Mandatory Blog Post #10 - An arbitrary html table

I like making Tables Because

Stuff I Type	Italics	Bolds	Normal
Type of fruit	Banana	Apple	Tomato
Types of beards	Long	Short	Bushy
Types of numbers	Big	Small	Medium
Types of dinosaurs	Scary	Scarier	Dead
Types of types	This kind	That kind	The other kind

Mandaory Blog Pots #8 - When Did Stealing Become Okay?

Not a day goes by where I don't hear someone talking about something they torrented. Whether it be a new movie, a new album, a new television episode or anime. I am someone who loves to have a collection. I love looking over and seeing my stacks of comics or CD's. I collect not only because I want to show off, but because I wish to support the artists who make the things I love so much. Now, I don't want to be preachy and be all like:

 

But as someone who would someday like to be paid for his creativity, I wouldn't want my stuff stolen.

With the rise of digital media in the form of e-books, video games and distributors like steam, and mp3 markets; piracy is on the rise. These digital versions are cheaper and more convenient than the real thing, so why do people still want to steal them? They were designed with a cheaper price in mind. It is the same as shoplifting, but with very absent minded security guards on duty.

Before the Internet, piracy was all physical in the form of bootleg tapes and CD's. There was a market that one had to go to; it isn't much different on the internet, but now you don't have to pay. It may actually be easier now to torrent something then to punch in your credit card information, set up an account or deal with strict DRM after your purchase - *cough* iTunes *cough* Uplay *cough*.

Another barrier may be DRM's themselves. When you purchase a song off of iTunes, you don't own the song, you own the rights to play that song; if you don't remember your account information, then you cant listen to your music. Websites like Amazon give full ownership to their customers. They can share that music and it is not tied to an account. 

Torrenting has become a norm and is generally accepted by most people. We would look down and be frightened of a known shoplifter, but we don't think twice about a pirate. It's not all digital, there are real world repercussions.  

So, think twice before you digitally steal something. It is physical money you're denying to someone who deserves it. 

    

Mandatory Blog post #8 - Selfe

The invention of the computer changed the humanities forever. It was a type writer where you could make changes and corrections as you were typing. It was a way to do research without the need for physical books. It completely rocked the literary world.

In 1996, President Clinton announced the Technology Literacy Challenge, in which the government would fund efforts to strengthen technological literacy. Its goal was to have computers in every school, teach the teachers how to use them and finally, to teach the students. President Clinton saw the importance of computers and their role in literacy and the economy. He understood that computers were going to become a staple in the average persons life within the next few years. This meant that it was essential to the future of the country for everyone to learn how to use this important new technology.

The first step was to put computers into schools. This was accomplished, but not to everyone's liking. Many underfunded schools had fewer computers than other schools, so there were not enough computers for every student to use. The second step was to teach the teachers how to use these technologies. This was and still is an obstacle. Many teachers received less than eight hours worth of training and many still do not use computers in an effective way: they are used mainly for PowerPoint. The third step was to have the students understand them. This did happen, not because of the teachers, but because of the ease of access to computers; the students taught themselves.

Because the plan was to increase technological literacy, a lot of money was put into the success of the home computer. That plan worked and now the majority of homes in America have computers in them. That doesn't mean, however, that the users know what they're doing all of the time.

Many home computers are owned by older people who use it to maybe check their emails, see family on Facebook or to download dozens toolbars onto their browser. These people understand the bare essentials, but may still fall victim to Internet scams or malware ridden websites. This is understandable because computers were implemented into their lives much later, than say ours. Our generation has no excuse to not understand computers.


  
 It was the job of our teachers to teach us how to use computers. I know that I was taught ineffectively in my pre-college education, but I had a home computer so I was able to teach myself. I was never taught about online databases for research, I learned that in college. My school had plenty of computers, but we were never taught how to use them to their full potential. The problem that Selfe points out, is that even tough teachers were briefed on new technology, that they didn't implement them properly in their lesson plans. Many teachers simply used computers as an accessory rather than a tool to strengthen their lessons. Rather than using the computer to access databases during class, they were used for slideshows and the occasional YouTube video. This kind of treatment tells students that we can still get by without computers.

It is now impossible to ignore computers as they are present everywhere and are used for everything, including: credit cards, vending machines, cars and even voting. The Amish can only hold out for so much longer in the modern world.      
     

   

Mandatory Blog Post #7 - You ams Tofu

Whether or not you have eaten tofu is irrelevant; we all know about tofu. We know about its spongy, rubbery texture that true meat lovers will refuse to eat until death. It is made from congealed soy milk that is pressed into bricks and served with savory and sweet dishes. Many people would call tofu tasteless and bland, but those people haven't had it prepared correctly.

Tofu can absorb the flavor of anything around it. You can put it in a broth to have a tasty meat-like substance for protein, it can be grilled with BBQ sauce for a smokey flavor and much more. It is a good replacement for meat, as it contains a lot of protein, low fat and low cholesterol. It really is a beautiful thing.

When most people think of tofu, they think of this picture to the right. It is a good picture and representation of the true reality of tofu...


But the tofu that anyone who has enjoyed a good vegetarian dish knows it looks like this picture. See? Tofu can look good.

Now, I bet you're wondering why I am talking about tofu in a blog about new media, well, I have come to the conclusion that we are tofu. All of us who use new media like Facebook, Twitter and some who use sites like 4chan and Reddit are tofu. The Internet culture created by these sites is absorbed into the user, much like a flavor.

There are barely moments in ones daily life where there is a lack of Internet culture, memes and references to YouTube videos. Because we have access to all of these sites on our phones and tablets, we are constantly taking in this culture. A funny picture posted on Facebook will be seen by several people sitting in one room and instantaneously they have something in common. Those few people may share that photo and several more would be engaged. It is constantly changing color and flavor, just like tofu.

Since tofu absorbs a flavor, its base flavor changes and is a mixture of the new and old. Those of us born at the birth of the consumer computer and Internet are the most like this soybean curd. We grew up learning everything the old fashioned way, but at some point things changed and we all typed our papers and learned from Oregon trail. We still have traces of our old flavor, but we were introduced to a new environment and had to take it in, we had no choice. Those who were born within this new age of technology are more like meat, they are what they always were; they know what they were raised to know.

People are just rubbery, squishy and white blocks of tofu waiting to be flavored. It is so easy to flavor a person and the Internet has allowed for that to happen in mass amounts. The ease of access of information allows for any flavoring to happen at a fast rate. So, next time you see someone eating tofu, don't feel grossed out, just remember that it is just a blank slate that has been changed by its surroundings.

P.S. Don't you think its funny that tofu is flavoring other tofu with its own flavor? 



  








  


     

Mandatory Blog Post #6 - HTMLing

When I first began reading the textbook HTML, CSS and JavaScript by Julie C. Meloni, I couldn't imagine why I would ever use the languages on my blog. I still don't see a profound reason on this blog, but I definitely see a use for it when I eventually have to get my own website. This is going to be a shorter blog post, but I think that it will help us all understand that we can do some pretty cool things with these languages.

At first I thought that I would be confused and perplexed by HTML. I live with a few computer
scientists, so I have seen them program a lot of stuff. It all looked foreign to me, but my roommates assured me that it really was easy. The textbook does a really great job of teaching you these seemingly difficult computer languages. Just after a few chapters I feel like I will be able to do a lot more with computers than I ever would have thought possible. I can now identify some of the markup language in random websites and know what it is actually doing. HTML is pretty neat.

So, back to the task at hand; how will HTML, CSS, and JavaScript possibly help me with this blog? With my limited knowledge of these languages at the moment I won't be able to go into too much detail, but I can imagine the possibilities with what I already know.

HTML would allow me to place every word and line exactly where I wanted it on the page. I could make the blog any color, shape or font that I desire. Of course I would have to make sure that it works on every internet browser and mobile device. There is a lot to the language, but I can already tell that I will enjoy learning about it. Speaking of HTML, here is a silly example of it being put to good use. http://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

I could see a use for a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in the formatting of all of my blog posts. I would like to have a standard format for all of my posts where I could just fill in the blanks and not have to worry about white space or paragraphs being too long. Internal style sheets would still allow for variation among the posts to avoid monotony, but having a singular format would make my life a whole lot easier.

JavaScript would allow me to make silly little interactive images comics, or games for all you bloggers to click on with your mousy pointers. I think it would add a lot of depth to my blog and would allow me to show off my creative spirit.

Overall, learning these languages would be cool and all to make silly things on my blog, but I have to say that it is more important for me to actually know what I am using when I write on this blog or post on YouTube. I don't like using things without have some knowledge of how it's actually working.   
 

      

Mandatory Blog Post #5 - Opinions and Pixels and Scott McCloud

The 'infinite canvas' is a term coined by comic book writer, artist and theorist, Scott McCloud. He talks about it in his second book Reinventing Comics, which revolves around comics as high art and their place in the digital world. The book was written in 2000 just when the Internet and consumer computers were just becoming a big thing. He proposed, or rather, predicted a future where books, newspaper, movies, and comic books would be available digitally and for a lower price. He loved the idea of these mediums becoming digital because it would allow for faster and cheaper self publishing as well as more of a profit for the creators. Scott also believed in the virtually infinite space on the Internet would allow for more content, as well as more expression and growth in the arts, sciences and other media that was once limited by the finite space available on paper.

Reinventing Comics

As we all know, these predictions became a reality. Books are now much cheaper on the Kindle, movies can be bought digitally on Amazon for a fraction of the price, and some newspapers have resorted to digital only. Pixels are cheaper than paper to produce, distribute and purchase. This is horrible for people who enjoy the smell, feel, and taste of physical copies. I call them the collectophiles, they suffer from collectophilia.

Reinventing Comics

I am an avid collector of all things that I enjoy. I love comics, guitars, books, video games, Cd's, stupid toys, and all of that stuff. I have a lot of each and I love to show them off on my shelves and floor. I would prefer a physical copy over a digital, but that does not mean that digital media isn't the future and that we shouldn't welcome it with arms wide open and with plenty of space on our hard drives. Its inevitable that most if not all media will be digitized, so we better accept it.

The infinite canvas that I brought up earlier is the idea that because the Internet has nigh infinite space, that all printed media can and will go beyond its previous borders and limitations. An example is this blog that I am typing up right now. It is possible that I may extend this post for as long as I would ever need to. Unlike a sheet of paper, I don't run out of page space, I just keep on typing and the page goes on forever expanding until I hit the publish button; even then I have the option to continue editing this piece until these servers shut down. In Scott's case, the infinite comic book is a format of interactive panels that lead into each other and to other story arks, not unlike a choose your own adventure book. On the Internet, there are literally infinite possibilities.

I will miss the physical world when the digital world does take over, but I will be able accept all that it brings with it. I am willing to read a never ending comic book in a never ending world. I will miss my collection that may someday gather dust as I surf the digital world and uncover new and interesting things that creators have done to take advantage of the infinite canvas given to them.

I highly recommend reading more from Scott McCloud, even if you're not entirely interested in comics. He explores art history and loves talking about the artistic possibilities of new technology. His website is constantly updated and he's always working on new projects. A recent example is his comic-styled Google Chrome tutorial.  Here is a picture of some readings:

We have unlimited space to share our ideas, lets not push that away. Lets welcome it and all that it can do for us.
           

   

Mandatory Blog Post #4 - Emig and Brummett

It didn't take long for the Internet to become an integral part of everyone's lives. It began as an experiment in the 1960's known as the ARPANET and led to the development of protocols for internetworking. Internetworking is where multiple networks could be joined together in a network of networks.Since then it has grown into something much, much bigger and intricate. More people are using the Internet each and every year. Here I have some statistics that I copy and pasted from Wikipedia. The numbers were collected by the International Telecommunication Union.

Wikipedia is a credible source

This boom in interest came along with the invention of the laptop and maybe more importantly, the smartphone. When the iPhone hit the market it was insanely popular, and it allowed for its user to have access to the Internet no matter where they were. Other smartphones soon followed and now you can't even go to a movie theater without someone using their smartphone. Technology has taken over our lives and has affected how we perceive the world.

Janet Emig's analysis of inquiry paradigms brought up the idea of the governing gaze. The governing gaze is a persons preferred way of perceiving. Before the Internet, people had to find information through books or journals. This was the preferred way in academia and once the Internet came along, all of that changed. We were able to find anything at anytime and this shook the academic world because there was something completely new for everyone to learn from. The book purists thought the web was full of garbage that no one could take seriously and those who accepted it found that it was rich with knowledge and cat photos.

Because the Internet has grown so much, its influence in the world has changed some things for good. For instance, I don't print papers anymore, I hand them in digitally; I do all of my research online, I can't even remember the last time I cited a physical book for a major research paper. I approach academia at a much different direction than those before me, I don't think that I or anyone else can go back to the way it was before. Too much has changed and will continue to do so.

The Internet didn't just change the way we perceive, but what we perceive. Many futurists believe that humanity will at some time reach the omega point; that is the universe reaching its highest point in complexity and consciousness. Technology may be (it totally is) that next step in evolution that lifts humanity to its highest point. At some point in the near future, technology will create everything we know. Barry Brummett wrote a piece on epistemic rhetoric, it explored three different ways that rhetoric was epistemic: methodological, sociological, and ontological. The future of the internet is defiantly ontological. In the study, ontological, in terms of rhetoric, means that rhetoric creates everything that we know and understand about the world. The Internet may very well do the same. 

We have new ways of communicating and peoples lives are beginning to be shaped by the Internet. If the web is responsible for the majority of our communication, then it may overwhelm people who communicate face to face. We learn a great deal from the Internet and it is starting to change our daily lives. Some of us are on Facebook all day while other are on Twitter. Some spend their lunch breaks watching YouTube videos rather than talking to their coworkers. Instead of going home and interacting with family, people play video games or use their tablets.  Things are different now and I think it is pretty neat.

Technology has invaded our lives and  it's here to stay; no Geneva Convention will be able to change that. 

Mandatory Blog Post #3 - The Free Web

The internet has become a place for anyone to post anything. There are no expenses for print, copyright or trademark. And outside of paying for internet service, it is free to the average Joe and can be monetized for businesses to make a financial gain. It has infinite possibilities due to its creator friendly attitude. Dreams are born and grown on the internet.

Marshall McLuhan writes in his book, The Medium Is The Massage, about authorship and how it was brought about mainly by the invention of the printing press. Before its invention, individuals considered their intellect to be public domain and part of a collective effort towards a more knowledgeable world. Many medieval writers would simply not sign their names and considered themselves public servants. Literary fame was only a result of the printing press. Ideas were given owners and with them spawned a market of readers. Books would fly off the shelves if it had the right name on it.     

Because of this, copyright was born in an attempt to prevent theft and piracy of ideas; this was something that was not seen before. Rather than having a collective of ideas for everyone to own and use, we now have to ask permission and cite any idea that was not previously ours. This why I have to cite even the slightest amount of information in MLA for all of my papers. But with the invention of the internet we have begun to see a lack of real authorship and more of the old idea of public information. 

"Xerography-every man's a brain-picker." This quote from McLuhan (found on page 123), talks about xeroxing separate pages from separate books and combining them into one book about any subject. This would be something like an encyclopedia of knowledge. This sounds a lot like something we all use now... can you guess it?

Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia of the web. It is a return to the idea of knowledge available to the public for free, not to mention the missing name of the author(s). Wiki does cite all of its sources of information, but the article itself is free for use and is editable by the public. The ideas of medieval writers were not available to the public for editing and books, as a result, had only one point of view. Because of the ease-of-access to editing, an article may have varying ideas and points of views.  This allows for a vast amount of various content.

Wikipedia can also be updated within seconds of new information. Previously, there would have to be several editions of the same book every so often to edit mistakes and add content which would take several months, with Wiki there are no editions and no cost. With this easy access to information at such a fast rate, people are learning more now than ever.

There are also no notable authors to any of the articles. Wikipedia is a collective effort done mainly for the public good; with this we can see the return of literary writing as a public service. There are now multiple Wiki sites dedicated to several different fields including comic books, video games, and even card games. Knowledge on the internet is not shared for profit or admiration, but simply for the sake of education.

With the birth of the internet we are seeing a re-emergence of knowledge as public domain. This format is popular considering the amount of traffic that Wikipedia gets and how it is constantly under study. I can't wait for the day when colleges will allow for students to use Wikipedia as an academic source.

"Teamwork succeeds private efforts." - Marshall McLuhan.