Topic 12-Electronic Civil Liberties/ Creative Commons/ Free and Open Space Source Software

Lecture:
In the lecture today the topics Electronic Civil Liberties, Creative Commons, Free and Open Source Software. It was interesting to learn about and lecturer Adam went through and discussed each topic in detail and asking the lecture group questions.

Tutorial:
In the tutorial there was a choice of what could be done. I chose to work on my assignment and tutor Chris came around and offered help individually.

Assignment: 'The Apple iPod'
The Apple iPod and its accessories have become a way of life and an aesthetic feature that is hard to miss through the generations. It has a never ending social impact and there is a new iPod culture that is more and more apparent as the generations pass and the technology of the iPod improves.

‘The Apple iPod is to the 2000s as the portable CD player was to the 1990s, the Song walkman was to the 1980s, and the transistor radio was to the 1960s. The iPod is a portable audio player, of course, a means of playing music while on the go; but it’s more than that. It builds in the breakthroughs of the previous technologies, and takes portable music one giant step beyond- both technologies and socially’. (Miller 2007, p3)


The iPod was 5GB, a Toshiba hard drive, a Pixo operating system, a large resolution display, a lithium polymer battery, and the still in use feature of the scroll wheel. By Apple making such a large product line and accessory line to accompany it, there is an Apple iPod and accessory to suit every individuals needs. Although the technology of the iPod and the model are constantly new and improved, Apple customers admire that Apple has made the direct decision to keep the general gist of the collection the same, making new features and improvements along the way (Apple, 2008)


Released in 2001, in the shadow of the September 11 world disaster, the Apple iPod was the first of its kind. With a huge team of people working towards the release the important features of the iPod began to fall into place with ‘Apples engineers tweaking and refining the design’ (Hart-Davis, 2006 p66) Phil Schiller was responsible for the scroll wheel, Apple leader; Steve Jobs was responsible for the sounds ‘Because Jobs is partially deaf he drove the sounds up so he could hear it’ (Biersdorfer, 2006 p28)
The engineers had to extend the battery life from three to ten hours ‘That short battery life would have been the kiss of death in the market place’ (Breen, 2005 p58)
A team of marketing consultants came up with the Moniker name, iPod. The prefix ‘I’ works with the iTunes product and the ‘Pod’ refers to small space ships, or ‘pods’ that return to the ‘mother ship’ to refuel (Biersdorfer, 2006).
The Apple iPod ranging from the original iPod in 2001to the introduction to the mini in 2004 and later the nano, is not only used for music but music downloading from Apples very own iTunes, photo storage space and now the new 2007 release of the iPhone, a mobile phone that is also your personal iPod. The Apple iPod gives an opportunity for children and even adults of all ages to have the choice in their own personal music preference and even the height of volume to listen to those songs at. The iPod is not only a music player but is far more economical and almost a fashion statement, and is now becoming a way of life.

‘More than any other single product from Apple, the iPod has changed the company and the world. Before its introduction, MP3 players were the realm of small companies with limited budgets that were unable to provide content. After the iPod the entire industry as evolved and grown to the point were the largest computer companies in the world have major interests in the digital music industry.’ (Hormby & Knight)

When discussing the negatives of the Apple iPod and co products, there are issues that are raised concerning a degree of social panic among parents and concerning social patterns that come from owning an iPod. There is also a discussion about the social impact that it has on iPod and non-iPod users. There seems to be a moral concern about the iPod and the cultural phenomenon that comes with it. The business dictionary describes ‘Social impact’ as an ‘Effect of an activity on the social fabric of the community and well being of the individuals and families.’(Business Dictionary, 2008) The iPod, although an aesthetic feature, also comes with the concern of sociability among the younger crowds. By young children using iPods on an everyday basis, it then prevents them from having social interaction with peers and family members. There is also a moral panic that accompanies the iPod generation, which is that of sub-conscious meaning through lyrics. By young children listening to iPod’s it stops parents having a choice over the music their child listens to. This panic comes from parents that are concerned with the music choices of their child and the lyrical and even subliminal messages that comes with that choice. Jeffery Brown also raises questions such as ‘Does the technology give us new freedom and opportunity to experience and shape our world or does it put us into individual bubbles and keep people from connecting, making us, as some sociologists say, alone together?’(MacNeil 1996) this is something that Apple iPod users and others have to think about. The purpose of the iPod was not to socially exclude but only to enjoy.
In conclusion the technology of the Apple iPod and accessory line has taken to world by storm. The ever changing technology market always seems to have room for all models of the iPod and the generation that are keen for purchase. Although a degree of social concern with the lack of social contact that comes with having an iPod playing constantly there is no need for a general consensus of moral panic among parents. The iPod is only an integral part of each day and with its use there needs to be balance. As with any modern device each one offers its own place in our daily life, which ultimately leads to pleasure and mental stimulation. It is not meant to become a permanent body part only just a temporary fashion accessory that happens to come with a few features called ‘music’.


Resources:
Apple, 2008, Ipod Accessories
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY- APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=MTE2OTA&node=home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories
Accessed: 13/05/08

Biersdorfer J.D, 2006 ‘iPod & iTunes Fourth Edition’ Pogue Press O’Reilly USA

Breen C, 2005 ‘Secrets of iPod & iTunes Fifth Edition’ TechTv USA

4. Business dictionary, 2007-2008 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-impact.html

Fung, D, 2007, Apple iPod Touch. CNet.com
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/lifestyle/soa/Apple-iPod-Touch/0,2000065624,339281821,00.htm

Hart-Davis G, 2006 ‘iPod & iTunes Third Edition’ McGraw Hill Osborne USA

Hormby & Knight, 2007, The History of the ipod
http://lowendmac.com/orchard/05/ipod-history-since-2005.html

8. MacNeil 1996, ‘Apples iPod a technological, cultural phenomenon’ Lehrer Productions
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june06/ipod_05-15.html
Miller M, 2007 ‘iPod Pedia, the Ultimate iPod and iTunes Resource’, Que Indianapolis

Rossi, R, 2008, Customer review
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2AHVG5AU28K6I

Topic 11-'The ethics of peer-to-peer filesharing'

Lecture:
In the lecture this week we discussed the ‘Ethics of peer-to-peer file sharing’. Each of the tutors expressed their own personal views of the media piracy situation that faces the world and internet uses on a daily basis. The lecture theatre was in a discussion about the topic, almost each individual having a different point of view, some agreeing, and some not. Overall the general consensus was that ‘everyone is doing it so why cant I?’ It was interesting to hear the different points of views that everyone has about the topic and the arguments that they raised ‘for’ and ‘against’.

Tutorial:
Following the lecture topic and discussion the tutorial was based on the discussion and each person’s personal opinions of peer-to-peer file sharing. The discussion was mostly based on the film and music industry with the issue of illegal downloading debated.
It was interesting to hear everyone’s different opinion about what they thought was fare for illegal file downloading and burning and their personal justification for doing so.

Readings:
The reading this week was an article called ‘When Pigs Fly; The Death of the Oink, the birth of Dissent, and the Brief History of Record Industry Suicide’. The article is about the music industry and the current debate of the illegal downloading of music of the internet. The article is two sided which is good to give the reader a chance to see the two sides of the argument and make up their own mind in the end. The positive side of the article is that the music is already out there and since it is a free download essentially there is no harm done. The other side of the argument is that by downloading this music for free off the internet that the people who have spent the time and effort making and producing this music are essentially ‘missing out’ on the money from their work. The author of the piece having a neutral argument, discusses that the music industry should have taken this into consideration a long time ago when the problem first evolved

Topic 10- 'PK Dick,living in the future'

Lecture:
In the lecture this week, Harrison Fords 1982 sci-fi blockbuster was watched in class. The movie was interesting in how it was presented and acted out. It was an interesting insight into a someone’s personal view of the future. The movie delves into thought about over-population of the globe, climate change and also genetic engineering. The movie is based on the future and the ability for humans to be genetically manufactured and programmed to live a four year life span. Although dated, the movie is still a good and interesting one to watch and enjoy.

Tutorial:
In the tutorial today there was a class discussion about the assignment and the draft. Each person in the class had a turn in explaining their assignment giving an introduction and a brief run down of the assignment and the points they would be talking about.

Readings:
The reading for this week was an essay named ‘An exploration of what it is to be human’. It discussed humanity or lack of, in the form of human interaction in things that as humans we don’t understand but still wish to control. It talked about how humans judge only on what we know and not what can be known or discovered. The essay also talked about the Voight-Kampff machine and how humans and replicants can show a difference and be told apart by this machine. The machine watches and then deciphers ‘between instinctive and stimulated responses’.

Topic 9- ' Cyberpunk'

Lecture:
In the lecture on Wednesday the concept of ‘Cyberpunk’ and its foundations were bought to the attention of the class. ‘Cyberpunk’ written by William Gibson discusses themes and ideas such as hackers vs. the large corporations, post industrial dystopias, artificial intelligence and even the idea of out of control cities. The ‘Cyberpunk’ generation then connected to the movie watched a few weeks ago ‘Alphaville’ and the idea of cities as machines. Modernism and postmodernism are also factors to consider, the technology change in society and as the generations pass. ‘Cyberpunk’ connected and evaluated ‘who has control or controls’ the switchboard or switches with the city and society.The movie ‘La Jette’ was also watched in the second half of the lecture

Tutorial:
In the tutorial today we went over and discussed the assignment in detail. We discussed what is expected from everyone for the draft and the assignment as a whole. As the assignment and the drafts due date are getting closer everyone in the class had their own personal questions to ask the tutor and we discussed everyone’s worries and concerns in the class. My assignment is going to be on the Apple Ipod and how far it has come in such a short amount of time.

Readings:
In the readings this week we looked at allegory of the cave by Plato. The main themes that are addressed by Plato is the concept of humankind. Humanity and reality were bought to attention and the understanding of reality ‘In the allegory, the shadows on the wall represent the prisoners 'reality' and their reaction to that reality.’ The reading was a little hard to gasp but interesting to read overall.
The second reading for the week was William Gibson’s ten short stories called ‘The Burning Chrome’. This book was the start of the ‘Cyberspace’ phrase and almost phenomenon, and impact that cyberspace has had all around the world.