The One in Red

Specifically the dude with the red hat.

[sebasdropindatbass]

The Web’s impact on the entertainment industry

3. Since the rise of the personal computer, World Wide Web, and mobile device, we've seen an explosion of innovation that has shaped today's digital culture. In your opinion, what one technology, service, or application caused the greatest disruption to one of the industries below during this period?* When the World Wide Web was first released it created a massive surge within the entertainment industry, impacting many forms of popular media such as movies, music and video games. It created a brand new faster and easier way for companies to advertise and market their products. Having an open network designed to share data allowed the filmmakers and game developers to release trailers, commercials, and other forms of media promotion to reach out to wider audience. The average consumer could now download and stream music, tv shows, games, etc. People would no longer have to go to the local store to buy CDs, DVDs, or game disks because they now had access to fully digitized copies. The sudden ability to share content for your own and other people’s enjoyment led to the invention of many new websites, streaming services, and applications such as YouTube, Netflix, Steam, iTunes and many more. The sudden ability to record post your own video and audio creations allowed for numerous new forms of digital entertainment such as live streaming gameplay from your video games, filming funny videos, uploading original cartoons/animations, etc. This technology has offered so much potential for innovation that other machines such as mobile phones and video game consoles which initially lacked the capability to connect to the web were redesigned to support online connectivity due to the rapidly increasing demand of being able to stay “plugged in”. Like the majority of services provide online, many of the entertainment applications offered require a paid subscription to be made by the user. There are certain exceptions among subscription based services where the user does not have to pay with real currency and is instead forced to give away his or her personal information in exchange for the ability to access the application. However, despite the many opportunities the World Wide Web offers for producers to advertise and distribute their content, their insistence on charging consumers for the usage of their content has given way to a significant amount of internet piracy. Individuals with the knowledge and skills to gain access to entertainment products through illegal means so that they may share copyrighted videos and songs on their websites for free. Naturally, companies disapprove of their material being distributed to their consumers by hackers and thieves since it makes them less compliant to purchase their products, which in turn greatly lowers their revenue. The users of these illegal websites have brought about a large amount of controversy surrounding their belief that the user subscriptions and paid applications contradict the founding principles of the World Wide Web that were created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Consumers argue that companies charge their customers too much for the products they purchase digitally, and that they should have free access to the content being shared on the web as it is meant to be a open network. These advocates for absolute freedom and control of the World Wide Web believe that companies have no rights when it comes to their involvement online and should not be permitted to place any restrictions on their products, especially when it comes to them putting prices on their films, songs, games and shows.

[sebasdropindatbass]

Threats to the Web

1. Consider some of the topics we've discussed in class (for example The Right to be Forgotten, Super Fast Internet Lanes, PIPA, PRISM, etc.). What do you consider to be the greatest threat to the founding principals of the World Wide Web? The founding principle of the World Wide Web is that it was designed to function as an open network for recording and sharing data to facilitate new innovative ideas. It was initially designed to give computer users the ability and freedom to access any and all forms of data online, as well as facilitate the inception of new revolutionary inventions. Every new idea or invention could then be recorded in a limitless library that can be accessed and referenced by anybody and then used to create new knowledge. Unfortunately, the web is also a very reliable resource for corporations wishing to better advertise and market their products to the consumers who are often found online. Websites and applications that are owned by companies often require their users to sign up for a subscription to allow access for their otherwise restricted products. These subscription-based services are often included with regular payments that have to be made with real currency, which is often frowned upon after considering the fact that each and every additional user is forced to give up his or her personal information just to make an account. The information which users trade for accessibility to these corporate-owned applications is frequently used the corporation to further market their products based on statistics made from their collected data which is gained from each account that is made. To combat the subscription- based services which are fueled by corporate greed, users who still believe that individuals should be allowed to have an absolutely free and open network without any restrictions whatsoever. These consumers are entirely against relinquishing their private data so that it can be exploited by private companies for profit and argue that their ability to innovate is limited by every online resource which requires a user account to be made. Even today, web users are continuously charged by companies on not only desktop computers and laptops, but on every device with the capability to connect online, including smartphones, tablets and even video game consoles. Corporations profit off of more and more web users each day as human society continues to gain an increasing amount of reliance on devices that supply them with the power to download and upload digital information instantaneously in their day to day lives. The infectious desire to have access to all of humanity's knowledge leaves people vulnerable for the producers to make money off of every person’s individual need for an easily attainable reservoir of information. The average consumer is normally oblivious to the fact that they are being exploited for their over-reliance on the World Wide Web. To further complicate the matters between the consumer and producer, companies now charge their customers for the amount of data being used on mobile devices, adding yet another barrier that restricts a free and open network. Service providers are often accused of making their customer’s data usage overpriced and are frequently opposed by advocates for net neutrality, to remove the restraints placed upon one of the most valuable and accessible resources in the twenty-first century.

[sebasdropindatbass]

Oculus Rift's Terms of Service are Now Attracting Questions From a Member of Congress

There are some sketchy things in the Terms of Service for the Oculus Rift, and now, a member of Congress is formally asking the company to explain some of the items.

After the whole debate in class about the right to be forgotten which was primarily centered around the issue of privacy, I can understand why the “sketchiness” of Oculus Rift’s terms of service could be worrisome. A device which automatically collects and stores the user’s physical dimensions, movements, and location data is extremely powerful. The data that is being collected could be easily exploited for criminal intentions and should be protected at all costs. Since it is a Facebook-owned company manufacturing this product, a large amount of personal information is guaranteed to be collected from the consumers, only further necessitating a trustworthy form of security.

[just-shower-thoughts]

If Apple made a car, it would need Windows.

[sebasdropindatbass]

MindBLOWN

[sebasdropindatbass]

What Tron & The Matrix reflect upon in regards to the Internet

After viewing the movies Tron and The Matrix, I noticed that each individual film featured many references to ideas discussed in class regarding the cultural influences of inventions such as the personal computer and the internet. Tron focused primarily around the rise of videogames in the early 80’s, and computers connected through a network extending from a single mainframe computer. Its primary conflict was between a video game programmer and an artificial intelligence(A.I.) designed by a rival software writer. The main protagonist is forced to hack into a mainframe computer to combat programs which prevent him from locating digital proof of his products being stolen by his competitor. He achieves his goal by fighting against programs and is capable of overwhelming them due to him being a professional software writer. The battles between programs and “users” is reflective of actual video games in which players struggle to out think and defeat the programmed enemies and obstacles. Programs are limited in their capabilities to operate independently or think creatively due to the restrictions written into their code by the software designers who create them. The Matrix and its subject matters however, are based on the late 90’s culture influenced by the increasing popularity of the internet. Like Tron, it features a clash between programmers and sentient programs; although this time the potential threat of A.I. is exaggerated into something capable of enslaving the human race. Predictably, the only people capable of fighting against it are experienced computer hackers. Their war is staged within a virtual reality simulation of a city in the year 1999, a time in which society was considered to be at the height of the computer age. The protagonists treat their computer usernames as their main source of identification and as a way to guard their identities like an individual normally does on the world wide web. They are also able to customize the appearances of their digital selves similar to a person creating an online image of him/herself. They learn the ways of combat through the completion of training tutorials and uploads of information. Additionally, they gain their weaponry, gadgets and vehicles through the installation of software containing the data necessary to create the constructs within the digital world. All of this is done and generated within a loading program, like most content is created inside the virtual space of a computer. The governing A.I. sends out “agent” programs to police the digital space like a firewall designed to repel viruses and hackers. Members of each opposing side are able to bend certain “rules” within the Matrix to perform feats that are impossible for humans to perform in the real world, but only as much as their minds allow them to do so. The idea of an individual’s abilities and potential within the digital world being restricted only by that person’s imagination is a philosophy that can be attributed as one of the catalyst for the very inception of both the computer and the internet. The Matrix is also portrayed as such an immensely complex piece of software that it cannot be displayed on a computer screen in any way other than code. This can be interpreted as a reflection of common issue that computer users have faced since the device was first being invented: the problem of constructing a device powerful enough to depict images clear enough for inexperienced individual to see clearly. There is nearly a numerous amount of themes from today’s computer-based culture depicted in modern movies such as Tron and The Matrix. Ideas of control, freedom, and the limitless potential of the human mind’s imagination presented in the form of a virtual reality built from a box invented for storing, sharing and accessing information.

[sebasdropindatbass]

The Future of Wi-Fi Is 10,000 Times More Energy Efficient

Engineering students have discovered a way to reflect Wi-Fi packets instead of broadcasting them.

Wi-Fi efficiency being improved by 10,000 times is huge news, especially now that more devices require Cloud usage for storing information. Considering how much time and effort has been spent on making Wi-Fi consume less power over the past decade, this is a massive step forward for Wi-Fi connectivity. Instead of every mobile device receiving and transmitting a radio frequency, only a single device will be needed to transmit the signal which will now be reflected and sent to any device with a readable chipset. Currently we do not yet possess the necessary hardware to achieve this, but if this technology works, it could increase the amount of devices capable of internet connectivity and eliminate previous constraints of making a Wi-Fi compatible device. On a(sort of) unrelated note, this will make first-world teenagers complain less about bad Wi-Fi.

[sebasdropindatbass]

The startup's "Netflix for games" platform is entering open beta today at the (temporary) price of $6/month for unlimited access to a catalog of over 100 games.

Another game streaming service is entering beta and it seems to be Gemefly for PC gamers. Here’s hoping it lasts with every PC player using Steam.

[sebasdropindatbass]

This 4.7-Inch Organic LCD Wraps Right Around Your Wrist

Your smartwatch screen may soon be rather more impressive: This 4.7-inch organic LCD display is flexible enough to wrap right around a wrist.

A British company called FlexEnable has recently introduce a brand LCD display flexible enough to be wrapped around a wrist. Soon we’ll be turning our wrists around in circles to use our smartwatches. On the plus side the screen will be bigger than the next iPhone.

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[sebasdropindatbass]

Representing Australia: an ostrich. SKIING. ON A HALFPIPE. AMAZING!!!!!

[sebasdropindatbass]

How One Creepy Company Uses Smartphones to Secretly Track Voters

The 2016 election has intensely focused on the debate surrounding the NSA’s endless amount of spying powers. But when Iowa voters recently voiced their opinion on who should be in charge of that murky world of cyber surveillance (among other things), they didn’t know they were already targets themselves.

Funny how cyber-surveillance is being debated upon while voters are being tracked through their smartphones. Even if it’s for a survey, voters should be made aware they are being tracked and at least asked for their permission to be surveyed.

[sebasdropindatbass]

Reports of Twitter Shifting To An Algorithm Timeline Next Week Might Be Premature

The internet has been buzzing angrily after Buzzfeed published a post that indicated that Twitter was moving away from its timeline and towards an algorithm generated feed next week. That might have been premature.

Although I’ve never actually used Twitter, I found this article interesting considering I always use Facebook which uses an Algorithm Timeline that requires users to filter what they want to see. Twitter always had a chronological timeline, and suddenly shifting its format is definitely going to anger longtime users.