current events

A Long Island based screenwriter is being sued by 20th Century Fox for $15 million.  Why? Click here to find out.

 

Priyanka (Nov 29, 2010) 🙂

 

The UK government is planning to make major postal services available only online. But with millions of elderly having no access to the internet, this could be problematic. More here.

Priyanka

Here are a few articles that might be of interest to you all:

1)    Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA)

1. A bill that, if passed, would block access to any site that host copyrighted material(s) without permission of the creator(s). Yes, this may even include our beloved YouTube!
2. Here are 2 links that 1) describe the current status of the bill with a little background info, 2) an article that gives a little more detail but mainly resources surrounding the issue!

Current Status of COICA Bill

Sources surrounding the issue

2)    Virtual Justice in Virtual Worlds: By Per Eriksson

1. An article that examines who owns what in cyberspace; what rights do we have to our creations or buying virtual material(s)? Also, how is copyright law being implemented into new, smaller virtual worlds hosted on personal servers, or on small LANs (Local Area Networks)?

3)    On the generational, and digital, divide in feminism: By Gillian Reagan

1. How has the Internet and cyberspace affected social resistance movements, in this case feminist movements? What are the arguments between the two generations? Is it tougher to mobilize an activist movement today than it was 20 years ago … and, are feminists today more willing to sit in front of “Facebook” than actually participate in rallies, protests, etc.? All of these questions and more are answered within the article.
2. Along with the above article, this one discusses Thomas Friedman’s speech at Notre Dame University last week and gives insights to some of the above issues of social mobilization and social resistance.

4)    Are Virtual Artists Really Musicians?

1. This article dives into examinations of audience-artist interactions and what constitutes a “real” concert experience. It also gives a video (first one below) that shows just what the audience interaction is!

5)    Google Doodle Controversy: An Islamic Crescent Moon Hidden In Vet Doodle?

1. This article gets us back to issues surrounding initial interpretation and others surrounding our discussions on “Terrorist Bert” at the beginning of the semester

6)    “E-Marriages” for same-sex couples?

1. This article focuses on a gay Texas couple that got married via Skype at their home in Texas while the person performing the ceremony was in D.C.

7)    GeckoSystems Advances Artificial Intelligence Due to Elder Care Robot Trials

1. This article, I thought, was just really interesting considering the company offers an A.I. system for mobile robotic systems that provide, “Safety, Security and Services”.

Eric S.

Check out this article on social sharing…and the downside (s).

How would you like this job?

Online learning is growing, but not everyone is happy about it.

New camcorders you wear over your ear (like an earpiece almost) at reasonable prices to help us “record history”! Yet…doesn’t this raise some privacy issues for people not ready or willing to be internet stars? Check it out.

The trouble politicians are facing because of FACEBOOK

Alli

A blog on the Gen Y remix by a Gen Yer.

http://zacharycolbert.blogspot.com/

Minority Generation Y from college.gov

Lost Generation

A mashup I did in a different class approx. a year ago:

Remix:

-Mary

These two articles tie together…the first discusses the large minority women have in the tech industry, and the second article focuses on blaming this lack of female presence on the absence of other female ‘role models’ to inspire their entry into the field. This, however, seems like a never ending circle; how will we ever get more women into the field without role models there to lead the way? It has to start somewhere….

Women out of the loop in Silicon Valley

Article on why mentors matter for women in the tech industry

Alli

2005 article about music pirating, and why its growth probably wont mean the end of the music industry. In China, pirating is a way of life –> read about it

Alli

Somewhat serious, yet funny article—pertains to what we talked about today on Facebook “friends”—and rules to live by before “unfriending” 😉 Facebook article

Alli

Another instance of outrageous copyright laws. A woman has to pay  $62,500 for each song that she illegally downloaded and shared. I am not defending this woman’s actions, but really, where’s the sense in these penalty amounts? More info here.

Priyanka

Copyright laws in the UK are being updated in order to keep up with the digital age! More information right here!

Priyanka 🙂

Nov 4, 2010

Interesting article about Digital Divide – right here!

Priyanka

Oct 25, 2010.

Click here for interesting developments in tacking multimedia piracy through cyber forensics. Cool stuff.

-Priyanka

News stories:

The new wave of outsourcing…

CAPTCHA-solving teams are “effectively sweatshop labor, where people will just sit and be given these images to solve and will type them in all day.”

Check out this story about digital technology and education. Can we take this assertion as fact? What are the narratives and political/economic realities that drive it?

“What this would allow is an acceleration of something we already have going on in education, which is giving teachers much more flexibility and ability to deal with their class and individual students and where they are on the page, so to speak,” Weiner said. “Just like the internet has been a democratizing force, I think that this would be a democratizing force that would empower teachers more than it would school boards.”

Videos:

Globalization: the good –

Globalization: the bad –

Globalization: the ugly –

Globalization: what people think –