Saturday, August 30, 2003

And that awfully cutsey character is RHINOKEY, and he is a Wuzzle, from the island of Wuz....heres some history....

"THE ISLAND OF WUZ".

In the middle of Wuz there is a town of small cottages, which are really rather odd - as indeed are all the rest of the inhabitants! Most of the inhabitants are a cross between one thing or another, and almost everything else on Wuz is a cross between one thing and another. Life can become pretty hectic on Wuz, when all the people get together for a party or a race, and as the sun shines most days there is always alot to do. However, sometimes the sun doesn't shine and it rains cowcats and frogdogs for days on end.
The inhabitants of Wuz are called Wuzzles. "

And that Dan means that you can pay me in full to this unmarked bank account...


posted by Matt at 3:53 PM

Wanna see some composed pictures? :)

This is.. you see, parody of LORD OF THE RINGS.
Actually this is... practical work of TEAM BLUE which is amature game making team... (where I belong.. but there is no picture of me)
:)

And, this one was quite famous in Korea... cute isn't it? a dog holding on a bamboo tree...

I saw some more realistic stuffs but I can't find at the moment. I'll post it when I find it... have a nice holiday~

posted by Anonymous at 4:18 AM

how can i delete my post?
posted by Anonymous at 12:42 AM

Hey All

Just wanted to start the topic on digital sound... I know I can't wait till that comes up in the lectures... Just the other day, I went to a studio with a friend who goes to the Auckland Film School. I can't tell you how excited I was.. I felt like a little kid at play..( off course I was not allowed to touch any of the machines DAMN!) I was like the little kid being told... DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING



My friend is doing a course on Digital Sound Production, and part of what he was doing that afternoon was producing a CD which showcases some of the best work produced during the year. It includes a collaborative audio Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, radio demo tapes, and music and sound for films, all produced using the studio's state of the art facilities. The equipment they had at the school studio is as good as any to be found in any studio.


It was so awesome!!! I had a blast.....although I was restricted to what I could play around with..... But after all that....I don't think digital production is my cup of tea...... Since I can't even distinguish between tunes.........I guess that says alot huh!!!!
But it was a well spent day......( didn't feel bad that I skipped my women studies lecture!)


Have a great holiday guys!!!!!
I'm off to Aussie!!!! I'll try and post from there!!!!

Au revoir



posted by Anonymous at 12:27 AM

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Friday, August 29, 2003

Fran's refference to Terminator 3 is a point which I have thought about before. It would have to begin with technology taking off as a new life form, which might sound like some geekey stoner talk, but it is possible I believe. We allready have computer Viruses, which act similar to that of biological viruses and then there are worms (like the one Microsoft just got hit with) which are similar in many ways to parasitic life forms. Once Viruses and Worms are created they go off on their own and do whatever they do, regardless if they are a man made creation or not. The possibility is there for technological or software forms of life to exist, the only thing is humans would be their creators. Well, if you believe in God and creation and what not, then you should have no problem believing that humans creating some form of "artifitial' life is possible. Think about it maaan.
posted by Anonymous at 5:44 PM

Internet and politic?

Yes, they are related. Before people using the internet they are usually influenced by media system which is pushing the informations to audiences. But now though the internet people may get(pull) what informations they want and also which are not reported on public medias.

One of good example is the assembly of Candle that hold in South Korean in last year (and this year as well, but mostly hold in last year). The object of assemble was cherish two junior high school girls who dead because of U.S army tank run over them.(It has discovered that the U.S army could dodge them after the investigation but they did not and after all they are judged as NOT guilty by U.S army. Therefore people of Korea got angered) In the first time it has suggested by one Netizen called as 'ANGMA' to assemble to cherish them and after few days later it became real big deal in Korean society. (I heard, more than 100 thousands people assembled) However conservative politicians did not want those people show up their emotion about 'ANTI-U.S' so they tried stop them but it was not able to do. Also those assemble was supported by whole nations (especially young people).

And December of 2002 was period of vote for new president of Korea. Young people are disappointed and hated what conservative parties do so and as its result that consevative party lost the election.
posted by Anonymous at 6:29 AM

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Thursday, August 28, 2003

Hey Matt. Im having major issues trying to join the chat! Any suggestions? F***ing technology!
posted by Anonymous at 7:39 PM

This weeks blog is running a bit late, but its better late than never i guess! Hopefully everyone is gearing up for an exciting and productive holiday. I know i am! Next week im off to the other side of the ditch where i will do hopefully the first FTVMS 203 overseas blog! I will also do a new media report live and direct from the city of Melbourne!


This weeks site GNN is partially controversial in the opinions it portrays on various topics. This site ties in with several of 203's topics. Firstly one of the more recent is online activism. This site concentrates on controversys of US government, terrorism, drugs, warfare, human rights, media, corporate crime and many more extremely interesting subjects. Guerrilla News Network provides the spectator with pictures, news reports, and forums on many topics that are current as well as archiving many older issues. A very interesting part of this site is the music videos that it creates for a younger, more objective audience. These music videos are created using media footage of certain events (for example 9/11) and turning it into a montage masterpiece accompanied by popular new music. Check it out! It will often give you a new perspective on issues which you thought had been resolved. The site is wickedly presented, it is easy to navigate, and is highly informative. You could spend many hours on this site, especially if there is a topic which tickles your fancy!

New Media: This weeks new piece of technology needs mentioning. After seeing an advert on tv for no interest for 18 months deferred payment, i decided to go check out some new technological goodies. After spending an hour playing with tvs, stereos and computers i found it. A new philips widescreen tv. Thats not special, youre thinking! But wait. The remote is the good bit. The remote that comes with this $12,000 tv was amazing. Not only was it touchscreen, but it was basically a mini tv. This allows the viewer not only to view other channels in a window on the big screen but also to flick through the channels on the remote! How cool is that! The oldskool channel changer has come along way. It can be programmed to control everything you own, including curtains, fireplaces etc! Ooh to have copius amounts of cash!

Enough bollocks for this week! Enjoy the holidays party people! Dont spend too much time behind new technologies! Enjoy the sun! Catch you on the flipside!


posted by Anonymous at 7:20 PM

The Rumour is True
Yo, Napster really is coming back - this week's Time magazine has an article, pg 66: "Napster Turns Legit".
"Software maker Roxio, which bought the Napster name and assets for 5.3million last November, will launch by the end of the year a new Napster service that offers consumers a monthly subscription plan or a pay-per-song download fee - a combination that's an industry first. The company even signed Napster creator Shawn Fanning as a consultant."

Do you think it'll work? I've heard that Apple's iTunes (the one where you pay 99c US to download a song) has been reasonably successful, despite the 'free' market still in bloom...
posted by Anonymous at 1:53 PM

just sittin' at the dock of the bay - wastin' time :)
- Dan
p.s. a princely sum of shmallows to the first punter who tells me where i can find some size 13 Barter Bullets, or whomesoever can name this fine chap...


posted by Anonymous at 8:36 AM

hohoho~~~well~~have a virtual bridge crossing experience~~
all you need is a scroll mouse~~
if you don't have it...well you will have to find another way to experience this



Since I got digital camera, I spent most of my time to improve digital photo taking skill. So two third of my web surf time was to find good digital photoes...anyway the problem is "this computer is a piece of junk!!!!" or may be "I never gonna make it!!!"
I first got my own pc when I was 15, since then most of the time, my computer was at the service centres. -.-;;
well~~so does my digital camera.
I hope you enjoyed the experience of virtual bridge crossing experience~~~
Isn't it cool that few photographs and some software can fool your eyes?

posted by Anonymous at 2:12 AM

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Wednesday, August 27, 2003

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Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Hey there, just taste-tested feijoa (mmm feijoa) 42below vodka last weekend, so i was really interested in to see their site in class. Personally, i thought it looked cool. i'll probably check it out again (argh, hooked). Here's a transcript of another ad they've done where they take the piss out of advertising (and all the things the world associates with New Zealand)

"Each morning, the Maori people of New Zealand - which is part of Australia - rise at dawn, cook some eggs, put on their grass skirts and go out to the fields to make 42 Below vodka.
"There, they trade with the fierce All Black tribes - that live in the hill country - for raw ingredients and ship them down the Shotover in traditional America's Cup yachts to the 42 Below factory. Then, using only stainless steel distilleries carved from ancient kauri trees, they create the world's smoothest vodka which they give to the white man in exchange for blankets, muskets ... and hobbits.

"And as the day turns to night, the tribes come together, drink large amounts of 42 Below, carve plastic tikis for Air New Zealand, and tell the traditional Maori joke, which goes like this: Knock knock / Who's there? / Statue / Statue who? / Statue bro?

"42 Below vodka - made right here in Sydney, New Zealand, by Russell Crowe." [Radio spot for 42 Below vodka]

Hehe, classic.
And guess what, it's 42% alcohol, bottled at latitude 42 degrees south of the equator (NZ, or is it Australia?! hehe). Neat ay.


posted by Anonymous at 9:37 PM

Most importantly, did anyone leave an umbrella in the lecture theatre today? If so, I've got it (and have no need for it since I invested in a fetching blue 'ladies wind resistant' for the princely sum of $9.95 at the Warehouse on Saturday - whoever said academics lack style?)

Secondly, in response to a couple of requests, here are the URLs for the sites I showed in today's lecture:

www.42below.co.nz
http://www.napsterbits.com
http://www.mcspotlight.org
www.b92.net
posted by Technoculture and New Media at 9:19 PM

Inversion of Privacy:
Hey anons,
If you've posted on this blog and you use a Hotmail account, I've been looking at your MSN public profile :)

My favourite so far was the profile for a certain user who lists "listening to Tool and having sex" among their hobbies and interests. Surprisingly, very few people upload photos of themselves for their MSN profiles - perhaps proving that users prefer chat/blogging to be an anonymous exercise... possibly to avoid identification as a Tool fan (most valid in my opinion :P)

This isn't like a hacker thing, on account of, if you didn't want anyone to know this stuff you shouldn't have post it on an MSN Public Profile.
Just take any hotmail address, visit the MSN Member Directory and type or paste that hotmail address into your browser's address bar following the last "/".

Identity is fluid and contingent,
Tool is just sucky.
- Dan
posted by Anonymous at 3:07 AM

hey batman, you gonna marry your cousins like back in Agincourt?
Diggeth thine own hole,
- Dan
posted by Anonymous at 2:43 AM

I agree with Suzannah also about nDeva, i reckon its way better than standing in long lines for sure. I think people have adopted nDeva in a negative way. This may be because people have had a few mishaps with it and can talk, meaning they go blab to all their mates etc. There is usually a pretty good reason why things arent working right for students on nDeva eg they may read the error message incorrectly or not put the right information in, or they may be too fast for their computer. Students know nDeva is a positive thing but they get fustrated when they cant work it, and dont actively figure the prob out for themselves cos its so easy to ring the University and ask them why why why? Also students may have pre negative assumptions about computers which reflect on thier attitude towards nDeva.

posted by Anonymous at 1:25 AM

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Monday, August 25, 2003

not to be confused with batman...
posted by Matt at 6:28 PM

Damn, dig that shit... thats my family coat of arms that dates back to the 7th century. The internet has provided me with an honourable bloodline. Now i want to put on some armour and shit, and beat the crap out of some frenchies, like my old old old old old old old man did back in Agincourt.

May thy peeps dig thou bloodline...
Matt 'the dark knight' Metcalfe
posted by Matt at 6:27 PM

NDEVA is the shit, bugger queues of thousands, im with you suzzannah!
30 min as oppose to 5 hours...hmmmm....you do the math

posted by Matt at 2:09 PM

NDEVA wouldn't let me into law school despite my satisfactory pre-req's >:(
It also reckons I have a minor in Ancient History and once had a major in Ethics.
- Dan
p.s. given my academic record it's probably best I didn't get into law
posted by Anonymous at 3:04 AM

wow everyone's talking about hackers!
posted by Anonymous at 2:52 AM

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Sunday, August 24, 2003

Do I believe what? That that is an image of a guy superimposed onto another image to make him look like a ghost? Sure why not.

This hacker thing is interesting, and what was said about the software which protects you from it. I downloaded a copy of Zone Alarm Pro, which is basically some programme which puts a firewall around your computer or something to stop hackers from naffing your computer. But within about a week, this programme said, I have gone over my trial period and it kept asking me for money. Seriously, it was more of a liability than an asset. It pissed me off soo much. Having this peice of software raised the question, am I at risk enough that purchasing a piece of software like this is of any worth? I thought nah, and deleted it. Nothing detremental has happened to my computer ever, pre and post having a copy of zone alarm. It is probably a little screwed from bugs and stuff that come through the net, but unless you are on 24/7 and have something VERY INTERESTING on your PC, the chances of having a malicious hacker enter your computer to do damage are very small.

Yet, still you can see advertisments everywhere on the web appealing to the every day, average home pc owner to invest in such and such a product because they are at such a high risk, from being hacked and having their personal records shown, and Billy's extensive porn collection viewed. But really its a bunch of arse. People still buy into the possibility of being invaded by invisible enemies. Its crazy.

Think about it though, if you were a competant computer hacker, are you really going to give that much of a shit to go onto someone's PC to mosey around in, when you could be doing something cool like looking at John Bank's credit ratings, or bank statements?? I think not.
posted by Anonymous at 7:12 PM

Do you believe this??


posted by Anonymous at 6:30 AM

Interesting reply Dan- cheers for the lyrics. I definitely think ‘Jungle Music’ can be seen as an ‘oppositional text’ (it opposes the dominant ideologies), and I think it would be useful to comment on the possible role of the Internet in the dissemination of such texts, and therefore in the survival of alternative ideologies. Sociologist A. Ross claims “music remains the medium for the most creative and powerful stories about those things that often seem to count most in our daily lives” (Ross,1992,3). However it seems that a large majority of music lacks these ‘powerful stories’ that Ross romantically describes, and offers little evidence of rebellion or resistance. The monopolised nature of the music industry has the ideals of capitalism so deeply embedded within it, that many of the ‘texts’ (songs) promote the ideology of capitalism, or at least the economic returns from of such texts reinforce the ideologies. Previously in order to be mass consumed, artists had to use the vehicle of major record companies, and therefore compromise their integrity. An example of this is the ‘highly politicised’ ‘Rage Against the Machine’, whose songs were a rebellion against the inequality and exploitation of capitalism and ‘the man’, however they were in effect directly funding the capitalist system, and multinational corporations they were rebelling against. The Internet may be a solution in breaking these contradictions, or compromises. The potential for mass consumption of music (through the Internet) has already been demonstrated (remember the Metallica vs. Napster saga), and this perhaps increases the chance for independent and ‘alternative’ music to be widely consumed, and their political ideas to be more widely heard.
Any Takers?
Chris.

posted by Anonymous at 4:42 AM

Hey, everyone. haven't posted any entries for ages..........
Here comes my 2nd entry, which is very brief.

The lecture on hacker on last Thursday remains me one of my flatmates, whose computer has been hacked before. Fortunately, the hacker was his friend and he just tried it for fun, so he didn't do anything to my flatemate's computer. His friend told him that he could have hacked his computer and seen everything in it, so since then, my faltmate has been using a security system for it.

I don't know much about hacking and the security systems for it, but I feel that the technology might protect your information or privacy with the system programmes, but they are created by human and they would be broken and destroyed by human (hackers) as well. So it seems like a vicious circle between hackers and programmers, and it never ends.......

Is the "perfet world" coming to human someday?? And would the technology bring it to us?? or.....:)

posted by Anonymous at 4:34 AM

Joel Synder’s column in the December 1996 issue of Internet World is typical of current popular discourse.The word "hacker" was first applied to people who pushed the limits of the technology, who developed clever ways of doing things or using computers in ways designers never imagined.The Hacker :
Within the language of machines, a digital murder, a mathematical terrorist, an algebra of evil. The occult synthesis of alembic technology. Caesura, cleave, cut, digitate, divide, detach, disconnet, sever, slice, luxation, lacerate, truncate. The dissection of knowledge, the hacking of facts. Programming and digital transfer.
Many hackers have stepped over the arbitrary line that the government has drawn separating legal from illegal. But that’s not a requirement of hacking. It just happens to be a common side effect. For most hackers, the intent is not to vandalize, break laws, or terrorize. It’s to learn and explore. it 's really cool thing if you can be a hhhackerrrr, not for the secret or information but the skill the woundful skill. however, it is ambiguous weather hacking is legal or not, or if it is seen as an attack
posted by Anonymous at 4:13 AM

It's hard to respond to this article, it's just too damn cool. So here's the five cent summary:
Digital Constructivism:

Calls for interface designs which reflect the semiotic worldview of other historical periods e.g. Baroque, Renaissance.

Necessitates synthesis between arts and technology disciplines e.g. Bauhaus, them 20s'ish Russian Constuctivist schools.

Has this cool cultural comparison/analysis spot for video game interface and processes of identification. US game designers use the navigation of space as a metaphor for character building and self-discovery (think road movies people) whereas successful Japanese games tend to focus on negotiation/cooperation between a number of characters.

You are insanely jealous of my html stylings no doubt.
check the technique: Bare Bones Guide to HTML
- Dan
posted by Anonymous at 2:24 AM

hey
Talk about a work overload just before the break! It really is funny how hacking is looked at in such a bad light although it is influenced and responsible for the creation of numerous computer mediums etc. that we all use today such as the internet like some of you have already mentioned. The term hackers, connotations are directly negative termed as : understood to mean destructive and antisocial computer experts usually youthful breaking into computer networks and designing computer viruses. Although they are so very important in creating new means for security checks and basically in my mind a large proportion of the computer system i encounter and access everyday. It's interesting tho because if your a good hacker then there are some great ways to prove your worth sensibly with many career oppourtunities out there. Someone I knew who attended Kings college hacked into the online filing system and got caught but he's now got a great job in the programming industry and was on the news report last week that covered the issue of the recent virus.

As for virtual reality, i can remember the big hype when VR was hitting local gaming arcades and how people thought it was such a great invention but now it seems more and more like its disappering of the market. Invetions in technology are great except for them to catch on they really have to at some point be economically viable for the public and VR never really seemed to overcome this barrier. Personally for me aswell if we could find the technology to simulate a vacation i don't think i would use it. Because movies like total recall that uses some of the ideas spawned from VR although over exaggerated have made me look at the unknown questions and answers of VR if it ever managed to get that advanced. Where we could experiance all our five senses using virtual reality. You just don't know what could happen psychollogically to people with such an experiance and how to determine which reality actually is the one you exisit in.
seems all a bit scary to me!
posted by Anonymous at 2:21 AM

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