Signs of the times.
US president-elect Barack Obama will continue using the popular internet video site YouTube to reach out directly to voters. Obama, who built a part of his campaign on the Internet, promised to make his administration more open and interactive, offering a detailed look of what's going on in the White House on a given day or asking people to post comments on his legislative proposals. The Miami Herald observes: " YouTube, which wasn't a factor in politics until 2006, proved a cheap, powerful, and effective tool for Obama. It drew more than 110 million viewers for his 1,800 campaign-related videos."
I won't be surprised if our local politicians, some of which are riding the Obama bandwagon to launch their own presidential campaigns, will adopt the same strategy for the 2010 elections and beyond. Nothing wrong with that. I am actually excited about the prospect of being able to make more informed decisions about my country's future using the Internet.
'tis the age of multimedia. I like!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Paradox of the Times
The paradox of the times is that we have something like the internet that allows us to cross geological boundaries and transcend distance but keeps us in the comfort of our homes. We have something like wi-fi that allows us to keep abreast with the latest tragedies across the globe while nestled in a comfortable couch in Starbucks with our favorite frappuccino.
The paradox of the times is that the first Black American President-Elect of the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, launched an online campaign that won him the elections and an unprecedented global acceptance rating but only around 21% of the world has access to a computer and the internet.
The paradox of this, our time, is that we have every avenue to instigate positive changes in a global scale through awareness campaigns, legislative lobbying, and movements for behavioral change affecting policies, among others, and every excuse to stay put in front of our computers and watch as the world moves around us.
Nevertheless, I continue to believe in choice and that we can, at any time, choose to effect real change in the real world.
The paradox of the times is that the first Black American President-Elect of the United States of America, the most powerful nation in the world, launched an online campaign that won him the elections and an unprecedented global acceptance rating but only around 21% of the world has access to a computer and the internet.
The paradox of this, our time, is that we have every avenue to instigate positive changes in a global scale through awareness campaigns, legislative lobbying, and movements for behavioral change affecting policies, among others, and every excuse to stay put in front of our computers and watch as the world moves around us.
Nevertheless, I continue to believe in choice and that we can, at any time, choose to effect real change in the real world.
P is for Protein in PS3
My three brothers wanted the Play Station three since forever (read: late 2006). their sales pitches have spanned the spectrum and ranged from "cousin X is only five years old and he has a PS3!" to "it can do protein folding!" The former was quickly shot down as it was the eight year old who made it. But the latter, merited a reaction from me: "steer." seeing that it piqued interest, the med student followed it up saying that there was a research effort in Stanford University which focused primarily on understanding the process of protein folding or how molecules structure themselves into their functional stage. The effort needed supercomputers to do the computations - resources that would be impractical for a single institution to invest in. The idea of distributing the computation to computers all over the world was thus born. As a Play Station user, the contribution takes place by simply keeping the console running. The program harnesses your unit's processor and literally just "folds away." The technology later on allowed users to play music while folding and even to view and zoom into a 3D map of the world where other protein folding activity was taking place. It was a move towards maximizing the computing power of your computer.
We eventually got them the PS3 but for different reasons:
Dad wanted a blu-ray player.
The boys wanted Solid Snake to kick Screaming Mantis butt.
I wanted to save on birthday presents - they considered it a cumulative gift.
As for my mom...
She thinks that the recent spike in our electric bill is the PS3's fault. "Why is it turned on when no one is using it?!"
She says that she'll just pray for the sick people of the world.
We eventually got them the PS3 but for different reasons:
Dad wanted a blu-ray player.
The boys wanted Solid Snake to kick Screaming Mantis butt.
I wanted to save on birthday presents - they considered it a cumulative gift.
As for my mom...
She thinks that the recent spike in our electric bill is the PS3's fault. "Why is it turned on when no one is using it?!"
She says that she'll just pray for the sick people of the world.
Location, Location, Location
A favorite mantra of real estate agents is “location, location, location.” In terms of setting up a business, the location of a storefront or an office can be of immense consequence to any commercial venture. An address such as “6750 Ayala Avenue” can mean so much more than a physical, geographical site. It can be definitive of one’s clientele and industry status. With the advent of online opportunities available to entrepreneurs, actual “location” can now become a non-factor. Anybody with access to a decent computer has the chance to offer his products to the global marketplace. Ebay.ph, for instance, is home to transactions involving people and products that you would normally not find within the same district if such were held outside the virtual world. Unfortunately, this has allowed scammers to make a living out of abusing the anonymity brought by online transactions. Once victimized, an individual may be left with no recourse, legal or non-legal, virtual or otherwise. In contrast, a buyer from a business with a “real world location” is secure in the knowledge that he can always go somewhere and find an actual person to listen to him gripe and make threats to sue.
Going the distance
It was like compiling songs for someone in the mid-90's. You would have to look for various songs, arrange them, then pay a fortune for compilation. The effort required for one CD.
"Going the distance" is when someone would do something especially for you. This may mean reaching you, making anything for you, or just going out of their way. It makes you feel loved. Important. However, you don't have to do it anymore.
Whose fault is it?
The internet. Yes, the internet. Who needs to be beside you when you see them online? Who has to go far for flowers when you can order online? How do you now "go the distance"?
The availability of things that used to require effort is inexistent. Have anything with a click of a button. It requires little, if not complete absence of, knowledge of what's available out there. You will find out. You're bound to. Effort not required. With the possibilities of technology you can call anyone, text everyone, and even meet 'the one'. It's there to assist us.
When everything's a click away, what's special? When everything's available, how can someone say "I will go the distance"?
Giulia Francesca D. Pineda
2001-64304
"Going the distance" is when someone would do something especially for you. This may mean reaching you, making anything for you, or just going out of their way. It makes you feel loved. Important. However, you don't have to do it anymore.
Whose fault is it?
The internet. Yes, the internet. Who needs to be beside you when you see them online? Who has to go far for flowers when you can order online? How do you now "go the distance"?
The availability of things that used to require effort is inexistent. Have anything with a click of a button. It requires little, if not complete absence of, knowledge of what's available out there. You will find out. You're bound to. Effort not required. With the possibilities of technology you can call anyone, text everyone, and even meet 'the one'. It's there to assist us.
When everything's a click away, what's special? When everything's available, how can someone say "I will go the distance"?
Giulia Francesca D. Pineda
2001-64304
MySpace Monsters
I was picking my brains out for an interesting material which is worthy of a blog post. Then I remembered the case of the MySpace hoaxer who created a fake profile named of a guy named "Josh" to harass a next door neighbor. Lori Drew, the hoaxer, is just your typical queen bee who likes to bully girls in school. She never particularly liked her next door neighbor Megan Meier who struggles with the usual teenage crises - weight, self-esteem, etc. Drew decided to make things a little bit interesting for Megan. Preying on Megan's desperate desire to be liked and accepted, she created (with the help of her vile mother) an all-american jock named Josh who within days began sending cutesy messages to Megan's MySpace Account. The account was closely monitored by Megan's parents who would not let Megan view his MySpace account without their supervision. After a few days, the hoax took a turn for the worst. "Josh" is now sending mean messages to Megan likes "Megan is fat.Megan is a slut." When Megan's parents discovered the messages and the extremely vulgar language being used by both girls, she told Megan how upset she was about the exchange. Megan then ran to her bedroom. She hanged herself. She was 13.
The hoax girl and mom were never charged because there is no law that called online harassment or something analogous to it. This incident brings into light how a seemingly innocent act of online teasing and bullying could produce the gravest effect on vulnerable and unsuspecting people who sees these exchanges as anything but innocent. We can only hope that the social outrage that we might be feeling about the incident would translate into legally workable solutions and preventive measures to minimize this type of tragedy from happening.
The hoax girl and mom were never charged because there is no law that called online harassment or something analogous to it. This incident brings into light how a seemingly innocent act of online teasing and bullying could produce the gravest effect on vulnerable and unsuspecting people who sees these exchanges as anything but innocent. We can only hope that the social outrage that we might be feeling about the incident would translate into legally workable solutions and preventive measures to minimize this type of tragedy from happening.
Linking and Liability for Creators [Part I]
Part 1: What is Linking?
As early as the 1940’s, computers were seen to be instruments to manage and distribute huge amounts of information. Douglas Engelbart, upon reading Vannevar Bush’s famous 1945 Atlantic Monthly article “As We May Think,” noted that “If these machines [could] show you information on printouts, they could show you that information on screen.” An individual could steer through different information spaces, viewing data and graphics in different ways. The realization of these ideas, however, did not come to fruition for some 44 years.
In 1989, tired of the perpetual hunt and peck of the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee of the CERN atomic research center in Switzerland proposed software and protocols that would enable computers to browse the information contained on the NSFnet. Berners-Lee’s Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) made hyperlinks possible. (Ethan Watrall, MX Design and Technique)
A link is simply a connection between the content of two different files (or between different parts of a single file). A link may lead either to another file in the same web site, or to a file on a different computer located elsewhere on the Internet. Internet browsers automatically decipher the instructions given by links and retrieve the specified file. (Brad Bolin, http://www.bitlaw.com)
[Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Part IV] [Part V] [Part VI] [Part VII] [Part VIII] [Part IX] [Part X]
As early as the 1940’s, computers were seen to be instruments to manage and distribute huge amounts of information. Douglas Engelbart, upon reading Vannevar Bush’s famous 1945 Atlantic Monthly article “As We May Think,” noted that “If these machines [could] show you information on printouts, they could show you that information on screen.” An individual could steer through different information spaces, viewing data and graphics in different ways. The realization of these ideas, however, did not come to fruition for some 44 years.
In 1989, tired of the perpetual hunt and peck of the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee of the CERN atomic research center in Switzerland proposed software and protocols that would enable computers to browse the information contained on the NSFnet. Berners-Lee’s Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) made hyperlinks possible. (Ethan Watrall, MX Design and Technique)
A link is simply a connection between the content of two different files (or between different parts of a single file). A link may lead either to another file in the same web site, or to a file on a different computer located elsewhere on the Internet. Internet browsers automatically decipher the instructions given by links and retrieve the specified file. (Brad Bolin, http://www.bitlaw.com)
[Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Part IV] [Part V] [Part VI] [Part VII] [Part VIII] [Part IX] [Part X]
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