RSS

RSS which means really simple syndicate, is a very simple tool that lets you know when a website has been updated and by using a news reader or aggregator, we will know when there is new content updated on the website. With the large amount of content being constantly updated on the internet, this is one of the simple ways we can keep track of the information out there. It is also one of the many convenient tools to help us save time on the internet.

I've always made it a point to check a certain few websites regularly because of the articles that are constantly updated however, this daily habit of mine consumes a fair bit of time and it also requires me to log on to the individual websites to check if they have been updated. However after understanding the workings of RSS, the amount of time I spend searching for new updates has substantially reduced.

It is definitely more convenient in terms of saving time but I don't have to go through the hassle of going onto different websites as all the updates I need can be found in my google reader.

However, one problem I find that could make the RSS better would be allowing the user to comment on the posts that were updated. The technology now allows us to be updated on the content of the websites however, it would definitely move things up the next level if we were able to comment and post our views and what not from the google reader. But then again as the name google reader states, I guess that it has indeed fulfilled its purpose by allowing us to read the content.

In any case, this is a rather niffty tool for busy people to keep updated with their favourite websites without having to continually sift out the information.

So near yet so far

I believe that one of the most effective ways to communicate would be through the internet. As we grow more interconnected, geographical boundaries no longer become an issue. I can be an average Singaporean but be connected with people from London, America, Africa, Korean, Malaysia, China and practically anywhere in the world. It still amazes me how big yet small the world is.

It's probably due to this increasing need to stay connected that social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Blogs and Myspace are thriving!

CNN MONEY - Feb 21 - According to The Nielsen Company, time spent on social networking sites by internet users worldwide has increased from 3 hours per month to 5.5 hours per month. This is an impressive 82% increase. Nielsen also concluded that people spend the most Internet time overall on social networks and blogs, and that social web sites such as Facebook are now the most common homepages for users. "This Nielsen report establishes social media as a trend that is not only here to stay, but one that is growing at a mind-boggling magnitude," stated Bloggerwave Director Ulrik Thomsen.

Hence, this leads me to wonder. Will this computer mediated communication ever replace the face to face medium?

With the invention of web cams, it pretty much eliminates the problem of not being able to see the other party. Just like in face to face communication, we get to see and hear the other party so what makes face to face communication differ from it? Why can't we just coop ourselves up in our houses and Skype one another? Wouldn't that be more convenient?

As said by Charles Dickens "Electric Communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true"

I believe that is the key why this form of face to face communication is so important to us. Computer mediated communication can never replicate the experience of being together with another person in the same space. It's that experience that makes us feel love. Makes us move on. It's what makes life worthwhile.

Take for example, proposing to someone online and in person. Would you be moved and touched to give your life to this person who merely types a "Will you marry me?" or someone who gets down on their knees, looks you in the eyes and says "Will you marry me?" Any girl in the right mind would agree the 2nd one is so much more romantic and possibly sincere?

Even something as trival as telling your friends what's bugging you or even just sitting next to each other is therapeutic. The light pat on the back and embrace or even the soft look of care and concern in the other parties eyes sure beats a million of those meaningless colons and brackets supposedly representing a smile. :)

So my question for you is, do you feel that in this current age where technology is advancing so rapidly, do you subscribe to the "old school" of human communication or belong to the technology era? Probably the solution to overcoming the issue of being in the same space is to create holograms. Or better yet - Create our own avatar! I think Mr Bean is on to something!

Changes in the media landscape

Do take a few minutes to view this video. :)

Human society is constantly evolving and definitely as society evolves, so does our way of life. With the digital age, many common and simple lifestyle habits like reading the newspaper or a book is starting to move towards becoming digital.

The changes that we see in the media landscape can affect us both in a positive and negative way in our daily lives. After watching the various statistics seen in the video above, there were a few points which stood out which I felt was rather interesting.

In the video, it states that 95% of all music downloaded was unpaid for which would definitely put a huge financial drain on the music industry. As the digital age becomes more and more apparent in our lives, the rules have yet to be set so it is pretty much up to a person's own discretion to evaluate and determine what is right or wrong. It is obviously wrong for someone to take a CD out of a shop without paying for it but it seems like this notion is not consistent when it comes to downloading music. The line between what is deemed right and wrong becomes blurred and even though it is the same thing, the digital factor seems to have a magical effect of turning digital "stealing" into an acceptable and widely practiced phenomenon.

With the increasing use of the internet and social networking sites, a person's online and offline identity can become an issue. As with the incident above, the employee forgot that her boss was one of her friends and made a mistake of insulting her boss on her facebook which ultimately led to her being dismissed. As the internet grows to become a bigger part of our lives, the line between our online and offline personas can become blurred. Our privacy may be at stake and at the same time, we need to all the more be more cautious with what we type or upload because it may cost us dearly like how the girl paid the hefty price by losing her jobs. The internet holds more power than we think as I once read in the papers that potential employers sometimes do a check on future candidates by viewing their facebook profiles to see if they are in line with the companies values. Therefore, it is important to have good identity management both online and offline.

A point mentioned in the video was that in February 2008 John Mccain had raised $11 million for his U.S presidential elections while Barack Obama attended no campaign fundraisers in that same month. He did however, leverage on social networking sites to raise $55 million in those 29 days. This is the power and potential that the internet has to offer and Barack Obama is a shining example of the benefits it can offer when used wisely. I believe that this forces us to change our traditional ways in exchange for newer ways that are more effective and efficient. Granted that this has to be done with the right knowledge and tools however, this is just a glimpse of how the impacts and influence the internet has. I believe that Barack Obama's successful utilization of the internet would pave the way for many others who would follow his footsteps.

There are many other points that I could point out from the video but these are just the few that caught my attention. In essence, I feel that the growing digital age and increasing involvement of the internet in our lives would bring about both positive and negative changes. With it's rapid development, different rules and ways of going about doing things would emerge and would thus affect life as we know it. It will ultimately boil down to the individual and how he deals with the endless possibilities that the digital age will bring.

Web 3.0

From Web 1.0 to 2.0 and with the next phase of 3.0 coming up, life as we know it would most probably change drastically. Web 1.0 used to be when audience interaction was not possible or rather it was a very linear form of interaction. However, the rise of the internet can be largely attributed to the high amount of interactivity and user generated content that came with the Web 2.0. Should you need a refresher about the evolution of the internet, the video below would be able to refresh your memory. :)



The Web 3.0 basically starts to become more invisible as it becomes incorporated into our daily lives. However, when I think of how interconnected everything around me gets to the extend that I don't exactly need to keep track it does scare me a little. Here is a video that explains in greater detail about the future with Web 3.0.

With smart appliances that are connected with each other through the internet without direct human involvement, this would revolutionarize the consumer market as the internet becomes the fundamental economic instrument. This would result in the total dependence on network services and business will in turn be entirely dependent on the future internet to provide these services. But I guess my worries would be unnecessary as with a more pervasive internet, the privacy and security settings would also be adjusted to accommodate the change. By researching further, I've come to realise that there is an increasing emphasis on the use of mobile phones to connect with the internet. I'm assuming that with the evolution of the internet, our mobile phones too will undergo a similar evolutionary process in order to work hand in hand with the internet as well.

The video below about what Google perceives in the future intrigues me because it explains with the angle of how we will react to this change and the mindsets of users of the internet. For example, he mentioned how users do not like advertisements to be pushed in their face. Hence with the smart technology, softwares will be able to differentiate the things we have downloaded and from there show us relevant products that might interest us. This is a very sophisticated and smart way of advertising that allows the user to remain in control as the user plays an active role in deciding whether to click or see the advertisement.

The future holds a tremendous amount of potential and opportunities and I suppose all we can do is wait and see how this new internet will shape the way we live our life.

Phone 3.0?

Just like how in class we were introduced to Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, I vaguely remembered seeing on the news about a new innovation that Nokia was working on. If things go well, this would probably be the future of our communications devices. So check out what our near future could bring below!



Nanotechnology can sometimes be referred to as nanotech which is the study of manipulating matter on a atomic and molecular scale. The video shown above shows revolutionary leaps being explored by Nokia Research Center(NRC) in collaboration with the Cambridge Nanoscience Centre (United Kingdom).

There are basically a few morph concept technologies that might create opportunities for mobile devices:

1. Newly-enabled flexible and transparent materials blend more seamlessly with the way we live.

2. Devices become self cleaning and self preserving.

3. Transparent electronics offering an entirely new aesthetic dimension

4. Built-in solar absorption might charge a device, whilst batteries become smaller, longer lasting and faster to charge.

5. Integrated sensors might allow us to learn more about the environment around us, empowering us to make better choices.

Just the thought of this gets me excited because of the endless possibilities it entails. In class, Mr Choy asked us to give a few limitations about the current mobile phone and the few examples like signal, battery life were brought up.

After looking at the video and doing some research, it seems to address some of our existing problems and also set the stage for a more convenient and user friendly mobile phone. It would be amazing to be able to hold a multi device in one that is able to change its shape and size to perform different functions, never needing to worry about dirtying your phone due to the dirt repelling nanostructured surfaces called "Nanoflowers", allowing your phone to recharge by solar power with the help of "Nanograss" structures on the surface of the phone and examine the environment around us from analyzing air pollution, to gaining insight into bio-chemical traces and processes.

Just imagine something as common as a phone being able to perform all those functions! I guess in the near future these would just become as "normal" as the mobile phones we have now. Only time will tell if these things would really materialize but the fact that it has been dreamt hints at the possibility that it might just appear in the palm of our hands in the near future! :)

Does the Apple end here?

I can assuredly say that the name "Apple" has become one of the most well known brands that have dominated everything from the desktop to the laptop to the mp3 to the handphone. Their success seemed to revolve around the creative mind of Steve Jobs which has led me to ponder a few things.

Would their success be stunted should Steve Jobs be taken out of the picture?

Would Apple run into a rough patch if the ideas Apple has come thus far be dependent on just one person?

Even though there are a few lineups for future developments, there are concerns as to whether in 2 to 3 years time if Apple will be relegated to a follower as opposed to being a leader it is now. Below are a few good videos I found on youtube that will help to give a clearer picture on the impact of Steve Job's medical leave and the future of Apple.

Pancreatic cancer, the fourth deadliest cancer in the United States, with a five-year survival rate of 6 percent, has also claimed the lives of actors Kenneth Mars, Michael Landon, Joan Crawford, and Sir Rex Harrison, as well as musicians Henry Mancini, Luciano Pavarotti, and Dizzy Gillespie.

For those of us who have little knowledge of what pancreatic cancer is, the video below explains in simple terms what this disease entails.

This short message Jobs wrote does sound rather worrying as unlike the 1st time, he does not put a cap on the period he will be absent. And I believe that his request for privacy also stems from the fact that Apple has grown into the giant it is today and people who have benefited greatly in terms of financial gain would definitely want him to be more transparent and be accountable to them. However from my personal standpoint, I feel that people should respect his need for privacy and let him regain his health because Apple will only be able to move on to greater heights if the forefront visionary is able to lead and guide them.

"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health," Jobs told Apple employees in an internal memo posted on CNN. "I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company. I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."

As a fervent apple user, I do hope that Steve Jobs will recover and do what he does best! And that is none other than create products that exceed expectations and innovate. :)

DIY Movie

In class today, we learnt about certain tools that we could use to make a movie. Since I own a mac, I decided to create one using iMovie. Even though this was my 1st video, it was relatively fuss free. :)

Granted that I may not be a professional however, iMovie pretty much makes the whole process an easy and fun way to create videos.

This video was done for my brother back in 2009 as a little way to celebrate his graduation and here are a few things I have done and learnt by using iMovie:

1. Stitching different videos together

2. Placing transitions and effects

3. Doing voiceovers

4. Making use of bloopers

I still remember how I had some difficulties trying to locate certain buttons for effects but once I was familiar with the workings, it was much easier to navigate. On a scale of 1 to 10, the fun was definitely a 10 as you can see the rather gigglish responses when people are talking to a camera.

So here you are! Hope that you enjoy my masterpiece! :)