Thursday, September 29, 2011

Week 4: Creative Commons

Creative Commons is an awesome nonprofit organization. It allows artists, publishers, musicians and authors to determine the level of duplication/usage protection they wish to place on their work.

John Buckman, founder of Magnatune has also found a way to capitalize on this sense of empowerment the starving musician gains from places like Creative Commons. I believe John's idea to create an environment to help the artist was done with good intention but I cannot help but dislike the direction he is taking it. John Buckman is just as bad as the record labels. Yes, he is sharing other people's hard work for free (what a nice guy) but he is also taking 50% of all their sales. As a musician I couldn't stand listening to this guy going on and on in his faggy little voice about how wonderful he is and how evil all the other record companies are. Vomit! I guess what I have taken away from this weeks lesson is "honk your own horn or someone like John will take at least half of your credit."

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Week 3 Assignment

   Kevin Kelly introduced me to new thoughts and a better understanding of the web. At the time of his speech, (December, 2007) the web was almost 5,000 days old. Already it had grown so much. People were able to watch movies, socially network, utilize satellite imagery and check the weather with just a few simple clicks.
   Kevin presented the web as a well oiled machine that functioned as an extension of our collective knowledge. "We are the web" he said. I think it is so cool that people are willing and able to share so much with each other for free!
   The web is an ever growing global machine or "brain" that doubles in capacity every year. By 2040 the web is expected to exceed humanity in processing power. Kevin Kelly states that "We have to start believing in the impossible." Who knows how the web will change in the next 5,000 days. Perhaps we will be webporting (the web version of teleporting) around 2040.

NETZI EARTH!

   This weeks assignment was to watch a lecture by Kevin Kelly about the web and how far it has come in just 5,000 days. Kevin tries to present the web as an amazingly well oiled machine that works as an extension of our very being. 
   I for one am no fool and see right through it! Kevin Kelly is a machine. He is the first AI of many to come with this message of "Let the machine read you." The machine (the web) is getting to know us. Our likes and dislikes, our friends, addresses, the kind of toothpaste we use etc. It is tracking us through our devices and soon will be in all of our everyday items such as sneakers, a watch, a couch. 
    Kevin says that "in the future, EVERYTHING will be connected to the web." I am one being AI will not have it's oneness with! It is time we all start making our own possessions. We cannot trust anything we don't make ourselves. 
   Kevin clearly states that "we have to get better at believing the impossible." This may sound funny but we are headed straight into the real Terminator! By 2040 the web will exceed humanity in processing power. Kevin likes to say that "humans are the extended senses of the machine." In the next 5,000 days I predict humans becoming more and more enslaved to the machine.
  

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Week 2: My Presence in The Cloud

     I have a moderate presence in The Cloud. It has made much of my life more convenient by allowing me to pay bills, take classes and do taxes, all online. In addition to gmail I use facebook to keep in touch with my siblings. I love getting updates, pictures and videos of my nieces and nephews as well as sharing them of my own 3 kids. I attend two Moodle classes online with CCV. College would be impossible for me without the online option. I use OpenOffice.org to compose writings and find it to be user friendly and sufficient. 
      However, I am disgusted by the environmental damages the huge energy sucking server farms are inflicting. All of those super hot engines in air conditioned buildings running around the clock makes me sick. I feel guilty for being online right now.
     I feel that the biggest downfall of The Cloud is keeping everyone's personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, addresses, sentimental pictures and videos stored in these sever farms that have the possibility to crash at any given moment. The Cloud is a ticking bomb and when it does crash there is going to be a lot of upset people. In short, I hope to eliminate my presence in The Cloud as soon as this class is done.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The purpose of this blog is to record progress made in a multimedia class I am taking at CCV. I anticipate this class to be very challenging as I am not overly experienced with computer applications and video/audio recording devices. I have no experience with web development aside from being a Facebook user (pretty sure that doesn't count).
My goals are to become more comfortable and familiar with editing softwares. I'm nervous about working on a website. Anything that requires encoding really confuses me.
I look forward to learning how to use multiple sources of sensory input to create a stimulating experience for viewers and/or users of my work in this class. Thank you for taking the time to follow my experience. I appreciate any and all support. Feel free to leave your constructive criticism or just say hello.