conclusion

well as we come to the end of this mod., much of the work we have read and watched have been a real eye openers. i mean we all know what the internet is for but never really considered how many more things it can do right now and the things which we thought that were impossible.

For one i got to know more about the Google tools, which i think it's essential as i use it so often yet i don't know the full power of it! (hummm) it has made my researching work mush easier and finding places faster and helped me in exploring the globe without leaving the room.

Social networking and security is also another issue i could relate to. i mean right now almost everyone is connected to Facebook, my space, (very old) Friendster and so on. we all need to be more cautious with what we post up and we comment online cos online it's online, it can be anywhere.

So the next time i go online I'll look at this machine and have a better sense of it's history, it's power and it's influence on people. =D

Week 13 - Future of Internet

The internet... i think it's overrated. Yes it does brings lots of convenience and changes, and yes now we teens can't survive without the web and yes there are rampant virus and hackers out there to destroy the system for evil or just for fun.

But still, can we truly rely on the web for everything in the future? Will bedtime stories be just a Youtube video for our children? Will knowing someone means being friends with them on Facebook? Will having conversation is just by typing rather face to face?

They might happen. But i don't really think with all these changes, it will provide a better life for us all. Human are meant to communicate face to face. If we replace that with machines, i believe relationships will be less meaningful and fulfilling. I'm spending more time on the web than talking to my pals. And i can say this really harms my relationships with them sometimes.

So I'm not looking forward to the future to the internet as a form of replacing human communication. But i am interested in the interesting gadgets that are involved in our lives. =D Like TED - the future six sense?

Week 12 - Social Networking and Online community

"(Facebook) is set to increase social network, it is not defaulting to private, and letting you making it public. But we are defaulting it public and making you priviate"

Clay Shirky, NYU professor and social networking expert.

I'm sure everyone had the experience of having to at least trying to do a blog ( like this one) or be in a social network to join your friends. Well in my secondary school days, Friendster was the IN thing. And not just that, the MORE social networks you have, like High5, Tagged, Multiply, Who-Is-Your-Neighbour.com it shows you are more connected, more popular, more in demand. (Yes, i was in ALL of them, and this was considered tiny compared to my pals who were constantly updating their pictures to 7 or 8 different social networks).

But i made sure that all my info were private, that;s the funny thing. you are posting yourself online and making yourself 'private' instead of public where anyone can see your status, know your age, where you work and study and you past pictures of ex and embarrassing moments. What's the main purpose of doing all that then??!?!

And with companies looking you up on Facebook. it's frightening to be known that 'anything accessible to me means everything can be acceptable to me'. said by Clay Shirky. If you were clubbing and did something which you regretted, everyone knows, your BOSS knows. And anyone who knows you will see you in a different light (doesn't have to be a good one)

I do have Facebook. But i hardly post any pictures of myself, i usually get tagged along which i think it's fairly okie and comfortable with it. I do post some comments about myself but never reveal anything much and i don't do hate messages or rude remarks online. i think anything online can be turned against you if you used it the wrong way.

So social networks do bring people together. but when you are forced to know a stranger and to be introduced with all the nasty comments and deeds. It's disturbing and not the best way to know and judge people. So be more careful with social networking.

Week 11 - Journalism and the Internet

The internet has been a source for any information from news to DIY to entertainment. you name it, Google it and you can find it. If you don't, you can publish about it by yourself and share it with the world.

Now with all these voices in the internet, who can you trust? And with more and more people turning to the internet for news and updates of their own interest, what does the newspaper, the television, the journalist has become?

I personally think that news will definitely be around. but we will never know the real truth unless you saw it for yourself. the main reason is that everyone has their own opinion. just by listening to someone is listening to their opinion. So when the line blurred between the mainstream news with blogging news and updates, you tend to find it hard to know which source to rely on.

True, there are news organizations you can rely on. but they are also being supported by other companies and governments. and news coming out from them have to look good on the country and the companies that they support. it's biased and you are not getting the full picture.

Online journal on the other hand are personal, less formal and more in depth and opinionated. Which tends to be troublesome because you tend to get some people who has seen the real situation and provided you with a better account than news journalist. but you may get more extremest opinions which could influence your thoughts and believe in somethings which might not be completely true.

Ahh the power of free speech + internet = trouble for main stream news.

Week 10 - Politics

A video of how the internet has affected the 2008 election.

The internet has not only improved the medium of rallying for an election but also bring more people together in a faster and more effective way. But there's always ups and downs. Because, in the past, with newspapers and television, contents can be controlled and top information can be kept. However now with the internet, news and personal opinions (even extremest) can be heard and be shown to the world. So now days every political or famous people have to pay much more attention on their presentation, their speech, the body languages. Any jokes with hidden intention can be used against them and any classified information can be exposed on the internet.

So it's tough to be a politician now. Everyone is watching your every move...

Week 8 - XML + Multimedia

here's a short video of how to write a simple XML for your website.

________________________________________________________________________________

Multimedia.

i do know one thing about multimedia, its exciting and i think we are addicted to it. For Singaporeans, we are constantly looking out for the latest phone design, the best computer around and the coolest gadgets to show that we are hip and up to date with today's technology. Just look at the amount of people who went to the IT show this March!



There are those who do judge the price and quality over the branding. however there are also those who just pour in money on gadgets and buy any product that comes from a certain brand...like Apple.

Here is one funny example of the 'latest' Apple product: The Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard!






Will you buy it? Haa haa....

Week 7 - Cyber Crime

while most us know that there are people out there online trying to find loopholes or hacking into our computers, there is one area of people we have overlooked. Not all hackers are people who wants to find our personal information. Here's some vocab difference between theses hackers.

Black hackers. - A black hat hacker, also known as a cracker or a dark side hacker (this last definition is someone who uses his skills with a criminal intent.

White hackers. - White (hat) hacker uses their skills and knowledge as a way to defend someone from attackers.

This is fascination because theses people (white hackers) are trying to hack in and improve the security of the organization which prevents other hackers of ill intention to violate any information.

So if you do want to be a hacker, choose the right path... i mean being a white hacker, you get well paid for what you do and feel good about it. whereas black hackers do get money, maybe even more... but they destroy or take advantage of other people's information and money.