PWR209

I have learned far more than I've expected, not that i didn't expect to learn something from this class...but i thought that i had a grip or at least a finger hold on the concept of virtual world or cyberspace or even avatars within online gaming. But to my surprise, i was off. It is true that to become a better writer you must read, read, and read. So the readings offered in this course were great. I say great, because i might not have enjoyed them fully, but I've walked away from them with a farther, more sophisticated view on the discussions related to today's technological views and futuristic goals. It just blows my mind to see where we are at and where we are headed in the world of technology. The readings have created images and questions in my mind, such as will virtual reality be real one day? will we be able to pass into cyberspace? will cyberspace be self sustaining fully? How much more will we look for technology as help in our future and in our own lives?
This class has fully opened my mind and my views to what the world of technology has become and is headed toward. Thanks professor Reid for doing a good job on choosing the great readings...you selected well.

NeoVox idea for #2

So for my second NeoVox article, i will discuss the importance of technology in our society, as well as maybe get my feet wet in the developing social communication. Some improvements that i will make compared to my first article is that it will meet the required length, which i did not count last time, and i will have outside sources to make my points more valid, so my paper won't sound so opinionated.

Podcast #3 Reflection

Podcast #3 caused some problems for me. I had trouble recording all 3 minutes in one take under my usual program, the simple windows record. I don't understand why it could only record a minute at a time, so i had 3 one minute records. Hmm...i thought, so i visited my other favorite online site, www.download.com, which has everything you can think of to download and try for free. There is also full programs that you can download for free too! But any way i went there to try to find out if i could download any voice recording software and come to find out, yea there were a lot of options there. The only problem there was were they "user" friendly? well, i'll get back to you next podcast on if they were or not! lol

Podcast #2 Reflection

This podcast was easier because I did not rent or borrow a video camera from the library! I just used an old microphone that I had lying around my room. I plugged it in, thought of an idea, typed it up in word, the opened windows mic record, and hit record and began reading my thoughts. So it was much simpler to me than the first one, now that I understood the assignment and true meaning of “pod cast," meaning just audio.

Podcast #1 reflection

I sort of miss understood the topic or the word “pod cast,” as I did a video, which I did not realize that it should have been only sound. I did a video because that is my major, New Communication Media, so I get excited when we can do videos because I enjoy capturing images forever with a camera and adjusting them on a computer.

But my first pod cast was difficult because I didn’t know what to expect, so I just went with my instincts on having a guest and talking about technology as I enjoy all technology except radar guns :( . I also had a hard time with keeping it under 3 minutes as I like to talk.

Sunscreen

"Choose things in your life that will endure, that are a pleasure to use. Classic clothes never go out of style. Furniture should get better with age. Choose things because they delight you, not because they impress you. And never let things be more important than your family, friends, and your own spirit." (99)

I thought of the song “Sunscreen” by Baz Lurhman. Check out that song because it relates to advice given during a speech at a graduation. He acts as a professor/teacher that begins with “if I can offer you only one piece of advice, wear sunscreen.” That song is catchy, but out dated. However, when I use to listen to it I really did listen to it, I heard the lyrics and actually they were quite touching to me. Even today, I reminisce the past high school days whenever I hear the song played or hear it mentioned. Check it out and see if you can connect with it!

Six Senses

The six essential aptitudes from "A Whole New Mind", are labeled also as the six senses, which Dan Pink thinks they will lead you and I to "professional Success" and also to "personal Satisfaction." Here are those 6 wonderful terms that hold so much meaning in his book:

• Design
• Story
• Symphony
• Empathy
  
• Play
• Meaning

My interpretation of the 6 terms are as follows:
-Design- I look as this as a layout, as a template for a purpose. One can mold this template to fit their needs. The most recent design that I am working on is a screenplay for a movie as a final project that i have to do. The design is in screenplay format, which contains mostly dialogue and characters as well as a little setting here and there. But that is what jumps into my mind when i think of design, a purpose.
-Story- Everything needs a story to draw and to connect with readers or whoever your aim is at. A story should have a purpose.
-Symphony-reminds me of a relaxing symphony- something that draws people in and mind dazes them.
-Empathy-I think of this as putting yourself in someone else's shoes...which then relates to the phrase: before you criticize someone take their shoes and walk a mile, so that when you do you have their shoes and are far enough away to get away!
-Play- the feeling of no stress-doing what one enjoy's- doing something without constriction is my definition.
-Meaning- this is the most important to me beacue there is meaning to everything, also called "purpose" or "reason" also having no intentions. I find this is the last one because you tend to look back after everything else to find a "meaning" or ask yourself why?

SunBird

I just have to tell everyone about this free download from Mozilla. So most people know about Mozilla firefox right? Well if not here is the link to catch up on the reading: http://www.mozilla.org/

They are a great company with more security features than microsofts internet explorer. Also Firefox and SunBird can both be downloaded to Windows and Mac based computers.

But I just wanted to let everyone know that is SunBird is a desktop calendar that has really helped me with organizing everything in my life. It is so easy to use, you just plug in the times and dates and it is there in front of you on your computer.

However, the only downside to this program is that, yea, what if your computer crashes? Hmm…well so maybe don’t trade in your “real” organizer or calendar just yet…but it is a fun addition to anyone’s computer!

Google Earth

I wanted to do a quick little post about Google Earth, as you should know now that I am a Google freak. But umm...yea...anyway Google Earth is a free download program where you can find and even view any address in the WORLD! Yea…pretty sick right? I have used it many times before going to different places. The first time I’ve used it was actually a year ago…for spring break I was going to London! Yea really far away, but I have an Uncle that lives there that I stayed with for a week! Anyway, he gave me his address and before I left to go a quarter of the way around the world, I Google earthed him! And that way I saw where he lived, what was around him, and it was just really amazing. This is open to anyone with a computer and so easy to use that even my ten year old nephew could use it. Whoa…wait…that is a scary thought. Hmm…so easy, so free, so accessible…wow, sounds like it could be easy to use as a tool for terrorism. So not to go too far fetched, but honestly, something so easily accessible and free! How can one not question the usage of it? This is when I believe we should have online police for this kind of idea. Another thought: Would Google Earth be the victim or accomplice in a bombing, attack, or invasion due to their information they provide for anyone?

More Online Gaming

http://internetgames.about.com/od/beta/Games_in_Beta_Testing.htm

As I continue going on and on about Online Role Playing Games or even just online gaming, where is the future headed? I know so many are addicted right now...but what is the next step for the online game developers?

http://internetgames.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ
/Ya&sdn=internetgames&cdn=gadgets&tm=160&f=00&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=14&bt=0&
bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.atriarch.com/

well here the above address is what I've come across through my addictive googling habits.
This new game is called "Atriarch" which will take online gaming to the next level. The next level
meaning having the ability to choose different paths and make different decisions within the game that will affect the gameplay. So almost like real life, you yell at someone you make them cry...then you have to apologize and then you will be ok with them. So it shows that the games are moving to a more realistic avenue, which surprises me because reality has limits and that was what was so great about virtual reality is that it didn't have limits, but now if they move closer to reality, then you will have limits. So I am saying that I don't know if I want to play a game that has limits, however, is this the gaming developers what to bring people back into reality?

Avatars

This scares me...I mean really it does. Real people, pretending to be someone else or having the ability to be someone else in an endless world, just scares me. Yes not everyone is bad. yes not everyone ruines opportunities that are offered in the cyberspace. And yes not everyone is different than what their Avatar looks like. However, there are people out there looking for certain things that they can only get away with in the virtual world compared to the real world. The virtual world is not bounded by laws of physics or held back by science or morals or beliefs. it is an endless mass that is moldable by anyone with any motive.
I have used AIM for a while, a few years actually, but I have only used it for communicating with people I already know. I have googled 3D talk things, and stubble across IMVU...which is a 3D chat program where you can design your avatar, talk with other avatars in different settings of your choice that you acutally pay real money to buy furniture, tv, or even a hot tube and throw parties to invite other avatars to meet with them. And just for the sake of keeping this pg-13, you can also do naughty things with other avatars if you pay a certain amount for and 18 or older section. which is a little over board for me, but if it's your thing then more power to you huh? well anyway, i met up with a friend of mine and we ended up on top of a sky scraper standing on the edge looking down over the city and moving cars and bright lights below our feet! it was so beautiful and it just took our conversations to the next level just by our surroundings! It was so amazing! So check it out...it's free to download it and then you actually have a webpage to display yourself or whoever you want to be in the virtual world. IMVU

A whole new mind

I wanted to find some information about the author, because I really really really enjoyed his book as it did captivate my mind and me thinking about my thinking, if that makes any sense.
So I googled him (as that is my favorite thing to do) and this is what I found:

A popular speaker, Dan lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world. He's provided analysis on dozens of television and radio broadcasts -including CNBC's "Power Lunch," ABC's "World News Tonight," NPR's "Morning Edition," and American Public Media's "Marketplace." And as an independent business consultant, he's advised start-up ventures and Fortune 100 companies on recruiting, business trends, and work practices.

A free agent himself, Dan held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He's also worked as an aide to U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich, an economic policy staffer in the U.S. Senate, a legal researcher in India, and a latrine builder in Botswana.

He received a B.A., with honors in linguistics, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. To his lasting joy, he has never practiced law.

Dan lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their three children. He is now at work on his next two books, which will be published in 2008 and 2009.

After reading about him, I understood where he was coming from in his book. Nevertheless his book was quite a read, I am not surprised that he was a B.A. with honors in Linguistics. But in his book, he really made me look at myself, not as a reader but as a way of thinking. His ideas and thoughts created my own views of myself, almost by looking at myself as someone else would. To my disbelief, i sort of wasn't happy with what i was looking at. I mean, I am not a bad guy or anything, but to take time to look at yourself every once in a while, might not be a bad thing to do, for others sake as well as your own.
I am looking forward to reading is new books that will be coming out next year and the following year!

Final Video Project

2nd Meeting:

There we are, sitting side by side, in this conference room, staring into the camera. The silence is overwhelming, to the point where...yep she did it this time! She started giggling...then it was contagious. back and forth, back and forth we went...camera shy and camera giggly! Something about that little tiny piece of metal that records you onto an even smaller tape, makes you laugh, makes you red in the face, and even takes away your thoughts. Wow what a strong tool huh? It happens to me so much though you would think that you would eventually get over being camera shy. Kinda makes you think about actors huh?
Well after about let's say..and hour or so, Rebekkah and I finally got our giggles outta the way to put us both in better moods to talk about podcasting. To say the least it was fun!

Group Project Final Video

1st meeting:

So yea, there I was in the library, waiting like a geek to find my blind date. I was looking around for someone or my group, that I have never met before, and have never even seen. So i was looking blind until I saw it. The one item that connects us together in this virtual classroom. Something that you wouldn't think anyone else would have....that orange book. I saw it sitting on the table of a few people gathered around it. It was Play Money! wow...pheww i thought. So hesitantly i walked over as i was trying to memorize the people sitting there. I introduced myself and then the big question came out: So what do you guys wanna do this video on?
As the ideas were thin and limited, so where the ideas that were said, however, one person said something else that we all had in common. Rebekkah nominated the idea of podcasting, something that we all have done a few times, or that we all have tried to do a few times. So we all had something to say about that topic and off we were trying to find times when we could meet up and record our thoughts. Well...that was easier said than done, as all of us seemed to have schedules that conflicted everyone else on purpose. Nevertheless we all did meet up and record, only in groups of people who had problems to people who found the experience easy.

Second Life

hmm...second life...when I hear these two words together, I immediatly think of Heaven. I am a Christian, so I do believe in God and that he will come again one day, hopefully soon because I cannot see this world gettin any more corrupt than it is right now. Anyway, hearing second Life, I think of also a second chance or another life. One life more than what you have right now. Soooo if given another life, something that we have power of, considering that we do not choose our families or our parents, but what if we can have such freedoms? Well, this second life does not give you new parents, but it does give you the freedoms to what you do not have in your "first" life, such as hair color, eye color, weight, height, clothes, no curfue, no rules, no regulations, you don't have to eat, you don't have to shower, you don't have to sleep. All the rules of science and life do not apply to this "second Life." So I leave you with one question, what would you do with endless freedom? that would be a true test of character for some.

Play Money

I recently googled (the most thing I do on the web) play money to see what would come up and I found that there are many people who have read this book and tried it. But to be dissapointed, they all stated something negative about it. Some stated how taxes killed them from their profits, some online pirates stealing their online items, and paypal not helping with the online payments or transfer of funds from one user to the next. So this just makes me question, since it is "play money" should we not look at it as 'real money"?

Cyber Law...hmmm..yea right

Cyber law is a term used to describe the legal issues related to use of communications technology, particularly "cyberspace", i.e. the Internet. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are as it is an intersection of many legal fields, including intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. In essence, cyber law is an attempt to integrate the challenges presented by human activity on the Internet with legacy system of laws applicable to the physical world.

This really is a joke to me! lol I don't know how people can regulate something that is not real or virtual. It is not real, nor is it touchable or feasible, so how can it be regulated? don't get me wrong I would like there to be limits to people with a background in stalking and other scary mental illnesses. However, that would rule out the 1st amendment. which then makes me laugh even more because how can something real, on paper, like the constitution, be upheld in a virtual world?! It cannot! can it? So what then? virtual police? computer programs running around checking your computer for viruses and illegal porn? or even how about bad virtual police that get a virus to collect ALL the data off of your computer, such as bank numbers, passwords etc.? It's all crazy scary to me, but I do enjoy the virtual world just as much as the next virtualian (a person who spends more time in the virtual world than in reality, I just made it up)
Nevertheless, it is good that we are trying to regulate something that is un-regulatable.

NeoVox # 1

Ok for my first NeoVox article, I wanted to take a personal note into this assignment. As I've had Lauren Barry for a great learning experience in one of her writing intensive classes, she has taught me how to open up and relate my own experiences and life lessons into my writing, to connect to my readers. So as my first neovox article, I would like to discuss the addiction, family values, personal preferences, and the virtual economy within the unlimited cyber world.
My first article will be about my father. He has recently been an addict, well, for actually now a good year he has spent on the computer creating and developing a new life, a new profession, as his real true family suffers as he is just focused on this virtual world.
Anyway, it should be interesting to anyone who wants the scoop to online gaming addiction!