Cutting Edge

 

With the news and the release of Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, other phone companies are getting overshadowed and their phones are getting little to no recognition. Out of all of the other phone manufacturing companies, the only company that can compete with Apple is Samsung. Earlier this year Samsung released their next sequel to the Galaxy Note family, the Galaxy Note 4. Along with the announcement of the Note 4, Samsung announced another phone that will share the Note family tree. This phone is called the Galaxy Note Edge. This phone has gotten little buzz since its announcement because, essentially, the Note Edge is very similar to the Note 4. They have the same amount of features with the Note Edge having a bit more features. The differences between both phones are the small dimension changes, Note Edge is slimmer for an obvious reason that I will talk about later. Other differences are features like: battery life, screen size, and processor options.

 

The "edge" that the Note Edge has to the Note 4 is the biggest feature difference between both phones. The Note Edge has a curved edge on the right side of the phone that can be used in different ways and can be customized to one's particular liking. The biggest use of the toolbar on the phone are the notifications that appear on it. The toolbar makes it hard for users to not know if they got a new notification from any resource they get notifications from. Since the notifications have been moved to the new toolbar, called the Edge screen, users can focus on the main screen without random interruptions from notifications. Other uses for the Edge screen are: clock/timer application, ruler, light, recorder, and fitness information. As stated above, one can customize this Edge screen to fit them as a person.

 

If users want to get their hands on the Note Edge then they are going to have to wait since the phone has not been released yet and is yet to have a release date. The Note 4 on the other hand is available now. What is your preference, Note Edge or Note 4?

    http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynoteedge/noteedge_design.html

http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote4/note4_design.html

- Angelo Walker
  Digital Media 2000
  Fall

The Good, The Bad and The MP3

Long gone are the days of waiting at your favorite Specs or Peaches for the newest record, tape and CD releases. In current times, acquiring your favorite music can be easily done through ITunes, Amazon or illegally through a file sharing site; like bit torrents. The evolution of digital music has made it much more easily accessible for listeners; at the same time making it easier for musicians and non-musicians to create and distribute their work.

The impact this accessibility has had on the quality of music produced is arguable. True audiophiles say the best music is played via vinyl, on a classic turntable, through speakers that utilize glass TWTs, etc. These types of systems allow for a more pure listening experience, to artists that played real instruments. It is my opinion- the knowledge that these artists had of what a listener could and want to hear, required a different level of talent than what is used in the production of music today.

However, as times change so does public opinion and perception of what kind of music is enjoyable to them. New talents have emerged, some good-some bad, that have mastered the capability and advantage of digitally manipulating music. Some of today’s most popular recording artists use beats and loops that were completely created through digital means. These ease at which someone can edit and remix tracks prove most advantageous to their final product. There are also down sides, for example auto-tune, giving non-artists the capability of digitally manipulating music.

Music’s digital convergence to MP3 and WAV has provided that both; many good and many bad artists are given a means to be heard. Unfortunately, the digital evolution has blurred the perceptual line of what is good and bad. Just turn on the radio and listen, you can hear a song and go “alright!” or hear a song and go “WTH is that?”; point being-both are still getting played.

-Chris Moses, DIG2000, Fall

Digital Media Fueling Entrepreneurial Drive

Digital Media Fueling Entrepreneurial Drive

Digital media has become a big part of everyday life for many people.  Some of the people most affected by the growth of digital media are entrepreneurs.  Never before was it so easy to get your name out there or produce digital medium as it is today.  The best part is, the avenues to promote a business or idea keep growing... almost on a daily basis.

  

In the old days, businesses relied on word of mouth.  If you offered a quality product, consumers would in turn tell others about their dealings with your company.  This was great for businesses that have been around forever and already established a name for themselves.  It was a different story for new/emerging companies that offered new products people had never seen.  Getting street cred was a daunting task that many entrepreneurs could not overcome.


Today, it is simple as sitting down at a computer to promote, market and create a new company. Almost 150,000 new businesses open there doors in the United States each year and a lot of the credit for this belongs to digital media.  There are so many different ways it benefits the realization of people's ideas and supports entrepreneurship.

The video below depicts a young boy using different digital media mediums in order to help find his missing iguana.  It showcases just a few ways to get peoples attention in a digital format.  Imagine the boy being the entrepreneur, the people being their customers and the recovered iguana to represent the sale of their product.  It's a cool way of seeing how easy it is to reach out to people in order to serve a purpose. 

People are always looking for the newest things on the market and digital media has provided a path for entrepreneurs to get their products out there in the consumer's grasp. Many of us don't realize how much digital media has an impact on businesses.  Being successful is all about chasing your dreams and it's never been so easy to make them a reality as it is now.  That being said, it's not all fun and games when it comes to opening up a new/cutting edge business.  We will touch on that topic in my next blog post.  




Chris Ouimette
Digital Media 2000
Fall 2014

Should digital video replace traditional photo chemical film? By Devan Meeder

Avatar was Filmed With Digital Camera 

For most of the 20th Century,  movies were filmed using photo chemical film, but digital film arrived n the early 2000's and which became the more popular choice, and it’s now tipped to completely take over from traditional film. So should photo chemical film be discontinued? Well lets go over some of the pros why digital is superior over film. Digital allows anybody to be a filmmaker. Using traditional Photo chemical you have to change rolls or canisters of film every 8 minutes, which can add big costs. With digital you can film for hours with a memory card. Since its takes 8 minutes replace a film it also causes an inconvenience for actors since they would have to wait, With digital you film as long as you want. Digital Cameras can also be made in shapes and sizes allowing for more film possibility's and easier to take complected shots, photo chemical film cameras have big, bulky sizes which is will limit how they shoot a movie. Also Digital Film is always improving technology with 8k coming out in the future, Photochemical film can no longer be improved upon.

Christoper Nolan's Interstellar was filmed using Photo Chemical

However, even with all this pros that digital has over photo chemical, I still think photo chemical should still be around for the foreseeable future. Photo chemical film still has very unique look, that digital film cannot yet capture, Film director Christoper Nolan says film looks like a paint brush painting while digital film looks like a crayon painting. Its also more reliable way to archive a film, Since digital would be stored on a hard drive, hard drives could eventually fail. However having a film on Photo chemical can last forever with proper archival techniques.

Overall I think Digital and Photo chemical film can co-exist. While they both have pros and cons, they are both equally important for the movie industry.

If you want to know more information on Digtal Film and Photo Chemical Film, I recommend the movie side by side here is trailer to the movie. 

A Passion Overlooked by V. Nguyen

If you get to know me, you’ll realize that I’m very imaginative and creative.  My mind is always traversing worlds you couldn’t even fathom.  Yet, I was stuck in a mundane, mediocre reality.  Like many I’ve given up on my dreams one too many times.  The voice of self doubt is a force so great that it takes fortunate people years to overcome while most never do.  The ones that ignore their calling and take no action continue on with a stagnant life void of realizing their true potential.  To me, that’s a life of despair.

This new journey that I’m on is one I’ve dreamt of for many years.  Constantly beckoning me to take action, this “thing” in the back of my mind simply wouldn’t let me be content.  The voice that comes from it is one that continuously reverberate these words, “fulfill your destiny” in my mind even as I sleep.   Now, you may think I’m crazy, but I assure you, wait, who exactly is perfectly sane? 

Throughout life, many signs pointed me towards Digital Media as the keeper of the key to a brilliant future; one of creative freedom and personal success.  But, I was confused as to where to start.  Fortunately, after a series of events, I decided to pursue Web Design.  My first course in Web Design introduced me to a new culture, new ways of thinking, and a mystic language.

As I take you along on this voyage, you'll meet characters in this story of life that have made an impact in reality far greater than you've imagined.  The photo of the man below is that of a person that's nothing short of incredible.  The people of this world should be thankful for his contribution and generosity; as a matter of fact, I think we should have a universal holiday in his name, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web.  

Not only did he invent the internet, but he made it available for all people.  Did you know that the internet was originally created to be used by institutions such as universities and the military to transfer data?

Can you imagine a world without the internet, and the only people that can use it are those that work for select institutions?  I wonder how different our world would be had the internet not been made available to all people.  Speaking of all people, did you know when creating a website, a designer must ensure that the site is accessible.  It means that a site is usable even by people with disabilities.

A lot goes into the creation of a website just as much thought goes into the development of a building.  Once you’ve laid the foundation and built your structure (HTML), you have to make it look nice to attract people to come “pay a visit.”  That’s where Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) comes in.  They’re like the interior decorators that make homes beautiful. 

Most people know about HTML, but more than likely have never heard of CSS.  The majority of your time in Web Design I is spent learning about CSS because it makes creating websites more efficient and effective.  But, to use CSS properly you have to learn a bit about color and design theory.  Isn’t it fascinating how everything relates to art?  Now, imagine a world without art.  It’s impossible to do.

Here's a site that I created for my extra credit project.  The instructions were rather simple, but knowing me I had to complicate myself.  But, I like the challenge.  I wasn't quite sure how to create a three column site, and had told the instructor that I'd learn how to do it by next semester.  It bothered me to no end as I just had to know how to design a three column page.  The end result?  This.

http://aziaelion.byethost8.com/

All that was required of that project was two pictures one of the lead actor and one of the lead actress, a picture of a favorite scene, a synopsis, and contrasting colors for two areas of the page.  Quite simple, right?  Simple isn't really in my vocabulary, haha!  By the way, it took half a day to code that one page.  Another goal in creating it was to design a page different from any of my other projects.

If you're into Web Design, don't think, just do!

Twitter: @aziaelion

video games are awesome! By: Devan B.

There is so many reasons why video games are awesome in todays world. The technology we posses is making gaming all the more greater. The reasons people love games though is its stress relieving, fun with friends, and a nice way to be competitive with other people.
The reason why games are so stress relieving is simply cause it allows the person under stress to be alone and have quality time to themselves and are able to for example go around and live a fantasy in a rpg. This is also fun with friends, I have many experiences of just relaxing and playing halo with some of my best bros over the internet. This allows use to compete and have fun from the comforts of our own homes and at the same time have a fun time together! Then there's those days where you want to feel like your on top of the world, the alpha dog. So you go online and compete against other players to see who's the best skilled gamer on the internet! There's so many reasons why gaming is fun and stress relieving but these are simple basics to why gaming is the ultimate fun with technology.
By

POSTED BY:  Dr. Dunnivant
Given the lag I'll post the topic for Blocks 1&2:  So here's our first little topic I'm going to ask you to reply to:

Wearable technology is rapidly developing into a lucrative market.  But, some say this will be a very temporary window given the advancements in embedded bio-devices.  See the article below, and project what you think will be the year that the majority of citizens in developed conuntries will choose to "host" such devices in their bodies.  Comment on your own feelings, and the impact on the digital media profession.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/08/tech/forget-wearable-tech-embeddable-implants/