Artifact # 10: Response

The article I picked is "Out There in the Dark, All Alone" by Manohla Dargis. This article is about how not as many people are "moviegoers" anymore. According to the article, the amount of people who went to the movies dropped from 90 million, in 1948, to 23 million today. I agree with Matthew Sigman when he says that he disagrees with how people in America don't watch as many movies as they used to. While many people still go see movies in the theater, there are many other ways to watch them. For instance, many people can get them bootleg, wait till they come out on DVD or wait until their cable company offers them. They can even wait for netflix. Because there are so many more options today than in 1948, people don't have to pay a whopping $10 to go see a movie more than once. Then the article goes on to say that a lot of movies that people went to see in theaters, were never viewed after that. They either sat on the shelf or "...[were] destroyed (or tossed into the Pacific Ocean...".  Over the years technology has changed movies drastically, from how they're made to how they're viewed. Like i stated earlier, there are many different choices on how to watch a movie. But to add on to that list, you can view movies through YouTube and many other websites. For instance, SideReel or Mega Video. In my opinion, I think that technologies have changed movies for the better. It is so expensive to see a movie in the theater these days, it's almost not worth it to go. I don't think I would go as much as I do if my boyfriend didn't pay for me most of the time. I would rather wait until the movie came out on DVD or online to watch it in the comfort of my own home. Also I don't like going to theaters because I don't feel comfortable, who wants to sit and watch a two to three hour movie in uncomfortable chairs in a filled theater? Not me. To sum it up, I don't think that we should only count the ratings on how many people go to the movies. I think we should include all of the new way to view the movies as well. Because even though people are the number of people that physically go to a theater is declining, people are still watching these movies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/movies/the-24-hour-movie-and-digital-technology.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3&emc=eta1

Artifact #9: The Spirit of Sharing

Shelley Berstein, cheif of technology office of the Brooklyn Museum, has made it possible for people to watch a 28 foot teepee being built and invited everyone to take a visual art quiz to participate in an upcoming demonstration!

Click here to read more and write what you think about it on your blog!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/design/museums-pursue-engagement-with-social-media.html?ex=1317182400&en=54dcf425fad684ae&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=AR-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M195b-ROS-0411-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

Artifact #8:Health Online

Watching this video, I am not at all surprised that so many people look up their medical problems online. And in my opinion, it's okay to do that if it's not a serious medical condition. You might put in your symptoms to WebMD.com and get thirty different sicknesses that you could have and if you narrow it down to one and try to treat yourself for the wrong diagnosis, then something worse can possibly happen. On the other hand, I don't see anything wrong with  if you have a could or the flu and you look up your symptoms online because you can't get an appointment at the doctor. Next, the video talks about seeking medical advice through your cellphone. There is an App created by MentalWorkOut that has to deal with meditation. This meditation app is actually the best selling app right now. Then, they bring up social networks are helping patients because people are wanting to be around others with the same illness as them. The website patientslikeme.com. The patients that are one this site talk to people about what's going on and what medicine their on. The last thing that is brought up in the video is gaming. There's a game somewhat like space invaders, it's called Remission. Remission is designed for kids with cancer and it consits of a Nanonbot that is shooting Kemo Therapy in someone's body. Kids have had better outcomes with their cancer after playing this game. This game to me, it a great idea because it is letting kids that have a very serious problem, understand a little more about it. And it makes them want to fight it more than they did before.

Artifact # 7: Cheaters Beware

The article, Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating, starts off talking about how teachers have been way behind the students when it comes to cheating. But now teachers may have finally found their solution. According to this article, teachers have been technology to catch their students cheating. For example, using text-matching software, webcams and biometric equipment. This has been making it a little harder for students to cheat on papers, tests and homework. As I was beginning to read, I found it shocking that the percentage has risen from about 21 percent in the mid-1900s to 50 percent in 2002. Although it has dropped 10 percentage points, it's still a lot of people who have admited to it. At UCF studnets have to take their tests on cheat-resistant computers in a new testing center. This has also decreased the number of people cheating at this university. The article then talks about the ways students cheat. They cheat by using Bluetooth, texting, notes in cellphones, and programmable calculators. In my experience, my past teachers have not let us use ipods, make us turn our phones off in front of them and they have to go around the room and check our calculators if we use them. Also when I've had to write papers we have to turn it in to http://www.turnitin.com/. This website check to make sure we haven't plagarized.

Artifact #6

The beginning of the video had a great attention-getter. There were two men talking and one started screaming and then the main part of the video started. The video was about a forum on the TED website that was completely annonnoymous. People can say whatever they want and stay nameless and it will be only be on the website for a certain amount of time. It all started when a young man who found a website called 4chan, which is a japanese webiste. He took the forum and used it on the TED site. There are rules for this website that most people ignore and there are three that the community have made up. The first rule is, "You do not talk about /b/". The second one is, "You DO NOT talk about /b/". And the third one, is "If it exsists, there's porn of it. No exceptions." Then the video explains what "/b/" is. It is the "beating heart" of the website, where all the traffic is going. People post many different things. One example is that there is a group that was apart of the website called Annonymous that posted things about Tom Cruise and protesting Scientology. The thing posted were taken off and many people were not pleased. After the young man was finised giving his presentation there were questions asked. One of the comments/questions had to deal with how things that are posted can be damaging and how it can be a risk. He agreed with the statement and I think that if something that was posted and offended someone of seemed inappropriate he would take it down. I think this video was really interesting because I had no idea this website was out there. The only site that I was familiar with that was somewhat similar is Wikepedia.

Artifact #5

As I was listening to the podcast, "Thank Sex For Making The Internet Hot" I was very surprised. I knew you could find porn on the internet, but I had no idea how much of an impact it had on the internet. For instance, it allowed people to put their credit card on the internet to be able to watch porn. Being able to give websites your card information, you can now do all of your shopping online. Also it led to private chat rooms and streaming videos. It's weird to think that all the things that most people use almost every day are possible because someone decided to put porn on the internet.

Artifact #4: "Uncanny Droid" and "Old School? or What?"

The "Uncanny Droid" video was personally a bit nerve-recking. It took me a second to catch on that that person was really a robot. The way that the robot could move it's facial features is amazing and so life like. It is very weird to think that in the near future there will be robots walking among us humans. Or hey, they might be walking on this earth now and we just can't tell the difference. I wonder once this happens, if scientists are going to find a way that humans can tell if it is a robot or not. I know it kind of defeats the purpose, but I think I would like to know if my best friend or boyfriend was a human or not.

To be honest, I cannot believe that the person who created this "how to" video. I mean if YouTube was around when the pencil and pencil sharpener came out, then I would understand because it's new to people. But the pencil and sharpener have been around long enough that I would think everyone knows how to use them. And quite frankly, I don't even remember the last time I saw someone using a manual sharpener. All throughout high school we had electric sharpeners. Oh, and the occasional manual one stuck to the wall, but I don't think anyone ever used that one unless there was something wrong with the other one. I find it funny because if I find this video ridiculous now, what will people in 60 years, or even 20? People then might find it ridiculous that we have "how to" videos about how to use an iPhone, or blackberry. Technology is an amazing thing and I find it fascinating how fast it moves.

Artifact #3

In this lecture, Nicholas Carr talks about how technology affects the way we think. He says that it negatively impacts the way we think, but technology is always going to exist so we must learn to balance it. I completely agree with him when he says this. Since we can multitask using technology we are not giving our full attention to one thing. For example, if I am doing homework on the computer, I am bound to wander on to my Facebook and start talking to people. Technology allows me to do my homework and talk to my friends at the same time in different windows, but by doing this I am not focusing on my homework or talking to my friend. Also he says that humans enjoy being interrupted. Part of me agrees with this and part of me doesn't. I agree with this because sometimes people don't want to do something, they find the first thing that will interrupt and distract them. I disagree with it because sometimes when you need to get things done and you're on a roll, if someone or something interrupts you, it is very irritating. In the previous lecture we listened to in Artifact #2, William Powers talks about disconnecting yourself. While in this lecture, Nicholas Carr says that it might be a bad thing. It would be negative thing because people may need to get a hold of you at your work place, family member, ect. Also disconnecting yourself may make you feel less sociable, but on the positive side it will enhance our deep thought.

Artifact # 2: Hamlet's Blackberry

While I was listening to William Powers video, I found it very interesting. The first that that caught my attention was when he was telling the story about when he was sitting on a bench people watching and almost every person he saw was either talking, texting or holding their cell phones. When he said this it made me realize that where ever you go, someone is always doing one of those three things. I know when I leave my house, I feel naked without having my phone even on me. Just the feeling of knowing I might have missed a call or a text kills me. I I also would not be surprised if his theory about paper being replaced by screens. People use computers now more than they use paper. But I find it very interesting that it could be a possibility.
        In today's society we are so dependent on things like computers cell phones. When I heard him talk about how his family disconnected themselves for a night, I was shocked! I think that if my family disconnected the modems in our house or turning off our cell phones, we would not get through the night. My dad can't even get through one dinner without texting someone. In my opinion, I think that it is a good idea for people to do this. I mean, who wants to rely on their computers or their phones for everything?

Artifact # 1: Which is Your Perferred News Source?

I completely agree with this article about the internet being the main source for the news. Personally, I find it easier read the news rather than watch it for many reasons. My main reason is I simply don't have enough time or want to watch something else. Also when I do find the time to sit down and watch the new I find myself dozing off or thinking about something else every time. I believe that the reason for the decrease in television is because convenience. If they are too busy doing something that they miss their favorite show or movie that airs no big deal, they can just watch it online the next day when they have time. And the same goes for the news; they can just read it online whenever they have free time. I found this article very interesting. I had some idea that the Internet percentage was up but I had no clue how low the percentage was for TV viewers.