Presentation & PBS Video

Hi Everyone!

Here is the link to the website that Emma and I presented on today. We found this website to be very interesting and helpful in understanding the Richard Stallman article that we had to read. Feel free to check out the website.. it has a lot of thing on it that we were not able to cover today. For example, their NEWS page that updates its members and potential members on what is going on with the FSF and the improvements that have made with their campaigns.

On another note..I wanted to discuss the video that we watched today in class for my blog entry this week. I can honestly say that it was one of the most interesting videos that I have ever seen (in a classroom setting). I was really able to connect and agree with what the teachers and principal had to say about the internet. One of the teachers said that when kids come into a classroom and they do not have access to internet and computers it is like walking into a desert. I have never been a great test taker or had that great of a memory so I also agreed with the teacher that said that the world we live in today is not measured by memorization and almost no job today requires you to memorize things. I interned at a Public Relations firm this past summer and I found that all of the textbooks and readings that I have been studying for the past 17 years of my life really did not help me with my internship. The thing that helped me was my ability to communicate with my co-workers and my ability to research information online. Another teacher said, "technology is like oxygen" and although I think that may be a little bit of an overstatement, I do agree that for many kids it is. Giving them computers to do their work makes them want to do it, I remember how much I use to hate those math and english workbooks I was given in elementary school, I would have much rather done an online assignment or used an online workbook, it almost makes doing homework fun!

I found this website that allows schools and organizations to find grants for laptops and other things they need. I decided to look this up because at the end of class today we raised the question of how these schools pay for laptops. I could not find a solid answer but I have a feeling that many schools do apply for these grants and many people are wiling to put forth money for schools to buy laptops for their students. This website allows people to search for different types of grants as well as donate to a particular grant that they feel is close to their heart. It is only for educational purposes so that way the people who donate know that their money is going to the right place. Check it out!

-Liz

Tinkering with Apple Products

This week in class when discussing the Zittrain article we mentioned the Apple 2 produce that came out in 1977. We learned how many people would "tinker" with it in order to figure out how to "beat" Apples system or simply because they were bored. I was surprised to learn that this actually helped Apples sales, and did not hurt them. Today in 2009 Apple has made it nearly impossible to "tinker" with their products. Although I am not all that great with technology I do have an Iphone and a Mac and I feel like it would be very difficult to "tinker" with either of those products.

We also discussed how in the past the Iphone or intense Apple products were typically for "hobbyist" or those who were very into technology. Today, they are for everyone, even people that know nothing about technology at all. For example, my grandmother, she got the Iphone a few months after it first came out and LOVES it. She is constantly texting me and my brother or emailing her church friends. I like how Apple was able to create a product that was not just for tech savvy people. The Iphone is for everyone and if my grandmother could figure out how to use it I am pretty sure almost anyone could.

Lastly, I was telling the class about the application a friend of mine made, here is the link to the app. she created for the Iphone. It's pretty funny and creative.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bull-crack/id334816494?mt=8#

OLPC

Hey Everyone,

When a presentation was done last week on "One Laptop Per Child" I was very interested. In fact, I even picked that topic from the syllabus as one of the 3 things I would have liked to do a presentation on, even though I knew nothing about it, I thought it sounded interesting. I am glad "One Laptop Per Child" was incorporated into a presentation before we were assigned the reading by John Dvorak because it gave me a little background information on the topic.

After reading the article from John Dvorak I found this video(http://www.fastcompany.tv/video/inside-one-laptop-per-childs-wireless-features). The video shows Michall Biestas(VP of Advanced Technology and Connectivity with the OLPC project) talk about some of the amazing features that the laptops have to offer. For example, their wireless internet and their advanced power saving features. I also liked this video because it shows the audience around a "OLPC" studio and so you can see how they make the laptops and how busy the office is on a typical workday. The video is a little long but I think it is worth it to watch some of it. The interview with Michall Biestas is pretty casual so the audience can see how down to earth he is and how he believes "OLPC" will continue to be a success.

Hope you are all enjoying the week off/snow storm :)

Liz

Should we stop sharing the goods?

In class today when we were discussing the Brendan Luyt's article on who benefits from digital divide it suddenly began to click for me. At first when I was reading the article on my own I was a little confused and was not quite sure how this all relates to new media, it sounded like more of an economic issue. Now I understand that Internet and the social networking that we do on the Internet is all part of the new media world. If we do not look at the potential good and bad things that are going to happen with the Internet in the future all around the world we are simply being ignorant and taking it for granted.

I found the Information Capital topic to be the most interesting discussion that we have had so far in class. Probably because it hits close to home for me. My step-dad works in IT and they have just recently fired many of his coworkers in order to send their business over to India, where it is much cheaper. My step-dad has been fortunate enough to keep his job but his and my families life have been altered greatly because of these changes. Our house phone rings at least once every night between the hours of 1am-4am. This is because when the workers across the world have an issue during their day time, it is our night time. It is very frustrating to have to deal with this and has made my step-dad(and the rest of our family) resent a job he once loved. It is also frustrating for his co-workers in Indian because they had to learn, in a very short amount of time, how to deal with people in the United States and basically learn our cultures and customs even though some of them have never even been to the US and most likely will never travel here.

After listening to Dr. Akavan's lecture on the need for new markets for information technologies and reading the article I began to realize that maybe these countries do need a chance to learn about the Internet and they do deserve some of the jobs they are given because of all the hard work they put into learning our customs and dealing with difficult customers when taking customer service phone calls. So the question I leave unanswered because I am still unsure how I feel about it myself is... Should we stop sharing the goods? Or are we doing the right thing?