Kellybeanz Weblog

freeze frame:sound in the era of digital networks

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:43:01 +0000

This reading was interesting in that it provided some insight on the topics of digital music and the internet. I have mostly talked about the internet in these last few blogs since that was the topic of those blogs, but i feel like this reading had a good deal of focus on the music aspect of the reading. Digital music has come a very long way and is continuing to grow around the world. Music online is available nearly everywhere, from people illegally downloading it off of sites to having your favorite jam on your myspace page…Music is EVERYWHERE. Its even in the media and on the news due to somewhat recent court cases involving illegal downloading of music and the money that it denies the bands and artists of.

Digital music is also a necessity for clubs, concerts, and much more. Overall, there have been many advancements in digital music, as well as internet advancements. Personally, I love that this digital world is available at my fingertips and i cant wait to see where digital music goes next!

DIY Survival and the militant embrace of technology

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:34:14 +0000

There was a lot of information that could be pulled from these DIY readings, but the part that interested me the most was in the first reading where the author touched on the subject of what is essentially known as identity theft. He mentioned how every time you go onto the internet or sign into your favorite site, you are giving out your information. Many sites have security policies that convince you that they will keep your identity safe and you wont have to worry about a thing….wrong!

What these sites dont let you know is that hackers can break codes and get into nearly any site if they are good enough. Once in, they can access all of your personal information and any information that you have mentioned in the past. These hackers are getting better and better each time and the only way to truely keep safe from these potential threats is to stay off line….but lets be honest, who’s gonna give up their Myspace account just cuz there’s some crazy people out there wanting to hack your identity? Thats what i thought.

what is biomedia?

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:24:57 +0000

I’m not gonna lie…I dont know diddly about half of the stuff this author was talking about, but i did learn a lot about biomedia. The information that i got from this article was that there are a lot of advancements in medicine and technology, but did he really have to explain everything the way he did. I know it makes him seem like a creditable source using all of his confusing ways of explination, but i think the same point can be made in a simpler way (one that i can follow) I did have to reread this article to truely catch everything, and i still think there are some things i missed. I do understand and agree that the issues involving biomedia are complicated and technical, and quite interesting, but i dont think this is a field i will be entering into any time soon.

simulations

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:19:43 +0000

At first, i thought the author of this reading was a bit crazy. He goes into detail about severeal cases where what may seem to be real or the truth, is in fact, quite the oposite. At first, i didnt understand his concepts or reasoning for those concepts, but as i read on and really payed attention to the examples he was giving, i found myself agreeing with many of his main points. The one scenario where he talks about a fake hostage situation was very interesting. He noted that you may be using a fake gun and not planing on harming anyone, but thats not how other people around you may view the situation because they dont know what you know.

This scinario made me think of however many years ago it was when that man was shot several times by police officers because they thought he was holding a granade, when in fact he was simply eating a pear. Now i dont know exactly what went on at this showdown, but apparently the police officers didnt know what the pear-eating man knew. this is just one story that can be conected to the thinking and reasoning of this author.

the abc of tactical media

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:41:34 +0000

Before reading this article, i wasnt too sure what tactical media was. I had heard some mentions of it before, but i didnt know what it truly was. I found the article to be useful and helpful in figuring this problem out. Tactical media seems to be on the cutting edge of media, compared to the somewhat mainstream media splashed all over the world today. Tactical appears to be a lot more vicious and less forgiving that other media methods. Thanks to this article and the information it gave me, i think im going to research possible job opportunities that the tactical media world may hold for me.

free software as collaborative text

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:34:55 +0000

I found this text to be very refreshing and informative. I had some discussions with my professors and others about free software, but i learned how it all really works and ties together from this article. Free software sites such as opensource have been mentioned to me over and over again, but after reading this article, i really became interested in finding some free software. Well, to be perfectly honest, it was this reading, along with the $400.00 price tag for certain photoshop programs. I think that prices like these are outrageous and no one should have to pay such outrageous prices for a program they can pretty much download for free. My goal now is to never pay for a software program for the rest of my life! Hopefully Opensource and others can help me with my goal…

race in/for cyberspace

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:28:12 +0000

Many points were touched upon in this reading, but i think that many current issues were addressed in this article as well. Cyberspace is growing larger and larger everyday as more and more people become interested and involved in the internet. Just take Myspace or Facebook for example. those were small programs started by people who thought it would be cool to have such a site. little did they know that it would explode over night and become one of the great wonders of the world!!

I have also heard of those other sites such as INVU where you can go and create your own person with their own interests and walk around meeting people. Im not personally on one of these sites, but i know many people who are, and i wonder to myself: will this someday replace people actually leaving their homes to meet “real” people. These sights are so detailed that you can create an almost “real” person to meet others.

I think that the main attraction in these sites, which was also noted in this reading, is that you can create anyone you want, and they dont have to be like you at all. You can make up your own identity and be someone completely different than the person you are in real life. I think that many people see this as a way to escape from reality and live in their desired world that they have created.

pixels, politics, and play

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:19:28 +0000

I just have to start with saying i found this article to be the best one so far. It was interesting, entertaining, and rather funny. There have been some recent developments in the fields of video games that try to teach people about the world One great example is the children’s video games that have recently come out that appear to be simple fun and mindless video games to the children, but they are in fact building their reading, math, problem solving skills and many more. If children knew that this is what these games are doing, i dont know if they would be as interested in them as they once were….then again, they are children. This article made several good points in my opinion about finding ways to get important information to the public but without the usual boring ways of simply reading the newspaper or watching the news programs endlessly. Two thumbs up for being creative!

How i was played by online carolyn

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:13:02 +0000

I actually really enjoyed reading this article. I was immediately drawn to it with the opening paragraph and the description of Carolyn. I liked how the author presented the subjects and the way she wrote the article was to my liking. I found the story to be interesting because i had read something somewhat similar to it in the past. I read this other work so long ago that i don’t remember what it was called or who wrote it, but it did have the same general plot as this work, and the outcome was quite similar, if i recall correctly. I enjoyed the character of Carolyn and the series of events that take place in this online world. Overall, i would consider reading this article again someday when im not totally bogged down with homework and school.

How to be an Internet artist

kellybeanz — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:43:44 +0000

I found “how to be an internet artist” interesting, but it seemed a bit random and unorganized in my opinion. There was a lot of information, but it seemed to be scattered throughout the article. The sections of the text that went on and on about stories and the areas that conained sexual diologue didnt help me much in truly understanding the text. I feel like if these stories were not in the text, then it may have made more sense to me. I think that the information that those stories contains should be pulled out and presented to the reader in another way so you can just get the point of the story and not have to read on and on about it. Then again, I was reading this article as an assignment, not simply because i had nothing better to do with my time. I suppose if someone was reading this text for pleasure, then they might want the stories to remain in the article.