Automated Driving System

Today we have Traffic control systems that help process the flow of traffic to reduce traffic jams and maintain them more efficiently. They do so by controlling stop lights and other traffic control equipment. You may notice this when you approach a light and it turns green very fast.
Based on my experience of being a victim to car accidents, near misses, and being stuck in traffic. I believe an automated car driving system would be beneficial for both traffic and safety. It would be similar to the movie “iRobot”. Cars would be driving themselves by control of a computer. Since everything is maintained and monitored, speed limits could be raised and fewer accidents would occur because people fail to obey traffic laws.
Cars may also be given the choice to drive manually this way as well, since the cars will be monitored it will track and predict moments, letting other cars be aware of what’s to come so they can adjust. This will help reduce accidents and the love of driving out in the open road won’t be lost!
Also since cars will be further computerized you can connect your car to a wireless device such as a Smartphone. From you phone you can tell you car to pick you up. The hassle of walking through a parking lot, or running in and out of the rain to your car will be no more. Or let’s say one of your car’s breaks down and you have another across town, you can tell it to come get you. Controlling your car from your Smartphone or wireless device opens up several new options.
Downsides from this invention would be a risk of a computer glitch and a catastrophic accident occurring. Also taxi drivers and other drivers may lose their jobs. Job loss is something our economy can’t afford. However the computer system that maintains traffic will need to be monitored in case of issues or maintenance. So thousands of new jobs would open, but determining whether the job gain will outweigh job loss would be unpredictable.
Whether or not this system is a good idea, it’s at least something that very interesting enough to give it a try and take the risk.

Being a Kick A** Female Gamer

My first gaming experience was with the original Nintendo and the classic combination game of Super Mario/Duckhunt/Track with the running pad.  It was an experience soon followed up by the first Nintendo Gameboy with black and white graphics.  It was amazing! 

In middle school SEGA was the system to have and Mortal Kombat was the game to play.  I learned then that beating boys was so much fun!  At the time I was almost always the only girl gamer in a room full of boys who thought I was just a harmless little girl.  And I demolished them! 

I also started playing Madden and NBA Jams because talking about games, especially sports games was a great way to meet guys.  I actually learned the rules of football and basketball from playing these games.  Can you tell where my main focus was in school??

Many, many years later I am a mom of two boys, who love to game.  The system of choice for me is the Playstation 3 and yes, still the Nintendo handhelds.  Mario is still one of my favorite casual games and I love playing games with my boys.

Of course gaming has changed quite a bit especially with on-line gaming.  Being able to play with people all over the world is exciting and challenging.  The gaming world is still filled mostly with male gamers.  Most of the best selling games are violent and intense, made more so by testostrone driven gamers.  Call of Duty is the apex of this field.  I usually love playing on-line games, Resistance is one of my favorite series of games.  You get to work together with other gamers and achieve goals, which you supposedly are supposed to do in Call of Duty, but the focus of this game seems to be destroying your opponents games and their self esteem as well.   Being a female gamer is even harder.  First off I always have guys thinking I'm a little boy, secondly when they find out I really am a grown woman I usually get hit on, continuously.  Then if that wasn't bad enough, when I make any mistake at all I am blasted by insults and sexually demeaning remarks.  I love playing with friends, and I love to kill idiots who verbally assult me.  A lot of things have changed since my first gaming experience, but I still love being a Kick A** Female Gamer!

Sports And Social Networks

As a sports fan, I like the know the latest updates about everything from game scores to player stats and sites such as Twitter allow me to do just that. I go to school full time so i'm constantly on Twitter or Facebook trying to see what's happening in the sports world now.

Recently,the NBA resumed play after being in a lockout for nearly 4 months and free agency has opened up which means players are being signed, re-signed, or traded to new teams with new deals. Due to the rules of a lockout, players aren't allowed to communicate with owners or talk to teams about possibly signing with them but due to the late start of the season, teams have been making moves fast to acquire new talent. With social networking,you get the news first. Sometimes even before Television networks such as ESPN. With twitter, I can subscribe to the NBA's official twitter and receive updates whenever breaking news is happening in the NBA. This is great because sometimes we don't have time to sit at home and watch TV so having access to crucial info at the press of a button is fantastic.
There are many other social networks that offer sports news but I feel Twitter is the best one. On Twitter, I can follow my favorite player, my favorite team and be the first to know of any news that breaks on any given day.

iPhone 4S Becomes Second Most Popular Cameraphone on Flickr

Apple's newly launched iPhone 4S has quickly shot up to become the second most popular Cameraphone on Flickr.com. Flickr's Camera Finder page shows graphs of the popularity of both smartphones and Point and Shoot cameras.

The iPhone 4S has beaten out the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and HTC EVO 4G, but still lags behind the original iPhone 4. The iPhone made headlines in 2009 when it became the most popular camera on Flickr, even beating out all dedicated non-smartphone cameras. The iPhone 4S still has a ways to go before dethroning the iPhone 4, which remains the most popular overall camera on Flickr.

The iPhone 4S introduced a number of significant improvements to its camera, drawing praise from many. Recently posted, a comparison of the iPhone 4S camera against several others found the 4S with competitive image quality and the advantage of convenience.

Digital Music and Piracy

Okay, be honest. How many of you have illegally downloaded music or movies? Yes, I’m raising my hand too. I may, on one or two occasions, possibly perhaps kind of downloaded an album or two. I’m not proud of it, but let’s look at music downloads objectively: No need to leave the house, all you need is a computer and a mouse. No need to battle the mall in order to hit FYE in hopes that the CD you want is there. No need to pay big money every time you want to hear a new CD. No need to buy the whole CD when all you want is that one catchy track. Music piracy is a pretty awesome deal, right?

Digital media has made it incredibly easy to gain access to an almost limitless amount of music and movies, and it’s completely changed the way that consumers access entertainment. In order for the artists and production companies to keep up with the shift, they've had to change the way they distribute. The first popular legal alternative to enter the scene was iTunes, which allows users to download a single track or an entire CD for a set price. Now, some artists are even allowing music downloads directly from their websites, allowing for the convenience of online shopping without the legal issues.

The effects of music piracy are widespread. On the cons side, pirates are often facing legal action because of their downloads. Consumers who still go out and purchase hard copy CDs find themselves facing higher prices because of these illegal downloads. Artists lose out on royalties and their reputations when low-quality downloads are spread. Record companies are losing big time, maybe even more than the artists are. They make all of their money off of these sales, and when people don’t pay, record companies don’t profit. And I know we all hate the man, and record companies are widely well known for being manipulative money grabbers, but someone has to get these artists’ music out there.

On the other hand, artists are still making good money, according to Cribs (I’ll admit, in the past I’ve used this show as justification for piracy. Now you may lynch me). Concert sales are up, lesser artists are getting popular faster, and greater musical diversity is becoming the norm for most listeners. Even with the high number of illegal album downloads any artist has, often the exposure itself- illegal or not- is enough to bring sales up in the long run, even for hard copy albums.

Just as CDs killed the cassette, and cassettes killed the 8 track, and 8 tracks killed that funny black disc thingy my generation uses to make a statement (or arts & crafts), so digital music and MP3s are killing CDs. It’s not a secret. Everyone knows it, and consumers are embracing it. So now it’s time for record labels and artists to embrace it too, but spending millions of dollars fighting the shift isn’t going to change the fact that it’s still shifting. Time to rethink the system, guys! Hop on the bandwagon and legally offer more albums digitally, more singles for free, and understand that America’s love affair with music isn’t ending any time soon, which means the money will keep coming in.

Digital Media's impact on News & Politics

I’ve stated before that I am an absolute news junkie, and I find it interesting to study the impact that digital media has on news and politics. I think there are both positives and negatives to a news source that is always connected to everyone and everything.

On one hand, people need to be informed about what’s happening in their city, state, and world, and being able to receive instant alerts on their handheld devices, from their televisions, and even sent to their emails is a fast, low cost way to make sure that news gets heard. Politicians are able to organize their supporters and reach wider audiences than ever before with the help of social networking. Even the definition of news is changing (for the better or worse? Who knows.) How many of you managed to miss the headlines about Jack the cat, lost in the JFK baggage terminal? An entire nation followed the drama and a few of us even sniffled a little bit when he was found dead. Prior to digital media, no one but a small circle of the owner’s friends would have known about the lost cat. Now, information gets re-posted, re-tweeted, and re-blogged so many times that the weight the term “viral” used to have is almost lost. But the good news is that people know what’s happening, from Jack the cat to Occupy Wall Street. Do you remember hearing about the Japanese earthquake? UK riots? Egyptian protests? The death of a terrorist? An erupting volcano in Iceland? A collapsed mine in Chile? Gulmaz, the jailed Afghan rape victim? Or one that’s very near and dear to southern hearts, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? My point is, when people know what’s going on, masses can unite and actually make a difference. Digital media makes that possible.

On the other hand, it can be hard to know who to trust when you’re listening to, watching, or reading news reports. It seems like every news source has an angle, from CNN to Fox and every other news source. It can be frustrating to find an unbiased and fair network to get information from, and digital media has a lot to do with it. This is especially true when it comes to politics. The term “spin” can be extremely aggravating, when every source has their own agenda and the information that’s fed to the people tuning in is horrifically slanted. Digital media makes it possible for selective reporting to take place, and selective listening as well.

In the end, I think that if we keep our minds open, vary our sources from time to time, and use every ounce of logic and common sense we were given, digital media’s impact on the news and politics can be a wonderful thing.

The Wonderful World of Hootsuite

I have recently begun using Hootsuite.  It is a social media communications dashboard that allows my office to store data and hyperlink on our new Twitter page.  It was developed in 2009 and can be used with the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Android mobile devices. 

My exuberance with this product is the ease of use!  After five minutes of training; office staff were posting files and linking to tweets.  Did I mention that it interfaces with Twitter to post your tweet instantaneous with a short url (ow.ly).  Another popular feature is the scheduler, which allows your post to be scheduled for publication weeks in advance.

Hootsuite was chosen because government offices are mandated to respond to public records request.  This storage capacity allows users to immediately provide requested records quickly.

 

The dashboard competes with other major dashboards – Threadsy,  Myweboo, Spredfast, MediaFunnel: Collaborative, CoTweet, Seesmic, Netvibes, TweetDeck and Brizzly.  My personal favorite though is Hootsuite because I use on a daily basis and know it to be user-friendly. 

Should There Be Age Restrictions on Online Play?

After a long, tiring day of retail work, I usually like to wind down by playing some online Team Death match on Modern Warfare 3 or Black Ops. Or Zombies, whatever I am in the mood for! Unfortunately, it seems that more often than not, once I get connected to a host I end up right in the middle of a big argument between a few of the players. There is cursing between two grown men, one was camping while the other was trying to find him. And then, way in the background of the fighting with their microphone turned down is a little ten year old boy who is cursing at everyone, or he is the one in the middle of the fight!

Shouldn't there at least be some kind of age restriction for online play? Like how the PS2 was for DVDs back in the day. You had to put in a code for parental controls if it was over a certain rating. It is seriously more annoying than anything else to sit and play, then listen to some kid in his microphone scream at the top of his lungs as he starts to throw a fit, "SHUT THE **** UP, MOM. I DON'T WANT A SANDWICH!" And then carry on from there with more complaining and cursing.

It is not even the violence of the game or anything that is the problem, but as soon as kids get online and turn on their microphones, it is another story. Of course there always is an option to "mute" the other players. It is a Godsend. But, once you've migrated to a new host, here comes more of the little kids fighting and trying to act all tough.

In the past, there had always been a lot of controversy over ratings, which is probably where the problem starts. It is not usually a sales clerks’ fault; it's the parent's for being uneducated on what their child is getting. That, or maybe they just don't care; which is sometimes the case. And if they latter is the case, then that is really sad. I would never want my children to be online bothering other people when they're so young and immature. It sounds mean, but it really does get annoying really fast. I think that if you are under a certain age, you should not be trusted with a microphone to play online with.

The World of Adobe Master Collection

As I sat in the computer lab I wondered what allowed me to complete my assignments for class. The answer was so obvious, yet it alluded me for days. Of course i'm kidding. It's the wonderful collection of software programs that Adobe has created for the continually advancing world of technology that we live in. You can't miss one if you're looking in the aisle of a store when you see that they cost from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars. These prices can make your eyes pop out of your head in astonishment and amazement. And I'm not talking about the good kind of expressions either. The difficult thing to do is look past the prices, but once you do that; you are on your way to discovering a whole new world with graphics to animations to basically everything. So on that note, lets dive in to basic programs that I myself have used.

Adobe Flash Professional CS5. I've been using this program alot while in taking 2D animation which i'm sure most of you who are reading this are currently enrolled in it. The program is fantastic. I could talk about how amazing it is and everything is great. But the sad truth is its not. There are some things that would make you want to pull your hair out. Now don't get me wrong, it does all the things it was ment for. It's just sometimes flash can be like a little brat and annoy you and refuse to do things. What can you do though? You can't punish flash, you can't give it a spanking unless you can pull out some money to give to the school. So the only thing you can do is get depressed and raise that pretty little hand and say, "Mrs. Goines!! Flash is picking on me!!" Other than that, its great, you can do wonders with it. Make a bunch of amazing things.

Adobe Photoshop CS5. Ahhh, photoshop. This is probably one of the greatest thing's ever invented. Well not like electricity, or fire, or transportation. But probably one of the cornerstones for digital media. In my opinion I believe it enhanced what we call graphics. You can do hundreds of things to simple pictures or items. That is if you really know how to use it completely. I really can't find any fault with photoshop. If you do comment in the sections below. Now on to the next one.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5. Another awesome program. This sweet baby made web design fun again after having a certain teacher for web design 1 where everything was made from notepad. Who still hasn't changed my grade even though i've reminded thousands of times. Anyway, Dreamweaver was a life saver, making web sites was so much easier and it actually looked good which boosted my self confidence. I made a very simple but elegant web site in about 30 minutes. Ill post a link to let you check it out at the very end. As I will with all of the programs.

3D Max. This program is pretty neat. I'm currently taking a class called 3D animation which allows you(if skilled enough) to take a real object, and recreate it in this program. I'm still learning how to use it so of course it's given me fits so far.

So all in all, Adobe to me has done the world a huge favor by allowing students and schools to purchase their programs for less than normal value. As well as done the whole digital media world a favor by creating such a masterpiece it's ridiculous. I bet in years to come these programs will become even more advanced that even a 5 year old could do it. Which honestly makes me sad because these programs shouldn't become like a yo-yo where everyone can use it. I've spent a year and a half learning these darn things. And if some kid can learn it in 5 minutes, ill lose it. Well that's all I got for this blog. Comment if you wish in the box below. I will also post links of works i've done for each program listed. Well after looking at the page, it seems I cannot load them up. Sad. Oh well, okay readers, Later!

Netflix vs. the Video Store

Movies are a popular thing that people like to watch for fun or for when they have free time on their hands. For several years, going to the video store to rent movies was a good idea because it’s much cheaper than having to pay twenty dollars to view a movie.

The average price to rent a movie is $3.99-$4.99 at a video store. At Netflix they give a great deal that lets you rent or stream an unlimited amount of movies from $7.99 or $9.99 a month! You would also think that mailing in movies is a downside of the deal because usually to mail something in takes a week or so, but Netflix delivers movies surprisingly fast. Netflix also benefits from not having late fees, but has an incentive that if you want more movies you have to turn your previous one in to get the next on your viewing list. Their online streaming service instantly streams videos to your device as well if waiting for it to come in the mail isn’t satisfactory, and this also saves a trip to the video store. Having to use up gas, walk back and forth down aisles, and stand in line. So much time and money is saved!

Though Netflix’s great deals have help expand their company into a multimillion dollar franchise, they've done so by taking Blockbuster’s, Movie Gallery’s and other video stores business and forced them to close down. Their deals have also help them expand into several different marketing platforms such as gaming consoles, DVR’s, blue ray players, and mobile devices. Their actions have set the bar and created a new form of media people come to expect. Companies such as Blockbuster, Hulu, and now Amazon are trying to join the online video streaming war with the same low prices.

Redbox is also a top competitor for renting movies. You just run down to the nearest location and rent some movies for a dollar each. And though times are changing and the way things get done is evolving, it still was fun to run down to the video store and pick out some movies to watch. Sure Netflix has some very great benefits and made a huge impact on the video market, but it feels like they closed down grocery stores and if you want groceries you have the benefit of ordering them online.

However this change is for the good, the economy is rough and we could all use a break from high prices.

All in all movies make good business and draw in a lot of revenue, but people are more likely to rent if the price and deals are right.

Kindle vs Nook

Lets compare the Kindle against the Nook!! I have a huge love for reading books and will encourage anyone to start reading. E-readers are the best way to do that! I'm not doing any kind of research. I'm just going to use my experience with both devices. I had a Kindle for a few months and just recently invested in the Nook. Truthfully, both devices do exactly the same thing. They encourage people to read more books, which, in turn, builds a better vocabulary.
My first e-reader was the Kindle Keyboard. The set-up was smooth and the Kindle app for the computer was very user-friendly. The Kindle was very easy to use and very fast. It connected to the internet without any problems. However, stick to simple websites or the Amazon site and don't add a lot of books. It will slow the device down and cause it to freeze.
Amazon offers great deals on the website as well. Buying a membership allows you to "borrow" books for free and has great deals on books. Most of them are under $9.99. Also, Amazon has come down with their prices with the Kindles. I paid $115 for my Kindle, which now costs only $99. They also have different styles to choose from, the newest one being the Kindle Fire. I believe it is a great buy for the amount of money spent!
I gave my Kindle to my sister, who shares the same love for reading, and bought the Nook Simple Touch Reader. I fell in love with it immediately. It is an e-ink touch screen with wi-fi capabilities. It is smaller than the Kindle and just as fast. Same goes for the websites visited on the Nook, though. Heavy sites, like Facebook, will slow it down and possibly make it freeze. One feature the Nook has over the Kindle is the settings. You can adjust the size of the words and the display of the screen.
The Nook app is much more difficult to maneuver. I could never get it to connect to my device and I didn't like the setup of the app itself. The Kindle app was much more user-friendly than the Nook app. I also had to download a converter program for my Kindle files. Nook can only support certain formats, like PDF or EPUB. The Kindle can support all formats. If you decide to go with the Nook and have formats other than those supported, go to www.calibre-ebook.com and download the program. It will convert those files into formats supported by the e-reader.
There are also other e-readers to choose from. Do not limit yourself to just the two biggest names. Research ALL brands and choose the one you think fits you best. I do encourage you to invest in an e-reader. Its a great way to read not just one book but many at one time. It is much easier to keep up with books, rather than dealing with hard copies.

Digital Media's Influence on Music.

While record sales are down because of illegal downloading due to the existence of file sharing sites, digital media still plays a crucial role in the music industry. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Soundcloud give artist an opportunity to connect directly with their fans in real time. They’re able to communicate with their fan base while simultaneously promote their music.

As we all know by now, the internet is the go-to resource for information instantaneously. When it comes to music, people all over the world are searching day in and day out for new artist or the next best thing in the music industry. Being a fellow music junky I must say it feels great to discover new music online before its top 40 hit on billboard. All these things are possible through digital media. For upcoming independent artist, social networks are essential to jumpstarting a career. On Twitter, you can follow people who have common interest in you in music. You can promote your material and possibly network with industry insiders who also have accounts on the site. Videos, whether they be music videos or “vlogs” (video blogs), can be uploaded and shared on YouTube. Once artist have generated a decent level of exposure, they can create a fan page on Facebook to keep them updated with things such as tour dates, merchandise, etc.

Digital media really has changed the way artist become stars and really sped up the process of doing so. I can recall times when I wasn’t able to hear music from my favorite artist due to the lack of music blogs and other social networks. Now I have the luxury of being able to hear new music from them before it hits the radio (if it ever does). An example of an artist that capitalized on digital media to become successful is Pittsburgh raised rapper, Wiz Khalifa. Posting new music on his Myspace weekly and the use of video blogs (also weekly), helped catapult him into stardom. Even before topping the Billboard charts, Khalifa was able to book shows and tour because of his massive presence online. This, of course, gives the artist an opportunity to spread their music and make money without the backing of a major record label.

While some believe the internet is causing more people to try their luck in music in hopes in gaining their “15 minutes of fame”, you can’t argue the positive things it does for those who are truly talented and want to spread their musical gifts to the world. Digital media has made it possible for artist to establish themselves solely by connecting with their true fans. As a huge hip-hop fan, I can tell you that some of my favorite artists owe the success they are now seeing to digital media.

-LaShawn Heard
#dig2000

Video Game Violence Vs. Movie Violence

I’m not sure that this topic has ever truly been discussed before. It always seems to be one or the other that is mentioned. And lately, every time something violent happens, researchers come back saying, “Video games done did it! Durp!”  I just don’t know that I agree with those claims.

The biggest argument I have on this topic, as well as anyone really, is how the mediums are controlled in regards to whom can get their hands on it. The retail industry and theatre industry can only block the purchaser of the content from getting their grubby little hands on things they aren’t allowed to view or experience. However, this is where the two industries drop the ball. It isn’t the rating system, it isn’t the content – it’s the policing of sales. The flipside to this is that neither industry is exactly getting it right, but because video games are interactive, people are quicker to blame, let’s say the unrealistically graphic Counter-Strike PC game, then to blame the realistically gory Saw series of movies.  I just feel that its unfair to blame one and not take into account the other.

As far as the influence of video game violence on people goes and whether or not it really desensitizes some people is not something I can say is true or false. I’m sure that prolonged exposure to this sort of content surely could, but I’m not so sure to the length of full on violence. There is more than likely something more than violent media expose in someone’s psyche to push them to those bounds. However, I’m no scientist. So once again, I just can’t say for certain, but I can say to me violence is violence no matter the graphic nature of it, no matter the medium. It’s all in how knowledgeable a person is or can become that will let them take it in with the grain of salt that it should be. At end of the day, it is nothing more than “special effects.”

Comment if you wish and let me know how to you feel about the topic!

"If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"

"If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!" "We Hate the New Facebook, so STOP CHANGING IT!!!"
Yet again, Facebook has changed its layout. With that change brings the ridiculous statuses, fan pages, and member complaining for weeks after. The newsfeed gets clogged with complaints, people wanting Facebook to change back, and members even threatening to delete their accounts completely.
I think it’s clear that most people are ignorant of the increasing demand for technology. Leaving the layout for so long will cause users to become bored and find other social networks. Facebook’s continuous update with the layout is simply an effort to keep up with rival social networks.
Also, let's keep in mind that this is a social network. Not your online bank account. There is no need to get so worked up over a few changes. Creating a fan pages with complaining about the new layout as the only goal will not convince the creators of Facebook to change it back. The best thing to do is moderate your time on Facebook and accept the change. Keep things positive on Facebook!

Kindle Vs. Bookstore

       "One thousand three hundred thirty two," I declare triumphantly to my household members. "It took forever but I finished counting my precious book collection." I then noticed my hubby had his own triumphant look about him. "Did you count the boxes under the bed?" Danny giggled knowing the answer. "No!" I sulked and turned back to add those forgotten souls to the head count.

        It was not the counting of the books that took me so desperately long to complete. Instead it was with each favorite title I counted that I found myself opening it to a favorite passage as though I was visiting an old and dear friend. Also while I counted my collection, there was a pang of guilt. I had been neglecting my old friends. Dust bunnies were noshing on my gardening books. My childhood copy of Charlotte's Web had an authentic cob web draped across the corner. The books had been abandoned and neglected due to a new flame in my life, the Kindle.

        My traditional paper and ink books were still nice. They did have the upper hand in their beautiful full color illustrations. Most of the books in my library are first editions and quite a few are signed by famous authors. I currently have 22 highly prized centurion books which have fine bindings of leather and golden guilt edges. I still have my first novel that I read in the first grade.

       Even with all these fine attributes, the old world books were having a hard time measuring up to my new high-tech e-reader. I was not trying to get rid of my collection of books or replace them. The main reason for the Kindle purchase according to my husband "We have no more walls for bookcases!" My Kindle boasts a bookcase large enough for 1600 books. It can play mp3s, browse the internet (for free) and post my favorite book passages to Twitter and Facebook. If I am reading an ancient novel from a couple centuries ago and come across an archaic word, I can highlight it in my Kindle and it will go directly to Dictionary.com for the meaning.All done without turning on a computer or opening a paper dictionary.

       On July 19 2011, the PCBdaily.com posted that all Borders bookstores were set to close down for good. People were spending less money in bookstores so it follows that people are going to lose their jobs. As I was reading the article on my Kindle, it hit me. I'm the one who made Borders go bankrupt. Well, maybe not that far; however, I had unintentionally played a part. I sat there staring at my Kindle while thinking about Borders claim that E-readers and a bad economy among other things had brought the giant bookstore to its knees. But, I wondered how much that I had personally contributed to the bankruptcy of Borders. Then I realized that I was the perfect candidate to check Borders hypothesis. From 2007 to 2008, I purchased 161 traditional books from Borders.com and our local Borders bookstore. In 2009 the number of books bought from our local Borders bookstore had dropped to 14 because I had downloaded 139 books on my new Kindle instead. In 2010, I purchased only 9 books from Borders and 133 books for my Kindle. So far in 2011, I have bought 7 books(all from the Borders liquidation sale) and 48 books for my Kindle. No my reading has not declined this year, I am just taking alot of classes this year! Looking back at the past five years, my book buying habits have changed significantly. With the economy being as bad as it is and today's hectic schedules, it is just cheaper and more convenient to download an entire book in less than 60 seconds than it is to burn expensive gas and precious time to drive to the bookstore.

YOUTUBE: Entertaining, Educational and Sometimes Misleading

I was probably 50 years young before I knew Youtube existed and then only because my son sent me a Youtube video of him wakeskating in the bay like this one http://youtu.be/CEEkTAMhHzM.  After that I might periodically get an email with a funny video but didn’t give it much thought of where it came from. It wasn’t until I met back up with a guy from highschool that I had not seen in 35 years that I truly was enlightened by all the Youtube possibilities.

Once Kenny and I started dating I noticed he was on the computer a lot when I was at his house.  Hmmm, I thought what is he looking at? Was it good or bad? So I started looking over his shoulder and watching.  Soon I realized that he was watching videos on Youtube.  You see Kenny is a surfer and he also builds custom surfboards to sell.  Much to my amazement, I saw that not only was he able to watch videos of people surfing like this one http://youtu.be/HpvTlhGGZaA   but he could also watch how-to videos on different shapes and techniques for surfboards like this one http://youtu.be/TOaZpzNbBk4.  Well if he can watch surf videos then I must be able to watch quilting videos.  So the search began, I starting exploring and soon found out that this YouTube thing could be very educational.

It doesn’t stop with just educational stuff.  I also found some very entertaining videos.  My favorite is the one I found of the college guys singing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” http://youtu.be/MTnmbnEYJgc. I must admit these guys are just as good as she is and just as strange. If you don’t watch any other video in this blog you must watch these guys.  I laughed till I cried.

Watchers beware: there are definitely some fakes on the site.  Some I may feel is fake but you may believe are real, or maybe I think they are real and you think they are fake. I’ll let you decide for yourself. Like this one of the guy being attacked by a killer whale coming on to the water’s edge and attacking him. http://youtu.be/HgxvI5OAwck

So as you can see YouTube has a wide variety of videos to watch.  It just depends on if you are looking for educational, some entertainment, or just one of those video you have to figure out whether it’s real or fake.  No matter what I search for I am always amazed at what you can find on Youtube like this video on Digial Media Revolution. http://youtu.be/ZE5bncAEhSQ

Paula Cox

Dig2000

Digital Media's Influence in Grade (Elementary) School Children

Educational opportunities for children, effective parent –teacher communication and school safety has increased because of digital media’s presence in elementary schools. I am a parent of an elementary school age child and rely on electronic communication to remain connected to the classroom activities.

My elementary school age child detests opening a paper book. Reading is not his favorite subject and challenges him.  But, the presence of digital media in the class room has transformed his dislike of reading a paper book, into an adventure through interactive computer stories and games.  He also enjoys reading on the kindle and listening to electronic stories on the computer.  Electronic devices were once considered a luxury, but children born in the 21^st century view them as basic tools of survival. I recall helping him with a research paper last year.  The school library had limited information on his selected subject, his quickly goggled his topic, read the information, and completed the assignment with photographs, then listed all sources from the Internet.

Some may argue that the dependence and move toward digital media is causing children to forget their basic writing skills, and that younger children cannot determine truth in material from the World Wide Web. There are some who will note that some historic documents are not found on the web; and contend elementary school age children have not been taught patriotism and do not have a full understanding of our country’s history. For every objection to the use of digital media; there are ten students who have improved their skill set thanks to digital media tools and devices.

As a parent of a child in a rural elementary school, I must applaud the school for their efforts to provide a diverse learning environment that includes a large component influenced by digital media. From the smart board with the digital response system, to the document camera that displays assignments; elementary age students are becoming more engaged in the classroom.  Time and paper are conserved, as several schools transition into environmentally friendly institutions, kindles are replacing textbooks and video lessons are being integrated into the curriculum.  Laptops and ipads are replacing extremely heavy  backpacks and daily planners are being fazed into electronic calendars.

I have an older female child who is now a junior in college. When in elementary school, my daughter brought home every piece of paper that her teacher gave her, some days, I felt she brought home someone else’s papers and notes.  I knew all of her activity dates and deadlines in elementary school and was able to plan attendance at school functions. Fast-forward thirteen years past the birth of my son to his entrance into elementary school.  I do not receive many notes from his teachers nor did I receive the printed notices that were sent on Friday.  Some will tell you that many little boys do not bring home notes from the teacher! Activities pass, lunch room balances increase and you become the parent who missed a class function or did not return a signed document. It’s enough to make you question yourself and seek other avenues for information. Thanks to email in the class room and automated parent notification systems, I am an aware and involved parent! I can read the Friday note on the school’s website; I receive automated notices on my phone and in my email and can now check his cafeteria balance and make online deposits into his account.  I can effectively communicate through email with his teacher to monitor his grades, activities and with the school nurse to inquire about his health. 

Recently, my son missed the early bus to his after school provider. I received a call from a concerned friend who thought I forgot to pick him up in the car rider lane, offering to bring him to me.  In past years, this would have been a major safety concern.  The school district uses a finger scan device on his school bus to keep better track of attendance.  With the challenges and mandates placed on schools and educators; keeping track of students is a job in itself, especially when you factor in miles of  dirt roads.  This digital system is a valuable tool that provides real-time data on attendance!  When he did not get on the afternoon bus, the system automatically notified the school’s office staff who verified and redirected the bus to return to the school.  As I was dialing the office, the bus driver was calling to verify his return to pick up my son.

Digital media’s influence in elementary schools has a positive impact on students and allows parents to remain in constant contact with teachers and faculty.  It also provides an opportunity for parents to remain engaged in their child’s education and safety through the day.

Donna Green
dig2000

Advancement of the Gaming Industry

Video games have come a long way from "Pong Game" which is played with 2 lines and 1 ball. The objective of this game is get the ball past your opponent's line and reach a certain score. I remember playing Pong Game in the Arcade and making my own version in a summer class. The game was simple, and easy to play. I know I could go on forever talking about games and what I liked and didn't like. We can all agree that video games today are nothing like they used to be. Games are defined by their graphics, game play, difficulty, and replayability. Games are constantly evolving and they continue to make money. I play games and enjoy them very much. I actually have some games reserved and will pick them up in November when they come out.

Now back to how games have advanced in.....well mostly everything. Video game industries made about 11.7 billion dollers in 2008. 2008! Imagine how much they've made this year. I mean you could try and search it up. I attempted to look it up but didnt find it, then again I didnt search real hard. Games began developing in the 1970s. As time moved on along with technology, so did video games. When you get a chance, look up video games that were made in the 70's. Now look up games that were made this year. You will see a huge difference in graphics, prices, and popularity. Games are more popular than ever. So this only means prices go up along with it. A brand new xbox 360 game costs $59.99. Game systems cost over $200.

Games are everywhere, even on Facebook. We all know how many people use Facebook. I'm pretty sure that the majority of Facebook users have played a game on the site which made some company money. So if you think video games are lame and dumb then you're missing the big picture. Video games will continue to grow as well as technology. Digital media is taking over the world.

Music Everywhere

When I think of computers and music, only one thing immediately comes to mind...iTunes.  Today, with the recent death of Steve Jobs the founder of Apple and many other inventions, such as the iPod, the iPad, the iPone and iTunes, it brings home how much he revolutionized the way we live day to day.

          Being an owner of an iPod, I go to the computer to buy my music.  iTunes changed the way we buy and share music, and now crosses over into movies, books and television.  I listen to my iPod every single day.  When I paint, do my homework, chores, almost everything I do I have music playing in the background.  No longer do I have to drive to the store to buy a cd, I just sit on my couch, browse iTunes and download.  I buy a much larger amount of music because of the accessibility of iTunes.  And I do it legally.

          Steve Jobs was a pioneer of technology. An artist.  A visionary.  He made one of the first personal computers and constantly sought to continue to make life easier and more entertaining for us all.  The outpouring of love for him immediately after his death shows how many people he affected and how much he will be missed.  Computers brought music into our home. Steve Jobs brought music everywhere else as well.  Work, school, shopping, running, cooking, cleaning, painting, biking, hiking... anywhere.

Krista Oneisom
dig2000

Women's Changing Role in the Digital World

The digital media world has changed dramatically from the 1990's to now, and with it, so has the role that women play in it. From my experience as a Photo Center Technician for two years and going to school to major in Digital Media Technology, I have observed most everything pertaining to photography and the digital media world.
What I have noticed during my time stuck in the Walmart Photo Center, is that most of the local photographers (at least in the Chipley area) are prominently female. I am not exactly sure why that is, or why I even noticed to begin with since there are so many customers that come in. But most of the customers that have businesses and that we receive copyrights from are indeed female. Now, this may be because of the creativity that inhabits female minds or maybe it's just because their husbands buy them Photoshop Elements 9 and a Nikon D40 so that they can go to town on it. Maybe it is that they women have more patience to work on projects that take a lot of time on the computer. I know I get thanked enough by older men as I scan in their pictures for them at the Instant Print kiosks and all they can say is, "Wow, you girls really know what you're doing!" or, "I don't know what we would do without you here." Probably figure it out yourselves, or give up and call management. I might just be noticing since the only other people that work in the Photo Center are four other women besides myself. But, whatever the case may be, females are making more of an appearance in the photography business.
From attending Gulf Coast State College the last two years, I have noticed that there are a lot more female programmers, animators, web designers, etc that are around today. Most of the people that I talk to online that make web pages and whatnot are female. I did not realize that I would have so much competition coming into this career until I stepped into my Photography class and my 3D Animation class. There were only a handful of males in the class and the rest were female. And here I thought that my lazy days of staying up late at fourteen to memorize HTML code so that I could make pretty pages on Gaia or Livejournal would pay off! I am hoping that when I actually get my degree and get out in the world, I will not have to compete with any of my fellow classmates. I have anxiety problems, so they will most likely get the best of me.
I see more females working on computers on the news or on television shows. As in the television show Criminal Minds, there is a woman who works on the computers non-stop analyzing things NAME. Not too long ago, I saw an Art Institute commercial where this woman was talking about how she wished she could "get her dreams for gaming to become reality". Me too. But, it was the fact that a female wanted to go into gaming that was so surprising to me. Not many women enjoy gaming as much as others. I have always been the nerdy girl to stay up late getting lost in the beauty of a cut scene from the Final Fantasy games or falling in love with one of the Dynasty Warrior characters while I read up on their history. It is not movies or books that do that for me (I never even cried when I watched the Notebook), it is video games. Except for Disney movies, which, I believe that there must be some kind of all female company that works there to make such cute and adorable movies.
Women's roles have been changing since the dawn of time and will continue to change. Not only in other fields, but in the Digital Media world as well. Who knows, since Steve Jobs left Apple maybe there will be a woman CEO soon to come. Possibly Infinity Ward or Treyarch will lose most of their company and women will be making most of the new Call of Duty games. I know if I were apart of it, there would be nothing but Call of Duty Zombies all the time from then on. But, I am really hoping for the future where there are a lot more women coming into the business of digital media. And possibly, maybe another Naughty Bear game. I know that game had to be mostly female thought, there is no way a man could think of that much cuteness and violence all at once.

Twitter, Trending Topics, and Hashtags

In Twitter, the hashtag (#) are like tags with which you can emphasize on a certain point in your tweet. It can also be used as a link to group a specific subject into one easy to access area. For example, when I tweet something like "Hey, @google is releasing its own smartphone and it's called #Nexus #One !". Here @google refers to the company Google (since they've have a Twitter account, it's always better to mention their Twitter account than just Google). The hashtags - Nexus and One - emphasize what the tweet is all about. Hopefully you get the idea! Twitter officially didn't support hashtags until about a couple of months ago.
Coming to trending topics, these are the hottest topics of discussion all over Twitter. Say for example, when New Moon was released and everyone started tweeting about it (either as "New Moon" or as "#newmoon) - it became a trending topic.

New Tech, New Talk

                I’m sitting at home and suddenly, Fiona Apple’s Parting Gift, is playing in the background.  I know I have a text.  Even though this technology has been around for a number of years, I still experience that moment of amazement that someone thousands of miles away sent me a message just seconds ago, and I have it instantly! I can write messages back and forth with family I would never have even known about if not for the technology of Myspace and more recently, Facebook.  A single thought travelled all the way from Hawaii in less than 5 seconds, and I can respond just as quickly. My typing skills are awesome :)  We use old skills of mankind to enhance these messages.   We use symbols, “hieroglyphs” to express thoughts, feelings, excitement and how we actually want our messages to be read.   Is it a joke? LOL.  Do you feel bad about what you’re saying L?  Are you sending out love? <3 <3

                When I first started using Myspace, people all over the world found me, wanting a connection with family they never knew, I was overwhelmed.  I loved finding old friends that I hadn’t seen or talked to in over ten years.  I could even sneak peeks into people’s lives that I didn’t really want to friend, but definitely wanted to know what happened to them after high school.  (Yes, I was a Myspace “peeping tom” and now currently do the same on Facebook.)

 This simple technology has changed the way we communicate with each other tremendously.  We have even added words to our vocabulary or use old words in a new way. Like for example, “friending” someone, or “defriending” them.  “Like” has probably never been used more in its history, not even in valley girl heaven.  We are able to share so much of ourselves, our families. Live little bits of each other’s lives.  Keeping up with someone without ever actually having to talk to them.  Incredible. 

Though that does bring in the negative side, we don’t have to talk to anyone and still feel a sense of involvement.  I feel like I know people I have never met and probably never will.  I don’t have to go out of my house for school, or work, and thus losing the opportunities to meet other “real” people.  My social quota is filled without any effort at all. Well, except for a few clicks of a mouse, liking, sharing and posting occasionally. 

Having children, one of who is in 8^th grade, the issue of cyber bullying is also a big concern for me.  I have yet to let my son have a Facebook page because of this concern, even though many of his friends do.  Bullying will never go away, but at least before children or adults, had a refuge.  Once you were home, you were safe from the bullying, that’s no longer the case.  Now you have immediate, hurtful writing that can be read over and over again. 

So what does this all wrap up to? What is my consensus of these technologies? Well like any major achievement in history, it is what we make it.  Use it to be a better person, have fun, share your lives.  Give yourself time to think about what your words really are saying before you put them on-line for all to see.  Oh, and hit me up on Facebook.  See ya around J

Krista Oneisom, Internet Marketing CGS2069

eSports - Going Mainstream or Strictly Niche?

    eSports…? What is this? Well, I can tell you. It’s Internet Sports, or rather competitive video gaming. It isn’t something I made up, or something that is even new. It’s been around. Most people just haven’t noticed it yet. Korea did though – their booming PC Café’s plus the sales of Starcraft I (a PC video game) propelled eSports to a new level – television channels playing pro match ups and superstars being born.

    Many Korean pro gamers make a living off of it, and even now American pro gamers are starting to make a substantial living off of their genre of choice (e.g. Justin Wong, pro fighting game player, and member of Team Evil Geniuses). However, some might still look at it at the end of the day say, “it’s just a video game.” Isn’t Poker just a card game? High-stakes Poker is a huge thing here in the US and is something started out as a game amongst friends. What makes it exciting is the introduction of money. The same goes for eSports for the most part. Evidence in that comes from the recent DoTA 2 tournament hosted by the creators, Valve, in which they put up $1,000,000 dollars to the winning team. That’s a nice chunk of change for playing a video game with some friends.

    Some other things that really add to the excitement of eSports are the way they are presented and the energy that is shown by fans at the events. This is most evident when seeing the flux of streaming tournaments online at Justin.Tv. When seeing a main event series like Evolution for the Fighting Game scene, or the Major League Gaming series for Starcraft and Counter-Strike, you see commentators that actually view the games like a sport. They go play by play telling viewers what is happening and all the while pointing out flaws in a player’s strategy. Which as an actual player, this really helps, and as a new watcher of an eSport, this helps a person to gradually understand what is taking place roping you in more to the energy of it (a streaming tournament match in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3). This should sound familiar if you ever watched football, basketball, or any other arena based team sport.

    With all this in mind, and all the steps that competitive gaming has taken forward since the days of competition strictly being at the arcade machines or with your friends in your living room, can it go fourth and become something worldwide as competitive poker, bowling, pool, soccer, and so forth has? Or is this something that is just another fad, just pushing too hard to be more when it’s ahead of its time? Let me know what you think!

Shawn Haywood

p.s. I think it's going mainstream! :-D

Having Fun With Nickjr.com

While being a husband and father of six children, it is almost impossible to ex scape the enticing bait that t.v shows provide. From off the wall reality shows; to adult cartoons, it seems that television is continuing to move far away from educational shows. Shows that teach kids valuable learning tools such as: Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood to name a few. These shows teach kids how to count, read, and use their imagination. I am glad to say that through digital media I have found an outlet of ex scape for my kids called nickjr.com. Through creative interactive web program like nickjr.com which is a web site for Nickelodeon kids are giving access to valuable tools.


Nickjr.com is a good digital media tool because it allows them to interact with some of their favorite characters and shows from Nickelodeon. Instead of sitting in front of a hypnotizing show tube, nickjr.com thru provoking games that challenges kids to actively use their minds and have fun at the same time. For example there are games that enhance memory and problem solving skills. There are painting games that help kids familiarise themselves with using colors to paint their favorite characters and objects. The good thing about that is if they do not like the colors they have chosen, they can always be erased instead of completely starting over. Nickjr.com also provides some of the same shows as seen on t.v but watching them on the computer gives a on-demand type of feel.

Nickjr.com helps teach kids to familiarise themselves with using the key pad and mouse of a computer. The programs are broken down into sections which range from shows, games, and learning exercises. The only down side that I have found with nickjr.com is not the site, but trying to pry away my kids from the computer once they have logged in.

Challenging kids of today to think carefully, be creative, and to use their own imagination seems to be a lost priority in todays society. With the help of web sites like nickjr.com all hope is not lost. Thanks to digital media, futuristic learning is only fingertips away. Overall nickjr.com recieves two thumbs up for being a lighthouse in a age of dark television.

Twitter: Changing the World

@Jack : One could change the world with one hundred and forty characters.

       On February 8th 2007, a small crowd of family and friends read online that exact, simple "tweet". It was on that day Jack Dorsey and his companions realized that Twitter would redefine communications and become one of the most important forms of social media in the world. Indeed, I believe Twitter has changed the world. It has joined together people from all walks of life.Tony Hawk, the Dalai Lama, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Pope Benedict XVI, your cousin and the peacock that escaped from the Bronx Zoo in New York all "tweet". My dogs even have a Twitter account! Yep, I went there. The real beauty of Twitter that brings people together is that it is so simple. Fast and easy real-time updates in the coveted one hundred and forty character form are sent directly to your cell phone via text message; no smart phone needed! This is good news because according to a new study by PEW Internet and American Life Project, only 35% of all cell phone owners sport a smart phone. Pew Internet Study  Twitter's short format messages insure that no text goes beyond a one page viewing area on a cell phone. This design is perfect for pay per text plan users or plans with small data packages. You can complete your messages with a picture or have a real-time location added to your "tweet" thanks to Twitpic and Google Maps.
       During the 2008 elections, Twitter changed how Americans kept up with their favorite candidates. Canidiates and their parties heavily used social media tools to keep track of their followers, answer questions, organize campaign events and keep tabs on the competition. Even though Twitter was fairly new to the general public, Barack Obama's total Twitter followers numbered 118,107 during his campaign giving him a landslide Twitter victory over John McCain who only had 4,942 followers. The 2012 elections are sure to generate a lot of tweets since many of the candidates have already started Twitter accounts for their campaigns. Social media Obama vs McCain
       Twitter also changed the way that the world receives breaking news, news from space and disaster alerts. On May 12th 2009, the first space tweet from Mike Massimino @astro_mike was sent and NASA has been hooked ever since. Astronauts have tweeted pictures of the Aurora Australis dancing above the Earth. They also captured the furious Sarychev Peak volcano eruption and relayed information to help Air Traffic Control in the area. When the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, news broadcasters and ordinary people were updating everyone through Twitter. In the aftermath, people on Twitter and Facebook organized relief efforts, reunited loved ones and kept distant family members connected with up to the minute information. Recently during Hurricane Irene, government officials, the Red Cross and FEMA asked people to reduce the burden on phone services by instead tweeting. CNET NEWS  This kept the phone lines available for emergency workers. With one hundred and forty characters, I believe Twitter has definitely changed the world.