?
My thought would be, what would have happened with the anthrax scare? What would this technology do for terrorist? Although it was considered innovative at the time, email has replaced the need for this quick delivery. Instead of hours, mail, and other written correspondence can travel across the world at the click of a mouse. |
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| analysis |
[Sep. 5th, 2006|12:58 am] |
These readings are very interesting and create the reader to realize that “life as we know it” may be dramatically different for our children and grandchildren. Technology has grown at such an exponential rate that the future is a mystery to us all. There are many theories of were we are headed with this technology that Bill Joy and many others have examined for years. It is my hope that individuals keep high standards and ethics when creating new programs and while this technology is still in the experimental stage.
In the case of the monkey controlling the mechanical arm, this can be used to advance society and help people that have disabilities such as those that are paralyzed. It can create safer work environments, leading to a decrease of accidental death, in the case of construction workers and other specialty workers of the sort. While this technology can be very beneficial, if used in other regards, we can begin to see our world transform negatively. If this technology falls into the wrong hands, such as terrorists, then it can lead to more harm being created than the good that it was originally intended for. This technology has the potential to affect many different aspects of every day life that have been explored by many different authors.
In my response to Bill Joy’s writing and many others of the like, I feel that they may be a little far fetched at times, because I believe or at least hope that people would be more responsible, and have high moral standards. Do you really want to be turned into a robot? Do you want to lose your free will? While this may be a little extreme, it has the possibility to reach that level. I hope that society will not allow that to happen. I do, however, hope that technology continues to progress because there are so many benefits that can arise from this technology. You could almost compare this technology to working out. You can only see results after putting a certain amount of stress on a joint, creating the muscles to activate and become stronger. With this, you receive a positive benefit; however, if you do not understand some of the techniques behind this philosophy, you have the potential to seriously injure yourself and others. This technology, if used appropriately, can lead to many positive effects for society, just as working out leads to many positive health changes. If it is abused, then there is the potential to create much harm to yourself and others as well. Technology is very powerful, and it has the ability to impact society in both positively or negatively.
The world is changing and technology is a big part of that. If I had to predict what life will be like ten years from now, I hope that it would be very similar to how it is now. I hope that they use technology to better increase the quality of life. I believe that they have the power to cure diseases, and help those that are currently suffering. I do not however feel that people should elect to change what it is to be a human. There is a fine line that should not be crossed, and it is my hope that through education, we will progress but not I the manner that Moore’s Law is predicting us to. |
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| "The Singularity and Human Destiny" response |
[Aug. 29th, 2006|12:44 pm] |
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This reading was very interesting and made me think about the future of the human race and technology that is associated with it. Tucker captured it best when he said that it "provokes certain philosophical concerns." How far are we supposed to take this technology that we currently possess? Personally, I do not want to see people walking around as robots, we were put on this planet to live as humans, not as an upgraded version of a computer. I believe that technology is an amazing attribute to society; however, there is a line that must be drawn at some point! |
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| Hello |
[Aug. 24th, 2006|03:27 pm] |
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My name is Melissa Johnson and I am from Sugar Land, Texas. I am in my fourth year at Trinity University and am taking a web design class. I have little to no experience with creating web sites and am looking forward to advancing my skills. |
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