This week we are to find three digital devices which are not electronic.
In order to accomplish this, I am first going to define a few terms:
Digital - Princeton University (2010) states that digital is a circuit or device that represents magnitudes in digits.
Analogue - Our community (2010) describes analogue as a conventional method of transmitting data. It is the method that standard telephones operate as distinct from digital which provides for greater quality and speed of transmission.
Communication - Princeton University (2010) defines communication as the activity of conveying information.
Electronic - An electronic device that converts electrical current to the optimal voltage (The energy alternative, 2004).
Now that the basic are out of the way, it's time to move on to the nitty gritty and find for you three communicative devices which are not electronic. Let me tell you, this as NOT an easy task! It proved extremely hard to find device on the Internet that fit all of this criteria.
The first example I found did fit the criteria. This was no other than the good old typewriter.
I can't even convey to you just how glad I am that the typewriter was before my time. The amount of typing mistakes I make on the computer is ridiculous. Having to start over every time I made a mistake would be hell.
The next example I stole from our tutor who showed us this amazing video.
I suppose music counts as communication. And if not, then the sheer 'coolness' of this pianola makes up for it.
The third and final non-electric digital device I found was the old Morse code. I applaud anyone who can speak fluent Morse. It would be quite a task learning all the short and long notes of it. I'm actually quite saddened by the phasing out of this old school device.
Answer these questions without using Google or Wikipedia, and then write your answers in an entry in your blog. Provide the URL (with the date you accessed it) of where you found the answer, and include extras like images, embedded videos, etc.
Arrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhh!!!!
And away we go...
Q1) 1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
The Bagger 288
The bagger 288 is a mine-digging, coal-harvesting machine almost 2.5 football fields in length. Amazing right! And of course something of this magnitude belongs to the Germans. To transport this mega machine from one location to another, a new road was needed to be built. Ok, so lets skip to the chase...
Weight: So there was dispute among websites as to the correct weight of this monster. Some said 45, 500 tonnes while other say 13, 500 tonnes. I am going to go with 45, 500 tonnes as it seemed to be the majority among websites.
Q2) What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?
I wasn't too keen on paying money to sign up to a website in order to retrieve this answer so I was forced to find information on a normal site.
I found one that claimed to have information on his agents and managers but when I tried calling, I was alerted by optus that the number I had dialled was incomplete or incorrect (Although I was sort of relieved as it would have been awkward explaining that I only needed to call them for a university assignment and not to propose a job offer). So ill add the details listed on this site as perhaps they are old contacts or maybe I have to be in America. Although I'm quite sure that these are merely fake numbers to excite crazy fans just to be massively let down.
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne Management 9292 Civic Center Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Phone: 310-859-7761
Ari Emanuel or Ari Greenburg
Endeavor Agency 9601 Wilshire Boulevard 3rd Floor Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Phone: 310-248-2000 Rob Light
Creative Artists Agency 2000 Avenue Of The Stars Los Angeles, CA 90067 Phone: 424-288-2000
Manatt Phelps & Phillips
11355 West Olympic Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90064 Phone: 310-312-4000
I then found another site in which fans had written to this address:
Ozzy Osbourne
5535 Dixon Trail Road Hidden Hills, CA 91302 USA
There were countless fan comments on this site claiming to have received signed photos back when they wrote to this address. And I suppose it makes more sense for a fan to be able to write to Ozzy rather than his poor agents being flooded with fan calls. So although this process may not be quick, or reliable, it was the most plausible answer I could find.
Q3) When and what was the first example of global digital communication?
Wow, this is as hard one. I found this website which provides a timeline of communication starting at 3500BC to 1994. I'm sure that the answer is one of these is the correct answer although it's hard to determine which of these most fits the description of first global digital communication. So I'm just going to take a stab and say that I think it is the electric telegraph invented by Joseph Henry, 1881.
Q4) What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
So the first thing that popped into my head was 'walk'. But other then that option being slightly unrealistic, the more I thought about it, the more expenses such as food, water and accommodation popped into my head. In the end, it would be far cheaper to fly.
The cheapest offer I could find on the Internet was provided by the dodgiest airline company ever- Tiger airlines, who offered to fly from Brisbane to Melbourne's for the low price of $58.95.
Retrieved 25/08/2010 from http://www.tigerairways.com.au/au/en/real_deals.php
Then I found a statement from Flight Centre saying that they would beat any airfare or let you fly there free. Unfortunately, after reading the fine print, it wasn't quite as good as it sounded. Flight centre would fly you to any destination for $1 cheaper than the original price. On the upside, they also give you a $20 voucher for your next trip. Woohoo.... So that makes it $57.95 plus a $20 voucher.
Retrieved 25/08/2010 from http://www3.flightcentre.com.au/lowest-airfare-guarantee/
I could leave it there, however, this offer was from Brisbane to Melbourne and the question says Gold Coast to Melbourne. So I guess we have to add in expenses from Gold Coast to Brisbane. I suppose it would be more realistic to walk or hitch-hike in this instance... But who wants to do that. A concession train ticket (me being a student means I hold concession- so may be different for a non-student) from Gold Coast to Brisbane costs $23.40. That means that my journey from Gold Coast to Brisbane to Melbourne would cost a total of $81.45 and includes a $20 voucher. Therefore, my final answer for what the cheapest form of travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne: Train to Plane.
Q5)Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
Who is Hatsune Miku: She is the baby of the Yamaha corporation and is part of a voice synthesizer program that allows users to create music using her specific voice. So basically, it is a program in which the user can punch in lyrics and a melody which then becomes manipulated by the program and eventuates into Hatsune Miku singing whatever it is that the user punched in.
Q6)Find a live web cam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
Live Antarctica web cams can be found on http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/live-antarctica. This site shows webcams on Casey, Davis, Macquarie Island and Mawson.
As for accommodation,
Much of your Antarctic experience will be had on a ship. Although, it is possible to stay at one of the stations mentioned above.
Q7) What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1980?
It was tricky, but I finally found the perrrfect website for Australian pop charts. And number one that week was.... Who other than Olivia Newton-John with her song Magic. Gotta love the 80's.
Q8) How would you define the term 'nanotechnology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
Putting nanotechnology into my own words... Could you have thought of a more horrible to describe word?
Ok, so I'm going to break it down for both myself and you. From what I gather, a 'nanometer' is a billionth of a metre. Therefore, 'Nanotechnology' is technology which is the size of a 'nanometer'. So if I were to put the term 'nanotechnology' into my very own words then I would say:
Nano technology = very very small (nano-sized) devices.
Q9) What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
My brother saw this type of camera first hand one day. He said that he saw a van driving up the road taking heaps of really fast photos.
The website I found gave me the same answer as well as this great controvery over whether this type of camera is an invasion of people's privacy. I liked the example they used... 'people could be caught in compromising situations such as stepping out of an adult store'. I suppose they have a point. However, if one chooses to venture into an adult store, then there's always going to be a risk of being caught. Ok, so I hope you werent expecting an answer of what model camera they use. All I know and can find is that they use a camera mouted on a van.
Do you think the creators of Star Trek would have second thoughts about its release if they had've known people like this would waste their life on it???
Retrieved 01/09/2010 from http://www.mrklingon.org/
I'm extremely glad we had this lecture straight away as shot-sized proved to be extremely useful in another of my subjects - Communication performance.
In this subject, I was able to use a proper camera to produce a mid-shot in preparation for a mock television interview. So having pre-knowledge of the different shot sizes, head room and other factors involved in this lecture was a real bonus. Here an example of these mock interviews. Unfortunately the only example I own is that of when I was the interviewer. I much prefer to be behind the camera.
Through these mock interviews, we were able to try our hand at aligning cameras in such a way that the were mid shots giving enough head room but not too much. As you can see, there is not too much head room, enough talking room and in terms of the rule of thirds, my eyes are in line with the top of the three imaginary lines.
I was contemplated a way in which I could show that I understood what this lecture was about. At first I was going to provide a series of photos for you and write next to them what shot size I believe them to be. But then I decided that was slightly boring. So with that in mind, I used my new found movie making knowledge to produce this movie for you. I took me a fair while so you better enjoy it...
So obviously this week wasn't all about shot sizes... We also learnt the who, what, when, where, why and how of cine-speak. It was interesting to learn that often it is the shot sizes in films which tell us the five W's and H. I always hate learning the technicalities of things as it often leads me to over-analysing. My normal movie watching days are over already. I find that I now notice the shot sizes in films and what they are trying to convey through them rather than enjoying the movie. That's just from one lecture on cine-speak. I would hate to know what it is like for someone such as a director.
That's all for this post. So until next time, have a lovely week.
So here's the story. I was in a group of three making this 30 shot film. Unfortunately I had to change classes, so I never saw my group members again and was unable to get the movie from them. Solution... Make a new film. A friend of mine missed the class for this film so the logical thing to do was team up and make an entirely new film. So I will explain the two processes of making the films.
The first time around was a mix of pure devistation, embarrassment and entertainment and we were given possibly the most painful subject in the room - Waiting for romance.
Unfortuantely, as we were an all-girl trio, we were forced to venture out into the world and, very nicely, ask some kind boys to pose for us. It was awkward, it was funny, it put us out of our confort zone and in the end we captured thirty priceless photos. Regretfully, I am unable to show you the final results as I have absolutely no idea how to find the video.
The second time around was a slightly better subject - Late assignment.
We dicided to go for the most obvious story-line. A girl who forgets that an assignment is due and is forced to write an entire essay in just a few hours. Here is is...
My likes and dislikes on our film... Like:
I liked the way the lyrics in the song seemed to perfectly match what was happening in the movie at the time.
I like how we figured out how to slow the music down right at the point that she fell asleep. I thought that was quite clever.
I like how the clock showing the time was normal until a few minutes before it was due when it became red. It sortof empahsised panic.
I also like the way the clock became black and white when her assignment became late which brought across that all hope was lost.
Dislike:
I wasn't a huge fan of our story-line. I think we could have done something a little more original.
I didn't like that none of us had a watch so Dominique had to look to her bare wrist hoping that the viewers would know there was supposed to be a watch there.
I did not like the way all of our photos were taken in the one place (griffith library). I think it would have turned out a great deal better if we had've ventured out into the world.
The photo quality wasn't the best but I suppose there isn't much you can do about that unless you have a million dollar camera.
Our photos also seemed a tad repetitive. I suppose that would have been different if our story line had some edge to it.
All-in-all, I had a great deal of fun making these two films and, although I believe there is room for improvement, I think we did an ok job.
This week was all about explaining communication and the different mediums (technologies) in which one can communicate.
I liked how it began by defining the term "communication" in the most basic way possible. Definitions are designed to help people to understand a term. It really urks me these days, most definitions are worded in such a way that they leave you more confused with the term you are looking up then you were before. I loved this definition of communication...
"The speaker produces a message that is heard by the listener."
Then, as per usual, this definition became out-dated and so the confusion begins...
"The speaker produces an effect on the transmitter which sends a message (which is degraded by the noise of the transmission process) that is intercepted by the receiver which converts it into an effect that is heard by the listener."
This definition then verges into metaphors and other confusion so I've decided to produce my own definition of communication...
"Communication is the act of transferring information to a person/s."
It then verged into the lovely word 'technology'.This, too, was accompanied by a definition... This time not so confusing:
"Technology is the scientific study of mechanical arts and their application to the world."
It was brought up how often technology is used in everyday life. Although we know it is possible to survive without technology, as proven by our ancestors, it's hard to imagine a life without mobile phones and internet.
It's actually quite scary how much we rely on technology to get us through our everyday lives. It would be very interesting to see how we would handle technology being taken away from us. I think the entire world would go into mortal panic.
Just from this one lecture, I have a new appreciation for communication technology.
So that sums up my thoughts on week one. All in all, I can truly say that I have a new appreciation for communication technology.
Q) How do we distinguish between old and new communication technologies?
Hmmm... Hard question or what?! I tried researching this question and found a site devoted to comparing ‘old’ and ‘new’ technology. In this they compared video tapes to DVD players, paper maps to GPS, snail mail to e-mail, etc. So I suppose that this particular site was inferring that old technology was anything before the digital advance.
I, however, have a different view of old and new communication technology.
I believe the answer is subject to a variety of different circumstances.
The first of these being personal opinion. For example, after a long and excruciating begging period to my parents, I finally received my first mobile phone around the time that myspace became incredibly popular. This meant that while my friends had moved on from constant texting to the ‘you’re not cool unless you have a myspace’ phase, I was only beginning the ‘running up my parents phone bill’ stage. My mobile was the bees knees to me because it was a new technology in my life. Of course, this could mean not that new communication technology is different for everyone but in fact, I am constantly one step behind the rest of the world. But I truly think I’m on to something here. I mean, obviously, the creator of the 3D television would have known about this new technology far before the rest of the world. Hence, 3D television was the new technology to him while high-definition television was a huge step for us.
Perhaps another factor to consider is social class. On the Gold Coast, for example, long gone are the days when school assignments were accomplished through countless hours of searching for the perfect book in the public library. Today, every piece of information you could ever imagine is a click on your nearest computer away. Not that I can quote through experience, but it is my guess that people in poorer communities do not have this luxury. Their new technology could be far behind that of the Gold Coast.
The final point (I promise this is the final point!) I would like to make on the subject is media influence. For example, a person living in a community which cannot afford the newest technology may see an advertisement for it on the television or internet. Hence, they would know it is the latest technology, even if nobody in their community were able to afford it.
In answer to the original question of how to distinguish between old and new communication technologies, I believe it comes down to area of residence, media influence, wealth and personal preference.
My name is Renee Hemara. I am currently enroled at Griffith university, Gold Coast and I am studying Bachelor of Communication.
Interestingly, I have never tried my hand at blog writing dispite studing a communcation course. Well I found it interesting anyway.
So my thoughts on tutespark... Well, I am currently a little confused. I created my blog account less than two minutes ago and I am supposed to be giving some sort of introduction. At this point I am hoping that my diary-like blogging will suffice. I suppose this is a pretty neat way of communicatuing to whoever it is that I am communicating to though.
And that is the extent of my thoughts on tutespark at the current time. I am hoping, as you (whoever you are) probably are, that over the period of this semester, my blogging will improve. I suppose only time will tell.
