Well, this week we were encouraged to delve into the online realms of 3D IM....and all I can say is that I was less than impressed.
First, I tried 'Activeworlds'. Not only did the first few attempts leave me staring at a blank screen after probing for a credit card number, I was inundated with billions of screens telling me about programs I simply must download in order for it to work. After my 4th try, I managed to do something right, and I got in. However, by this stage I had lost interest and really couldn't even be bothered working out which character I was.
The second site I went to was Haboo Hotel. Although it was significantly easier to get into, I wasn't really keen on the plain graphics. I also failed to get really keen on the fact that I could 'visit the cinema in this virtual world!!'. Yay :
After taking my little Lego-lookalike body for a stroll down these make-believe streets I found myself losing interest again.
Clearly, I wasn't fully enthusiastic about this Internet field trip.
Lastly, I decided to give the world of 3D IM one last chance, and tried IMVU.
I thought I had made a breakthrough. The registration process was easy, and I liked having a pretty detailed say into what my avatar looked like.
But once I was in....no one wanted to talk to me. I was the definition of a virtual loner.....It could have maybe had something to do with the fact that even if someone were to talk to me, I wouldn't really know how to respond, but still it's more fun to be dramatic.
So, yet again, I logged out of the labyrinth of screens and felt relieved to make it throught the 3D IM trauma unscathed.
I reallly think I'll just stick to Msn. It's simple, no fuss, I know exactly who I'm talking to because you have full power when it comes to who ends up on your contact list, and you don't have to worry about messing around with little Avatar lookalikes.
Maybe 3D IM is taking it a little too far....is it really necessary to have a virtual world inside your computer, when you can just step outside?
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
My sweet editing skills....
Ok so here are some of my photos after I've played around with them a little in Photoshop.
With this one, I used the 'Glow' tool to maximise the sunshine reflection on the water. I also included some text in the corner.
Basically, I didn't change the resolution of effect of the image itself. Rather, I just decided to add some printed text to explain the story of the photo and added a black border to make it more official looking.
With this one, I used the Neon tool and instead of having a blue glow, I chose the grey colour instead. Then I simply used the rotate tool multiple times, each time repeating the Neon effect to create the black in the background.
Here, I used the same Neon filter, with a Grey glow. I also cropped the image a little, and then added the words UNI BAR along the top...simply for decoration.
With this one, I used the 'Glow' tool to maximise the sunshine reflection on the water. I also included some text in the corner.
Basically, I didn't change the resolution of effect of the image itself. Rather, I just decided to add some printed text to explain the story of the photo and added a black border to make it more official looking.
With this one, I used the Neon tool and instead of having a blue glow, I chose the grey colour instead. Then I simply used the rotate tool multiple times, each time repeating the Neon effect to create the black in the background.
Here, I used the same Neon filter, with a Grey glow. I also cropped the image a little, and then added the words UNI BAR along the top...simply for decoration.
Unedited Photo's
The first part of the task was to take some basic photos that are not modified in Photoshop at all which represent or communicate some certain ideas. Some of these photo's may be slightly older, but I have personally photographed most of them on my digital camera.
Summer:
I took this last December when I went to America. It's atHanaumo Bay in Hawaii and is probably the nicest place ever! Anyway, it basically sums up the idea of Summer to me, considering that's where I spent my summer holiday.
News:
Now I know this isn't the conventional idea of 'news', but I think it has relevance. This was taken at Santa Monica Beach (once again from my USA trip) and if you can see, all the white crosses symbolise all the American soldiers who have died in Iraq. But what I found most interesting, was a note beside the crosses which said 'If there was a cross for every Iraqi dead because of the 'war on terrorism' the whole beach would be filled'. To me, this is relevant to the concept of news, as it is a topic heavily focused on by the media.
Unconventional:
Haha, so basically when I managed to get a dart into a brickwall. Unconventional enough, yeah?
Friends:
Colette, Courtney (aka Wally), and Katie. <3
Hi-tech:
I didn't really have a picture for 'hi-tech' so I just took something from a Google Image Search on the subject (www.hitech-j.net)
University Life:
These are my mates Kerry and Clarissa. Basically sums up what we do in our spare time at Uni ie. hit up the bar, and eat. Haha.
Summer:
I took this last December when I went to America. It's atHanaumo Bay in Hawaii and is probably the nicest place ever! Anyway, it basically sums up the idea of Summer to me, considering that's where I spent my summer holiday.
News:
Now I know this isn't the conventional idea of 'news', but I think it has relevance. This was taken at Santa Monica Beach (once again from my USA trip) and if you can see, all the white crosses symbolise all the American soldiers who have died in Iraq. But what I found most interesting, was a note beside the crosses which said 'If there was a cross for every Iraqi dead because of the 'war on terrorism' the whole beach would be filled'. To me, this is relevant to the concept of news, as it is a topic heavily focused on by the media.
Unconventional:
Haha, so basically when I managed to get a dart into a brickwall. Unconventional enough, yeah?
Friends:
Colette, Courtney (aka Wally), and Katie. <3
Hi-tech:
I didn't really have a picture for 'hi-tech' so I just took something from a Google Image Search on the subject (www.hitech-j.net)
University Life:
These are my mates Kerry and Clarissa. Basically sums up what we do in our spare time at Uni ie. hit up the bar, and eat. Haha.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Essay Topic
Out of all the lectures, one particular theory has stuck with me: Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message". McLuhan proposed that the media itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study.
I think I will particularly look at how his theories relate to societies current issues with media ie. is violence on television affecting children etc.
1.
Marshall McLuhan : cosmic media / Janine Marchessault. Author: Marchessault, Janine.Publication: London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE, 2005.
There is a chapter in this titled "Murder by television" which would be helpful in deconstructing his theory on how it does not matter if television broadcasts children's shows or violent programming, the effect of television on society would be identical. ** This article also includes some criticism of McLuhan - important to gather more than one view on the topic**
Title:
McLuhan: pro & con / edited and with an introd. by Raymond Rosenthal.
Author:
Rosenthal, Raymond B.
Publication:
Baltimore,Md. : Penguin, 1969,c1968.
Description:
308 p ; 21 cm.
Subjects:
McLuhan, Marshall, 1911-. Mass media -- Psychological aspects.
------As the name suggests, this would be important in gathering the pros and cons of McLuhans argument.
3.
Title:
Understanding Media [electronic resource]
Author:
Mcluhan, Marshall
Edition:
2nd.
Publication:
Hoboken : Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2001.
Description:
399 p.
Notes:
Electronic reproduction
**McLuhan's actual text where he explains his theory on the 'medium and the message'.
I think I will particularly look at how his theories relate to societies current issues with media ie. is violence on television affecting children etc.
1.
Marshall McLuhan : cosmic media / Janine Marchessault. Author: Marchessault, Janine.Publication: London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE, 2005.
There is a chapter in this titled "Murder by television" which would be helpful in deconstructing his theory on how it does not matter if television broadcasts children's shows or violent programming, the effect of television on society would be identical. ** This article also includes some criticism of McLuhan - important to gather more than one view on the topic**
Title:
McLuhan: pro & con / edited and with an introd. by Raymond Rosenthal.
Author:
Rosenthal, Raymond B.
Publication:
Baltimore,Md. : Penguin, 1969,c1968.
Description:
308 p ; 21 cm.
Subjects:
McLuhan, Marshall, 1911-. Mass media -- Psychological aspects.
------As the name suggests, this would be important in gathering the pros and cons of McLuhans argument.
3.
Title:
Understanding Media [electronic resource]
Author:
Mcluhan, Marshall
Edition:
2nd.
Publication:
Hoboken : Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2001.
Description:
399 p.
Notes:
Electronic reproduction
**McLuhan's actual text where he explains his theory on the 'medium and the message'.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Scavenger Hunt
SCAVENGER HUNT: using www.yahoo.com
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
1,502 pounds
"Coventry 'pumpkin king' grows mother of all pumpkins"
By NICOLE WIETRAK
10/14/2006
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1720&dept_id=74554&newsid=17324876&PAG=461&rfi=9
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
I could only find FAN websites!
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
A giraffe's tongue is 18 to 20 inches (46 to 50 centimeters)
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html
4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean ?
Ontology is the study of being or existence. To me, it means challenging the concepts of reality of the idea of 'self'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
Stereo (1969) (also writer, cinematographer, editor)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg#Bibliographies
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
written January 8, 1986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker's_Manifesto
7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
FOR MANY years, 555 was unassigned as a dialling code in the US and could thus be used to prefix fictional numbers with impunity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2357,00.html
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
Flying is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way of getting to Crete to Rhodes.
http://www.statravel.co.nz/cps/rde/xchg/nz_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travel_guide_to_greece.htm?dest=131046&sec=transport.xsl
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers
http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
Stephen played keyboard for Brisbane punk band, the Black Assassins.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
- What is a search engine?
An online program that searches websites for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found.
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines rank sites in different ways:
some engines list sites by how many times your keywords appear. The more often a keyword is found, the higher the rank
some engines rank sites by counting how many other sites are linked to them
some engines put paid listings on top
http://www-navigator.utah.edu/module3/searchengines.htm
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?
The relevance and if the word is being used numerous times or even in the same context.
what are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
I tend to use Google almost all of the time because it always seems to find whatever I need. It also it really easy to navigate, for example, looking for images is incredibly simple.
Can you find some current news stories about search engines? (for example, Google has been in the technology news a bit lately).
"Google has poured cold water on claims it is developing a mobile phone."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/mobiles--handhelds/google-quashes-mobile-phone-talk/2007/03/21/1174153139660.html
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
1,502 pounds
"Coventry 'pumpkin king' grows mother of all pumpkins"
By NICOLE WIETRAK
10/14/2006
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1720&dept_id=74554&newsid=17324876&PAG=461&rfi=9
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
I could only find FAN websites!
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
A giraffe's tongue is 18 to 20 inches (46 to 50 centimeters)
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html
4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean ?
Ontology is the study of being or existence. To me, it means challenging the concepts of reality of the idea of 'self'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
Stereo (1969) (also writer, cinematographer, editor)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg#Bibliographies
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
written January 8, 1986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker's_Manifesto
7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
FOR MANY years, 555 was unassigned as a dialling code in the US and could thus be used to prefix fictional numbers with impunity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2357,00.html
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
Flying is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way of getting to Crete to Rhodes.
http://www.statravel.co.nz/cps/rde/xchg/nz_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travel_guide_to_greece.htm?dest=131046&sec=transport.xsl
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers
http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
Stephen played keyboard for Brisbane punk band, the Black Assassins.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
- What is a search engine?
An online program that searches websites for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found.
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines rank sites in different ways:
some engines list sites by how many times your keywords appear. The more often a keyword is found, the higher the rank
some engines rank sites by counting how many other sites are linked to them
some engines put paid listings on top
http://www-navigator.utah.edu/module3/searchengines.htm
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?
The relevance and if the word is being used numerous times or even in the same context.
what are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
I tend to use Google almost all of the time because it always seems to find whatever I need. It also it really easy to navigate, for example, looking for images is incredibly simple.
Can you find some current news stories about search engines? (for example, Google has been in the technology news a bit lately).
"Google has poured cold water on claims it is developing a mobile phone."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/mobiles--handhelds/google-quashes-mobile-phone-talk/2007/03/21/1174153139660.html
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tutorial Task Wk. 3
Write a post about how you use new communication technologies to communicate with your friends and family:
Well, that above is really the main reason I use communication technologies. That and entertainment.
Whilest I'm not really into meeting completely random people in chatrooms or adding total strangers on myspace, I do think it is a positive way to enhance your social network (even though sitting at home on the computer doesn't always seem like a very social thing to do).
I mainly use MSN to communicate - sometimes its even easier then texting my friends.
But now MySpace has arisen, I'm pretty much addicted to that too.
Technologies like these mainly spread through word of mouth, and soon enough you get curious and join in to find out what it's all about.
It happened with Hotmail, MSN, and now Myspace. Soon I bet something else will come up that will no doubtedly make some techno-whiz a whole lot of money, and take up a whole lot of our spare time!
Some people say that things like Myspace are a "waste of time", "mindless entertainment", or just plain pointless. I disagree. Could anyone think of another program that could have millions of people around the world using html codes without a second thought? I thought I was a technical mess and that anything Tech i tried to do would fail horribly. But, through these new communicaton technologies I feel more confident, and no matter what anyone says, I think it's a skill!It's also a pretty big reflection on today's society too. I think it's a positive thing to adapt and accept new technologies and ideas; it's the only way we can keep up with things in this world.
Well, that above is really the main reason I use communication technologies. That and entertainment.
Whilest I'm not really into meeting completely random people in chatrooms or adding total strangers on myspace, I do think it is a positive way to enhance your social network (even though sitting at home on the computer doesn't always seem like a very social thing to do).
I mainly use MSN to communicate - sometimes its even easier then texting my friends.
But now MySpace has arisen, I'm pretty much addicted to that too.
Technologies like these mainly spread through word of mouth, and soon enough you get curious and join in to find out what it's all about.
It happened with Hotmail, MSN, and now Myspace. Soon I bet something else will come up that will no doubtedly make some techno-whiz a whole lot of money, and take up a whole lot of our spare time!
Some people say that things like Myspace are a "waste of time", "mindless entertainment", or just plain pointless. I disagree. Could anyone think of another program that could have millions of people around the world using html codes without a second thought? I thought I was a technical mess and that anything Tech i tried to do would fail horribly. But, through these new communicaton technologies I feel more confident, and no matter what anyone says, I think it's a skill!It's also a pretty big reflection on today's society too. I think it's a positive thing to adapt and accept new technologies and ideas; it's the only way we can keep up with things in this world.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
La Jetee
After the lecturer briefly introduced the the concept of French New Wave Cinema to us, the lights were dimmed and a dodgy quality film filled the screen in front of us.
Slightly confused, I watched as random black and white still images began to play, a French voice narrating - extremely grateful for subtitles.
I admit it took me awhile to understand that it was, in fact, a science fiction film we were watching, and not some Cold War biography.
Finally, the concept of the film revealed itself. It was about a post-nuclear war experiment on time travel. I was quite pleased that it didn't attempt to refer to the good old time machine idea, but rather explored the idea that we could travel throught time via our thoughts and dreams.
However strange the movie was, I still appreciated it.
From a technological point of view, the idea was groundbreaking. I can see why it inspired such films as Twelve Monkeys etc.
So apparently, the idea of New wave cinema is to use simple methods to tell challenging stories - to bring intellectual plots to the big screen.
Well, I guess I could certainly say that the topic made you think. Could it actually be possible to time travel...and in such a way that we could simply use our mind power to change the space/time continuim?
Personally, everything I've learnt in school as 'common sense' rejects this theory of time travel, unless there has been some sort of mind blowing technological advance.
But the thought that someone did come up with this idea, especially in the 1960's, just goes to show that although our minds may not be able to travel through time, they are capable of formulating ideas that will challenge society for years to come.
Slightly confused, I watched as random black and white still images began to play, a French voice narrating - extremely grateful for subtitles.
I admit it took me awhile to understand that it was, in fact, a science fiction film we were watching, and not some Cold War biography.
Finally, the concept of the film revealed itself. It was about a post-nuclear war experiment on time travel. I was quite pleased that it didn't attempt to refer to the good old time machine idea, but rather explored the idea that we could travel throught time via our thoughts and dreams.
However strange the movie was, I still appreciated it.
From a technological point of view, the idea was groundbreaking. I can see why it inspired such films as Twelve Monkeys etc.
So apparently, the idea of New wave cinema is to use simple methods to tell challenging stories - to bring intellectual plots to the big screen.
Well, I guess I could certainly say that the topic made you think. Could it actually be possible to time travel...and in such a way that we could simply use our mind power to change the space/time continuim?
Personally, everything I've learnt in school as 'common sense' rejects this theory of time travel, unless there has been some sort of mind blowing technological advance.
But the thought that someone did come up with this idea, especially in the 1960's, just goes to show that although our minds may not be able to travel through time, they are capable of formulating ideas that will challenge society for years to come.
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