Gaming brothers

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Posted by dmcnulty | Posted in , , , | Posted on 8:42 PM

Recently in class, Professor K discussed how virtual gaming is actually a mode of communication. I never would have considered it until meeting my husband. Zach and I have a Wii, an Xbox, and a broken Xbox 360, but we are not constantly gaming. Usually we play video games as a social activity when others visit our apartment or if we are strapped for cash and don't want to spend money on a night out. Recently we sent the broken Xbox 360 to be fixed, and Microsoft sent us a refurbished one for free! Thanks Microsoft!


So my husband's Christmas gift to himself is buying a controller and some games for the new game console. Zach's brothers love video games, and one brother is particularly obsessed with Xbox 360. When we were home over Thanksgiving, one of his brothers said, "Once I have Modern Warfare 2, I will have everything I need in life." Haha, he is of course joking, but Zach is really looking forward to fixing up his Xbox 360 now to play with his brothers. He will use Xbox Live in order to use the Internet to play with them.

You see, Zach and I live about an hour away from our families. An hour is not a horrible distance, but it does make it so that all our interactions with them revolve around holidays. We don't have the convenience of just driving down the road, hanging out for a few hours, and then going home to bed --- especially not with our crazy work/band/school schedules. Here is part of his family.

That's where this great gaming is a communication tool comes into play. In a few short days, Zach will be able to play video games with his brothers who are an hour away. Xbox Live is a service that allows players to interact with each other via the Internet. Physical boundaries are unnecessary in gaming on Xbox now. Plus Xbox Live allows you to check your e-mail, Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, and it allows you to steam Netflix movies after you pay the service fee! It is a pretty cool thing.

My husband gets the chance at casual, daily interactions with his brothers now. Of course he calls and e-mails, but all that allows is for them to talk about their feelings and stuff. Now they can shoot guns and kill zombies! It's brotherly bonding time!

Below is a trailer for one of their favorite video games. Caution, violent content.


For now,
Dana

Closed vs. Open online news

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Posted by dmcnulty | Posted in , , , , | Posted on 12:38 PM

This man might destroy all that is sacred to tech junkies and their wives: Open access to news.

Rupert Murdoch is a media mogul. He controls The Sun, The Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Fox, and Hulu--- just to name a few. He recently publicly denounced Google for making his newspapers' headlines and stories a part of Google search engine results. He has been at odds with Google for quite some time, but it actually seems like he is making serious threats this time. In another article, he is quote as saying:

"What's the point of having someone come occasionally who likes a headline they see in Google? The fact is there isn't enough advertising in the world to go around to make all the Web sites profitable. We'd rather have fewer people coming to our Web sites but paying. (The public) shouldn't have had it free. I think we've been asleep."

So basically Murdoch is saying he is going to remove his news conglomerate from Google's search engines. Everyone who will want online access to these sites will have to pay a fee. Through my researching, I never actually heard if it would be a monthly subscription fee or a pay as you click method. Regardless, it has created a huge stir in the technology community. Google is fighting back by saying the public should have free access to news and information in general. Google is a very financially successful company and believes there is still a way news companies can make money even if they are not charging fees to readers.


The Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, agrees with Google's approach of free access. In another article, Stone says:


"They [Murdoch] should be looking at this as an opportunity to try something radically different and find out a way to make a ton of money from being radically open rather than some money from being ridiculously closed."


***


I can't imagine a life without Google searching for news articles. And I don't want to pay for that service! It is a messy gray area, and I think it is going to get pretty ugly between these two mega entities. It is definitely a battle of old school versus new school. I hope Google wins because Twitter's co-founder is correct: free access does not mean no revenue.


I mean, don't they save news reels and databases at libraries? I don't have to pay to access those, but when they are posted online, that's when it is a problem. Murdoch is just being a selfish old man that refuses to accept the way information technology is evolving. He is a financial tycoon; I am pretty sure he could still figure out a way to make millions by letting his newspapers, television stations, and news websites give Google free reign on searching.


If not...it is going to be much more costly and difficult to find research articles for those upcoming term papers. Thumbs down. Good luck, Google.

Computers for the elderly

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Posted by dmcnulty | Posted in | Posted on 10:40 PM

Here's something I was reading about last week that I found interesting. A company in England has created a super simple computer marketed to older adults. Instead of having confusing sign in boxes and drop down menus, the computer shows one screen with a few buttons on the main screen. These buttons allow users to easily access e-mail, chat, the Internet, word processor, and a "My Documents" of sorts.

I think about the learning curve of technology. My husband and I are the first generation to grow up using computers in the classroom. What a difference that makes with our ability to quickly understand new technology. Yet, it makes me wonder what will happen to us when we become old. This new generation have been using computers since they were out of the womb. Example of a baby computer:



Technology keeps advancing faster and faster; will we be left behind? I never want to think about become old and "behind in the times." But, is it possible?

I think the only way my generation will become dated in our technology information is if we become apathetic. Even if the computer software we know seems fine, we should make ourselves learn the future versions of it. We need to stay current on emerging products. We need to be the ones learning from younger people's ideas about implementing new technology into business structures. If we stay open minded and informed like most of us are now, hopefully we will never need watered down technology when we are old. Now, I am not saying anything negative about the simple laptop; I think it is a great idea because most old people right now did not have the same opportunities as we do now. What I am saying is we need to take advantage of the technology education we have already received and not stay stagnant after college.

RSS feeds

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Posted by dmcnulty | Posted in | Posted on 6:35 PM

There is one way that I think I am more technologically advanced than my husband: RSS feeds. I've always heard about RSS feeds but really understood them this semester in COM 435. Here's a quick and good definition of Really Simple Syndication feeds.

I am in love with Google Reader. I have subscribed to several RSS feeds and get them updated through Google Reader. I check them every day. My RSS feeds are BBC News Africa, BBC News Front Page World Edition, New York Times Africa, Paste Magazine, and TEDTalks. Instead of clicking each of these websites individually and sifting through what stories I want to read under each beat category, RSS feeds put all headlines and stories on one easy to read page. I don't have to read every story, but I like being able to scroll through it all. Here's a screenshot:

Zach is the complete opposite of me. He hates RSS feeds. He also has a set of websites he likes to read every day, but he enjoys seeing the design of the sight. That must be his computer graphics background. He doesn't mind the extra time with not using RSS feeds. Since he builds websites, he sees the value in accessing every website so he can see what works and doesn't work in these sites.

So I guess it's just a matter of perspective and of importance. I find time and information the most important; Zach appreciates design and accessibility of websites.


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