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Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
You-Tube tailors itself for Korean Legislature
I chose this article for this week to showcase the vast differences within our changing world in relation to technology.
The article titled "You-Tube Cripples Itself to Protect Korea Users" talks about how a recent legislation in Korea demands You-Tube to make it mandetory for all users, from those commenting to those uploading videos, to enter their citizen identity numbers before using the site.
Google, seeing this as an invasion of privacy, simply responded by disabling all comments and video uploads in order to avoid conflict. They even notified Korean users that they could just change their "location" to a different country and once in their new account, change the language to Korean and upload and comment on videos as usually while still being anonymous.
I thought this was significant because we talked about privacy in our class and this article related to it. We are very lucky here in the U.S. that we have freedom of speech and honestly, I agree with the fact that a large company is fighting for the rights of individuals in other countries. i think it's great that a major company like Google is helping to branch out and support that in other countries that do not believe what we do. That way, the country's individuals can still have a voice...and aren't responsible for what they say or upload as long as it's not illegal.
(By illegal, i mean by U.S. standards because any kind of touchy subject would be illegal in Korea whereas here, for example, we can openly talk about pro-life or abortion, etc but it would be illegal to post a video threatening to kill the president, etc.)
Either way, I believe that Google handled the situation tastefully and hopefully there will not be any conflict over it.
The article titled "You-Tube Cripples Itself to Protect Korea Users" talks about how a recent legislation in Korea demands You-Tube to make it mandetory for all users, from those commenting to those uploading videos, to enter their citizen identity numbers before using the site.
Google, seeing this as an invasion of privacy, simply responded by disabling all comments and video uploads in order to avoid conflict. They even notified Korean users that they could just change their "location" to a different country and once in their new account, change the language to Korean and upload and comment on videos as usually while still being anonymous.
I thought this was significant because we talked about privacy in our class and this article related to it. We are very lucky here in the U.S. that we have freedom of speech and honestly, I agree with the fact that a large company is fighting for the rights of individuals in other countries. i think it's great that a major company like Google is helping to branch out and support that in other countries that do not believe what we do. That way, the country's individuals can still have a voice...and aren't responsible for what they say or upload as long as it's not illegal.
(By illegal, i mean by U.S. standards because any kind of touchy subject would be illegal in Korea whereas here, for example, we can openly talk about pro-life or abortion, etc but it would be illegal to post a video threatening to kill the president, etc.)
Either way, I believe that Google handled the situation tastefully and hopefully there will not be any conflict over it.
Visa Phone?
A new way to pay for things has been created by Visa in the form of the Visa Phone. Visa has produced a way to pay for transactions by linking your cell phone to your bank account through the internet access on your phone. when you are checking out, just wave your phone within 4 cm of the credit card device and it will scan all your info. Thus, charging your Visa card with you cell phone.
Currently only used in Malaysia, but plans for expansion will soon see it more places. The scanning system is similar to RFID, the radio frequency identification system already used in some stores in the U.S. It uses thin electronic stickers to transmit your card info over radio frequencies to charge your account. These stickers are often places on key chains or on the cards themselves and by waving them in front of the terminal device, they pay for the transaction.
I thought this article was significant because this provides a new way of paying for things rather than cash, check, or swiping a credit card. I believe it comes with many questions though such as;
1-Will it be easy for a thief to create a similar swiping system and steal my credit card number?
2-What if it doesn't work properly and I have no other money on me?
3-What if a thief steals my cell phone and starts waving it all over town buying things? Does it at least require a signature?
4-Could this possibly make it a little too easy to spend loads of money? If it's easy to swipe, consumers may not give it a second thought...which is good for manufacturers but not for your bank account.
I agree with this new technology just because it provides convienance but I don't agree that it's the best option. I think there are alot of question to be asked and answered of it in order for many people to feel comfortable using it.
Currently only used in Malaysia, but plans for expansion will soon see it more places. The scanning system is similar to RFID, the radio frequency identification system already used in some stores in the U.S. It uses thin electronic stickers to transmit your card info over radio frequencies to charge your account. These stickers are often places on key chains or on the cards themselves and by waving them in front of the terminal device, they pay for the transaction.
I thought this article was significant because this provides a new way of paying for things rather than cash, check, or swiping a credit card. I believe it comes with many questions though such as;
1-Will it be easy for a thief to create a similar swiping system and steal my credit card number?
2-What if it doesn't work properly and I have no other money on me?
3-What if a thief steals my cell phone and starts waving it all over town buying things? Does it at least require a signature?
4-Could this possibly make it a little too easy to spend loads of money? If it's easy to swipe, consumers may not give it a second thought...which is good for manufacturers but not for your bank account.
I agree with this new technology just because it provides convienance but I don't agree that it's the best option. I think there are alot of question to be asked and answered of it in order for many people to feel comfortable using it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Skype App Introduced on Iphone
Skype has now created an app for Iphone. In the article on the New York Times technology section of their website discussed how Skype was better than the two other existing apps for Iphone that do essentially the same thing.
Apps like "Fringe" and "Truphone" already deliver cheap skype VoIP to the Iphone but the major difference is that Skype on Iphone will be able to integrate your existing contacts into Skype. By just selecting a contact, Skype will open and connect as long as you are connected through Wi-Fi. You can also upload new profile pictures for Skype with the Iphone camera while experiencing clearer quality.
The only bad thing is that the phone requires the Wi-Fi connection when using Skype and won't work over voice and data frequencies on the phone.
I thought this was significant because Skype is a major tool used in a busy world where business trips and studying abroad as a student make communication a little easier. Those who have an Iphone and do alot of international or coast to coast communication with clients or even family and friends will find it easier with this free app through Skype.
I agree with this because next spring i may be abroad in Salamanca, Spain and will most likely be using Skype and any utility that makes it easier for me to contact my family and friends while i'm away would be beneficial. Although I do not have an Iphone, perhaps by then, the service will be available through other cell phone providers.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Photoshop Disasters!
The website i chose this week is about Photoshop Disasters.
The image above is from JCpenney and shows a girl missing her lower jaw! I thought that this site was important considering that we were working a little bit with photoshop. The site names 20 of the biggest photoshop disasters of 2008.
It is important to be aware of the mistakes made by major companies with photoshop because it means that even if a professional company is working on a graphic, mistakes can still happen.
I agree with this because anytime you create a graphic or even an article (in the case of a journalist), it is always a good idea to have an editor or peer look over your work. It is easy to miss a mistake in something that you've been looking at for hours and hours as you work on it. It's significant because if you are aware of common mistakes made, you can avoid the mistakes yourself.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Favorite Things
- Puppies!
- Shopping for vintage, 1950's clothes on Pinupgirlclothing.com
- Spending time with my family and friends
Friday, March 20, 2009
Annotated Bibliography: Library Digital Initiative
My annotated bibliography for IMS 201 was based on digitalization, preservation, and digital initiatives. I became interested in it after we toured the digital initiatives office at Miami and thought that more research on it would be interesting as well.
My article, which describes Harvard's digital initiatives program, talks about how the program was created, funded, and how it functions. The program was created in 1998 and will continue to receive funding until 2010. It was created to support the large amount of resources that Harvard continues to collect in an organized, coordinated way.
I thought this was an important article for my topic because it provided another example of another school that uses digital initiatives to organize their history.
My article, which describes Harvard's digital initiatives program, talks about how the program was created, funded, and how it functions. The program was created in 1998 and will continue to receive funding until 2010. It was created to support the large amount of resources that Harvard continues to collect in an organized, coordinated way.
I thought this was an important article for my topic because it provided another example of another school that uses digital initiatives to organize their history.
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