ValkyrieMissle Media

This post marks the end of this blog. I'll still keep it up, but it won't be in use anymore.
I've grown kind of accustomed to blogger and how simple it is, so check out these un-school related blogs if you're ever interested in my life.

My Personal Blog. http://xh0n3yd3w.blogspot.com
The Shards of Fate. http://shards-ro.blogspot.com

-AsuraStrike, signing off.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

Final Journal

I wrote an article about this for the newspaper. =)

Where do I start? You know, a long time ago, a Scottish philosopher said that "the history of the world is but the biography of great men". Today's society would've just shoved his words down his throat, eh? But why? Why are normal people so important? What's changed?

Everything!!!

Look at the internet and how much it has changed over the years. World Wide Web? It doesn't exists anymore. Like dial-up, the World Wide Web is obsolete. Many years ago, the World Wide Web was created to exchange information. Simple, right? The exchange of information.

Edward: "Oh, I have this data."
Jasper: "Ohh, but I have this data!"
Edward: "Wow, lemme have your data!!!"
Jasper: "Okay, but you gotta share yours."
Edward: "DEAL!"

Funny how in this day and age, the term "information exchange" does not exist anymore. The World Wide Web doesn't exist anymore either. Why? Because with the dawning of Web 2.0, you're not just exchanging information and data, your connecting with other people, you're sharing your memories, and you're intertwining your fates with theirs.

You may ask: "AJ, what is Web 2.0?"
Then I'll reply: "(insertname), what is life?"

Why would I answer your question with a question like that? Simple, because Web 2.0 is something that has integrated itself so deeply into our daily lives, few of us realize it's even there. Don't see Web 2.0 as some sort of leech that you haven't noticed until now, but the air you breathe itself. It's everywhere, but you can't physically touch it. Like a life, you immerse yourself in Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is in the YouTube videos, the Facebook profiles, the Blogger entries, the Wikipedia articles, and more. It's still going to keep on evolving too, because I bet that this is only the beginning. Some of us have only begun to realize that it's there, after all.


-AJ

Are Wii the Children of the Revolution?

Journal #5

Just a hype?! Are you kidding me?!
All the next-generation gaming consoles are technical revolutions.

The Nintendo is a wonderful invention; true and pure gaming at its finest. The dawning of the Wii wil forever change "traditional" gaming as we know it. Before, we would be sitting infront of a TV screen with a controller in our hands, pressing the a button to return the computer player's serve in a tennis simulation. Now with the Wii, the player would be performing the action in real life with the Wii's special controller: the Wiimote.

That's amazing. For the Wii and the Wiimote, there are endless possibilities.

Also, gaming is starting to integrate itself with the entire media industry. The PS3, 360, and Wii are all able to play DVDs, the PS3 is also able to play Blu-Ray movies right out of the box and you can get an external HD-DVD drive for your Xbox 360. All of the consoles are also able to use the internet, not just for gaming, but for ordinary surfing. Even pictures and videos can be stored on them too. Gaming consoles have evolved from merely being machines which play games to a multipurpose media hub.

It's funny how the PS3's specs are far superior than the computers of 10 years ago, for example. For all we know they already started working on holographic stuff. Imagine a holographic movie instead of on a screen (which are getting bigger and bigger everyday- think 100 inches wide). Imagine a holographic game, even! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the next step was virtual gaming; wouldn't be awesome to really be cutting down your enemies in the next Zelda installment instead of performing the action in real life with the Wiimote and seeing it on the TV?

Everyone might not be into the Wii, but it should be considered a landmark of gaming.
We're lucky enough to be able to experience The Next Generation.

Reading in Cyberspace

Journal #4

In general, Google's online library project will have a huge impact. It'll impact the consumers who buy these books, because they're able to read a preview of the book and be able to be linked directly to an online store who sells it. It would be extremely convenient for people who are looking for a type of book but don't know what exactly they're looking for, as the project includes a search engine that looks through its growing database of book entries. The biggest impacts the project will have are on the people publishing these books. With Google's library project, people will be able to learn about these publishers' books and possible buy them. Google's library project is basically a way for these publishers to advertise their books- and effectively too because of Google's massive popularity. In the corporate world, everyone will win: publishers could invest a little bit of funding towards getting their books in Google's online library while Google makes a little more money and adds more popularity and versatility to its empire.

To my knowledge, Google's competitors have been completely blindsided by the library project. I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar come from then sooner or later. Keep in mind that Google was once just a simple search engine. By adding the library project to their empire, they're staying true to their roots and are taking one step closer to becoming the ultimate archive of information.

The reason why I personally prefer just to get information off the internet is because of how simple it is to access it, whereas looking for and through books and magazines is a little more tedious and is a longer process. Google's online library is a great tool for looking up books because it's simple, it's already got a vast database, and you can even preview books before you actually check them out. The faster access we have to information and the more information we can access, the better.

I think that librarians will praise and embrace this technology because it can potentially expand their libraries to the whole world. It would be so convenient if google could actually integrate itself with the databases of libraries because libraries have very important historical archives. Could google's library project be a potential threat to librarians? Possibly, but it all depends on how it develops. I personally think that it's neat, but not as useful as one would think- maybe not right now, actually. Since it's a new addition to Google's empire, there are still a lot of improvements to be made.

It's useful, nonetheless, and it has potential.

Distraction

You're standing there,
Talking to the girl of your dreams.
Then you notice the planes come in,
People start screaming.
The planes start to drop bombs,
There's fire everywhere,
Buildings are crashing down around you,
Everyone around you is dying,

The only thing you say to the girl is-

"I'll be your distraction."

An iPod Classroom?

Journal #3

Podcasts are a wonderful invention.

But how to they work? Simple. Let's say there is a businessman, let's name him Edward. Anyways, Edward is a very busy man, as he goes to and from work by public transportation everyday. Since he works in the city, he has to travel a long way from home. Edward goes to work early and comes home late. Because Edward's work pretty much dominates his life, he has no time to keep up to date with the current news. Also, he doesn't like newspapers because they take up too much space on the subway and they're too messy. One day, Edward decides to buy a video iPod. With iTunes, Edward can subscribe to the news' podcasts; whenever he attaches his iPod to his computer, it synchronizes with iTunes and the program automatically downloads a short video or audio clip into Edward's iPod, which contains the precious daily news which Edward desires to watch on the way to work and on the way back. (Also, he can listen to his music after watching/listening to the news too, by the way!)

Isn't that neat? Why yes, it is.

Anyways, there are many other uses for podcasts other than just listening to the news; they have proven themselves useful in the academic world as well. If students could download lessons to their mp3 players off a school website then they could listen to them on the go as study aids or in order to avoid having to carry heavy books. A student could simply attach their iPod to their computer everyday to automatically receive new lessons or updates. I'm not all for completely being dependent on iPods and mp3 players, but I believe that because of podcasts, they are a potential learning aid. I think that the notion of an iPod classroom isn't really necessary, as technology is meant to make our lives better/easier, not control it completely.

Although, we have to remember that even though iPods are becoming more common, not all of us will have access to one, as they're still expensive and weren't necessarily created for academic purposes.

I'd like to pause for a moment to remind you readers the kind of school we go to. We go to Mary Ward, a center for self-directed learning. "V-casting" is said to promote independent study, the type of study which is the entire Mary Ward program. I think that v-casting would go hand-in-hand with our school, don't you think? The full potential of v-casting could be brought out in seminars, one of the most important factors of our school. Wouldn't be so convenient simply to have seminar v-casts, where students could listen to seminars that they have missed, or would've loved to hear again? Although it would help to have seminar v-casts, students could take advantage of that in a negative way and find an excuse never to come to class or interact with their teachers.

So...

Podcasts + Mary Ward = Good
or
Podcasts + Mary Ward = Bad

You decide.

When War Meets Video Games

Journal #2

With the dawning of next generation gaming, war games and shooters have come a long way from Duck Hunt. Modern day graphics are simply stunning; war games are becoming more and more realistic yet still be interesting. There are games like Call of Duty series, which occurs in World War II and involves actual battles that were fought. But setting graphics and realism aside, the main reason why somone should like a game is for its gameplay. As a gamer, I've had my share of shooters in the past and I've got to admit: war games are a hell load of fun. It's the thrill of dominating yor opponents which attracts gamers to these games; and with the integration of the internet in modern-day gaming, gamers can take the fight to the internet and play alongside with friends or play gamers that live thousands of miles away.

Realism in a game means how smoothly the gameplay flows; if the game doesn't flow, then a gamer might lose intrest in playing. Sure, it'd be amazing to play war games which are realistic as possible, but I personally don't mind if there's a glitch here and there. As long as the gameplay isn't ridiculous then I can deal (I'm not a really picky guy, but some gamers out there completely refuse to touch games which aren't the most realistic out there).

But anyways-
The key word in war games is the word "game", but more importantly, the word "simulation".

sim·u·la·tion
n.

1. Close resemblance or imitation.
2. Assumption of a false appearance.

(Source: "simulation." The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. 22 Nov. 2006. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/simulation>)

War games are merely a simulation of war and fighting so we know better than to take them seriously. Aren't war games made so people can have fun, not to reveal the terrifying horrors of actual fighting? I acknoledge the fact that even though they're just games, they can be a negative influence on the little kids who play them and the teenagers who take games a little too seriously and have nothing else better to do with their lives. I doubt that anyone could develop a game in our day and age which really captures what it's really like to be fighting a war anyways.

Look, it's just a game. Games are fun to play.

With the Good, Comes the Bad

Journal #1

Advancements in today's technology has ultimately lead to the fact that today's society is more connected and in touch with eachother. With cellphones, people are able to contact you wherever you are! They're able to send text messages, access the internet, take pictures/videos, and even act as mp3 players. Then again, instant messaging is definitely easier than calling someone. Infact, with instant messaging, a single individual could be talking to more than one person at a time and even take advantage of the fact that instant-messaging programs have the ability to initiate a conference chat (it certainly beats out three-way calling). These are only a small fraction of the innovative ways that technology has created as a means of staying connected with eachother more convenient and opening the doors to connect with new people easy.

con‧nect‧ed  /kəˈnɛktɪd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuh-nek-tid]
–adjective

1.	united, joined, or linked.

(Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=connected&x=0&y=0)

But being connected is not a one-way street.
If you have access to someone, then someone will have access to you.

The disadvantage of all this connectivity created through technology is a concern to someone's privacy. Posting your pictures, real name, address, etc on an online profile is dangerous, and you can't trust everyone you meet on the internet because everyone may not be what they seem. People you see in everyday life can be a threat to your privacy also. You could've been caught in a digital picture when you were walking by, you could've lost a memory card which had important information about you, and so on. Who knows who's browsing your blog regularly and telling everyone your secrets? Who knows who has your pictures? Who knows who has your phone number? But more importantly, who knows what the wrong people can do with that information?

Lastly, the most important thing is to never let technology control our lives.
Technology is neither good or bad, it just depends on how people use it.

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