Internet Browsers: A Part of You, & Me.

The ideologies surrounding Technological convergence has shaped the way we interact and share information with the world. The Internet has become a medium in itself, that has integrated all forms and methods of communication into one device, which has backed us into a corner, in the sense that it is now truly difficult to gauge whether we are online, or offline.

Shirky (2008) reminds us that that the Internet is nearing into its 20th year, and that anything with a life cycle that changes as rapidly as the Internet’s has, is bound to become somewhat an-equated. However, Shirky also draws attention to the fact that the Internet has done so much for us, and rather than fading into oblivion, the Internet browser is becoming the background and essence of user interfaces and even the background of whole operating systems such as Google Chrome.

Which leads me to ask the question, are we ever really offline? The introduction of smart phones and tablet devices have made it impossible to not be connected. Ultimately it seems like the Internet browser has become an integrated part of human life, leaving us forever connected and unable to escape the clutches of its grasp.

Daniel Barrett

Reference List:

Shirky 2011, The Communicators: HIgh Tech & Social Unrest, accessed 21/03/2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx4Yuu2hfP0

Post-Modernity: The Apple Way.

The iPhone 5?

 

Ever since that memorable day on January the 9th, 2007, the world has not quite been the same. The technological monsoon, comprising of Steve Jobs, Apple and its illustrious iPhone, forced their way into a market, which had enormous potential for growth (Zittrain 2008). This forced other companies such as Nokia and HTC to really pick up their game if they wished to compete at the same level as Apple.

It seems with every year that another iPhone is released on to the market, it keeps getting better, and better; and generally speaking, consumers have come to expect this of smart phone technology. These phenomenal advances are something we are now used too in the western world, meaning Apple’s constant bombardment of upgrades and modifications to its iPhone has left us normalised to this occurrence, leading us one step closer to the depths of post-modernity.

 

Reference list:

Zittrain, J L 2008, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, accessed 20/03/2012, http://yupnet.org/zittrain/archives/6

The Digital Age – The End Of Copyright?

In recent times, it has become increasingly easier for public Internet users to access and acquire copyrighted media content such as movies, music, and games without purchasing them legally. File-sharing networks have challenged current copyright laws with the aid of public scrutiny, leading to the question as to what is fair in the digital age we currently live in (Collins 2008). Originally, the law of copyright (within the US constitution), was designed to protect culturally important created works, from being consumed by monopolies and the corporate world (Collins 2008). However, now in the digital age, the law of copyright seems to have spun wildly out of control. It appears that this law has morphed into a scaremongering like tool, that companies and individuals can employ whenever they feel their intellectual property is being used, without consent and/or compensation.

Professor Eric Faden produced this Disney “mash-up” video to elucidate how truly ridiculous the copyright epidemic has become. He does this by playfully using one of the biggest Production companies of our time Disney, to explain to us how copyright actually works.

Fair use is meant to be a wing of the copyright law used to prevent tyrannic monopolies. However, some scholars suggest that fair use has now become less of a defence, and more a right that that subordinates copyrights (Collins 2008).

References:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/19/fairy-use-tale-amazi.html, accessed 13/3/12, http://www.youtube.com/

Madden, G 2008, ‘Recovering Fair Use’, M/C Journal, Vol 11, No. 6, accessed 9/3/12, http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/105