From HDTV to 3DTV

Just imagine yourself sitting on the couch on a Sunday afternoon during football season. You are upset because you could not get tickets to your favorite team's game, and your new HDTV no longer feels like your in the middle of the action.
Well, good news, my friend, because welcome to the future: the 3D television.

We were all wowed when movie theaters began showing 3D movies, so companies such as Sony and Panasonic have decided to take the idea of 3D movies and bring it to your living room.

This new technology will give the allusion that your favorite football team is literally jumping out of the TV into your living room during live broadcasts. Pretty cool, huh?

The full article can be found here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/18/3D.home.television/index.html

Personally, I have never liked going to see 3D movies because of the annoying glasses and headaches it causes, so I do not think I would enjoy it in my living room.

What are your thoughts? Has TV gone too far with the idea of 3DTV or is it the next new big technology?

Xbox takes the meaning of "feedback" to a whole new level

I found out about this on Youtube and think it very amazing how virtual our world is becoming...

Facebook trumps Twitter ... it terms of working memory at least

I saw that Twitter and Facebook were a common topic on this blog (This is understandable. They are the most common social networking sites in the world) but I swore I would break the mold and share something a little different with the class. But this is just too interesting.

I always thought, yet ignored, the idea that Facebook was making us a “dumb” society. However, psychologists say otherwise. They say that when we spend time on Facebook, we memorize past actions and anticipate our next actions. These thoughts stretch and utilize our working memory. However, apparently “Tweeting”, reading texts, and microblogs weaken our memory because we are getting an long string of information that we don't necessarily have to process. In that way, its kind of like watching a television. It shortens our intention span. According to this information, Twitter dumbs us down and Facebook is boosts our memory. Who knew? I guess this is just another excuse for me to waste my weeknights on Facebook news feed.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26045185-5014239,00.html

What *is* the future of TV?

If you saw any of Sunday night's Emmy Awards telecast, you might have picked up on a bit of a desperation theme going on, that the gathered creative masses are a little concerned about the future of their medium.

(It was especially reflected in Neil Patrick Harris' opening song-and-dance number called "Put Down The Remote"...which, of course, I didn't see until the next day online.)

Combine that with the "blockbuster" shifts like the one created by the new Jay Leno show (variety/talk show five nights a week in primetime? Scandalous!) and it kinda looks like the networks are in Spaghetti Cooking Mode...you know, plucking an idea out of the roiling waters, throwing it up against the wall and seeing if it will stick?

Author/researcher Henry Jenkins writes about this kind of industry unsettling on Huffington Post this week. His general thesis? Nobody knows what's really going on right now.

Is Jon & Kate Plus 8 going a Little Overboard?

America's new favorite family may not seem what they appear to be. We clearly see that now as Kate and Jon Gosselin recently filed for a divorce right in front of our eyes. Kate may try to make it seem as though her family is struggling to make ends meetmeet, but is that really the case?
According to Kate's sister-in-law Julie, whom asked viewers of the show to boycott the season premiere that aired this past monday, "Everything that you see them do or buy is completely paid for out of the budget for the show or traded for free adverstising. They didn't pay for any of it." Julie also claims that the shows are staged and even the children are prompted to say certain things. Is America too tuned in to the drama of this family to stop watching? And how is this going to affect the Gosselin kids as they continue to grow under America's eyes?

http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=1651606&sponsor=

perhaps another picture to be burnt?

Aside from Kanye's dramatic yet sincere apology to Taylor on "The Jay Leno Show," Swift's publicist also reports that West phoned the country music star to apologize for his rash behavior. Taylor accepted and the entire scandal is on it's way to becoming water under the bridge. However, will Kanye become the subject of the next big T. Swift hit? As we've learned from the verses of her previous song "Picture to Burn" Taylor doesn't obligingly accept apologies.

"And if you come around

Saying sorry to me

My daddy's going to show you

How sorry you'll be"

Only time will tell how long the media will hold on to this one. However, being both a Kanye West and Taylor Swift fan I, personally find it disheartening to watch two talented artists having to deal with this trivial drama, as opposed to concentrating on what they do best, making music.

The article regarding Kanye's apologies is posted below.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/15/kanye.west.apology/index.html

MIT students take pictures of Earth from space for under $150

On September 2nd, a group of MIT students launched a balloon 17.5 miles into the uppermost part of the stratosphere. Attached to the balloon was a cell phone with GPS and a Cannon A470 camera that was set to take pictures every 5 seconds through the entire journey. Once the balloon reached its maximum height, it popped and the rest of the rig floated back down to Earth via parachute and landed about 20 miles from the launch site.

Balloon space.jpg

This was one of the pictures that was taken, proving that the experiment was a great success. I think it's amazing that technology has improved so much since they started taking pictures from space that even the devices that we now consider cheap can do a better job at taking pictures than some of the most expensive equipment they were using in the first days of space exploration.

1stPhotoFromSpace.jpg

For example, this is the first picture taken from space. It was taken in 1946 by a rocket-borne camera. I can only imagine how much this picture must have cost to take.

This makes me think about how our modern media technology keeps getting cheaper as more and more of it becomes obsolete. The gigantic computers of the early 80's used to cost a fortune, but now you couldn't pay someone to take one off your hands. I wonder what is to become of today's MacPros equipped with 8 core Intel Processors and 4 terabyte hard drives.

http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-09/how-take-photos-edge-space-150

http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/FEATURE-FirstPhoto.html#

Taylor Swift's Thunder Was Stolen

Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for her best female video award at the VMAs Sunday night (Sept. 13) was interrupted by Kanye West's sudden appearance onstage -- from out of the audience. West said before a shocked audience, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Beyoncé has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!" The camera showed an obviously stunned Beyoncé in her seat in the audience. She seemed to be as shocked as did the entire assemblage.The screen cut back to Swift, who was too surprised to do anything other than to look down and then walk away. West went on his way, to some boos from the audience. Beyoncé was still in her seat.The next reaction by the audience was to give a standing ovation for Swift. But by the time West handed the microphone back to Swift, her time slot was over and the show went to a video with Tracy Morgan and Eminem.The next presenter, Justin Bieber, made a point of saying, "Taylor Swift deserved that award."Later in the show, Beyoncé acknowledged her win for video of the year for "Single Ladies," saying she recalled her nomination for a VMA at age 17 with Destiny's Child. Beyoncé called Swift back to the stage and said, "I'd like Taylor to come out and have her moment."When Swift walked onstage, she noted, "Maybe we could try this again," and the audience responded with hearty applause.Swift won for her video "You Belong With Me." Beyoncé was nominated for "Single Ladies." Swift -- before being interrupted by West -- had said, "I sing country music, so thank you so much for giving me a chance to win a VMA." When Diddy later read West's name in the show when introducing the best male video nominees, the crowd booed. Diddy asked, "What happened?" -- as if he didn't know. Many in the audience responded by chanting Swift's name. Not too long after the show, Swift did a performance of "You Belong With Me" in a subway station.Shortly after his rant, West was asked to leave Radio City Music Hall, the New York venue where the awards show took place.West's remarks recalled his reaction in 2004 when Gretchen Wilson beat him for the best new artist award at the 2004 American Music Awards. He suffered a similar meltdown.
*************************************************************************************
This beyond upset me conscidering the fact that I have met Taylor mulitple times and let me tell you no one deserves to be spot lighted more then her. She is always gracious and kind and just minds her own buisness going around basking in the moment like everyone should get the opportunity to and then-WHAM! I can't believe how tactless and arrogant Kanye is and what's more is that no one is going to remember the fact that Taylor is the only country artist to date to have ever won a VMA and she gave a steller performance but they'll remember the night Kanye stole her thunder. I was very impressed by what Beyonce did to give Swift her moment back, at least what was left of it. I really hope that this was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as Kanye goes. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are tired of his big fat annoying pretentious ego and I hope this will deflate it and send him to live in outer space cause that might be the only place big enough for him.

Kanye and Taylor

So, we talked a little about this in class the other day, but what is everyones reactions to Kanye's outburst at the VMA's on Sunday night? Also, how big of a part does the media play in this situation?

I think that the media is having the greatest week because of his actions. I know that the clip of Taylor's first acceptance speech was on youtube in a matter of minutes and I find it interesting how fast the digital world is and how it can really effect. In the article, Kayne talks about how he was sad because of his mother's death a few years ago and that is why he acted the way he did. It seems like he is just making some excuses.

Here is the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/15/kanye.west.apology/index.html

Blogging Gets Homeless Woman a Job

A story came out recently about a 24yr old woman named Brianna. She was laid off from her job and could no longer afford to pay rent. Brianna inherited a trailer that she called her new home and began living in a Wal-Mart parking lot. She started to take advantage of the WiFi at a local coffee house and began a blog. Brianna told her stories of being homeless and what she was feeling. Not only did people read her blog, but she made contact with a man that runs a website and is now her boyfriend, and advice columnist for ELLE magazine that offered her an internship and a chance to write a fashion blog for the magazine. Is this the new way of making contact with people? The internet seems to be dominating more and more parts of our lives.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/09/11/homeless.blogger/index.html

World's Oldest Person Dies

The worlds oldest person, Gertrude Baines, died earlier today.  Full Story Below.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_oldest_person

Getting Back to Where Music Once Belonged

The 2009 Apple Keynote held in San Francisco on Wednesday proved to be an extra special event mac fanatics are still raving over. Due to his liver transplant five months ago, many questioned Steve Jobs even attending the event, but shortly after 10:00 AM he appeared onstage ready to yet again rock the technological world. The first reveal was iTunes 9. Now users are able to effortlessly sync their music, access even better Genius mixes, and share libraries with their other computers at home, but I found the neatest feature to be iTunes LP. The cover art, photos, and liner notes that used to be disc-exclusive can now be enjoyed without ever having to leave your computer. Granted, it's not the same as holding it in your hands, but it is one step closer to bridging the gap that digital downloading has created. Apple claims iTunes LP will help people become "even bigger fan[s]''. I think digital records just aren't the same, but good try...at least they are giving us fans something more to chew on. O, yeah...I almost forgot! My deepest condolences go out to Prof. Hendrickson for not getting your Beatles iTunes wish...maybe next time.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/whats-new/

http://applereviews.com/apple-keynote-sept-09/

Facebook used for distress calls instead of the police

On Monday the 7th, two Australian girls, ages 10 and 12, got lost in a storm drain. Instead of calling the police, however, the girls updated their Facebook statuses with their calls for help. Luckily, a friend saw their message and the girls were rescued, but the Australian authorities are worried about the girls' preference for calling for help via a social network. This isn't the first time something like this has happened either. In May, a man found a woman in distress and posted it on Twitter because he was worried his phone might die. Also a U.S. citizen was arrested in Egypt last year and called for help via Twitter. The incident in Australia actually coincides with a new campaign for The Safe America Foundation, which is working with the government to encourage the use of different means of communication (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) in emergencies where other types of communication might be impossible. So, is using these networking sites in emergencies useful? Or is our dependence on these sites getting just a little ridiculous?

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/08/trapped-girls-update-facebook-instead-of-calling-cops/

Groups and their members...

Group 1: Lee Cerier, Casey Leete, Kristin Nash, Mike White, Seth Whiting

Group 2: Ryan Buckwalter, Julia Huskey, Jared Oban, Rebekah Ratliff, Alyssa Samuels

Group 3: Natalie Ashker, Kevin Budd, Adam Cellini, Haley Estes, Allee Hethcoat

Group 4: Ryan Blue, Sam Miller, Hillary Powell, Chelsea Rae, Justin Wilson

Group 5: Kayla Becker, Alex Bergin, Jamie Brannen, Dawn Jiacoletti, Kyle Webber

Group 6: Rachel Galloway, Meghan Lamb, Jon MacNish, Te Smith, Taylor Sorrells

"Twitterville" a town for an older generation

As I was reading this article, I couldn't help but think of how twitter seems to be the new "thing" for the older generations. Shel Israel seems to have had a major life change from using Twitter. In the article, he talks about he feels it has "flattened geographical boundaries," but I don't see how Twitter really changes the boundaries of society. If I wanted to get my news online I would go to CNN.com and if I want to talk to friends I would go to facebook. Although I think that Twitter can be useful for some cases, like if you wanted to stay up to date with what your favorite actor or actress is doing, it is pretty much just internet stalking someone and they are letting you do it. I think it is easier for the older generations to use Twitter and to feel more in touch with the technological world, cause I'll be the first to admit, to see a 65 year old on facebook would just be a bit odd.

Here is the article that I found and CNN's interview with Mr. Israel:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/08/twitter.shel.israel/index.html

Library Discrimination

I recently made an attempt on obtaining a library card from Nashville public library. I was told no, due to the fact that I am an out of state resident who technically does not have a permanent address and I live in a county different than Davidson. I assumed that being a non-resident, non county resident and student that the $50 fee would be waived. I was very incorrect! There are many stipulations on being a state non-resident, non county resident and student that I needed to understand. The policy is written clearly where you can find and read it. But, it's not written in depth like it was explained to me at the library. I would like these simple questions answered.

1. Why do I need to live on campus to have the $50 fee waived?
2. Why can't all students, regardless of residency and county affiliation, have the fee waived?
3. Is this fee fair to all students and non-county residents? Why?

Disney Buys Out MARVEL?!?!

Only 4 billion? Is that really all the Stan Lee repitiore(spelling?) is worth to Disney? I think Marvel got shafted on this deal first of all. I really don't know what to say....The idea that Stan Lee's genius ideas will now be in the hands of the "Made-for-tv-Movie" Kings of the world makes me very uncomfortable. Instead of super heroes fighting their arch enemies in epic battles, maybe we will see epic pillowfights or maybe even a great water gun fight scene! But seriously, I dont think we should expect too much from anything that comes from Disney that is based on a Stan Lee Comic Book. Disney is dedicated to showing no blood and having almost no cursing in any of their movies. Come on, this is the biggest super hero franchise ever and it is being taken over by the Millie Vinilli of the action world. Not to say that the Pirates of the Caribbean series wasnt great, but I still dont think that Disney will be able to keep up with the precedent set my Marvel. Again, this is just my opinion but I think it will hold true. Guess we will find out when Ryan Reynolds stars in his new X-Men Origins: Deadpool movie. Because he was SOOOOO riveting in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Lord help us all through this....lol

Media Scandal

Several weeks ago, famous sports broadcaster Erin Andrews suffered an extreme violation of privacy as she was secretly videotaped while nude in the privacy of her own hotel room.  The footage was quickly leaked on to the internet.  Thoughts on what this says about media today?

The link below gives the full story.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212009/news/nationalnews/espn_hottie_erin_andrews_in_peep_shocker_180520.htm

Why This Guy isn't a Fan of Facebook Anymore

Folks, I'm one of the rare college students in this world who has daily access to a computer and doesn't sustain a Facebook account. The social result of this life choice is sometimes devastating, especially when girls learn they can't add me as a "Facebook friend" (by the way I could just as easily be a real life friend). I'm not just being stubborn about this because I didn't join years ago when it first arrived on the scene, I'm not trying to go against popularity, I actually have a few legitimate reasons.

Reason one, when I apply for a job someday, I can't wait to laugh in the employers face when he tries to do a background check on me through Facebook. That guy's just going to have to decide to hire me the old fashion way. Second, and more important, you can only control what you put on Facebook. You can't control what your "friends" post up on theirs, which could still be information about you that you withheld or wanted to keep private from the Internet. Sir John Sawers (pictured right) found this out the hard way.

This July, Sir John was appointed head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, dubbed MI6, giving him complete control of the country's spying operations worldwide. Sawers has been working in MI6 for 20 years, building up his credibility and resume as a diplomat for the service rather than a spy. After a well-deserved promotion was given to this hard worker, astonishing news had surfaced that has put his future with MI6 in jeopardy.

Turns out Sawers' wife has been posting incredibly dangerous information on Facebook that puts their entire family in danger. She has given intimate information about Sir John's life, including their addresses, celebrity friends, holiday vacation spots, top-secret news about his promotion, pictures, and a whole lot more. And if things weren't bad enough, her Facebook page WASN'T exclusive to friends! Really?? What in the hell is going through your head?? All this information has been available to the site's +200 million users, including terrorists with a computer and a Facebook account under the name "John Smith" (fine, I made that up).

Lady Sawers had one post about her husbands promotion that received attention from their family members who left even more damaging information in their comments. One comment said 'Congrats on the new job, already dubbed Sir Uncle "C" by nephews in the know!' with 'C' being Sir Sawers' codename for his new job at MI6.

MI6 and the country is viewing this blunder as the fault of Sir Sawers and are questioning his ability to fulfill the duties that were supposed to be bestowed upon him sometime in November. This whole ordeal has put his job in serious trouble.

So am I really that weird for not wanting a Facebook? Can I really trust some of you out there? I don't want to babysit my friends, and now you know what from.

for more on the article and a video visit: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1197562/MI6-chief-blows-cover-wifes-Facebook-account-reveals-family-holidays-showbiz-friends-links-David-Irving.html

First U.S. Rehab Center for Internet Addiction Opens Its Doors

First U.S. Rehab Center for Internet Addiction Opens Its Doors

Over the last few years, a new and disturbing phenomenon has been increasing in frequency. It’s called Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), and it has been the subject of new research and debate. It is not currently included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but many argue that addictions to the web and to Internet-based video games like World of Warcraft does indeed exist.

The debate is now back in focus after the Heavensfield Retreat Center announced that it has opened what appears to be the first addiction recovery program for Internet Addiction Disorder in the U.S. Called reSTART, the 45-day program is designed to take serious sufferers of IAD and bring balance to their lives. It already has its first patient, a 19 year old who could not remove himself from World of Warcraf