essay

Technology is something which will consistently advance, regardless of the state of humanity. Capabilities of today’s technology, computers especially, would astonish the societies of as recent as 5 to 10 years ago. Naturally as humans interact with technology to benefit themselves, extended interaction has resulted in increased benefits. The music industry in particular is based on the foundation of technology, and its very existence and operations are affected by it. This has resulted in a blurring of the lines between professional, amateur, underground, mainstream and so forth, which provides the basis for a debatable scenario.

Every day devices are becoming increasingly convergent, and in turn, powerful. They allow for amateurs to produce digital content at a standard which was previously exclusive to professionals, especially within the music industry . Laptop computers, mp3 players, camera phones, handy cams and what not are readily available to anyone with a job more or less, and are all capable of recording or playing digital music. With the general public now empowered by technology, revolutionary and highly controversial situations have begun to unfold; first and most locally, the surfacing of Australian pop groups Short Stack and Operator Please.

From a culturally bland environment like Central Coast NSW, the formation and success of an indie rock band would have seemed unlikely. Technology however has resulted in the emergence of bands from all corners of the nation, and world. Short Stack are a prime example of the combined benefits of SMS, MySpace and YouTube, breaking the Australian music scene in 2008 and winning prestigious awards . The simplicity and form of the music is almost cheeky, as their success has left professionals baffled. Professional studio musicians and experienced band members scratch their heads and curse names like Short Stack and Operator Please, as they have dedicated years of their lives to breaking a seemingly unbreakable scene, whilst younger, lesser talented amateurs play to enormous crowds. Overnight success of bands through internet exposure will earn fans, but also plenty of enemies. This is an obstacle these bands will have to overcome, as their fan base will consist mainly of youth, who are temperamental and likely to change taste in music frequently. Musical skill and technical prowess were values held paramount by the music community of decades past, but now perhaps not so much.

A band would need a blazing lead guitarist or soaring lead vocals to attract the attention of a 1970s record producer or venue manager. A level of professionalism was required to even cast a shadow on the music scene, and to gain access to recording equipment. This equipment was the only adequate equipment for producing music, and thus only those who were deemed professionally worthy would become famous . This equation would result in many bands of similar appearance and ability for decades, and the stereotypical “rock star” became a household dream. Simplification of musical technique and songwriting slowly broke music scenes as garage musicians became more and more capable of recording their music at an adequate level through technology. Some could argue that this movement cheapens the prestigious industry, however without musical simplification, some of the most successful bands and genres of all time would never have seen the light of day; Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys etc. Garage bands can be an untapped resource of rock and roll gold, as they will play and record whatever and however they choose, free of influence from record companies and mainstream conformity.

What is broadcasted in excess by the mainstream outlets (Channel V, MTV, Music Max, B105 etc) is heavily based on what major record companies and labels release. Now these companies will only hire and produce what they deem to be fit, and their influence is never far from the bands they do. As most music fans will have access to televisions and radios, this ultimately gives companies the power to suggest what we should and should not listen to . Now this could seem harmless, but one must remember that a record company/label is purely a business, and when the almighty dollar is the driving motive behind anything, eventually integrity is lost. Through the revolutionary MySpace, computer users world wide have access to songs recorded by any band of any quality, from the many house hold devices which can now record audio. This approach is favoured mainly by the indie community, however it gives a general alternative option for music fans to consider. Straying from mainstream, radio spammed power pop acts like Greenday encourages the development of these independent and underrated groups. Mainstream radio can sound attractive on first listen, but easily becomes repetitive and in some cases, irritating. Alternative and independent bands which have made themselves known via self recording on accessible devices have gone on to inspire (embarrassingly enough, politicians ) and prosper, and this is an attribute which must be valued.

Practitioners of supposed high skill these days are perhaps only so because of the obvious advantages they are provided with, due to their elite status. The best guitars, amplifiers, drums, microphones, recording equipment, producers, and such are at their fingertips. There is little inspiring about U2 releasing an over-produced rehash of the last three albums with their millions of dollars; however there is plenty to admire when you witness kids receiving praise and breaking the industry through MySpace, flaunting their second hand gear which they had worked so hard at Hungry Jacks to buy. Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner went from caressing a Christmas present Stratocaster in his garage to belting a vintage Fender Bronco in front of capacity crowds in less than a decade. This truly foregrounds the value of digital production and the ability of any computer using musician to broadcast their product. Grand success and the ability to inspire are alive and kicking with the self production of amateurs and the possibilities unlocked.




Bibliography

Scholarly articles

http://fr.creativecommons.org/articles/finland.htm - From Switzerland

http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zgEOAAAAQAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=1970s+Rock&ots=soqFB1m2GR&sig=3nmI_HQgzGBVvi4bigLw_UZ5UTA#v=onepage&q=1970s%20Rock&f=false – Google Books

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=933548 – Google Scholar

http://www.socresonline.org.uk/cgi-bin/perlfect/search/search.pl?q=organisational&showurl=%2F11%2F3%2Fbeer.html – Google Scholar

http://www.springerlink.com/content/m7q1725217443802/ - Google Scholar


Internet sites

http://www.shortstack.com.au/biography/ - Google search

http://www.arctic-monkeys.com/ - Google search

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2009/10/08/Pearl-Jam-U2-And-Pink-Sell-Out-To-High-Paying-Brands.aspx# - Google Search

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g4DfieP0sX0IfcY5shP2aHtntwzw - Google Search

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5380808.stm - Google Search

Second post for week 9.

Hope you enjoyed my beautiful work of art. Tony and the Ace Kickers got me through some rough times :)

Anyway, I'm going to dedicate this post to telling you about my 2010 Big Day Out ticket.

So I stayed up wednesday night until 12 am (which became officially thursday) in hope of buying a ticket for me and two friends during the first wave of online sales released at midnight.

I clicked the link, it took about 10 minutes to load (due to mass lag of people trying to do the same thing) and eventually the page where you put in your credit card details came up. So I entered the details, how many tickets, my name/email etc, which took all of about 5 minutes. So when I'm finished I click "purchase".

By this point, 15 minutes since 12 am had elapsed, and I was greeted with a page saying "Sorry, sold out!"

I was left with two options, wake up at 3 am (which was in about 3 hours) and go line up at Sunflower CDs at Pacific Fair, or wait till 9 am that morning and try for the second wave of tickets on ticketek.

No way was I going to miss out on a ticket on account of the discepencies of technology! So I got my ass out of bed, went with some friends and waited in line from 6 am till 9:30 am, got a ticket, and $50 from a man who paid me to cut in line behind me. And that's why it was the best day ever. (not really, it left me exhausted/pissed off lol)

Week 9: A work of art.

My cyberspace friends, I am about to introduce you to the greatest boy band parody group of all time. After this, you won't see things the same way. Their last piece of work recorded from early 2008, please make them welcome, Tony and the Ace Kickers..



Now at prima face (that's legal jumbo for 'first glance'), it would seem like this isn't actually a piece of art made by me, Jackson Haswell.

However, I wrote all of the lyrics to this parody, am recorded singing in it, directed all the recordings of the other singers (my friends), founded the group/band known as Tony and the Ace Kickers, thought of the name, assisted in directing the film clip, and even starred in the film clip (might look a little different because I had a black-dyed crew cut and it was the start of last year).

A true work of art.

Week 6 fictitional news story.

Not quite in order, but I wasn't happy with my previous attempt, so I deleted it, and procrastinated the follow-up. Also, that evil "iReport" deleted my story from their site! So I guess having it in the blog will have to suffice.


LOCAL acoustic act Local Hero performed a tribute to Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in a private bedroom gig. Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Zak Barker spoke of his idolisation of Dylan as a song writer.
"He was the original and the best, and is still alive and kicking today."
"Good on you, Bob!"
Lead guitarist Jackson Haswell and younger brother/drummer Jordan Haswell hosted the gig, at a venue best known as The Filth.
"Never seen the place so packed!" said a bewildered and overwhelmed Jordan.
"Hey Jordan, do you remember that time when you WEREN'T high?" retorted Jackson.
"Umm, what?" stuttered Jordan.
"Exactly" spat Jackson triumphantly.

So the real moral of this story is, Jackson is trumphant. An all round good bloke. LOL.

Week 8 "Censorship" discussion

Let me start off by saying, I don't care for politics, politicians or their excessive salaries. I don't buy the courier mail anymore because the first 20 pages are absolutely ridden with politics. Makes trash like The Bulletin seem interesting.

More to the point, I am strongly disappointed by the Government's 'cleen-feed'. Pornography and R-Rated video games are what keep the nerd community alive. Suicide rates will increase rapidly once these nerd-addictions are vanquished.

Seriously though, self righteous people and their little shanty towns, comprised of over protective mothers and church groups, can jump. Like actually jump, I'm serious. Splat, please, do it.

We already pay a fortune for broadband in Australia, and this add in will only add to it. Plus, the censor will be a mandatory, and if you wish to opt-out, you will be asked why, and possibly secretly monitored by the government.

This is Australia, the beautiful land down under, and if I want to watch X Rated porn, play online casino-style poker, saw off heads in R-Rated video games, then by God, I will. We don't need an excuse for our participation in these things! Up yours, Labour party.

What place does cencorship have in democracy?

NONE! Democracy was founded on freedom of choice/speech/will, God made us with the gift of free will (if you're an athiest, shut your hell-bound mouth), and the concept of a bigger, supposedly more important figure telling another figure what they can and can't watch is a contradiction.

I'm ashamed that we've joined the likes of China.
Blog over.

Week 8 Task

Let's get political!

1. Sign an E-Petition


Check it out at this link, it was for the children's hospital.
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1319&lIndex=-1


2. Respond to a professional blogger:

An NME.com blog by Luke Lewis discussed buying shares in a band, or contributing towards their album production. So I replied
"Marillion have been doing this for years and regardless of what you might think of their artistic credibility, it's kept their career going strong and they still sell tens of thousands of albums."

You can look at my reply on this page, user name Spunky:
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&blog=10&title=buy_shares_in_a_band_think_of_the_possib&page=1&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1&disp=single

3. What's Barack Obama up to today?
Well I would suggest something to do with the 30,000 pound bomb, which is supposedly the pride and joy of the pentagon!

At least that's what this blog had to say: http://ochairball.blogspot.com/

4. Who are my local federal/state representatives?
I don't care, however, I will find out:
Michael John Crandon, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, Anna Bligh.

5. When did they last speak in parliament?

As for Joe Ludwig - 17/9/09.

6. I had this to say to Mr Ludwig:



The lecture discussed democracy, cyber democracy, online democracy or something like that, point is, it covered a large amount of material working off a few different tangents.

It's hard to 'pursue a couple of topics that you found most interesting' when you honestly found none of them even remotely interesting. Last time I checked, this subject was New Communication Technology, not the dreaded News and Politics which I sit through for 3 hours a week. Politics is like religion - everyone argues about it, everyone talks about how important it is, everyone thinks if we don't pay attention to it, we will suffer in the end, but like religion, YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT IT!

Thankyou :)

Week 7 lecture thoughts..

Jason is quite entertaining and engaging; a fresh change from the boredom of "news and politics" lectures.
As I've mentioned, he discussed in detail freeware, including issues such as viruses... and how they're made out to be worse than what they are.
There's not a whole lot I have to say in this post, because I pretty much said it in the previous, so as some form of consolation, please look at the muscular man.

Week 7 lecture freeware download

During the week 7 lecture, the long-haired lecturer ventured into freeware, including the differences between legitimate and fake ones, the beauty and uses of freeware, his own online creations and so forth.

Encouraged in tutorials to download some form of freeware and discuss it, I decided to download the always popular Windows Live Messenger. The program is an instant messaging system on which you can add other users and view when they're online, communicating through typed messages sent instantly.

This program allows me to speak to someone I have on my contacts list from anywhere in the world where internet is available. I have several contacts from the UK who I am able to speak to instantly. The program also allows for fellow contacts to be able to see which song I am listening to through media player or iTunes if I choose to enable that function. Emoticons, animations and the infamous 'nudge' can be sent to other users, to grab their attention or perhaps speak a message which could not be said another way.

Another active function of the program is the ability to personalise it, including the use of a display name, a display picture and a coloured frame surrounding the conversation window.

Easily the most prominent instant messaging program on the internet, Windows Live Messenger is a personal favourite of mine.

Thanks.

Week 6 lecture

The week 6 lecture provided an interesting insight into the consumption and production of content by humans, and its relation to new communication technology.

The 'big' screens of life are television, the pc and the cinema. Through these mediums we passively consume content, in large doses often, because they are made quite readily available to us.

The 'small' screens of life are mobiles phones (which are becoming increasingly convergent) and personal music players. These allow for increased involvement of productions, and for identities to be formed during product consumption.

Niche-markets are increasingly targeted, with the production of fan films. Websites promoting and producing this activity are available online as mentioned in the lecture.

News consumption is greatly affected by technology. Mobile phones create yet another social networking frame in which information freely passes at a fantastic speed.

This more or less sums up what I learned in the lecture. Oh yeah.

Damn dirty Google Map

Here is my ultimate google map, a Jackson Haswell original.


View The Map, The. in a larger map

bone appetit (no typo).

The map seems to display from a very zoomed out point, and thus it could be hard to see where I made the lines, but zoom into surfers paradise and you will see.

Week 5 lecture

Not in the right order of weeks obviously, my first attempt I wasn't happy with so I deleted and re-did. Enjoy!

Social networking is an aspect discussed in the lecture material, and displayed on the course blogspot site. It's an activity which seems to have really spanned the past decade or so, and is only growing in popularity, with the likes of myspace being rivaled and surrounded by facebook, twitter, hello world, bebo and so forth.

If you have to have a little part of the web which is there to express your creativity and individuality, perhaps it could be done in a more subtle way. Listing your every like or dislike, sexual preferences, potentially indictable offences and what not on the internet is likely to cause problems for you eventually.

As mentioned on the course blogspot, imagine a potential boss or business client staggering upon some particularly low-brow, drunken photos of yourself from the weekend. It boggles the mind!

This online social networking has become so extensive and frequent, it is a modern journalistic tool for news. Politicians all have twitter pages! They're completely fake of course though, and would only post pre-meditated and approved twitter comments etc.

Who knows how far this online phenomena could go? Perhaps one day everyone will remain in their homes and all communication will be done via facebook? Let's hope not...

Week 5/6 task

The first short film is one of twists and turns. I chose it because of its simple, yet deceptive plot, with roughly 5 or 6 words spoken the entire film. The film makes appropriate use of close ups, wide shots and extreme close ups to capture detail and location, which is the key to framing any story or film. The twist at the end is foregrounded by the close up on the baby, which is a pivotal moment.



The second short film was chosen due to its use of extreme close ups of the characters face to show the viewers his greed and desire, whilst wide shots were used to frame him and the scene in the office. Mid shots were appropriately used to display what he is doing with the photocopier, and the object which it creates. In the end he falls into the black hole and is consumed by his own greed, which sends a message.



The third short film is a very simple project, and only makes use of the close up shot basically. It is a rapid slide show of a woman who took a photo of herself every day for three years. The close ups in each single frame allow the viewer to see her features, and how they change dramatically over three years, a mere projection of time itself. A pure and basic, yet effective short film right here.



Rock and roll, thanks.

It would seem this week requires a scavenger hunt. Well strap yourselves in and prepare for some hardcore, general knowledge!

What is the height of the world's biggest tree and how long did it take to grow?

Well, the tallest living tree is measured at 112 metres, and is estimated to have been growing for over 1000 years. It is a Mendocino Tree in Ukiah, California. It's status as world's tallest tree became official in 1996.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/OlgaVapnyar.shtml


What is the quickest and most reliable way to reach Madonna?

Well, it would seem the best way to reach Madonna would be to contact her agent, Liz Rosenberg. Her details can be found on the internet. Contacting her is almost a surefire way to contact Madonna.
http://www.madonnatribe.com/contact/


Age of the oldest ever captive elephant? Older than the average wild age?

Lin Wang of the Taipei Zoo in Asia lived for 86 years, outliving the average wild age of 70.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Wang

a) How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean ? b)What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?

I would define glycomics as an applied study of functions and structure of carboydrates in the biological systems of organisms, however that was after I did a little reading on the topic.

In my own words I guess it really means how different foods provide the body with different levels of sugar, from which the body draws energy to perform day to day physical activities. It could also cover the effects of excessive carbohydrate intake?

In perhaps a little low-brow fashion, a seagull manager refers to a manager at an organisation who flies in, flaps about and makes alot of noise, craps on everything and then leaves. It is a metaphor of course of an inefficient, rude manager.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seagull+manager
http://www.griffith.edu.au/science/institute-glycomics/research/what-is-glycomics

5. What was David Cronenberg's most recent feature film? Which of his films Had 'Blondie' in it?

David Cronenberg's most recent film was Eastern Promises (2007). The film with blondie in it was a horror flick called Videodrome.

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=David+Cronenberg%27s+latest+film&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Fname%2Fnm0000343%2F

6. When was the original 'Hackers' released?

In 1995, and it had Angelina Jolie (Kate Libby/Acid Burn) in it.

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Hackers&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Ftitle%2Ftt0113243%2F

7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?

Because there is no combination of random numbers which isn't currently someone in the world's phone number, and some people would call numbers they saw on movies and tv shows for kicks. '555' links directly to directory assistance, no matter where you are in the world, and thus prevents these annoying pranks.

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Why+do+all+movie+phone+numbers+begin+with+555%3F&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straightdope.com%2Fcolumns%2Fread%2F345%2Fwhy-do-phone-numbers-in-tv-shows-and-movies-all-start-with-555

8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Cairns?

To train or bus to Roma St in Brisbane and then catch the tilt train. It's roughly a 24 hr journey.

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Train+gold+coast+to+cairns&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.railmaps.com.au%2Ftrains_brisbane.htm

9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1970?

Up Around The Bend/Run Through The Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_in_Australia_during_the_1970s

10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?

The punk band known as The Black Assasins, existant in the late 1970s early 1980s.

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Brisbane+band+steven+stockwell&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmembers.optusnet.com.au%2F%7Etoxicoh%2Fblackas.htm

Well that pretty much nails it, ciao!

Week 3 TV Show Task

Anybody like Malcom in the Middle?

Well I do, so I chose to watch an episode of the silly sitcom to provide stimulus for the task alluded to during the lecture. I'm going to give an explanation of the following off screen questions which are answered by on-screen methods. During this episode of Malcom in the Middle:

Who? - A close up shot of Francais is used, identifying him standing up and speaking to his fellow military school students about a hunger strike. He can be seen from the waist up to his head.

What? - The opening scene of the show sees Hal under the kitchen sink, fixing the pipes with a spanner, because he resents the amount of money that the professionals charge to fix things. A midshot is used and he can be seen lying down on his back, with the entire sink, above and below, in clear vision, with the back of Lois' head also in the shot.

Where? - A long shot is used at the beginning of the scene where Malcom goes to hospital to set the scenario. This scenario is a hosptial ward, as there are teddy bears, beds, curtains and a counter/reception desk all in the shot. The family are also visible huddled around Malcom's bed.

When? - A scene is set in the morning, as is clearly displayed by a wide shot of the family sitting around a dining table with many helpings of scrambled eggs and bacon infront of them. A window is in the top right corner of the shot and an early morning sky can be seen.

How? - A scene begins with several close ups of the military cadet's hands on their stomachs, then followed by a wide shot covering a few cadets lying on the floor. They are groaning and these shots are designed to display their hunger strike (the event) taking place.

Why? - A close up of Hal's face is used to answer this question, as his face is red and dripping with beads of sweat. He is in the hosptial ward, and this shot is designed to explain that he is terrified to be there, nervous and anxious.

Well that just about nails it, an interesting task and a solid new concept learned.

Internet Timeline and History of Computing!

This was supposedly supposed to be posted during week two, but I only heard of it during the week 3 class, so now I am in week 4, and find myself posting it. Here goes!

The history of the internet can be traced to the late 1950s and our Soviet friends' launch of The Sputnik. My friend Dr Y. Tube has provided a video to further elaborate upon this topic, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRSHzbQa60


The history of computing is a long, detailed, and very interesting one I'm sure. So interesting infact, that a Computer History Museum exists in a town called Mountain View. While I wasn't personally able to visit this museum over the past week, I was able to find the visual recordings of a lady who did. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXAjVw-bP5g

I'm hoping these two videos proved insightful, thanks!

Week 3 blog

This week's lecture covered the 'Language of the Screen', and covered different angles and camera shots, abbreviated for convenience. The following is an explanation of each:

ECU (Extreme Close Up) - This shot goes in so far that the target's face or other body part is filling the entire screen. It shows extreme detail, and because it is so close, it can't really show reactions or emotion, with the exception being during intensely dramatic scenes. This shot will usually have an underlying reason or motive.




BCU (Big Close Up) - This shot is quite similar to the extreme close up, and also goes in very close to show extreme detail. However instead of the target's face filling the entire screen, the rest of the head can be seen, including jaw, mouth, forehead and even neck. It is also used to emphasise emotions and facial expressions.



CU (Close Up) - Similar to the first two close up shots explained, a feature of a certain target takes up the majority of the screen during a close up (it's almost always their face). They are also used for emphasizing detail and expression, so as to show a character's emotional state. It can also be used as a cut-in.



MCU (Medium Close Up) - Still a close up shot, the medium close up is a middle ground between a mid shot and a close up. The face is able to be seen and emphasized, without the clarity of the shot being disturbed by the target's face being overwhelmingly close to the camera.


MS (Mid Shot) - A section of the target (from the waist down or up etc) is focused upon to capture expression and increase detail. This isn't however, done with such intensity that an impression of the whole target can't be clearly seen.


MLS (Medium Long Shot) - This shot has a broader field than the mid shot, but a smaller field than the long and wide shots. It can include more than one target of focus, (eg person), and thus can capture certain actions which the close ups cannot.



LS (Long Shot) - This shot is designed to represent the targets as close to life size as possible. It often uses the Full Shot, which displays the entire human body, with the head being at the top of the frame and the feet at the base. It enables background interaction, whilst still focusing on the detail of certain targets.



VLS/WS (Very Long Shot/Wide Shot) - This shot is from a great distance away (up to a quarter of a mile, however many metres that is!) and can be effectively used to set the scene in a scene. It can show building exteriors, landscapes and such, and wont have as much specific detail as other shots, but more of a general detail to be viewed.



Bibliography

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/extreme-closeup.html - ECU
http://www.mediaedwales.org.uk/publicity/pages/camera/framing/fram7.htm - BCU
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/closeup.html - CU
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/medium-closeup.html - MCU
http://www.mediaknowall.com/camangles.html - MS /LS VLS/WS

Week Two Lecture

This week's lecture contained a brief look at the history of the Internet, and Computers.

The birth of the first computer to their first commercial production in the 1950s was covered, with the efforts of Charles Babbage and Alan Turing being identified and acknowledged.

The lecturer gave personal insights into his own computer purchases over the years, dating back to the 1980s in Sydney. One of his earliest machines was stolen from his house near Bondi, allegedly by a junkie.

The emergence of major corporations involved in the development of computers was covered next; Apple, Xerox, PARC and Microsoft to name a few. Steve Jobs of Apple owned 50% of the market and an approximate wealth of $100 000 000 at age 25, but Microsoft's Bill Gates was another tyrant on the rise.

The Internet, Cyberspace and Web had their origins covered - initially a method to transfer messages from one system to another electronically, escaping the physical realm. This in turn developed over the years to become the infinite source of information the modern day Internet is.

New features include instant messaging, file sharing and skype video calls.

This lecture proved interesting, the competitiveness of the computer industry, especially during the initial stages, was a point covered which was particularly new to me. The interactive and charisatic lecturer provides a presentation which is easy enough to follow and maintains the attention of the group.

Convergence at its most basic form is the coming together of two or more things. It is the movement of these 'things' towards a common ground. In the case of technology, it involves the movement of different technological objects and systems towards providing similar uses and abilities.

definition reference: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=convergence

Now let's look at a few examples of convergent technology.



The photocopier is a commonly used and often unnoticed piece of converged technology. No office is complete with out one, the photocopier combines a telephone, fax machine, printer, photocopier and more.




The laptop computer combines the portability of mobile devices, a PC with memory for storage, a word processor, built in speakers, c.d and d.v.d players, c.d burners, a strong communication device with wireless connection to the world wide web for such tasks as instant messaging.












The retro-style Radio Toaster is a very simple and perhaps unnecessary convergence of technology. Though it doesn't allow the user to communicate, it does receive transmissions and pick up the radio signals, thus receiving communication. This allows for convenience when toasting and wishing to hear the radio.



The mobile phone is a telecommunications device of great versatility, which combines telecommunication with internet and web communication, the ability to pick up radio signals, store and play mp3s and videos, transfer information through wireless blue tooth and much more. The convergence of mobile phones has only increased in recent years, as displayed by the extremely common and useful apple iPhone.







This is an edited version of the radio toaster image for lols. The before picture can be seen above.













Here is a link to an interesting website regarding the history of the fax machine:
http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventors/a/fax_machine.htm

And this is a link to yet another interesting website, this one regarding the many functions of the world wide web:
http://www.mit.edu/~rei/wwwintro.html

That concludes this blog.

The lecture, the.

Greetings!

I'm Jackson the journalism student, and I unfortunately couldn't attend the first lecture. I can however, write this blog, despite not being on great terms with Macintosh and all things Macintosh related (iPods excluded).

Obviously I'll ensure that I attend next week's lecture so as to not fall behind! Sorry!