Saw this joke image on facebook, but it sums up the technological aspect of convergence pretty well.
http://www.haha-lolz.com/images/1320687867-91840.jpg
Essentially everything in the image can be done on a pc.
~ James
Friday 9 December 2011
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Old people Vs Technology; Generalisations and what-not
Hey, found an article about the benefits of technology with regards to old age. It's written by Simon Roberts (2009) on behalf of the International Longevity Centre UK and Intel Corporation.
http://ilcuk.org.uk/files/pdf_pdf_112.pdf
While it's not directly relevant to Media Convergence in the subject matter, the introduction puts forward some interesting thoughts about the Generalisation of technophobia in old people. I've included a few quotes regarding the issue.
It's widely believed, at any rate, that a large percentage of older people find it harder to adapt to ever changing technologies, and in particular, to keep up with the fast paced changes new technologies bring. This, if true, is an example of a challenge to society in regards to media convergence, as it segregates and discriminates against a potential audience. How does it do this? Because the potential audience, generally, will either not be able to engage with the multi-platform content (E.G Smart phone apps or the internet) OR will just not feel inclined due to not having the confidence or the knowledge to access additional content.
"More often than not we speak on behalf of older people... the sweeping generalisation or the personal anecdote." (Roberts, 2009)
Conversely, it is a generalisation - a stereotype. Stereotypes are not always true, and are mostly false and have little evidence. Again, this poses a challenge to society - If it's widely believed and accepted that older generations can't cope with the rapid technological change, then developers of said technologies risk over looking them entirely, viewing them almost as a lost cause.
"Sweeping generalisations by their very nature mask differences of opinion and experience, and in that way close down discussions. They do not allow for the existence of difference. Generalisations paint over the messy realities of everyday life." (Roberts, 2009)
~James
http://ilcuk.org.uk/files/pdf_pdf_112.pdf
While it's not directly relevant to Media Convergence in the subject matter, the introduction puts forward some interesting thoughts about the Generalisation of technophobia in old people. I've included a few quotes regarding the issue.
It's widely believed, at any rate, that a large percentage of older people find it harder to adapt to ever changing technologies, and in particular, to keep up with the fast paced changes new technologies bring. This, if true, is an example of a challenge to society in regards to media convergence, as it segregates and discriminates against a potential audience. How does it do this? Because the potential audience, generally, will either not be able to engage with the multi-platform content (E.G Smart phone apps or the internet) OR will just not feel inclined due to not having the confidence or the knowledge to access additional content.
"More often than not we speak on behalf of older people... the sweeping generalisation or the personal anecdote." (Roberts, 2009)
Conversely, it is a generalisation - a stereotype. Stereotypes are not always true, and are mostly false and have little evidence. Again, this poses a challenge to society - If it's widely believed and accepted that older generations can't cope with the rapid technological change, then developers of said technologies risk over looking them entirely, viewing them almost as a lost cause.
"Sweeping generalisations by their very nature mask differences of opinion and experience, and in that way close down discussions. They do not allow for the existence of difference. Generalisations paint over the messy realities of everyday life." (Roberts, 2009)
~James
Saturday 3 December 2011
Illegal downloads...
This was mentioned in a lecture Deborah was running a week or two ago, in which she stated Illegal downloads have hurt film, album and single sales, causing them to drop rapidly thus threatening the film and music industries. However I retorted with "Single sales have dropped, but album sales have increased, plus exposure to more music increases the sale of concert/gig tickets and merchandise" or something to that effect... That was met with cynicism, so here's the article I was referring to:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/illegal-downloading-what-happens-if-youre-caught-1736013.html?fb_action_ids=2636028975210&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline#access_token=AAADWQ6323IoBAEKCIuL6xZBkZAHw0Ye2FAnYxJCE9CKHj7vJR6FybPalTYRxFMMCae98qJwO9VkhiLybAxZB6sNNNhVwwX24CjJc82FRFHOQd4uK4rv&expires_in=6976
And the quote:
And album sales aren't haemorrhaging in the doom-mongering way we have been led to believe. Single sales have dropped, but 28 million more albums were sold last year than a decade ago, including digital sales. Live performances, which account for more than half of the industry's profits, are unaffected by downloads – and may even be boosted by the opportunity they offer for young people on tight budgets to sample the music they might like to hear at a concert. These are not arguments embraced by the music or film industries, which retort that only a small proportion of musicians and film-workers make a comfortable living. Their industries should be treated like other businesses, where not paying for a product or service is not tolerated. Geoff Taylor, the Chief Executive of the BPI, says: "There is not an acceptable level of file-sharing. Musicians need to be paid like everyone else."
~James
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/illegal-downloading-what-happens-if-youre-caught-1736013.html?fb_action_ids=2636028975210&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline#access_token=AAADWQ6323IoBAEKCIuL6xZBkZAHw0Ye2FAnYxJCE9CKHj7vJR6FybPalTYRxFMMCae98qJwO9VkhiLybAxZB6sNNNhVwwX24CjJc82FRFHOQd4uK4rv&expires_in=6976
And the quote:
And album sales aren't haemorrhaging in the doom-mongering way we have been led to believe. Single sales have dropped, but 28 million more albums were sold last year than a decade ago, including digital sales. Live performances, which account for more than half of the industry's profits, are unaffected by downloads – and may even be boosted by the opportunity they offer for young people on tight budgets to sample the music they might like to hear at a concert. These are not arguments embraced by the music or film industries, which retort that only a small proportion of musicians and film-workers make a comfortable living. Their industries should be treated like other businesses, where not paying for a product or service is not tolerated. Geoff Taylor, the Chief Executive of the BPI, says: "There is not an acceptable level of file-sharing. Musicians need to be paid like everyone else."
~James
Friday 25 November 2011
5th episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017clwx/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_The_Chips_inside_Smartphones/
All mobile phones rely on hyper-intelligent silicon chips to run them. And the astonishing thing is: 85% of the silicon chips inside all mobile phones are designed by one Cambridge-based company, ARM. Stephen Fry talks to the pioneers who designed these chips. They needed some micro-processors to build a better home computer, but didn't like what they saw and decided to make their own. Strapped for cash, they designed chips that were small, cheap and exceptionally low power and, quite by chance, ideally suited to the next generation of pocket-sized mobile phones. Not to mention today's power-hungry smartphones.
All mobile phones rely on hyper-intelligent silicon chips to run them. And the astonishing thing is: 85% of the silicon chips inside all mobile phones are designed by one Cambridge-based company, ARM. Stephen Fry talks to the pioneers who designed these chips. They needed some micro-processors to build a better home computer, but didn't like what they saw and decided to make their own. Strapped for cash, they designed chips that were small, cheap and exceptionally low power and, quite by chance, ideally suited to the next generation of pocket-sized mobile phones. Not to mention today's power-hungry smartphones.
4th episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017cjmn/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_Shrinking_the_Handset/
In the fourth episode, Stephen Fry talk to the engineers who turned mobile phones from hefty executive bricks into svelte fashion accessories. One man at Motorola dreamt of a mobile phone small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but it was Nokia , once more famous for making loo paper and wellies, that cornered the global market. In the early nineties, Nokia was on the brink of collapse. But the new chief executive, brought in to save the company from bankruptcy, made a bold decision to ditch the wellies and focus solely on mobile phones. Soon the iconic Nokia ringtone (extracted incidentally from a piece for classical guitar composed in 1902) was inescapable.
In the fourth episode, Stephen Fry talk to the engineers who turned mobile phones from hefty executive bricks into svelte fashion accessories. One man at Motorola dreamt of a mobile phone small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but it was Nokia , once more famous for making loo paper and wellies, that cornered the global market. In the early nineties, Nokia was on the brink of collapse. But the new chief executive, brought in to save the company from bankruptcy, made a bold decision to ditch the wellies and focus solely on mobile phones. Soon the iconic Nokia ringtone (extracted incidentally from a piece for classical guitar composed in 1902) was inescapable.
Wednesday 23 November 2011
3rd episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017chq0/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_The_Accidental_Discovery_of_Text/
Stephen Fry meets the men who created the first texting facility, as well as other less commercially successful products like taxifones, payphones on trains and in-car fax machines. He hears how texting triumphed unexpectedly when paging was all the rage, partly because paging services never seemed to work on Friday afternoon. On the earliest handsets there was no way of replying to a text. Later, just in case someone might want to reply, they included a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and later. In the mid 90s texting was just one of countless facilities embedded within the new digital mobile phones: no one thought it that important. Last year alone, a staggering 6.1 trillion text messages were sent. And most of them received a reply.
Stephen Fry meets the men who created the first texting facility, as well as other less commercially successful products like taxifones, payphones on trains and in-car fax machines. He hears how texting triumphed unexpectedly when paging was all the rage, partly because paging services never seemed to work on Friday afternoon. On the earliest handsets there was no way of replying to a text. Later, just in case someone might want to reply, they included a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and later. In the mid 90s texting was just one of countless facilities embedded within the new digital mobile phones: no one thought it that important. Last year alone, a staggering 6.1 trillion text messages were sent. And most of them received a reply.
2nd episode of Stephen Fry on the Phone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017cfkj/Stephen_Fry_on_the_Phone_From_Car_Phone_to_Executive_Brick/
In episode two, Stephen Fry meets the men who brought mobile phones to Britain. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher opening up the airwaves, Britain became a world leader in mobile phone technology in the eighties. Vodafone (short for voice-data-phone) competed fiercely with the BT's mobile baby, Cellnet (short for cellular network), to create the first mobile phone network in the UK which was launched to great fanfare on Christmas Day 1985. Coverage was truly patchy, handsets were seriously hefty and calls cost a fortune, but mobile phones quickly replaced car phones as the ultimate yuppie accessory. Voicemail, incidentally, was a good excuse to charge customers yet more for a service that was, in reality, rather poor..
In episode two, Stephen Fry meets the men who brought mobile phones to Britain. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher opening up the airwaves, Britain became a world leader in mobile phone technology in the eighties. Vodafone (short for voice-data-phone) competed fiercely with the BT's mobile baby, Cellnet (short for cellular network), to create the first mobile phone network in the UK which was launched to great fanfare on Christmas Day 1985. Coverage was truly patchy, handsets were seriously hefty and calls cost a fortune, but mobile phones quickly replaced car phones as the ultimate yuppie accessory. Voicemail, incidentally, was a good excuse to charge customers yet more for a service that was, in reality, rather poor..
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