First of all, I wanted to say how much I've been enjoying the final presentations we've seen so far. Really interesting stuff! I also think it would be super cool if those of you whose projects are available online would post links so we can check 'em out. (Or if you already have, could you shoot me the link anyway? I might've missed it.)

I finally got my own video project online last night, and I'm looking forward to presenting it on Wednesday. It took me a whole month to complete but I'm really happy with the finished product! I'm also happy that it's already being well-received in the online world, with 115 views and 15 comments in the first 12 hours it's been up.

The line about the language of the internet from the reading "The Virtual Barrio" struck me as odd. He seemed to take issue to the fact that all of the "computer literate" people, and the web as a whole, only spoke English. I don't see that as a problem being that all of the major websites I use (Google, Amazon, Digg, Espn) are run by huge American corporations appealing to English speaking customers. (Digg doesn't fall into that category, but is run by English speaking individuals) English is the language of web 2.0 simply because those innovating either speak English, or want the English market. I bet just as much stuff that happens in the .com world is also happening in the Japaneses and Chinese version of .com. The fact that Spanish, or spanglish, is not a major factor in web related content is that the people doing business don't speak Spanish. Gomez seems to appreciate capitalism in "clothing and video games", but doesn't seem to grasp that capitalism is what powers 75% of the internet's growth. The de facto language of the internet, English, came about because English speakers brought it to the forefront of society. I don't think you can take issue to the fact that Bill Gates and the Google guys happen to speak English; they were just smarter than everyone else in the entire world and everything went from there.

I just watched the new South Park episode entitled "The Snuke", which is a parody of the show 24. In this episode Kyle (and later, government officials) track down a Russian terrorist from Kyle's bedroom by cross-referencing user profile information on websites such as eBay, YouTube, PayPal, MySpace, J-Date, eHarmony, Google maps, and Mapquest. I was amused. :) It reminded me of our discussion in class about the extent to which we release personal information on the web and the potential it has to cause trouble...!

When I think of a web page I think of links and hypertext. But, why can't I get everything I need one page? At least that is what these crazy cats were thinking when they made one page websites. If it is only one page does it even count as a webpage? Does the "web" imply a link to something else? This seems more like a frontpage.

Thats it, just some more useless information to digest...

I found a series of made for YouTube videos called AfterWorldTV. I am hooked.

Old school anti-pirating videos.

The best game ever. Its really simple, yet really challenging. Planarity

We thought we would have it bad if our hard-drive got deleted. This guy has it a lot worse.

I like this blog a lot. I don't know if this stuff is real, but it is pretty cool non the less.

I also found this article on net neutrality. I felt that it contradicted itself two or three times through the course of the article. The title seems to imply that stopping net neutrality would spur innovation because companies would have to make everything cheaper and faster to retain customers, but then the second paragraph contradicts the title.

Well, after taking a couple of days off, I returned to the internet to find some startling news. We have been talking some about artificial intelligence this semester, but we have no been talking about man-machine interaction/combination, also know as cyborg technology. This is a video of the Dean of Drexel's new mechanical arm. It offers more function / mobility then I have seen from prosthesis, which is not much but this still looks like a good sign. And I also found this article on new technology. The invisibility cloak is jaw dropping, and the machine that increases strength is my other example of cyborg technology.

If you thought YouTube was cool be prepared to be amazed. Well, not really, but this is still kind of interesting. Scrib is YouTube for text documents. I know that sounds kinda lame and dumb, but you can upload your own stuff and then see where the people who are looking at it are from. Even cooler is the ability to download it in mp3 format. Yep, they have text to speech with a British accent that will make you laugh and sing. But anyway, take a look at the sample they give you in the article, its a really f

Cell phones have been an under-appreciated topic in our class. I remember back in the Zack Morris days of cell phones; actual land phones you had to carry around. Now-a-days some phones are to small to operate with big hands. With the advent of the iPhone upon us, I am betting that sooner or later our cell phones will be the center of our mobile lives. (The computer home theater will be the center of our home media experience)

Right now, cell phones can connect us to anyone anytime we have a signal. But, the newer phones pack a lot more punch than that. Phones like the Treo, blackberry, and iPhone are basically mobile computers. They play mp3s, have internet capabilities, and text messaging. You put the internet and text messaging together and you get ideas like this. I have heard plans in Japan or China to have credit cards built into cell phones, along with some sort of basic personal information that store scanners can read to better help you find things you might like. I might be making that up, but I remember reading it somewhere.

I think we can definitely go overboard with creation. This website crosses the line. Its design compromise its functionality to the point where I got a bad feeling from trying to navigate through it. Furthermore, I have no idea what the website is even for. What good is something if I can't be used? The site is more like art than a website. Can the two coexist? Can it be artistic yet functional? Should a website become art?