Topic 12 – Share, Remix, Reuse…legally ?

Lecture - ECL / CC / FOSS….omgwtfbbq

Due to the way in which the internet has been constructed, no single body can control the entire network. Each country or network has provisions which users are required to adhere to. The internet experiences exponential growth with the availability of new technology reaching more and more people around the globe. As a result, the internet has become a key concern for governments and corporations who are vying for control of the masses. The key issue presented is the decrease of privacy and electronic civil liberties as governments and corporations tighten their grip on the users.

Ideally the internet should be a neutral net, which put simply means equality should be maintained through out the network. However, ISPs and corporations oppose a neutral net instead prioritizing their own data agenda. One of the most blatant examples of data shaping is carried out by Rogers (Canadian equivalent of Telstra) who after 20mins will decrease your internet bandwidth if you are deemed to be using a VOIP service such as Skype. Alternatively ISPs or networks may just completely disable certain types of data traffic in an attempt to control user actions, with peer-to-peer networks are usual targets. Other forms of civil liberty infractions may also include content filtering which disables access to certain internet content. This is especially evident in China where many American websites are blocked from being access anywhere in the country. Countries such as America and Britain are known to actively spy on internet users by tracking their online activity and flagging specific behavior for analysis. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an organization which aims to maintain fundamental digital rights of users including free speech, intellectual property, international laws and privacy concerns.

Creative Commons is an alternative method of licensing content which allows users certain freedoms not gained through the use of traditional copyright. Most notably, Creative Commons (CC) allows users to remix or recreate work for nonprofit purposes and be legally used online. This organization was created in order to fulfill the need for a new type of copyright which better adapted to the online environment.

Reading

Why Software Should Not Have Owners

The article “Why Software Should Not Have Owners” by Richard Stallman argues that proprietary software is a negative influence in society which creates more problems than solutions. A key distinction made in the article is line of thinking perpetuated by software owners to guide the mass market. Stallman mentions specifically that intuitions about traditional theft do not apply in the digital environment due to the lack of a physical good. Another critical aspect is the exaggeration used by owners in gauging their losses by counting the numbers of copies not even considering the actual intent of purchase. Stallman argues that software should be open in order for people to cooperate openly and freely.

FLOSS

Free/Libré/Open Source Software (FLOSS), free software is software that anyone can use, copy, improve, examine or distribute, either at no cost or for a price as described by the author. FLOSS blurs the line between users and creator and affords all users with the ability to use software in methods they intend. ‘Free’ in this context refers to freedoms which can be undertaken with modification or co-creation of the software. The software can be free in a conventional sense however some creators may charge a small amount for their works. Customization plays a huge role in the distribution of paid ‘free’ software as organizations may customize the software for different consumers.

Cory Doctorow: Creative Commons

Topic 11 - yarrrrrrh..Pirates

Lecture - Stealing the Internets

Copyright is a form of protection provided by laws to the authors of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. The law enables copyright owners to control use of their material in a number of ways, such as making copies, issuing copies to the public, performing in public, broadcasting and use on-line. Over the past several years, copyright owners of music, movies and other digital media have seen an exponential increase of piracy with the introduction of affordable broadband technology. As a result, many copyright holders, particularly the record and movie studios, have begun introducing DRM (Digital Rights Management) to their products in an attempt to curb the growing rate of piracy. Current DRM standards have had a negative impact on consumers purchasing legal music and movies online as it imposes severe limitations on the downloaded media. Thus the organizations implementing DRM are negatively impacting the consumers who wish to purchase their products legally. One can argue that piracy has been boosted thanks to the implementation of DRM.

Peer-to-peer file sharing software is one of the largest contributors to online piracy, effectively providing users with the ability to download a myriad of copyrighted content. Most downloaded content usually includes latest released movies, new music and software. The moral question of ‘is downloading this content wrong’ is completely subjective with each person offering different perspectives. In my opinion, piracy is an inevitable part of life which will never be completely extinguished by corporations or governments. This point is reinforced by the inability of corporations to adequately adapt to current market conditions creating non-serviced consumers. Parallels can be drawn between online piracy and traditional black markets which both develop as a result of unmet demands.

The internet comprises of private networks which span the globe, therefore there is no single governing body. This allows pirates to hide in relative safely in countries with lax privacy laws such as Sweden. Mininova.org is a prime example of a website hosted in Sweden which provides its users with the ability to browse and download hundreds of thousands of copyrighted works.

Reading: When Pigs Fly

Adaptability is a key word for any business in any market. The business needs to be able to adapt to changing market conditions and forecast future conditions in order to survive. Simply put, locate consumer demand and satisfy it, when the demand changes, change your product or service to fulfill the new demand. The music industry, and in particular the labels, have outright failed to adapt to consumer demands. Technology not only allows users to quickly and easily access digital copies of music but it also enables us to get it for free. As mentioned in the article, we live in the iPod generation; consumers have become accustomed to downloading entire albums illegally online. Record Labels expect the same consumers to pay $30+ dollars for what they can receive for free. They have lost control of their distribution by not providing consumers with correct means of obtaining their products. Thus consumers have found alternative methods, largely in non-legal form, of obtaining their desired product. As mentioned previously, it’s the black market balance, what can’t be obtained through regular markets will be obtained through black markets. The music labels still follow the out-dated and traditional sales strategies; they are failing to understand the impact of technology on their market which will eventually lead to their demise.

Topic 10 - What is Human?

Lecture – Blade Runner: More Human than Human

The 1982 film Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep’. Set in 2019 Los Angeles, the narrative places the characters in a world ruined by economic and environmental exploitation. Unlike many other films in the science-fiction genre, Blade Runner explicitly focuses on the question of ‘what does it mean to be human’. The film explores this question by presenting artificial life in the form of the ‘replicants’ which aim to determine what aspects of humanity define humans. The parallels between man and machine are presented which the film essentially asking what makes humans different from machines. As described in the film, replicants were designed to be ‘more human than human’ in order to create the perfect being. This is conveyed in almost a biblical sense where the Tyrell Corporation has created a being which they believe is superior to humans. Additionally, the notion of emotions in machines is explored through the evolution of the replicant’s artificial intelligence. The development of human emotion in the replicants proposes that the divide between humans and machines in the future may decrease as the machines become more human than human.

Reading - An exploration of what it is to be human

The novel ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep’ by Philip K. Dick explores the notion of what makes humans human. As the basis for the film Blade Runner, the novel follows the same analysis of the qualities which make humans human. A key aspect of humanity mentioned in the analysis is empathy which asserts that an artificial life form would be required to develop a conscience. The measurement or analysis of emotions in this context provides the foundation for determining real from the simulated. As a point of comparison, the author proposes that if machines possessed emotions, what distinction could be drawn between them and humans. Would machines evolve from machine to our current definition of ‘human’?

Topic 9 - Cyberpunk

Lecture – Cyber Punk

Although difficult to accurately define, Cyberpunk can be seen as a futuristic perspective of society in which technology has evolved well beyond the scope of current standards. Encapsulated in the futuristic world, nanotechnology, biotechnology and artificial intelligence are often explored to establish an impression of immense technological influence in every day life. A recurring theme in Cyberpunk is the segregation of society based on wealth and influence, often characterized by small, ruling elite of multinational corporations and a large, brutal mass of regular people. This creates a foundation for Cyberpunk as authors seek to establish a form of rebellion against the large conglomerates and governments which control the world. The ‘punk’ aspect is characterised by this rebellion against authority or controllers in society. Cyberpunk focuses on ‘inner-space’ which refers to the here and now but exaggerated to follow what we perceive to be its natural development in the future. Cyberpunk aims to differentiate itself from the sci-fi genre by creating a dystopia rather than the traditional utopia often portrayed in science fiction.

Reading – The Allegory of the Cave & Burning Chrome

Allegory of the cave
The basic premise of Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ is the human perception of truth through conditioning can be altered. This also incorporates the notion that what maybe perceived truth isn’t actual reality. In this example people are kept in a cave from childhood and shown shadows of real objects projected onto a wall. Through conditioning their perception of reality is formed around the visual input of the cave shadows. Plato suggests that all humans are prisoners of our perceived reality and that our tangible world is our cave. The things we perceive to be real are the equivalent of the shadows on the wall.

Burning Chrome
The 1986 novel ‘Burning Chrome’ by William Gibson is one of the great works in the Cyberpunk genre. As a Cyberpunk novel the story unfolds in a futuristic world where biotechnology allows humans to plug directly into networks through artificial interfaces. This premise could be interpreted as a parallel to that depicted in the 1995 movie ‘Ghost in the Shell’ where both police and hackers entered a similar virtual network. As hackers illegally access networks in society today, Burning Chrome portrays this same concept but in a far more technologically advanced culture which aims to intensify the issue. The story depicts a fictional world controlled exclusively by computers, in this scenario hackers become a massive threat to everyday life. One can make the argument that our society is reaching or has already reached a point where we rely so heavily on computers that hackers pose a major threat.

Topic 8 - Game on

Lecture – Is gaming a waste of time?

The electronic gaming industry has seen exponential growth over the past several years as more and more games aim at a broader audience. A primary example being the Nintendo Wii gaming console which through the use of motion controls allows players guide their on screen counter-parts without the need for complex button sequences. In this example we wee how manufacturers are innovating in order to drive the industry into a more mainstream environment. In recent years gaming has evolved into a social experience where players from around the world gather to speak a universal language. Interactivity in gaming has become a major issue with developers creating immersive worlds full of detail and design. Creating not only a game, but a virtual environment has become a key consideration for game developers wanting to maximise their player base. As an example, ‘The Sims’ is the best selling PC game of all time with players not only controlling their in game experience but creating their environment and social interaction. Through the use of naratology, much like a writer, a game developer creates a story that is aimed at creating certain perceptions and reactions amongst players. Alternatively, people like Jesper Juul proposes that games differ from movies and the traditional media landscape and thus takes a ludo-logical perspective on gaming. The one of the main arguments raised by Juul is that the relationship between the player and game world is completely different to reader/viewer of a story.

Reading – Trigger Happy

The article ‘Trigger Happy’ by Steven Poole investigates the evolution and effects of video gaming and entertainment in society. A critical issue mentioned in the article is the differentiation between a simulated environment and our actual environment. As described in the article, game designers create virtual environments which aim to be a representation of our reality. However, these environments offer only a slice of reality in that they are modified by game designers to enhance entertainment value. The example given in the article is lasers often seen in space combat games often miss targets when in reality a laser would hit targets instantaneously. Video games create false ‘in game’ reality in order to create more entertainment. Designers do this to remove us from reality and immerse players in a space where what maybe impossible becomes possible. Furthermore, what may be considered reality in game cannot be directly equated to games as provided in the article a F1 driver may not perform well in game due to differences in physics and physical interaction (feed back). In most circumstances, the game designer has an objective to accomplish; the inconsistencies and idealisms in modern games are an extension of this process.

Tutorial Tasks – Internet Field Trip

Instant messaging has seen many innovations over recent years with several major players vying for critical mass. In particular what was once MSN messenger has now become Windows Live Messenger with a whole new range of features, most notably integration with “Live Spaces”, Microsoft’s blogging and social network system. In order to stay competitive and attract larger audiences IM designers have had to maintain a steady flow of new and innovative features. Innovation in the form of 3d environments has become a new stage in the development of IM software. Parallels can be drawn between this development and the evolution of MUDs to current generation RPG games. There is natural evolution of from the basic principles of software which is driven by user demand. As seen in Second Life, there is a demand for 3D virtual environments in which people socialise. The 3D environment creates a space where people can more accurately communicate their persona's over the web. Utilising the Second Life example, people create avatars; this representation of themselves projects an aspect of their personality to other users. A 3D environment creates new avenues for communication and interaction that aren’t possible in traditional IM programs. For example, a 3D environment removes you from reality which can create an immersive experience similar to what is seen in video games. As already demonstrated by Second Life, the scope for online social environments is definitely a area of huge growth potential. In the future the integration of artificial intelligence into social networks will become a major factor as already developed by www.mycybertwin.com. Eventually the internet itself could be portrayed as massive social environments where users literally walk between websites as depicted in many futuristic movies.

Topic 7 - War..What is it good for?

Lecture – eXistenZ

The movie eXistenZ by director David Cronenberg touches on several key issues relating to the implementation of technology and differentiation of reality from virtual reality. In general, Cronenberg explores the idea of technologys impact on society and the way in which it shapes and manipulates our reality. In context the movie depicts an extreme view of this idea where humans are no longer able to differentiate between the virtual and real world. Parallels can be drawn between eXistenZ and the Matrix, in that both movies explore the idea of a virtual reality being perceived as actual reality or more accurately a merging (in perception) of both into a single existence. The over riding concept in both films asks the question “what if the lines between reality and virtual reality are blurred?”.

Readings – The Military-Entertainment Complex

One of the primary aspects seen in the article is the way in which technology and social change is reflected through methods of communications. An interesting point in the article is that entertainment has been used for generations in order to manipulate the social view of war which can be seen in the desensitization of the public through news and other communication mediums. As mentioned in the article, board games are a representation of a battle field, the simulation of war is predominant feature of a our society. Even in the digital realms, the most popular forms of entertainment are all based on some aspect of war whether it be video games like Call of Duty or action movies like Saving Private Ryan. Manipulation of information will always be a key issue in obtaining the truth, this specifically relates to the reporting of news in times of war. By editing and changing the flow of information, people can create completely new perspectives for better or worse. In many cases information is manipulated to achieve specific objectives.

Topic 6 - Old school

Lecture – History of computing

In the broadest terms, a computer is a device used for mathematical calculations. One can make the argument that the abacus was the first albeit crude ‘computer’. In the 19^th century Charles Babbage created the ‘Difference Engine’ which allowed engineers to calculate and print mathematical tables. Even though this ‘computer’ was mechanical rather than electrical it is considered to set out the logical structure for modern computers.

The most serious work on electronic computing was performed by Alan Turing during the development of the BOMBE, a computer used to decrypt Nazi ciphers during World War II. IBM began producing commercially available computers in the 1950s which were utilized primarily by government, military and corporate organizations.

A common misconception is the history of the computer is the creator of the mouse and graphical user interface (GUI). Apple was the first to implement the technology however it was initially created by Xerox.

Other critical points

• Xerox created the graphical user interface and mouse
• The first PC wasn’t released until 1975
• Bill Gates wrote the ‘Basic’ computer language for the Altair computer
• Basic allowed functions like word processing, accounting and games
• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created Apple Computers

Reading – New Media

The discussion of what is considered ‘new’ media has become convoluted and even more complex with the introduction of the internet. The evolution of media requires that we constantly reevaluate the current technological climate with emerging technologies in order to understand its implications in society. The question for new media is why it is required and what does it provide that previous iterations did not. The most predominant example of ‘new’ media is the internet which in itself has created new media streams when we consider the implications of the World Wide Web. In this instance we see an accelerated linear evolution through the internet to innovate old media technologies or standards. With world wide integration, the internet has created digitalized society where all information is data that travels around the world in seconds. The convergence brought with the internet has allowed telecommunications, computing and new media to merge into a single stream of ‘communication’.

Tute – Wikipert

Lancer Evolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancer_Evolution

The article appears to be accurate with the majority of data cited from reputable and reliable sources. The page contains enough general and specific information about the lancer evolution range in order to gain a full understanding of the vehicle. The article was specific enough to list exact power and performance figures as specified by the manufacture from different countries as well as country specific models. Overall the article was correctly formatted and indexed to allow quick and easy browsing. Being that the article is based on facts there was no argument made by any side. In order to improve the article I would use pictures of each model as produced by the manufacturer rather than private vehicles. This creates a more accurate representation of the vehicle from the reader’s perspective.

Top Gear (TV Series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_gear

The article appears to be accurate with the majority of data cited from reputable and reliable sources. The source of most of the information is directly taken from the series itself. The page contains a well documented history and current overview of the series and the presenters as well as an accurate representation of information taken from the show (eg. lap times & cool wall). The article provides readers with a very accurate overview of the show as well as detailed information about particular moments of interest. The article follows wikipedia guidelines and has several other wiki services associated such as wikiquote and wikicommons. The article is relatively fair with no major point of concern; however some information is represented as a view of the author for example most significant cars listed. In order to improve the article I would provide more episode details and provide links to episode overviews.