Man...the topic today was about Smart Mobs and Mobile Computing, but for the first hour we mostly talked about cell phones. There are some pretty good articles here that I might use for my student presentation, which is on the mobile phone culture. All this talk about cell-phone technology evolving year after year is interesting because they are making phones with video recording capabilities, cameras, internet access, and perhaps much more in the coming years. I don't believe that any one of these accessories listed above will just become a fad...Why? It's because each one of these accessories has tons of room to improve technologically. The camera phone may take crappy photos now, but wait another year or so, and maybe they'll add another 2-5 megapixels. A friend of mine has a neat video phone which he bought from HongKong, the video play is actually good, not too choppy. Unfortunately that phone was like $400 bucks or so, which I'd never pay for. It's strange to hear that America is five years behind in cell phone technology, and perhaps that's the reason why my batteries for the phone drain so quickly. Text messaging is also another big thing that will spread within the phone culture here in the U.S. Sometimes texting someone is much more convenient and necessary than calling them, and people will begin using this function much more. I think it will become more popular than texting people online through aol, trillian, or msn.   ¶ 9:35 PM

  Hey...I'm doing this one ahead one day b/c it's my favorite topic "Computer Games"!! But man, there's so much reading to do for this topic; didn't know there was that much to computer games 'til now. Well, by reading the articles I've got a greater understanding towards how computer games can 'suck us' into it's world. I especially liked the article which portrayed video games as an art form. I wholeheartedly agree that some games are definitely great artworks, and maybe some aren't that great. Some of the best games in my opinion are SimCity, Final Fantasy 7, Zelda, and Civilization II. These games should be lauded for their ability to captivate the audience with great graphics and/or progression throughout the game. Other games such as CounterStrike have their own way of capturing our minds by the way of total control from the player and a whole world of interaction with other players online. These kinds of games spur up a sense of community and interaction that is unprecedented outside of reality. The time will soon come when we would be able to look back and see a canon of great works in the computer gaming world. Then, like any other work of art whether it be visual or audio, computer games would have their place.   ¶ 10:50 PM

  Man, thursday's topic on digital art was pretty hardcore, well, considering the fact that I've never seen pornographic material in class. Yes, I believe that the digital diary of Natacha was indeed pornographic and not something at all to be admired. The assigned reading of her interview seemed like reading the responses of a narcissist, which was really tiring and uninteresting for me to read. People think differently on the concept of art and pornography. Her work may follow a certain technique, which is always the foundation of art, but it is so unrespectful of herself i believe. Posting something she'd do in private like giving blowjobs and getting urinated on is indeed self-degradation when put on the internet for people all around the world to have a chance at voyeurism into her sexual life. Usually people write diaries so that they could someday look back and see what they've done and thought during their lives, and maybe Natacha is doing that with her work. But posting it up on the internet and selling copies of the book to any person who's willing to pay a decent buck sounds totally bizarre for a diary.
  ¶ 11:14 AM

  Today's topic was a nice change from all the elusive concepts of virtual bodies and dreams. There's so much going on online that since the past 15 years we just look back now, rub our eyes and see how far we've progressed in communication technology. The Internet has become like a warehouse where people from all over can find what they're looking for. In regards to today's topic, people look on the internet for free information, whether it be music, movies, or anything else. Filesharing is such an interesting concept and it's pretty complicated at the same time. Copyright laws are being violated everyday over the Web, and it is hard to enforce these laws when the information becomes lost in the sea of electronic signals and codes. I believe that the industries being affected by these copyright violations will just have to adjust to this phenomenon in some way. I can't imagine what they will do, but the Internet is an entity that screams for change in today's society. The whole class has had experience downloading free music from the internet, most of us have done this. Because electronic information is so easy to reproduce and distribute, unlike physical objects, there has to be a revolution in the way society operates: Laws, Industries, and people.   ¶ 5:36 PM

  What is a virtual body? After today's discussion I suppose it covers a broad category of descriptions. However the notion of whether a body in the virtual realm is truth or just an illusion. I believe that, based on the readings, a virtual body is an illusion of control over reality.
From the discussion concerning body and mind, I do believe that the body is not separate from the mind at all, in any case. A person cannot live apart from his/her physical body.

I disagree with the definition of 'pain' presented in the article "Pain and Subjectivity". They say that pain is defined by the manner in which it implies a split between one's sense of one's own reality and the reality of others. I believe that this definition does not define 'pain' specifically and uniquely from any other sensual concept or emotion. Pain is not the only subjective feeling one can feel.   ¶ 5:27 PM

  Been a while since my last post, but here's the one I was supposed to do for Tuesday 1/27.
The topic today was about virtual communities. The word 'community' was defined to be a form of connectedness through shared interests, responsibilities, desires, geography, hobbies, and other commonalities.
Examples can be private neighborhoods, classrooms, the University, ethnic groups, and even cybergroups.
I believe that the internet is also a valid community, in that you are able to pick and choose where to fit in. Your interests are matched with those of other's around the globe. It is not a negative or bad community aspect in any way, shape or form. It is just a new concept of 'community' which sprang from advances in communication technology. People are connected through the internet, through MUDs and chatrooms and many other branches of socializing online.

In regards to democracy, I agree also that cyberspace does promote democracy because it opens up discussion forums. We can see that cyberspace is a tool for one's own expression, which might be more difficult for a person to do without this type of communication.   ¶ 11:18 PM

  Globalization and Network Systems were the topics of interest in today's discussion. I remember taking a geography class that talked a lot about globalization, of it's benefits and negative impacts. I guess one person in class put it nicely, that there are homogeneous and heterogeneous that can be associated with globalization. What makes globalization possible now as opposed to 50 years ago is technology.

In our readings for today, the author John Stratton stated, "Cyberspace, I want to suggest, did not simply appear fully formed at a point in the second half of the 1980s. Rather, it has its origins in nineteenth-century attempts to speed up circulation time, and has taken on a new importance with the globalization of consumption-oriented capitalism and the ending of the possibility of the spatial fix."

I think that for something as broad and influential as globalization, it is ridiculous to say that it is either good or bad. It's a concept that affects us all, just like the concept of media. While it may be currently beneficial for a group of people in one country, it may in turn be detrimental to the lives of people in other countries.
I especially liked the "Keep the River on your Right" anecdote, which discussed on how the effects of globalization has changed completely the lifestyle of the indigent natives of South America.   ¶ 3:52 PM