Ripples

About 7 years ago, when the Playstation 2 came out, there was a lot of advertisement about the future of gaming. The Playstation 2 was going to be the most "high-tech" game system. The graphics, story lines, and game play would be much more interactive. It was only the beginning.
In class, we talked about how Hayles said that we are separate from technology and that we will always be. She thinks that we work together as one and that a computer can do the things that a human can. The human can experience the emotional cues that are sometime needed to make a task successful. I learned in my psychology class that too much emotion leads to rationalization but too little, can lead to poor decision making. But what if one day, maybe not soon but in the future, we become part of the computer? Take a look at this clip that came out roughly seven years ago.




Though it may seem too far away to ever happen and even unreal, it really is not. As fast as technology changes, one day we could see something like this PS9. My point is that I believe that Hayles is right about how we should be more cautious. I believe that we are cyborgs and that one day the machine may entirely take over. Just think about how we process words in our head. Each letter is pulled from our long term memory to make a word and then say it out loud. This is cued by a stimuli that we are programed to respond to. We think like computers already, even to make simple text. We created the computer based on how we process information.

When I take a look at this video, I think about the loss of our humanity. This technology makes stepping outside a little harder when you can step into a virtual world and do anything you can imagine. I believe it is already happening. It kind of reminds me of the matrix and how they were"prisoners" in their made up world. Where will it stop and will we ever lose the distinction between real and virtual like they did? It's like ripples in the water: they start out small and rapidly expand.

To Ryan Hard

Last Monday, a great friend of my brother and mine passed away. I received a phone call from my brother while I was working. His voice was trembling while he was said, "Ryan Hard died last night." I was speechless and could not believe it.  The only thing I said was, "How?".  My brother did not know.   All he said was that his other high school buddy had put up on his twitter that Ryan Hard passed away. Messages on Myspace and Facebook were all over the network of Aledo Alumni, saying Ryan Hard died or Ryan Hard passed last night. 

I later found out that he actually died in the hospital that very morning and that the funeral was today, April 23.  Unfortunately, neither my brother nor I were able to go.  This guy meant a great deal to us and was a wonderful person to be around.  He was so full of life and alway put a smile on everyone's face.  Even though we could not be there, we want to remember him and say our goodbyes in our own way.

This was a little different from other forms of remembering a friend, but we hope that those who loved him and knew him like we did will alway remember him just like this. The video has been up for a couple of days on Youtube, and a few people have put some comments. I have known other deaths of friends and seen their myspaces and facebooks filled with comments and peoples goodbyes. It has gotten so much easier to relay information like this thanks to these websites. People can get on these sites and express their passion in saying their goodbyes and remembering their friends. Rather than a formal funeral, Ryan's family have decided to have a celebration honoring his life. There, everyone will get a chance to say what they want and talk about the good times they had with Ryan. Whether it is a blog, video, or a twitter message, we all want our chance to say something, and here's my chance. 

To Ryan Hard,

I will see you again

This is my Club

This is my guild or internet community as we discussed in class. 

There are 66 members from all over the United States that come together for a common interest and set a similar goal.  Online communities are just like any other social networks that one may join from the outside. They deal with everything from throwing parties to generating income. My community comes from the popular game, World of Warcarft. However, the only difference in my online community is the fact that all communication is text based.  We utilize all available forms of text to not only communicate but to also make our guild stronger. The community or guild is run mostly by the creator which may be elected. He selects from the members that are most trust worthy and loyal to be on the counsel or an officer. They help run the guild. 

I joined other guilds in the game, and I have come to find that the only ones who succeed in their goals are the stong ones that stay active. There are many tools in the game that we utilize such as the guild calendar, where the guild master and counsel members can schedule any type of meeting or event. Anouncements are able to be made as well; they are the first form of text you see on the left hand side of the green colored screen.  Also, on the left hand side of the screen, one can use guild chat, which is a form of instant messenger.   With it, one can speak with other members online at the time. These are just some of the many forms of text that we use, but like I said earlier, the better comminiciation the stronger the guild. 

Take a look at our website. 

http://eos.guildwebsite.info/ 

Many of the big and strongest guild in the game have their own websites. As you can see, the tabs on the top of the screen list the most important tools that we use. The forums are probably the most widely used. We discuss many in-game topics and issues here, but we also talk about our interests.  The bank tab is where we can see any of the latest activity of funds or important items that were used. This is also where visiting players of  the game can come and get interviewed to join the guild. There is a list of classes that shows of who we are currently recruiting.  This is on the right hand side of the screen. Each is labeled from highest recruitment to lowest with different color schemes. What I thought was pretty nifty was the log in section. Just like in any real life club, there's a special password to get into the good stuff. It's like our little Myspace in a way. The leader of the guild happens to be in school studying computer technology and made the site. This is just what the internet was made for: to bring people from all types of communities and make any goal successful. 

Hello, I am Crywarrior. Oh, and Deathloom.

In this crazy world that we live in, I am just a simple little man, insignificant and dull. There's not much excitement; I work and study, and that's about it. But In Azeroth, I am a mighty Tauren named Crywarrior. I am also a woman. Shocking, huh? To my enemies, my real name is hidden to protect the ones that I love. I am the "Sexy Blood Elf Rogue," Deathloom.


 

It seems that ever since Instant Messenger became popular, people it is amusing to change their identities. Maybe they do it for fun, or maybe they are unsatisfied with who they are. Perhaps, they just want to step into the shoes of a different life, to feel special. I remember when I first started instant messaging on AOL in middle school. I would talk to my friends for hours or even have them over and go in the "singles chat."  There, we would play games on the middle aged men and women. Cruel as it may have been, we had our giggles. 

When I think about how we communicate online, I realize how easy it is to be ourselves or someone else.  It's as easy to be open and honest as it is to be cruel and dishonest. It's the fact that we are not seen, that even though we may hurt or play with others, we don't feel as bad. Our identity is hidden from the world. We can be anything we want to be and say what we want to say. I believe this is one of the reasons blogging has become so popular in the last 5 years. Blogging has given people the opportunity to say things that they might not say in public. Being able to say anything and hide your identity is a great way to express how you feel and still "save your" face to the outside world. That's just one of the many great powers technology gives us. 

With the better innovations on online games, like with RPG elements, we are given the opportunity to step into the shoes of a fantasy-like character and interact within their world. It's neat for a fifty-six year old man to pretend to be a general of the Horde and lead his army into battle to fight the ravaging undead or a boy that is paralyzed from the waist down, charging into battle. 

Whatever the case may be, the ability to change our "self" has expanded many different forms in communication from Blogging to playing World of Warcraft.  It has allowed us to be whatever our imagination desires.

RPG's and Bolter

In chapter 7 Bolter talks about the interactive fiction. When I was reading this chapter all I could think about was the video games that I played. Bolter talks about how fiction has become more interactive to the reader. In a sense I would be able to determine the outcomes of the stories by selecting the text. So if I choose to "walk down the stairs" I might get eaten by the dragon that waits at the bottom. To me its almost like being in the story. The reader takes control of the plot and manipulates it to their liking. Not only can this type of text be found in books and online but in the last decade the interactive text has gone into the video game world.




This game is called Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. This game itself was countlessly awarded and recognized for it
new and interactive game play. By new, I'm meaning new game play interaction to the role playing genre. The game lets you manipulate the story based on the decisions you make in the game. In the story you are a Jedi that has lost his memories and journeys along to regain them. As you quest along you are met by good and bad decisions. If you make dark choices you are drawn closer to the darkside of the force. If you make good one the lightside is your path. At the end of the game the ending is greatly determined by the choices you have made in your quest.




As you can see in the video the player interacts with the story by communicating with the non-player characters. When they stop speaking the player is open to ask more questions or make a decision which can lead to a different part of the story. So the selection 1. and 2. statements act like a hypertext. The hypertext like in the stories which Bolter discuss have the same elements. It makes me wonder what lies ahead with this new text interaction.

T L M

I just wanted to put up a link to my Techno Literacy Memoir. I had so much fun making it. I just wanted to share it with everyone one more time. Enjoy.

You should also enjoy some of my other work on my youtube page afterwards. 

I choose to use video because its what I am most familiar with. Like I said many times before Screenwriting is my passion and this was a fun to make. When I was researching to make this video I learned alot about the technology I used. Some of the technology I went over I didnt realize that it helped me in the certain ways of my education until I reviewed them. I filmed this video at Target as a well as a few other spots that didnt make the cut "sadly". As I went to the different stores I saw the new and different technologies that children now use. All of the technologies that are used today are either digital and electronic. When I was younger it was all text in a book and maybe a video.  I even saw more and more video games that were educational. The Vtech introduces a new way to play video games. It makes learning more enjoyable by bringing along familiar characters. You can learn math with Spiderman, read along with mario and spell with Dora. To me even though its hard to get kids to sit down and learn in their spare time at least they can have some relation to fun. This was just one of the many new technologies I observed while doing research. 

My Grandma can do it

My brother works at Computer Dimensions, the Apple store. The other day we got into a deep conversation about the new Imacs that are about to come out. I was thinking about buying one of the latest models, but he told me to wait. Steve Jobs was trying to keep the computers a secret, but our friend recently went to a Mac convention in Las Vagas and heard about them. He had to sign a release form about keeping his mouth closed, but he shared it with his boys. Now, I cannot say what is going to be put into the computers, but they are going to be amazing. I will never understand how technology keeps advancing so rapidly. I have had a computer since I was 12, and every 6 months something new comes out. I can never keep up. I bought my first Mac last year, and it was top of the line. Now, it's 1,000 dollars cheaper and slower than the rest. It's exhausting trying to keep up with technology because it changes too fast. 

Let us return to the conversation with my brother. He then tells me about this one old couple that came into the store a few days ago. They knew what they wanted and got to the point. They walked up to my brother and said, "I need a computer with a webcam and lots of gigabytes for my phot os and music.” They had read that the iMac with Ichat was the best to use. He was pretty shocked that they new what they were talking about. My brother asked them how they new so much about computer technology. They told him that their grandchildren told them about how computers were the best way to stay close to them and gave them all sorts of details about all the things a computer could do that would allow them to keep in touch.  The older man said "I might be old, but I can still learn a thing or two." Then, the couple told my brother that this was their third computer to buy in two years. I was like wow! I've only had 3 in the last 10 years. It made me feel like I am way behind them.  This story made me think about my grandma and how she would ask me to come over and help her learn some stuff about their computer, but I really just never took the time. I never really had the patience to explain how everything worked. However, she somehow learned.  It wasn't long before she was sending me E-greetings through my email. Then, she would pop up on AOL and instant message me.  Despite what some may think about the learning capacities of the elderly, I am sure that they are quite able to keep up with and learn about the unique and complicated technologies that exist today.

Head to head with Granny

My brother works at the Apple store called Computer Dimensions. We got into a deep conversation the other day while talking about the new Imacs that are about to come out. I was thinking about buying one of the latest models but he told me to wait. Steve Jobs was trying to keep it a secret but our friend recently went to mac world and heard about them. He had to sign a release about keeping his mouth closed but he shared it with his boys. Now I cant say what is going to be put into the computers but I was amazed. I will just never understand how technology moves so fast. I have had computer since I was 12, and every 6 months something new comes out and I can just never keep up. I bought my first Mac last year it was top of the line. Now it's 1,000 dollars cheaper and slower than the rest. To me its just exhausting trying to keep up, things change to fast. Which then brings me to my point. He then tells me about this one old couple that came into the store a few days ago. They knew what they wanted and got to the point. They walked up to him and said "I need a computer with a webcam and lots of gigabytes for my photos and music". He was pretty shocked that they new what they were talking about. My brother asked them how they new so much about computer technology. They told him that their grandchildren showed them. That the computer was the way to stay close to them, cause that's what was important to them. The older man said "he might me old but he can still learn a thing or two". They then told him that this was their 3rd computer to buy in 2 years. I was like wow! I've only had 3 in the last 10 years. It made me feel like I was behind them. But then I got to thinking about my grandma and how she would ask me about coming over and helping her learn some stuff about their computer but I really just never took the time. I never really had the patients for her. However it wasn't long before she was sending me E Greetings through my email. Then she would pop up and IM me on AOL.  Despite what some may think about old people trying to keep up with technology as being difficult. I assure that if they want to they will find a way.