Well, this will be the final post on a rather short-lived blog but I have to say that, even if it has not been the most entertaining, it has been most informative (even if I do say so myself). Without further ado, let's begin this final post.
Future of the Internet
I see great things in the future ahead especially when it comes to the Internet. It may not all be nice but it's going to be an even more integral part of our lives in future. We may even not be able to live without it. Here's a short video on what the future of the Internet can be:
In terms of social relations, I think it's going to enhance it exponentially. If we sms or even IM a family member in the house now, maybe in future we can easily do so with a friend continents away, in real time. How about commerce? Well, if we click and buy now at any computer, who knows in future, we may just be able to purchase items wherever we are, in the train, in class etc (especially if as the product in the sixth sense video becomes reality and mass produced). Education will no longer be confined to the classroom or even confined to the virtual reality. We can learn wherever we are: like at the zoo (where information pops out on a platform), in a court of justice (where information about the various goings-on in the court is simplified) or even while listening to a political speech (where a transcript appears even as the speaker speaks and other information is provided like the speaker's background, stand on a particular issue etc). Entertainment will no longer be confined to a screen while we just watch passively. Maybe in future, the Internet will allow interactivity between program and audience and whatever feedback is immediately acted upon. Finally, politics will be that much more complicated as information is disseminated almost instantaneously. Politicians might have to be twice as more cautious about what they say and do as it gets recorded and transmitted globally.
What I have just described is a more rosy prediction on what the Internet can be in enhancing our lives. However, it may not all be positive. Internet crime such as identity theft may become more rampant while privacy is further invaded by profit-oriented organizations.
However, I believe that just like any tool or mass medium, the Internet will have its good and bad points and that we'll learn to live with it. In the meantime, I look forward to enjoying the many benefits it will bring.
Reflection
Although the name of the module is deceptively or may even be dry in truth, I have been pleasantly surprised by the many classes where it has been interesting, fascinating event. We began with how the Internet came about and the various hardwares and softwares that it required. We then explored the functions of the social media, the impact of Internet on commerce and the changes in education. We then get to create a video using the Windows Movie Maker as well discover the various tools that Google has to offer (and I have utilized in this semester and which I know I will continue to use in future for projects or personal entertainment). Finally, we looked at the more serious side of the Internet where it is associated with crime, its impact on politics (good and bad) and its threat to the journalism.
I'd just like to say that I've learnt a lot from this course. Some I'll remember and some I know I'll forget once this module is over (which I'll regret of course). However, I'd just like to say that I've enjoyed the videos and presentations and information that I've reaped from the classes.
With that, I end off the final entry to this learning journey. Cheerios!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Internet and Journalism
So today, I look at the different views regarding the effects of Internet on journalism.
From this site, the writer shares the issues that were raised during the conference that was mainly populated by journalists. He brought up issues like how more research should be conducted about the role of Internet and the quality of news. Some of the arguments he put summarized included the Andrew Keen's "Rise of Amateurs" (who's interview we saw in one of the videos in class), the less rather than more diversity of sources (in which the argument put forth is that as people create their own media environment, they select information that they agree with) and mediated coverage (in which the worry is that journalists are spending more time in front of screens than in the field).
This video features a discussion between the founder of Wikimedia Foundations that operates the Wikipedia project, Jimmy Wales and cultural critic Andrew Keen (again). Wales is generally of the opinion that with the Internet changing many aspects of news gathering, the media should keep up and use the Internet to complement their work. Andrew Keen was as usual questioning the role of the Internet because amateurs shouldn't dabble in news reporting and that the Internet reflects our society (narcissism, impatience, laziness etc). However, it should be noted that this is only a preview of the whole discussion.
I agree with Wales in that Internet has and will continue to affect the roles of the media and I don't think it's going to go away. Therefore, I feel that journalists should work with the Internet to enhance their reporting or they would be at a risk of losing their jobs. At the same time, I do appreciate the rather harsh criticisms that Keen has brought up and one of them is that we shouldn't pay as much attention to some random blogger when it comes to news but depend on trained professionals. Is the Internet good or bad for journalism in the long run? I feel that it is just a form of change and that it is hard to say whether it is good or bad. In the end, the Internet is here to stay so the onus is on the journalists.
From this site, the writer shares the issues that were raised during the conference that was mainly populated by journalists. He brought up issues like how more research should be conducted about the role of Internet and the quality of news. Some of the arguments he put summarized included the Andrew Keen's "Rise of Amateurs" (who's interview we saw in one of the videos in class), the less rather than more diversity of sources (in which the argument put forth is that as people create their own media environment, they select information that they agree with) and mediated coverage (in which the worry is that journalists are spending more time in front of screens than in the field).
This video features a discussion between the founder of Wikimedia Foundations that operates the Wikipedia project, Jimmy Wales and cultural critic Andrew Keen (again). Wales is generally of the opinion that with the Internet changing many aspects of news gathering, the media should keep up and use the Internet to complement their work. Andrew Keen was as usual questioning the role of the Internet because amateurs shouldn't dabble in news reporting and that the Internet reflects our society (narcissism, impatience, laziness etc). However, it should be noted that this is only a preview of the whole discussion.
I agree with Wales in that Internet has and will continue to affect the roles of the media and I don't think it's going to go away. Therefore, I feel that journalists should work with the Internet to enhance their reporting or they would be at a risk of losing their jobs. At the same time, I do appreciate the rather harsh criticisms that Keen has brought up and one of them is that we shouldn't pay as much attention to some random blogger when it comes to news but depend on trained professionals. Is the Internet good or bad for journalism in the long run? I feel that it is just a form of change and that it is hard to say whether it is good or bad. In the end, the Internet is here to stay so the onus is on the journalists.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Internet and Politics
I have been remiss in not updating the blog for a couple of weeks. Let me amend by recovering the weeks that I have lost with intensive research and postings this week.
Today's post will be about how Internet has and will influence politics.
According to research conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project, the Internet has brought about several gains for politics. It is reported that twice the number of people have learned something about political campaigns from the Internet (compared to survey done in the 2004 campaign). Furthermore, the Internet managed to capture young people in their search for information regarding campaigns through social networking sites like Facebook. Further information can be read at this link where it even provide the original transcript of the study.
One interesting article which I found from New York Times said that the Obama's campaign was successful because of the Internet. He is compared to John F. Kennedy where President Kennedy won as a result of the television while Obama was elected President because of his use of the Internet. One way in which the Internet was successfully used is in the way it cut costs when it comes to organizing supporters. According to the article, what would have taken "an army of volunteers and paid organizers on the ground" was easily done through an Internet website. Furthermore, he made use of the free advertising that could be gained through sites like YouTube and Facebook. The article goes on to mention the other interesting and successful ways in which the Internet could be used for a successful campaign.
Finally, I would like to compare the prevalence of Internet in the U.S politics with that of Singapore. This article from ZDNetAsia mentions how the government actually made some concessions about campaigning on the Internet. However, the article goes further on to mention how these concessions, already reluctantly given, were further restricted which have not yet been outlined at the time this article was written. A rather more extreme article compares Singapore to a "modern police state" by meticulous scrutiny and system of surveillance. Although I personally do not promote nor agree with the writer's article, I find it an interesting read nonetheless.
Just to summarize what I've covered this week: Research has shown that the Internet is beneficial in some ways when it comes to gathering information about campaigns. This is supported by an article which lists out the various ways in which the Obama campaign had successfully used the Internet. However, not all the countries in the world have embraced the Internet in the political arena.
And just to end off with a lighter note, here's a cartoon that I found:
Today's post will be about how Internet has and will influence politics.
According to research conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project, the Internet has brought about several gains for politics. It is reported that twice the number of people have learned something about political campaigns from the Internet (compared to survey done in the 2004 campaign). Furthermore, the Internet managed to capture young people in their search for information regarding campaigns through social networking sites like Facebook. Further information can be read at this link where it even provide the original transcript of the study.
One interesting article which I found from New York Times said that the Obama's campaign was successful because of the Internet. He is compared to John F. Kennedy where President Kennedy won as a result of the television while Obama was elected President because of his use of the Internet. One way in which the Internet was successfully used is in the way it cut costs when it comes to organizing supporters. According to the article, what would have taken "an army of volunteers and paid organizers on the ground" was easily done through an Internet website. Furthermore, he made use of the free advertising that could be gained through sites like YouTube and Facebook. The article goes on to mention the other interesting and successful ways in which the Internet could be used for a successful campaign.
Finally, I would like to compare the prevalence of Internet in the U.S politics with that of Singapore. This article from ZDNetAsia mentions how the government actually made some concessions about campaigning on the Internet. However, the article goes further on to mention how these concessions, already reluctantly given, were further restricted which have not yet been outlined at the time this article was written. A rather more extreme article compares Singapore to a "modern police state" by meticulous scrutiny and system of surveillance. Although I personally do not promote nor agree with the writer's article, I find it an interesting read nonetheless.
Just to summarize what I've covered this week: Research has shown that the Internet is beneficial in some ways when it comes to gathering information about campaigns. This is supported by an article which lists out the various ways in which the Obama campaign had successfully used the Internet. However, not all the countries in the world have embraced the Internet in the political arena.
And just to end off with a lighter note, here's a cartoon that I found:
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Multimedia
We looked at so many amazing inventions this week like the e-paper, the Japanese umbrella that is linked with Googlemap (or google earth) that was able to track the steps of the person carrying it as well as the NewsML. There were also videos projecting what the future would be like. I found these videos especially interesting because it all sounds so possible. I can't decide whether or not the future (as shown in said videos) is going to be scary but it sure looks exciting. I also liked the concept of the prosumer, which according to this Wikipedia article, was coined by futurologist Alvin Toffler when he predicted that the role of producers and consumers would blur and merge. I feel that we've already started with blogs and podcasts.
This video by Phil Cooke talks about the media revolution which I feel is rather relevant to the topic at hand. He talks about how the digital media revolution is going to be as life-changing as the Gutenberg press as it's going to change how consumers and producers interact.
It's no longer the producers providing shows while we consumers passively watch. It is now a "2-way conversation" and the example he gave was the television program "Lost" where producers actually looked at feedback audience gave online and responded by modifying the storyline. Of course this is only one aspect in which the digital media revolution will have impacted on us. Other aspects he mentioned include the government, science, worship and etc.
Random information: I found this book called "Me in Media" which explores, in its words, the "rise of the conversation society". This site provides a chapter by chapter summary and it does look interesting. One of the more interesting info is that we're going through the third media revolution. The first is the type letters and printing press which I suppose refers to Gutenberg printing press. The second is the electronic mass media like television and radio. Now, we're going through the web media revolution!
That's it for this week's discovery!
This video by Phil Cooke talks about the media revolution which I feel is rather relevant to the topic at hand. He talks about how the digital media revolution is going to be as life-changing as the Gutenberg press as it's going to change how consumers and producers interact.
It's no longer the producers providing shows while we consumers passively watch. It is now a "2-way conversation" and the example he gave was the television program "Lost" where producers actually looked at feedback audience gave online and responded by modifying the storyline. Of course this is only one aspect in which the digital media revolution will have impacted on us. Other aspects he mentioned include the government, science, worship and etc.
Random information: I found this book called "Me in Media" which explores, in its words, the "rise of the conversation society". This site provides a chapter by chapter summary and it does look interesting. One of the more interesting info is that we're going through the third media revolution. The first is the type letters and printing press which I suppose refers to Gutenberg printing press. The second is the electronic mass media like television and radio. Now, we're going through the web media revolution!
That's it for this week's discovery!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Internet Crime
The focus of the week is different ways in which security is compromised over the Internet. So we learned about viruses, trojans, worms, hackers as well as how to protect against them: firewalls, anti-viruses, anti-spyware etc. Our assignment for the week is to search for an article regarding Internet/cyber crime in Singapore.
I found this article in which a 17-year-old was sentenced to 18 months' probation because he was caught piggybacking on his neighbour's wireless Internet. He was reported when said neighbour saw him sitting outside on a kerb at 2am in the morning. The reason he was piggybacking? His mother had confiscated his computer modem. Reason he wanted to go online? To chat online. (Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing) According to the article, "in doing so he would make Asian legal history" because before this he was "was the first in Singapore, and possibly Asia, to be sentenced in court for "wireless mooching," or piggybacking on an unsecured wireless network to surf the Internet."
I find this article interesting because firstly, it seems as though where other countires can't really be bothered with mooching, Singapore (as per its kiasu self) cared very much. Secondly, I find it interesting that we can link this article to Internet as an addiction. Finally, cyber crime laws are still evolving and being refined in order to correctly label criminals. Just out of random curiosity, I found this online where it provides an overview of cybercrime legislation and gives examples of cases in Singapore.
So that's it for this week.
I found this article in which a 17-year-old was sentenced to 18 months' probation because he was caught piggybacking on his neighbour's wireless Internet. He was reported when said neighbour saw him sitting outside on a kerb at 2am in the morning. The reason he was piggybacking? His mother had confiscated his computer modem. Reason he wanted to go online? To chat online. (Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing) According to the article, "in doing so he would make Asian legal history" because before this he was "was the first in Singapore, and possibly Asia, to be sentenced in court for "wireless mooching," or piggybacking on an unsecured wireless network to surf the Internet."
I find this article interesting because firstly, it seems as though where other countires can't really be bothered with mooching, Singapore (as per its kiasu self) cared very much. Secondly, I find it interesting that we can link this article to Internet as an addiction. Finally, cyber crime laws are still evolving and being refined in order to correctly label criminals. Just out of random curiosity, I found this online where it provides an overview of cybercrime legislation and gives examples of cases in Singapore.So that's it for this week.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Windows Movie Maker and Google Groups
This week's focus is on the tools that are available on the Internet, specifically Google. We learnt about how to make better searches by using AND, OR and NOT which I feel is really useful, especially now when we're doing some form of research almost everyday for our different communication modules. For this week's post, we're required to do 2 things: 1. Make a movie on Windows Movie Make and 2. discuss one of Google's online tools.
I've decided to concentrate on Google Groups as the tool of interest. Although Google Groups was introduced to us near the beginning of the semester, I think it's worth mentioning again. Basically, Google Groups is an online tool where members of the group are able to have discussions, upload files and share ideas, information and etc. It has become useful especially for me and my group of project mates because since then, we have been using it rather often. For one of our communication modules, we've uploaded articles of interest, made announcements and put up our relegated work for our final group project. Clicking this link here will provide further information on the birth of Google Group. Anyway, I foresee further use of this particular tool just because it makes things so convenient. For example, instead emailing everyone an article, we can just put the article in the group and send out a notice mail. Easy-peasy!
Our second mini-assignment this week is to make a video from Windows Movie Maker. I've got to admit that I've fiddled with this software before on a boring, rainy day. It was easy and rather fun actually. However, it is rather limited compared to other, more sophisticated software like Adobe Premiere Pro (which I just love love love). Nevertheless, one can make a passable video or video montage from it and below is my amateur attempt at a tribute for the people who made my life in uni more colourful. I spent easily 3-4 hours on it and did not find it a torture at all. I just wished I could customize it even more. Oh well, it was one of the more fun assignments that I had to do for this module. So enjoy! And comments are welcomed!
I've decided to concentrate on Google Groups as the tool of interest. Although Google Groups was introduced to us near the beginning of the semester, I think it's worth mentioning again. Basically, Google Groups is an online tool where members of the group are able to have discussions, upload files and share ideas, information and etc. It has become useful especially for me and my group of project mates because since then, we have been using it rather often. For one of our communication modules, we've uploaded articles of interest, made announcements and put up our relegated work for our final group project. Clicking this link here will provide further information on the birth of Google Group. Anyway, I foresee further use of this particular tool just because it makes things so convenient. For example, instead emailing everyone an article, we can just put the article in the group and send out a notice mail. Easy-peasy!
Our second mini-assignment this week is to make a video from Windows Movie Maker. I've got to admit that I've fiddled with this software before on a boring, rainy day. It was easy and rather fun actually. However, it is rather limited compared to other, more sophisticated software like Adobe Premiere Pro (which I just love love love). Nevertheless, one can make a passable video or video montage from it and below is my amateur attempt at a tribute for the people who made my life in uni more colourful. I spent easily 3-4 hours on it and did not find it a torture at all. I just wished I could customize it even more. Oh well, it was one of the more fun assignments that I had to do for this module. So enjoy! And comments are welcomed!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Multiple Intelligences
This week, I'm most interested in the concept of multiple intelligences. Previously, there was only IQ tests and after that, EQ tests. However, Dr Howard Gardner felt that it was still too limited and came up with multiple intelligences in 1983. He felt that someone could be good at one thing (e.g. maths) but not as good at another (e.g language). So it's inappropriate to say he's not smart just because he's not proficient at one particular area. Classrooms focus on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences which means that children who are more musically-inclined get labeled as learning-disabled. If adopted by education systems around the world, we can expect a recolutionary change in how classes are conducted. Streaming (already controversial in its own right) may become more and more defunct. As mentioned in class, they are:
In picture form:
Here's a short vid of an interview with Dr. Howard Gardner:
References
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
| Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"): | |
| Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart") | |
| Spatial intelligence ("picture smart") | |
| Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart") | |
| Musical intelligence ("music smart") | |
| Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart") | |
| Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart") | |
| Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart") |
In picture form:
Here's a short vid of an interview with Dr. Howard Gardner:References
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
Saturday, February 7, 2009
E-Commerce
Moving on to the more profitable side of the Internet, we look at e-commerce. There are many reasons that people turn to the Internet to buy and sell but I shall concentrate on convenience as the main reason why buyers go online.
As a consumer, my personal preference is that of convenience. I'd like everything to be at my fingertips and things to be ready snap!snap!snap! fast. Although I don't purchase stuff online (due to the lack of a credit card mostly), I do surf around and look at the variety of products available online. This include websites like Ebay, personal blogs and major retailers. They display all the available products online and we click to buy them. Images and description are provided making it easier for customers to make decisions.
Besides, the convenience of viewing and purchasing, there is also the convenience that the Internet is available 24/7. If you're busy during the day, you can shop online at night and the same services is provided. You can still click to view and purchase. You don't have to wait for someone to be awake in your timezone in order to buy stuff online. Even holidays won't be prove to be an obstacle if retail therapy is what you need.
Finally, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection to buy stuff online. In Singapore, most households already have computers with Internet connection and so shopping online is not a problem. However, in many countries nowadays, even if most househols don't have a computer, there are cyber cafes which provide Internet connection.
So hey, reach out for the nearest computer and start shopping online! In moderation, of course. Goodbye for now!
As a consumer, my personal preference is that of convenience. I'd like everything to be at my fingertips and things to be ready snap!snap!snap! fast. Although I don't purchase stuff online (due to the lack of a credit card mostly), I do surf around and look at the variety of products available online. This include websites like Ebay, personal blogs and major retailers. They display all the available products online and we click to buy them. Images and description are provided making it easier for customers to make decisions.
Besides, the convenience of viewing and purchasing, there is also the convenience that the Internet is available 24/7. If you're busy during the day, you can shop online at night and the same services is provided. You can still click to view and purchase. You don't have to wait for someone to be awake in your timezone in order to buy stuff online. Even holidays won't be prove to be an obstacle if retail therapy is what you need.
Finally, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection to buy stuff online. In Singapore, most households already have computers with Internet connection and so shopping online is not a problem. However, in many countries nowadays, even if most househols don't have a computer, there are cyber cafes which provide Internet connection.
So hey, reach out for the nearest computer and start shopping online! In moderation, of course. Goodbye for now!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Social Media
This week's focus is about social media and there are so many familiar stuff that I've come across this week. I especially like the section on how the Internet provides another platform for interaction such as Half-life, blogs and networking sites like Facebook.
I find Half-life especially interesting because you can do so much in it as in real life, much more actually now that I think about it. One can build houses, play games, interact with people around the world, conduct experiments regarding consumer preferences, buy and sell items and the list goes on. I can't do some of these in real life! Build houses? Maybe from Lego blocks... Just from the short videos alone I've discovered so much, how about those who've spent countless hours on it?
Blogs are familiar to me not because I have one of my own (until now that is) but because they provide me with a way to keep up with my friends' more exciting lives. I also find blogs most intriguing because each blog has its own personality. Of course I hear some people saying "Duh!" because the blogs are updated by different people. What I meant is that some people use blogs to update people what exactly went on in their lives (in excruciating detail!!), some use it as a place to showcase their literary inventions, others use blogs to discuss current events while there are even others that post photos and provide commentary. Yet whatever form they take, I am nonetheless fascinated, entertained and even tickled by what they have put up for the virtual world to see. Just today I went to blog-hop my classmates' blog for this module and I've learnt so much about not only the Internet but my classmates as well. So now I know, that whenever I run out of books to read, I should just come online and entertainment is just a blogspot away!
So the question posed to the class this week is: Social media is a bad idea - the rise of social media has caused more and more problems like Internet addiction, social isolation and invasion of privacy, especially with the young generation. Do you agree?
This is such a wonderfully-researchable topic that we could probably churn out pages and pages. However, I shall attempt to provide an OPINION rather than a research-supported thesis. Pardon me my indolence.
I feel that social media is very much like a knife; tools that are neutral and are neither inherently bad nor good. Rather, it is the user who uses the tool that makes the consequences positive or negative. If one were to use a knife to cut up say, a chicken and make a totally delicious dish of chicken chop accompanied with mash potato and salad and maybe soup and... Anyway, make a meal, the final product is (hopefully) good and edible. Conversely, if one were to use a knife to chop up people, that's bad. Similarly, social media is just a tool one can use to keep in contact with old friends, make new friends or set up events which makes it useful. By the same logic, social media can also lead to all the abovementioned problems like social isolation. I'm sure research provides information that weighs in on one side or the other. I say blame not the tool but the users. Let's find ways to reduce, if not eliminate, these problems unfairly associated with social media. Internet addict? Get a life, a real one. Go on and make friends online but meet up for coffee if you happen to be in the same country/region. Or sign up for activities that allows your body to produce enough Vitamin D. Invasion of privacy? Knowledge is key. Learn to avoid sites that sneak information of you, emails that phish you for personal info or install softwares that can protect you. I find social isolation a weird problem because the Internet provides us with such a spectrum of sites in which one can ENGAGE in socialising. Maybe it's referring to those who surf exclusively for -cough- porn -cough-. Well, someone needs to see a doc is my opinion.
So that's it for this week. Not so much a journey of discovery but of looking at familiar things with new lenses. My my, I do go on in this post. Will attempt to be more succinct in the next post. Goodbye and a Happy, Prosperous New Year to everyone!
I find Half-life especially interesting because you can do so much in it as in real life, much more actually now that I think about it. One can build houses, play games, interact with people around the world, conduct experiments regarding consumer preferences, buy and sell items and the list goes on. I can't do some of these in real life! Build houses? Maybe from Lego blocks... Just from the short videos alone I've discovered so much, how about those who've spent countless hours on it?
Blogs are familiar to me not because I have one of my own (until now that is) but because they provide me with a way to keep up with my friends' more exciting lives. I also find blogs most intriguing because each blog has its own personality. Of course I hear some people saying "Duh!" because the blogs are updated by different people. What I meant is that some people use blogs to update people what exactly went on in their lives (in excruciating detail!!), some use it as a place to showcase their literary inventions, others use blogs to discuss current events while there are even others that post photos and provide commentary. Yet whatever form they take, I am nonetheless fascinated, entertained and even tickled by what they have put up for the virtual world to see. Just today I went to blog-hop my classmates' blog for this module and I've learnt so much about not only the Internet but my classmates as well. So now I know, that whenever I run out of books to read, I should just come online and entertainment is just a blogspot away!
So the question posed to the class this week is: Social media is a bad idea - the rise of social media has caused more and more problems like Internet addiction, social isolation and invasion of privacy, especially with the young generation. Do you agree?
This is such a wonderfully-researchable topic that we could probably churn out pages and pages. However, I shall attempt to provide an OPINION rather than a research-supported thesis. Pardon me my indolence.
I feel that social media is very much like a knife; tools that are neutral and are neither inherently bad nor good. Rather, it is the user who uses the tool that makes the consequences positive or negative. If one were to use a knife to cut up say, a chicken and make a totally delicious dish of chicken chop accompanied with mash potato and salad and maybe soup and... Anyway, make a meal, the final product is (hopefully) good and edible. Conversely, if one were to use a knife to chop up people, that's bad. Similarly, social media is just a tool one can use to keep in contact with old friends, make new friends or set up events which makes it useful. By the same logic, social media can also lead to all the abovementioned problems like social isolation. I'm sure research provides information that weighs in on one side or the other. I say blame not the tool but the users. Let's find ways to reduce, if not eliminate, these problems unfairly associated with social media. Internet addict? Get a life, a real one. Go on and make friends online but meet up for coffee if you happen to be in the same country/region. Or sign up for activities that allows your body to produce enough Vitamin D. Invasion of privacy? Knowledge is key. Learn to avoid sites that sneak information of you, emails that phish you for personal info or install softwares that can protect you. I find social isolation a weird problem because the Internet provides us with such a spectrum of sites in which one can ENGAGE in socialising. Maybe it's referring to those who surf exclusively for -cough- porn -cough-. Well, someone needs to see a doc is my opinion.
So that's it for this week. Not so much a journey of discovery but of looking at familiar things with new lenses. My my, I do go on in this post. Will attempt to be more succinct in the next post. Goodbye and a Happy, Prosperous New Year to everyone!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
First Web Browser
During the last lecture, a line of inquiry was put to the class should anyone be interested: Who invented the first web browser and what was it like?
Without further ado, here's what I discovered.
The web browser was actually invented by the same person who invented the World Wide Web! Sir Tim Berners-Lee. And, he called his browser the WorldWideWeb. "Most creative" was my first thought. Snarky comments aside, the browser was first invented in the late 1990s for the NeXTStep operating system, which I know is all Greek to most of us. Anyway, below is a screenshot of the browser:
The above image was taken from here where one can get more in-depth bio of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. It's main page is also linked to W3C site which provides tons of information such as articles, interviews etc about the Internet. Incidentally, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the director of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which oversees how the Internet develops.
Moving on, the article from which I got the info from moved on to describe how the first browser did not display images at first, then Mosaic became popular, followed by Netscape, Mozilla and also the birth of the Internet Explorer and other browsers like Opera. With each browser, the functions that came with it grew and improvements and updates follow each browser. The article also provided a link where one can peruse the timeline of the browser evolution to some extent.
Personally, I'm thankful for the current existing web browsers available on the Internet. I'm a user of Mozilla and prefer it over IE any day. More importantly, I'm thankful for the browser for allowing me to be able to do so many things, now considered an essential part of life, like checking my mails and keeping in touch with friends near and far. It didn't hurt that there's so many, less-serious stuff to do online like Facebook and Youtube.
That's it for this week's discovery!
Without further ado, here's what I discovered.
The web browser was actually invented by the same person who invented the World Wide Web! Sir Tim Berners-Lee. And, he called his browser the WorldWideWeb. "Most creative" was my first thought. Snarky comments aside, the browser was first invented in the late 1990s for the NeXTStep operating system, which I know is all Greek to most of us. Anyway, below is a screenshot of the browser:
The above image was taken from here where one can get more in-depth bio of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. It's main page is also linked to W3C site which provides tons of information such as articles, interviews etc about the Internet. Incidentally, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the director of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which oversees how the Internet develops.
Moving on, the article from which I got the info from moved on to describe how the first browser did not display images at first, then Mosaic became popular, followed by Netscape, Mozilla and also the birth of the Internet Explorer and other browsers like Opera. With each browser, the functions that came with it grew and improvements and updates follow each browser. The article also provided a link where one can peruse the timeline of the browser evolution to some extent.
Personally, I'm thankful for the current existing web browsers available on the Internet. I'm a user of Mozilla and prefer it over IE any day. More importantly, I'm thankful for the browser for allowing me to be able to do so many things, now considered an essential part of life, like checking my mails and keeping in touch with friends near and far. It didn't hurt that there's so many, less-serious stuff to do online like Facebook and Youtube.
That's it for this week's discovery!
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