Monday, April 28, 2008
Week 8: Part 2!
Being both a 3d Envionment interaction user and a IM user it is clear to see some of the differences between the two. Though when interacting in a 3d environment your character does not look anything like you, I believe it becomes more personal and users get more involved in 3d envionments. It allows people to express themselves more then just having a chat name and picture. By being able to see a 3d character of the person your talking to it gives a more real vibe then IM programs. Social envionments in a 3d world are alot more intense then that of a simple IM program and I believe more emotion becomes involved. Because of this I also believe that in time 3d worlds or interaction will become more and more popular and simple IM programs will fade out.
Week 8: Part 1!
For the first part of the tutorial task this week we were given exercisesthat work with Microsoft Word and Excel.
When using Microsoft word I had no problems at all until the mail merge section of the exercises. After trying to figure it out I ended up using the Word help function which showed me how to set up a mail merge source, giving step by step instructions. However apart from the mail merge feature I found the exercises very simple as I have had plenty of experience with the Word software. I believe the 2003 version of Word is very useful to use and it is why it became so widely used and popular around the world.
When using the Microsoft Excel program I did not struggle with any of the exercises as I have used Excel in those ways before. A fair amount of my previous education such as accounting has delt with the use of excel and provided me with all i needed to complete the graph and formula exercises. Though I was not too familar with creating my own toolbar and applying the macros, I had done this before and picked it up easily enough. Though Excel might seem confusing and off-putting at first, it is very useful to use and again is why it is so widely used around the world.
When using Microsoft word I had no problems at all until the mail merge section of the exercises. After trying to figure it out I ended up using the Word help function which showed me how to set up a mail merge source, giving step by step instructions. However apart from the mail merge feature I found the exercises very simple as I have had plenty of experience with the Word software. I believe the 2003 version of Word is very useful to use and it is why it became so widely used and popular around the world.
When using the Microsoft Excel program I did not struggle with any of the exercises as I have used Excel in those ways before. A fair amount of my previous education such as accounting has delt with the use of excel and provided me with all i needed to complete the graph and formula exercises. Though I was not too familar with creating my own toolbar and applying the macros, I had done this before and picked it up easily enough. Though Excel might seem confusing and off-putting at first, it is very useful to use and again is why it is so widely used around the world.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Week 6!
The two articles on wikipedia that I chose to evaluate are 'Stargate SG1' and 'Lupe Fiasco'.
'Stargate SG1' is a science fiction tv series that has been running for over 10 years and is a lead on from the original motion picture 'Stargate'. The article located on wikipedia is very long and is somewhat more detailed then most wikipedia entires. However this is neccasary as Stargate SG1 has 10 years of history and has a complex plotline. I believe that this article does a very effective job in being accurate and providing the basic facts sorrounding a show. The references that the information was obtained from are reliable sources as they come from the producers and writers themselves and television broadcast sites. The article provides the basic concpet around the stargate, production information, cast members the basic plotline over the 10 season outlining the different arcs that occur and also provides media information and future productions. After reading this article, even if a person had not seen the show before, they would have a pretty good understanding of what the show is about. The article follows the wikipedia guidelines quite well though the only downfall could be the size of the article. However as it was discussed previously, it was neccasary of the article to be this size and the article does do a good job connecting other relevant topics as there is alot more information on the Stargate world. The article also remains unbiased towards the show throughout the article.
'Lupe Fiasco' is a grammy award winning hip hop artist who rose to fame in 2006 following his debut release 'Food and Liquor'. This article is not as detailed as the 'Stargate Sg1' article but does provide the basic background information that is needed to fill anyone who hasn't heard of Lupe up to speed. Though the one downfall of this article could be the accuracy. Lupe Fiasco has always been very underground especially in his earlier career and likes to keep it that way and therefore alot of the information written about him was not from solid sources. This article however does follow the the wikipedia guidelines such as providing an article summary and complying with the article size. It also remains unbiased and just provides the information about the artist with no expression of opinion.
Both the articles I chose were effective and very well written articles. Any one person could read both these articles and be caught up to speed on the subject topics without any difficulty.
'Stargate SG1' is a science fiction tv series that has been running for over 10 years and is a lead on from the original motion picture 'Stargate'. The article located on wikipedia is very long and is somewhat more detailed then most wikipedia entires. However this is neccasary as Stargate SG1 has 10 years of history and has a complex plotline. I believe that this article does a very effective job in being accurate and providing the basic facts sorrounding a show. The references that the information was obtained from are reliable sources as they come from the producers and writers themselves and television broadcast sites. The article provides the basic concpet around the stargate, production information, cast members the basic plotline over the 10 season outlining the different arcs that occur and also provides media information and future productions. After reading this article, even if a person had not seen the show before, they would have a pretty good understanding of what the show is about. The article follows the wikipedia guidelines quite well though the only downfall could be the size of the article. However as it was discussed previously, it was neccasary of the article to be this size and the article does do a good job connecting other relevant topics as there is alot more information on the Stargate world. The article also remains unbiased towards the show throughout the article.
'Lupe Fiasco' is a grammy award winning hip hop artist who rose to fame in 2006 following his debut release 'Food and Liquor'. This article is not as detailed as the 'Stargate Sg1' article but does provide the basic background information that is needed to fill anyone who hasn't heard of Lupe up to speed. Though the one downfall of this article could be the accuracy. Lupe Fiasco has always been very underground especially in his earlier career and likes to keep it that way and therefore alot of the information written about him was not from solid sources. This article however does follow the the wikipedia guidelines such as providing an article summary and complying with the article size. It also remains unbiased and just provides the information about the artist with no expression of opinion.
Both the articles I chose were effective and very well written articles. Any one person could read both these articles and be caught up to speed on the subject topics without any difficulty.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Week 5!
Walter Benjamin's article "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" explores his ideas that the replication of art depreciates the original work and takes away its 'aura'. This article has great relevence today as our society has entered the digital age and the viewing and replication of 'art' is now in most cases a simple process. Anyone can go onto the internet and see replicated images of any famous art piece. With new technology and sofware such as photoshop, Sound Forge and Video Maker, anyone can create thier own 'art' or manipulate another persons previous work.
It could be argued that now anyone can create a piece of art digitally, it is not art. However I believe it still should be classsified as art. Art is a product of human creativity. Therefore if a person has put in time and effort and the piece holds a significance, then it should be considered art whether it was created digitally or not. However, I do believe that by creating art on a digital platform that it does depreciate the authenticity of it. A photoshop image will never be worth that much to anyone or authentic as it can be copied with two clicks of a mouse and spread around the world.
Going back to Benjamin's ideas, it is clear to see that digital art does not have the unqiue 'aura' he outlines. The reason paintings and drawings have this 'aura' is because there is an original authentic copy that can be seen without electricity, it can be touched and it was skillfulness of the artist that created it. Digital art is skillful in its own way but real art requires the skill and cordination of human functions to create. This is why digital art does not have the 'aura' Benjamin outlines in his article.
It could be argued that now anyone can create a piece of art digitally, it is not art. However I believe it still should be classsified as art. Art is a product of human creativity. Therefore if a person has put in time and effort and the piece holds a significance, then it should be considered art whether it was created digitally or not. However, I do believe that by creating art on a digital platform that it does depreciate the authenticity of it. A photoshop image will never be worth that much to anyone or authentic as it can be copied with two clicks of a mouse and spread around the world.
Going back to Benjamin's ideas, it is clear to see that digital art does not have the unqiue 'aura' he outlines. The reason paintings and drawings have this 'aura' is because there is an original authentic copy that can be seen without electricity, it can be touched and it was skillfulness of the artist that created it. Digital art is skillful in its own way but real art requires the skill and cordination of human functions to create. This is why digital art does not have the 'aura' Benjamin outlines in his article.
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