Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Cine-Speak Week 3
The cinema. Oh lordy yes, I cried, for I have studied Screen History and Analysis, and find it so interesting to learn the technical aspects of various art forms. Overall, I don't watch much television, but every now and then, I may (not indicting myself of any crime) download a very hard to find silent film. I love those rascals. Charlie Chaplin, meow.
But back on topic. the lecture discussed the basics of film production and narrative development. The lecturer talked about the importance of 'shots as words', a phrase I really love, considering that silent film relied heavily on the audience being able to interpret pure action on screen. The who, what, where, why, when, and how, have to answered for the audience to understand what is happening.
It was also interesting listening to the development of the cinema and television to what it has become today, with mass video's, spoof series, cartoon channels, and just about anything else you could ever want on the net, easily available at the click of a mouse.
Below is an extract from one of my favourite movies, "Me, And You, And Everyone We Know". It's a scene that is in relation to the communication between two lonely strangers, and well, it's kind of hard to explain, but fantastic nonetheless.
The Future of Communication Technologies?
An interesting video on someone's predictions about the future of technology and software giants. Kind of scary, and the narrator sounds like the Apple avator on crack.
A Short History on Computing & the Internet
Before this lecture my knowledge on the history of computers and internet was limited. Actually, I knew a few names associated with a few companies, but nothing like the information I was about to learn. I find this quite peculiar considering how much of an impact these technologies have on my day to day existence. Thanks to the work of men and women like Baggage, Byron, Turing, Gates, Jobs, and Wozniak, I can sit in my lounge chair with my MacBook on my lap, switching between the screens of my facebook, chess game, online novel, and this assignment, and live my postmodern life with unchallenged ease.
To my suprise, the first computer had its origins in the 19th century. Charles Babbage was a British inventor who was the first person to envision the design of the modern computer. His first computer-related invention was the 'Difference Engine', a mechanical device that was designed to calculate and print mathematical tables, which was the first mechanical processing computer. His designs facilitated in the future development of the modern computer.
The major development of computers was achieved in the 20th century by Alan Turing. Turing workedwith teams of mathematicians and cryptographers to create 'The Bombe', a computer used to break secret German 'Enigma' codes. This age of computer development made significant breakthroughs in the usage of the computers, and spurred future studies into how computers could successfully aid humans in technological progress.
During the years between 1978-2000, the computer became person, thanks to developments by names like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Steve Woznaik. These men and their affiliated companies, Apple and Microsoft, transformed the computer from big, household unfriendly processors to the personal PC. For years, Apple reigned supreme in the computing market, but that changed with the development of Windows by Gates. The program was a huge success and challenged Apple's dominance of the market. After some turbulance from the release of Windows, Apple steadily grew in popularity within the past 10 years.
After the major developments of computers, computer programmers saw the need for a way in which to connect computers to one another to share information, commonly referred to as the internet. The idea first emerged from the RAND Corporation during the 1960's, but it wasn't until the 1990's that major developments in creating this interconnectivity emerged. The development of the World Wide Web signaled a new era of communication. Although, the technology took a few years to emerge into the general consciousness and work out the minor bits and bots, the web is now a massive sea which we swim in each day. It allows users to connect to anything and everything without censorship.
Personally, I grew up in a place of little technology (the rainforest). However, once moving to the city, I discovered the wonder of the internet and computers. My life is now infused with technology. It is like another extension to my body. I use computers for study, staying in touch with friends, networking, and sharing my creative works with complete strangers. And it still amazes me
To my suprise, the first computer had its origins in the 19th century. Charles Babbage was a British inventor who was the first person to envision the design of the modern computer. His first computer-related invention was the 'Difference Engine', a mechanical device that was designed to calculate and print mathematical tables, which was the first mechanical processing computer. His designs facilitated in the future development of the modern computer.
The major development of computers was achieved in the 20th century by Alan Turing. Turing workedwith teams of mathematicians and cryptographers to create 'The Bombe', a computer used to break secret German 'Enigma' codes. This age of computer development made significant breakthroughs in the usage of the computers, and spurred future studies into how computers could successfully aid humans in technological progress.
During the years between 1978-2000, the computer became person, thanks to developments by names like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Steve Woznaik. These men and their affiliated companies, Apple and Microsoft, transformed the computer from big, household unfriendly processors to the personal PC. For years, Apple reigned supreme in the computing market, but that changed with the development of Windows by Gates. The program was a huge success and challenged Apple's dominance of the market. After some turbulance from the release of Windows, Apple steadily grew in popularity within the past 10 years.
After the major developments of computers, computer programmers saw the need for a way in which to connect computers to one another to share information, commonly referred to as the internet. The idea first emerged from the RAND Corporation during the 1960's, but it wasn't until the 1990's that major developments in creating this interconnectivity emerged. The development of the World Wide Web signaled a new era of communication. Although, the technology took a few years to emerge into the general consciousness and work out the minor bits and bots, the web is now a massive sea which we swim in each day. It allows users to connect to anything and everything without censorship.
Personally, I grew up in a place of little technology (the rainforest). However, once moving to the city, I discovered the wonder of the internet and computers. My life is now infused with technology. It is like another extension to my body. I use computers for study, staying in touch with friends, networking, and sharing my creative works with complete strangers. And it still amazes me
The God of Apple
Steve Wozniak: Apple Computer Co-Founder
Steve is a big guy. Possibly bigger than God. He's a smart guy too. Possibly smarter than God. Hell, Steve may actually be God.
* Chant starts: "Steve God, Steve God, Steve God"*
Photo from flikr by Edward Woods
Week 1 Lecture Reflection
Communication was once a simple act whereby a speaker produces a message that is heard by a listener. These days, with the advancement of communication technologies and broad scale broadcasting, information is no longer clear and relies on the interpretation of the listener. The new media of the 21st century woman and man, such as: CD-ROM, internet, social networks, YouTube, web logs, etc, etc, are steadily replacing the sources from which we used to gather our information. With this information pool rapidly expanding, one must ask themselves about the factuality of our growing database of knowledge. Coupled with the development of analog and digital technology, the world is hastily being connected, opening up new areas for which one can study and work.
The popularity and availability of the internet has seen the improvement of technologies and social interconnectivity within both the World Wide Web and the actual world. As exciting and new as the digital world is, it is my opinion that looking outside is reality.
"There are managers so preoccupied with their e-mail messages that they never look up from their screens to see what's happening in the nondigital world"-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Consume me
Greetings from the keyboard. I should probably introduce myself, so hey I'm Sam, & that's a Sam in the female version. Oh yeah..
About me? Well, I'm 19, on the crest of becoming 20, studying a BA Communications. I'm doing this to get my GPA up so I can transfer to a BA of Creative Industries at QUT, & learn how to be a generic creative professional. Not really, but my humour is not easily transferable over the complex wires, signals, inputs, & outputs of the World Wide Web.
As you can probably tell, I'm not much of a computer person. This probably stems from my paranoia about how much of my information is available to sources that I do not grant permission too. Too help me overcome this fear (& too enable me connect to the holy bible of the web), I have created various aliases. Secret web aliases.
*Tumble weeds blows past, as an eerie wind whistles through an empty valley*
Sometimes this makes me feel as if I were some kind of superhero, but not the cool, spandex-clad femme fatales that grace the pages of glossy comics, more so the cheap, Hong-Kong version of a Hollywood classic.
Wow. So I'm going to cut it short here now kids. After all, mystery is sexy, & sex sells.
Over & out. SS
About me? Well, I'm 19, on the crest of becoming 20, studying a BA Communications. I'm doing this to get my GPA up so I can transfer to a BA of Creative Industries at QUT, & learn how to be a generic creative professional. Not really, but my humour is not easily transferable over the complex wires, signals, inputs, & outputs of the World Wide Web.
As you can probably tell, I'm not much of a computer person. This probably stems from my paranoia about how much of my information is available to sources that I do not grant permission too. Too help me overcome this fear (& too enable me connect to the holy bible of the web), I have created various aliases. Secret web aliases.
*Tumble weeds blows past, as an eerie wind whistles through an empty valley*
Sometimes this makes me feel as if I were some kind of superhero, but not the cool, spandex-clad femme fatales that grace the pages of glossy comics, more so the cheap, Hong-Kong version of a Hollywood classic.
Wow. So I'm going to cut it short here now kids. After all, mystery is sexy, & sex sells.
Over & out. SS
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