Week 4-Topic 4- Old Communication Technologies and Theories

Lecture:

This week’s lecture was filled with various different topics. There was a discussion on last week’s film Alpahville. We were also given the biography of Walter Benjamin. He had a very interesting life full with passion. He didn’t have any formal education but was a journalist-writing for a column and did children’s radio. The German philosopher was a key figure in the First World War and was a peace activist in that time. When he moved to Paris, everything had changed. He stayed there till the 1940’s during the Second World War and later committed suicide. He was a German Jew, and the Nazi’s were taking over, he had to leave. He had many opportunities to write in various different fields and areas. It was interesting to learn about what he had accomplished in the time that he was living in.
It was also interesting to learn about the first forms of communication. It started out with drawings on rocks and now has evolved to phones and the internet. That was the only way to communicate thousands of years ago. The evolution of technology and communication has changed dramatically. I always forget that drawing on rocks and passing down stories is where it all began. Everything has changed and you don’t realize how it began.

Tutorial:
Source: msn.com and ask.com were the search engines used.

1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
A Filipino 23-year old male in a middle class Manila suburb.

Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPrint.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\CUL20000505b.html

2. Who invented the paper clip?
A New York physician, John Ireland Howe in 1935 invented a machine to produce straight pins.
In 1899, a Norwegian inventor, Johan Vaaler, invented the paper clip. he had a degree in electronics, science and mathematics.

Source: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm

3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
It comes from Zaire, Africa where the Ebola River is located. This is near where the first outbreak was discovered.

Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/ebola.html

4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 (Mw) in Chile on May 22, 1960.

Source: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/earthquakes_what.htm

5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1024^3K

Source: http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/tanya/hwtute/How_to_measure_data/measure.htm

6. Who is the creator of email?
1970's, Ray Tomlinson developed local email programs called SNDMSG and READMAIL. In late 1971, Tomlinson developed the first ARPANET email application.

Source: http://www.livinginternet.com/e/ei.htm

7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
It is a Storm-infected system. Storm worm is a virus. The total number of infected systems has been waning, partly thanks to an updated version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071225-storm-worm-delivering-coal-this-christmas.html

8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Sending mail is the way to contact him directly. On his website claims: “Internet and email are not secure mediums to transfer information. If you have concerns about using this form or if your message is sensitive, please use the postal address provided.”

The Hon Kevin Rudd MPPrime MinisterParliament HouseCANBERRA ACT 2600

Sending mail is the only way to contact him.

Source: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm

9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
The Black Assassins. Steven Stockwell did keyboards and vocals.

Source: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm

10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a new internet. It is a business based form of the internet. It has developed over the years and has a new face. Websites have changed and there are new ones replacing the older ones. It’s a way of marketing and getting businesses.

Source: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Other Questions:

1) How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?

I am not too sure how they would rank the websites. It could be the most popular websites. They could be the ones that pay the most money for their website to come up first. It is hard to rank websites when you don’t know if all the information is correct. The website may or may not be credible (i.e. Wikipedia).

2) Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?

The page results that come up at the top of the search list would be the pages that have the most views by people. They would be the more popular sites. They are also the websites that fit your search the best.

3) What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?

I like to use Google. I have used it for as long as I can remember and I feel that is one of the better ones. It could be a totally bad search engine. But I like it. I have always found what I need from Google and its a large company. Everyone knows about Google and is a million dollar company.
It is the easiest to use. I find it simple and isn’t completely filled with ads everywhere. I find it helps you get what you are looking for. It’s also what I am familiar with, it’s the one I have used for years. I am comfortable with it.

Readings:

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Walter Benjamin

In the lengthy article written by Walter Benjamin in the 1930’s gives various perspectives on media. When this was written, media was different than what we have now. In this article it gives various aspects of the history of media.
It gives perception of when the video camera and the camera were introduced. It changed how people view the world around them. People are seen in a different way now through the eye of a camera.
Walker was also able to bring other ideas and perspectives through other comparisons. He compares the cave man drawings with the new eye in technology. He also links a cameraman and a painter together along a magician and a surgeon. He is able to illustrate how the two are similar while they are different.
The confusion of the lengthy article, Benjamin presents various perspectives of the media in his time. The art is different and has changed. It will also be changing.