Capturing Cameras

When people go on holiday they always take all the necessaries that they will need. However, the question always asked by a family member before they leave home is: ‘Have you got the camera?’ A camera has become a household necessary for most people. The significance of a camera is that it catches a moment which will never ever happen again! The first known camera was the ‘Camera Obscura’ as seen in the picture on the left. This camera used a pinhole or lens to project an image of the scene outside onto a viewing surface. The camera obscura was a large piece of equipment which wouldn’t be considered practical for most people. It did however, do the job and it created a stepping-stone for cameras to develop. With technology evolving at a rapid rate, digital cameras came onto the scene. Pictures were taken and stored on a memory card which was in the camera. The pictures could be viewed on the camera via the screen situated on the camera. The arrival of the digital camera proved very convenient as no more spools had to be bought and much more photos could be stored on the camera. The quality of the pictures taken was also vastly improved. As expected, people weren’t completely satisfied with the digital camera. They wanted smaller and thinner cameras. The smallest camera on the market at the moment is the Casio EXILIM EX-S1 as seen in the picture on the right. It is a credit card size unit which weighs 86 grams and is 11.3 mm thick. This is another example of how technology is adapting. Multimedia devices are getting smaller in size, yet better. Technology is evolving at such a rapid rate that it is almost impossible to keep up. How much longer until the world is saturated in technology and it comes to a stand still?

Digital Devices

The first ever known computer was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) as seen on the left. It took up an entire room and weighed approximately 30 tons. It was designed by the U.S. Army during World War 2 to make artillery calculations. Most people now days don’t even know where computers came from or how they came about. People are more interested in the latest and fastest computers. The main uses of computers in our era are for playing games or surfing the net. The only computers which are known to younger people are Personal Computers (PC’s). PC’s are found in almost every single household. Most people cannot survive without their computers. They are used for banking, business, pleasure etc. The next invention was laptops, these were PC’s which folded up and could be used anywhere. The latest laptop development is a laptop which weighs 800 grams as seen in the picture on the right. What’s next? None of us will know until we are amazed with a new invention. They became a necessary accessory for all businessmen. Carrying around a laptop also gives the person a sense of class and status. The majority of people want computers which are smaller, better and faster. Technology which was amazing in the past is now criticized by people and people of today always want better things. The demand for technology is so high that producers are under pressure when releasing new products. Will we ever reach our limit with technology? Is their a limit? It seems that people have forgotten the intended purpose of such technology.

The Issue of Social Networks

The introduction of social networks has indeed revolutionized the world we live in today. It has changed our lifestyles completely and obviously created an impact on our generation. A huge debate has been brewing over the idea of fractured identities through these social networks.
It is fare to say that social networks have changed the way we communicate to each other forever. Through this, the internet has brought its very own cyber world, where we are able to create our perspectives of ourselves. One can easily say that we have the ability to create our own identity in this cyber world, be it false or not.
This begs the question of what is reality. One can see it as being able to jump through these parallel worlds, from actual reality to virtual reality. The thing is, which world do you prefer to occupy your time? We sit at our computer for hours on end chatting to people who we assume we know through what we read from them but in actual reality they are far from this assumption.
I guess it’s how you want to perceive yourself in these two worlds. If you want to make yourself true to your true identity in real life or you choose otherwise and create a whole new you.
It’s obvious that things like facebook and my space has impacted on our lives forever. Stories I’ve heard of people committing suicide over a concept of “cyber bullying” where a girl killed herself over girl from her school pretending to be a guy, led her on then ridiculed her to the point she killed herself. Virtual reality is serious and should be treated that way. It’s has to be taken seriously as it seems to be starting to take control over our live rather than us taking control over it.
To learn more go to the link stopcyberbullying.org.

iRate iPods..

Music…the first thing that comes to mind is radio. The first technology ever used to listen to music with was record players. These were big, bulky pieces of furniture which seemed ingenious at the time. These large record players used big records which played only tunes, no singing was heard. The invention of radio and cassette tape players and CD players and walkmans and disc mans followed. These forms of multimedia were very practical and disc mans became used by all scholars who wanted to listen to music at break or on buses when they went on outings. These inventions were very impressive until iPods were invented. IPods added a whole new dimension to the music industry. Music could now be downloaded straight from the internet within minutes. The music was then transferred to the iPod and it could be listened to. Another bonus was that the iPods were fully portable and now come in sizes as small as a chappie bubblegum (as seen in the picture on the left). IPods are now used by almost every single runner, walker, gym-bunny, and student and so on. They have become more like a fashion accessory which people don’t go anywhere without. The latest music at the touch of a button…now that’s technology.

Yet another Social Network!!!

I came across another social network the other day. Skyrock.com is a application, like most other social networks, one where you are able to make your own account and get in touch with other friends.
Skyrock.com is mainly a blogging website where you can startup blogs and debate or discuss issues with other people. The site seems quite popular revealing, on their homepage, a climbing figure of over 5 million profiles and over fifteen million blogs. The application tends to highlight that fact that you are able to stock unlimited photos, videos, and texts in your blog.
The site is allows for a variety of different activities. Its as if Facebook, Youtube and Blogspot has been rolled into one. As you can watch a whole lot of different videos from other people you don’t even know. You also have the opportunity of finding friends from distant places and chat with them.
But the concept that I find the most disappointing is the signing in process. I find it quite concerning that, to sign in, you are forced to submit your address and the whereabouts to where you live. This concerns me because of the lack of concrete privacy surrounding the net. One shouldn’t have to give that type of information to people that they don’t know.
But that said, Skyrock.com is quite an interesting website but t be honest you could be getting dejavu when trying to sign in to this one.

Total Television Technology

The invention of the television was a vitally important benchmark in terms of multimedia and people’s lives. Most parents have told their children stories of how they used to sit by a radio and listen to a series. This sounds very idiotic to people born in the 90’s. A black and white television is also something which is unheard of now days. The invention of colour televisions and flat screens and high definition models has added whole new elements to viewing. Portable televisions the size of a wallet can now be purchased and watched wherever desired. Cell phones have also come onto the markets which have built-in televisions in them. Multimedia has developed to such an extent that television screens have now been placed on the outside of fridge doors. This seems like an over-the-top invention but how many mothers have complained that they cannot see the television when they are busy in the kitchen? Another development of multimedia which has proven to be very convenient is television screens in motor vehicles. This development has helped making long road trips for children much more manageable. The parents put on a movie for their kids and that’s the last time they hear from them. No more, ‘mommy are we there yet?’ A television has now become more of a toy than anything else. People have installed projector televisions into their homes and this adds to their social status when they have friends around. The bigger…the better!

Compact Convenient Cellphones

The first cell phone was invented in April 1973. The person responsible for this invention was Dr Martin Cooper (as seen on the left) who was the systems general manager of Motorola. The mobile phone he invented was called the Motorola Dyna-Tac. As seen in the picture on the right, this phone had no display. Back in the 1970's, this handset would have been considered as breath-taking multimedia. The only features of this mobile were talk, listen and dial. Nowadays, not even grandparents would be caught dead with this handset. The way multimedia has developed over the years has had a phenomenal impact on mobile phones. Almost every single phone made now days has a built-in digital camera. The internet is now accessible on a cell phone and anything can be downloaded. A GPS used to be a luxury which came at a high price…one can now buy a cell phone which has a GPS built-into it which has all the features of a normal GPS. In the old days, people used to listen to music on huge record players. Now days one can download music onto one’s cell phone within seconds and listen to it straight away, wherever you are. The development of multimedia such as cell phones has taken every body by storm. The multimedia which people use is no longer chosen by what the actual product does, but rather how the product makes that person look and how adds to their social status. Mobile phones are no longer chosen for their practicality or features, they are now chosen by which the latest model is or which one matches my outfit. The original point of cell phones has been forgotten.

Streamers!!!

Another area of interest that caught my attention when thinking about downloading is a similar idea of ‘streaming’. Streaming multimedia in contrast to downloading is multimedia that is constantly received by and normally displayed to the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. There are such things as datagram protocols which send the media stream as a series of small packets. So basically a person will visit a web page hosted on a web server and finds a file he or she would like to see or hear. The web server would then send a message to a streaming media server, requesting the particular file and the streaming server streams the file to the person’s computer, bypassing the web server. Finally the client software on the person’s computer will decode and play the file. People are now able to create their own streaming videos at home…so one can record a video; digitize, encode and compress it; upload it to a server; and then it can be streamed to a other user’s computers where it is decoded. Youtube is an example of one of these servers that allows Youtubers to create their own streaming channel and invite others to share existing YouTube videos.

How ethical or legal is downloading:

These days we are now able to download anything from movies, music and games to actual software. People are no longer interested in buying DVDs or CDs and why would they be? If everything you might want is available on a website at the click of a button and cost free, then why would someone want to save up enough money to buy that DVD you’ve been waiting for or that really expensive software? It just seems so primitive now. So while it might be awesome to think that we are able to download anything we wish, have you ever stopped to think of the enterprises that created that software or the artists that poured themselves into making that movie or album? I’m not sure if anyone remembers Napster? It was a music file, peer-to-peer sharing service (much like Bit Torrent) which had a major impact on university students. Its technology allowed music fans to share Mp3 song files – thus leading to music industries accusations of massive copyright violations and eventually its original service was shut down by court order. Record companies are now seeing the Internet as a place where intellectual property is stolen and distributed and are viewing it as some kind of apocalyptic network of thievery. Sort of makes you feel a bit guilty doesn’t it? However, I recently read an article on the crime of downloading and to what extent it is actually hurting album sales. In this article they analysed the direct data of music downloaders over a 17-week period and compared that activity with actual music purchases during that time and they discovered that downloading had no visible effects on sales. While I initially thought this was very strange, the article explained that even though downloading occurs on a huge scale, most of the downloaders are those individuals who were not likely to buy the album even in the absence of file sharing. If one thinks about it, it is similar if someone offers you a free ticket to see a band. In this case you would probably go see that band wouldn’t you? But if there were no free ticket involved, then the chance of you going to see that band is les likely. So after much thought about this and the ethical and legal complications, shouldn’t bands, actors, or who ever it may be, be grateful that people are listening to their music or watching their movies if it isn’t really hurting their sales? Seeing artists speeding around in fancy cars and purchasing million dollar houses doesn’t seem to me like it has a major effect on them either!

Downloading and the everyday life:

When looking back on the days without the internet, I started to think of how I was able to watch a movie when I wanted. Firstly you would have had to wait for the particular movie to come out on the big screen; secondly, if you happened to miss that movie it meant a wait until it finally came out on video (remember those days?!) and either buy it or rent it; also if you wanted to take the cheap route, you could buy a blank tape and record the movie you wanted when perhaps 5 years later it was screened on TV. Sounds like quite a mission just to be able to watch a movie at the time you want to watch it, not to mention the costs involved. Nowadays with the introduction of the internet, new media and of course downloading you are able to download anything at your hearts content and most of the time for free. This new development has impacted our lives in such a huge way which I had not stopped to realise. The process from producer to consumer has been speeded up enormously. I’m not sure if this is necessarily a good thing as on the one hand we no longer take the time out to watch one movie at a time and have a chance to appreciate it, but on the other we are able to save ourselves inconveniences such as time and money and watch movies that we might have missed waiting for them to come out in the cinema.

See My Pics on Flickr!!!

Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application. It seems, to me, that this is an unknown entity to the bulk of the South African public. This is a shame as I found the site to be an extremely useful tool while exploring it.
Flickr is a basic way to get photos and videos to friends, family or people that matter around the world. I felt this beneficial to me, as was able to look up my friends and family around the world and gain better feeling of what they experiencing. Also it made me show them what I’m up to as well. One is easily able to create one’s own free account and start creating one’s own sets of albums to put on show.
The flickr website also has a link showing newcomers how flickr works and how to operate the application making life a lot easier if you have just created an account.
There are different ways to upload photos onto your account. The first is by using Flickr very own uploader, like Facebook, there is a link allowing you to upload photos saved on your hardrives. One can also upload via email or through iPhoto, Aperture, or Windows XP plugins.
One is able to also group your photos into sets and collections using ‘the organizr.’ A set is grouping photos and videos around a certain theme. Collections are grouping sets together into bigger themes.
You then can share these photos with other by creating groups. These groups have privacy settings meaning that you can, if you want, just show your images to the people you want to by putting them in a group.
The map application allows you to drag a photo on the destination it was taken allowing people to see where you were at that time.
With these photos, one can then create a host of tings such as; prints, calling cards, photo-books, slideshow-DVDs, postage stamps, and much more.
You are able to then keep in touch and add more contacts by finding them through other contacts.

Facebook and its Origins...

I came across an interesting article while surfing the net. The article was by Bobby hash and was Titled, “The Facebook Frenzy, A Social Platform and the Society That Deems It Important.” The article dealt with the origins of this new media phenomena and how it is today one of the most powerful and most addictive communication tools. This post sums up the article but the full version can be found on one the Gobblogger’s links,
Facebook was started by three Harvard students, Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskovitz. It was a small project with the intention being for students getting to know other students in other dorms. He goes on to say that the concept was basically y aimed at helping students find old friends and colleagues and to conveniently send messages and join groups. The concept however started to grow as it was adopted by many other top colleges such as Stanford, Yale, and Columbia.
In the beginning facebook and limited access, only allowing its use to college students as this was its principle use. This reduces its advancement. Facebook was extremely popular as it offered something different. It was more intimate and private as compared to other social networks. With a realisation of the potential of this popular commodity, Facebook finally became available to the public and its numbers grew astronomically making it a mighty social network, over shadowing most if not all of its predecessors.
The full article, The Facebook Frenzy has been linked.

Downloading - where sharing is caring!

I have recently been alerted to a commonly used way of downloading that also allows you to share the files you have downloaded and also obtain bits or pieces of files which you do not have. The peer-to-peer file sharing communications protocol I am talking about here is called BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com). Users are able to browse the web to find a ‘torrent’ (a movie or a game, etc) of interest, download it, and open it with a BitTorrent client. It is a simple method of distributing large amounts of data but each recipient provides pieces of the data. This way it eliminates problems that might occur if relying on one distributer to provide you with what you want. So basically you are able to sign in to this sight and swop pieces of data and in return you get the pieces you want or may be missing as well. It may sound quite complicated and I am still trying to work with it myself but the best thing about it is that it is free – anything from movies, to music, films, games and software. It is easier if you have a broadband connection rather than wireless when downloading as is minimizes disruptions. So if you have a chance it is one of those things that just have to be checked out!

Mxit is False!

From personal experience, I found that mxit is not a true reflection of a person's true personality. I feel that one can successfully argue that mxit is a great social network for catching up with friends and people you already know. But to try get to know someone, it is near impossible to understand a person over virtual reality. The best way is and will always be face to face, over a drink or over lunch, etc. Virtual reality is indeed a different world in itself. One can create false illusion's of one's self. My naivety of the technology, fooled me and wasted a good few monts of my life. One can only learn from your mistakes. Mxit is a great invention, if used the right way. If not, it can give you impression of yourself and other people that aren't true...

Downloading – Music, Movies and More!!!

Downloading is nothing new in the realm of the internet and new media! If I hear a song on the radio and decide I want to have it for myself – no problem, all I have to do is go to a relevant site on the web and download it! It doesn’t stop here though…people nowadays are downloading anything from movies to software. Not all of these websites that offer you this opportunity allow for such an act for free (although there are many that do), but nevertheless the option is there for you and for anyone at the click of a button. Gone are the days where you have to step out of the house to purchase a whole album just because you like one song on it. I personally am still discovering these different sites but have found that if you just Google ‘free mp3’ numerous options come up and though many of them say they are legal (I’m not so sure how legal they are) I’ll take their word for it and download it! It seems to me that downloading, whether free or not, has become a norm, something that everyone does. How conscious we are of it and its effects, however, remains in question!

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