Week 6 - Photoshop

Graduating university, the asperation of all uni students, this is my representation of uni life.

Reference

This is high-tech, the newest video game console from Microsoft, the Xbox 360, it incorporates all the newest gaming technology, which is why it represents high-tech.

Reference

This picture represents friends well, as it is me with my mates at a party during the week off from uni.

I do not know the model of the camera used to take this picture, I will edit this post when I find out.

Current news issues seem to revolve around the war in Iraq, which I why I used this picture to represent news.

Reference
The beach represents summer time, hence why I have a picture of the beach to represent summer.

Reference
Unconventional. How many times do you see a puppy dog dressed up in flowers? I think that is pretty uncoventional, don't you?

Reference

Week 6 - Photoshop

This week we have to get some photo's that are not modified in Photoshop at all which represent or communicate;

- Friends
- High-Tech
- News
- Summer
- Unconventional
- University Life

Once we do that we have to write a short summary for each photo explaining why we believe that the picture represents the theme chosen.

Week 5 - Photoshop

This week we learn't how to use Photoshop.

I took a pic of Brian Dawkins and added it to an image of a Mushroom Cloud.

Week 4 - Search Engine Questions

What is a search engine?

A search engine is a searchable online database of internet resources. It has several components: search engine software, spider software, an index (database), and a relevancy algorithm (rules for ranking). The search engine software consists of a server or a collection of servers dedicated to indexing Internet Web pages, storing the results and returning lists of pages to match user queries. The spidering software constantly crawls the Web collecting Web page data for the index. The index is a database for storing the data. The relevancy algorithm determines how to rank queries. Examples of major search engines are Google, AOL, MSN and Lycos, etc.. Examples of major directories are Yahoo!, LookSmart and ODP.

(http://www.virtechseo.com/seoglossary.htm)

How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?

Pages listed are ones which contain text matching the search term. These are sorted in some kind of relevance order, usually based on the number of times the search terms appear, and whether they're in a title or header.

(http://hayleyshollers.blogspot.com/)

Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?

To get a top spot on the search engine your site must be "optimised" for the search engine. Optimization used to mean adding "keyword metatags" to your site header.

This practice is virtually ignored by most search engines. You now need to use sentences to describe what the page is about. A picture is worth 1000 words, but of the search engine cannot see your picture, then it is not worth a thing.

Optimising your website using search engine optimization means that you must make your website easily navigable by humans, so that humans can find what they are looking for quickly. The search engine algorithms, or programs, are built to promote sites that do this, and they do this using search engine rules.

(http://www.computerengineering.ca/getting_started_with_web_hosting/)

What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?

I use Google exclusivly. No other reason than it is my homepage.

Can you find some current news stories about search engines?

Google buys Youtube!

Week 4 - Scavenger Hunt

Complete the Scavenger Hunt questions by using a search engine that isn't Google, and post your answers in your blog:

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean ?
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?

1. 1061 pounds (reference - http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmay99.htm)

2. Miami Swimming ClubPO BOX 2461BURLEIGH QLD 4220 (reference -http://granthackettonline.free.fr/?page_id=107)

3. A giraffe can extend its tongue for as much as 45 cm (18 in) (reference - http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561060/Giraffe.html)

4. Ontology can be said to study conceptions of reality (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology)

5. Stereo (1969) (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg#Filmography_as_Director)

6. January 8, 1986. (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Manifesto)

7. In 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration began accepting applications for nationwide 555 numbers (outside the fictitious 555-01XX range). This would mean that a consumer from any area code could dial a seven-digit number such as 555-TACO, and the owners of that number could connect the call to the taco vendor nearest to the consumer. However, according to a 2003 New York Times article, the desired functionality requires the cooperation of local phone authorities, and most phone vendors have been reluctant to cooperate, perhaps wary of undermining the lucrative business of selling toll-free telephone numbers. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved. (reference - http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/16094)

8. By Ferry (reference - http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html)

9. I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers (reference - http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm)

10. Black Assasin's (reference - http://www.brisbanewritersfestival.com.au/2005/content/standard.asp?name=StockwellS)

Week 4 - Library Database Exercises

Alrighty, week 4 rolls around and we are actually doing work, albiet basically a 'keep busy' exercise. Here is what we had to do:

1) The first task is for library searches: search the library catalogue and find a resource that will help you formulate your essay topic.

2) Go to the full-text database search via the library website and find three academic articles that relate to the topic of your first essay. Write a report to post in your blog that summarises the key points in the articles, and comment on how this task has helped you formulate your topic.

3) For the Mailing List part, find some academic mailing lists that are related to the kinds of things we study in Communication and Digital Technologies (internet studies, new media studies, etc). Find out the names and websites of two academic lists and write a post about them.
4) Complete the Scavenger Hunt questions by using a search engine that isn't Google, and post your answers in your blog.

Exercise 1:
eBook found by searching the Library database on the subject the history of the internet, which my essay may be on: A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.

Exercise 2:
- A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.

For the first time we actually have an opportunity for a whole world's population to share not only air or water, but also to share the world of ideas, of art or of music and other sounds. Think of the time and effort people save simply by being able to consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, thesaurus or other reference book, a newspaper or magazine library of vast proportions, or a library of a thousand books of the greatest works of all history without even having to get up and go to the bookcase. There is no longer any reason to "do it the hard way" as you will see below, and on the Internet. (sourced from the above url)

- Inventing the Internet / Janet Abbate.

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, computing technology underwent a dramatic transformation: the computer, originally conceived as an isolated calculating device, was reborn as a means of communication. But in the early 1960s, when computers were scarce, expensive, and cumbersome, using a computer for communication was almost unthinkable. A scientist who needed to use a distant computer might find it easier to get on a plane and fly to the machine's location to use it in person. Founded by the Air Force in 1946 as an outgrowth of operations research efforts initiated during World War II, Rand (originally RAND, derived from "research and development") was a nonprofit corporation dedicated to research on military strategy and technology. Strangelove turns to "the Bland Corporation'' when he needs advice on nuclear strategy. Because its approach to systems analysis emphasized quantitative models and simulation, Rand was also active in computer science research (Edwards 1996, pp.)

- Online timeline

An article by David Carlson, including a description of work on his timeline, begins on page 68. The Online Timeline from which this is adapted can be found at http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/timeline.shtml. (sourced from this website)

By using the Griffith online database to do this exercise I have learn't how to use the library database, which will come in handy when I have to start writing all my assesments for this and other courses. Also, by finding some eBooks on the topic that I may write my essay on I have been able to gain a little more of an understanding on the history of the internet and its development.

Exercise 3:
Mailing list 1 - http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/contact.htm

The Institute for New Media Studies is a center for creation, innovation, and examination of content and messages and the affects of new media technologies and techniques on their forms and functions. The goal is the imagining and testing of innovative forms, development of new knowledge about functions, and generation of greater understanding of the impacts of these changes in the media landscape. (sourced from http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/mission.htm)

Mailing list 2 - http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org

The Association of Internet Researchers is an academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. It is a member-based support network promoting critical and scholarly Internet research independent from traditional disciplines and existing across academic borders. The association is international in scope. ( sourced from http://www.aoir.org/)

Week 3 - Communication Types Exercise

I have to talk about how I communicate with my friends and family through communication technologies.

The tech that I generally use is email, instant messaging and Xbox Live.

I don't generally talk to family members using internet technologies, I talk to them over the phone, be it landline or mobile or in person, as most of my family though does live away (not immediate though) I use the phone.

Friends though I generally talk to via Instant Messaging services and email, as well as Xbox Live.

I use Windows messenger to talk to mates via the internet, the IM confersations are very casual just as if i was talking to them in person, though we do very often share links with each other.

Email I don't use as much to talk to friends, I generally use email for online newsletters, keeping in touch with the university and info from sporting teams, websites I am a member of etc.

Xbox Live however is very different. I play video games with people (generally those who I have never met, sometimes from overseas) and have the ability with the right periphials to talk to them and even see them, though to see them you need an Xbox webcam, which I don't have as I don't think its worth the money as it isn't fully used yet by game developers.

Speaking to people that I don't know over Xbox Live isn't that different to people that I do know as you very quickly become 'friends' with the people, you also know their basic likes and dislikes due to the profile on their gamercard.

I don't talk to people I don't know over IM, but I do on things such as forums, but generally these forums are specialist (i.e. Sydney Roosters forums) so we all know we like at least one thing the same.

I have been using IM, email and forums for a long time, probably since I started using the net, but due to not having broadband until recently I have only had Xbox Live since the 1st of Feb 07.

Basically I started using this tech cause my mates were (in regards to IM, email, forums, etc) but I always wanted to use Xbox Live because I love the idea of online gaming, plus games have a MUCH longer life span when you can use multi-player.